Category: Blog

2010s Indie-Pop: Set Highlight

Post author By Caitlin
Post date January 31, 2022

Remember 2013? Packaging yourselves into Tumblr aesthetics, extremely synthy indie-pop music and “The Fault In Our Stars” being the biggest novel. I long for that simpler time, and have been thinking about it recently. So, naturally, I decided to do a set revolving around the music of the early 2010s indie-pop including all of the usual suspects: MGMT, STRFKR, Passion Pit, Phoenix, HAIM and more.

Making and airing the set filled me with a warm nostalgia to the Nth degree, and I figured I would share it with the blog. Without further ado, here are the songs I chose to include in my 2010s indie-pop set. You can find this set on Spinitron or as a Spotify playlist.

“Intro” – M83
“Follow You (pangea version)” – Future Islands
“Honey & I” – HAIM
“Ready, Able” – Grizzly Bear
“Myke Ptyson” – STRFKR
“It’s Working” – MGMT
“It’s Not My Fault, I’m Happy” – Passion Pit
“Love Like A Sunset, Pt. 1” – Phoenix
“Obvious Bicycle” – Vampire Weekend
“Transpose” – Bad Suns
“Paris” – Geographer
“Atop A Cake” – Alvvays
“The World Is Watching” – Two Door Cinema Club, Valentina Pappalardo
“Lately” – Washed Out

Until next time,

Caitlin

Tags 2010s, indie pop, WKNC 88.1

Playlists

North Carolina Museums and the Songs They’d Be

Post author By museum maddie
Post date January 31, 2022

Credit: North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences; Flikr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Howdy y’all! As you know by now, I formerly went by museum maddie here at WKNC. Although there was some revamping on my part, my love and adoration for museums has not faded in the least bit. As a wannabe anthropologist/museum-curator, I spend a large chunk of my free time wandering around museums. So, what better to do than to give you my museum recommendations with corresponding songs?! I hope you are able to check out a new spot!

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh)

The NC Museum of Natural Sciences will always have a soft spot in my heart. Beautifully modern, this museum is currently being renovated with a new dinosaur exhibit that should be done in 2023. Noticeable from the streets with a gigantic metal globe. My partner and I recently visited the Exquisite Creatures Exhibit, which showcases the amazing art of Christopher Marley. If you get the chance to go, I highly recommend it!

Masterpiece by Big Thief

Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin

Ride or Die by Hippo Campus

North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh)

The NC Museum of History is right across the walkway from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. With rotating exhibits, there’s always something new. The main level exhibit about the history of North Carolina goes deeply in depth with artifacts galore. This museum is an absolute dream, and one of my favorites of all times.

Moon Song by Phoebe Bridgers

Cimmerian Shade by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine

I Think I Like When It Rains by WILLIS

North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh)

The NCMA has two buildings as well as an entire outdoor Museum Park. New work is constantly being showcased, as well as a newer project which puts more modern works next to older works to compare and contrast themes that transcend through time.

Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens

April in Paris by Billie Holiday

Blame by Gabriels

Museum of Life and Science (Durham)

The Museum of Life and Science is interactive and features an expansive outdoor area. The butterfly house and weather machines are two of my favorite things there. Be on the lookout for the dinosaurs outside!

Not Dead Yet by Lord Huron

Where’d All the Time Go? by Dr. Dog

Souvenir by boygenius

North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro)

While I have mixed feelings on zoos (and while they aren’t museums), the NC Zoo works on research and conservation and offers 200 species of animals and 40 different plants. You can also hike around the zoo on trails. I really loved The Desert, a glass dome building housing desert plants and animals, and the Honey Bee Garden. Art is featured around the zoo as well.

Change by Big Thief

Wasted by Tomberlin

Sunblind by Fleet Foxes

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art (Charlotte)

A quaint little museum nestled next to the Mint Museum Uptown, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art has a small and spectacularly curated collection. Notably is what I believe to be a bronze statue on an outside landing that overlooks the city.

I Fall In Love Too Easily by Chet Baker

Bookstore Girl by Charlie Burg

Once Upon a Dream by Emile Pandolfi

Mint Museum Uptown (Charlotte)

The Mint Museum (Uptown) is a newer visit for me, but it was love at first sight. My partner and I enjoy going to new museums, and The Mint offered an extensive amount of pieces in a beautiful building. We got to see an exhibit there based on borders which was so spectacular and moving.

