In keeping with the holiday spirit, Arcade Fire has set out to help raise money for Kanpe, an organization helping to rebuild Haiti. The band has promised to match donations up to $300,000. Along with helping raise money for Haiti, band members Régine Chassagne and Win Butler have stated that they will send a personally signed postcard to each individual that donates.

On their website lead singer Butler wrote:

Hi Guys,
This is Win from Arcade Fire. If you are having a hard time deciding what to get your friends and family for gifts this year, give them our money! For any donation you make to Kanpe this holiday season, the band will match it. We will also send a nifty little post card, signed by Regine and I, to put under the tree, or wherever you put your gifts (it’s not our business). For any silicone valley jerks who might try to bankrupt us, let’s put the upper limit at 300,000$… Have a great holiday!
Luv, Win

For those interested in donating you can visit Arcade Fire’s website here.

The Suburbs

After a night where The Black Keys took home Alternative Rock Album of the Year, Arcade Fire finished the night with the biggest honor of the evening. Following a spectacular performance of their song Month of May, the Canadian group surprisingly defeated commercial acts including Lady Antebellum, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry. Achieving easily the biggest victory for Merge Records in recent memory, Arcade Fire accepted the award and set back to performing another fantastic track from The Suburbs, “Ready to Start.” This marks the first award for the band, and starting by winning Album of the Year is a feat hard to top. Quickly following their victory, the official twitter account for the band posted, “OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. Thank you EVERYONE.”

Congratulations to the band on their massive successes.

The year is winding down, and the end of another year provides an influx of best of lists. In an attempt to help all of you out there sift through the huge amount of lists, I decided to have one place to find everybody’s lists. Below I’ve added a ton of the best of lists from a variety of music publications and sites below. In an effort to keep it nice an concise I’ve only put their top five, but if you would like to see their entire lists I have a link to view it as well. Enjoy!

Rolling Stone

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. The Black Keys- Brothers

3. Elton John and Leon Russell- The Union

4. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

NME

1. These New Puritans- Hidden

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

5. Laura Marling- I Speak Because I Can

Spin

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

3. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

4. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

Pitchfork

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

3. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

4. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

5. Beach House- Teen Dream

Stereogum

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. Sufjan Stevens- The Age of Adz

5. Robyn- Body Talk

Paste

1. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

2. Janelle Monae- The ArchAndroid

3. Mumford and Sons- Sigh No More

4. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

5. Titus Andronicus- The Monitor

Spinner

1. Beach House- Teen Dream

2. The National- High Violet

3. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

4. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

5. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

Cokemachineglow

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. Flying Lotus- Cosmogramma

5. Frog Eyes- Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph

Another year is practically in the books, and with it comes time to recapture our favorite moments in music from the past year. I sought to get a large number of Daytime deejays to give us their favorite albums of the past year. And what a year it was! Below is the collection of great albums as decided by a great deal of Daytime deejays. See you next year!

Just John

1. Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. Future Islands – In Evening Air
4. Caribou – Swim
5. Sharon Van Etten – Epic

May Day

1. Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. Vampire Weekend- Contra
4. Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt
5. Twin Shadow – Forget

DJ Elly May

1. Bob Dylan – The Original Mono Recordings
2. The Black Angels – Phosphene Dream
3. Dark Dark Dark – Wild Go
4. Spoon – Transference
5. Jimi Hendrix – Valleys of Neptune

LOLCait

1. Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues
2. Various Artists – Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: The Songs of John Prine
3. John Prine – In Person & On Stage
4. Megafaun – Heretofore
5. Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt

N!cole

1. Cotton Jones – Tall Hours in the Glowstream
2. Y La Bamba – Lupon
3. Breathe Owl Breathe – Magic Central
4. Casiokids – Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar
5. Harlem – Hippies

DJ Jacoblivion

1. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
2. The National – High Violet
3. Ratatat – LP4
4. Bassnectar – Timestretch
5. Jaga Jazzist – One-Armed Bandit

SarahNade

1. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
2. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
3. The Black Keys – Brothers
4. Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
5. Yeasayer – Odd Blood

Anastassia

1. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
2. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
3. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II
4. Warpaint – The Fool
5. Phantogram – Eyelid Movies

Professor X

1. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
2. Owen Pallett – Heartland
3. The Books – The Way Out
4. Beach House – Teen Dream
5. Yeasayer – Odd Blood

