88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week 2/25

Wrath and Rapture
Jonathan Newman

What happens when you combine power metal with black metal? You get Wrath and Rapture, a Carolina band from Winston-Salem. Though what may seem like an odd combination, actually works quite well. Though the vocals made it sound evil, I still couldn’t help but raise my fist during the bridges because they reminded me so much of power metal, that it brought a smile to my face. Never before have I smiled while listening to black metal. However, the style of music is not the only thing that makes me smile, but the talent that these Carolina boys have with their instruments.

When the CD first opens we have a keyboard intro which reminds me so much of Rhapsody its not even funny, yet it still has you bobbing your head along with it and then just as it slows down to the ubiquitous sound of thunder, a evil voice prepares you for what is to come, but nothing can prepare you for the kick in the teeth that is “The Dirge of Fallen Heroes”. With a powerful guitar and gutteral vocals it prepares you for a black metalness, but then suddenly throws in a power metal keyboard riff which confuses you yet mesmerizes you at the same time. Then the song takes a huge leg left into technical black metal and beats you down. “Disbodiment” mixes about 5 different genres together in one song, but while this may seem disorienting, it actually works quite well and makes one of the most memorable songs in the album due to its sheer chaos. The next three songs are all instrumental that all bleed into one song before beating you in ears with a sonic blast with “A Breathtaking Tragedy”, a straightforward black-core song. Nothing too fancy about it, but it shows that a band can take many different paths and not just have to stick to only one genre. However, besides “Dirge” one of my favorite songs on the whole album is “Cosmic Wasteland” because it sounds like Sonata Arctica and The Faceless wrote and performed the song. I could just picture a knight riding a robot dragon across the cosmos while the song was playing. Very epic.

The only problem with this album is all the instrumentals. There are ten songs on here, and yet half of them are instrumentals and one is a cover song. That doesn’t leave much original material, and this could have made a good EP, as the whole album is only 30 minutes long. It’s still a great release though, and I look forward to see what they put out next.

88.1 WKNC DJ Pick of the Week is published in every Tuesday print edition of the Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.<
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Realism by The Magnetic Fields
88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week 2/10

Realism
Charlie Burnett

Stephin Merritt, leader of the band The Magnetic Fields, has long been one of music’s more underappreciated lyricists, as well as one its best. Whether he’s writing 69 love songs or applying walls of guitar distortion to his songs, the one thing that always stands out the most in his songs are his lyrics. Sung in a deep baritone that can be an acquired taste for those unaccustomed to it, Merritt delivers charming, clever lines full of self-deprecating humor and wit.

For The Magnetic Fields’ ninth record, Realism, Merritt and pianist/vocalist Claudia Gonson, cellist Sam Devol, and guitarist/banjo player John Woo strip away the guitar squalls found on previous record Distortion for a more stripped down, acoustic sound reminiscent of Distortion predecessor i and their excellent live sets. Acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin, cello, and the contrasting voices of Merritt and Gonson fill the songs with a natural, organic sound.

The Magnetic Fields, while always having a noticeably different sound than other bands, craft their songs around pop melodies that can only be described as indelible and lovely, as evidenced in first track “You Must Be Out of Your Mind”. Wrapped in an exceedingly beautiful musical arrangement, Merritt begins the self-deprecation and crucifying of ex-lovers with such classic lines as “You can’t go ‘round just saying stuff because it’s pretty/ And I no longer drink enough to think you’re witty”.

Riding on a buoyant, upbeat melody, “Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree” offers a detour, if not all together relief, from Merritt’s notorious lyrical cynicism. A self-help anthem of sorts, Merritt asks the song’s subject “Why sit in your dark and lonely room?”, going on to recommend to the unnamed subject that if people don’t like them “screw them/Don’t leave your fortune to them”.

On “Always Already Gone”, Gonson takes over the role of lead vocalist to offer a lament of an ex-lover who, while together, seemed to be “always already gone”. A heartbreaking song most could probably relate to, it is made that much more delicate and lovely by a lilting arrangement of banjo, cello, piano, and acoustic guitar.

