It is finally autumn. One of my favorite ways of celebrating the start of the fall season is to listen to some of the many, many renditions of “Autumn Leaves”.
“Autumn Leaves” is a jazz standard, originally made in 1945 by Joseph Kosma with lyrics by Jacques Prévert in French. There are an unbelievable amount of recordings of this song, with each artist adding their own unique flair to it.
This song is the perfect template, allowing artists to build and add to it to make it truly unique. The song can span from two to over ten minutes long.
I have a great appreciation for genre standards such as “Autumn Leaves”. Songs like this one bring artists together in a way not much else can. I wanted to share a few renditions of this staple by some of my favorite jazz artists.
Chet Baker
Chet Baker’s “Autumn Leaves” was the very first version of the song I ever heard. It took me quite a long time to realize that this wasn’t just his song and is definitely the landmark for how this song should sound to me.
The highlight of this song, besides Baker on the trumpet, is Bob James on the electric keyboard. Each note on the keyboard creates perfect imagery of fall-colored leaves falling to the ground.
Ryo Fukui
“Autumn Leaves” was a great pick for Ryo Fukui’s 1976 album, “Scenery”. Not only does it match the vibe of the album perfectly, Fukui renders the song expertly.
This version highlights how incredibly the piano leads “Autumn Leaves”, more so than any other instrument. The piano can perfectly capture the frenzied beauty of falling leaves in a way that no other instrument can.
Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole’s rendition is the only one on this list that has vocals. As it should be, as no other version of “Autumn Leaves” with vocals tops this one.
Even though his version is the shortest on this list, King Cole slows down the song, highly emphasizing the original composition with brass instruments to support his vocals. This version of the song is very short and sweet and perfectly captures the autumn feeling.
Vince Guaraldi
Everyone knows Vince Guaraldi, he’s the Peanuts guy. The first jazz vinyl I ever bought was one of his. His rendition of “Autumn Leaves” is spectacular, with his piano playing at the forefront.
His version of the song is ten minutes long, utilizing the basic composition to create a truly fall-inspired sound. Guaraldi can evoke the feelings of a season better than any other artist I have heard.
Djo has picked up a lot of popularity over the past three years after his 2019 release “Twenty Twenty”. There is no doubt he will continue this trend with his newest album, “DECIDE”, released Sep. 16 of this year.
I think there is common trend among artists such as Djo, who is otherwise known as actor Joe Keery. Multi-talented and multi-expressive artists are simply enchanting.
Being able to express themselves through acting, directing, writing, or visual art only strengthens their ability to sing, perform, and compose. In “DECIDE” Joe Keery’s theatrical nature is really prominent– featuring various forms of spoken word and unusual audio clips.
Track Highlights
Generally, this album is really solid. In any release there will always be stronger songs than others, but I was really pleased by the composition of the entire album. It’s entirely very expressive and cohesive, while maintaining diversity within the tracks.
It’s starts off song with tracks “Runner” and “Gloom”. “Gloom” is certainly one of my favorites off the album. Although it doesn’t particularly have any experimental hooks, the proliferation within the lyrics and vocals sets an anticipation and excitement for the entire album.
“Undress you with my eyes, I’m ready to go / I measure up to you, I’m ready to go / I smoked my cigarettes, I’m ready to go”
The tone set in the first two tracks leads the listener to expect pretty vanilla indie pop songs for the remainder of the album, but I was happy to see Djo diverge from that sound immediately in some of the elements in “Half Life”.
Djo is really exploring audio collage in tracks “Half Life”, “Change”, “Is That All It Takes”, and “Go For It”. It’s clear Djo is pulling from multiple sources of inspiration.
He is also seen tapping into a 90’s sound, similar to artists such as Jamiroquai, in track “I Want Your Video”.
While also exploring more electronica genres, perhaps pulling inspiration from Daft Punk in tracks such as “Climax”.
I really appreciate his ending tracks, they conclude “DECIDE” in a perfectly theatrical and ominous tone.
It’s refreshing to hear Djo continue to build strength in his musical composition and vocals. I was impressed by his range of musical textures and variety of inspiration. I’m excited to see what he will be releasing in the future, I’m sure this album will continue to push him towards major success.
Toronto-based band Alvvays is keeping jangle pop alive. They create an extremely reverb-drenched, versatile sound that provides variety on every track but is still instantly recognizable as Alvvays.
Led by Molly Rankin on vocals and guitar, Alvvays consists of five members: Kerri MacLellan on keyboards, Alec O’Hanley on guitars, Abbey Blackwell on bass and Sheridan Riley on drums.
