Category: Blog

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Azealia Banks tops NME’s 2011 Cool List

 

Azealia Banks may be a name unfamiliar to most listeners out there, and that’s because she hasn’t recorded her debut yet and her touring history has been rather scarce compared to most artists. But this isn’t stopping Banks from being one of the most heralded up and coming artists; among those singing her praises, NME decided to put her atop their Cool List for 2011.

The list itself seeks each year to organize a handful of artists that NME has deemed cool for that year. What exactly that means is still quite vague. Regardless, NME has the task each year of sorting out which music makers go where, and each year it seems as if NME has to dip into a pool of artists that don’t seem as repetitive. However, this year features the return of several artists who seem to garner a large amount of NME press as it is.

With all this in mind it doesn’t surprise me that NME would change their focus in terms of who makes the list. Although they seem to regurgitate a lot of individuals each year (Jarvis Cocker, Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, and so on to a ridiculous extent), this year seems to highlight some of the biggest up and comers. This includes the likes of Lana Del Rey, and Ellery Roberts (of Wu Lyf). With the desire not to keep chucking out the same handful of artists each year it makes sense that Banks would reach the top. This is not to say that NME has forgotten their old favorites as they still dominate the list. They are back and in great force as expected, but I digress.

There is a lot more to Banks’ topping of the 2011 NME Cool List. Her initial touchdown as a proper recording artist is based heavily in England. Banks recently finished up one of her first small tours in the United Kingdom with dates earlier in November in Glasgow and London. Banks will also be soon moving to London to record her debut alongside Paul Epworth.

With this type of visibility and promise, alongside the growing need for NME to introduce some new artists to their list and Banks’ critical start within the UK, it makes sense that the magazine would put her atop their list this year.

Top 10 2011 NME Cool List:

1. Azealia Banks
2. Jarvis Cocker (Pulp)
3. Honor Titus (Cerebral Ballzy)
4.+5. Tom Meighan and Serge Pizzorno (Kasabian)
6. Lana Del Rey
7. Rhys Webb (The Horrors)
8. Theo Hutchcraft (Hurts)
9. Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys)
10. Ellery Roberts (WU LYF)

Categories
Weekly Charts

CMJ Loud Rock from WKNC’s Chainsaw, 11/22/11

1. Gloominous Doom – Cosmic Superghoul (DRP)

2. Megadeth – Th1rt3en (Roadrunner)

3. Isole – Born From Shadows (Napalm)

4. Cradle of Filth – Evermore Darkly (Nuclear Blast)

5. Machine Head – Unto The Locust (Roadrunner)

6. Iced Earth – Dystopia (Century Media)

7. Ashes Of Your Enemy – Anthem (Zenergy)

8. Animals As Leaders – Weightless (Prosthetic)

9. Generation Kill – Red White And Blood (Season Of Mist)

10. Dub Trio – IV (ROIR)

Categories
Playlists

Reflections on a Winter 2011 Playlist

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/22958631[/vimeo]

Let me start by saying I had no intention of creating a definitive, all-encompassing Winter 2011 playlist. A feat like that should be left only to the people who can spend all of their hours sorting through thousands of albums, identifying the standouts, and only then would they be able to define what they believe a Winter 2011 playlist should consist of.

Knowing that my capacity as a human to waste away my days listening to music is limited, I instead turned to a modest sum of tracks that embody what I would describe as making for a pretty good Winter playlist that consist of songs released in 2011.

The problem for every individual’s list is that it means something unique or holds a special attribute to them, and I am no different when it came to my formula for selecting songs. For me it meant that this playlist would encapsulate a few things: some of the best tracks of the year, and those that would send off vibes for what I would describe as being that of a “winter nature.”

What exactly do I mean by something having a winter nature? It’s pretty simple. I looked for tracks that would be incredibly rewarding to listen to while trudging through the rough winter weather or those which would be pleasant to warm up to after a day filled with having to deal with the growing loss of daylight.

Either way, after limiting myself to only tracks that came out this year, I think I came up with a pretty decent set of songs to listen to for the next couple of months on those days where you feel as if the season may have gotten the best or worst of you. Is it subject to change? Absolutely, and your feedback is always welcome as to what should be added to the playlist. And I have a way to share it with everyone that has Spotify; you can open it up here and listen to the playlist.

For everyone else the current tracklist is below:

01 The Dodos- Companions
02 Chad VanGaalen- Do Not Fear
03 Future Islands- On the Water
04 The Drums- Days
05 Youth Lagoon- July
06 Bon Iver- Wash.
07 The Antlers- I Don’t Want Love
08 Atlas Sound- Te Amo
09 I Break Horses- Winter Beats
10 The Raveonettes- Recharge & Revolt
11 Deleted Scenes- Bedbedbedbedbed
12 Wye Oak- Fish
13 Wild Beasts- Deeper
14 Bombadil- Short Side of the Wall
15 Megafaun- Hope You Know
16 Fleet Foxes- Bedouin Dress
17 Real Estate- All the Same

 

What do you want to see on the Winter 2011 playlist? Leave your suggestions below.

