From left, Sophia Cunningham, Erie Mitchell, Claire Conklin, Rose Kelley, Nick Pinto, Jamie Lynn Gilbert and Spencer Grattan accepted awards for Best Podcast, Best Video Promo and Best DJ at the College Broadcasters, Inc. National Student Production Awards Oct. 21 in Orlando.
NC State Student Media was honored by four different college media organizations this fall.
College Media Association (CMA), the nation’s largest organization dedicated to serving collegiate media advisers, presented individual and organizational Pinnacle awards, as well as honors in its Film and Audio Festival, at the National College Media Convention Oct. 29-Nov. 2 in Atlanta.
WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 won second place Radio Station of the Year in the Organizational Pinnacle awards for Division I. All Pinnacle finalists are in the Division I category for schools with an undergraduate enrollment of 10,000 or more.
Nubian Message, a biweekly publication serving NC State’s Black community, received an honorable mention for Periodic Newspaper of the Year, newspapers that publish two to three times a month. This is Nubian’s first nomination for this award.
WKNC received three Pinnacle awards in the video/audio category. KONDE Brown, a fourth-year student studying communication and the station’s 2022-2023 production manager, shares second place for Best Audio Promo/PSA with Maddy Moore, a fourth-year student in textile technology. The promo is for Moore’s “The Doghouse” DJ shift, which currently airs Fridays at 11 a.m. on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1.
Third place for Best Audio Talk/Entertainment Program was awarded to the “On Island.” episode of “On Black.” The program, which airs every other Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 and is available as a podcast, is hosted by Alexis Grant, a third-year student studying material science engineering, Jeanine Ikekhua, a fourth-year student studying communication and international studies, and Hamsata Mazou, a third-year student studying business administration. In the “On Island.” episode the hosts discuss how they would structure their own island, including who would be allowed in and what rules would be established.
Carter Norfleet, a third-year student studying English-creative writing and one of WKNC’s video content creators, received an honorable mention for Best Short (sub-3 minute) Video for Entertainment, for “A Day with Art.”
Carter Norfleet’s “A Day with Art” received an honorable mention for best short (sub-3 minute) video for entertainment in CMA’s Pinnacle Awards.
Along with the Pinnacles, CMA holds a Film and Audio Festival at its convention, designed to encourage and promote excellence in student video and audio.
Katie Quesinberry, a third-year student studying chemical engineering who worked as one of WKNC’s video content creators, earned first place in the animation category. “WKNC Presents Double Barrel Benefit 19” was filmed using stop-monition animation, a package of cut-out stars from Target and a Scrabble tile set.
The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the U.S., also handed out awards at the National College Media Convention Oct. 29-Nov. 2 in Atlanta.
Jermaine Hudson, a third-year student studying social work and psychology, earned fifth place in Best Yearbook Page/Spread for “The next generation of FINER women” in ACP’s Design of the Year contest. He was also awarded an honorable mention for Best Yearbook cover. Hudson was Agromeck’s design editor in 2022-2023 and currently serves as the publication’s editor-in-chief.
ACP also holds a Best of Show contest for media outlets present at their national convention. Windhover, edited by Ryley Fallon, earned fourth place in literary arts magazine at a four-year campus. Agromeck, edited by Krishna Patel, also earned fourth place in yearbook.
Jermaine Hudson (left) and Hallie Walker show off Agromeck’s fourth place certificate in the Associated Collegiate Press’s Best of Show contest held at the National College Media Convention Oct. 29-Nov. 2 in Atlanta.
WKNC also earned three awards in the College Broadcasters, Inc.’s National Student Production Awards, presented Oct. 21 at the National Student Electronic Media Convention in Orlando.
Katie Quesinberry’s “WKNC Presents Double Barrel Benefit 19” won awards for Best Video Promo in the College Broadcasters, Inc. National Student Production Awards and Best Animation in the College Media Association Film and Audio Festival.
Rosie Rose, who graduated in August 2022 with a degree in communication media, won first place for Best DJ. Rose hosted “The Riot Hours” as Rainbow Riot. Rose was previously honored in the DJ personality category of the CMA Film and Audio Festival, earning first place in 2021 and second place in 2022.
