Now that the year 2012 is coming to a close us here at WKNC look back at our top five albums of the year once again. Although we might not always agree on what is the most amazing, the love of great music not only kept us excited throughout 2012, but we look forward to the amazing music that it will bring as well. Take a gander at what are a few of the albums we loved throughout this year, as chosen by WKNC DJs. See you in 2013!

 

Sarahnade

1. Caspian – Waking Season
2. El Ten Eleven – Transitions
3. Spider Bags – Shake My Head
4. Pinback – Information Retrieved
5. Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits

 

C. Deuce

1. Yeasayer – Fragrant World
2. Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
3. Hundred Waters – Hundred Waters
4. Sweet Valley – Eternal Champ
5. Miike Snow – Happy to You

 

CMYK

1. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
2. Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
3. Beach House – Bloom
4. The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
5. Oceanics – Bright People

 

JKG

1. Dan Deacon – America
2. MAKE – Trephine
3. The Album Leaf – Forward/Return
4. Dads – American Radass (this is important)
4. El Ten Eleven – Transitions

 

Zaps

1. Father John Misty – Fear Fun
2. First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
3. Bowerbirds – The Clearing
4. Lost In The Trees – A Church That Fits Our Needs
5. Jukebox the Ghost- Safe Travels

 

Seagull

1. DIIV – Oshin
2. Tame Impala – Lonerism
3. Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse
4. Mac Demarco – 2
5. Beach House – Bloom

 

DJ DiGiorno

1. Howler – America Give Up
2. Beach House – Bloom
3. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
4. Father John Misty- Fear Fun
5. Dr. Dog- Be The Void

 

DJ GRZA

1.  Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes
2.  Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
3.  Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
4.  Kendrick Lamar – good kid, M.A.D.D city
5.  Alt-J – An Awesome Wave

 

The Mattador

1. Grouplove – Never Trust a Happy Song (Released 2011)
2. Dr. Dog – Be the Void
3. Passion Pit – Gossamer
4. Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
5. Supreme Cuts – Whispers in the Dark

 

DJ Smitty

1. The Menzingers – On The Impossible Past
2. Red Collar – Welcome Home
3. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
4. Murder By Death – Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon
5. Hop Along – Get Disowned

 

DJ Ones

1. Andrew Bird – Break if Yourself
2. Tame Impala – Lonerism
3. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
4. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
5. Grizzly Bear – Shields

 

DJ Salinger

1. The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
2. Grimes – Visions
3. The XX – Coexist
4. Toro y Moi – June 2009
5. Oberhofer – Time Capsules II

 

Muta

1. GRiZ – Mad Liberation
2. Purity Ring – Shrines
3. Submotion Orchestra – Fragments
4. Badbadnotgood – BBNG2
5. XXYYXX – XXYYXX

 

May Day

1. Beach House – Bloom
2. Purity Ring – Shrines
3. The Walkmen – Heaven
4. The Helio Sequence – Negotiations
5. Oberhofer – Time Capsules II

 

Billy

1.Stripmines – Crimes of Dispassion
2. Oiltanker/No Tomorrow – Split LP
3. The Sword – Apogryphon
4. High On Fire – De Vermis Mysteriis
5. Mob Rules – The Donor

 

Walter-Ego

1. Dan Deacon – America
2. Death Grips – The Money Store
3. Spider Bags – Shake My Head
4. The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
5. Dr. Dog – Be The Void

 

DJ Sweet D

1. Grimes – Visions
2. Purity Ring – Shrines
3. First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
4. Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
5. Grizzly Bear – Shields

 

Major Tom

1. Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
2. Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory
3. Tame Impala – Mind Mischief
4. The Shins – Port Of Morrow
5. Beach House – Bloom

 

DJ ACORN

1. Micachu & The Shapes – Never
2. Daughn Gibson – All Hell
3. The Music Tapes – Mary’s Voice
4. Schoolboy Q – Habits & Contradictions
5. Murder by Death – Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon

 

Anastassia

1. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
2. Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse
3. DIIV – Oshin
4. Grass Widow – Internal Logic
5. Grimes – Visions

 

Spaceman Spiff

1.  Chromatics – Kill for Love
2.  Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
3.  Wild Nothing – Nocturne
4.  Grimes – Visions
5.  Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits

 

DJ CJ

1. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill
2. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Leaving Eden
3. Steep Canyon Rangers – Nobody Knows You
4. Trampled By Turtles – Stars & Satellites
5. Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back To Virginia

 

ALASKA

1. Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra – Theatre is Evil
2. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
3. White Lung – Sorry
4. Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It
5. La Sera – Sees the Light

 

DJ Mason

1. Lost in the Trees – A Church That Fits Our Needs
2. Beach House – Bloom
3. Death Grips – The Money Store
4. Grimes – Visions
5. Here We Go Magic – A Different Ship

 

On Monday, Oct. 12 at King’s Barcade, Make, The Proselyte and Thou played an excellent show. Put on by Primitive Ways this show was heavier than any other that has come through Raleigh in a while.

Make

Hailing from Chapel Hill, Make was a great opener for this show. Heavy, sludgy doom that had a bold psychedelic flavor; Make produces some very excellent metal. Support local music and check these guys out here: Make

The Proselyte

A nice addition from Cambridge, Mass., The Proselyte bridged the psychedelic feel of the show to a strangely happy yet still dark feeling. These guys brought some great metal to Raleigh, and it was very enjoyable to watch. I’ve never seen a drummer sing and drum so quickly. A very excellent band; both of their releases have been highly rated (Sunshine (2011) and The Proselyte (2007)). Check them here: The Proselyte.

Thou

Holy Dio. This is probably one of my favorite bands that I have seen in 2011. Coming up from Louisiana, these guys played on the floor and had one of the most energetic shows I’ve been to in awhile. I couldn’t get many pictures so you’re just going to have to regret not getting your eardrums covered in the sludgy, heavy goodness that is Thou. This five piece really blew me away with their show. I must admit two things helped; one, their excellent blog that allowed me to download their music and two, they played a kick-ass cover of Black Sabbaths Into the Void. Gnarly, dude.

Overall, as I have previously stated, this was and probably will be one of my favorite shows of 2011. It was heavy and covered in slimy, doom-y sludge. Good job to Primitive Ways for really knowing how to book a good lineup and to the bands, Make, The Proselyte and Thou, for giving Raleigh an excellent Monday night.

-It

I can safely say that last Friday was my favorite Local Beat we have ever had. The guests on the show were wonderfully knowledgeable and entertaining, and the three hours we shared were exceptionally insightful into our local music scene. In case you missed it, I had a “roundtable” of sorts in which I invited several prominent members of the local music community onto the program to talk about the music in the area and their involvement. We chatted about everything from our favorite and least favorite local venues and bands to the history and future of our music scene.

First in was Betsy Harris, one of the most notable and certainly the most prolific local music photographers in the area.  Betsy was a fantastic guest who shared plenty about her role in the local music community, her work as a photographer, and several fun stories about her experiences in the past several years. Be sure to check out Betsy’s Fotki and Youtube for some sweet local multimedia content. Also, below are some of Betsy’s favorite photographs that she has graciously shared with us:

Karen Mann of Mann’s World also joined me on the show for about an hour.  Karen is one of the most prominent, if not the most prominent, local music blogger in our area and having her on the program was a special treat. Karen and I talked about her history in the area and her role within the music of our region. Karen was a fabulous interviewee and had plenty to say, all of it proving to be noteworthy and captivating about her dedication to the music and her blog. Karen is also having a special Mann’s World day party during Hopscotch on September 11th. Check out the flier below:

One of my favorite journalists in the area, Bryan Reed, made an appearance as well. Bryan is well known for his contributions to Shuffle Magazine where he is Assistant Editor and also the Independent Weekly where he covers local and national music. He was fun, witty, and full of knowledge on music scenes outside the Triangle region.

Linnie Green, the new editor of Diversions at the Daily Tar Heel, got quite a bit of crap from me for going to NC State’s rival school, but after I settled down and matured a little, she gave us some interesting insight into how Diversions works and what priorities they have with local music.

The mastermind behind NBC 17′s Music.MyNC was also a guest that evening. Jake is another extraordinary blogger in the area and also heads the live Sessions for Music.MyNC. I talked with Jake about how the Sessions came to be what it is and his thoughts about his contributions to the music.

Take a listen to the entire evening below, broken up into three parts:

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