Categories
Miscellaneous

Top 5 Class Rock Bands

Top 5 Class Rock Bands 

I get it, it’s exhausting listening to the most cutting edge music 24/7 on two simultaneously spinning student-run radio stations.  Sometimes you just gotta throw on some 100.7 and let your brain mush take in the vibes of a land long gone to the passage of time. But we can’t forget that these bands and musicians are our forefathers, and that they deserve the utmost respect from the new guard of…ahem…coolness.  For this reason we’ll be going back in time today to take a look at the most essential bands that ever existed and fully analyzing what about them made their impact so durable.  

5. The Rolling Stones 

Formed in 1945 by best friends Mike Jagger and Keith Richmond, the Rolling Stones became a virtual overnight success due to being an anomalous sexy band from England.  Their 1984 single “Miss You” put the band on the map with its sexy combination of sexy guitar, sexy vocals, and sexy drums. Around this time Mike, who had reached an emotional pitfall due to his drug use, underwent a special therapy where all of his blood was replaced with more sexy blood.  Following the procedure, Mike’s sexy levels were so high that the United States government (still being led by President Richard Nixon) barred the Rolling Stones from entering the country. To combat the low album sales that naturally follow being left out of the American music market, Mike Jagger and Keith Richmond went undercover in the CIA for over thirty years to destroy the system from the inside, accidentally setting forth a series of convoluted events which ultimately led to Donald Trump being elected president.  To retaliate, the CIA was ordered to murder one of Mike’s closest friends: David Bowie, which was then framed to look like illness. In an unprecedented deal with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Rolling Stones were spared capital punishment on the condition that they tour forever until they die. 

4. The Beach Boys 

Oh boy, where to even start with the Beach Boys.  Well to begin with a little fun fact that few people know, the band’s name is actually derived from the surname of all of its members: Bechbou.  Emigrating from Germany in 1890, the Bechbou clan first established itself in Des Moines, Iowa as a circus act consisting of 15 identical children singing the same note so loudly that they would begin to hover six inches above the ground.  This was not a good idea. Frightened Iowans exiled the Bechbous from Des Moines and the family had no choice but to wander the Midwest until they reached a promised golden paradise: California. By no means was the trek easy. Though in 1932 the Bechbous had reached Los Angeles, half of the children had died by means of natural disaster or cannibalism.  Now a disgraced, broken clan, each of the Bechbou boys had ten more identical boys who they subsequently trained to be even better circus performers as themselves. Twenty died during the brutally strict singing regiment. Still, this left 50 members, most notable among them being Huey, Louis, Dewey, and Charles Manson. Renaming themselves to the more anglican “Beach Boys” the band erupted in the West Coast American rock scene after the release of their 1975 album “Rumors”.  However, their bitter rival, the Beatles, figured out that, due to the band’s insane musical training for their entire childhood, they could be activated as super soldiers if the right song was played for them. Needless to say, 1980’s “Helter Skelter” ripped the band apart. Charles Manson was the first to be activated, turning into a high powered psychopath while Huey, the band’s leader, went bananas. 

3. The Beatles

Possibly the most famous band of all time, the Beatles were formed in 1989 by spirit brothers John Legend and Rob McDonald.  Both being from recently divorced parents, the duo began their career with busking on the streets of their hometown: Seattle.  In a time where Michael Jackson was ruling the Billboard Hot 100 with a bedazzled fist, the Beatles were dead set on dismantling popular music in its entirety.  At first, the King of Pop didn’t pay much attention to Legend and McDonald. However, as spray-starched hair began to fall out of fashion with a youth obsessed with being disaffected, the freshly-born MTV recognized extreme potential in Lennon and McCartneys supremely unkempt chic.  After releasing 1991’s “Revolver” to critical acclaim, Legend grew noticeably distant from his musical partner. Walling himself in his Northwest fortress which he custom built to look like a medieval castle, he and his new wife, Joan Jett, notoriously indulged in month long benders while recording unlistenable noise soundscapes. In early 1993, at the pit of this illness and while the Beatles had taken an indefinite touring hiatus due to hysterical crowds, McDonald was forced to slap Legend several times in the face and subsequently bring about his sobriety.  With a full functioning creative engine again in place, the Beatles recorded their sophomore record “Under the Bridge” during the Fall of 1993 and began plans for a world tour the following year. Sadly, these plans were never actualized. In the Winter of 1994, Michael Jackson silently moonwalked into Legend’s ridiculous cartoon castle house while he was sleeping and bludgeoned him to death in his sleep. Though McDonald continued on to a profoundly successful solo career which still thrives today, the story of The Beatles is one which undoubtedly ends in tragedy.

