Categories
Concert Preview Local Music

First LBLB of 2011!

And… We’re Back!

On January 6, Tir Na nOg and WKNC bring you the first show of the New Year.  I Was Totally Destroying It and special guests that are TBA.  This week’s band is deliciously pop punk.  If you haven’t heard them, check their website listen to the songs.   “My Favorite Haunt”  has always been a favorite of mine.  I Was Totally Destroying It is also an old time friend of Tir Na nOg.  They’ve even done special tribute nights at the pub doing U2 covers (I Was Totally Destroying U2).

[The above has been corrected in another post. We extend our apologies for this miscommunication.]

The show is 21 and up, FREE, and music starts at 10 p.m.

As for other news… Between semesters Local Beer Local Band Night has been going through some changes.  Now the event is bound to be better than ever.  What to expect for the new year:

  • Our new booker Mark Connor to bring you the best in local music,
  • More emphasis on beer with samples and “learning stations” set up at the events by local breweries,
  • Heavier involvement with the surrounding community.
  • FUN!

Love you all!   See you this Thursday.  I’ve missed you!

Categories
Miscellaneous

Best of the Rest from 2010

The year is winding down, and the end of another year provides an influx of best of lists. In an attempt to help all of you out there sift through the huge amount of lists, I decided to have one place to find everybody’s lists. Below I’ve added a ton of the best of lists from a variety of music publications and sites below. In an effort to keep it nice an concise I’ve only put their top five, but if you would like to see their entire lists I have a link to view it as well. Enjoy!

Rolling Stone

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. The Black KeysBrothers

3. Elton John and Leon Russell- The Union

4. Arcade FireThe Suburbs

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

NME

1. These New PuritansHidden

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. Beach HouseTeen Dream

4. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

5. Laura MarlingI Speak Because I Can

Spin

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. DeerhunterHalcyon Digest

3. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

4. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

Pitchfork

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

3. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

4. Big BoiSir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

5. Beach House- Teen Dream

Stereogum

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. Sufjan StevensThe Age of Adz

5. Robyn- Body Talk

Paste

1. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

2. Janelle Monae- The ArchAndroid

3. Mumford and SonsSigh No More

4. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

5. Titus AndronicusThe Monitor

Spinner

1. Beach House- Teen Dream

2. The National- High Violet

3. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

4. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

5. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

Cokemachineglow

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. Flying LotusCosmogramma

5. Frog EyesPaul’s Tomb: A Triumph

Categories
DJ Highlights

Daytime DJs Pick the best albums of 2010

Another year is practically in the books, and with it comes time to recapture our favorite moments in music from the past year. I sought to get a large number of Daytime deejays to give us their favorite albums of the past year. And what a year it was! Below is the collection of great albums as decided by a great deal of Daytime deejays. See you next year!

Just John

1. Joanna NewsomHave One on Me
2. Beach HouseTeen Dream
3. Future IslandsIn Evening Air
4. CaribouSwim
5. Sharon Van EttenEpic

May Day

1. Surfer BloodAstro Coast
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. Vampire WeekendContra
4. Tallest Man on EarthThe Wild Hunt
5. Twin ShadowForget

DJ Elly May

1. Bob DylanThe Original Mono Recordings
2. The Black AngelsPhosphene Dream
3. Dark Dark DarkWild Go
4. SpoonTransference
5. Jimi HendrixValleys of Neptune

LOLCait

1. Justin Townes EarleHarlem River Blues
2. Various Artists – Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: The Songs of John Prine
3. John Prine – In Person & On Stage
4. MegafaunHeretofore
5. Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt

N!cole

1. Cotton JonesTall Hours in the Glowstream
2. Y La BambaLupon
3. Breathe Owl Breathe – Magic Central
4. CasiokidsTopp Stemning På Lokal Bar
5. HarlemHippies

DJ Jacoblivion

1. Mumford and SonsSigh No More
2. The National – High Violet
3. RatatatLP4
4. BassnectarTimestretch
5. Jaga Jazzist – One-Armed Bandit

SarahNade

1. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
2. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
3. The Black KeysBrothers
4. Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
5. Yeasayer – Odd Blood

Anastassia

1. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
2. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
3. Crystal CastlesCrystal Castles II
4. WarpaintThe Fool
5. Phantogram – Eyelid Movies

Professor X

1. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
2. Owen PallettHeartland
3. The Books – The Way Out
4. Beach House – Teen Dream
5. Yeasayer – Odd Blood

