Category: Blog

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 1/25

Trip to the Netherlands
#ArtistAlbumLabel
1TRIP TO THE NETHERLANDSVARIOUS ARTISTSWeedian
2BLOODY KEEPO Vampire Of The Night [EP]Grime Stone
3DRUNEDruneSelf-Released
4PORTRAYAL OF GUILTChristfuckerRun For Cover
5NOVA SPEISequentisBam&Co. Heavy
6RUNDGARDStronghold Of Majestic RuinsSignal Rex
7EMPLOYED TO SERVEConqueringSpinefarm
8WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKSHope Valley Burns: EulogyElectric Talon
9ANTICHRIST SIEGE MACHINEPurifying BladeProfound Lore
10HOODED MENACEThe Tritonus BellSeason Of Mist
Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 1/25

LSDXOXO album cover
#ArtistAlbumLabel
1LSDXOXODedicated 2 Disrespect [EP]XL
2ANE BRUN“Crumbs” (The Small Crowd Remix) [Single]Balloon Ranger
396BACK9696 DreamLocal Action
4BICEPIsles (Deluxe)Ninja Tune
5CFCFMemorylandSelf-Released
6FLYING LOTUSYasukeWarp
7HARD FEELINGSHARD FEELINGSDomino
8SMERZBelieverXL/Beggars Group
9LEON VYNEHALLRare, ForeverNinja Tune
10ROSS FROM FRIENDSTreadBrainfeeder
Categories
New Album Review

Album Review: “Multiverse” by Reptaliens

"Multiverse" album cover
"Multiverse" by Reptaliens album cover

A strong concept can go a long way towards the enjoyment of an album. Going beyond drawing meaning from the lines or verses, having a central theme adds more weight to not just the lyrics but the instrumentals too, contextualizing every choice made by an artist. Reptaliens have built a discography on strong concepts with albums that have been focused on complex sci-fi themes, and while everything is brought down in terms of scale here, the storytelling chops remain. There’s more of an urban fantasy vibe on “Multiverse”, with the lyrics signaling an adventure that’s found in the simple act of living.

The lyrics are able to resonate that much more because the songs themselves are stripped down to the bone, allowing the words to feel larger than life. The fuzzy and jangly instrumentals add, if not a bounce, then certainly a spring in the step to the proceedings, with fun solos that convey a sense of motion. Album highlight “Take It” has a really fun opening falsetto that descends as the subject matter gets more serious, the speaker hoping they don’t “go to hell for this.” A lot of the most engaging moments on this album are the inflections lead singer Bambi Browning makes on certain lines, which range from uplifting while soft like the chorus of “Don’t Wait For Me” to the emotive pitch drops on “Go Away”. That layer of fuzz on top of everything works with this vocal style: the highs become these theremin-like cascades of sound while the lows are contrasted even more.

On “Multiverse”, Reptaliens achieve something that a lot of jangly indie rock bands strive for but don’t always nail: resonating with emotional purity with vague, universal statements while also constructing an entire world with just a few short verses. A lot of very core themes are tapped into, like a lot of references to peer pressure and reluctantly going along with what’s happening and in the process losing agency, like the central character who is “sniffing glue” on I Feel Fine. And when combined with fun instrumentals that keep the serious parts weightless this becomes an album that’s instantly enjoyable but leaves a lot to think about later. For me it usually takes a few months for a given year of music to produce a classic album but we aren’t even out of January before Reptaliens came through with one that I’m sure will stick with me for a long time.

-Erie

Categories
Miscellaneous

The Beauty of “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” by Lucy Dacus

A picture of a young girl sitting on a hill. The cover art to "No Burden"

I’ll admit, I have yet to do a deep dive into Lucy Dacus’ entire discography. Despite this, I have listened to a good bit of her and “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” is my favorite of hers. It’s core theme comes across in the title, the desperate wish to be anything other than the “funny friend.” 

The lyrics describe a feeling I’ve felt many times, as I’m sure many have: the feeling of being on the sidelines and wanting to be valued outside of being the butt of the joke. In the lyrics, Dacus considers all of the ways she can escape this role, asking if she can be “the cute one,” a member of a band, a gossip, the smart one and many other roles. The song caps off with the lyric “That funny girl doesn’t wanna smile for a while.”

This track is the first track and first single on Dacus’ debut album “No Burden.” In 2015, she told Fader in an interview that whilst constructing this song she was considering: “how stressful it is to be pegged as a certain type of person and feel the need to always live up to that identity people assign to you, especially if you’re the ‘funny one.’” This taps into something I’ve felt often, a feeling of being socially trapped into one role. 