Completing a self-proclaimed “no-synth trilogy,” Realism offers longtime fans the same wit and playfulness The Fields have always been known for, but is also accessible enough to appeal to not just the common indie pop/rock listener, but the top-40 radio or NPR listener, as well. As a collection of oddball pop songs, Realism offers a great starting point for newcomers of the group, as well as another great entry into their already exellent discography.

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

The KNC KKC crew, looking not too shabby the morning after DBB7 night one.

WKNC had the great pleasure of supporting the 2010 Krispy Kreme Challenge as a silver level sponsor. We also sponsored our own team of runners – an amazing challenge since the race fell smack dab in the middle of Double Barrel Benefit 7.

If you read Special K’s preview of the Krispy Kreme Challenge, no doubt you having been waiting with glazed breath to hear how own crew fared.

Max Power blew the rest of the staff away with the astounding time of 47:33. DJ Two Sheds and his training monkey Molly came in next, at 50:03 and 54:21. Major props also go to DJ Mick, Sweet Melissa, Special K, Will, Agent Orange, Osh-Tosh, Mz Kelly, Riff Raff, Hot Tamale and May Day for crossing the finish line.

Check out Technician’s Sights and Sounds of the event and their photo slideshow. If you caught any pictures of our crew, decked out in custom KNC wearables, send them over to us and we’ll put them in our end-of-year slideshow – unless they prominently feature regurgitated doughnuts, of course.

A lot has happened since our last Eye on the Triangle episode, and as promised, we have some updates!

The Board of Trustees — yup, you guessed it — approved the recommendations of the University’s Tuition and Fees Conference Committee, also approving the new student centers fee, not to exceed $290 of that lone fee for the next 25 to 30 years (read about the fee here, and you can also check out Technician and the campaign for more info). The Rally Against Talley protesters didn’t show, but instead sent a statement, which was probably a little less effective. I interviewed Student Body President and Board of Trustees member Jim Ceresnak after the Thursday meeting, and we updated WKNC listeners at 7 p.m. that night about the results. The only change from the initial recommendations was the Athletics fee increase changed from $9 to $8.50, with the education and technology fee going from an $8 increase to an $8.50 increase, a decision members voted for at the prodding of Ceresnak and Student Senate President Kelli Rogers. Next up: Board of Governors in January.

The final Fridays on the Lawn — on-campus concert series — of the semester, featuring Kooley High and the Beast, was a success, despite the sudden change of location due to some leaks in the Talley Student Center, which caused the Wolves’ Den, the original location of the event, to be closed off from use unexpectedly.

And if you followed the live Twitter updates @WKNC881, you know the Technician - Daily Tarheel football game definitely stayed in line with N.C. State and UNC’s football history, at least for the past three years. Technician beat the DTH in flag football 40-0, followed by the — albeit less of a margin — Wolfpack victory of 28-27 versus the Tarheels.

NEWS
Our fabulous newscasters have once again brought you the news of the week. Below are the articles used in this week’s newscast:
World
UN rebuke ‘forced’ new Iran plans
Swiss voters back ban on minarets
UAE stocks plunge as government refuses to back Dubai World’s debt
National
Obama issues order for more troops in Afghanistan
Senate debate on health care bill opens with heated rhetoric
Stocks close higher, extend month’s big gains
Local
Raleigh mayor has grand plans
Ex-N.C. State chancellor not headed to New Mexico
Reptile rules, texting ban in 50-plus new N.C. laws
Sprint launches 4G in Triangle

For the full newscast, with weather, this day in history, birthdays and more:

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SPORTS
After the last football game of the season, a win against the Tarheels (and my last game as a student …well, hopefully), Coop, Derek and Tyler Everett had a some positives to talk about. They also gave listeners an update on the basketball season and expectations:

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VIP/HEAR THIS
This week’s VIP was an extended Hear This segment, with some clips from readings and music from Windhover, N.C. State’s literary magazine’s, Open Mic Night. You can hear the following clips, with intros from the Windhover editor, Helen Dear:

Kelly Reid- first section of “Charlie”
Amanda Garner- “The Sight of the Sea”
Kevin Ghiold- “The Living Dead”
William Tolbert
Celeste Doaks- “House in Vegas” and “A Harley Dream”
Christopher Rinehart- songs performed with the hammered dulcimer
Jason Hunnicutt- “Music Box” song
The Gonzo Symphonic- section of  “A suite, but it’s all just one big song”
Lisa Simorelli- “Empty Calories” and “He writes, I Write”

Listen here:

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COMMUNITY CANVAS
Mike Alston talked to some of the actors of the the Burning Coal Theatre about their latest production and even had them perform a small part for EOT listeners.