Hurricane Julia

1. Peggy SueFossils and Other Phantoms
2. Tallest Man on Earth – Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird
3. Laura MarlingI Speak Because I Can
4. Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the Cairo GangWonder Show of the World
5. Jessica Hernandez and the DeltasJessica Hernandez and the Deltas

DJ Ones

The National – High Violet

1. The National – High Violet
2. Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
3. The Black Keys – Brothers
4. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
5. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More

Agent Orange

1. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
2. Hot Chip – One Life Stand
3. Caribou – Swim
4. Broken Social SceneForgiveness Rock Record
5. Twin Shadow – Forget

DJ Mensch

1. The National – High Violet
2. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
3. Frightened RabbitThe Winter of Mixed Drinks
4. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
5. Ra Ra RiotThe Orchard

DJ Ray

1. Beach House – Teen Dream
2. Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me
3. Sharon Van Etten – Epic
4. DeerhunterHalcyon Digest
5. Julian LynchMare

Hot Tamale

1. Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt
2. The Black Keys – Brothers
3. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
4. The National – High Violet
5. BlairDie Young

The DONoftime

1. Tame ImpalaInner Speaker
2. Avi BuffaloAvi Buffalo
3. MGMT – Congratulations
4. Spoon – Transference
5. GorillazPlastic Beach

Mollypop

1. Crooked StillSome Strange Country
2. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
3. SteeldriversReckless
4. Chatham County LineWildwood
5. Darren Hanlon – I Will Love You At All

DJ Kligz

The Tender Fruit – Floatsam and Krill

1. The Tender Fruit – Flotsam and Krill
2. Future Islands – In Evening Air
3. Sharon Van Etten – Epic
4. Beach House – Teen Dream
5. Sleigh BellsTreats

Lovely Lucia

1. The Love LanguageLibraries
2. Future Islands – In Evening Air
3. Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt
4. Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
5. MGMT – Congratulations

Riff Raff

1. Future Islands – In Evening Air
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. The Morning BendersBig Echo
4. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
5. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

Monsieur Mêmes

1. Sufjan StevensThe Age of Adz
2. Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
3. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
4. Bear Hands – Burning Bush Supper Club
5. Four TetThere Is Love in You

Tommyboy

1. Future Islands – In Evening Air
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
4. Caribou – Swim
5. Four Tet – There is Love in You

Goof

1. Titus AndronicusThe Monitor
2. LCD SoundSystem – This is Happening
3. Beach House – Teen Dream
4. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
5. Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt

Major Tom

1. Matt and Kim Sidewalks
2. Suckers – Wild Smile
3. Future Islands – In Evening Air
4. Gold PandaLucky Shiner
5. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms

Synthesiser Patel

1. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
2. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
3. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
4. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
5. Maximum Balloon – Maximum Balloon

AndyQ

1. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
2. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
3. Tallest Man On Earth – The Wild Hunt
4. Vampire Weekend – Contra
5. Broken Bells – Broken Bells

Chuck

1. SalemKing Night
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. The National – High Violet
4. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
5. Zola JesusStridulum/Valusia

Jacob

1.  SuperchunkMajesty Shredding
2.  Mavis StaplesYou Are Not Alone
3.  Free Electric State Caress
4.  Various Artists – Scott Pilgrim VS the World
5.  Royal BathsAfter Death

What are some of your favorite albums of 2010? Leave your comments in the comment section below.

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

“Wind and Willow” or Mark and Sarah

A band’s music is available to everyone. But what goes on behind the scenes can change their reputation, for better or worse.“Wind and Willow,” or Mark Tillman and Sarah Peters are getting married this month, a fact that is hard not to see when they’re performing live. While boy/girl duos are nothing new, “Wind and Willow” has a story that’s pretty unique. Mark met Sarah while working in Canada, and since then they’ve been exchanging music and talking, a lot, on Skype. Divided by two countries, it’s only been within the past few months that Sarah could move to Raleigh. Since then the  duo has been able to really develop a mature sound, with each member contributing a vital, but incomplete part without the other. Sarah’s powerful voice can give a song its intensity at times, and it’s sweetness in others. Mark’s impressive assortment of instruments gives each song it’s unique character that Mark exhibits himself, both on and offstage. Both"Wind and Willow" as well as Mark and Sarah, have a lot to look forward to, though it may be a while before we see them onstage again.

Categories
DJ Highlights

Local Beat Christmas Special

If you are anything like me you love this time of the year with the lights, food, family, and music!  I personally am a huge fan of Christmas music and any holiday related tune I can get my hands on is put into my non-stop playlist for the month of December.