Alvvays emphasizes creating strong melodies rather than focusing on a specific genre. This allows for a lot of variety in each track but for their discography to be glued together by Rankin’s vocals and the bands instrumentals.
The immediately bittersweet sound created by the band is the glue that holds their discography together. As soon as Rankin begins singing on any given track, no matter how varied the sound, it becomes instantly recognizable as Alvvays.
Discography
Alvvays formed in 2011 after Rankin released her solo EP “She EP”. Their first full project was their self-titled debut album in 2014 followed by “Antisocialites” in 2017. Five years later, they are releasing their third album, “Blue Rev“, on October 7.
If you are in the mood for some bittersweet tunes on a rainy day, Alvvays has you covered. “Antisocialites” is a great place to start if you’re in the mood for an entire album.
“Antisocialites” is Alvvays’ sound honed like a sharpened sword. It’s jangly, guitar-driven and supported by sharp keyboard and drum patterns.
Alvvays, “Archie, Marry Me” music video
“Archie, Marry Me”, “Your Type”, or “Easy On Your Own?” are excellent starting places if you don’t have the energy for a full album. These tracks will instantly hook you on the bands sound and highlight each of their projects.
Their self-titled debut is not easily recognized as a debut album. “Alvvays” set the benchmark for Alvvays’ crisp sound that they have continued to live up to for almost ten years.
Their new singles for “Blue Rev” are promising a continued expansion of the sounds Alvvays encompasses. The tracks have that crisp, guitar-driven jangliness that can expected by Alvvays but bring in a pronounced Shoegaze element.
Conclusion
Each Alvvays song provides something unique to the band’s discography. This is a truly versatile band that can’t help but make a catchy song for a rainy day.
After a long five years, they are finally releasing their third album. Based on the singles, it is seemingly going to live up to the hype that has been culminated over time.
Alvvays starts touring in the United States on October 14 and “Blue Rev” releases October 7.
"Strange Encounters" Cover art by Bendigo Fletcher
Bendigo Fletcher is a lovely Americana, indie folk band out of Louisville, Kentucky.
They have an upcoming EP, “Wing Dig” coming out Oct. 21. In anticipation to this release they have release two singles, “Pterodactyl” and “Strange Encounters”.
What I find to be so enchanting about this band is that they have glimpses of so many sounds within them.
They are still such a fresh band, their musical identity has yet to form fully. It is prominent in their latest album, “Fits of Laughter” that this band has so much versatilely. Upon listening to the first beats of the songs on this album it is difficult to believe they all emerge from the same artist.
This unpredictability and mystery to Bendigo Fletcher’s sound is what is so intriguing to me. They have the ability to expand far beyond the box of the modern indie folk sound.
I lot of this flexibility stems directly from the lead singer and songwriter, Ryan Anderson. His fantastical lyrics and rustically delicate voice are difficult to compare. Their track “Evergreen” is an excellent example of his uniqueness. Out of nowhere he pulls out a vocal technique reminiscent of classic rock bands such as the iconic Led Zeppelin. This stripped vocals this this chorus fits perfectly with his lyrics:
“For between death and the baby’s breath / We are all perennial majesty in the daily shine”
All to say I was excited to see what Bendigo Fletcher would be bringing in their newest releases.
The New Singles
I think a lot can be communicated in the first few beats of a song. The first couple measures dictate so much of what the song will set out to achieve.
Having a successful first few measures is like having a solid foundation to a building. Without a good foundation, why continue building? In other words, why continue listening to the rest of the song is the first five seconds are uninspiring?
I don’t believe these two tracks have successful beginnings. They sounded like any other indie folk band and any other indie folk song. This this very disappointing knowing the musical potential of Bendigo Fletcher.
However, “Strange Encounters” really built up my anticipation. The second half of the track is very intriguing– featuring clashing harmonies and great vocal work. This track, although not one of my favorites by them, certainly sets a good tone for the album to come.
“Pterodactyl” was less successful in my option, it holds a really low energy throughout it’s entirety and gives no musical hints to the album to come. It is a pleasant track, ideal for the fall season, just not my hope for Bendigo Fletcher.
Conclusion
I will be anxiously awaiting Oct. 21 to see what sounds they will bring to “Wing Dig”.
Regardless if they bring classic folk or classic rock into this release, it will undoubtedly be a great album for the fall and winter season.
I hope you all are having a great start to the chilly season, I hope to share more excellent fall music will you all shortly. Stay tuned.
