With an Urban Outfitters and a Levi’s store recently moved in and cool-coffeehouse Filter moved out, the once artist-friendly Wicker Park might seem inevitably tipping towards the sanitized yuppification of its neighbor, Lincoln Park. However there are bits of offbeat weirdness to be experienced, from the screen print vendors who set up shop on the sidewalk (literally) to the bemusing Animal Collective-esque hippyish folk band that randomly sets up on the corner of North and Milwaukee, along with strange window displays and interesting grafiti. Here’s a bunch of photos I took of places and things in the neighborhood that are amusing and offbeat. My picks are after the jump and there’s a link at the end to the full collection.

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5/19/07: Captured! By Robots

The creators of OhGizmo! (the niche, gadget / technology / weird things blog) have spun off a blog devoted entirely to robots. Not only is robotic technology ever-innovating, more and more people have come to develop a humanoid soft spot for our cybernetic friends (just do an Etsy search for Robot and look what pops up), so the OhGizmo! people definitely have their finger on the pulse.

It’s appropriately titled “BotJunkie,” and features the tagline:

BotJunkie obsessively chronicles Man’s inevitable descent into cybernetic slavery.

One robot at a time.

While it focuses mainly on small, consumer-oriented robots like the evil Hello Kitty Robot, I-Sobot (shown), and Spyke, there are some pop culture robot references, like “The top 50 movie robots”. No word yet on if they’ll cover military / industrial use robots, or go ga-ga over the adorable Pleo, but the blog is super new so it remains to be seen.

read more | digg story

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Promoting yourself with a demo can mean all kinds things, from selecting a couple of tracks to help connect with a collaborator to getting yourself a composing gig or record deal. Producer/musician Quantazelle herself has seen plenty of demo discs and has assembled some tips for how to make them work. If you’ve got ideas or questions of your own, be sure to sound off in comments. But the best idea of all may be getting people together for an in-person event to share music and visual reels. -Ed.

A demo is short for “demonstration,” and its purpose is to show others what you can do, musically. In the past, a band with major-label aspirations would scrape together a bit of cash for a few hours in a studio and crank out a few copies of their best songs on a tape or a record and then send it off to various A&R departments, hoping for a record deal and a contract with a fat advance. These days, technology has made the concept of a demo and its applications somewhat different, but we’ll always need to share what we’re capable of with others.

[Read More]

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Here’s my list of places I’d recommend to go shopping in Chicago, and I’m a 29-year-old electronic musician / DJ / nerd / biz-geek with no kids who visits clubs and bars on a regular basis. I’ve left off a few places that I occasionally stop into but wouldn’t recommend wholeheartedly (Urban Outfitters & Crossroads on Milwaukee, and The Alley at Belmont & Halsted, for instance. While I can sometimes find an interesting pair of shoes at The Alley, for the most part it caters to suburban teens [ala Hot Topic] and Fetish-ists / Goths / Punks and Rockabillies. *yawn*) Here are some photos of me in clothes I’ve bought from the following places: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Wicker Park: Milwaukee Ave.

G-Star Raw (Women / Men)
1525 N. Milwaukee Ave.
“The New Diesel” and my new favorite store (when I can afford it), it has crazy streetwear that will definitely get you noticed. The jeans are pretty expensive but just OK–they don’t have the distinctiveness of their other pieces.
BRANDS: G-Star Raw only

Una Mae’s Freak Boutique (Women / Men)
1422 N. Milwaukee Ave.
“Eccentric” is a good word for this place. There’s quite a bit of vintage and / or “reconstituted” vintage, there are a great deal of local designers represented, but there are also new pieces in the mix. There were a lot knitted goods when I was there, and many of their pieces seem to have ta handmade quality about them.
BRANDS: Gentle Fawn, Syrup, Dollhouse, Epoch, Steady, Dragonfly, Autoura, Dying Orchid, Mary Larkin

