It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's a very special experiment, a beat-mixed all-electronica music special, done as a companion piece to an essay I also posted at the website today, on the occasion of downloading my 500th free legal song online since starting the center, my first attempt at club-style beat-mixing since all the way back at college two decades ago. It features 19 bands over the course of 45 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Curb Crawlers; Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; National Public Radio's Second Stage; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Tracklist for today's mix:
Damn Arms, Destination Pt. II
The Black Ghosts, Full Moon (Appleblim & Komonazmuk Remix)
Voodeux, Just A Spoonful
Boss in drama, Favorite Song
Gui Boratto, No Turning Back
Guy J, Lamur
Alexander Rybak, Fairytale (Intergalactico Remix)
Gregor Salto, Mystery Baila
Robin S, Show Me Love (Bounce Camp Remix)
Chairlift, Evident Utensil (Sinden Remix)
Act Yo Age, The Flash (Dre Skull Remix)
Acid Girls, oh my stars
Friendly Fires, Jump In The Pool (Thin White Duke Remix)
Thunderous Olympian, Racer (DJ B-Stee Remix)
Stardust, Music Sounds Better With You (Poj Masta Womp Remix)
Danger, 88:88: Stage 3: The Club
Mujava, Township Funk (TRG Remix)
Bombaman, Look Behind You
Nuuro, Avila

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the June edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across legally for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 13 bands and lasts just under 50 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Curb Crawlers; Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; National Public Radio's Second Stage; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Musicians featured in today's episode:
Tea
Wild Moccasins
Au Revoir Simone
Iron & Wine
Passion Pit
Camera Obscura
Juana Molina
Guy J
John Vanderslice
Headless Heroes
Sally Shapiro
One eskimO
The Wooden Birds

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It's Monday Wednesday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the May edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across legally for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 14 bands and lasts right around 50 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Curb Crawlers; Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; National Public Radio's Second Stage; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Musicians featured in today's episode:
Acid Girls
Avner
Dish
Lucy Bland
Kevin Devine
The Veils
Brokenkites
Gui Boratto
White Rabbits
Fantasmes
Mexican Institute of Sound
From
Say Hi
Linda Draper

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: A 45-minute talk with next-wave journalist and serial entrepreneur Andrew Huff, best known as the founder of popular Chicago arts-and-entertainment website GapersBlock.com. GB has been publishing for six years now, believe it or not, and has slowly started becoming the 'go-to' location whenever looking for true success stories from the world of online journalism; but Huff is involved with a whole series of other ventures as well, including innovative web-evangelical corporate experiments, an obscure but much-loved indie-rock project with he and his friends, and even the manufacture of ingeniously designed sound-dampening cardboard boxes, perfect for use as walls in startup loft offices and the like. Today Andrew and I talk about all these subjects, as well as his opinions on why Chicago seems to be attracting so many "Journalism 2.0" groups these days, and also his report from this year's South By Southwest Interactive tech festival, of which he's a veteran. Also featuring the music of Maria Taylor and Great Lake Swimmers. And don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

More about the people and projects talked about in today's episode:
Andrew Huff
Gapers Block
Start Paragraph
TheLobby.com
South by Southwest Interactive
Bloxes
OutOf5
Layer Tennis
Maria Taylor
Great Lake Swimmers

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the April edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across legally for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 14 bands and lasts right around 45 minutes; and yes, I know that I'm technically releasing this April special on May 4th! It was a busy month! Cut me some freaking slack! And don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Curb Crawlers; Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; National Public Radio's Second Stage; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Musicians featured in today's episode:
Nuuro
The Calculus Affair
Mazes
Hey Ocean!
Clem Snide
Hungry, Hungry Ghost
Loop 2.4.3
Bounce Camp
The Hermit
Haley Bonar
Gentleman Reg
Shawn Lee
The Traditionist
John Wesley Harding (CCLaP's review of Harding's novel by George)

