Greg Kot

Tim & Katie Tuten + Mike & Jim Hinchsliff are moving on. The Hideout will remain, but the club's ownership, and its identity as a DIY Chicago institution will change hands. The little club that could. Mark Guarino has more: shorturl.at/C5N5r

@23markgonzalez He represents the history of the blues and all the pain and beauty attached to it, the last man standing so to speak of a blues era fading from memory, a last living link to the art form’s origins.

@gregkot I honestly don’t know much about Buddy Guy but loved Sinners and see the underlying themes and power that this movie conveys. But why does using Guy for the final scene do outside of just being an older Sammie?

Oscars post-mortem: The final scene of "Sinners" with Buddy Guy is when a good film becomes a great one, a moving coda that illuminates and broadens the impact of what came before. I found the entire film worth watching again, as the Guy cameo put it all in context. (1/2)

I also loved "The Secret Agent," the 2nd remarkable film in recent years set in '70s Brazil about the resilience of the oppressed in an era of dictatorship. "I'm Still Here" won an Oscar, "Secret Agent" got shut out, but with "Sinners," it's the 2025 film I cherish the most (2/2)

How many artists/bands did great work in their 3rd decade & beyond that equaled or surpassed the music they created in their 1st? The list is mighty small. We talk about a few that defied the odds on @soundopinions bit.ly/4rBTe37 What are your late-career faves?

Where have all the protest songs gone? They've never gone away, and have been arriving like news bulletins in recent months. @soundopinions returns to Arlington Heights Memorial Library to dig into the latest wave of anthems. Wednesday. Free. Info: shorturl.at/80ugE

@Greg_Boose Track record with the feds indicates Live Nation won’t be held to account, but we can dream about it.

@gregkot Greg, will anything actually happen, though? I used to be a concert rat but prices have kept me from buying tickets for the past several years...

"Ticketing employees at Live Nation joked about trying to 'gouge' people for parking and V.I.P. upgrades at concerts, calling fans 'so stupid' for paying the inflated charges and boasting that they were 'robbing them blind baby...'" Link in comments

The ever-expanding resist playlist (linked in comments) is just a small sampling of the outpouring of new protest songs, most released in the last few weeks.

Danny Brown and Peaches, two entertainingly offbeat, thought-provoking button-pushers with new albums. Some spiel from me on past interviews with both: bit.ly/3OVQNek And reviews of the new LPs from Jim and I on @soundopinions: soundopinions.org/show/1058

A promise? Or a threat? From the oppressed.

Show Me the Monet: French impressionism meets the clutter of materialism and ecological myopia.

I became familiar with British street artist Banksy through his work with Blur 25 years ago. We caught a retrospective exhibit while visiting California. Subversive, humorous and humane, Banksy's art has all the immediacy of a protest song. More pix from the exhibit in comments.

Relevant as ever.

Registration for class preview: graham.uchicago.edu/event/rockin-i…

I'll be teaching "Rockin' in the Free World: Democracy and Music in America, an Unruly History" at U of Chicago's Graham School for "lifelong learners" starting March 25. The topic just keeps getting more timely by the day. Free Zoom preview Thursday. Register in comments below

Salsa mastermind Willie Colon, RIP. Link in comments to the Bronx-born trombonist-composer's first masterpiece, "Che Che Cole" (1969), an invitation to dance at the rhythmic intersection of Puerto Rico, Africa and Cuba.