Pitchfork

Most people just complain about stuff. Some people actually do something about it. And some people actually do something about it that involves complaining about stuff.

Enter celebrated artists/musical ombudspersons Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, who've spent the past few years turning qualms to tunes and bickering throngs to sonorous Complaints Choirs. It all begin officially in Birmingham (UK) back in 2005, when the pair invited residents to sound off, then spun those gripes into song-- which the complainers then sung as part of the very first Complaints Choir.

Following subsequent successes in Helsinki and St. Petersburg, Kalleinen and Kochta-Kalleinen are now poised to bring their inventive concept to the United States. The debut U.S. Complaints Choir performance will take place November 3 at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art (the MCA, if you're hip like that). It's being presented under the auspices of the museum, Windy City imprint Smog Veil Records, and the Chicago Humanities Festival.

Here's where you come in. The artists are inviting locals to submit their complaints and share their voices in belting them out. Interested parties may shoot an email to complaintschoir@yahoo.com or register (by October 1) at the Smog Veil website.

For a taste of what you're getting into, consult the videos of previous performances linked below. The Birmingham clip is worth a peep for the mid-song breakdown (near the 4:45 mark) alone.

And you thought only Morrissey could make an art of whining?