Hurricane Julia

1. Peggy Sue – Fossils and Other Phantoms
2. Tallest Man on Earth – Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird
3. Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the Cairo Gang – Wonder Show of the World
5. Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas – Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas

DJ Ones

1. The National – High Violet
2. Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
3. The Black Keys – Brothers
4. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
5. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More

Agent Orange

1. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
2. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
3. Caribou – Swim
4. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
5. Twin Shadow – Forget

DJ Mensch

1. The National – High Violet
2. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
3. Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks
4. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
5. Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard

DJ Ray

1. Beach House – Teen Dream
2. Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me
3. Sharon Van Etten – Epic
4. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
5. Julian Lynch – Mare

Hot Tamale

1. Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt
2. The Black Keys – Brothers
3. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
4. The National – High Violet
5. Blair – Die Young

The DONoftime

1. Tame Impala – Inner Speaker
2. Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
3. MGMT – Congratulations
4. Spoon – Transference
5. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

Mollypop

1. Crooked Still – Some Strange Country
2. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
3. Steeldrivers – Reckless
4. Chatham County Line – Wildwood
5. Darren Hanlon – I Will Love You At All

DJ Kligz

1. The Tender Fruit - Flotsam and Krill
2. Future Islands – In Evening Air
3. Sharon Van Etten – Epic
4. Beach House – Teen Dream
5. Sleigh Bells – Treats

Lovely Lucia

1. The Love Language – Libraries
2. Future Islands – In Evening Air
3. Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt
4. Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
5. MGMT – Congratulations

Riff Raff

1. Future Islands – In Evening Air
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. The Morning Benders – Big Echo
4. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
5. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

Monsieur Mêmes

1. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
2. Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
3. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
4. Bear Hands – Burning Bush Supper Club
5. Four Tet – There Is Love in You

Tommyboy

1. Future Islands – In Evening Air
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
4. Caribou – Swim
5. Four Tet – There is Love in You

Goof

1. Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
2. LCD SoundSystem – This is Happening
3. Beach House – Teen Dream
4. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
5. Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt

Major Tom

1. Matt and Kim - Sidewalks
2. Suckers – Wild Smile
3. Future Islands – In Evening Air
4. Gold Panda – Lucky Shiner
5. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms

Synthesiser Patel

1. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
2. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
3. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
4. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
5. Maximum Balloon – Maximum Balloon

AndyQ

1. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
2. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
3. Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt
4. Vampire Weekend – Contra
5. Broken Bells – Broken Bells

Chuck

1. Salem – King Night
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. The National – High Violet
4. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
5. Zola Jesus – Stridulum/Valusia

Jacob

1.  Superchunk – Majesty Shredding
2.  Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
3.  Free Electric State - Caress
4.  Various Artists – Scott Pilgrim VS the World
5.  Royal Baths – After Death

What are some of your favorite albums of 2010? Leave your comments in the comment section below.

WKNC Pick of the Week, December 2, 2010

By John Gomes, WKNC Daytime deejay

It’s that lovely time of the year where we put up Christmas lights, enjoy egg nog shakes at Cook Out and look back on the year that was. 2010 proved to be an eventful year, despite all the terrible moments — earthquakes, oil spills, that bad call in the Maryland football game — this year saw the release of some good albums. I highly recommend my personal Top Five list for your listening pleasure over break.

1) Yeasayer—Odd Blood

Yeasayer's Odd Blood

The sophomore release from this eclectic group is a warm, pop-infused masterpiece—a curious departure from the darkness of their 2007 debut album. Yeasayer introduces huge, pulsing synths and primal rhythms into their sound, resulting in some infectiously upbeat and organic numbers. Odd Blood isn’t one-dimensional, however. The album features a couple of heavier, darker tracks to balance out the pop sound. Yeasayer remains experimental as ever, exploring everything from R&B to Middle Eastern dance music. The end result is a well-rounded, highly enjoyable album. (Bonus points for the band self-producing it.)

2) Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Arcade Fire's The Suburbs

Possibly the most anticipated album of the year, Arcade Fire’s third release garnered universal praise. Like Odd Blood, The Suburbs represents a new sonic direction for Arcade Fire—gone are the Baroque sounds and grand crescendos that defined the band’s sound. Instead, the album maintains a latent energy throughout every song, steadfast rhythms layered with rich textures and tones. These elements form the perfect vehicle for the album’s main concept — innocence and coming-of-age set in the backdrop of suburbia. Poignant and poised, The Suburbs is Arcade Fire’s best release yet.

