Photography by Student Media photographers Alex Sanchez and Marisa Akers

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

WKNC photographer Alex Sanchez captures performances by Last Year’s Men, Spider Bags and The Love Language on the first day of the second annual Hopscotch Music Festival.

If you can brave the icy cold air and scraping the ice off your car, we’ve got some hot giveaways for you!

1/12: Obits @ Kings Barcade

1/12: The Walkmen @ Cat’s Cradle

1/13: Colossus @ Kings Barcade

1/13: The Wigg Report @ Casbah

1/15: The Love Language @ Cat’s Cradle

1/15: The Ettes @ The Pour House

Be the correct caller at the appropriate time to win tickets — you have to listen to win!

For a more complete list of local shows, visit the Rock Report!

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.

Friday evening on the Local Beat will be one you surely do not want to miss.

The first hour of the program Chapel Hill band the Light Pines are coming on to talk with us about a plethora of topics as we promote their First Friday  show at Tir na Nog alongside 12000 Armies and Nudehues.  The Light Pines are almost finished with their debut 10 track album and we will talk about that in plenty.  Also stick around and listen as we chat about their connections with the Love Language and their future touring plans.

From 6pm-8pm I am dedicating two hours to the Troika Music Festival in downtown Durham.  Melissa Thomas and Stuart Horne dropped by earlier in the week to pre-record the two hour interview and it was rather entertaining.  You can go ahead and listen to that interview here, but you can only listen to the Troika bands during the airing of the interview!

As always, the Local Beat is every Friday evening from 5pm-8pm right here on WKNC.  You can also listen online here.  Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and ReverbNation!

Good afternoon!

We have some great giveaways that are going like HOT CAKES!

October 21: The Love Language at Kings

October 22: Goner at Kings

October 23: Airiel Down at Lincoln Theatre

October 23:   Gray Young at The Pour House

October 23:  The Moaners w/ Embarrassing Fruits at Kings

October 24: Small Black at Kings

October 26: Muse w/ Metric at the RBC Center

Remember, you have to listen to win!

88.1 WKNC’s Pick of the Week, written by Drew St. Claire a.k.a. DJ SWITCH

When I was just a newborn, my mom would sit in this old rocking chair and cradle me while she sang her favorite Beatles songs, instead of the traditional lullabies. I’m guessing my dad’s renditions of Led Zeppelin didn’t quite make for good bedtime music. So, while I was listening to The Love Language’s newest release, Libraries, I couldn’t help but see a similar scene playing out in my mind—some trendy Triangle couple crooning this local band’s latest release to their little bundle of joy. It’s just got that same kind of simple beauty to it.

A couple of years ago, the Love Language’s frontman, Stuart McLamb, was more likely to be found lying in a Raleigh back alley than rocking the big stage at the Hopscotch Music Festival. After a turbulent series of personal events, McLamb created a new band (The Love Language) and put out a self-titled album about his struggles. Libraries comes out just a year after that debut self-titled album and is a very solid follow-up. If the Love Language hasn’t proven themselves to be heavy hitters in Raleigh’s thriving indie rock scene yet, this album will certainly solidify them as such. The first track, “Pedals,” starts out with a quiet piano intro but then crashes into this rich melody with all sorts of layers to it. Those are going to be the keywords for Libraries: “rich” and “layers.” “A season for the both of us, a reason that rose off the coffin”—those are the first bold words from Stuart McLamb, the lead singer and guitarist. He has a bit of Morrissey (from the Smiths) in his voice, and it works well echoing out over the rich ebb and flow of the music. With those symphonic-like buildups and crashes from the instrumentation, I also got a pretty definite Arcade Fire vibe as well. That lovely riff running throughout “Pedals” sounds just like the outro from “Intervention,” but with a beautiful tragedy that is all its own. Another quick standout for me was certainly “Horrorphones.” This was The Love Language track WKNC included on the Hear Here compilation, which was reviewed by yours truly a few issues back. I still stand by what I said about this song back then—a melodic headtrip that’s equal parts I’m From Barcelona and the Beach Boys. Tracks like “This Blood Is Our Own” and “Anthophobia” give off an almost beach-vibe with their bending and sliding guitar solos. This underlying feeling became so pervasive to me that I checked out the band’s website and, sure enough, I see crashing waves and faded photos of wholesome girls in one piece bathing suits. Songs like these, and ones like “Blue Angel,” put me in what I think a 1950’s prom would have been like, but with a much more hip twist to it (and none of the embarrassment). The album closes out with “Wilmont,” which I assume is an allusion to the historic apartment building just down Hillsborough Street. Like the building it references, the song has plenty of heart and soul, made manifest by an acoustic intro and McLamb’s sincere lyrics, “I want you to be with me, ‘cause I’ve got a big heart to feed.” With songs like that, maybe it’s not too far-fetched for Libraries to become lasting lullaby material. Maybe one of those little babies will even grow up to write CD reviews of The Love Language’s next release.

