It’s that time of the year again, and as we say farewell to 2011 and greet 2012 many of us here at WKNC reflected on what the best albums of the year were. Much like the previous two years I sent out a request to the Daytime staff to see what their favorite albums of 2011 were, and below are their top five individual favorites.

 

Sarahnade

 

 

 

 

1. The Dodos- No Color
2. The Decemberists- King is Dead
3. Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues
4. Givers- In Light
5. Future Islands- On the Water

 

Hurricane Julia

 

 

 

 

1. tUnE-yArDs- w h o k i l l
2. Darwin Deez- Wonky Beats
3. Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside- Dirty Radio
4. Tom Waits- Bad as Me
5. Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Wolfroy Goes to Town

 

John

 

 

 

 

1. James Blake- James Blake
2. Rangers- Pan-Am Stories
3. Amen Dunes- Through Donkey Jaw
4. Thee Oh Sees- Carrion Crawler/The Dream
5. Grouper- A I A: Alien Observer/Dream Loss

 

Psychonaut

 

 

 

1. TV on the Radio- Nine Types of Light
2. M83- Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
3. Zola Jesus- Conatus
4. Bon Iver- Bon Iver, Bon Iver
5. Coma Cinema- Blue Suicide

 

DJ Walter-Ego

 

 

 

 

1. Andrew Jackson Jihad- Knife Man
2. Metronomy- The English Riviera
3. Crystal Stilts- In Love With Oblivion
4. Black Lips- Arabia Mountain
5. Starfucker- Reptilians

 

Mollypop

 

 

 

 

1. Sarah Jarosz- Follow Me Down
2. Chris Thile & Michael Daves- Sleep With One Eye Open
3. Bombadil- All the Rain Promises
4. The Decemberists- The King Is Dead
5. Mandolin Orange- Haste Make, Hard Hearted Stranger

 

DJ Radio Dead

 

 

 

 

1. Shabazz Palaces- Black Up
2. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy
3. tUnE-yArDs- w h o k i l l
4. Jay Z and Kanye West- Watch The Throne
5. Radiohead- The King of Limbs

 

DJ Ones

 

 

 

 

1. Wye Oak- Civilian
2. The Dodos- No Color
3. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy
4. Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues
5. James Blake- James Blake

 

May Day

 

 

 

 

1. The Drums- Portamento
2. Future Islands- On the Waterfront
3. Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues
4. The Dodos- No Color
5. The Joy Formidable- The Big Roar

 

DJ Flipside

 

 

 

1. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy
2. Yuck- Yuck
3. Real Estate- Days
4. Delicate Steve- Wondervisions
5. Ponytail- Do Whatever You Want All the Time

 

DJ Mason

 

 

 

 

1. tUnE-yArDs- w h o k i l l
2. Braids- Native Speaker
3. Youth Lagoon- The Year of Hibernation
4. Panda Bear- Tomboy
5. Deerhoof- Deerhoof vs. Evil

 

Anastassia

 

 

 

 

1. Yuck- Yuck
2. Braids- Native Speaker
3. Girls- Father, Son, Holy Ghost
4. Balam Acab- In Motion
5. Real Estate- Days

 

Chuck

 

 

 

 

1. Balam Acab- Wander/Wonder
2. Bon Iver- Bon Iver, Bon Iver
3. Holy Other- With U
4. The Weeknd- House of Balloons
5. Liturgy- Aethethica

 

What are your favorite albums of the year? Comment below.

On Oct. 28, Moogfest 2011 will officially begin in beautiful Asheville, N.C. The festival, now in its second year, brings together artists from across the electronic and experimental music spectrum to celebrate the legacy of synth pioneer and music technology visionary Bob Moog. From musical legends such as Suicide, Tangerine Dream, and Terry Riley to up-and-comers CANT, Oneohtrix Point Never, and araabMUZIK to Amon Tobin‘s elaborate and visually stunning ISAM show, the three-day festival truly provides something for every ear. In the days leading up to, during, and after the festival check back regularly to the WKNC Blog for various Road To Moog features, including interviews with artists playing the festival and reviews and photos from the festival.

Late last week I sent an email out to the WKNC staff to ask them to tell me what their grievances in music are. It’s not quite Festivus yet, but as the school year starts and stress starts to build up, I thought now would be an appropriate time. I left things pretty open. The idea was simple. All they needed to do was send me any pet peeve they had in the music world. From fans, to artists, and everything in between, I received a little bit of everything. Out of all the emails that I have sent to our good-looking staff, this one warranted the greatest response. Below are the musical pet peeves in order that I received them.

