Category: Blog

Categories
Miscellaneous

What is “Indie?”

 

I’ve been a Daytime DJ at WKNC for over a year now and I still have the hardest time answering when people ask me, “What exactly is indie’. Recently one of my co-workers asked me this and my mind went completely blank. So I decided I should probably think about that question. 

The reason it’s so hard to define ‘indie’ is because it has so many subgenres and those subgenres can be ambiguous and sound a lot like other kinds of music. What’s the difference between indie rock and rock? What about folk indie and folk music? Is there a difference or is it just a title? Is there some stylistic differences between the two? How does something qualify as ‘indie’? I mean I really don’t know but I do play/ listen to a lot of indie music so I guess in some indescribable and undefinable way I do know what ‘indie’ music is. 

As far as what I like to call ‘indie’ music I sometimes say that if it doesn’t fit somewhere else it probably fits into indie and if the band is smaller it’s even more indie. But that doesn’t apply to all cases so that’s not even close to a good definition. Maybe indie is a style? I definitely see indie as a bit of a style, the album artwork and the way people in indie tend to dress can really be described as just weird enough and a little effortless looking. 

Indie is one of those things that you can spend ages explaining and not making sense (much like this article) or you could just listen and look to identify it. Basically, what I’m saying is the only real way to know what indie is to listen to the music and look at the style. So I’ve linked my ultimate indie playlist (it’s something I’ve been working on for ages and still work on regularly) so if you’re curious about this ‘indie’ thing be sure to check it out. 

Playlist // https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uhiwdTwdvRDzIgo6EXmWf?si=9hm6LUSvTOCr7o7UY4oN5g

– DJ Psych

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Band of the Week: Miss May I

Miss May I was the first band that got me into heavier music in general. When I first heard Miss May I, I was with my cousin and he was playing Relentless Chaos and 14-year-old me loved what I was hearing. It was the perfect blend of harmony and heaviness.

Miss May I was the first band that I went and saw alone. Back in 2015, I went to Warped Tour in Charlotte just to see them! I got to meet the band at Warped Tour and they are the most genuine guys I have ever met. They were so nice and down to earth and I really enjoyed talking to them. At Warped Tour, I was in the front for their set and I was singing the words back to them; their singer, Levi Benton, pointed at me and when he ran into the crowd during Hey Mister, he was right in front of me. What a great first show (alone) experience.

From there, I have seen Miss May I two other times: at the Filmore in Charlotte, when they went on tour with Thy Art Is Murder, In Hearts Wake, and Parkway Drive. I also saw them in Greensboro on their headlining tour with Upon A Burning Body, Kublai Khan, and Currents. I met the band again at that show and they were just as nice as the first time I met them. They put hearts around their signatures when they signed my ticket at Warped Tour and on my poster when I saw them in Greensboro. I love them.

The band formed in 2007 and are from Troy, Ohio. They signed with Rise Records in 2008, released their debut album, Apologies Are for the Weak while the band was still in high school. Their song, Forgive and Forget, is featured in Saw VI and Apologies are for the Weak is featured in the video game Saints Row: The Third.

The band has kept the same lineup since its formation. Their bassist, Ryna Neff, left the band in 2007 but rejoined in 2009 and has stayed ever since! Since then, Miss May I has released 5 other albums: Monument (2010), At Heart (2012), Rise of the Lion (2014), Deathless (2015), and Shadows Inside (2017). The band left Rise Records in 2016 and signed with SharpTone Records.

In other news regarding the band, their singer, Levi and his wife JoJo, just had their first child! JoJo gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and named her Jax. I am so happy for the both of them and can’t wait to see where this path of their life leads them! Relationship goals af.

Favorite songs: Forgive and Forget, Hero With No Name, Turn Back The Time, The Artificial, and Swallow Your Teeth.

What are some of your favorite Miss May I songs?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Leslie Bear – Means To Me

Means to Me by Leslie Bear album cover

BEST TRACKS: Sweetheart, Empty Bottle, Snow Globe

FCC clean

Leslie Bear’s second album as Long Beard, Means To Me, is a silky dream pop album about her suburban New Jersey hometown and how the people and places in it have changed or disappeared over the years since her 2015 debut Sleepwalker. In this album, Bear confronts her feelings of nostalgia and instability of the universe migrating around her while she seems to be staying still. To me, the most nostalgic and lonesome song on this album is track number four Sweetheart in which Bear sings about her first kiss long ago on a rainy day outside of the local CVS pharmacy. Everyone who has ever lived in an American suburb can probably reminisce back to what it was like being inside their local CVS while it was pouring outside.

Means To Me features heavy filters, reverberation, jangly guitars, and yearnful vocals. Overall, I would describe this album as dream pop in its purest form. The beat, melody, and vocals all merge together like gently flowing water.

At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of this album because I usually prefer songs with either a bit more intensity or gut-wrenching sadness, but I listened to this album on repeat while I was studying for a biochemistry test and I have never been so focused. This is my perfect type of studying music because I can’t understand the words over the heavy vocal filters, so I don’t get distracted by them. Picking the best tracks for this album was hard because most of the songs on this album all sounded the same to me. I picked the best tracks based on the catchiness of the guitar riffs. This album is great if you’re looking for some uninterrupted background music though!

