Adventures in Modern Music...and Film

While the main attraction of The Wire's annual Adventures in Modern Music festival is undoubtedly the 5-day stretch of great underground music at The Empty Bottle, the event also boasts some amazing film screenings at the Siskel Film Center throughout the entire month of September. The film series began Sunday night with the Chicago premiere of Kill Your Idols, with a repeat screening tonight at 8:15pm. New York’s art-punk and No Wave scene was explosive and short-lived. Imagine a musical movement reacting against the “conservatism” of The Ramones, The Heartbreakers, Patti Smith, and Television. “We weren’t trying to make music, we were trying to be monsters,” remarks Teenage Jesus and The Jerks’ bassist Jim Sclavunos. Made for under $300 in the spirit of the music it illuminates, this ultra low budget film takes us from the early days of Lydia Lunch, Suicide, Glenn Branca, and DNA to a newer generation owing a debt to that raucous musical moment: Sonic Youth, the Liars, Black Dice, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and A.R.E. Weapons. For the complete schedule of screenings, go the Empty Bottle's Web site or click on the "music movies" tab on the Siskel Film Center site. The live music adventures start at The Bottle on Wednesday, the 21st.