Do you have a musical pet peeve? Air your grievances in the comment section below.

La Barba Rossa: Down with the hippie twirl!

DJ Stutterz: People who squeeze in front of you at a show like they are moving and then stand two feet in front of you the whole show. Also people who obnoxiously yell cover song titles in hopes of them being played. People at electronic shows who are more concerned with their glowsticks, glowing/flashing light things, fairy wings then they are with the actual music. I understand that it’s fun to dress up and all but I hate it when there is more focus on the guy twirling a glowstick ball then there is the actual music.

R. Cory Smith: I cannot stand sirens in music. Like that sh*t at the beginning of Drake and Lil Wayne songs. God, that’s awful.

Kyle “El Generalissimo” Robb: When people use “techno” as a blanket term for all electronic music. That 8 foot tall guy at every show who always seems to stake out a spot directly in front of you. You can try leaning to one side, but his subconscious ESP will tell him he needs to lean the same direction.

The Cosmic Cowboy: My pet peeve: the genre of music dubstep.

Mason: Anybody who craps on music on the simple merit that it’s “too mainstream.” At WKNC, we play different music because it’s an opportunity we have as a non-commercial station. We don’t have to worry about corporate giants standing over our shoulders wagging money in our faces. It’s not like all main-stream music is horrible… only some of it is. Music snobbery drives me insane. Just because music doesn’t fit our particular daytime format doesn’t mean that a person who listens to it is an idiot. PS, I freaking love Beyoncé’s new album, Brittney’s ‘new’ album, and Kanye West. I’ve also recently begun to enjoy (I’m behind the times) TLC and Mariah Carey. There is nothing wrong with me. I just appreciate good classics and respect pop hooks from heaven.

Cannibal Cory: I hate it when I listen to a death metal song and can’t eat people at the same time.

Dr. J: My musical pet peeve would be people who, in my opinion, think it’s cool to think Johnny Cash is cool. What do they know about Johnny Cash? I’ve listened to Johnny Cash my entire life. Name me six Johnny Cash songs, poser.

.jose jose.: I hate it when people talk sh*t about an artist during the show and then go tell them how much they loved it afterwards.

Cioffi: Scorpions.

One Cool Dude: When people say, “I listen to everything but rap and country.”

DJ Shorty Fernarnar: Anytime you go to a concert for your favorite band, and the person sitting next to you doesn’t even listen to the band, they’re just going to go. So, they act obnoxious and disrespectful while you’re trying to listen to your favorite tunes.

Emmaroo: Not to bash on musicians, but could they please stop creating epic buildups that make me want to pee my pants with anticipation and then present a mediocre “hook” of no musical merit. Or who have such a great start to end with an inconsequential chorus. Just to throw some bands under the bus: Foals, After Glow and one Andrew Bird Song the name of which escapes me right now. I think it’s from Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs? I can’t remember but it pisses me off. Also when people ask if I’ve heard of a fairly mainstream band and when I say no instead of going “oh it’s awesome! you should listen, you’ll enjoy it” they make a face and utter something along the lines of “where have you been?” or “are you kidding me how have you not heard them?!”.  If you’re that surprised I haven’t heard of the band then just assume I have and don’t ask.

Mollypop: Off beat clapping. Like, I understand you’re excited. I understand you’re drunk. But there is NO NEED to clap when 1) the band hasn’t encouraged the clapping and 2) when you’re off-beat. F**kers.

DJ Saber: Tweeted this as it happened today in class because it really irks me when people blast their music through their headphones IN A DEAD SILENT AREA. Of course I love music, but not when it’s squeezed out of someone else’s ear bud. The result is comparable to screaming child who won’t calm their sh*t. It’s a terrible noise. It’s completely unnecessary to turn your music up on full blast in a quiet place.

Shorty Shorts: Long car rides, like a hour or more, of someone’s musical taste imposed on me (if I don’t like it, of course).  I love the music I listen to, but I like to be conscious enough not to make others listen to it if they don’t want to.  Sure, taste in music is subjective. I get that, and I don’t care what you listen to, but if you make me listen to it… for an extended amount of time… I’ll hate you.

