Chris Strouth

On the Replacements' long shadow, and achin' to be out of it

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else.The Catholic Church figured out something during the middle ages: If you build a church to look like a castle, the serfs will feel safe in its massive ... More >>

I discovered MTV the week after I tried to kill myself

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else. My creative life has featured a strong thread of discovering music. The first time I saw MTV, I was overcome with all the happiness and joy expected ... More >>

David Bowie's The Next Day marks the return of the world's greatest chameleon

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else.There is a quote from the actor Cary Grant about what's it like to be him: "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant." That has ... More >>

My friends tried to save my soul with Christian metal

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else.When asked about my religion, my go-to joke has always been "I am a recovering Catholic;  got my ten-year wafer even." I grew up Catholic -- whic ... More >>

How I burned the guys who wanted me to burn my KISS records

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else.Coming of age in the '80s had a lot of complexities. Parachute pants made us look ridiculous, puberty hit right as Time magazine was running weekly s ... More >>

How I lost my record store virginity at Northern Lights

Makes No Sense At All captures the visions, ramblings, and memories of Chris Strouth, a Twin Cities-bred master of music, film, and everything else.My first record-buying experience at Northern Lights was a bit like losing my virginity. It was a little awkward, a tad messy, a whole lot of embarrassm ... More >>

RIP DJ Man-X, founder of House Nation Under a Groove

By Chris Strouth Thomas Spiegel, also known as DJ Man-X, passed away on December 30, 2012, in Miami Beach. He was 47. A DJ regular at First Avenue, Spiegel hosted his House Nation Under A Groove nights of soulful house music around the Twin Cities, Spiegel also was an investment banker and eventu ... More >>

Mark Mallman on making Double Silhouette a $10 million album

Just off the wheels of Marathon IV: Road Rogue, a week-long song performed during a trek from New York to Los Angeles, performer extraordinaire Mark Mallman has unveiled his latest CD, Double Silhouette. Renowned for his high-energy dramatic performances and marathon song cycles, Mallman has won a h ... More >>

Mark Mallman's Marathon 4 is in progress! Minneapolis stop details

Dear internet, Mark Mallman is on his way to making some sort of musical history this week. Known for his feats of technological and musical mayhem, Mallman and his team are heading cross-country to create a seven-day documentary song in a pimped-out 1992 Vandura conversion van. The project began in ... More >>

First Avenue's 20 best concerts: The complete list

Related:First Avenue: An archived history via flyers, riders & contractsFirst Avenue's 40 years of rock 'n' rollTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete listFirst Avenue is undoubtedly among the premier rock clubs in the country -- possibly the world. Since 1970, the building at the interse ... More >>

First Avenue's 20 best concerts: #10-1

Related:Slideshow: First Avenue: An archived history via flyers, riders & contracts First Avenue's 20 best concerts: #20-11First Avenue's 40 years of rock 'n' rollTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete list10. Basement Jaxx, First Avenue, 10/08/01Basement Jaxx's first appearance in Minne ... More >>

First Avenue's 20 best concerts: #20-11

Related:First Avenue's 40 years of rock 'n' rollTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete list50 cool facts about the Minnesota music sceneMinneapolis music scene named second-best in the U.S.First Avenue is undoubtedly among the premier rock clubs in the country -- possibly the world. Since 197 ... More >>

Letters to the Editor: Mad About Us

Readers respond to Best of issue

Czeslaw's Loop unites dozens of local musicians for massive riverside Art-A-Whirl project

​What started as an annual tradition during Art-A-Whirl has now transformed into a project of monumental proportions. Previously known as the Boat Project, which would invite local noise and experimental rock bands to play on the roof of a houseboat and out in the middle of the Mississippi River b ... More >>

Mark Mallman Marathon 3 live blog, day 4

​This is it, people. We're in the home stretch of Mark Mallman's 78-hour song, which he started performing on Thursday afternoon at the Turf and will wrap up tonight at 10 p.m.For reasons not even we can explain, we've been live-blogging the majority of Marathon 3 here on Gimme Noise, and will con ... More >>