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: An hour-long talk I recently had with Chicago author, editor, and sometimes public-radio contributor Charles Blackstone. Charles' first novel, The Week You Weren't Here, came out in 2005, and since then he's been busy promoting the book the way that many midwestern writers end up doing so -- through a series of regional tours, a plethora of new work in area literary journals, occasional appearances in the local media and more. Today, Charles and I talk about all these subjects, including his advice for beginning authors on what to look for in all these endeavors. Also featuring the music of Tosca and Bob Mould. And don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

More about the people and projects talked about in today's episode:
Charles Blackstone
The Week You Weren't Here: Amazon | GoodReads | LibraryThing | Shelfari
Flame Books
Low Fidelity Press
The Art of Friction: Amazon | GoodReads | Shelfari
University of Texas Press
Blackstone's "Napkin Fiction" story for Esquire
Tosca
Bob Mould

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's a surprise edition of the podcast, an extra-special second monthly music special, featuring a total of 14 indie-rock bands I've discovered legally for free online this month, simply because I found way too much great music last month to contain in one episode. And don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Curb Crawlers; Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; National Public Radio's Second Stage; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Musicians featured in today's episode:
Solo
Ben Kweller
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Madeline
Chico Trujillo
Eleni Mandell
Laura Barrett
Friendly Fires | Air France
Gavin Castleton
Bricolage
Oreka Tx
Peter Bjorn & John
Vetiver
Karmacoda

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's my long-awaited interview with "Time Out" Books editor Jonathan Messinger, who actually wears many hats in the Chicago literary community; he's also the co-founder of Featherproof Press, host of the Dollar Store Show reading series, and a published and touring author himself. Today, I talk with Jonathan for just under an hour about all these subjects, how he ethically deals with juggling so many competing balls, and what his general opinions are these days about the current state of the literary scene. Also featuring the music of Robyn Hitchcock and Neko Case. And don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

More about the people and projects talked about in today's episode:
Jonathan Messinger
Nathan Keay
This Is Grand
The Dollar Store Show
The Hideout
Featherproof Press
Time Out: Chicago
Jim Munroe
Publishers Weekly review of "Hiding Out"
Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3
Neko Case

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the March edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across legally for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode is the biggest special yet, in fact, featuring 16 musicians and clocking in at just under an hour, winnowed down from a total of nearly 50 great songs I found online in February through the various music blogs and podcasts I follow. And don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Curb Crawlers; Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; National Public Radio's Second Stage; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Musicians featured in today's episode:
Royksopp | Holy F-ck
Franz Ferdinand
The Lovetones
Angus and Julia Stone
Ladder
Emanuel and The Fear
Deleted Scenes
Balmorhea
Act Yo Age | Dre Skull
The Apples in Stereo
Peasant
Tortured Soul
Novalima
Anamanaguchi
Ben Lee
Morrissey

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It's Monday Tuesday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's part two of my recent talk with author John Domini (see yesterday for part one, the same 45 minutes in length as today's half). John's been writing for awhile, but it's been the first two books of his recent "Naples Trilogy" that's really been causing attention: 2007's Earthquake ID was a surprise Pulitzer nominee, while 2008's A Tomb at the Periphery was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In this half of our 90-minute interview, we talk about Domini's other career as a professor (including former stints at Harvard and Northwestern), some of his theories and opinions about the craft of writing, and also what we can expect from part three of the trilogy, being written as we speak. Also featuring the music of Boss In Drama and The 1900s. And remember, if you download the MP4 version linked to below (or simply subscribe to the iTunes Channel), links and photos and chapters will be at your disposal too!