The Most Beautiful Thing by Bryno Major

Painter On His Way To Work On The Road To Tarascon by Clint Mansell

Dog Years by Maggie Rogers

Discovery Place Museum (Charlotte)

The Discovery Place Museum was my favorite in high school. Although I have not been back in a few years, the memories of the fun interactives have stuck with me through all this time.

The Wave by Bedouine

A Mermaid in Lisbon by Patrick Watson and Teresa Salguiero

Fall, Fall, Fall by Caamp

<3 dj mozzie

Playlists

Valentine’s Day: A Playlist

Post author By Caitlin
Post date January 28, 2022

It’s nearly that time of year again, when roses and chocolate hearts are all the craze and every couple you know is just slightly more annoying than usual. I’ve loved Valentine’s Day for as long as I can remember because I’m a hopeless romantic who loves love. If you’re like me, or you’re in a relationship, or you just want a banger playlist about love… you’ve come to the right place.

This playlist contains songs you can slow dance to, songs to sing your heart out to and songs that are downright sappy. Without further ado, let’s get right into it.

“Hey Love!” – The Delfonics
“Midnight, The Stars and You” – Deerhoof
“First Flower” – Molly Burch
“Can I Call You Rose?” – Thee Sacred Souls
“Amandla’s Interlude” – Steve Lacy
“Hours Were The Birds” – Adrianne Lenker
“Center of Gravity” – Yo La Tengo
“Phone Battery / My Problems” – ADDIE
“Waiting For You (Bonus Track)” – Alex G
“January” – Loving
“In Your Arms” – Sunbeam Sound Machine
“So My Darling” – Rachel Chinouriri
“Lovesick” – Alice Phoebe Lou
“Cariño” – The Marías
“Summertime Love” – Luiz Bonfá

As usual, you can find this playlist on Spotify.

Happy (Early) Valentine’s Day,

Caitlin

Tags Love Songs, Valentine's Day, WKNC 88.1

Blog New Album Review

EP Review: “Various Artists 2” by POSSESSION

Post author By DJ HRLN
Post date January 27, 2022

One of five covers for Possession’s newest EP bundle release

The innovative French underground rave organizer turned record label Possession is back with their first release of 2022, headed by an all-star lineup of various veteran artists and newcomers alike in a bundle of five different EPs. “Various Artists 2” is the second installment of Possession’s “V/A” series that gives a platform for artists across the world to bring their sound of Techno to a wider audience. With the immediate success of “Various Artists 1” back in September 2020, this new bundle of five EPs is even more abrasive, fast, and fun, with tracks from personal favorite’s LSDXOXO, AnD, and Parfait, to rising artists Fractions, Somniac One, and TRANCEMAN2000.

“EP1” sets the tone for the bundle with the first track “Posh & Scary” by Shlømo and Parfait. The thumping bassline coupled with rolling hi-hats and Parfait’s vocals comes together to produce a signature Possession-style track that you would hear at any party of their parties across Europe. TRANCEMAN2000 closes out “EP1” with “Lasserbie”, an early 2000s-esc trance track that sounds like it came straight out of an early DJ Tiësto set.

Anetha’s masterclass set from Possession’s most recent Boiler Room in London. Her track “Gedo Senki” is on “EP3” of “Various Artists 1” released in 2020.

EPs 2, 3, and 4 cuts between all styles of Techno, with tracks like “Disturbed” by Cassie Raptor and “7AM Burning” by AnD keeping the high BPM and heavy basslines but with more elaborate melodies and even an acid breakdown. On the lighter side is “Almost There” by UFO95 and “Dream” by Vizionn, more conventional sounding techno tracks that still, however, would get me to the dance floor at any club or rave.

“EP5” closes out the bundle, featuring my two favorite tracks off of all the EPs, “Green Inferno” by LSDXOXO and “What Doesn’t Kill Me?” by Fractions. Before anyone asks, yes I will admit that I am an LSDXOXO fanboy, he made it into my top tracks of 2021 and I play any track off “Dedicated 2 Disrespect” in my sets whenever I can, but his track production is immaculate with catchy vocals and trance-inducing melodies. Fractions was a nice surprise on this EP, his track reflecting the solid production work with killer hi-hats and an overall mind-melting vibe.

