Category: Miscellaneous

Random sh*t we don’t know where else to put

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Miscellaneous

Deserted Island Albums

deserted island album

You know those ludicrous scenarios people make up for icebreakers? Like, the ones where you can only bring a certain amount of items to a deserted island, or only save one thing from a burning building. Those questions have always felt weird to me. Like, if I’m on a deserted island I’d want food and if I’m in a burning building I’m going to save myself and whatever I’m currently holding (which is probably my phone). However, today I’m going to create and entertain one of these odd scenarios.

You’re on a deserted island, and you can only choose five albums to listen to while you’re trapped there. You could be trapped there for days, weeks, or the rest of your life. You have plenty of food and water, but these five albums are your only form of entertainment, which five albums do you choose?

Without further ado, here are my Deserted Island Albums.

“Any Other City” – Life Without Buildings

Much of this album is just random words strung together in a way that sound pretty—and I heavily dig that. This is by no means one of my favorite albums ever, but it’s a solid and beautiful piece of math-rock. Having this on a deserted island will be a refreshing departure from some of my other albums, which focus heavily on storytelling.

“evermore (deluxe version)” – Taylor Swift

This isn’t even my favorite album of hers, but it’s by far her best at storytelling (at least in my opinion). Having some wintry and fall vibes through this album will certainly boost my morale, as I’m under the assumption that this island is tropical and therefore hot and humid. 

“Rubber Soul” – The Beatles

This album will probably be the one I turn to when I’m emotional about being trapped on a deserted island. With tracks like “In My Life,” “Nowhere Man,” and “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” I’ll be bound to be caught crying to this at least once or twice.

“Hot Pink” – Doja Cat

I need at least one album to have fun with. While “Any Other City” is a departure from the lyricism of the other albums, it’s not fun like “Hot Pink” is. This is also a great workout album, so if I decide to take up exercise as a hobby while I’m trapped, this would be excellent for that.

“Fetch The Bolt Cutters” – Fiona Apple

This album is a wonderful mixture of lyricism and noise, and is also one of my favorite albums of all time. What more is there to say, besides that it’s perfect from start to finish?

What albums would you bring to a deserted island? What would your priorities be when choosing these albums? I had fun thinking about it and you might, too.

Until next time,

Caitlin

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Miscellaneous

WKNC Cowboy Song

Man sitting on left edge of screen wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat and playing guitar

Howdy partners. Gather around the campfire as Sheriff WKNC serenades his true love, WKNC 88.1.

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Miscellaneous

Illustrated Album Art Highlight

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Inspired by DJ Butter and Miranda, I wanted to do an exploration into my favorite album covers. Personally, I favor album art that is illustrated/painted or otherwise looks so. Without further ado, let’s get into some of my favorite illustrated album covers.

“The Idler Wheel…” – Fiona Apple

If there was an album cover that I feel most holistically encapsulates Apple’s sound, it would be this one. The bright colors bleeding their way into the complex line art of a woman’s face represents her unique and artistic contributions to pop music.

“Melodrama” – Lorde

This album art is quite possibly my favorite of all time. The overwhelming and rich blues complemented by the bright oranges and pinks are so pleasing to the eye. It also matches the themes of the album perfectly.

“Let Yourself Go” – Haley Blais

You know when an album cover is so good it makes you appreciate the work more? I 100% experienced that phenomenon with this EP. I found myself gravitating toward playing this just to see the whimsical blobs float into each other.

“The Execution Of All Things” – Rilo Kiley

This is another example of an album cover that matches the theme of an album perfectly. To me, the more defined face on the left represents a newer, more defined self with a greater understanding of harsh realities. The less defined silhouette on the left represents the inner child and innocence you always carry with you.

“Better Daughter” – Moscow Apartment

The 2D nature of the faces paired with the bright color scheme is entrancing. It looks almost collage-like and looks somewhat childlike and I love it.

These are only a few of my favorite album covers, and I will be sure to explore more in the future.

Until next time,

Caitlin

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Miscellaneous

The Many Musical Elements of “Grey’s Anatomy”

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“Grey’s Anatomy” is a medical drama television series that has been running for 17 seasons now, and has made a pretty significant impact on American pop culture. Something I’ve found intriguing about the show is just how much of it is centered around music. For a medical drama, there are many elements of the show that relate to music, almost an uncanny amount.

THE MUSICAL EPISODE

Season 7 Episode 18 “Song Beneath the Song,” also known as the musical episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” is one of the most unequivocally beloved and hated episodes of the series. The episode contains tracks sung by the cast members ranging from the often-featured “How to Save a Life” by The Fray to “Breathe (2 AM)” by Anna Nalick. Without offering a full-fledged analysis of the episode, I will say that perhaps an episode where a character is on the brink of death is not the best timing for an episode with nine musical numbers. 