More about Domini, and the musicians featured in today's episode:
Personal website
Earthquake ID | CCLaP's review of Earthquake ID
A Tomb on the Periphery | CCLaP's review of Periphery
Boss In Drama
The 1900s

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's part one of my recent talk with author John Domini (with part two coming tomorrow, the same 45 minutes in length as today's half). John's been writing for awhile, but it's been the first two books of his recent "Naples Trilogy" that's really been causing attention: 2007's Earthquake ID was a surprise Pulitzer nominee, while 2008's A Tomb at the Periphery was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In this half of our 90-minute interview, we talk about these books and nominations, as well as his nonfiction work for such publications as GQ and The Believer. Also featuring the music of Gregor Salto and Matt & Kim. And remember, if you download the MP4 version linked to below (or simply subscribe to the iTunes Channel), links and photos and chapters will be at your disposal too!

More about Domini, and the musicians featured in today's episode:
Personal website
Earthquake ID | CCLaP's review of Earthquake ID
A Tomb on the Periphery | CCLaP's review of Periphery
Gregor Salto
Matt & Kim

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the February edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 14 musicians and lasts 48 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Curb Crawlers; Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Musicians featured in today's episode:
Damn Arms
of Montreal
The Naked Hearts
Strand of Oaks
Deastro
Said The Whale
Pattern Is Movement
Bombaman
AC Newman
Mt. Egypt
Speech Debelle
Anya Marina
Cotton Jones
Neko Case

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the January edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 12 musicians and lasts 48 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Musicians featured in today's episode:
Stardust / Poj Masta
Faded Paper Figures
Dirty Projectors / David Byrne / Dark Was the Night
Holly Conlan
Wild Beasts
The Hopefuls
Juana Molina
Head Shoulders Knees N Toes
Theresa Andersson
Asa
The Charade
Sweet Electra

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the December edition of CCLaP's monthly music special (doubling as the last episode of 2008), wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 12 bands and lasts exactly 46 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Today's featured musicians:
Dances With White Girls
Viva Voce
Fol Chen
McCarthy Trenching
MeNeO
Longwave
School of Seven Bells
Solid Gold
Josiah Leming
Faunts
The Secret History
Point Juncture WA

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the November edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 13 bands and lasts just under 50 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; modyfier; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Today's featured musicians:
Kenneth Bager / Jesse Rose
Minisnap
Kinetic Stereokids
Aterciopelados
Lemonade / Delorean
The Sea and Cake
Fight Bite
The Count & Sinden / Rye Rye / Don Rimini
Gladshot
Pallers
Plunkett
Bang Bang Eche
Hello Seahorse! / "Wont Say Anything" video

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Hey, it's a special edition of the CCLaP Podcast! It's a special spoken-word edition, in fact, presenting a professionally performed version of the story "Life As He Had Known It" by Ben Tanzer, from his new book Repetition Patterns, which just happens to be CCLaP's first-ever original book as well, released the same day this audio recording has been released. Performed by Jason Pettus, executive director of CCLaP. Music: "Gmin Piano Improv (Friday)," by The3amAssociation. Remixed by Alex Beroza. Found at CCMixter.org, a music website run by Creative Commons specifically to showcase CC-friendly bands. Length: 17 minutes.

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's Ben Tanzer Day here at CCLaP! And that's because today's the official release date of CCLaP's first-ever original book, the story cycle Repetition Patterns by this local author. Here, a brand-new sit-down talk with Ben, recorded just days before the book came out, 45 minutes specifically just on Patterns itself -- the stories' origins, the reasons he wrote them the way he did, plus a detailed look at each and every story within the book, examining the various true and false bits that led to it being written the way it did. Think of this as a companion piece of sorts to reading the book itself: the first spoiler-free half will convince you to read it in the first place, while the spoiler-heavy second half will help you understand what you just finished. And remember, if you download the MP4 version linked to below (or simply subscribe to the iTunes Channel), links and photos and chapters will be at your disposal too!