Mark Mallman's Marathon 3 co-stars reflect on their contributions to the ultimate performance

Photos by Erik Hess​Some of us may remember when our friend Mark Mallman decided to do his first "Marathon" in 1999. Knowing Mark, it didn't seem weird that he would attempt such a stunt. The man has far too much energy and tends to be one of those creative juggernauts that fill the Twin Cities mu ... More >>

Mark Mallman Marathon 3 live blog, day 2

Photo by Erik Hess​While the rest of us slept last night, tucked away warm in our beds, Mark Mallman continued laboring away during the first overnight lap of his Marathon 3, which continues through Sunday.We're picking up where we left off last night to find out how the Marathon is going so far - ... More >>

Mark Mallman's kicks off his Marathon 3

Photo by Erik Hess​Mark Mallman kicked off his third marathon performance at the Turf Club at 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon to a small but intent crowd and several video cameras (watch the live stream online here). Gimme Noise will be checking in on Mallman as he attempts to play for 78 hours strai ... More >>

The Kidneys Are Alright benefit this Sunday at Club Jäger

​A little less than a year ago Chris Strouth used a new tool to solve an old problem: finding a kidney to combat his IGA nephropathy (Harold, for short). He went to Twitter. You can read more about that story here and here, but suffice it to say: his 140-character gambit worked, and his new kidney ... More >>

Chris Strouth and his Twittered kidney headline 501 Club party tonight

William the Conqueror vanquished Harold, and now it's time for a party.

Wellstone, Hedberg, Sealy among notable Minnesotans lost this decade

It'll be a long time before the sting of these deaths fades.

Chris Strouth Tweets for a kidney

Twin Cities musician finds new life through social networking

Chris Strouth, Scott Pakudaitis share a Twitter kidney

Chris Strouth and Scott Pakudaitis are recovering, and Harold is now at the mercy of William the Conqueror.

Twitter may save Chris Strouth's life

Sometimes, virtual friends and followers can turn out to be flesh-and-blood lifesavers.

Picked to Click XVII: complete ballots

Tell Us What You Really Think...

Picked to Click Voters spew forth their most vehement opinions about the local music scene

Picked to Click

To those who have recently begun to rock, we salute you

Get on the bus to the Minnesota Music Awards

I Hate 1984

The music and movies were epochal. The politics were abysmal. A poison valentine to the year that won't go away.

Cut Short

Remembering Sonia Peterson, chief of the Hair Police and scenester extraordinaire

Everybody Wins

Polls and punditry for the best new bands in town

Picked to Click XII

Hail the Conquering Heroes: Polls and Praise for This Year's Best New Artists

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

Audiences chew on a film-fest twofer: Central Standard's indie films and Sound Unseen's musical movies

This is a Recording

Local labels are redefining the way to make music

Picked to Click

The 11th Annual City Pages New Music Poll

Hooked on Sonics

Two young curators with strikingly different styles make Sonic Circuits a joltingly diverse electronic-music festival

Sound Check

Swing Backward, Drone Ahead

The Future's Imperfect and the Past Is Always Here

Bring in the Noise

From Wrong's free-improv chaos to Savage Aural Hotbed's circle-saw precision, a disparate local noise scene maps the sound of modern anxiety

Yes Future!

Ousia breaks up. Ana Voog leaves her bedroom. The mother ship of knob-twaddling electronic music descends for a local showcase.

Picked To Click VIII

It's an odd, autonomous, anomalous year for the 1998 City Pages New Music Poll.

Return to Sender

Best Buy announces that the CD-release party is over.

Minnesota Music Online

PICKED TO CLICK PART 7: It's New to You!

The 1997 City Pages New Music Poll
Moon's Over Minneapolis: Brother Sun Sister Moon rise in the north

Who Are These Girls & Guys?

That's a bigger question than usual in our 1996 new music poll.

Music Notes

Mood School