Recommended that you listen if you like Jay Som, Hatchie, or Japanese Breakfast!

-Safia Rizwan

Categories
Miscellaneous

How Metal has Influenced Fashion

I have seen a lot of E-boys and goth girls on TikTok recently and I can’t help but realize that they look so metal. But, some of them don’t even listen to metal. This got me thinking, how has metal influenced fashion?

The heavy metal fashion derived from the biker, rocker, and leather subcultures. Heavy metal fashion includes elements such as leather jackets; combat boots, studded belts, hi-top shoes, blue or black jeans, camouflage pants, and denim jackets that are sometimes decorated with pins and patches. Various bands have also helped contribute to the metal fashion, primarily Judas Priest. The lead singer, Rob Halford wears leather costumes on stage, and the rest of the band followed suit. Bands such as Iron Maiden soon followed, also. The use of modern military clothing was put to use in the Thrash metal scene with bands such as Metallica, Destruction, and Megadeth. This style was also used in the punk-metal and anti-fashion as well.

Here recently, I have noticed that the metal fashion has been used in modern-day fashion. Now, I am not saying that the metal scene owns this fashion, but I will argue that it has influenced what we see, today. For example, I have seen individuals wearing chokers, chains, fishnets, studs, leather, and heavier, darker makeup around. I do appreciate the style and versatility people have put on these outfits to make it their own.

There have been some debates as to whether or not individuals should wear band shirts of a band that they don’t know. As we can see in Pop Culture, celebrities have been spotted wearing band shirts (AC/DC, Slayer, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Nirvana, etc). Primarily the “big name” bands. I have seen some artists (like Kanye West and Travis Scott) wear heavier band shirts such as Cattle Decapitation. For me, I do not mind if someone wears a band shirt that they don’t know. I am not going to gatekeep and ask them to name off songs from the band. To me, it is publicity for the band.

What trips me up is how some people will look completely “metal af” but have no idea about the metal culture and where there style has derived from. How can someone look like a badass goth girl and listen to Taylor Swift? I don’t know, but I love the fit!! Keep the ‘fits looking fresh!! I love it!!!

What has been your favorite fashion trend? For me, I love a good hoodie and denim jacket combo with a chain lock necklace. Total hardcore.

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Weekly Charts

Daytime 10/22

Artist Record Label
1 CHASTITY BELT Chastity Belt Hardly Art
2 KATE TEAGUE Kate Teague [EP] Muscle Beach
3 LALA LALA Sleepyhead (Reissue) Hardly Art
4 OH ROSE While My Father Sleeps Park The Van
5 (SANDY) ALEX G House Of Sugar Domino
6 PEACH PYRAMID Bright Blue Oscar St
7 ROYAL CANOE Waver Paper Bag
8 KOOLEY HIGH Monogamy Mass Appeal
9 OH SEES Face Stabber Castle Face
10 YOUNG MAMMALS Lost In Lima Wallflower
11 ROYAL TRUX Pink Stuff [EP] Fat Possum
12 COACH PHILLIPS Never Is Enough Den Tapes
13 CEREMONY In The Spirit World Now Relapse
14 PIP BLOM Boat Heavenly/PIAS
15 TACOCAT This Mess Is A Place Sub Pop
16 FLORIST Emily Alone Double Double Whammy
17 HATCHIE Keepsake Double Double Whammy
18 SACRED PAWS Run Around The Sun Merge
19 KIM GRAY Plastic Memory Buzz
20 DUMB Club Nites Mint
21 SLOW PULP Big Day [EP] Self-Released
22 PALEHOUND Black Friday Polyvinyl
23 LAL Dark Beings Coax
24 STEF CHURA Midnight Saddle Creek
25 BODYWASH Comforter Luminelle
26 NOTS 3 (Three) Goner
27 GRINGO STAR Controlled Burn Baby Robot
28 WILD NOTHING Live From Brooklyn Steel Captured Tracks
29 TY SEGALL Deforming Lobes Drag City
30 JULIA SHAPIRO Perfect Version Hardly Art

TOP ADDS
1 CAMP HOWARD Canon Self-Released
2 CHRIS FARREN Born Hot Polyvinyl
3 BARRIE Happy To Be Here (Ext) [EP] Winspear
4 DOMINIC SEN Visitor Roll Call
5 PHIL AND THE OSOPHERS From The Rise Of Fall Self-Released
6 WALRUS Cool To Who Outside
7 HOVVDY Heavy Lifter Double Double Whammy
8 STRAIGHT WHITE TEETH Charming Pet GIFs Self-Released