Another Level (Women / Men)
1420 N Milwaukee
Back in the early-to-mid 90s this was a place on the South side where you would get tickets for raves, and while you were there, pick up phat pants, t-shirts and vinyl. They’ve since expanded to a number of locations out in the suburbs, but the music culture overlap is still there–albeit at this point it’s of the shiny-shirted mainstream, likely-lame variety. Still, the clothes are pretty trendy and most of them are definitely for wearing out to clubs.
BRANDS: Ben Sherman, Skinny Minnie, Headline, Glamhead, Monarchy, 1921, Affliction, Edward Dada, Pathway, Bleeding Star, Chii, Nexo, Aqua VI, Sinful, Drifter, One Life

I’m never shopping at Another Level again. Check out the review I wrote on Yelp.

Belmont Army (Women / Men)
1318 N Milwaukee Ave.
Downstairs you’ll find real army surplus, but upstairs is where it’s at. Everything is trendy, unique, and pricey, but it has one of the most unique clothing collections in the city
BRANDS: Kitchen Orange, Spiewalk, Ben Sherman, Triple 5 Soul, Onitsuka Tiger, Fornaria, Tsubo, Saucony, Diesel, Converse, Paul Frank, Miss Sixty

Futurgarb (Women / Men)
1359 N. Milwaukee Ave.
This tiny boutique has some funky excellently urban-trendy clothes, and their clearance rack has some real finds. Sunglasses at around 15-20 bucks are of-the moment.
BRANDS: Groggy, Caffeine, 7 Diamonds, e-division, Industry, Groggy, Ezekiel, Split, Stussy, Gentle Fawn, Billabong, Tank Farm, Zinc, Love Nico, Chrome Industries, Dollhouse, Drifter, Buffalo, RZST

Wicker Park: North Ave

City Soles (Women / Men)
1566 N Damen Ave
City Soles sells trendier, more casual and affordable styles while it’s roommate, Niche sells seriously upscale yet funky footware
BRANDS: Fornarina, Puma, Tsubo, Cydwoq, Yin, Jeffery Campbell, Ted Baker, Kenneth Cole

Untitled (Women / Men)
1941 W North Ave
Another former rave-era outfitter, this one has gone the way of trendy and pricey, but there are still cool pieces about. These days it reminds me of walking around in East Village in New York. The men’s section is definitely bigger, but there are more women’s shoes. Saturdays they bring in a DJ to spin while you shop..
BRANDS: Triple 5 Soul, Diesel, Fornarina, Gravis, Nooka, 555 DSL, Fresh Jive, J. Lindeberg, Adidas, Paul Frank, Penguin, Puma, Ben Sherman, Modern Amusement, Fred Perry, True Religion, Gsus

TK Men (Men)
1909 W. North Ave
They have free beer on tap in the back of this super trendy men’s boutique. It’s all incredibly pricey, but outstandingly original. You’ll see lots of trendy suits and blazers in the front and as you move back you’ll see more of the casual collection.
BRANDS: 9 Lives, Blood Sweat & Tears, Bacco Bucci, Cadillac Hammer, Buddhist Punk, Cashlords, Edward Dada, J. Lindeberg, King Baby, Loser, Love Nico, Mezlan, Super Real, Uppercut

Akira Shoes (Women)
1849 W North Avenue
Fabulously trendy yet affordable, when you find a shoe you love in your size, buy it right away or you’ll be out of luck when the next person in your size snags the same pair. Akira also has its own line, which is quite cheap although not very sturdy.
BRANDS: BCBG, Diesel, Oh-Deer, Jessica Simpson, Chinese Laundry, Nicole, Puma

Akira Men (Men)
1922 W North Ave.
Many excellent t-shirts can be found here, the men’s version of Akira for Women.
BRANDS: Heavy Rotation, Puma, English Laundry, Le Tigre, Hummel, Ben Sherman,
Black Hearts Brigade, Blend, Blue Law, Brooklyn Industries, Brown Sound, Buffalo, Caffeine,
Capital Mercury Apparel, Dekker, Division E, Dragonfly, Drifter, Hard 8, Hendrix, Joseph Alexander, Junkfood, Live Mechanics, Modextil, Hendrix, Monarchy, New Leaf, Parasuco, Pathway, Paul Frank, Polo, Print House Inc., Roar, RVCA, Spray Graphics