Dacus has poignant lyrics in other songs about not being valued in the way she deserves. In “Brando,” the ninth track on her 2021 album “Home Video,” she laments: “You called me cerebral / I didn’t know what you meant / But now I do, would it have killed you / To call me pretty instead?” It’s heartbreaking to be undervalued.

However, “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” is my favorite example of this from Dacus. It taps into a very real feeling in a simple way, and I love that in a song.

Here’s to freeing yourself of situations that don’t value you,

Caitlin 

Categories
Miscellaneous

The Issue with Spotify Wrapped

Spotify logo layered over itself 9 times evenly spaced. Glowing green text that reads: The Issue with Spotify Wrapped

I like Spotify Wrapped. I have enjoyed the fun graphics and data breakdown since its inception and sharing it, along with seeing everyone else’s on social media, is a fun way to cap off the year. 

However, knowing your data is being collected and is going to be packaged up into a graphic you’re going to want to share can skew your listening habits. At least it does for me.

The same goes for other streaming data-collectors like Last.fm. There have been times I have gone out of my way to not listen to something or stream it on a different platform so that it wouldn’t count as a scrobble. If you’re not insecure about any of the music you listen to, this may be a non-issue for you, but I know that I, and many others, are insecure about listening to certain artists, bands or genres.

These fun ways to track your data and find out interesting facts about the music you listen to (like, for instance, last year one of my top genres was Weirdcore), should be lighthearted and fun. But, with the increasing pressure to share your Spotify Wrapped or follow your friends on Last.fm, the music we listen to has become a performance for others.

Obviously, the competitiveness of music-listening has been around for ages, and didn’t begin with these stream-collecting platforms: but it has increased my personal awareness that every part of myself, even the music I listen to, can be curated as a performance for others rather than for my own personal enjoyment.

In 2022, here’s to listening to what we want, when we want, even if it involves Glee Cast being in your top five artists. 

Listen to the music that fuels your fire,

Caitlin

Categories
Blog

Ranking Songs From Animal Crossing New Horizons

Howdy y’all! I hope your first week of classes has gone well! In honor of the amount of Animal Crossing I played over break, I wanted to put together a ranking of some of the songs from the game.

I love finding new soundtracks to games or movies to study to as background noise, and quite a few of the songs from Animal Crossing have made it to my studying playlist.

Welcome Horizons

Coming in first is Welcome Horizons, which is the theme for New Horizons. Ultra relaxing. Makes you feel like you are laying on the beach soaking up the sun. Also makes me feel nostalgic and reminds me of the beginning of the pandemic. 

Aloha K.K.

This is what I have playing in the third floor room which I turned into my bedroom. The tropical-beachy feel makes it *perfect* for my beach themed bedroom. 

K.K. Ska

K.K. Ska is so much fun. Sounds like MarioKart music.

Stale Cupcakes

This is what I have playing in the main living room in my home! Despite the name, it is relaxing and very pleasant to have as you bumble around your house.

Visitor Arriving

I love this little tune! It plays when my brother comes to visit me on my island. Reminds me of playing ACNH together when we are both home. 

Chased by Wasps

I shake a lot of trees and encounter a lot of wasps. I’ve learned to love the little song that plays as they chase you around until you either catch them or get stung.

Museum (Bug, Fossil, Art, and Fish exhibits)

The museum is my favorite part of my entire island. Formerly known as museum maddie when I DJ-ed, I feel as if this is super self explanatory. With the new 2.0 updates, there are so many new critters to donate to the museum!

DoDo Airlines

Elevator-esque. 

K.K. Rock

Wishing that this was more of a classic rock situation. 

K.K. Swing

Has the potential to be nice, but makes me mildly uncomfortable.

K.K. Synth

I don’t really get it. I tried to, but it doesn’t reach the full potential of a song that is named “K.K. Synth” could have. 

K.K. Folk

Could be the background music of a horror movie. My least favorite of all of the tracks I have so far to play from at my house. 

Categories
Blog Concert Review

Concert Review: Machine Girl (1/8)

Machine Girl at Cat's Cradle
Machine Girl performing at Cat's Cradle on 1/8/22

In concerts, especially indoor ones, it’s pretty hard to make out what a singer is actually saying. The combination of overblown acoustics with the instruments that hit the exact registers as the vocals makes it so that, even in songs that rely heavily on songwriting, the live experience is mostly about the vibe. Studio versions of Mountain Goats songs that are restrained and contemplative roar to life when John Darnielle is ten feet away from you.