2. AC/DC

We all know AC/DC as the vessel by which rock and roll most quickly enters our bloodstream.  But what I bet you didn’t know is that AC/DC is actually just five dogs sloppily dressed up as people. 

1. The Beatles Again

I’m so sorry.  I forgot to mention Sgt. Peppers.  When I first heard Sgt. Peppers, I punched my own mother in the face because I didn’t know how to react.  The minute the soundwaves emanating from “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” stroked my face the spongy material in my brain signaled me to go full force berserk mode.  I ripped through my shirt and first two layers of epidermis, I drove my car into a wall, I burned off my own foot with a flamethrower because it was the best music I had ever heard in my life.  As I lay there bleeding on the ground, I was struck by maddening inspiration. Formulas, formulas, formulas, and Bam! I had invented the time machine. I traveled back to the days of Mozart and sliced his head off with a machete.  How dare he try and remove the crown of best musician from atop the collective mop-topped heads of the Beatles. This man has never come close to writing the majesty that is and was “A Day in the Life” and he should be ashamed to ever even venture into the territory of musicianship. I will call the police on any person who does not get the album cover of “Sgt. Peppers” tattooed on their chest. 

Categories
Music News and Interviews

The Saw’s Electric Chair: DJ Beowvlf

The Saw sits down with a KNC legend: the one and only DJ Beowvlf, host of The Local Beat and our General Manager! The two chat about the station, getting into Metal, and Beowvlf’s favorite metal band.

Categories
Weekly Charts

Daytime Charts 8/13

# Artist Record Label

1 OH SEES Face Stabbe: Castle Face

2 FLORAL PRINT Floral Print Tiny Engines

3 MAUNO Really Well Tin Angel

4 JULIA SHAPIRO Perfect Version Hardly Art

5 PEAERA Healthy Earth Tiny Engines

6 BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT “At The Party With My Brown Friends” [Advance Tracks] Saddle Creek

