Chicago Songs to Ease the Sear/Willis Tower Transition

Playlist

It all started with radio deejays smartly arranging their sets to tell a story, educate or maximize the music's impact. Later, it was picked up by legions of amateur cassette-dubbing artists who specially tailored mixes for their friends, boyfriend or girlfriends (or that one person for whom they so deeply pined). Now, in the age of iTunes, the Playlist is the new mixtape. Paste carries on a proud tradition with this new blog.

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So long, Sears Tower. While the iconic Chicago skyscraper still stands tall (the tallest in the U.S., in fact), its name does not.

Willis Tower is now its moniker, dubbed so by Willis Group Holdings, a London-based insurance broker that began leasing in a big chunk of the building in March 2009 and snatched up the naming rights. The switcheroo occurred officially today, but most Chicagoans and their suburban counterparts aren't taking the transition so smoothly. A Facebook group opposing the name change has tens of thousands of members already, and there are early reports of taxi drivers reacting with confusion when directed to the Willis Tower.

Here at Paste, we sympathize with Windy City citizens mourning the death of the legendary Sears moniker, so here's a Chicago-themed playlist in tribute to the celebrated city.