EPISODE NAMES

Every single episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” (save for one) is named after a song. The first episode is named “A Hard Day’s Night” after the Beatles track and the most recent is named “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” after the Elton John track. The only exception is Season 14 Episode 9, titled “1-800-799-7233”  after the domestic abuse hotline in the United States. They did this because of the topic being addressed in a plotline dealt with by one of the main characters. 

Much to my delight, a Spotify user by the name of courtneymg1996 did the brunt work of making a playlist that contains (almost) all of the songs used in “Grey’s Anatomy” episode titles.

SONGS WITH MOTIFS

There are a few songs that represent certain motifs within the show’s plot, the two most notable being “How to Save a Life” by The Fray and “Portions For Foxes” by Rilo Kiley. 

“How to Save a Life” plays during the tragic moments on “Grey’s Anatomy”; if that track or “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol starts playing during an episode, you know you’re in for trouble. The episode named after “How to Save a Life” is the episode where Derek Shepherd, the title character’s husband (portrayed by Patrick Dempsey), meets his tragic ending.

As I’ve written about twice previously, “Portions For Foxes” by Rilo Kiley plays in the very first episode of the series, and is often used when the characters reminisce about their early years as interns at the hospital or for flashbacks to that time.

“SONGTAGES”

In a 2009 article in The Guardian, Mark Lawson credits “Grey’s Anatomy” for its popularization of the “songtage.” Lawson defines the “songtage” (a portmanteau of song and montage) as “the choice of an evocative tune to echo the emotions of the characters during a slow, silent section featuring the actors looking thoughtful or mournful.” The series is infamous for this type of scene, and it has been spoofed many times throughout the years by MADtv and others.

In my opinion, the tight and intertwined relationship that “Grey’s Anatomy” has with music is one of the main contributors to its success and sets it apart from similar medical procedural series’.

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Miscellaneous

Dream Festival Lineup

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I love music (obviously), and I love live music, but the premise of a music festival has always sounded like a lot to me. I’m fairly introverted, so three straight days of dawn to dusk music in a desert with no phone service doesn’t quite pique my interest. However, after being deprived of live music for quite some time, festival lineups are coming out again, and I’ve been contemplating what the lineup would have to be for me to cave and buy tickets for a music festival.

Inspired by DJ Butter’s post about this a few weeks ago, I decided to come up with my very own dream festival line up.

After much deliberation, time, and stalking of my last.fm and Spotify, I came up with a list of artists that I would love to see all at one music festival. As I was compiling the list I realized how eclectic my music taste is, and how far fetched it is that all of these people would ever be in the same place. Nevertheless, it was fun to pretend.

With that being said, here is my (tentative) dream festival lineup.

Poster made on https://festivalpostergenerator.com/

HEADLINERS AND MY DREAM SETLISTS

Doja Cat

Seeing Doja Cat live would be so much fun, she really knows how to put on a show and all of her songs are bangers. If she were to headline, this would be my dream setlist for her to perform.

  1. “Rules”
  2. “MOOO!”
  3. “Best Friend”
  4. “Boss B-tch”
  5. “Tia Tamera”
  6. “Streets”
  7. “Like That”
  8. “Kiss Me More”
  9. “Candy”
  10. “Juicy”
  11. “Say So”

Lorde

I’ve been a fan of Lorde for years and would absolutely love to finally see her live. If she were to headline, this would be my dream setlist for her to perform.

  1. “Homemade Dynamite”
  2. “The Louvre:
  3. “Sober”
  4. “Royals”
  5. “Ribs”
  6. “Liability”
  7. “Hard Feelings/Loveless”
  8. “400 Lux”
  9. “A World Alone”
  10. “Perfect Places”
  11. “Supercut”
  12. “Liability (Reprise)”
  13. “Green Light”

Frank Ocean

The elusive Frank Ocean was actually supposed to headline Coachella in 2020, but unfortunately, Coachella did not happen last year. If he were to headline at my festival, this would be my dream setlist for him to perform.

  1. “Thinkin Bout You”
  2. “In My Room”
  3. “White Ferrari”
  4. “Self Control”
  5. “Super Rich Kids”
  6. “Chanel”
  7. “Bad Religion”
  8. “Forrest Gump”
  9. “Sweet Life”
  10. “DHL”
  11. “Solo”
  12. “Pyramids”
  13. “Skyline To”
  14. “Nights”
  15. “Biking”
  16. “Ivy”
  17. “Slide”

This was a lot of fun to think and theorize about, so if you’re ever looking for something to do, try planning a fake music festival.