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

For those who pride themselves on being familiar with local indie music within the Triangle, it would be a cardinal sin to overlook The Love Language‘s rise within our tight knit music community in recent months. Indy Week gave the Raleigh band a nice cover photo and article last week, which chronicled the almost Cinderella story of Stu McLamb’s personal setbacks with the broken band this past December and his ability to bounce back to release Libraries on Merge Records, Love Language’s second album. Personally, The Love Language’s recent openings for international band Phoenix this June in Raleigh and Charlotte have cemented their growing momentum.

Although I admit that Libraries did not top their self-titled first album, I could not deny the raw energy that was present on stage at Cat’s Cradle Saturday night. The lead singer was composed, on point, and looked sincerely grateful to play the sold out show. He opened the night playing solo in deep spotlight, embodying the loneliness but also the his perseverance through the past few months. As McLamb finished quietly, the rest of the band transitioned perfectly in with “Horophones,” which symbolically represented the new band members’ solidarity. Although the show was aimed at showcasing Libraries, fans were treated with old favorites and special guests such as members from local band Lost in the Trees.

I couldn’t help but notice the various types of people that packed into the spacious Cradle, which signified that McLamb and friends are producing wide appeal. However, the Cradle wasn’t just teeming with life before the headliners walked on stage. Although I made a late appearance that night (due to an unscheduled pit-stop to gather some delicious French fries,) I luckily caught most of The Light Pines‘ set. Last time I saw these guys was at the largest Local Beer Local Band night I’ve experienced where they attracted a huge crowd. Thankfully, things haven’t changed much since then. The boys seemed in step with one another producing their familiar haunting melodies. Guitarist Carter Gaj’s riffs were so rewarding that they warranted an impromptu and ecstatic Facebook status update.

Tommyboy was able to fill me in on opening act, Shit Horse, whom I knew relatively nothing about. However, apparently I missed a great deal of antics as the front man was extremely charismatic, soliciting responses now and then from the crowd. On their final number, they brought out a topless girl (both nipples pierced as I’m told) wearing a horse mask. Certainly, it had to have been an unforgettable performance.

The Love Language‘s much anticipated Merge release Libraries dropped recently into the hands of a salivating clientele, and tonight we have the privilege of celebrating the occasion.  I could waste my time (and yours) by giving a most likely inadequate review here, laden with underwhelming vocabulary and confusing or inappropriate allusions, but I know better.  I shall leave that task to the better equipped–those who do the album the service it deserves.

So rather than try to steer your take on the album, I’ll just give you some simple procedural advice: consider purchasing a ticket for the show tonight. Openers Shit Horse and Light Pines dictate attention, regardless of the situation. (But is there a better situation than this? An almost certainly sold-out Cat’s Cradle, bursting at the seams for one of the Triangle’s most lauded outfits in recent memory? I lean toward no.)

Tonight promises to entertain, to satisfy, and to satiate. (Ok, so you did end up getting some underwhelming vocabulary.) Doors are at 8 and the show starts at 9.

T.A.
(If my camera charges, I’ll be sure to put up some pics.)

	Artist	Album	Label
#1	TAME IMPALA	Innerspeaker	Modular
#2	GRAND LAKE	Blood Sea Dream	Hippies Are Dead
#3	MAPS & ATLASES	Perch Patchwork	Barsuk
#4	CASIOKIDS	Topp Semning Pa Lokal Bar	Polyvinyl
#5	LIGHT POLLUTION	Apparitions	Car Park
#6	VILLAGERS	Becoming a Jackal	Domino
#7	PEGGY SUE	Fossils And Other Phantoms	Yep Roc
#8	THE LOVE LANGUAGE	Libraries	Merge
#9	LIGHTS ON	Here Comes the Ocean	self-released
#10	DAN SARTAIN	Dan Sartain Lives	One Little Indian

This week we’re giving away some of the coolest goodies ever seen!