The Voice of Reason: If I go to a show, I dread seeing folks stand about like the sedated undead. It happens so often as to not be a pet peeve anymore, but it’s disheartening to bop around while folks shuffle their feet like having fun is a felony.

Psychonaut: Bands who save their best songs for the encore. Not that I don’t enjoy hearing those songs, but because it invalidates the whole idea of the encore. An encore is supposed to be for a band that does a great job and entertains the crowd enough that they want more and more. Instead, they’ve become a farce where it’s essentially the band just taking a break and enjoying a forced round of applause and cheering from the crowd.

DJ Bunch: People who keep moshing during a slow breakdown. Give it a rest for 30 seconds, douche! Also, fat people who try to crowd surf (particularly when the crowd has a disproportionate amount of rail-thin teenagers).

Filthy Rich: Ke$ha. In addition to Ke$ha, another one of my pet peeves is when I’m at a show and people in the crowd start shooting video with their phones. Not only are they waving their arms an inch away from my head and obstructing the view of the stage, they’re not really focusing on the show if they’re concentrating on making a shitty video. Then, that shitty video will end up on YouTube as a noisy blur that doesn’t do the band justice. (Unless, of course, it’s Ke$ha.)

DJ Bullcity: Dubstep fanboys that spend twice as much time analyzing dubstep, where it came from, and what qualifies as dubstep, then actually listening to it.

DJ LiViD: When people whistle to a song.

DJ Dylan-ger: When you specifically make a party playlist of seven hours of music to play off your iPod speakers, and then someone comes along and changes it to Lil Wayne, or any other music you could hear at ANY party but your own. And when you try to change it back: “No one knows your music!” Shut up and enjoy my jams I handpicked just for you.

DJ Elly May: I hate when I tell someone specifically that I love a song on the radio in the car and turn it up and then they proceed to talk over it. Helloooo! Shut up!

Captain SKAmerica: Just because you prefer a band’s older material, you are automatically referred to as a hipster. Also that one girl at every punk and ska show that stands at the front in the mosh pit and gets mad when people run into her. If you’re in the pit, you’re gonna get hit. Get it through your head.

Adam Kincaid: Bands, especially local bands, who think they are “too popular” for our station. F**k you. If we can have half of the national touring acts we do come in for interviews you can drag your ass five minutes down the road for a chat once a year. Especially if you owe your local popularity to WKNC’s programming. Our LOCAL listeners want to hear from their favorite popular LOCAL acts because they feel a sense of ownership and pride in making your music as well known as it is. I also can’t believe no one has mentioned people talking during shows. Shut the hell up about your ex-boyfriends cousins best friend who glared at you at a coffee shop 2 weeks ago and remember she was the one who was wearing that super expensive shirt like she was hot shit and like, OMG, that mole on her arm is sooooooo gross. I’m trying to enjoy myself without hearing your coffee talk. If you have to scream over a concert to have a conversation you are in the wrong place.

Chocolate Rice: iTunes.

DJ C.E.O: When people decide that they want to sing along with me! I quickly tell them that this is not a duet. When people are skimming through their iPod looking for a song and skips all the good songs! Just pause it until you’re ready to play something instead of teasing me! When people (mainly my mom) play the same song over, and over, and over again. When I go see an artist live and they let the audience sing a full song. Especially if it’s one of my favorites. When I go to a show and the sound system is POOR. When I go to a party and the DJ takes me on an emotional roller coaster by playing really fast songs followed by really slow ones. Like WTH?

Sarahnade: The chord progression GCD in recorded music. When someone wants to show me a song then talks over it. Quiet music when loud music is equally/more appropriate people at a show who are are completely stoic.

It: I really dislike it when I’m driving in the car and someone can’t just listen to one song all the way though and changes it right when I’m getting into it. Also, people who try to talk to me during concerts; I can’t hear you, I didn’t come to the venue to hear you and unless something crazy is going on you are just hurting my ears by yelling in them.

Chuck: My biggest musical pet peeve is people talking at quiet shows. Story time: July 22, 2009. XX Merge at Cat’s Cradle. The Magnetic Fields begin their (wonderful) set. Live, the band tends to go all acoustic, so it’s pretty quiet. The bands starts, yet above the music everyone can hear lots of loud chatter at the bar in the back. The entire crowd then shushes them and the venue becomes completely silent, allowing for the music to be the only thing anyone heard. It was great.