Overall, this EP bundle has featured the best techno tracks of 2022 so far. I have not been playing much techno recently both on and off air because I have had trouble finding interesting tracks. This release is a much needed breath of fresh air and I look forward to playing many of the tracks in my upcoming sets.

Speaking of Possession, I was recently fortunate enough to see Parfait at a club in NYC, but I think that is a story for another blog…..

Stay dancin’,

DJ HRLN

Tags dance music, EDM, Electronic, FJAAK, rave, techno, trance

Music Education

My Ideal Playlist Length

Post author By Erie
Post date January 27, 2022

The length of one of my playlists

Playlists are a very subjective form of media consumption that don’t just depend on an individual users’ music tastes but their listening habits as well. Often people create playlists for individual artists where 25-40 songs tend to be the sweet spot, or specific moods where it wouldn’t make sense to go over 50 songs. I won’t even attempt to generalize a universal, be all end all playlist length but rather talk about the one that works best for me.

I tend to use playlists as massive canvases for entire genres, dumping lots of songs into one place and then either scrolling through to find the exact one or just shuffling all of them and seeing what comes out. This means that all my playlists tend to number in the hundreds of songs, but within those there is still a good amount of variance. My indie rock playlist is pushing 500 songs and my electronic playlist is over 300, which is great for collecting any song I would ever want to listen to in one place, but can definitely be annoying to determine which songs truly belong and which I just added on a whim and skip every time I hear them.

I like to aim for a mix of having enough songs where it doesn’t feel stale but every song that comes on shuffle play still feels like the right song for that exact moment. This is a tricky balance to aim for, and I think I’ve cracked the code best with Lobster Queen, my vibey and genreless playlist that at time of writing is sitting at 156 songs. I wouldn’t describe this as an ideal length, there’s definitely work to be done, but this at least feels like a good ballpark figure where I’ll often find the exact song I was wishing for to appear on shuffle play as if I had summoned it while still acting as a good repository. I’ve been adding a lot of songs to it recently and I don’t plan on stopping, but I feel like I want to end up sitting at the 200 song marker, which seems like a nice middle ground for everything I want to get out of it.

I’m continually fascinated by playlists not just as collections of songs, but as their own unique art form. There’s so much to talk about and nerd out over, and the virality of Spotify Wrapped along with our passionate reactions to it shows how much the consumption of music has grown from a shelf of records to a topic of discussion of its own. And as a form of escapism, having lists of songs to endlessly tinker with and find the exact arrangement that works just can’t be beat. It’s so fun that you almost don’t even have to listen to the music itself. Almost.

-Erie

Tags playlists, spotify wrapped

Weekly Charts

Underground Charts 1/25

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date January 26, 2022

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	BUTCHER BROWN	Encore [EP]	Concord Jazz
2	HIATUS KAIYOTE	Mood Valiant	Brainfeeder/Ninja Tune
3	ILLISM	Family Over Everything	The CRWN
4	JPEGMAFIA	LP!	EQT
5	LITTLE SIMZ	Sometimes I Might Be Introvert	AGE 101
6	MCKINLEY DIXON	For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her	Spacebomb
7	NATIVESON 91	Come Back Down	Inner Tribe
8	CAKES DA KILLA, PROPER VILLAINS	Muvaland [EP]	Classic Company
9	EVIDENCE	Unlearning Vol. 1	Rhymesayers
10	FLY ANAKIN	“Ghost” b/w “Sean Price” feat. Nickelus F [Single]	Lex

Underground Adds

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	FLY ANAKIN	“Ghost” b/w “Sean Price” feat. Nickelus F [Single]	Lex
2	FLY ANAKIN	“No Dough” [Single]	Lex
3	AESOP ROCK AND BLOCKHEAD	Garbology	Rhymesayers
4	ELAJAH MOUHAMMED	The Curious Die Young [EP]	PaintMeRed
5	MILAN RING	I’m Feeling Hopeful	Astral People/PIAS
6	KWAMZAY	Motherland! [EP]	Corner Store Art House
7	MOLLY ANNELLE	“Dior” [Single]	604

