North Winnetka High is 100% not a place.
Mooooonnnrriiiissee, in the city, with sconsie.
Look at that face!
“Cubs are the strong foundation from which grows a mighty beast.”
Steve Goodman — “The Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request.”
By the shores of old Lake Michigan
Where the “hawk wind” blows so cold
An old Cub fan lay dying
In his midnight hour that tolled
Round his bed, his friends had all gathered
They knew his time was short
And on his head they put this bright blue cap
From his all-time favorite sport
He told them, “Its late and its getting dark in here”
And I know its time to go
But before I leave the line-up
Boys, there’s just one thing I’d like to knowDo they still play the blues in Chicago
When baseball season rolls around
When the snow melts away,
Do the Cubbies still play
In their ivy-covered burial ground
When I was a boy they were my pride and joy
But now they only bring fatigue
To the home of the brave
The land of the free
And the doormat of the National LeagueTold his friends “You know the law of averages says:
Anything will happen that can”
That’s what it says
“But the last time the Cubs won a National League pennant
Was the year we dropped the bomb on Japan”
The Cubs made me a criminal
Sent me down a wayward path
They stole my youth from me
(that’s the truth)
I’d forsake my teachers
To go sit in the bleachers
In flagrant truancyand then one thing led to another
and soon I’d discovered alcohol, gambling, dope
football, hockey, lacrosse, tennis
But what do you expect,
When you raise up a young boy’s hopes
And then just crush ‘em like so many paper beer cups.Year after year after year
after year, after year, after year, after year, after year
‘Til those hopes are just so much popcorn
for the pigeons beneath the ‘L’ tracks to eat
He said, “You know I’ll never see Wrigley Field, anymore before my eternal rest
So if you have your pencils and your score cards ready,
and I’ll read you my last request
He said, “Give me a double header funeral in Wrigley Field
On some sunny weekend day (no lights)
Have the organ play the “National Anthem”
and then a little ‘na, na, na, na, hey hey, hey, Goodbye’
Make six bullpen pitchers, carry my coffin
and six ground keepers clear my path
Have the umpires bark me out at every base
In all their holy wrath
Its a beautiful day for a funeral, Hey Ernie lets play two!
Somebody go get Jack Brickhouse to come back,
and conduct just one more interview
Have the Cubbies run right out into the middle of the field,
Have Keith Moreland drop a routine fly
Give everybody two bags of peanuts and a frosty malt
And I’ll be ready to dieBuild a big fire on home plate out of your Louisville Sluggers baseball bats,
And toss my coffin in
Let my ashes blow in a beautiful snow
From the prevailing 30 mile an hour southwest wind
When my last remains go flying over the left-field wall
Will bid the bleacher bums ad?eu
And I will come to my final resting place, out on Waveland AvenueThe dying man’s friends told him to cut it out
They said stop it that’s an awful shame
He whispered, “Don’t Cry, we’ll meet by and by near the Heavenly Hall of Fame
He said, “I’ve got season’s tickets to watch the Angels now,
So its just what I’m going to do
He said, “but you the living, you’re stuck here with the Cubs,
So its me that feels sorry for you!”And he said, “Ahh Play, play that lonesome losers tune,
That’s the one I like the best”
And he closed his eyes, and slipped away
What we got is the Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request
And here it isDo they still play the blues in Chicago
When baseball season rolls around
When the snow melts away,
Do the Cubbies still play
In their ivy-covered burial ground
When I was a boy they were my pride and joy
But now they only bring fatigue
To the home of the brave
The land of the free
And the doormat of the National League
The Pseudonym For The Person Who Wrote The Movie Column For The Chicago Tribune in 1918?
Mae Tinee.
Though I grew up mostly in the suburbs of Chicago, I was able to spend a lot of time in The City. I was born in Chicago-proper and lived within its borders for 2 years before I moved up north. The suburbs of Chicago are exactly as John Hughes (and later Tina Fey) depicts them: high school drama, bored teens, and privileged families. As a bonafide nerd, I didn’t fit in exactly, but when I finally reached high school, I was able to pull back the curtain on another underground I didn’t know existed.
It started with the radio. Q101 (RIP) ran a local show, Local101, that highlighted local talent. Local bands led to local (read: “college”) radio, WNUR, WLUW, and more all played music I’d never heard before. I started attending basement shows in Highland Park and Northbrook. Hardcore kids raised on Naked Raygun and Big Black playing loud. That wasn’t exactly my scene, but as I delved deeper I learned that genre was no boundary to the underground.
Venues and record stores became portals to new sounds. The pilgrimage from the suburbs with stacks of CDs became a ritual. Parent’s minivans and old sedans became our fortresses as we’d drive aimlessly acquainting ourselves with new names….
…This collection of 18 songs represents some (not all) of our favorite bands from Chicago. The music ranges genres, but is on the whole homemade. Garage rock, garage pop, garage folk, garage glitch…
Of course we are indebted to the labels, radio stations, record stores, and venues of Chicago. Special thanks to Matt Jencik, Christen Thomas, Ed Post, Tom Owens, Angel Olsen, and Stone Hansard.
We wanted to release it as a true mixtape, on cassette. Of course you can pick up a digital copy too, but it’s meant to be listened to on the car stereo driving down The Eisenhower on the way home to the suburbs.
So of course I bought it.
Matt Siber - Untitled #14
Matt Siber - Untitled #33
Matt Siber - Untitled #23