DJ Ones: My biggest pet peeve comes from my time in the music director world. It irks me so much when someone sends an album to the station that is in terrible packaging. Instead of a proper CD case with clear listings of the track, artist, and album name, they send you this thin slit that hugs the CD. When that thing goes into our library it disappears beside properly packaged CDs. The labels and artists that get the most spins are usually those with the best packaging.

Just John and I had the pleasure of attending the sixth annual Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago’s Union Park on the weekend of July 14-16. It was hot. Really hot. The crowds came, though, and were treated to great performance after great performance. Every show I saw over the weekend was top-notch. The festival’s treatment of its fans was also top-notch. Thousands of bottles of water were passed out to the crowds to keep them hydrated (no thanks to the goons who just threw water everywhere instead of drinking it). Security were friendly throughout the entire weekend. Two air-conditioned city buses were brought in to help cool down festival-goers. What follows is a list of superlatives of some of the best, worst, and weirdest moments of the festival. Enjoy.

Best light show: The giant glowing crystals at Animal Collective

Biggest asshole: Ariel Pink, throwing another temper-tantrum and walking off stage halfway through his set

Most “f**k”s per minute: Odd Future

Highest number of gray-hairs in the crowd: Guided By Voices

Coolest stage wear: Nika Danilova of Zola Jesus’ very modern dress

Best mosh pit: No Age (which I stayed in for about five minutes too long, causing a short bout of heat sickness)

Best dance moves: Cold Cave’s Dominick Fernow, whose stomp-n-spin move was endlessly entertaining

Biggest dance party: Cut Copy, who got an entire field of thousands of people to dance

Most frequent weed clouds: Curren$y, unsurprisingly

Worst scheduling decision: Two-way tie between scheduling Odd Future and Shabazz Palaces, two of the festival’s five hip-hop acts, on at the same time and putting DJ Shadow on when the sun was still out, making his projector-using “Shadowsphere” completely useless (though, to the festival’s credit, they really couldn’t have put him anywhere else)

Best facial hair: Ian Williams of Battles, whose handlebar-stache perfectly matched his swanky get-up

People who should have passed out from heat stroke but, miraculously, didn’t: Yuck’s Daniel Blumberg, who wore jeans and a long-sleeve, denim button-down and Cold Cave’s Wesley Eisold and Dominick Fernow, both in black jeans, black shirts, and black leather jackets.

Recently inspired by an NME post that had their staff discuss what the first albums they every bought were, I thought it would be interesting to figure out what the WKNC kids had first picked up.  After a bit of work this is what they sent me!

 

Professor X

Spice Girls- Spice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DJ Elly May

Natalie Merchant- Tigerlily

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first album I ever bought with my own money was Natalie Merchant’s ‘Tigerlily.’  Laugh if you dare.

 

Dr. J

Billy Ray Cyrus- Some Gave All

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in 1992 or 1993, before most of the staff had started kindergarten, a young Jamie Lynn saved up her allowance to purchase a CD player and one CD to go with it: Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Some Gave All,” featuring the hit single “Achy Breaky Heart.”

 

K’nuckles

Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Walmart aw yea.

 

.jose jose.

System of a Down- Toxicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real original, I know.

 

D-Cutta

Run-D.M.C.- Raising Hell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DJ Ones

Michael Jackson- Thriller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used to dance my ass off to some Thriller, still do when given the opportunity.

 

The Chancellor

Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DJ Switch

Led Zeppelin- Best of Led Zeppelin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still listen to it once a month or more.

 

Chuck

The Smashing Pumpkins- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Voice of Reason

Sum 41- All Killer, No Filler

I bought Sum 41′s All Killer No Filler. Embarrassing now, totally radical back then.

 

Mayday

Baha Men- Who Let the Dogs Out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saved up my lunch money to buy this.

 

Cannibal Cory

Metallica- Master of Puppets

 

Bigfatsac

Ray Parker Jr.- Ghostbusters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was the 45 single.  I was 6 years old and I believe I used my birthday money.

 

DJ Shorty Shorts

Dashboard Confessional- A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spaceman Spiff

Smash Mouth- Astro Lounge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rian Regal

Spin Doctors- Pocket Full of Kryptonite

 

 

French trio Yelle visited Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle on Tuesday, April 26. Unfortunately, I missed the synth-pop goodness of Brooklyn-via-Milwaukee duo (and brothers) French Horn Rebellion, making it into the Cradle just in time for the beginning of Yelle’s set.