From Burning Coal’s mission statement: We emphasize works that are felt and experienced viscerally, unlike more traditional, linear plays where audiences are most often asked to observe without participating. Using the best local, national and international artists available, we produce explosive re-examinations of overlooked classics, modern and contemporary plays that address issues and themes poignant in our community.

Make sure to give the segment a listen if you haven’t already:

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WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
And don’t forget to check out this online exclusive (we ran out of time somehow!) Wolfpacker of the Week. Jacob Downey sat down with Alyssa Hopkins, a graduate student. Hopkins used to play ultimate frisbee for NCSU and talks about that as well her research work in Antarctica. Check it out!

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Thanks for listening to another episode of EOT! If you have suggestions for topics, ideas, an opinion about anything we’ve run (or haven’t and should!) or even just a news tip, send it to us at publicaffairs@wknc.org. And don’t forget to check out our last episode of the semester before our short hiatus during winter break, with some news review from 2009!

This week’s Eye on the Triangle episode was a little different than usual. Because the N.C. State Board of Trustees is meeting Thursday and Friday (be sure to check the blog Thursday and Friday, and WKNC 88.1 at 7 p.m. Thursday for updates!) to vote on student fee increases, the EOT brought you a special episode on one fee that is facing contentious debate: the student centers renovation fee. However, we also had our (extended) Hear This segment, which featured Shit Horse from Odessa Records.

There are a lot of events coming up this week, so be sure to check them out. The Technician staff will be playing the Daily Tarheel staff in flag football at 4:30 p.m. Friday (we’ll be live blogging from the game!), and of course Fridays on the Lawn at 6:30 p.m. with Kooley High and The Beast in the Wolve’s Den in Talley Student Center.

NEWS
This week in News, Jack Boyer and Evan Garris gave us a rundown on several topics, ranging from Obama’s trip to China to Iran’s nuclear program. Here are links to some of the articles referenced in the newscast:
National
Obama wades into Internet censorship in China address
Fears grow over Iran nuclear sites
Local
Police find body of missing 5-year-old
University plans for Kay Yow Memorial and Cary basketball court dedicated to late NCSU coach Yow
North Carolina tornado outbreak
For the full newscast:

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SPORTS
This week in Wolfpack sports, we started off with statements from both the Technician editor and the Daily Tarheel editor to each other’s staffs about Friday’s football game on Miller Fields at 4:30 p.m. Listen to those here:

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Derek Medlin and Tyler Everett then talked about football, basketball, predictions and stats. You can also check out Derek’s personal blog, Cardiac Pack. Be sure to listen to the segment if you missed it for more:

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VIP/SOUNDBYTES
To go along with our VIP segment this week, Matt Moore went around campus and asked students about their thoughts of the fee for the student centers and the Board of Trustees vote, which we had our VIP guests, Peter Barnes, former Student Centers president, and Christian Stackhouse, student senator, listen to and address in our discussion about the new fee. Barnes was one of the main advocates in the Rally 4 Talley campaign, while Stackhouse voted against the fee increase in the interest of the student body. We also played interview clips from Marycobb Randall, current Student Centers President, who also advocated the increase, and Jordan Hammond, a current student senator who was in support of the renovations personally but voted against the increase because of the student body votes against it. The fee, if approved by the Board of Trustees (Thursday and Friday) and Board of Governors (early next year), will increase the student centers fee by $83 for the next academic year, $165 the following year, and not to exceed $290 for the next 25 to 30 years. Listen to the full segment of interviews and discussion:

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HEAR THIS

Music industry veteran and Kingsbury Manx band member Paul Finn raised some eyebrows  when he pulled a rather ambitious move in June of this year — he launched a brand new record label with three albums.  Mike Alston was WKNC’s local music director at the time and had inquired about the Kingsbury Manx album, but he was surprised when it came packaged with debut albums from two bands he had never heard of — Americans in France and Impossible Arms.  Well, all three albums were spectacular (Independent Weekly agreed) and Odessa has put out a few more releases since.  Kelly Reid spoke with Finn about the launch of the record label, the inspiration behind such a bold move and the future for Odessa Records. Check it out below:

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And as a reminder, we will not be having an Eye on the Triangle episode next Monday, Nov. 23, due to a live broadcast of the women’s basketball game, but be sure to check out the blog for more or our podcasts on wknc.org/eot. Shoot us an e-mail with your thoughts on anything to publicaffairs@wknc.org. And come out to Friday’s football game and concert!

Whitney “The Voice” Houston delivers with new album

Released 8/31/09
4.5/5 stars

When Whitney Houston first burst onto the scene in the mid 80s, she was the pinnacle of musical perfection. Modelesque looks, catchy songs, style, poise, undeniable stage presence and most importantly, a voice with limitless potential. Success surely followed, as Houston eventually sold more than 170 million albums, broke #1 records set by the Beatles and Elvis, earned more than $500 million worldwide at the Box Office, influenced a generation of singers and became the most awarded female artist of all time.

In the seven years since Houston’s last album Just Whitney, the musical landscape has changed a great deal. Record sales are at an all time low, the digital era has become even more dominant and vocal talent is no longer required to have a hit record, auto-tune and nakedness are. Just as the record industry has changed, Houston’s personal life has not gone without its share of transformations as there was the end of a tumultuous marriage to bad-boy Bobby Brown and stints in rehab.

With the release of Houston’s long-awaited “comeback” album, I Look To You, critics and fans alike have asked the question, “is there room for Whitney Houston in this new age?” The answer is quite simply, yes.

I Look To You begins with the catchy first single “Million Dollar Bill,” produced and written by Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats.  ”Million Dollar Bill” is an up-tempo, bass driven track, with a retro-disco vibe and is one of the albums best.

Next is the Danja produced, up-tempo, synth-driven “Nothing But Love.”  Houston shares how she has nothing but love for those who have hurt her in the past, while accepting responsibility for her own actions. Other up-tempos include the club worthy Euro-pop “For the Lovers” and the Leon Russell penned classic, made famous by Donny Hathaway, “A Song For You” which starts out as a piano-driven ballad, but soon turns into an electronic techno-smash.

With I Look To You, Houston sings some of the best mid-tempos of her career including the R.Kelly written, Tricky Stewart produced, “Salute,” “Worth It” and the Johnta Austin penned Stargate produced “Call You Tonight.” “Salute” is the ultimate brush-off anthem done with class, while “Worth It” is the perfect love song reminiscent of Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You”. The Stargate produced, contemporary “Call You Tonight” has Houston singing to a potential love interest that she doesn’t have to time connect with.  Any of the aforementioned would be viable singles.

Houston, known for her ability to interpret songs, rather than writing, pens two of the albums island-influenced mid-tempo’s, along with R&B singer Akon. The duet “Like I Never Left”, sounds as though it could be directed to the a past lover or the to public in a plea to love her like she never went away. With “I Got You”, Houston talks of love and loyalty and how neither distance nor time can separate loved ones.

Houston is a self-described “balladeer’, so naturally an album from the legendary Icon wouldn’t be complete without a couple of power ballads. With both “I Look To You” and “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” Whitney comes from a spiritual place, sharing that when she was lost, it was her faith that brought her through.

Houston covers all bases with an album that will make you want to dance, cry, make love, feel inspired and everything in between. Vocally, the highs may not be as high and the lows are lower, but Houston still delivers and is able to convey each song with the feeling,  power and emotion as only she can. If you are expecting “The Bodyguard” era vocals, you will be disappointed. Whitney’s voice has undergone its share of changes, but is still better than the majority of who you’ll hear on the radio.

Houston and ”industry father” executive producer, Clive Davis have managed to blend experience with relevance, in keeping with tradition of the classic Whitney we know and love, while remaining fresh and current. Overall, I Look To You is the perfect blend of ballads, mid-tempos and up-tempos from arguably the greatest female vocalist of all time. Welcome back, Whitney.