For Machine Girl, it’s all about the vibes, and the vibes are immaculate. The combination of live drummer Sean Kelly who sounded straight out of a metal show and frontman Matt Stephenson who continued that spontaneity with the controlled precision of someone whose set revolves around pounding electronic beats. Every strut, leap, and individual howl was scripted spontaneity, a balancing act that’s very hard to achieve and intoxicating when done right. A guitar came out and immediately fit right into the soundscapes being sculpted, and the ending where Stephenson leapt onto a speaker set high above the crowd felt so right, the perfect way to cap off a wild night.

As the show went off the chain, the energy of the crowd rose to the occasion. The pit was wild; during the most hype moments everyone just started sprinting in circles like a running of the bulls. The absolute climax of the show involved someone climbing into the rafters and later being told over the PA system that they could have broken $20,000 worth of equipment, which sums up the vibe at the time better than I ever could.

The opening acts fit this manic metaltronic energy to a tee. I arrived part way through No Parking’s set, a bouncy house set with a healthy amount of screaming. While it was early on and people weren’t as hyped, the fun beats and especially the engaging stage presence kept everyone swaying and anticipating what was to come. And my favorite part of the show might have actually been the second act, Austin’s Johnnascus. Their first song involved walking onstage with bandages on their head and slowly peeling them off, and this hard-hitting dial-to-11 brand of trap was one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve had at a concert. Towards the end of the set I found myself thinking “how is Machine Girl going to top this?”, and I don’t think they did, instead taking a different approach that ended up being just as satisfying.

-Erie

Categories
Playlists

Four Songs for the New Year

Black background with gold fireworks. Text on bottom of the image reads in yellow, glowing cursive "new year blank slate"

It’s 2022. Did you know? 

The passage of time has been difficult to process, especially during the pandemic. At the end of last year I found myself desperate for a blank slate, wanting to escape everything that the last two years have had to offer. Unfortunately, we live on Earth, where magic doesn’t exist, so that isn’t possible. But what is possible, is using music to process your emotions. Here are four songs that have helped me process we’re in another brand new year with the same old problems. I recommend listening to these in order for the full effect.

“I Want You To Love Me” by Fiona Apple

This may seem like an odd choice, but the lyrics are perfect for a new year during the pandemic. The desperation for love feels like a desperation for peace, calm and acceptance. The love Apple craves in this song is the peace I crave in my life. 

“And I know when I go / All my particles disband and disperse / And I’ll be back in the pulse / And I know none of this’ll matter / In the long run / But I know a sound is still a sound / Around no one” 

“This Year” by The Mountain Goats

This is a more obvious choice, and has been my anthem for the last couple of years. John Darnielle’s desperation to push through feels accurate and apt for what we are going through, despite having been released in 2005. 

“I am gonna make it through this year, if it kills me”

“New Year” by ADDIE

A more obscure pick, but probably the most apt. The first verse sums it up perfectly. ADDIE’s vocals are the soothing calm you need to make you feel like everything is going to be okay.

“New year and everything’s the same / Maybe I just don’t have the capacity for change / New year and I’m still feeling stuck / New year is bringing back the ache of growing up”

“New Year’s Day” by Taylor Swift

This track is a more optimistic view of a New Year, and is especially fitting if you have a significant other you’re going into this year with. It’s more a love song than anything else, but still feels right for the new year.

“Hold onto the memories they will hold onto you”

If you want to listen to these songs in order like I recommended, I made a Spotify playlist just for you.

Happy (Belated) New Year,

Caitlin

Categories
Blog Music News and Interviews

Track Review: “Menace” by Rezz

"Menace" by Rezz
"Menace" by Rezz promotional cover

The context that a song is first heard in, where the melody imprints itself on your brain, is critical to what the listener takes away from it. YouTuber Nathan Zed has an excellent video on this, and I’ve definitely noticed this effect when revisiting songs I would listen to a lot at a specific point in time. “White Roses” by Charli XCX will teleport me back to my freshman year dorm with its blend of introspection adventure, and songs I don’t even really listen to can be fun just by how they work in the context you heard them. “My Wife & 2 Dogs” by Quinn XCII isn’t a song I particularly enjoy but what I did enjoy was the trip to the lake with my friends when I first heard it and it’s a fun, bouncy pop song, perfect for that experience.