That is why I am excited to announce the Local Beat Christmas Special.  This coming Friday December 24th the Local Beat is dedicating all three programming hours to local Christmas music.  Instead of interviews and talking this week we are only playing Christmas and holiday tunes recorded by North Carolina musicians.  In total we should have around 50 different holiday songs by North Carolina artists.  Some may be traditional but we are mostly shooting for original material.

Be sure to tune in whether you are driving to visit family, at a tacky sweater party, or roasting chestnuts over and open fire!

As always the Local Beat starts at 5 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m. every Friday evening on WKNC.  Listen live here and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and ReverbNation!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

DJ Ones’ Five Music Facts from the past week

1. Don Van Vliet, more popularly known as the iconic experimental rocker Captain Beefheart, passed away on December 17 due to complication from multiple sclerosis. The Michael Warner Gallery that represented his work as a painter officially announced his death, and in a statement said, “Don Van Vliet was a complex and influential figure in the visual and performing arts.” He was 69 years old. (via Rolling Stone)

2. Singer-guitarist of Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore, has announced plans to work on a solo album. The album, which will be produced by Beck, is titled “Benediction” and will be released on Matador Records. (via Philadelphia Weekly)

3. Das Racist was recently detained and deported from the United Kingdom after being stopped at customs. The group has claimed that they were detained for over eight hours after problems with paperwork. Following their wait, they were sent back to Switzerland. (via DasRacist.net)

4. After completing a song for an upcoming movie, in an interview with Pitchfork, The National’s Aaron Dessner has mentioned a collaboration between the band and singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. The band is currently working with her in the early stages of an upcoming record that is in its earliest of stages. (via Pitchfork)

5. Peter Bjorn and John have announced their next record. The follow-up to 2009’s “Living Things” is titled “Gimme Some” and will be released March 29. (via Pitchfork)

Categories
Concert Preview

The Pinhook’s Second Great Band Swap to conclude Saturday night

Some hell-acious wintery mix ‘n such got in the way a couple weeks ago, so the final night of The Pinhook’s second annual Band Swap featuring Cassis Orange, Hog, Mosadi Music, and Embarrassing Fruits, will be this Saturday, December 18th. Cover is $5 and the joint starts at 9pm.

Each band on the bill will be incorporating covers of the other acts into their set, and yours truly along with Shorty Shorts will be filling the time in between and after with sweet, sensual jams.

Be thar!

Categories
DJ Highlights

The Best Albums of 2010

WKNC Pick of the Week, December 2, 2010

By John Gomes, WKNC Daytime deejay

It’s that lovely time of the year where we put up Christmas lights, enjoy egg nog shakes at Cook Out and look back on the year that was. 2010 proved to be an eventful year, despite all the terrible moments – earthquakes, oil spills, that bad call in the Maryland football game – this year saw the release of some good albums. I highly recommend my personal Top Five list for your listening pleasure over break.

1) Yeasayer—Odd Blood

The sophomore release from this eclectic group is a warm, pop-infused masterpiece—a curious departure from the darkness of their 2007 debut album. Yeasayer introduces huge, pulsing synths and primal rhythms into their sound, resulting in some infectiously upbeat and organic numbers. Odd Blood isn’t one-dimensional, however. The album features a couple of heavier, darker tracks to balance out the pop sound. Yeasayer remains experimental as ever, exploring everything from R&B to Middle Eastern dance music. The end result is a well-rounded, highly enjoyable album. (Bonus points for the band self-producing it.)

2) Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Possibly the most anticipated album of the year, Arcade Fire’s third release garnered universal praise. Like Odd Blood, The Suburbs represents a new sonic direction for Arcade Fire—gone are the Baroque sounds and grand crescendos that defined the band’s sound. Instead, the album maintains a latent energy throughout every song, steadfast rhythms layered with rich textures and tones. These elements form the perfect vehicle for the album’s main concept – innocence and coming-of-age set in the backdrop of suburbia. Poignant and poised, The Suburbs is Arcade Fire’s best release yet.

3) Best Coast – Crazy For You

Though many artists are doing the retro surf-rock thing nowadays, Best Coast does it best. The group is led by Bethany Cosentino, whose approach is refreshingly simple – reverb-heavy guitars, easy chord progressions and honest lyrics about boys, her cat or getting high. Sure, it seems like a third-grader can write these songs – “One day I’ll make him mine / And we’ll be together all the time” – but there is beauty in the simplicity. The songs on Crazy For You are little pieces of pop perfection – they’re sweet, short, and will stay in your head for days. Put this album on and you’ll feel like you’re on a beach.

4) Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

Broken Social Scene is a rather apt name for the group whose massive lineup continuously changes. With so many band members playing so many instruments and adding so many sounds and textures, Forgiveness Rock Record is inevitably orchestral and grandiose. Each song exhibits a different dimension of beauty, from the majestic climaxes of “World Sick” to the melodic angularity of “Art House Director.” Though not as cohesive as previous albums, Forgiveness Rock Record is still classic Broken Social Scene – lush, resplendent and larger than life.

5) Caribou – Swim

Dan Snaith, who operates under the name Caribou, is an electronica artist and British mathematician. Naturally, you wouldn’t expect those two things to go together. Swim evokes the same reaction with its out-of-left-field collection of tracks. Flip-floppy synths, divine bell chimes, and even jazzy flute flourishes all coalesce atop powerful, danceable grooves while whispery vocals echo and modulate in and out of your consciousness. This is not your father’s electronica album. Each and every song evolves into something surreal at the end, with elements of rock, jazz and psychedelica thrown in the mix. Out of all the albums on this list, Swim sounds the most transcendental.

88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week is published in every Friday in the print edition of Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.

Categories
Weekly Charts

12/13 Top Ten albums on WKNC’s Daytime shows

Artist Album Label
#1 CLOUD NOTHINGS Turning On Carpark
#2 KISSES The Heart of the Nightlife Surrounded by Sound
#3 NO JOY Ghost Blonde Mexican Summer
#4 BOTANY Feeling Today Western Vinyl
#5 PARTING GIFTS Strychnine Dandelions In the Red
#6 EUX AUTRES Broken Bow Bon Mots
#7 DEMON’S CLAWS The Defrosting of… In the Red
#8 JESSICA HERNANDEZ AND THE DELTAS Weird Looking Women in to Many Cloths self-released
#9 ARTICHOKE Bees self-released
#10 PS I LOVE YOU Meet Me at the Muster Station Paper Bag
Categories
DJ Highlights

Janis and Jimi—40 Years Later

It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since we lost two of my favorite artists of the twentieth century, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. I began reflecting on this fact as I was creating my “Top 5 Albums of 2010” list for the WKNC blog. Number 5 on my list is Jimi Hendrix’s posthumous release Valleys of Neptune which includes previously released material as well as never-before-heard tracks. It occurred to me as I was adding it to the list that it had been just over 40 years since we lost Jimi (November 27, 1942-September 18, 1970), and I recalled the loss of Janis Joplin (January 19, 1943-October 4, 1970) in an autumn forty years ago that must have seemed like a devastating blow to a counterculture already reeling from the backlashes against the “Summer of Love” in 1969.  Less than a year later, they lost Jim Morrison (July 3, 1971) of The Doors as well.

I remember the first time I heard “The Wind Cries Mary.” My dad always listened to Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan when I was younger. I was bugging him while he worked in the garage one weekend morning when I was probably about 11, and the classic rock station started playing this song. It was magical, and even though I’m sure I must have heard it before that morning, that was the first time I realized that music could move a person in a way that nothing else could. I stopped talking (which my dad probably thought was a miracle) and just listened. The hushed electric guitar, the riddling lyrics, the slowly swaying drum beat—they all captured me for three and a half minutes while my dad continued working away. When the song was over, I asked, “Who was that?” He told me it was Jimi Hendrix. I asked if he was still around, and my dad told me no. It was devastating, but it started me on a quest to hear as much of the wonderful music as possible.

Janis Joplin came to me later in life. As a kid she always came paired up with Jefferson Airplane for some reason. If I heard “Piece of My Heart,” I always felt like “Somebody to Love” or “White Rabbit” should follow. For all I knew, they could have been the same person. But before you all shriek in terror at the idea of confusing Grace Slick with Janis Joplin, let me say that at least I was aware of the innate greatness of both. My memory of how I “discovered” Janis is a bit hazier than my memory of Jimi, but when I heard “I Need a Man to Love” in high school, I felt like I had found my soul.  Janis’ performances of such songs (and if anyone’s seen footage of her live performances you know what I mean) awakened a feeling in me I hadn’t felt since the first time I heard “Voodoo Child.”

While I would never argue that either Janis or Jimi revolutionized music forever (they certainly had a lot of help at a great time in music), I would say they changed my experience of music forever. It’s been a long 40 years, and now we have artists like The Black Keys resurrecting blues rock and The Black Angels making psychedelic rock accessible again.  Artists are taking the polish back off their work and getting back to a more raw sound.  40 years later, Jimi and Janis are gone, but their influence lives on.

Which artist(s) completely changed the way you listen to music?  Use the comments to share your memories.