Chris Mills

This fellow Northwestern alum has done me proud. I was introduced, musically, to Chris by a friend on a mix tape. You see last century, we had these devices for storing music called tapes because there was a long piece of tape inside and people would make mix tapes for each other. The song was Aren't You the One, which is short and wonderful. It's on his debut album Every Night Fight For Your Life, which was release in 1998. It's a fine album with a few gems on it. The aforementioned Aren't You the One, the equally-mellow Stakes Is High, the upbeat Fire For You, and the complex 1,000 Blue Eyed Girls are highlights of the album. All of the songs on are keepers. My only complaint is the jarring transition from Aren't You the One, to the second song, Delaware. I like Delaware, the songs not the state I don't know the state, but I'm feeling all nice and calm and then my nerves get jangled. Other than that, a first-rate piece of musical musings.

His second album, Kiss It Goodbye, picks up where Fight left off, in the parking lot of that Ralph's on LaBrea. What? I don't know. For me the crown jewel of the album is Watch Chain, which is a sad, but beautiful song, full of emotion. Throughout the album and in particular on Tooth and Nail, Chris makes fine use of the violin. Who doesn't like a nice violin? Napkin In a Wine Glass is an example of a lovely song that is disturbing and, well, sort of depressing.

I've had the pleasure of seeing Chris Mills play twice both times in NYC. The first time was at Time Cafe in Manhattan. I got to meet him and we shared NU and WNUR stories, we were both DJs and WNUR. The second time was in Williamsburg at this tiny bar and again I got to talk to him for a bit. He's a very nice fellow and he puts on a good show. OK then.