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

“Saturday Night Soul and R&B” with host Mir.I.am airs weekly from 9 to 11 p.m.

Chrisette Michele: Epiphany
Released 5/5/09
4.5/5 stars

For many artists, the sophomore album is a crucial one. If its predecessor was a hit, the bar is set high, but if it was a flop, this album could feasibly make or break their career. Many artists have fallen into the curse that is the “sophomore jinx,”  but Chrisette Michele manages not only to meet the bar, she exceeds all previous expectations with Epiphany.

With Epiphany, Chrisette’s traditional vocal stylings have evolved into a more well-rounded R&B sound, retaining the jazz influences from her debut album,  I am, yet adding more of a modern, urban, youthful vibe. Epiphany mainly focuses on the joys and sorrows love brings from the viewpoint of a strong, independent woman, with a fragile heart.

 The first single “Epiphany,” bearing the albums title, begins with “It’s
over.” The Ne-Yo-produced piano driven single describes how Michele has
finally come to an important realization and decides that it’s time to
leave an unhealthy relationship. It is the perfect opening to a stellar
album.

Following “Epiphany” is the beautifully written ballad “Notebook,”
describing how Michele is afraid to tell a prospective mate that she has
a crush and instead opts to confide in the pages of her notebook.

The album hit’s its stride with “Blame It on Me,” in which Michele
is at her finest vocally, confessing that she doesn’t care who takes the blame
for a failed relationship “as long as it’s over.”

Next is “All I Ever Think About.” Its old school R&B vibe, heavy bass and impassioned vocals make it the album’s best, as Michele bares her heart and soul over an imperfect relationship, which in fact is quite perfect.

Epiphany successfully moves from soulful melodies to urban-pop with
the acoustic guitar-ridden “Playin’ Our Song” and “On My Own.” The
former has Michele convincing herself that she’s fine after a breakup, but in reality she’s heartbroken, while the latter has Michele acknowledging its time to claim her independence and transform into a woman.

Many of the albums standouts were written and produced by R&B singer  Ne-Yo, including  “Porcelain Doll, “Another One” and “What You Do.” Chrisette is a modern day Billie Holiday on the feisty empowering, “Porcelain Doll”, proclaiming boldly that she is no one’s trophy. “Another One” echo’s the sentiments of the aforementioned, as Michele confesses that she’s a “grown woman, dealing with grown woman things”. And with “What You Do”, Michele makes it clear that actions speak louder than words. 

The majority of Epiphany consists of ballads and mid-tempos, but “Mr.Right” and “Fragile”, prove Michele she can successfully tackle up-tempo’s as well. The Doo-Wop, Hip-Hop and Lauryn Hill influenced “Mr. Right” finds Michele explaining how she has found the perfect person for her. “Fragile” and “I’m Okay” expose Michele’s vulnerabilities and express how love has hurt her.

Epiphany encompasses all the qualities needed to produce a classic album, with its colorful production, catchy melodies and complex vocal arrangements, thoughtful lyrical content and unique, edgy vocals. Chrisette Michele has truly reinvigorated the world of R&B music, as Ephiphany is one of the years best.

For more on Chrisette Michele click here.

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

Our friends at the Technician newspaper have been very busy, after North Carolina State University Chancellor James L. Oblinger resigned this morning.  For updates throughout the day, turn to TechnicianOnline.com.

Yamil Camacho
Technician Staff Writer

What is one day in the life of a rapper? Mainstream ideas of the life of a rapper show it composed of parties, high-price cars and questionable activities. Napoleon Wright’s documentary, One Day seeks to refute that stereotype. The film follows each member of Kooley High, a local group made up of N.C. State alumni.

One Day will be showing at Witherspoon Cinema on Monday, April 20, starting at 7:30 with DJ sets from DJ J. Wall, DJ Nominal and Kooley High’s own DJ Ill Digitz. The event is a collaboration between WKNC and the UAB.  It is free to all students.

Kooley High will open for Wale at the Cat’s Cradle April 16.