Rose Kelley, a third-year student studying political science and the station’s content manager, earned second place for Best Podcast for the “Lincoln and Liberty Too!” episode of the U.S. political history podcast “In the West Wing.” The episode explores the chaotic presidential election of 1860 in which Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell.
Finally, WKNC earned recognition from the College Media Business and Advertising Managers (CMBAM), a group that supports business operations for Student Media. KONDE Brown earned an honorable mention in the best audio ad/underwriting with an announcement for the NC State Institute for Advanced Analytics. It was awarded at the CMBAM annual convention Oct. 14 in Minneapolis.
Media Consultant Carter Fields (left) and Business and Marketing Adviser Zanna Swann accept an honorable mention for best audio ad/underwriting at the College Media Business and Advertising Managers convention Oct. 14 in Minneapolis.
For those unfamiliar with Baldur’s Gate 3, the game allows a player’s PC to travel in the company of several companions who seem specially-tailored to be both intensely likeable (excluding Gale) and intensely attractive.
Through gameplay and interaction, the player can learn more about these new friends (or enemies — or lovers — depending on how you swing things) and build plot-relevant relationships.
That’s all well and good, I suppose.
But beyond all the hours of carefully crafted backstory and world-building infused into BG3’s gameplay, I’m interested in imposing upon these characters my own pretentious personal ideas about music.
Nobody asked, but I will deliver.
The Selection
I digress with a brief disclaimer to highlight that this is, primarily, a joke. However, I stand wholeheartedly by all of these claims.
I also will only be covering the “main cast” of companions, so if anyone was expecting to see what kind of music Scratch or Minthara would listen to, they’ll have to decide that for themselves.
My criteria for making these assessments comes from four main factors:
Personality
Style
Canon
My personal opinions
As an English major, I have a lot of practice in the art of character analysis. As a music fan, I have a lot of experience being force-fed other people’s music opinions.
The intersection of these two realms will yield something interesting, if not accurate.
Lae’zel
Lae’zel is a Githyanki Fighter with a Soldier background. If you’re not familiar with DND, those words will mean next to nothing to you. That’s fine. All you need to know is that Lae’zel is the modern man’s tsundere.
If I’m being honest, I struggled the most with this one. Lae’zel is characterized as being both strictly no-nonsense and highly repressed, coming from a highly militaristic society.
At the same time, however, her culture has a strong musical and artistic foundation. Githyanki music is defined as highly variable, though consistently centered around metallic, harsh and strident rhythms.
Cover for “20 Jazz Funk Greats” by Throbbing Gristle
From this perspective, I think Lae’zel’s music taste would follow similar lines. I can see her enjoying weird industrial music as well as brassy jazz.
Bands I can think of that fit this kind of idiosyncratic harshness and experimental irregularity include:
I also think she’d like insanely hard, vigorous metal. Perhaps jazz-metal fusion, like Agabas.
Shadowheart
Also known as “God’s Favorite Princess,” Shadowheart is a half-elf Cleric with an Acolyte background.
I was pleased to find that despite my first impressions of her, Shadowheart has proven to be a well-written female character. I adore her, and if it wasn’t my goal to make all the companions fall in love with me, I would probably romance her.
Cover for “Punisher” by Phoebe Bridgers
All the same though, I don’t think her music taste would be all that spectacular. Though her outward personality projects pragmatism, I think she’d find music as an important emotional outlet. So, obviously, she’d be very into girlcore.
I can see her appreciating female artists, specifically. Such as:
i will preface this by stating that I am not a misandrist.
Gale is a human Wizard with a Sage background. He’s also from Waterdeep, as he’s particularly keen on mentioning.
I don’t dislike Gale, per se, but he definitely gives off an air of instability that reminds me of several uncharismatic and overly-confident men I’ve met in my life. While I’m sure that Gale is far from the “fantasy incel” I like to pretend he is for laughs, I do think he’d listen to The Smiths.
Cover for “In the Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson
As someone who also listens to The Smiths, like recognizes like.
Gale also seems like the kind of person who would give over his heart to enigmatic, long-winded sprawls of progressive rock.
He’d probably smell like patchouli — and another fragrant herb — in real life.
Oh, man. I really do enjoy this mean, fruity little man.