Of course, your friends at WKNC will be celebrating. In a very similar fashion to last year’s WCRD, starting at midnight and going until midnight, there will be 24 straight hours of DJ sets on HD-1 and select sets on HD-2. All killer, no filler. There will also be a 24-hour live stream featuring various activities for the entire event.
The full schedule for the live stream, HD-1 and HD-2 can be found below.
The schedule for HD-1 is largely unchanged. You can expect Afterhours/Underground from 12 a.m. – 6 a.m., Daytime Rock from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Chainsaw from 6 p.m. – 12 a.m. Some Specialty sets will be thrown into the mix as well.
DJs on HD-2 will have full reign to play whatever music they would like. Tune in at various times throughout the day for some fun sets.
WKNC will also be hosting a live stream to celebrate the festivities on the WKNC YouTube page. The live stream is going to be full of DJ-hosted events throughout the day. Button making, lego building, video games, board games, power points and a WKNC lore iceberg are a few of the things that can be expected throughout the stream.
The live stream of the HD-1 Studio will have to be muted per YouTube’s copyright policy. However, all DJ sets are available on the WKNC web stream. You can also find all the music DJs are playing on our spinitron page.
The tentative schedule of activities is listed below. This schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the DJs. The best way to keep up to date with the schedule is to check this blog post, which will be actively updated.
HD-1 Schedule
TIME
DJ
THEME
12 a.m. – 1 a.m.
carbon copy
PASSING BY AFTERHOURS EDITION SPECIAL EDITION #WCRD #AFTERHOURS Ummmmmm
1 a.m. – 2 a.m.
T-Time
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here / I’m gonna play doom metal
2 a.m. – 3 a.m.
plover
araki WCRDhouse / songs from movie soundtracks and scores that feel at home in the araki warehouse
3 a.m. – 4 a.m.
johnny ghost
The Outfit / Old school (mostly ’90s) techno & big beat
4 a.m. – 5 a.m.
DJ babycakes, DJ habanero & maddog
the sweet n spicy x doghouse afterhours crossover with some funkadelic house vibes
5 a.m. – 6 a.m.
chef
Fresh Beets and Spinnin’ Platters / I have a set of turntablists and beat-scientists like Kid Koala, DJ Qbert and DJ Shadow, which feels like it fits underground genre the best.
6 a.m. – 7 a.m.
Flowers McPowers
The Flowers McPowers Hour
7 a.m. – 8 a.m.
President Shrimpo
Fireside Chats / A Shrimpo sampler player, a real mix of all the stuff that gets played on fireside chats, with garage rock, post punk, and lighter indie rock!
8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
KONDE
UNCANNY VALLEY/ Video Game Music and/or Possibly Remixes of Video Game Music
9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Hüttemeister & Michelangelo
Saloon Tunes
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Chell
The Testing Chamber / That new Wednesday song is awesome let’s listen to a bunch of songs like that
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
banshee
Blanchin’ With Banshee / 00s chicano rap
12 p.m – 1 p.m.
toad maiden
SLIME CITY!
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
maddog & leksipro
Leksipro and Maddog afterhours pilled. be there or be square
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
DJ Zoink
More Songs About Buildings And Food
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
last name utt
some songs are better than others / “grandpa mike’s record bin” – midcentury jazz classics from grandpa mike utt’s record collection (edited)
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
space cadet & Hermajesty
Fire Dance With Me / Music from David Lynch Projects
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Zen
Passively Dynamic
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
DMC WOODSTOCK & FULLMETAL RACKET
DIGITVL HVRDCORE / Digital Hardcore- the marriage of hardcore punk and hardcore electronic.
7 p.m. – 8p.m.
DJ SHEETZ
BEETZ WITH SHEETZ WCRD EDITION / epic bops and bangers from the one and only DJ SHEETZ including underrated gems from artists you know and love
8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Uncle Paul
Penitentiary Rock
9 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Jedward
The Yearning & The Burning / The set will begin with some beautiful twee and slowcore music, then conclude with amped-up skramz and assorted emo. yearn then burn! it’s healthy!
10 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Wild Waste
Return to WKNC / It’s my first set back on the air in awhile! Tune in to hear a top selection of my favorite metal artists!
11 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Young Iowa
Headbang to the best metal and hardcore the Old North State has to offer
HD-2 Schedule
TIME
DJ
THEME
12 a.m. – 1 a.m.
JustinTime
The Impeccable Sounds of Brazil / Popular music in Brazil during the 60/70s. Antonio Carlos Jobim, Marcos Valle, Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa
1 a.m. – 2 a.m.