Playing for just over an hour, the group put on what can aptly be described as a non-stop, sweaty, ecstatic dance party. Singer Yelle fronted the group with charisma and charm that reminded me a lot of Robyn (not to mention the musical similarities between the two), winning the crowd over from the get-go with her friendly personality, mile-wide smile, and playful dance moves. Drummer GrandMarnier and keyboard player Tepr backed her with the buoyant electro-pop sounds found on the group’s two records, Pop Up and the recently released Safari Disco Club. The crowd seemed to reflect that energy right back at the stage. Every body in the Cradle was moving and sweating. Hands were raised throughout the entire show and glowsticks flew back and forth across the room.

While I’m not very familiar with the group’s song titles, I did recognize “Ce Jeu” early in the set, and the group played most, if not all, of Safari Disco Club. They brought along a simple, but effective, light show that reflected the rich colors found in the music. It was the most fun I’ve had at a show in a good while and helped serve to cure up some blues after a rough week. If you ever get the chance to see Yelle, don’t think; just go, dance, and have a great time.

Hopscotch, the Independent Weekly‘s annual music festival in downtown Raleigh will be releasing the lineup for their September 3-day festival on Wednesday, April 20th. Greg Lowenhagen of Independent Weekly will be on-air with our very own Chuck from 11-noon to talk about the show and this year’s line up.

Last year hosted names like Panda Bear, Public Enemy, The Rosebuds,  Sharon Van Etten, Megafaun, Best Coast and more than 100 other bands.  This year is sure to be even better; full of national acts as well as great local talent.  Tune in to find out who!

Tickets will go on sale as the lineup is released on April 20th. Free 3-day wristbands were given out at local record stores for Record Store Day April 16. Stay tuned to WKNC and keep reading Independent Weekly to find out ways you can win tickets.

For more musical fun, Hopscotch is hosting a few free local shows throughout Raleigh on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (4/21-4/23) in celebration of their lineup release!

This past Thursday served as the end of March (and, hopefully, the cold). It also served as the second show WKNC has presented at the still-pretty-newly-reopened Kings in downtown Raleigh (the first being this year’s Double Barrel Benefit).

UK-via-Italy act Banjo or Freakout opened the show with a set of airy songs not too far removed in style from Papercuts. Backed by a drummer and bassist/guitarist, main man Alessio Natalizia worked his way through a set of songs culled largely from his recently released, self-titled full-length debut. The first half of the set saw the trio playing songs full of interesting arrangements, with Natalizia’s echo-laden, airy vocals up front. Unfortunately, the remainder of the set saw the band work their way through a handful of interchangeable standard-indie-rock songs that lacked the charm of the first half. That said, it’ll be interesting to see where Natalizia takes Banjo or Freakout‘s sound.

Jason Quever, the main force behind Papercuts, brought along a full band to flesh out his dreamy songs, reminiscent of a male-fronted Beach House meets The Clientele. Touring behind the release of new album Fading Brigade, one of the best releases of 2011 so far, Quever and his band brought the songs to life with the sort of laid-back energy found on the recordings. The small, but appreciative, crowd swayed along to the effortless grooves of songs like “Do What You Will” and “Chills,” cheering the band back out for a brief, but well-received, encore.

Durham trio Hammer No More The Fingers are set to release their new album, Black Shark, on April 5. To celebrate the release, the band will play three in-store shows at local record stores. The band will play at CD Alley in Chapel Hill at 3 p.m., Bull City Records in Durham at 5 p.m., and Schoolkids Records in Raleigh at 7 p.m. The shows are free, so get out and support some local music and businesses.

If one were to compile a canon of influential independent artists that have truly shaped the genre,  Yo La Tengo would certainly have a spot on the list. At least that’s what I’ve been told. The New Jersey trio began their debut over twenty-five years ago.  Now that’s something to contend with. I wasn’t even born. Sunday night marked the second night performance for the band at Cats Cradle and although it didn’t officially sell out (like the previous night), I still encountered parking issues and a crowded venue. I’d never seen Yo La Tengo perform, but I had spun their tracks modestly over the air in the past and was somewhat familiar with their discography. Needless to say, I had a lot of expectations.