Links to the people and things mentioned today:
Ben Tanzer
Repetition Patterns
Lucky Man (CCLaP's review of Lucky Man)
Maybe Someday You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine
Ben's first interview with CCLaP in winter 2007
Alias
Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's the October edition of CCLaP's monthly music special, wherein I share some of the best and most interesting bands I myself have been coming across for free online in the last four weeks, kind of like a college radio show but without actually needing a college radio station. Today's episode features 13 bands and lasts a little under 45 minutes; and don't forget, if you download the enhanced MP4 version linked to below and listen on an iPod (or simply subscribe to CCLaP's iTunes channel), chapters and links and images will be at your disposal too!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Today's featured musicians:
DJ Mansion
Jeremy Messersmith
Death Vessel
Naono
Annuals
Grupo Fantasma
Beto Villares
DJ Excelerator
Matt Duke
Kid Sister
Skallander
Davila 666
Horse Feathers

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(Sorry -- the CCLaP iTunes channel is currently not working at the moment, because of some behind-the-scenes tech problems I'm still working out regarding the latest install of Movable Type here [v4.2]. The downloadable iTunes-enhanced MP4 is live, though, linked to at the bottom of this entry; and the online streaming version is live too, which those of you with Flash Player on your computer/device should be seeing above. Here's hoping the iTunes channel will be fixed soon!)

It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: The first new episode in three months! Yeehaw! Sorry I was away for so long! This summer sucked! Sigh. So here to celebrate the oncoming cool and dreary Chicago autumn, an all-music special as occasionally done here, full of plaintive Midwestern indie-rock and European electronica and South American exotica and everything in between. (Oh, and guess what? I've decided actually to start doing these music specials once a month from now on, just so at least I'll have some fun thing to share with you, even on months I don't get any interviews done.) Twelve bands, 46 minutes, little introductions from me at the beginning of each song, enhanced for those with iPods or on iTunes, including photos and chapters and links and all kinds of other cool stuff. Listen to a streaming version above, if you're on a device with Flash Player, or download the MP4 through the link at the bottom. Or just subscribe to the iTunes channel and forget about it!

Today's music came from original recommendations by: Discobelle; fluo kids; IndieFeed; KCRW; KEXP; Minnesota Public Radio; Pitchfork; What To Wear During An Orange Alert; and as always, suggestions from listeners like you (cclapcenter [at] gmail.com).

Sukshinder Shinda
Plajia
Jeff Hanson
Earlimart
Chandeliers
Ken Kase
Inara George
David Aussi
Plastilina Mosh
Takka Takka
Lake
Juliana Hatfield

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It's Monday Wednesday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: It's been about three months since I did an all-music special, so thought I'd go ahead and do another one on this warm summer day; and it has nothing to do with not having any interviews ready for you, nothing at all to do with that! Today's episode features 12 songs altogether, and lasts around 45 minutes; I hope you end up enjoying it, no matter where on the planet you are and what you're doing while listening. And don't forget, if you download the MP4 version (linked to below) and listen to it through iTunes, an iPod or an iPhone, links and chapters and images will be at your disposal too!

Links to the bands featured in this episode:
Time Machine
Koop
Citified
The Watson Twins
Old Money
David Vandervelde
Lorraine Bowen
Kaki King
The Republic Tigers
The Submarines
Forro in the Dark
The Lodger

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It's Monday Tuesday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: a one-hour talk with a personal hero of mine, Cory Doctorow, a popular and award-winning novelist as well as one of the four editors of Boing Boing, currently acknowledged by many as the most popular blog on the entire planet. Cory was in town to promote his latest book, the young-adult activist novel Little Brother; here we talk about the book quite a bit, as well as the rest of his creative career, his political work with such groups as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the surprising lack of stress he feels over being one of the most popular bloggers in the world. Also featuring the music of Gui Boratto, Foals, and Sandrine. And don't forget, if you download the MP4 version (linked to below) and listen to it through iTunes, an iPod or iPhone, links and chapters and photos will be at your disposal as well!

