Few record labels signify the American counterculture movement of the 1960s as much as ESP-Disk, founded by New York lawyer Bernard Stollman in 1964. Over the course of about 120 albums and nearly a decade, the ESP catalog covered a wide range of music, from free jazz and experimental, unclassifiable sounds to protest folk, psychedelic rock and proto-punk. In this case, "ESP" is shorthand for Esperanto, and most titles had their address and ordering information printed in the universal language. The label's first release, little-known except to collectors, was an album of sing-along folk music in Esperanto, entitled Ni Kantu en Esperanto (Let's Sing in Esperanto). ESP-Disk shut down in 1975 after several years of financial troubles. more ›

Music Mondays at the Drafthouse is traveling to weird intergalactic territories with this week’s offering Space is the Place starring jazz great Sun Ra. more ›

See any good shows this weekend? Don't forget to send us your Reader Weekend Reviews! Send 'em here. M O N D A Y music · Green Potato Ventures presents Chicago's The City on Film, Stories from the Frontier and Sad Accordians at Emo's. Inside, 10pm [myspace stream: Stories From the Frontier] [mp3: The City On Film - For Holly] music · "Puyo Punk Music for All": Gadjo Bango at The Parlor [mp3: Gadjo Bango... more ›