For more about the film and quotes from Kooley High’s Tab One, check out the full story here.

The Decemberists present the ‘complete’ album with ‘The Hazards of Love’
Seth White

The Decemberists have given me hope that the concept of an album is still alive. On their latest, The Hazards of Love, Colin Meloy and crew tell the dark story of two lovers, William and Margaret, and the two antagonists that attempt to foil their plans, the Queen and the Rake. The album’s seventeen songs are perfectly crafted and woven together with common themes and solid transitions. In an interview with Paste Magazine, Meloy commented that Hazards was initially set to be a musical but then reinvented as a rock opera.

An instrumental prelude slowly starts off the album and blends into part one of the title track, there are four altogether. “The Hazards of Love 1″ resembles their earlier works complete with acoustic picking, rich upright bass and well-read Meloy’s lyrics circling about “lithesome maidens.” This formula is immediately shed on the following song, “A Bower Scene.” Here, distorted electric guitars thump power chords reminiscent of “Ziggy Stardust” or The Wall. What surprises me the most about this new sound is how well it actually works for the Decemberists, the changes from folk to rock are pulled off effortlessly here.

After an instrumental interlude about halfway through the album, “The Rake’s Song” kicks in. An eerie song featuring thick drums about a widower murdering his children, he pays for that at the end of the album. Following this is “The Abduction of Margaret” — here, the band revisits the sounds of “A Bower Scene” and pushes them to new boundaries.

Shara Morden of My Brightest Diamond is brought in to do the vocals of the Queen. Here, her voice is emotionally empowering and downright evil especially over prog-rock guitars on “The Queens Rebuke” and “The Wanting Comes in Waves.” Along with Morden, the Decemberists brought in My Morning Jacket’s front man, Jim James, to help out with background vocals on various tracks.

The last track, “The Hazards of Love 4,” brings the album to its tragic close as William and Margaret are swept off and drowned by the river. The song is a gentle finale with a wonderful steel guitar solo sandwiched in between the last duet by the two lovers.

There are drawbacks some might see to this take-it-or-leave it concept album. Each song flows right into the next leaving no real breaks — great for an album but causes it to lack the singles of its predecessor, The Crane Wife. But for what it’s worth, they aren’t missed here. As a whole, The Hazards of Love is a conceptual masterpiece from start to finish that Decemberists fans will cherish on their first listen.

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

Beginning tonight, N.C. State students needing a ride downtown for awesome WKNC festivities (and other stuff, if you must) will have one. The Technician newspaper has all the details, but please keep in mind the service is for State students ONLY.

There are three Wolfprowl bus stops downtown along the circulator route, with all the other stops on campus. Both the Wolfprowl and the circulator bus provide free transportation to students, allowing them to reach downtown safely and for free — all a student has to do is show his or her student ID, the Web site states. [Read more at TechnicianOnline.com]

The bus won’t quite get you to Tir Na Nog, so please check out the route to see your best drop-off options.

More than 1,000 people attended a tribute to the late Wolfpack Women’s Basketball Coach Kay Yow, according to an article in today’s Technician. WKNC was honored to carry the event live and reproduce the audio for you here. Many thanks to WKNC Engineer Austin Page, Evening Exchange host John Boyer and everyone else at WKNC who made this broadcast possible.

The hour-long tribute features words by Director of Basketball Operations for Wolfpack Women’s basketball Robin Pate, Director of Athletics Coach Lee Fowler, Chancellor James L. Oblinger, Assistant Coach Jenny Palmateer and Interim Coach Stephanie Glance. As pictures do not translate well on radio, a video tribute to Coach Yow was not included. We instead rebroadcast an interview from Tuesday’s Sports Revolution featuring Patrick Kinas, play-by-play announcer for the women’s basketball team. We encourage you to watch the video tribute at WRAL.com.

Listen to the full audio here and watch the Technician Tribute to Kay Yow below:

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Colourmusic’s eccentric new album is a hit
Chris Cioffi

Innovation and creativity are two of the elements to look for when listening to a new band, and the new Colourmusic album has both in spades. The ear candy that one can expect while listening to Colourmusic’s first full length album is almost overwhelming at times.