We’re giving away tickets to Rasputina on July 13 at Cat’s Cradle,

Doco on July 17 at The Pour House,

and The Love Language on July 17 at Cat’s Cradle.

We’re also giving away movie passes for Knight & Day, Grown Ups, Twilight Eclipse, which are showing at Cary Crossroads 20

Keep the dial locked to 88.1 to win these and other prizes on WKNC!

The Hopscotch Music Festival has now become synonymous with headliners: Broken Social Scene, Public Enemy, and Panda Bear. However, the Triangle’s largest music festival features plenty of local acts. That’s why every Friday for the next few weeks, Special K will be getting back to North Carolina’s musical roots by keeping spins local and giving away Hopscotch festival wristbands to lucky callers during the Local Lunch (12pm-1pm).

Listen only on 88.1FM or streaming online during Local Lunch for your favorite local Hopscotch bands like The Rosebuds, Bowerbirds, The Love Language and many more! For the full line-up of Hopscotch bands, visit their website here.

WKNC has some great giveaways just for you! Here are the shows that are going on this week that WKNC is giving away tickets to:

Tuesday, April 13

Monotonix w/The Thermals, Past Lives & Bellafea @ Cat’s Cradle

Wednesday, April 14

Roman Candle w/The Ravenna Colt & The Parson Red Heads @ Cat’s Cradle

Thursday, April 15

The Love Language w/The Light Pines & Moneybrother @ The Pour House

Friday, April 16

Jedi Mind Tricks w/Dow Jones & Skyblew @ Cat’s Cradle

Listen to WKNC 88.1 FM or stream online for your chance to win! To get a complete list of local shows happening in your area, check out The Rock Report!

The Independent Weekly announced the line-up for its first Hopscotch Music Festival today.  The festival will take place in downtown Raleigh on September 9, 10 and 11 2010. Headlining the festival are Public Enemy, Panda Bear and Broken Social Scene. A plethora of local favorites will be playing as well.

Here’s a list of the bands scheduled to play the festival, with more to be released April 12:

9th Wonder & Friends, Active Child, All Tiny Creatures, American Aquarium, Americans in France, Atlas Sound, Balmorhea, Bear in Heaven, Best Coast, Birds of Avalon, Black Congo NC, DJ George Brazil, Broken Social Scene, Brutal Knights, Richard Buckner, Burning Star Core, Cannabis Corpse, Caitlin Cary’s Small Ponds with Tres Chicas, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Cults, Greg Davis, Double Dagger, Double Negative, The Dynamite Brothers, EAR PWR, ExMonkeys, First Rate People, Followed by Static, Ben Frost, Fucked Up, Future Islands, Golden Boys, The Golden Filter, Goner, Gray Young, Ryan Gustafson, Hammer No More the Fingers, Harlem, Harvey Milk, Horseback, John Howie Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff, I Was Totally Destroying It, Javelin, Jeb Bishop Trio, Juan Huevos, Kill the Noise, The Kingsbury Manx, Kooley High, Kylesa, The Light Pines, Lonnie Walker, The Love Language, Lucero, Luego, Max Indian, Erin McKeown, Megafaun, Midtown Dickens, The Moaners, The Monologue Bombs, Motor Skills, Mountains, Jon Mueller, Marissa Nadler, No Age, Ocean, Old Bricks, Panda Bear, Pattern Is Movement, Pictureplane, Plague, Pontiak, Public Enemy, The Rosebuds, Schooner, Sightings, spcl gst, Spider Bags, Thien, Tigercity, Tortoise, Treasure Fingers, US Christmas, Sharon Van Etten, Veelee, Vincent Black Shadow, War on Drugs, Washed Out, Weedeater, Whatever Brains, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Yip-Yip.

Tickets go on sale April 1. For more information, check out this article from the Independent Weekly.

This thursday, Febuary 18, is another installment of Tir Na Nog and WKNC’s Local Beer Local Band night. The show is Free and doors open at 10 p.m. Thursday night’s line-up consists of a solo performace from Stuart of The Love Language followed by The Proclivities and finishing off the night will be North Elementary.

As always, Tir Na Nog will have a fine selection of local beers on tap. For more information about this show and future Local Beer Local Band nights, check out www.Tnnirishpub.com.

Hope to see you there!