Links to the people and organizations mentioned in today's podcast:
Cory Doctorow
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Cult of the Dead Cow
Doctorow at Project Gutenberg
CCLaP's review of Down And Out in the Magic Kingdom
Boing Boing
Federated Media
The Sony rootkit debacle
Virgin Airlines' "Unicorn Chaser"
Little Brother
Little Brother at Instructables

MUSIC:
Gui Boratto
Foals
Sandrine

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: An extended talk with Chicago author and events organizer Amy Güth, founder of the brand-new Pilcrow Literary Festival that will be taking place this coming Memorial Day weekend. Here we talk in detail not only about the upcoming fest and the particular challenges of putting it together, but also of Amy's own relentless touring, her first novel Three Fallen Women, and the monthly reading series she hosts in the Lakeview neighborhood. Also featuring the music of Kassin+2, Marble Sounds and Marching Band. And don't forget, if you download the MP4 version (linked to below) and listen to it on iTunes, an iPod or iPhone, you'll have images and chapters and links at your disposal as well!

Links to people and groups mentioned in today's episode:

Amy Güth (Amy's blog)
Pilcrow Literary Festival
Three Fallen Women (CCLaP's review of Three Fallen Women)
The Fixx Reading Series

MUSIC:
Kassin+2
Marble Sounds
Marching Band

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today: Many Chicago residents, of course, will immediately recognize the subject of today's episode -- it's Nick Ostick, not only a published author and tireless supporter of our local literary community, but also the owner of basement press RAGAD and their associated live-event series here in the city. RAGAD's latest event is coming up this weekend, in fact, which finally gave me a good excuse to sit down with Nick, and yak for 45 minutes over cocktails about the "scene," his projects, and how exactly is the best way to break into a large urban artistic community in the first place. And don't forget, if you download the MP4 linked to below (or simply subscribe to the iTunes channel), you'll get images and chapters and hyperlinks as well!

Links to the people and organizations talked about in this episode:

Nick Ostdick
Sunbeams and Cigarettes
RAGAD
The Book Cellar
Todd Dills
Ben Tanzer (Ben Tanzer at CCLaP)
Amy Güth (Amy Güth at CCLaP)
Jill Summers
Jason Jordan
63 Channels
decomP
Another Chicago Magazine
Triquarterly
THE2NDHAND
The Bruiser Review

MUSIC:
White Shoes and the Couples Company
Pacifika
The Ting Tings

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It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today (er, tonight, I mean): It's cold and gray and snowy and miserable here in Chicago this week, not unexpected at all for this city in March, which means it's time for another all-music special of the CCLaP Podcast, this time featuring a total of 11 slightly nerdy indie-rock bands for your intellectual perusal. Interspersed at each break with my thoughts about each band and about college-rock in general, I hope that this 40-minute mix will serve you well on your next gym outing, dog walk, bus ride or whatever it is that you're doing while listening to this podcast and desperately trying to kill two-thirds of an hour. And don't forget, if you download the MP4 version of this podcast (linked to below) and listen to it through your iTunes/iPhone/iPod, chapters and links and images will be at your disposal as well!

Links to the bands and organizations mentioned in this episode:

Mexican Institute of Sound
Buck 65
Sonido Lasser Drakar
Iron Balls Magente
Twin Cities Electropunk
What To Wear During An Orange Alert
Headlights
The Heavy Circles
Marah
Duffy
Boat People
The OaKs
Jason Collett

Download the MP4 (18.3 mgs; 39 min)
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Hey, guess what -- it's time for the 2008 return of the CCLaP Podcast! Oh, and I've got a great interview to present to you today; it's with Jason Fried, not only one of the founders of Chicago software company 37signals (one of the most successful internet startups in the entire American Midwest), but also an unconventional business wonk and deep thinker, who has a lot of interesting and unusual things to say about entrepreneurialism and creative endeavors. A lot of his advice concerning startups I think is not only useful for traditional business types but also small artistic groups (people starting up new galleries and literary magazines, for example); that's why I was so excited about having him on the podcast, and why I hope that you'll get a chance to listen to the entire thing too. Don't forget, by the way, that if you download the MP4 linked to below and listen to it using iTunes, an iPod or an iPhone, chapters and images and live weblinks will be at your disposal as well!