Categories
Weekly Charts

Underground 10/22

Artist Record Label
1 FANTOMPOWER Summertime and the Living’s Easier inner ocean
2 DENZEL CURRY Zuu Loma Vista/Concord
3 AMINE OnePointFive Republic
4 TIERRA WHACK “Wasteland” [Single] Self-Released
5 INJURY RESERVE Injury Reserve Loma Vista/Concord
6 RICO NASTY “Sandy” [Single] Self-Released
7 PRINCESS NOKIA Metallic Butterfly (Remastered) Rough Trade
8 MALIBU KEN Malibu Ken Rhymesayers
9 LIZZO Cuz I Love You Nice Life/Atlantic
10 SK, THE NOVELIST Baggage Self-Released

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 10/22

Artist Record Label
1 VARIALS In Darkness Fearless
2 CATTLE DECAPITATION “Bring Back The Plague” [Single] Metal Blade
3 KUBLAI KHAN Absolute Rise
4 KNOCKED LOOSE A Different Shade Of Blue Pure Noise
5 VALLEYS Fearless Tragic Hero
6 INVOKE Invoking Chaos [EP] Arduous Path
7 GIDEON Out of Control Equal Vision
8 OBITUARY “A Dying World” [Single] Relapse
9 FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY “Shepherd” [Single] Human Warfare
10 AFTER THE BURIAL Evergreen Sumerian

Categories
New Album Review

Album Review: Case Sensitive – Twins

Case Sensitive - Twins

Ugh. How refreshing is it to have high hopes for a local band and then have them be awesome? Thank you, Case Sensitive, for being freaking good. I’m thoroughly impressed and I’ll tell you why. 

Let’s appreciate the simplicity of Twins, starting with first impressions. Perfect album cover. It’s representative of the album in that it depicts two human beings could maybe be twins. We see two figures, we know the album is called Twins, and it all makes sense. The art is well done and not too flashy. The cover looks great and does what it needs to do without trying too hard – it’s perfect!

Now, if we’re talking simplicity and local bands we usually can’t talk about their sound. There is something about the local scene that just makes (mostly) everyone produce a pile of sound that gets pushed into set of mics and trying to make a loud entrance. Sometimes this works out and we get our yelled at in a beautiful way (Pie Face Girls for example, duh) but sometimes local bands need to relax. Take a beat, please. I’m tired. I want something smooth that sounds organic – enter Twins. Wowie! Sierra? Mary? Those vocals? Is that you I’m bopping to in the car? I guess it is. Kelnan? On guitar? Please and thank you.

The thing about this killer trio is that they work well together. The flow is seamless and they just seem to exist together in the most organic way. Making music is hard, but the best tunes come from groups who make it seem easy, like Case Sensitive in Twins. 

 xoxo

your trusty music librarian

Categories
Playlists

College Explained through music

You know that feeling when you hear a song you relate to and you’re just like YES. Well, I’ve had a lot of those moments with songs that remind me of college.  I’ve talked about my playlists that I make every semester, but my favorite thing about them is that I now have a few anthems that really define my college experience. You can judge them for yourself from the playlist linked below, but this is my college experience explained through music…

  1. Sober by FIDLAR

  2. Art School Wannabe by Sorority Noise

  3. Hollow Life by Coast Modern

  4. I’m Just A Kid by Simple Plan

  5. Fine, Great by Modern Baseball

  6. Laugh Til I Cry by The Front Bottoms

  7. Sweet Disaster by DREAMERS

  8. Life’s To Short by Wild Party

  9. Something Good Can Work by Two Doors Cinema Club

  10. My Good Grades by Cecil Frena

  11. This Is Home by Cavetown

What would your list look like?

https://open.spotify.com/user/1218329188/playlist/7eg26Brb82AVtKnsDkn2bH?si=kTLT55seRpaDNMBwRpt0ng 

– DJ Psyched

Categories
Playlists

Hallow-Rap playlist

Rap music is littered with lyrics about death, violence and bloodshed. A lot of people think this is one of the worst things about rap music. I think those people lack perspective. Whether you’re rapping about carrying the weight of death in your own community or if you’re rapping about perpetuating violence yourself; rap music’s subject matter is sometimes scary, especially because it is often sourced from real life experiences. Here are some creepy sounding songs that talk about some terrifying aspects of the black experience.

  1. Casket Pretty – Noname

  2. Pet Cemetery – Tierra Whack

  3. Thieves in the Night – Black Star

  4. The Devil’s Shoestring – MF DOOM

  5. Rage – Rico Nasty

  6. Heaven’s Little Bastard – Bbymutha

  7. Suicidal Thoughts – Notorious B.I.G.

  8. Flowers and Rope – Princess Nokia

  9. The Art of Peer Pressure – Kendrick Lamar

  10. Goth Kid – Princess Nokia

  11. Sandwitches – Tyler The Creator

  12. Freestyle 4 – Kanye West

  13. Deathwish – Comethazine

  14. Dark Night Dummo – Trippie Redd

  15. Elm Street – Jimmy Wopo

  16. Bad Guy – 21 Savage

  17. Faucet – Earl Sweatshirt

  18. Bobby Bitch – Bobby Shmurda

  19. Nuketown – SKI MASK THE SLUMP GOD

  20. FlatBed Freestyle – Playboi Carti

  21. Paranoia – Chance The Rapper

-cellardoor xx