3) Best Coast – Crazy For You

Best Coast's Crazy For You

Though many artists are doing the retro surf-rock thing nowadays, Best Coast does it best. The group is led by Bethany Cosentino, whose approach is refreshingly simple — reverb-heavy guitars, easy chord progressions and honest lyrics about boys, her cat or getting high. Sure, it seems like a third-grader can write these songs — “One day I’ll make him mine / And we’ll be together all the time” — but there is beauty in the simplicity. The songs on Crazy For You are little pieces of pop perfection — they’re sweet, short, and will stay in your head for days. Put this album on and you’ll feel like you’re on a beach.

4) Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record

Broken Social Scene is a rather apt name for the group whose massive lineup continuously changes. With so many band members playing so many instruments and adding so many sounds and textures, Forgiveness Rock Record is inevitably orchestral and grandiose. Each song exhibits a different dimension of beauty, from the majestic climaxes of “World Sick” to the melodic angularity of “Art House Director.” Though not as cohesive as previous albums, Forgiveness Rock Record is still classic Broken Social Scene — lush, resplendent and larger than life.

5) Caribou – Swim

Caribou's Swim

Dan Snaith, who operates under the name Caribou, is an electronica artist and British mathematician. Naturally, you wouldn’t expect those two things to go together. Swim evokes the same reaction with its out-of-left-field collection of tracks. Flip-floppy synths, divine bell chimes, and even jazzy flute flourishes all coalesce atop powerful, danceable grooves while whispery vocals echo and modulate in and out of your consciousness. This is not your father’s electronica album. Each and every song evolves into something surreal at the end, with elements of rock, jazz and psychedelica thrown in the mix. Out of all the albums on this list, Swim sounds the most transcendental.

88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week is published in every Friday in the print edition of Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.

Recently I sat down with my good pal DJ Elly May to go over what we thought were some of the biggest let-downs of 2010. This is not to say that either of us hated any of the albums that we listed (although in some cases that was most certainly the case), rather, these are albums that we thought would deliver but sadly did not. Elly May and myself sat behind the mic and discussed in depth what let us down this year, and we have that conversation below. For those of you out there who just want to figure out the set of albums we were underwhelmed with, I have conveniently listed them below in no particular order. Stay tuned to our blog to see what Daytime deejays have thought of as the best albums of 2010 in the next weeks.

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DJ Elly May

1. Kate Nash- My Best Friend is You

2. Tunng- And Then We Saw Land

3. Rogue Wave- Permalight

4. Broken Bells- Broken Bells

5. Dead Weather- Sea of Cowards

6. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

DJ Ones

1. Marina and the Diamonds- The Family Jewels

2. The Drums- The Drums

3. M.I.A- /\/\/\Y/\

4. Klaxons- Surfing the Void

5. Band of Horses- Infinite Arms

6. Interpol- Interpol

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Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs"

1. Arcade Fire have been nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year with their latest release “The Suburbs.” In response to the nomination member Win Butler stated, “We are very proud of the record we made and feel incredibly blessed that so many people have gotten it! For those of you who don’t understand how gambling works, if something is 100 to 1 odds and you put down 10 dollars, you win 1000 dollars… I’m just saying.” (via Stereogum)

2. Actor Michael Cera is now playing in the new Sub Pop band Mister Heavenly. The actor, known for his roles in Juno and Arrested Development is now the bass player for Mister Heavenly. However, this does not make him an official member of the band as indicated by a Sub Pop representative who said, “As of right now he is not an official member, just playing with the guys on this tour.” (via NME)

3. The Joy Formidable have given information about their debut full length. The album titled “The Big Roar” is due to be released in the UK on Jan. 24 and in the US a couple of months later on March 15. (via NME)

4. Bright Eyes is set to return with a new album titled “The People’s Key” on Feb. 15. This will be the band’s first since their 2007 release “Cassagada.” (via Pitchfork)

5. Wolf Parade are to go on indefinite hiatus. In a statement by singer Spencer Krug during their recent show in Toronto he announced, “This is the last show we’ll play for a long time.” The band has since said they will play just a few shows in 2011. (via Spinner)

I am always on the look-out for unique music videos, and typically, indie bands pull through with quality footage. However, Arcade Fire’s new video for “We Used To Wait” trumps them all.