Akira (Women)
1837 W North Ave
Incredibly trendy with pieces at all price levels, although the super cheap ones will probably only last as long as they are in style. They also have a loyalty card program to encourage you to feed your addiction.
BRANDS: Kitchen Orange, Gentle Fawn, Paul Frank, Akira, 213 Industry, 949, B-B-Dakota, BCBG Girls, Ben Sherman, Burn N Violet, Dolce Vita, Free People, Gentle Fawn, Hazel, Jedidah Clothing, Junkfood, Kenzie, Le Tigre, Made U Look, Monarchy, Spray Graphics,

Bucktown: Damen Ave

p.45 (Women)
1643 North Damen Avenue
Stocking up and coming local designers, this small boutique has clothes you likely won’t find any where else in the city.
BRANDS: Development, Phillip Lim, Beaumenay Joannet, Bing Bang, Chip&Pepper

HIM / HER (Women / Men) [CLOSING as of 5/29/2007]
1653 N Damen Ave
A teeny litle boutique that’s stylish and has free beer and Playboys for perusal.
BRANDS: J. Lindeberg, Diesel, Raw-7, Rock & Republic, Ed Hardy, 7 Diamonds, Serfontaine, English Laundry

Ukrainian Village / West Division St

Casa de Soul (Women | Men)
This teeny shop has modern soul as its inspiration, along with funky accessories, purses, jewelry, and clothing. There’s often a mildly rasta theme that’s often seen on accessories or in colors choices.
BRANDS: DDP, Shmack, Rockers Worldwide, Caffeine, Petro Jeans, LTB jeans, Klozhorse, Hussy Jr, Vintage red, Blu Law, Rzst, Dubwise, Ubiquity, Soul Rebel, Sudaca, English Laundry, The People Have Spoken, Drifter, Sworn Virgins, Soca, Sweet and Toxic, Anna Fong, Ori by Cyndi Chan, Heroine chic, Hussy Jr, BB Dakota, Double Zero, Miss Me, Catch A Fire (By Cedalla Marley), Petro Jeans, LTb Jeans (By Little Big), Bartak Denim, Split

Steelo (Women) [CLOSED]
1850 West Division Street
BRANDS: Pink Studio, Pajar, Baci, Detny, Poetic License, Mizmooz, On Your Feet

Penelope’s
BRANDS: APC, April/May, Anzevino & Florence, Built by Wendy, Charlotte Ronson, Spiewalk, We Clothing, Wrangler 47, Xgla

Espace
1205 N Milwaukee Ave
I have yet to browse the racks here but it looks cool.

Thr3ee
1632 W Division St
Pick a t-shirt or a hoodie, then flip through one of the design books to apply your decoration of choice.

Koi8 [CLOSED] 1927 W. Chicago Ave
Lots of graphic-designer tshirts–very funky and trendy and not too spendy.

Lakeview: Belmont and Halsted

Ragstock (Women / Men)
812 W Belmont Ave
This small midwestern chain has piles and piles of affordable clothes, hand-picked vintage & thrift, and all kinds of costumes and accessories. There is a smaller store over on Milwaukee i Wicker Park but this one is far superior.
BRANDS: various

Pink Frog (Women)
905 W Belmont Ave
This is a great little spot for cheap sexy heels & boots as well as funky casual shoes. Right now since flats are in they have two racks devoted to all sorts of variations on the theme, from skull-n-bones printed modified Chuck Taylor-esque snearker/flats to more traditional choices you could wear to work.
BRANDS: Rocket Dog, Soda, Chinese Laundry

DSW (Women / Men)
3131 N Clark Street
If you didn’t find anything at Pink Frog, head around the corner to this chain featuring last season’s shoes (thousands of them!) at a steep discount.

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