My first surprise for the evening was the crowd itself. As someone who’s use to seeing Cats packed with a  rowdy youthful bunch for shows of the likes of Caribou or Of Montreal, Tengo’s turnout was a lot more, well, experienced. Not that I’m complaining, but it certainly did speak to the years of influence and fan base the band has acquired. My second surprise of the night was right after frontman Ira Kaplan, drummer and wife of Ira, Gerogia Hubley, and bassist James McNew took the stage. A large game show wheel was carted to the front. Its pie slices were outfitted personally to fit song choices to be played by the band that night. A few selections included songs by their associated acts, Dump and the Condo Fucks. Another pie slice featured songs with people’s names in them. The band finally chose an overly eager man in the front row who convinced us he had been waiting at Cats all week for the show.  His spin lasted a few moments before stopping on the choice for songs that started with the letter ‘S’.

DJ Chuck also attended the show and commented that “Yo La Tengo have been around so long, and their catalog is so vast, that it’s hard to know every song of theirs. They did close out the set with a couple I did know however, those songs being the fan-favorite Sugarcube and Sudden Organ.”  He continued on to say, ” after a half-hour break, the band came back on for their second, wheel-less set. Running through a barage of songs that ranged from quiet and pretty to loud and full of feedback, the band closed the set with a 20-plus minute song that started out quiet and gradually built it’s way up to a noisy climax, with guitarist Ira Kaplan swinging his guitar around like a madman, inducing all kinds of feedback.”

The band came back out for a short encore consisting of Autumn Sweater, their cover of Daniel Johnston’s Speeding Motorcycle, and another cover which Chuck nor I didn’t catch the name of, but was a quiet, acoustic number.

I was pleasantly happy that Yo La Tengo pulled tracks from their most recent album release from September 2009, Popular Songs. It’s a great album which features the bluesy sexual rock and roll of Here To Fall, beautiful folk with More Stars Than There Are In Heaven and nostalgic instrumental with The Fireside. Yo La Tengo’s show proved to be just as versatile where their age was showing- in a good way. The trio seems to have adapted to the trends of music over the years, but they have never let it label or define them. Their performance had me on Sunday, (Ellos me tengan), and I think I can finally appreciate their role within this eclectic music genre.

To state the obvious, we here at WKNC love music. A lot. We also love live music. A lot. Most, if not all, of us attend many concerts and music festivals each year. What follows are lists of some of WKNC’s deejays’ favorite shows of the year. They range from national to local acts, regular shows to festivals. Some (myself included) went to so many it was hard to narrow it down to five, so we listed ten. Some lists are in numerical order, others are not. Caribou, Future Islands, and the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival were some of the most common favorites, among dozens of other acts. Check it out:

Synthesiser Patel (Daytime/Afterhours)

- Chromeo/A-Trak/Kid Sister/Theophilus London @ Congress Theater (Chicago)

- The National/Owen Pallett @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

- Metric @ Lollapalooza

- of Montreal @ Cat’s Cradle

- Born Ruffians/Winter Gloves @ Local 506

DJ Mensch (Daytime)

1. The National @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

2. Minus The Bear @ Lincoln Theatre

3. Max Indian @ Hopscotch Music Festival

4. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

5. The Rosebuds @ Hopscotch Music Festival

May Day (Daytime)

1. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Camera Obscura @ Duke Gardens

3. Surfer Blood @ Cat’s Cradle

4. Yeasayer/Javelin @ Cat’s Cradle

5. OK  Go @ Lincoln Theatre

DJ Mollypop (Daytime)

1. Paul McCartney @ Sprint Center (Kansas City)

2. The Weepies @ Lincoln Theatre

3. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

4. Crooked Still @ Casbah

5. The New Pornographers/Dodos/The Duchess and the Duke @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

The Noobhammer (Chainsaw)

1. Scale The Summit/Devin Townsend Project/Cynic/Between the Buried and Me @ The Fillmore Charlotte

2. Sons of Liberty/Iced Earth @ 9:30 Club (Washington, D.C.)

3. Powerglove/Firewind @ Volume 11

4. Valient Thorr/Between the Buried and Me/Mastodon @ Lincoln Theatre

5. Boris @ Cat’s Cradle

Iris G (Daytime)

- Mumford & Sons @ 9:30 Club (Washington, D.C.)