Weekly Charts

Daytime Charts 1/25

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date January 26, 2022

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	BLACK MARBLE	Fast Idol	Sacred Bones
2	PARQUET COURTS	Sympathy For Life	Rough Trade
3	AEON STATION	Observatory	Sub Pop
4	CIRCUIT DES YEUX	-io	Matador
5	BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE	Old Dead Young: B-Sides & Rarities	Arts & Crafts
6	LIILY	TV Or Not TV	Flush
7	SPRINTS	“Swimming” [Single]	Nice Swan
8	SOFTCULT	“Gaslight” [Single]	Easy Life
9	BRADLEY COOMES	Communion	Deus Marginalia
10	BUTCHER BROWN	Encore [EP]	Concord Jazz
11	HIATUS KAIYOTE	Mood Valiant	Brainfeeder/Ninja Tune
12	JPEGMAFIA	LP!	EQT
13	LITTLE SIMZ	Sometimes I Might Be Introvert	AGE 101
14	NATION OF LANGUAGE	A Way Forward	Play It Again Sam
15	SUN JUNE	Somewhere (Expanded)	Run For Cover
16	ELIJAH ROSARIO	Genuine Truths	1496748
17	FLYING LOTUS	Yasuke	Warp
18	ILLISM	Family Over Everything	The CRWN
19	JAPANESE BREAKFAST	Jubilee	Dead Oceans/Secretly Group
20	MARKEE STEELE	Vet & A Rook [EP]	Thee Marquee
21	MCKINLEY DIXON	For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her	Spacebomb
22	NATIVESON 91	Come Back Down	Inner Tribe
23	PLANET GIZA	Don’t Throw Rocks At The Moon [EP]	Self-Released
24	TIERRA WHACK	R&B? [EP]	Interscope
25	ARLO PARKS	Collapsed In Sunbeams	Transgressive/PIAS
26	BRENT FAIYAZ	Mercedes	Lost kids
27	CAKES DA KILLA, PROPER VILLAINS	Muvaland Vol. 2 [EP]	Warner
28	FLY ANAKIN	Pixote	Mutant Academy
29	GREENTEA PENG	Man Made	EMI
30	ILLUMINATI HOTTIES	Let Me Do One More	Snack Shack Tracks/Hopeless

Daytime Adds

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	AEON STATION	Observatory	Sub Pop
2	CIRCUIT DES YEUX	-io	Matador
3	BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE	Old Dead Young: B-Sides & Rarities	Arts & Crafts
4	SOFTCULT	“Gaslight” [Single]	Easy Life
5	BRADLEY COOMES	Communion	Deus Marginalia
6	SUN JUNE	Somewhere (Expanded)	Run For Cover
7	1ST BASE RUNNER	Ellis [EP]	Self-Released
8	FLEET FOXES	A Very Lonely Solstice	Anti-
9	FAKE SHARK	Time For The Future	Light Organ
10	ORIEL	“Scream” [Single]	Self-Released

Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 1/25

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date January 26, 2022

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	TRIP TO THE NETHERLANDS	VARIOUS ARTISTS	Weedian
2	BLOODY KEEP	O Vampire Of The Night [EP]	Grime Stone
3	DRUNE	Drune	Self-Released
4	PORTRAYAL OF GUILT	Christfucker	Run For Cover
5	NOVA SPEI	Sequentis	Bam&Co. Heavy
6	RUNDGARD	Stronghold Of Majestic Ruins	Signal Rex
7	EMPLOYED TO SERVE	Conquering	Spinefarm
8	WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS	Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy	Electric Talon
9	ANTICHRIST SIEGE MACHINE	Purifying Blade	Profound Lore
10	HOODED MENACE	The Tritonus Bell	Season Of Mist

Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 1/25

Post author By WKNC Admin
Post date January 26, 2022

#	Artist	Album	Label
1	LSDXOXO	Dedicated 2 Disrespect [EP]	XL
2	ANE BRUN	“Crumbs” (The Small Crowd Remix) [Single]	Balloon Ranger
3	96BACK	9696 Dream	Local Action
4	BICEP	Isles (Deluxe)	Ninja Tune
5	CFCF	Memoryland	Self-Released
6	FLYING LOTUS	Yasuke	Warp
7	HARD FEELINGS	HARD FEELINGS	Domino
8	SMERZ	Believer	XL/Beggars Group
9	LEON VYNEHALL	Rare, Forever	Ninja Tune
10	ROSS FROM FRIENDS	Tread	Brainfeeder

New Album Review

Album Review: “Multiverse” by Reptaliens

Post author By Erie
Post date January 26, 2022

"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

Tags reptaliens