Until next time,

Caitlin

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DJ Highlights Miscellaneous

How I Came Up With My DJ Name

So, this past spring semester I applied to be a DJ at WKNC. After writing blogs for them for a few months, I wanted to become more involved, and that seemed like the next logical step in my journey. They thankfully accepted me into their DJ course, and next thing you know, I’m a DJ for WKNC.

An important part of becoming a DJ is choosing the right DJ name. As DJ Psyched details in their post “My Time at WKNC,” coming up with a DJ name is hard. I struggled a lot, kept notes in my phone of potential DJ names (some of which included DJ Castaway and Julius), and continually asked the people around me what I should do.

Eventually, a few people suggested CC, which was my nickname for a bit in middle school. At first I laughed it off and continued brainstorming, but I kept returning to CC. Eventually I got to thinking about what CC stands for in different contexts; my first thought was how CC stands for “carbon copy” in emails. I repeated “carbon copy” over and over to myself, and it just felt right. I decided to omit the “DJ” title because I thought “carbon copy” on its own sounded cooler, and the rest is history.

Then it came time for me to create a show name, which I struggled with for a bit as well. I stared at the Google Form that I was filling out for a long time, thinking what fit in with my show’s premise that could uphold the email theme that I had set for myself. Seemingly out of nowhere it hit me, “The Indie Inbox.” Without a second thought I submitted the Google Form, thus solidifying myself as carbon copy, host of the Indie Inbox.

If you want to hear an eclectic mix of the best of indie pop, indie rock, math rock and more, you can tune into The Indie Inbox every Wednesday this summer at 1:00pm.

Until next time,

Caitlin

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Miscellaneous

“The Anthropocene Reviewed,” Reviewed.

The Anthropocene Reviewed
Photo credit https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Green_2020_(C6txQ5yn5S8).jpg. Adapted with permission under the creative commons license, original image derived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6txQ5yn5S8&t=3m58s.

“The Anthropocene Reviewed” is a series of essays written by John Green, reviewing “different facets of the human-centered planet on a five star scale.” What originally started as a podcast produced by Complexly and WNYC studios in January of 2018, eventually became John Green’s first non-fiction book in May of 2021. It debuted as the number one New York Times bestseller.

Anthropocene is a word that describes the modern era, or the current geological age, where humans are affecting everything on the planet. Green credits his brother, Hank Green, in the introduction of the book with saying, “As a person… your biggest problem is other people. You are vulnerable to people, and reliant upon them. But imagine instead you are a twenty-first-century river, or desert or polar bear. Your biggest problem is still people. You are still vulnerable to them, and reliant upon them.” I quite like that definition of anthropocene.

“As a person… your biggest problem is other people. You are vulnerable to people, and reliant upon them. But imagine instead you are a twenty-first-century river, or desert or polar bear. Your biggest problem is still people. You are still vulnerable to them, and reliant upon them.”

— John Green quoting his brother Hank Green in “The Anthropocene Reviewed”

This accessible series of essays includes various excerpts, often-times vulnerable, from Green’s life up to this point. Several of the essays include mentions of his struggles with faith, OCD and depression. I think it’s best to go into the book somewhat blind, but also to be on the lookout for hidden reviews throughout. 

Despite having listened to the podcast regularly before reading the book, it still felt fresh and honest, not recycled or contrived. The book excludes some previous podcast episode topics, and includes brand new essays. My favorite essays? “Harvey,” “Super Mario Kart” and “The World’s Largest Ball of Paint.”

Summed up in three words/phrases, “The Anthropocene Reviewed” is honest, charming, and thought-provoking.

Green ends each essay with a rating of the topic on a five-star scale, so I’ll do the same for this review. I give “The Anthropocene Reviewed” five stars. 

Until next time,

Caitlin

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Miscellaneous

Yearbook: Seth Rogen’s Hilarious Autobiography

Comedian, actor and writer Seth Rogen is one of those people that always manages to make a film funnier. Whether it be through his early work in “Freaks and Geeks” and “Superbad,” or in his more recent films like “The Interview” and “An American Pickle,” he is endlessly endearing. You get the feeling that he’s not an extravagant, ridiculous celebrity, but more like a “normal” person. His new book, “Yearbook,” proves this.

As final exams ended and summer began, I found myself craving a nice read. I’d heard that Seth Rogen was releasing a new book, and I was super excited to get into it. I decided to listen to the audiobook, which I highly recommend. It’s narrated by Rogen himself and features over 80 different voice actors including Snoop Dogg, Nick Kroll, Sacha Baron Cohen and Billy Idol.

I know I said “Yearbook” was an autobiography in the title, but I lied for the sake of conciseness. It’s more of a collection of essays about Rogen’s childhood and acting career. He touches on growing up Jewish, his early comedic flops, the insane drama behind “The Interview” and tons of other horrifying, hilarious stories. Read in his signature wit, he dives into the delights and challenges of adolescence, being famous and drug-fueled escapades.