- Ratatat @ MeetFactory (Prague)

Audity (Daytime)

- Active Child @ Hopscotch Music Festival

- Cassis Orange @ Duke Coffeehouse

- Veelee @ Duke Coffeehouse

- Old Bricks @ Kings

- Deerhunter @ Cat’s Cradle

Sarahnade (Daytime/Post Rock Block)

1. Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ RBC Center

2. Local Natives/The Union Line @ The Grey Eagle (Asheville)

3. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

4. The New Pornographers/Dodos/The Duchess and the Duke @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

5. The Temper Trap/The Kissaway Trail @ Cat’s Cradle

6. This Machine Kills Cancer benefit

DJ Ones (Daytime)

1. Phoenix @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

2. The New Pornographers @ Memorial Hall (UNC-CH)

3. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

4. The Big Pink @ Cat’s Cradle

5. Sharon Van Etten @ Hopscotch Music Festival

DJ Hammerhead (Chainsaw)

1. Municipal Waste/Double Negative/Zeus @ The Milestone (Charlotte)

2. Overkill/Forbidden/Gama Bomb/Evile/Bonded By Blood @ Volume 11

3. D.R.I./Final Curse @ Amos’ Southend (Charlotte)

4. Nemesis/Chainsawdamy/Avalon Steel @ Tremont Music Hall (Charlotte)

5. Exmortus/Vektor/Final Curse @ Charlotte’s Underground (Charlotte)

The Blog Lady (Blog Editor/Staff Photographer)

1. The Avett Brothers @ Asheville Civic Center Arena

2. Lost In The Trees @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Mandolin Orange @ Troika Music Festival

4. The Rosebuds @ Hopscotch Music Festival

5. Chatham County Line @ Troika Music Festival

DJ Vice (Daytime)

1. Benji Hughes/The Old Ceremony @ Cat’s Cradle

2. Passion Pit @ The Fillmore Charlotte

3. The Avett Brothers @ Asheville Civic Center Arena

Just John (Daytime)

1. Caribou/Phantogram @ Governor’s Island (New York City)

2. Beach House @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Every Future Islands show

4. Joanna Newsom @ Carolina Theatre

5. Ponytail @ Siren Music Festival

The Cosmic Cowboy (The Church of Bluegrass and the Truer Sound)

1. John Prine @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

2. Joanna Newsom @ The National (Richmond) and Variety Playhouse (Atlanta)

3. Cedric Watson and the Bijou Creole/Red Stick Ramblers @ Reynolds Industries Theater (Duke)

4. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy @ Borque’s Social Club (Scot, LA)

5. Charlie Louvin @ Borque’s Social Club (Scot, LA)

DJ Elly May (Daytime)

1. Delta Spirit @ Cat’s Cradle

2. The Rosebuds/Megafaun @ The Pour House

3. Holy Ghost Tent Revival @ The Pour House

4. Minus The Bear @ Lincoln Theatre

5. Turbo Fruits @ Local 506

Lucretia (Chainsaw)

1. Eyehategod/Nachtmystium/Withered/Haarp/Stripmines @ Volume 11

2. Kreator/Voivod/Nachtmystium @ Jaxx (West Springfield, VA)

3. Slang/World Burns To Death/Devour/Stripmines @ Slims

4. Immolation/Vader/Abigail Williams/Lecherous Nocturne @ Volume 11

5. High On Fire/Torche/Kylesa @ Cat’s Cradle

6. Atakke/Parasytic/Devour @ Slims

7. Pentagram/Cough/The Gates of Slumber/Windham @ The Hat Factory (Richmond)

8. Alice In Chains @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

9. Hate Eternal/Cannabis Corpse/Malebolgia @ Volume 11

10. Glass Casket/Wrath & Rapture/Malebolgia @ Johnny & Junes (Winston-Salem)

Agent Orange (Daytime)

1. Broken Social Scene @ Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Yeasayer/Javelin @ Cat’s Cradle

3. Caribou/Toro Y Moi @ Cat’s Cradle

4. Annuals/The Light Pines @ Tir Na Nog

5. Ra Ra Riot/Givers @ Cat’s Cradle

Riff Raff (Daytime)

- Hopscotch Music Festival

- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Cat’s Cradle

- Veelee/Lonnie Walker/Future Islands @ Kings

- Beach House/Washed Out @ Cat’s Cradle

- Ludacris @ Reynolds Coliseum

DJ Kligz (Daytime/Local Lunch)