7 AA BONDY Enderness Fat Possum

8 PIP BLOM Boat Heavenly/PIAS

9 BELLS ATLAS The Mystic Tender Loving Empire

10 PALEHOUND Black Friday Polyvinyl

11 A BEACON SCHOOL Cola Grind Select/House Arrest

12 BLESSED Salt Pirates Blend

13 CHAI Punk Burger

14 SHARON VAN ETTEN Remind Me Tomorrow Jagjaguwar

15 DUMB Club Nites Mint

16 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE Doko Mien Merge

17 GRINGO STAR Controlled Burn Baby Robot

18 FRENCH VANILLA How Am I Not Myself? Danger Collective

19 EMPATH Active Listening: Night On Earth Fat Possum

20 LAL Dark Beings Coax

21 HELADO NEGRO This Is How You Smile RVNG

22 STEF CHURA Midnight Saddle Creek

23 CHERRY GLAZERR Stuffed & Ready Secretly Canadian

24 YOUNG MAMMALS Lost In Lima Wallflower

25 PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS And Now For The Whatchamacallit Marathon

26 CRUMB Jinx Self-Released

27 HAYBABY They Get There Tiny Engines

28 TRUTH CLUB Not An Exit Tiny Engines

29 CHRISTELLE BOFALE “Swim Team” [EP] Father/Daughter

30 THE KISSING PARTY“Mom & Dad Bbyv

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 8/13

# Artist Record Label

1 SHADOW OF INTENT “Malediction” [Single] Self-Released

2 AS I LAY DYING “Shaped by Fire” [Single ]Nuclear Blast

3 VALLEYS “Bunkatsu” [Single] Tragic Hero

4 AURAS Binary Garden Entertainment One

5 JUDICIARY Surface Noise Closed Casket Activities

6 IRON MAIDEN The Studio Collection Remastered, Pt. 3 BMG

7 RENOUNCED “Self Inflicted” [Single] Holy Roar

8 THY ART IS MURDER Human Target Nuclear Blast

9 WAGE WAR “Prison” [Single] Fearless

10 VEIO Jupiter Rising [EP] Silent Majority

Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours 8/16

# Artist Record Label

1 KEDR LIVANSKIY Your Need 2MR

2 18 CARAT AFFAIR “Spent Passions 2” Self-Released

3 DEATON CHRIS ANTHONY “1999 She” [Single] Self-Released

4 DEVATA DAUN P"ye Luis" [EP] Pytch

5 TOURIST Everyday Monday

6 APHEX TWIN “Collapse” [EP] Warp

7 YVES TUMOR Safe In The Hands Of Love Warp

8 LAURENCE GUY “Making Music Is Bad For Your Self Esteeem” [EP ]Studio Barnhus

9 BLOOD ORANGE Angel’s Pulse Domino

10 THE SAMPS Breakfast Gloriette

Categories
DJ Highlights

~~Just Metal Things ~~

Back in the day there used to be these memes called, “Just Girly Things,” and they would just state things that are considered “girly.”

For example: 

^^^^^^^ Cringey, I know.

There are various memes out there that make fun of “Just Girly Things” that are very amusing to look at. One of my favorite themes are the ones regarding metal. Here are some ~~Just Metal Things~~ that all of us metalheads can relate to.

When the breakdown gets slower and heavier

Isn’t this the best feeling? When a song does this I automatically throw my hands up and punch the air. Kinda like this:

When the start a mosh is called

“ALRIGHT LEFT TO RIGHT, FRONT TO BACK. NO ONE STANDS STILL,” or “MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE,” or just a casual “2 STEP.” 

When you want to get ready and look metal af but you don’t want to put makeup on

I go through this every single day.

When the two shades of black you’re wearing match

This is a miracle when this happens.

When the song has a good “blegh” or guttural

Okay, I know I said that when the breakdown gets slower and heavier is the best feeling, but a good “blegh” or guttural during a breakdown is nasty as hell.

Here are some of my favorite “Just Metal Meme”

Yep, that’s simply poetic! Love it!!

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Concert Review

Pure Noise Show Review

Okay, I know I say this a lot, BUT this show was amazing. The lineup for this tour was absolutely genius and all the bands played a killer show!! This was a show that I have been looking forward to for a while! I have seen all the bands that were on the bill (Year of the Knife, Sanction, Terror, Counterparts, and Stick to Your Guns) before so I was prepared for the chaos that was yet to come.

The first band to start off the night was Year of the Knife and right when their set started, a pit broke out. Everyone was 2 stepping, kicking, and swinging the entire time. YOTK set the bar for what the rest of the night had in store for us.

Sanction hit the stage next and… WOW!!! Sanction never fails to impress me any time I see them. The pit started to get more rowdy once Sanction started playing. I love the stage performance that they have because they all just jam out and the singer is in the audience’s faces the entire time. People were running up to the front and jumping over people trying to grab the mic and sing. They also did a NCHC mosh call and that is when I got kicked in the kneecap and now I have a purple/green bruise. That’s so metal.

Terror came on and I hung out in the back during their set because I recently seen Terror in Charlotte with Hatebreed. Terror was the most traditional hardcore band on the lineup and people went off during their set! Terror always brings explosive energy while on stage. Their riffs are killer, and they are always jamming with the audience, pushing us to do more chaotic stuff.

Counterparts was the second to last band to play and I have never seen them before! I was really happy that I finally got to see them and WOW!!! They were SO GOOD!!!! The crowd went crazy for them!!!! You can tell that Counterparts loves what they are doing because you could see how much fun they were having throughout their entire set.