Aloe
Sample Platter / a song followed by a rap song that sampled that song
2 a.m. – 3 a.m.
chalcopyrite
digital vibes / glitch pop. there’s some vocaloid in this?
3 a.m. – 4 a.m.
tetrapod
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ / hyperpop and screaming
4 a.m. – 5 a.m.
Velvet Worm
The Bug Collection (Soul Edition) / soulful bug music
5 a.m. – 6 a.m.
plover
Araki WCRDhouse / only the hardest of noise
6 a.m. – 7 a.m.
Velvet Worm
The Bug Collection (Breakcore Edition) / breakcore bug music
7 a.m. – 8 a.m.
hypy
Speeed it UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP / 160+ BPM.
8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Rodeo Romeo
Beta Decay / Chem Lab after hours
9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Velvet Worm
The Bug Collection (Ambient Edition) / ambient bug music
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
guppy
The Creek / Murder Ballads, so anything from old folk to some rock, punk, or alternative
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Velvet Worm
The Bug Collection (Percussion Edition) / buggy beats and drums
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
denim poetry
A wide variety of Daytime music, ranging from early aught’s twee to 90’s grunge to 70’s prog.
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
DJ Pon-3
Americana, Blues & Co(llege Radio Day) / Kick back with some sweet Americana jams.
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Malocchio
The Superego / bossa nova and other music defined by latin america
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
The Loaf
Loafin’ Around (two hours)
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
DJ Cranberry
Around the World (College Radio Day) / get your passports ready
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Erik++
Regular Point / Krautrock covers
7 p.m. – 8p.m.
Erik++
Regular Point / Variety set
8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Erik++
Regular Point / reggae/dub set
9 p.m. – 10 p.m.
DJ Independent Fact Checker
Blue Check Power Hour / Malevolent music; Evil tunes; Suspicious songs; Dastardly dancing; maybe some rap live mixed in too if I can finesse it
Lunar / indie stuff that I was listening to during a lunar eclipse
Livestream/Production Schedule
TIME
HOST + EVENT
DESCRIPTION
12 a.m. – 1 a.m.
cowball, WKNC Iceberg
Creating one of those iceberg memes with various WKNC lore from over the years.
1 a.m. – 2 a.m.
cowball, Speed Build WKNC Studios in Minecraft
We’re gonna try to recreate the WKNC studios in Minecraft in a one hour time period.
2 a.m. – 3 a.m.
Zen, Zach’s Knick Knacks
Building a Lego set and doing bed time stories with the WKNC Training & Operations Manual!!!
3 a.m. – 4 a.m.
banshee, WKNC MSPAINT HOUR
MS Paint art in the style of Ringo Starr: Radio Edition 📻
4 a.m. – 5 a.m.
Zen, DJ Interviews
Interviewing DJs LIVE!!!!!!!
5 a.m. – 6 a.m.
6 a.m. – 7 a.m.
cowball, College Radio Zoom Call
Join WKNC as we do a live Zoom call with some other radio stations celebrating World College Radio Day.
7 a.m. – 8 a.m.
8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
cowball, Live Worm Making
WKNC’s General Manager creates one of her very own handmade worms LIVE to live in the studio!
9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
beepo, Live Promo Recording
We make DJ promos live bc ur right there!!!!!!
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
maddog, amogus and emojis
First half we can be sussy little baka’s. Second half we can get #real about emojis😎
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
SHEETZ, tier list hour
come in and make tier lists with DJ SHEETZ!!!!!!
12 p.m. – 1 p.m
cowball, Geoguessr: Radio Edition
DJs will play a custom Geoguessr quiz made by the General Manager that features various radio stations around the world.
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Banshee, button making 👉👈
we makin’ cool ass buttons!!!!!!
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
President Shrimpo’s Presidential Hour
Live podcast discussing and ranking US presidents and failed candidates. It’s as shrimple as that!
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
DJ PON-3, All The Colors
We just got a new shipment of our colored logo tees and we gotta sort them. Very fun.
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Malocchio
tba
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Chalcopyrite, aggie.io
wknc draws stuff, the whiteboard is now digital
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
denim poetry, Animus Worm
worms, annelids, creatures with multiple sections that consume dirt and excrete dirt…. the video game based on these creatures except they have GUNS and GRENADES
7 p.m. – 8p.m.
Chalcopyrite, yume nikki stream
spooky scary little rpg!!!
8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
beepo, KONDE & Jedward, HDR & smash talk
really cool smash ultimate mod and tournament stories!!!!!!
9 p.m. – 10 p.m.
plover, Powerpoint Night
we share powerpoints!!!!!
