Complaints Choir draws from local gripes

CHICAGO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The Chicago Complaints Choir has created a musical act composed of kvetchings submitted by grumpy locals.

The choir's lyrics contain grievances including "my dead grandma always votes for the wrong candidate," "the office equipment is out to get me," "my ex-husband still lives in Chicago,'' and "cabs speed up when I cross the street,'' the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday.

The first Complaints Choir convened in Birmingham, England, in 2005 to lament the high price of beer, low sex drives and jobs with no direction. Finland picked up on the idea in 2006 with a musical tribute to body odor on public transport, annoying cell phone ring tones and outsourcing of jobs to China.

Complaints Choirs sprung up soon after in Jerusalem; Melbourne, Australia; and Budapest, Hungary.

The Chicago Complaints Choir -- which concedes that drunken Cubs fans are obnoxious, but not as bad as Cardinals fans -- will hit the stage with their first performance Saturday at the city's Museum of Contemporary Art, the Sun-Times said.