Astarion is a high elf Rogue with a Charlatan background. He’s also a vampire, which despite being extremely obvious, is somehow a surprise to all the other characters.
I consider whether or not someone likes Astarion to be a sort of litmus test. For what exactly, I will not say.
Cover for “Getz/Gilberto” by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto
Maybe it’s trite to think this, but I see Astarion as being an appreciator of classical music and soft, smooth jazz. I like to think he may even appreciate bossa nova.
He’s 200 years old and probably sick to death of the whole music business, prefering instead just to listen to what “feels nice.”
And yes, I’m fully aware that Neil Newborn has his own Astarion playlist, and that it has “Even Flow” on it.
This is my little brother’s favorite character (because warlocks are cool.)
Wyll is a human Warlock (The Fiend) with a Folk Hero background. He has a stone eye with a heart-shaped pupil, which to me signals to the fact that he’s probably the most well-adjusted companion (and character, perhaps) in the game.
Cover for “Badmotorfinger” by Soundgarden
Though he defines himself as a warrior and monster-slayer (the “Blade of Frontiers,” which is a name he apparently gave himself?), he’s inherently kindhearted and subtly dorky.
This, combined with his red-and-black fashion motif, leads me to think of him as a big fan of dad rock. He’s into alternative sounds, but only really familiar with the more topical names.
An unequivocal representation of peak female character design, Karlach is a Tiefling Barbarian with an Outlander background. She’s also got an infernal engine in her chest, which honestly only adds to her abject hotness.
Cover for “away” by Fromjoy
Karlach is a beacon to angsty ADHD girlies everywhere. While I think she’d honestly just enjoy listening to anything upbeat and fun, I also see her as particularly drawn to heavy music a la Doom Slayer. But perhaps with an emo or nu metal twist.
Rock Music Fan Club is a project originating from an Australian bedroom by an artist named Buz Clatworthy. Their most recent release, “Club Hits” was release on Nov 3, 2023. It is a full length album with a run-time of just under thirty minutes.
In terms of sound, “Club Hits” spreads its noise into an array of folky-twang, punk, and egg punk all wrapped up in a nice warm pot with a bit of water and salt to let the flavors and sounds in this album come alive.
Buz Clatworthy “writes, performs and records all of the groups output himself in his bedroom”, as it states on Discogs, and began in 2018 thanks to encouragement from a friend listening to Clatworthy’s demo. R.M.F.C (Rock Music Fan Club abbreviated) has played with notable egg punk bands like Snooper and Alien Nosejob when performing live in the past.
Below is a snippet of some words and sentences that each of these songs inspired me to write while listening to the music. To me that is the best way to communicate the emotions and sounds that I feel when listening to an album.
The short snippets of punk and classic rock n’ roll guitar fuses together to create a wonderful playful hybrid of sounds that aren’t corny or uptight. It’s like Goldilocks says, “It’s just right”.
Reminds me of a tame folky version of Sick Thoughts’ music they’ve been releasing recently; for example, “Hole in the Wall”. The jerky vocals put me on edge, but again the guitar quells my nerves and reassures me.
Like a walk in the hours after the rain has subsided in a quiet suburban night, this track puts my head at ease. The very relaxing rhythms and background noise is pleasant and delightful to my ears that usually want a harsh scream to take up residence.
Conclusion
The rest of the album that I haven’t mentioned, is of course wonderful and each song deserves its own praises here, but that’s not feasible for me to write for a blog. This is a taste of “Club Hits”. I hope I’ve whetted y’all’s appetite, and if you decide to check out R.M.F.C.’s newest album, prepare to enjoy a delightful meal for your ears.
Agabas is a 6-piece Norwegian metal band that hit the scene back in April 2023 with their debut single, “Skamklipt.”
When I first heard the track, I found it fabulously raucous. A cacophony of extremity, both through vocals and instrumentation, the single proved a striking debut for the band.
Once the song hit around the 1:40 mark, things changed when from a flurry of energetic and extreme metal, a saxophone emerged like a swarm of tweaked-out wasps.
I’ve always loved a good saxophone solo, but I never fully grasped just how sublime a marriage of rock aggression and experimental jazz would be.
Cover for “Skamklipt” by Agabas
The result was intoxicating, and not just because it scratched the itch in my attention-decifit-hyperactive brain.