10 p.m. – 11 p.m.
cowball, WKNC DJ Application Quiz
A game where DJs have to guess which DJ said what on their WKNC applications.
11 p.m. – 12 a.m.
cowball, Three Bears in a Coat
First, cowball makes a Family Tree for WKNC. Then, Three Bears in a Coat has an ending ceremony to wrap up the event!
One of the most popular perceptions of “pop music” is that of a shallow, clichéd genre with little artistic value. That doesn’t mean that artists aren’t trying to buck this perspective by using the upbeat, repetitive sounds and lyrics that define the genre to discuss social and cultural issues.
“Topical Dancer” is the satirical, irony-laced debut album released in March 2022 under DEEWEE and Because Music by Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul. This duo from Ghent, Belgium utilize an upbeat electropop sound that contrasts heavily with their socially-conscious lyrics about racism and sexism (among other issues).
Still, that dichotomy helps to bring humor into the album without sacrificing nuance in their lyrics or musical quality. “We see pop music as a vehicle to say something,” Bolis said in an interview with The Guardian’s Kadish Morris.
“Do you speak Esperanto?”
We’ll start with Charlotte’s address to the audience that opens the album: why do you think you’re so much better than everyone else? The first track after the intro, “Esperanto”, lets Charlotte vent her frustrations with many people who claim to be “woke”. In the track’s first half, Charlotte asks listeners to consider whether they simply pretend to empathize with the plights of marginalized communities.
“Are you as open-minded behind closed doors?
Would you join forces in this holy war?
Are you as offended when nobody’s watching?”
Lyrics from “Esperanto” by Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul
As backhanded insults toward the people she’s questioned throughout the first half of the song, Charlotte pivots into relaying many of the substitutions in language these people make when talking about people often subject to discrimination (Black people, Latinos, Asians and women, specifically).
“And then, it hit me”
This may just be my most played song off “Topical Dancer”, and it’s the one that drills into you most with its blunt messaging about love in western society. The song in question is “It Hit Me”, the fifth track on the album and the first vocal appearance of Bolis Pupul.
From the first 20 seconds of the song, the duo greets listeners with haunting, eerie synths that unnerved me at first but set up an uncomfortable tone that beautifully supplements the three stories in the track. And then, we hear a whistle as Charlotte starts her first story. At just 13 years old, a couple of men catcalled her on her way to field hockey practice, which she explains in full detail to listeners. Eventually, she realizes just how she’s been sexualized not just by these men but by a society that encourages shallow sexual appeal.
Bolis then delves into his own experiences of dealing with insecurities about his appearance, which he struggles to see how any woman could find attractive. He realizes at the end of his story how toxic it is for him to worry so much about every aspect of how he looks, but again society promotes this obsession with physical appearance.
Finally, Charlotte recalls a date with a boy named Stefaan where she follows flirting advice from a teen magazine. The date goes south, Stefaan leaves her, and it hits her how weird the flirting advice in a teen magazine is. Why is love something marketed to people as inherently sexual, looks-based, and (especially) targeted towards minors?
“This is not a cliché”
“Ceci n’est pas un cliché” is the most popular song off “Topical Dancer”, and it serves as a good summary of the goal for the album as a whole. Charlotte spends the entirety of this song rattling off clichés in pop songwriting: she’s “down on my knees begging you please” and spelling out words like love, which was especially popular in the mid-to-late-2000s.
However, the real punch of this track lies in the chorus: “I wanna make you feel real nice / I bet this song sounds real familiar.” While Charlotte’s trying to live out the ideal love life as described by pop songs throughout the last 50 years, her partner is “cold as ice” and uncaring.
This is exactly the type of situation Charlotte and Bolis hope to change with their own pop music; they’re trying to dispel many of the clichés so ingrained into pop and instead turn the genre into something filled with a nuanced discussion of social issues.
Music video for “Ceci n’est pas un cliché” from YouTube posted by Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul. Directed by Bob Jeusette and produced by Jarri Van der Haegen.
Now Go Dance
One of the great things about “Topical Dancer” is that, while it might be unconventional compared to other pop and dance music, it is still incredibly accessible to anyone with a passing interest in music. Two of the songs are in languages other than English, and one–“HAHA”–is composed mostly of the distorted laughs of Charlotte. However, the lyrics in every other song are straightforward and impactful.
Even if you don’t care for the lyrical content of “Topical Dancer”, Charlotte and Bolis succeeded in creating a dance-able album that can be enjoyed by just about anyone.
Overall, I would give the album a 9/10, since there are a couple of tracks that don’t add much to the album, but they aren’t bad by any means.