1. Hopscotch Music Festival

2. Future Islands/Lonnie Walker/Veelee/NAPS @ Kings

3. Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival

4. Beach House @ Cat’s Cradle

5. Caribou/Veelee @ Cat’s Cradle

Chuck (Daytime)

1. LCD Soundsystem @ Pitchfork Music Festival

2. Massive Attack/Jonsi @ MoogFest

3. The National @ Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

4. Wilco @ Durham Performing Arts Center

5. Caltrop/US Christmas/The Curtains of Night @ Nightlight

6. Titus Andronicus/Spider Bags @ Local 506

7. Deerhunter/Schooner @ Cat’s Cradle

8. Deakin @ Hopscotch Music Festival

9. GWAR @ Lincoln Theatre

10. These Are Powers/Lemonade/MNDR @ The Pinhook

What were your favorite shows and/or music festivals of the year?

It was a frigid night on Friday, but that didn’t keep people from coming out to a great local bill happening at Kings.

Starting off the night were Soft Company. A local supergroup of sorts, with Missy Thangs of The Love Language serving as bandleader, backed by members of such defunct local acts as Lake Inferior and Violet Vector & The Lovely Lovelies, the band made their way through a set of mid-tempo songs  that brought to mind 70′s AM radio and classic pop. The highlight of the set was a song midway through (that I didn’t catch the name of) that slowly built to an epic couple minutes of wailing guitars and prolonged “oh”s from Thangs.

Taking a break between sets to play some pinball down in Neptunes, I came back up to find a curiously less full Kings. Josh Carpenter, who plays drums in Asheville band Floating Action, brought along his own set of original songs that brought to mind The Old Ceremony on a sugar rush. With a full album recorded and (hopefully) due out soon, he’s definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming year.

Organos finally came on around midnight to perform one of the best sets by a local band I’ve seen in recent memory. Maria Albani, her bass, and a couple pals encircled a table covered in various percussive instruments and a glockenspiel, while Reid Johnson from Schooner and Nathan White from Nathan Oliver played  intertwining guitar runs and Ginger Wagg, of Veelee, provided the back beat. The set ran through all of Organos‘ debut, The Limbs EP, as well as several new songs. One of the best aspects of the show was how well the band played together. It’d be easy for the ramshackle songs on the EP to come across messy live, but the band performed them with an effortless grace that further revealed the subtleties and intricacies in the music. As a bonus, Albani’s between-song banter rivaled that of Bradford Cox’s in hilarity, making quips such as “this is our guitarist, Justin Bieber”(referring to White).

Overall, the warm tones found in the night’s music served as the perfect counter to the icy winds blowing outside.

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.

Local label Denmark Records brought Brooklyn electro-pop duo Javelin to town this past Thursday, November 11, for their third Raleigh show in four months at the recently re-opened Kings. I unfortunately missed the Panda-Bear-but-less-weird sounds of local act It Is Rain In My Face, but arrived right in time to catch the start of Athens, Georgia’s Reptar. With bassist Ryan Engelberger M.I.A., the band still managed to put on an energetic show, keeping the crowd dancing with synth-pop reminiscent of Passion Pit, sans the obnoxious vocals. Dressed in a choir robe and multi-colored sunglasses, keyboard player William Kennedy bounced around with singer/guitarist Graham Ulicny like two kids hopped on Red Bull and Pixie Stix, their boundless energy clearly rubbing off on the crowd.

After a brief set break, Javelin kicked off their set of sample-heavy party jams. Mixing in older tracks such as “Radio” and “Soda Popinski” with newer cuts, including personal favorite “C Town”, the duo of George Langford and Tom van Buskirk never once let their set go into non-danceable territory during their nearly hour-long set. The duo also managed to drop in a few verses from songs other than their own, including Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” With a much larger turnout than the nearly-empty Small Black show a couple weeks before, the show proved to be a success for everyone—for Denmark, for Kings, for the fans, and especially for Javelin, who went so far as to ask, “Why haven’t we moved here yet?”

In an email sent out earlier this week, the folks behind Hopscotch Music Festival announced the dates for next year’s festival. Go ahead and mark your calendars, for the festival will return to downtown Raleigh September 8-10, 2011. The email notes to keep an eye on the fest’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as its website, for updates on Hopscotch, round two.

The festival is also currently asking this year’s attendees to complete a brief, four-question, demographic survey, which you can find here