Agabas doesn’t pretend to be a regular metal band.
Clad in neat slacks and buttoned-up 70s-style floral shirts, the band’s image clashes severely with its unrestrained and often hellish sound.
This fusion of aesthetics translates into the band’s work, producing a fusion of genres as the band’s extreme metal foundation is infused with experimental jazz.
The result is a “disgusting harmony” the band has called “deathjazz.”
Deathjazz
While some may argue against the band’s marriage of jazz and metal, likening deathjazz to a musical Frankenstein’s monster, I disagree. If anything, it’s a perfect match.
Anyone who really listens to jazz is fully aware that the common perception of jazz as inherently smooth and delicate — the kind of music one listens to while reading a book at a coffee shop — isn’t wholly representative of the genre.
Cover for “A Hate Supreme” by Agabas
Jazz can get wild, blurring the line between order and utter chaos, completely unrestrained by rules and stricture.
With that kind of framework, I can’t think of a better match for jazz than metal, a genre which pioneers itself on the basis of its vibrant sensations.
The allure of Agabas’ music lies in its saxophone, which takes the place of the classic “metal breakdown” to lay out a convoluted and often (pleasantly) ear-piercing slurry of notes.
Final Thoughts
Since their start in early 2023, Agabas has produced two albums.
“A Hate Supreme” came out in September while “Voluspå” was released in mid October. Both albums present a rich landscape through which Agabas continues to develop their deathjazz style.
While some people may see deathjazz as gimmicky and unoriginal, I see it as an interesting opportunity to witness the intersection of two highly elastic genres.
I look forward to seeing how Agabas changes over time, as I’m sure they will, and what this will mean for the future of metal, jazz and their newborn child.
Fall, as it turns out, has been really good for music. Here at WKNC, we’ve been scouring those releases for what’s been the best, and then adding it because we know and understand that you, the masses, want nothing more than the best niche music. Here’s what we’ve found in the electronic sphere lately.
This week’s local music dive is gettin’ tropical as we explore a little bit of North Carolina’s Reggae, Ska and Dub scene. When I say “scene”, I mean a pitiful handful of bands. Unfortunately (or fortunately based on your view), there aren’t too many performers in NC that make their artistic sounds modeled after Jamaica’s beautiful sounds, but that is okay because the bands we do have here are interesting too.
From Carrboro, NC is The Unsustainables who focus on “traditional ska” and Reggae as their main sound influences. They perform around Raleigh in venues like the Pour House. As for band influences, here’s what their Bandcamp page states: “Inspired by the legends of Studio One, Treasure Isle, and Black Ark Studios”.
Raleigh has their own Reggae and Dub influenced band called Sons of Paradise. Now, I’m not too keen on their sound as it sounds pretty white-washed, but maybe someone else will enjoy it. They also perform around Raleigh in venues like the Pour House.
And my favorite I’ve found is a Ska Punk band from Chapel Hill, NC, SiBANNÄC. These guys have a hardcore edge to their music in similar fashion to Bomb the Music Industry! When I started looking for Reggae and Ska music in the area for this blog post, I didn’t think I’d be listening to a sound like this. I enjoy the explosive percussion, raw and throaty vocals, diabolical thrashing guitar and vengeful subject matter in their songs.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy “You Hate to See It” off of this EP, but I did vibe with the long, windy “Heart Thief”. It is a slow moving jam, with nice chill lyrics, while “You Hate to See It” feels corny and overdone. “Heart Thief” feels more like an original sound based on the original Ska noises with a lot of sweet sax and island strums from the guitar.
I didn’t like any of the songs I’ve listened to by Sons of Paradise. They’ve pulled the weakest parts of Reggae and Dub from the genre and turned it into music that doesn’t feel authentic. I might have been hoping for too much from picking through this genre in NC.
FCC warning: there are many curse words and inappropriate things for ears unaccustomed to non-radio approved music. This album came out last year in 2022, and since then I think they’ve added a new vocalist and released their final album. I loved “Bomb the Block” off “Repeat Offenders” because it’s a short and sweet ACAB piece of pie with all the Ska and angsty punk built into it. Also, their album that came out in April this year “Closing Statement”, which is stated as their final album that features many community members involved with their music.
