It’s really, really easy to hate Owen. Go ahead, try it! Walk around a college dormitory on a bitter, cold evening, when the winds of Mike Kinsella’s poetry have wistfully blown into the heart of a heartbroken loser with an acoustic guitar and a penchant for writing lyrics that employ the word “shackles” on multiple occasions. Based on their slow, incessantly droning songwriting and their “I’m so very lonely, can you feel it in the air?”-style of lyrics, chances are this doofus has the complete Owen discography, possibly even the complete Kinsella brothers discography (speaking of which, a friend determined that when in the midst of a hipster/elitist record collection battle, the ultimate one-upper is to say you have “Cap’n Jazz on vinyl”). Now, it’s not fair to judge a guy’s work by the way his fans have butchered his style and, admittedly, Kinsella’s a professional with a knack for writing delicate finger-picking and all that crap. But with the talent comes the task of writing something with at least a minuscule amount of entertainment value—don’t look for it in Owen. (Andy Seifert)
November 24 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, (773)281-4444, at 7pm.
Still Breathtaking: A Preview of Sting at Ravinia Festival Sting's solo catalog boasts more than a dozen studio albums. He may not rack up the hit singles like he once did, but he remains a compelling writer, musician and performer.
Last Punks Standing: A Preview of Mekons at Hideout Mekons have endured by refusing to adhere to anyone's ideas regarding what is and isn't punk rock (which is in and of itself a defiantly punk attitude).
It’s really, really easy to hate Owen. Go ahead, try it! Walk around a college dormitory on a bitter, cold evening, when the winds of Mike Kinsella’s poetry have wistfully blown into the heart of a heartbroken loser with an acoustic guitar and a penchant for writing lyrics that employ the word “shackles” on multiple occasions. Based on their slow, incessantly droning songwriting and their “I’m so very lonely, can you feel it in the air?”-style of lyrics, chances are this doofus has the complete Owen discography, possibly even the complete Kinsella brothers discography (speaking of which, a friend determined that when in the midst of a hipster/elitist record collection battle, the ultimate one-upper is to say you have “Cap’n Jazz on vinyl”). Now, it’s not fair to judge a guy’s work by the way his fans have butchered his style and, admittedly, Kinsella’s a professional with a knack for writing delicate finger-picking and all that crap. But with the talent comes the task of writing something with at least a minuscule amount of entertainment value—don’t look for it in Owen. (Andy Seifert)