Each essay is wonderfully engaging and ridiculously funny. My personal favorite is the time when he, as a 14-year-old, had to perform standup right after Jerry Seinfeld at a comedy festival. Another great part is when he tells about how Kanye West forced Rogen and his wife to sit in the backseat of his limo with him while he freestyled for two hours. The book ends on a spectacularly dramatic note as he recounts a near-death camping experience from his childhood.

It’s truly one of the best audiobooks I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in a while. If you’re looking for a laugh, give “Yearbook” a read (or a listen).

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Miscellaneous

Mindfulness Music Exercise

Listening to music is a great way to relax and unwind after a stressful day. Art therapy is a practice of using music and art to examine and communicate your emotions, which leads to positive psychological effects including reduced stress. I found an art therapy exercise that is very simple to do, and will give you a time to listen to music and work towards a sense of calm.

Music Free Association Exercise

Materials: you will need something to play music on (record/cd player, speaker, headphones), paper (light enough in color so your art will show up), pens/pencils or other materials you have available (paint/oil pastels/crayons/colored pencils) 

Either by yourself or with a small group, play either a song or playlist. Close your eyes or turn down the lights. Let yourself relax and try to feel the music. Take what you’re hearing and translate it into the page in front of you. 

After the song is over, open your eyes. Look at what you just created and see if there are any patterns, specific shapes, or anything that stands out to you. Think about what parts of the song manifested onto the paper, like if the track had an instrumental break, what did that look like to you? What were you thinking about while you made it? Did the song make you feel specific emotions or remind you of anything?  

You can repeat the exercise with other songs, I recommend using ones with very different genres. A house/electric song might end up looking differently than a classic rock song. It could be interesting to discover what your favorite genres look like on a piece of paper. Or how they make you feel while you listen to them. 

You can return to each of your creations and work on them more. You could emphasize or define parts that stand out. For example, if a shape looks like a bird, you could run with that and give it eyes and a beak. You could also change parts you don’t like. 

Photo taken by author, example of a finished exercise

This exercise is an excuse to relax, listen to music and create art. Making things can be healing and a good time to practice mindfulness. I really like this activity as a way to connect with your friends or family, it can be fun to look at the art everyone made while listening to the same song together. Or by yourself, it can be a way to see a song you love in a new light. 

For more information on art therapy you can check out The American Art Therapy Associations website or check out this blog with art therapy exercises 

-DJ lil witch

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Miscellaneous

Tote Bag Essentials

Tote Bag Essentials

I used to not like carrying bags, it didn’t feel very authentic to me. That was until I discovered the beauty of tote bags. Here’s everything I carry in my bag on a day out.

Hand Sanitizer: I need clean hands, especially if I’m getting food. My hand sanitizer collection has doubled during the pandemic, so I have one in every bag, every room, and in a million other places.

Lanyard with keys: Well, of course, I have places to be, people to see, and I need to be able to get back into my apartment. My poor lanyard is hanging on by a thread because I’ve been using it every day for nearly two years now; needless to say, it’s well loved.

Wallet: Of course, an essential to take anywhere, unless I’m just going on a walk or something. It’s useful to have in case I spontaneously decide I need fast food while I’m out.

A snack: I pack these so I won’t be tempted to get fast food while I’m out (I love fast food, but my aforementioned wallet does not). Whether it be a granola bar, fruit snacks, beef jerky, chips, I always need a snack because I unfortunately get irritable when I’m hungry.

Chapstick: Much like my hand sanitizer collection, there’s a chapstick in every bag, every room, and every pocket. Although I often forget to apply it because I’m wearing a mask all the time, it’s always important to keep your lips hydrated and healthy.

Water: Speaking of hydrated and healthy, I need water with me everywhere. I’m always thirsty and I love my water bottle and all of it’s stickers (yes, there’s a WKNC sticker on there, of course). 

Mask: These are always good to have around nowadays, however, unlike my chapstick and hand sanitizer collection, there are only a select few that fit my face right, so I switch out the same few depending on whichever matches my vibe that day.

Scrunchie: Having my hair in my face drives me up the wall, so I always have one or two hair-ties (preferably a scrunchie that matches my outfit) on me.

Laptop: It’s where I write these very blogs, take all my notes, do homework, watch television, and more.

Everyone needs different items whilst they’re out, even my needs vary from day to day so here are some honorable mentions: chargers, headphones, a book, extra clothes, a blanket, and an extra hoodie.

But a tote is just a tote, and unlike Mary Poppins’ bag, cannot carry everything at once.

Until next time,

Caitlin