Well, I hope you all can find some island tunes for this warm November weather that puts you in a relaxed mood. I think The Unsustainables are the best sound for you if you’re seeking that, but if you’re like me and the coming Winter weather gets you heated up, then SiBANNÄC is just the band for you.
On October 31st, the Jubilee era came to its vibrant and energetic conclusion. The show took place at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, the city that birthed Japanese Breakfast. This was my third time seeing Japanese Breakfast on the Jubilee tour, which spanned from June 6th, 2021 to last weekend. Every single time I have been nothing less than blown away by these hometown heroes. This particular show, however, was possibly the most impeccably conducted tour conclusion that I have ever been lucky enough to bear witness to.
Minus the painfully unfunny comedy set performed by Sarah Sherman, colloquially known as Sarah Squirm, which I think a majority of the audience would have preferred to have never seen. This substanceless set only really consisted of Sherman repeatedly making grunting noises for an uncomfortably long time, and disses at Philly sports. Not a great move in a room full of Philadelphians. Genuinely, this was one of those moments where I wished a comical amount of tomatoes would have been thrown on stage.
The only appropriate way to describe a Japanese Breakfast show is as a massive celebration, thrumming with a whimsy and joy that is nothing short of a festivalian atmosphere. I have watched non-fans fall in love with indie rock’s sweetheart Michelle Zauner in real time. Their eyes, glued to her as she gracefully dances across stage; a persimmon-shaped mallet in her hand. Then, mere moments later, she proceeds to rip into the most enchantingly raw guitar duet with her husband and bandmate of Japanese Breakfast, Peter Bradley.
We are well in to the fall season for 2023. So, I figured I’d do everyone a favor and present a slate of some classic albums released during the season I’d recommend for the ears of those in need of some fall tunes to jam to.
“Tender Buttons” By Broadcast (2005)
“Tender Buttons” is the third and final studio album from the U.K based group Broadcast. This album is the result of the work from the recently downsized duo of Trish Keenan (vocals, guitar, keyboard) and James Cargill (bass) following the exit of several band members.
This album can be described a more bare form of the music that many were accustomed to hearing from this band before its release. That being said, the base essence of dream pop and indietronica sounds can be heard in this album’s entirety.
Favorite Tracks:
“Michael A Grammar”
“Tears In The Typing Pool”
“Black Cat”
“Love Deluxe” By Sade (1992)
Considered a classic by many, “Love Deluxe” is the fourth studio album from English band Sade. This is an album very special to me as I often find myself frequently coming back to it and it will play the same for me at any time of day.
The album takes listeners through multiple genres including: cool jazz, classic R&B, and lush ambience all supporting the timeless vocals of lead singer Sade Adu.
Favorite Tracks:
“Pearls”
“No Ordinary Love”
“Like a Tattoo”
“Everything But The Girl” By Everything But The Girl (1984)
“Everything But The Girl” is the self-titled release of the U.K based duo Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. The album itself consists of mainly a sophisti-pop genre with aspects of jazz and lounge music sounds.
A fun fact about this album is that Thorn and Watt were close friends with band members of The Smiths at the time and this album even features The Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr on the harmonica for the song “Native Land”.
Favorite Tracks:
“Tender Blue”
“Never Could Have Been Worse”
“Mine”
“The Ooz” By King Krule (2017)
While its the most recent album on this list, “The Ooz” holds a significant place in my heart. King Krule is the stage name of Archy Marshall and this project from him truly feels like a lost piece of media in its truest essence.
The album plays with a psychedelic core backed with mellow jazzy sounds along with many songs containing post-punk elements.
The lyrics on this album are some of my favorites not only from King Krule but in general for me, they are very hard to forget due to how well they are delivered on each track.
This album also highlights a fair amount of somber tones and topics along with the heavy theme of introspection from the point of view of Archy himself. I feel that the overall cool vibe of the album plays especially well in the fall season.
Favorite Tracks:
“Cadet Limbo”
“Slush Puppy”
“Dum Surfer”
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, I’ll say once again that all of the songs on this slate are strong recommendations from me and I would go even further and say that these each of these albums were released during the perfect season for them.
Thanks for reading, hope this helped in some way and remember to stay cool.
