Author: WKNC Admin

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Weekly Charts

WKNC’s top 30 Daytime albums from the past week

Here are the top 30 albums played in WKNC’S Daytime format over the past week, compiled by Daytime Music Director John Hubbard:

1. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
2. Gigi – Maintenant
3. Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
4. Via Audio – Animalore
5. Olof Arnalds – Vig o Vig
6. Oh No Ono – Eggs
7. Angelo Spencer – Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets
8. Toro y Moi – Causers of This
9. Soft Tags – Mathematical Monsters
10. Beach House – Teen Dream
11. Hot Chip – One Life Stand
12. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
13. Los Campesinos – Romance is Boring
14. Shout Out Louds – Work
15. Butterfly Bones – Pretty Feelings
16. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
17. Xiu Xiu – Dear God, I Hate Myself
18. Vampire Weekend – Contra
19. Four Tet – There is Love in You
20. Ernest Gonzales – Been Meaning to Tell You
21. Midlake  – The Courage of Others
22. Laarks – An Exultation of Laarks
23. Donora – Donora
24. Spoon – Transference
25. Final Fantasy – Heartland
26. Field Music – Field Music (Measure)
27. Golden Triangle – Golden Triangle
28. The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack
29. Fan Death – A Coin for Well
30. Ruby Suns – Fight Softly

Categories
DJ Highlights

Local Beat preview 2/26/10

Sorry for the delay in this post, but a couple of tests had me bogged down this week. I promise not to carry that into tonight on the Local Beat which will be one hell of a show as we have three hours of awesome Local Music.

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At 5 p.m. Chapel Hill band Feeding the Fire is coming in to chat about their new album, titled DisInfoNation, that is being released next Thursday, February 4, at the Local 506. Playing alongside them will be Rocket Surgeon and Big Fat Gap.

At 6 p.m., local favorite Wendy Spitzer is joining me to chat about her new release as well, from Felix Obelix, called The Tick of the Clock, the Beat in the Chest. Last time we had Wendy in I unfortunately was taken out by H1N1 and our old friend Stevo had to fill in. Hopefully I can redeem myself tonight. Felix Obelix just recently signed with Pox World Empire who will be releasing the album. The release show is tomorrow night, Saturday February 27 at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill. The Strugglers will be opening for the $8 show (a free CD comes with the price of admission) and there is a really cool letter writing activity that Wendy and I will definitely be talking about.

At 7pm one of our favorite bluegrass bands, the Kickin Grass Band is coming in to play some live tunes and talk about some upcoming shows.

Also, be on the lookout for our upcoming Local Beat Mini Exclusive with Bla’gard who is releasing a brand new album this weekend. More on that to come!

This is also the last live Local Beat for a month as N.C. State Baseball will be taking over WKNC’s radio waves this Spring. Keep on the lookout for online material for the rest of the Spring!

Categories
Weekly Charts

Top 10 Chainsaw albums from the past week

The following are the top 10 albums played on WKNC’S Chainsaw format over the past week, compiled by Chainsaw Music Director Jonathan Newman:

1. High on Fire – Snakes for the Divine
2. Overkill – Ironbound
3. Ihsahn – After
4. Devin Townsend Project – Addicted
5. Droids Attack – Must Destroy
6. Wrath And Rapture – Wrath And Rapture
7. Anima – Enter the Killzone
8. Sovereign Strength – Reflections
9. Heathen – The Evolution of Chaos
10. Close Your Eyes – We Will Overcome

Categories
New Album Review

WKNC Pick of the Week 2/25

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./blockquote>

Categories
Non-Music News

EOT21 Black History Month Special 2/22/10

This week we feature segments based only around Black History month. In VIP Alison talks to member of the Civil Rights movement from N.C. Hear This features the topic of freedom songs, and WoW covers Professor Reavis’ involvement in the movement.

Listen to episode 21.

Categories
Local Music Music News and Interviews

Three Interviews for the Price of One

Everyone seems to have had their say about the show at the Pour House Music Hall last Friday, which featured Annuals with support from Gray Young and Bright Young Things.  I was there and it rocked.

(Seriously, check Cabbage’s review of the show as well as Karen Mann’s always excellent coverage.)

But let’s not forget the 2/11 Local Beer, Local Band show at Tir Na Nog that featured Bright Young Things with support from Luego and Naked Gods (straight outta Boone).

And let’s not forget the three interviews in one hour preceding that show.  That’s right, I shuffled all three of these bands in and out of the studio.  Better yet, Bright Young Things played a Jayhawks-inspired version of their own “She Left You Dreaming.”  Luego followed with Patrick’s solo version of “Run Away” that will be on their album Ocho, to be released later this year.

Check the interview below – the catch is that you have to sift through to my voice to catch the live songs. But they’re worth it!  Enjoy.

Bright Young Things, Luego, Naked Gods interview!

(But wait, there’s more! Free Bright Young Things music at Bandcamp!)