Chris Milk used GoogleChrome technology to create an interactive “experience” (because the term “music video” doesn’t do it justice.)

This is how it works: You type in your childhood address. The video will load and when it is ready, a play button will appear. This interactive music video opens a variety of other windows throughout the song, allowing for the viewer to get swept up into the nostalgia.

Close your other browser windows, turn up your speakers, and enjoy.

We are back from the summer break and this week we focus on new releases from Arcade Fire and Best Coast.

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Kathryn Calder Courtesy of Caleb Beyers

1. Arcade Fire has announced specifics for their upcoming album entitled The Suburbs. Earlier in the week, the band released a special 12” single with two songs from the upcoming album. They have also announced a release date in early August. (via NME)

2. MIA has recently tweeted the phone number of a New York Times journalist who recently published an article that detailed the artist in an unflattering light. In response Lynn Hirschberg, the writer whose number was publicly released, responded saying, “She’s a provocateur, and provocateurs want to be provocative.” Hirschberg also stated that she found MIA’s response, “not surprising.” (via Guardian)

3. Due to Bono’s recent back surgery, U2 had to cancel their upcoming tour and headlining of Glastonbury. It was then later released that the band that would be replacing U2 at the upcoming festival would be Gorillaz instead. (via BBC)

4. The New Pornographers‘ Kathryn Calder is set to release her own solo album on August 10th. Following fellow bandmates including Neko Case, Calder’s first solo album is entitled Are You My Mother? (via Pitchfork)

5. David Byrne is suing the Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, alleging that the Talking Heads’ song “Road to Nowhere” was used in an advertisement without permission or proper licensing. Byrne is seeking $1 million in damages. (via ABC)

The 12” single which was previously teased very briefly by Arcade Fire has finally been released to the world. The two songs which are entitled “The Suburbs” and “Month of May” have been highly anticipated, and the unexpected release of these two new tracks already has music press buzzing about the possibilities of the next full length, which is expected sometime later this year. The two tracks have some questioning whether or not the next LP from the band could possibly be a concept album about a dystopian universe.

Arcade Fire

Since the news has been released, the single has popped up in a Glasgow, Scotland, record store, only with a white label that has basic track info. The picture taken by Chris Ward, the man who found the single in Glasgow is below:

Photo Courtesy of Chris Ward

Hear the tracks for yourself:

“Month of May”

“The Suburbs”

**Update**

The Suburbs Cover Art

Since the story broke yesterday afternoon, the band has also announced plans for their upcoming album which will be entitled “The Suburbs.” The album is set to release August 3rd. Will and Win Butler spoke on NPR earlier about the meaning behind their next full length’s title, claiming that is was inspired by their upbringing in Houston.

Fleet Foxes Courtesy of Nilina Mason Campbell

1. Fleet Foxes have announced that its second album will be released sometime during the second half of 2010. Although few information has been given on any name, member Robert Peckfold described the sound as being “less poppy.” He continued, “There are definitely super-upbeat songs that are being worked on for the new record. But as a whole, it’s probably a little bit less upbeat.” (via Pitchfork)

2. Continuing on upcoming album releases, a spokesperson from Arcade Fire has announced that the band will be releasing a new single early next year with a new album coming out some time in the second half of the year. Although the band is expecting the album to be out sometime in second half of next year there is no definite date for the new album’s release. The upcoming record is being produced by Markus Dravs, the same producer that worked on their last full-length “Neon Bible.” (via NME)

3. Pavement’s Scott Kannberg has announced that if the Pavement’s upcoming reunion tour goes well. He said, “I think it is inevitable that we’ll make some more music.” He also mentioned that Pavement is also likely going to add more dates to the upcoming tour due to the high demand for tickets. (via The Age)

4. Hot Chip has announced a comeback single entitled “One Life Stand.” This will also be the title track of their fourth album. The single is set for a early February release. Following the release of its next album the band is planning on touring the UK. (via NME)

5. To finish out the common theme of 2010 releases this week, Cat Power has announced that she is currently working on her follow-up to her 2006 album, “The Greatest.” When she described what her writing process for this new album she added, “It’s just me this time.” Cat Power plans on doing a couple of shows in Australia in December and January. (via Pitchfork)