NP: tunes for the Ripleys gig this afternoon

Steve Carell, from his Onion A.V. Club interview:

I felt New York was too big and too intimidating, and I felt the same thing about Los Angeles. And I thought Chicago would just be a good place to work and get my feet wet and not have that idea of ultimate success. So I personally never really thought about who was in the audience, or who might be scoping for new talent. Chicago was sort of insulated that way. I never felt people were showcasing themselves. I felt like it was about just doing the work, just doing what we were doing.

Obviously, he's talking about comedy and acting, but this is exactly what I like about this city with regard to music as well. It seems more about the craft and not about getting famous, which is why ultra-ambitious artists -- whether they're actors or musicians -- seem so incongruous when you run into them.