Whimsical, charming music is a guilty pleasure of mine, and f, monday, orange, february, venus, lunatic, 1 or 13 is as whimsical and charming as they come. Their poppy sounds and beautiful song-craft make listening to this album an exciting experience. Conceptually, the band has tried to fashion songs that evoke feelings specific to an individual color.

On previous EPs, for instance, they have tried to evoke the color red, but this time around, orange is the focal point. This eccentric fact wasn’t immediately obvious and came from researching the album, but on subsequent listens the orange vibe in their songs does in fact seem to come through.

One could believe that picking a single color would be limiting a band’s sound, but Colourmusic is able to transcend those limitations and puts forth thirteen beautiful tracks that not only stand individually as extremely catchy tunes, but flow as a complete and solid album. When listening to this album, you will catch yourself involuntarily singing along to the catchy songs such as “Put in a Little Gas,” and my personal favorite, “Winter Song.”

Eccentricity is their trademark, and Colourmusic has built an engaging mythology around their blend of performance art and publicity stunts. On many occasions, the band has been known to stage the death and subsequent resuscitation of band member Nick Turner onstage.

They have also been known to hypnotize particularly appealing members of the audience in failed attempts to con them into sleeping with them.

Sometimes all four band members dress alike, grow similar beards, and even date the same girl merging themselves into one stage personality, whom they call Roy G. Biv. According to Wikipedia, another publicly-known interest of the band is going to local malls while on tour and pulling the old “dollar on the end of a string” trick.

Generally, one member will act as string-puller while the others crouch behind a potted tropical plant with their Fisher-Price PXL-2000 video camera, attempting to acquire footage for the video of one of their latest songs titled, “Don’t Hollah fo That Dollah You Di-int Get”.

Colourmusic has put out one of the better albums released recently. The experience is definitely worth a trip down to the local record store to check out this eccentric entry. Who knows, you might find your new favorite band!

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

New album ‘Heart On’ lacks electricity
Kyle Robb
General Manager, WKNC 88.1 FM

Hailing from Palm Springs, Calif., Eagles of Death Metal is masterminded by high school friends Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. Though Homme’s other band, Queens of the Stone Age, had already achieved widespread success prior to Eagles’ debut release of Peace, Love, and Death Metal in 2004, he has maintained a musical partnership with Hughes since 1998.

First and foremost: Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. Perhaps best summarized as garage rock, Homme once described the band’s sound as “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals.”

Their debut received favorable reviews and several tracks were featured on commercial spots and in the movie Thank You For Smoking. Their follow-up, Death by Sexy, was released in 2006 and featured contributions from Jack Black, Liam Lynch and Dave Grohl among others.

Heart On opens with the rhythmic clapping of “Anything ‘cept the Truth,” which quickly descends into the treble drenched riffs of Hughes’ guitar. In addition to the opener, Eagles are at their high powered rocking best with upbeat tracks like “Wannabe in LA,” “High Voltage,” and “Secret Plans.”

Of course, as with any other Eagles of Death Metal album, the release is latent with hilarious quips on the nuances of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Tracks like ‘(I Used to Couldn’t Dance) Tight Pants’ and ‘Cheap Thrills’ highlight the band’s authentic brand of rock humor, but neither compare to the majestic ode to self abuse that is ‘Solo Flights.’

Ultimately, the album makes for a fun listen and contains solid tracks from top to bottom, but if you’re looking for that infectious toe-tapping crunchy rock anthem that stays in your head for days, then look elsewhere. There is not a single track on the album that can be identified as a weakened link to the album’s fluidity, but conversely, there is not a single track which differentiates itself as spectacular. This lack of electricity is what ultimately places Heart On behind its predecessors.

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

The fine folks at Goodnight Raleigh sat down with WKNC’s DJ Kyle. Besides his duties as a program host, Kyle is the station’s fearless leader (aka general manager) and regularly contributes to our 88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week feature in the Technician.

The best way to visualize the Dance Dance Revolution (Sundays at 8:00 P.M.) is to use an analogy Kyle mentioned when describing his show: If indie rock were fire and electro were ice, DDR would be the lukewarm water between the two…

Read more at Goodnight Raleigh.