Categories
Music News and Interviews

The ExMonkeys on WKNC Wednesday night

Local electronic duo The ExMonkeys will be coming in to the WKNC studio for a full live performance and interview this Wednesday, February 24, at 8 p.m. Yes, I looked at the NCSU sports broadcast schedule this time and no, we will not be broadcasting a game on Wednesday. As mentioned, they’ll be doing a full live set, followed by an interview where we’ll discuss their sound, electronic music in the Triangle, and their monthly electro/noise night (co-hosted with the awesomely insane Cheezface) at The Pour House, Technoiz. So tune in, bob your head, and move your feet if you feel the need to do so.

Categories
Podcasts

Bright Young Things, Luego and Naked Gods

Categories
Non-Music News

EOT 2/22: preview

In honor of Black History month, this week’s episode is dedicated to the Civil Rights era and the Triangle’s role in the movement. From VIP to Hear This to Wolfpacker of the Week, our segments will be focusing on some aspect of civil rights.

Here is a preview of a couple of our segments, but you definitely want to tune in to today’s show to hear more!

On this weeks’ Hear This, we take a different approach to local music. We’ll look at the cultural significance of Freedom Songs. Correspondent Michael Jones will sit down with Toni Thorpe, program coordinator for the African American Cultural Center on campus, to discuss the importance of this topic, Freedom songs passed down through the generations and what can be considered modern-day Freedom songs.

For our Wolfpacker of the Week, Correspondent Jacob Downey will be talking with accomplished author and N.C. State journalism Professor Dick Reavis about his role in the Civil Rights Movement from his days as a Texas undergrad spending his summers and holidays campaigning for reform in Alabama in the 60s to his life as a pragmatist living and teaching in Raleigh, still allowing himself to hope form race reform today. Tune in Monday evening on Eye on the Triangle to hear how college activism shaped our Wolfpacker of the Week’s perspective for a life time.

That’s as much of a look into today’s episode as we’ll give you for now. Be sure to listen in at 7 p.m. either on the dial at 88.1 or at wknc.org/listen!

Categories
Non-Music News

EOT20 Service Corps 2/15/10

Whether you’re a graduate looking into service corps organizations or someone who wants to know how local music can benefit charity, you’ll want to check out what this past week’s EOT had to offer.

VIP
Joining us live in studio were Teach for America on  campus student coordinator Joe Wright, N.C. State Peace Corps Recruiter Marques Anderson, and senior in graphic design Ana Andruzzi. Wright and Anderson discussed the organizations they represent and the benefits students can take from joining these service corps. Andruzzi talked about her decision to teach in Prague after graduation through Teaching English as a Foreign Language and what she hoped to get out of it. *Make sure to also check the EOT blog this week for interviews with a graduate who went into the Peace Corps in Armenia and one who went into Teach for America.*

NEWS
This week’s top headlines:
Mayor proposes new financing plan
Erskine Bowles to step down as BOG president, take on role with Obama deficit panel
Western cities fare best in well-being index
Democrat Evan Bayh of Ind. to retire from Senate
Clinton warns of Mideast nuclear arms race
Toyota may lengthen warranties to keep customers

SPORTS
Check out Correspondent Tyler Everett’s weekly sports analysis.

EDITORIAL
In honor of chancellor-elect Randy Woodson’s ceremony at Reynolds Coliseum Feb. 10, Evan Garris gave listeners his opinion on what the new chancellor should be prepared to do for his constituents. Woodson will take on his new role as chancellor April 5. Agree or disagree with Evan? Let us know at publicaffairs@wknc.org.

COMMUNITY CANVAS
This week on Community Canvas, Arts Correspondent Kieran Moreira spoke to Jason Cooper, a sophomore in communication, and Laura-Nelle Parnell, a senior in political science, about their parts in the musical Into The Woods, an Arts N.C. State performance.  Kieran tackled questions specifically dealing with the intricate storyline, which mixes popular bedtime stories into a cohesive musical plot. Both Cooper and Parnell gave Eye on the Triangle a showcase of their performances. Parnell got into character as the Witch giving a haunting monologue, while Cooper delved into a more lighthearted musical number from his character Jack who sings about the loss of his beloved cow, Milky White.

HEAR THIS
Last week, Schooner celebrated the release of its latest EP entitled Duck Kee Sessions. Aside from the new songs and new sounds, Duck Kee Sessions had something else new. It was released exclusively on CyTunes, a music downloading service where all of the proceeds are dedicated to the Tisch Brain Cancer Center in Durham. CyTunes was originally created in 2008 in memory of WXYC DJ and local music maven, Cy Rawls. Cy gained a following among many people in the local music scene whom he loved to listen to and he became the close friend they would love to see at shows, according to his colleagues. After his passing, a small group of his friends came together to create a music downloading service in order to raise money for the Tisch Brain Cancer Center, where he was treated. Correspondents Alyssa D’Avanzo and Michael Jones interviewed Chris Rossi and Janet Park from CyTunes about how they came to know Cy and how they plan on expanding the service to include more local acts, as well as the frontman of Schooner, Reid Johnson, on how he came to know Cy and on Schooner’s decision to donate its latest release on CyTunes.

Comments, questions or suggestions? E-mail us at publicaffairs@wknc.org.

Listen to episode 20.