The Best of The Chicago Traveler 2007

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:00:51 +0000

It’s time to say good-bye to 2007. The year has treated me very well. I moved to a new apartment, did some traveling, and, best of all, began writing The Chicago Traveler! Many thanks to Mary Jo and everyone at b5media who has been so welcoming and helpful.

Even though The Chicago Traveler is only a few months old, let’s take a look back at the ten most popular articles of this year.

10. Abegweit. Resting peacefully on Lake Michigan, this beautiful ship was once the most powerful icebreaker in the world.

9. Let’s Boogie Records & Tapes. This music store on the south side of Chicago offers a wide selection of new, unopened vinyl records.

8. Weather Bell. At Monroe and Clark Streets, the bell has long outlasted its original owner.

7. Evil Olive. This Wicker Park martini bar looks great no matter what direction you’re coming from. Yo Banana Boy!

6. Chicago Highways. Chicagoans rarely call the seven major highways by their actual names. Instead, we rely on nicknames… and maybe a few not-so-nice words during rush hour.

5. Wholly Frijoles. The waiting list may be a mile long, but the food is most certainly worth your patience.

4. Relax Lounge. Relaxation here comes in the form of beats, brews, and burgers.

3. Daley Center. The premier civic center of Chicago is considered one of the city’s architectural highlights. Obviously though, voluntary visits are much more fun than obligatory ones.

2. Chicago River. Chicago’s river may not have a good reputation, but it’s still an incredible example of city engineering. How many rivers do you know that flow backwards?

1. Beatnix. Although originally featured for Halloween, this Boystown corner shop is fun and fabulous all year long.

Post from: The Chicago Traveler

Let’s Boogie!

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 21:07:16 +0000

First opened 30 years ago, Let’s Boogie Records & Tapes is a specialty store on the south side of Chicago that is still going strong. Owner Neil Keller has been in the business long enough to watch music transition from eight-tracks to vinyl records to cassettes to compact discs to mp3s. And while music may have moved on to new measurements like MB and kbps (megabytes and kilobytes per second, respectively), Let’s Boogie has remained true to the old school with 45s and 33s.

[For those of you too young to be familiar with vinyl records (and making me feel incredibly old), after the 1950s, albums were typically recorded on 12-inch records, commonly referred to as "33s" because they had to be played on a record player spinning at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute. These larger records were also called "LPs," i.e., long-playing records. Single songs were recorded on 7-inch vinyls, which had to be played at 45 rpm and were nicknamed "45s."]

Vinyl enthusiasts will fall in love with Let’s Boogie because it’s not a resale shop. The music store features an impressive array of new, unopened records. Flip through the selections and find a few memories: an old collection from a current artist in his/her younger days, a retro one-hit wonder, or a long-forgotten tune unavailable on CD. Deejays will be happy to know that they can find current hits and unique remixes here as well, just waiting to be played on nightclub turntables.

Let’s Boogie celebrates the world before the iPod. Come enjoy the high quality of low tech.

Photo credit: Zela c/o SXC

Let’s Boogie: 3311 S Halsted St; 773-254-0139
Mon – Sat: 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Sun: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Public Trans: Bus # 8, 35

Post from: The Chicago Traveler

The Chicago Traveler » audio

The Best of The Chicago Traveler 2007

Let’s Boogie!