Stick to Your Guns finally hit the stage and they were jamming! They had a cool light show and they were very interactive with the crowd! The last time I saw Stick to Your Guns was in Carrboro and the crowd went wild! A handful of people left after Terror but the people who stayed for Stick to Your Guns were going off!! People were jumping off the stage, jumping onto the stage, and moshing everywhere.  

 

Did you go to the Pure Noise tour? What did you think about it? Who was your favorite?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 8/9

# Artist Record Label

1 THY ART IS MURDER Human Target Nuclear Blast
2 SLIPKNOT We Are Not Your Kind [Advance Tracks] Roadrunner
3 TYRANNOTOPHIA Distant Unique Leader
4 MENTAL CRUELTY Inferis Unique Leader
5 THIRTEENTH Street Disciple [EP] Self-Released
6 OF MICE AND MEN “Earth & Sky” [Single] Rise
7 FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE Veleno Nuclear Blast
8 AURAS Binary Garden Entertainment One
9 DISTINGUISHER Hell From Here SSR
10 EVEREST The Only Way Out Is Up [EP] Self-Released

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Interview with Max Gowan

You may remember the prolific singer-songwriter, Max Gowan, from WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit earlier this year. The Raleigh native turned Virginia-resident gives us a look into his most recent album release, Bygones, which is set to produce its first music video later this month. Gowan is promoting this release through WKNC by generously giving us a teaser trailer for the project. The music video for “7th Day” by Max Gowan can be promo’d above and further questions about Gowan and his artistry can be read below.

Music Video Questions:
First and foremost….. please give credit to the creators! Who helped you create this video? This video was made by Lake Park Productions which is a group of my friends Cary, Nathan, and Coleman, and probably some other folks who I haven’t met yet. They are awesome and I couldn’t be happier with the work they do. 

With what concept did you approach the videographers when starting this video? I wasn’t sure what I wanted for the video when I went to my friend Cary’s team to see if they were interested. We talked about it and I told them the song was generally about a sense of unease and dread that I sometimes get that can be pretty consuming. They thought it would be cool to build a miniature town out of household toys and stuff they found and build tension throughout the video until the town ultimately floods. I was like “yeah, that’s perfect.”

To what degree does psychedelia inspire this music video? I guess a lot of people would consider the song itself to be fairly psychedelic, because it’s focused on building textures in kind of an abstract way, so I think they tried to make the video reflect that. I like things that evoke emotion without being overly direct.

To whom does this video pay homage? Who are your inspirations, if you have any? I know very little about film and movies but I’m sure the team that made this video had inspiration from lots of places. They were shooting in a style called “Macro” I believe, and I’m sure there are lots of filmmakers and directors covering new ground with that technique. I know it’s not similar at all, but for some reason, the video sometimes makes me think of Wallace and Gromit which I grew up on, I loved that claymation stuff. 

I like the contrast between glowing and iridescent imagery inside the structures and for your profile’s color scheme. The contrast between their vibrancy and the mundanity of the tiny town must have been intentional. Can you elaborate on that a little bit more for me? I didn’t know that was going to be done until I saw the finished video for the first time. I love it! I’m sure the filmmakers could speak better about it than me, but my reading is that everything in the video is an inanimate object, except for the shots of me playing guitar. So it’s almost like they’re making the play-pretend world seem very grounded in reality, but the actual footage of the real world seem more like a daydream. It’s a cool subversion.

Why did you select this song to be the featured single/music video off of Bygones? It was the first song I ever made for the album and I think I chose it for the single because I thought it had the most immediate appeal. I’m happy with how the guitar interludes turned out. Those sections have two guitar parts layered together that probably shouldn’t work but for some reason they did!

Common themes between your two music videos, “7th Day” and the video for “Couch” are time-passing (the flood in 7th Day and the train in Couch), light leaks, close-ups of your guitar, and photo-negative images of your scenery. What’s the carryover between the two videos? How are they related if at all? Why do you like those motifs? Cary and his team also made the video for Couch, so I think those might be markings of their style. But I advocated for a lot of those choices too because I think I’m usually very conscious of the passage of time and of how things can seem surreal. I’m probably a little too focused on it, I guess that’s why I make music about it. 