(By the way, sorry if the streaming version above isn't working when you're visiting; Vudyo, the service I use, has been especially crappy in the last couple of weeks. Can anyone please recommend a stable, free service like YouTube but for user-uploaded streaming audio? Why is it so hard to find a service like this for audio but so easy for video? UPDATE: I successfully moved over to iMeem this weekend. Thanks for the tip, Ben Tanzer!)

Links to the people and projects mentioned in this episode:
37signals
Signal vs. Noise
Basecamp
Ruby on Rails
Getting Real
Job/Gig Board
The Deck
Coudal Partners
Layer Tennis
Fumbata
Jimmys Pit

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Download the MP4 (Length: 40 min; size: 18.6 mb)

It's Monday Tuesday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast; today's episode, in fact, will be the last new one of 2007. Today: We all know how fun it is to listen to a famous person talk, but what about all those day-to-day working artists in big cities as well, doing sometimes very innovative things to establish a more direct connection between themselves and their passionate audience? Chicago author Ben Tanzer is such a person, whose first novel Lucky Man came out earlier this year with basement press Manx Media; lacking the resources of a major publishing house, he has instead been using online tools such as a blog and YouTube promotional videos to build awareness of the novel, coupled with as many out-of-town readings as he can afford as a husband and father as well. I thought it would be nice to end this first year of CCLaP's podcast, then, with a detailed talk with Tanzer about all these subjects, as well as the daily highs and lows of being a first-time working novelist in a big Midwestern city. Also featuring the music of Creative Commons recording artists Genetic druGs and Funky C. And don't forget, if you download the MP4 version (linked below) and listen to it in iTunes, an iPhone, or a video iPod, chapters and images and links will be at your disposal too!

Links to the people and projects mentioned in today's episode:
Ben Tanzer
Lucky Man
CCLaP's review of Lucky Man
Tanzer's YouTube account
Genetic druGs
Funky C

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Download the MP4 (49 minutes; 23.1 megs)

It's Monday Tuesday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today, part 2 of my extra-long talk with Jesse Thorn, host and producer of Public Radio International's "The Sound of Young America." (Part 1, which lasts another 45 minutes, can be found by clicking here.) Also featuring the music of Creative Commons recording artists general fuzz and Chi Weapon. Don't forget, if you download the MP4 version (linked to below) and listen to it through iTunes, an iPhone, or a video iPod, chapters and links and images will be at your disposal as well. And yes, by the way, the CCLaP iTunes channel is finally working once again! Hooray for that!

Links to the people and projects mentioned in this episode:
The Sound of Young America
Other Maximum Fun podcasts
Public Radio International
Second City Chicago
general fuzz
Chi Weapon

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Download the MP4 version (39 minutes; 18.5 megs)

It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the CCLaP Podcast. Today, part 1 of my extra-long talk with Jesse Thorn, host and producer of Public Radio International's "The Sound of Young America." (Part 2, which lasts another 45 minutes, can be found by clicking here.) Also featuring the music of Creative Commons recording artists Lark Wiskey and Pablo Sciuto. Don't forget, if you download the MP4 version (linked to below) and listen to it through iTunes, an iPhone, or a video iPod, chapters and links and images will be at your disposal as well. And yes, by the way, the CCLaP iTunes channel is finally working once again! Hooray for that!

Links to the people and projects mentioned in this episode:
The Sound of Young America
Other Maximum Fun podcasts
Public Radio International
Lark Wiskey
Pablo Sciuto

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Download the MP4 version (42 minutes; 20 megs)