“Menace”, a bonus track off Rezz’s excellent album “Spiral” that was dropped several months after its release date, needs the right context to really be appreciated. I follow Rezz on Instagram and her feed is filled with pictures of her strobe-filled arena performances, and I don’t see this hitting as hard as some of her other songs in that context. There’s no specific part I can point to as “the one”, a perfect hook that meets the crowd’s energy at its summit with a catchy riff or a resounding stomp. The drop doesn’t really distinguish itself from the rest of the song, it adds a kick on every beat but it doesn’t do a lot to really heighten the intensity.

But if you’re not at an arena or a club, but rather trying to grind out a paper at some outrageously late hour, definitely give this a shot for your study playlist. The metronomic synths and squelchy soundscapes are both fun and invigorating, a steady march that makes you want to be productive. It’s not just good for study playlists either, there’s a subtle 80s influence in the bridge that toes the line of cheesy power ballads but stays true to its dubstep roots. 

This is all to say that I can’t recommend “Menace” for every situation. It’s not the perfect club banger or if you’re looking for something with a strong hook. But if you like a danceable slow burn or something to vibe to alone, well have I got a song for you.

-Erie

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Best of Phoebe Bridgers (Deep Cuts)

Phoebe bridgers with a purple background, performing, with a guitar in hand and smiling.
Photo originally by David Lee (davidjlee on Flickr), used under the Creative Commons license.

My very first blog for WKNC was about the very best of Phoebe Bridgers, in which I included my then-favorite pieces of her work. However, since the creation of that post I’ve delved deeper into the Phoebe-verse, she’s come out with new music and I’ve become a better writer. So without further ado, I’m going to declare what’s worth listening to outside of “Motion Sickness” and her other larger hits. 

“Georgia” Daft Star Live Performance

Everything about this performance is perfect to me. Her vocals, the guitar, and of course the haunting lyrics of “Georgia.” This performance is from 2014, before her footing in the music industry had been fully secured, (the studio version of this song didn’t come out until 2015) and that’s why I think I love it so much. It’s raw– you can tell it’s coming straight from her soul and one nearly never gets to hear Bridgers belt the way she does here. I love her whisper-singing as well, but this performance has wedged a permanent place in my heart. The belting of “If I fix you / Will you hate me?” is one of my favorite moments in music ever. Bridgers knocked this performance out of the park and it’s by far my favorite thing she’s ever done. 

“Waiting Room” from “Lost Ark Studio Compilation, Vol. 8”

Speaking of Bridgers’ raw emotional moments early in her career, let’s talk about “Waiting Room.” She wrote this song when she was 16, and has since expressed embarrassment by just how genuine this song is, saying: “it’s super sincere, and I meant everything. But it’s so emotionally raw, and I’m… pining for someone. And I think the fact that I’m complaining so much in the song is, especially in retrospect, like, dude, you’re fine.” Personally, I love it, teenage angst and pining is rarely packaged so beautifully. I love it when Bridgers’ vocals shine as they do in the bridge. In the bridge, she laments repeatedly, surrendering the fight to love this person, “know it’s for the better.” Bridgers repeats this phrase 36 times in a row. If you believe in the idea of “right person, wrong time,” listen to this song. It’ll tear your heart in two.

“Dylan Thomas” from “Better Oblivion Community Center”

If you haven’t caught on by now, I love it when Bridgers branches out of her niche. This song is from a collaboration album with Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes), titled “Better Oblivion Community Center.” It’s an indie rock track that’s fun despite its grim lyrics and certainly worth the listen even if you’re not a fan of Bridgers’ normal stuff. There’s a lyric in one of the final verses that references Phoebe’s ghost artwork (done by Angela Deane) that has stayed fairly consistent throughout her career: “They say you’ve gotta fake it / At least until you make it / That ghost is just a kid in a sheet.” Bridgers and Oberst are a magical duo, and this song is tangible proof of that. 

“Me & My Dog” from “boygenius”

boygenius is a trio that consists of Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and of course, Phoebe Bridgers. This track displays the best of all three of them, and is impeccable lyrically. My favorite two lyrics are: “I had a fever / Until I met you / Now you make me cool” and “I wanna be emaciated / I wanna hear one song without thinking of you.” Between the harmonies, the song’s relatively short length and again, the beautiful lyricism, this is a deep cut you won’t regret listening to. 

Other honorable mentions include: “That Funny Feeling,” “7 O’Clock News / Silent Night” and “Steamroller.” If you haven’t already read my original “Best of Phoebe Bridgers” blog, check it out, you may discover something new or find a new appreciation for her work.

Until next time,

Caitlin