Ultimately, that small town is destroyed by water and the lights go out, why? That part to me is like…the extreme logical conclusion of any irrational fear or delusion. The idea that it could consume you. It doesn’t usually happen but I feel like it’s a fear that most people probably share.

Ever heard of the book, the Giver? You being the only thing in color reminds me a lot of that. I loved The Giver! That was probably my favorite book I read the whole year of 6th grade. I hadn’t at all thought about the connection there but you’re very right and I’m sure that subconsciously made me like this video even more. 

Do you plan on releasing more music videos for this album? I would like to release more. I think I’d either want to do one for the song “Overpass” or the song “Knocking” but it will probably be a while before we can get anything going.

When can we expect this music video to come out and where can it be found once it is? I think our goal right now is late August or early September. It will be posted on my music YouTube channel and it will probably be premiering on some blogs as well. But YouTube is a safe bet.

The interview continued on to cover a variety of subjects. For further insight into Max Gowan as an artist and person, continue reading. The following Q-and-A does not directly pertain to the music video for “7th Day.”

Why is “Blue Kite” such a good song? It is my personal favorite! Haha, I’m glad you like that one. I’m really happy with how it turned out but for some reason it’s not one of my more popular tracks…I guess it’s a little slow and dark. I’ve never made something before that centered so heavily on piano and drums – that was a lot of fun to explore.

Do you have a favorite released track? I think my favorite released song of mine is probably this one called “Bad Breeze.” It came together really fast and just felt like the kind of song I’ve always wanted to make. I thought people would hate it at first because I could see how someone would think it’s goofy or weird, but I think it’s my most played song on Spotify which is a cool feeling!

Favorite and least favorite song that isn’t by you? I hate to throw people under the bus but I heard this song “Lover Is A Day” by Cuco and it drove me INSANE. It’s kind of like a standard Ultra Chill Dream Pop song but I just really didn’t like the rambling vocals and instrumentation. Then I looked and saw the song is 7 minutes long. It just kept doing the same thing the whole time…the audacity. I’m probably just an asshole though. I’m sure the dude is talented it’s just not my thing. My favorite song is probably “Helicopter” by Deerhunter. Probably a very uncool opinion among Deerhunter fans but it’s everything I love in music.

Who are your musical icons that you admire? I listened to a bunch of death metal in middle school and then got really into Elliott Smith and Deerhunter in high school. I think those two artists plus Spirit of the Beehive, Broken Social Scene, and Alex G are probably the most influential for my music. I’ve also been listening to a ton of Tierra Whack lately, she’s amazing.

What have you done since Double Barrel Benefit? Double Barrel Benefit was awesome, we were really glad we got to play! Since then I finished my last semester and graduated college. I worked a couple of different jobs this summer and am moving back to Raleigh and job searching there.

What goals do you have for yourself going forward? I think my goal is to find a job that I am satisfied with that also allows me some time for working on music. As far as music goes, I think it’s easy to get caught up in thinking “in five years I should have this many listeners and be playing in X size room” but the world doesn’t work like that. I’ll be happy if I can keep making albums that I enjoy more than my previous stuff.

Where can people listen to your music online? You can find it under my name on Spotify and Apple Music or you can go to maxgowan.bandcamp.com

Soup or salad with your sandwich? Salad! I could use the fiber.

Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 8/7

# Artist Record Label

1 CHERRY GLAZERR “Daddi – Reggie Watts Remix” [Single] Secretly Canadian
2 BOY HARSHER Lesser Man Nude Club
3 GNORK Marble [EP] Church
4 LONE “Abraxas” [Single] Ancient Astronauts
5 BLOOD ORANGE Angel’s Pulse Domino
6 18 CARAT AFFAIR Spent Passions 2 Self-Released
7 HURLEE Beating For You [EP] Apparel
8 PEGGY GOU “Starry Night” [Single] Gudu
9 CHANNEL TRES Black Moses [EP] GODMODE
10 COWGIRL CLUE Icebreaker Vada Vada