Categories
New Album Review

Real Estate’s “Days”: Simple Can be Rewarding

Real Estate has fallen into somewhat of a song-writing algorithm.  I’m assuming their music making process works something like this:

  1. Lead Singer, Martin Courtney puts together a few chords and some lyrics.

  2. Matt Monandile (who has also achieved some praise for his exploratory guitar project, Ducktails) adds a catchy and psychedelic guitar hook.

  3. Alex Bleeker follows the ideas with some bass, and a simple, rolling rhythm is added to finish it off.

Almost every single song follows this premise…which makes it exceedingly frustrating to pin down what makes Days so good.

Real Estate has always focused on perfecting easy-listening surf rock that retains a certain sense of sentimentality. That uniqueness manifests itself in wandering melodies and ambiguous emotions. While their previous releases have found themselves situated comfortably in smaller indie DIY-centric labels, such as Underwater Peoples and Woodsist, this record had a lot to live up to. Getting signed to a larger indie label like Domino is a serious deal these days and rising to the occasion was probably a mixture of exciting and stressful. Having to deal with the additional room high-fidelity recording practices is daunting enough, not to mention all of the expectations that high-profile music critics have been prophesying since the band’s 2009 debut.

In no uncertain terms, Real Estate pulls it off with Days, all the while staying true to their earlier releases. What makes this record so fantastic is its easy-going demeanor. Every song fits into the larger context of the release perfectly. In particular, transitions seem extremely transient (in a good way) and no stand-out tracks eclipse the cohesive nature of the record. Instruments and vocals are clear and no instrument sits too high as to cause any obscurity.

In a gutsy move, Real Estate decided to re-record a song off their 2010 Reality 12", “Younger than Yesterday." When I saw this on the track-listing I was extremely concerned, having had one of my favorite songs (The Love Language’s "Brittany’s Back”) de-lofi’d, only to have much of its gusto disappear. For Real Estate, this was not the case. Being able to work with a proper studio setup helps the melodies and nuances of each song on Days stand out. Since the focus of Real Estate’s music has never been on emotional charge, the absence of grain doesn’t cause any loss of ambiance.

The only minor issue I wrestle with in regards to Days is that Real Estate stays a bit too “safe” in order to achieve continuity. Aside from the psych-heavy “Kinderblumen” written by Matt and the Garage croon on Alex’s “Wonder Years,” every song features Martin Courtney at the helm. While he is an amazing songwriter, I’d be seriously impressed if they could retain this album’s coherence with more flexibility in musical roles between the band’s members. “Out of Tune,” which features (or rather, includes) synth-styling from Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never fame, could use a bit more influence from the guest as well. It’s important to note that these issues have nothing to do with the actual music presented in Days, and are more of just wishes from a long-time fan.

In all seriousness, Days is one of the best releases I’ve heard this year, and its spot on the WKNC Pick of the Week column is well-deserved.  Make sure you listen to this one and go see Real Estate the next time they come to the Triangle! If you thought their guitars have impossibly brilliant tones on album…just wait.
Categories
Weekly Charts

Top 30—WKNC’s Top Albums of the Week, 11/17/11

1. Widowspeak – Widowspeak (Captured Tracks)

2. Young Man – Ideas of Distance (Frenchkiss)

3. The Field – Looping State of Mind (Kompakt)

4. Class Actress – Rapproacher (Carpark)

5. Various Artists – GRPTPS Vs. PTLCK (Grip Tapes)

6. Memoryhouse – The Years (Sub Pop-Arcade Sound)

7. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute)

8. Donora – Boyfriends, Girlfriends (Rostrum)

9. Icebird – The Abandoned Lullaby (RJ’s Electrical Connections)

10. Wavves – Life Sux (Ghost Ramp)

11. Real Estate – Days (Domino)

12. Gauntlet Hair – Gauntlet Hair (Dead Oceans)

13. Emika – Emika (Ninja Tune)

14. Bonnie Prince Billy – Wolfroy Goes To Town (Drag City)

15. Neon Indian – Era Extrana (Mom and Pop)

16. Future Islands – On The Water (Thrill Jockey)

17. Bleeding Knees Club – Virginity (Iamsound)

18. Mike Doughty – Yes And Also Yes (Megaforce-Snack Bar)

19. Viva Voce – The Future Will Destroy You (Vanguard)

20. Wilco – The Whole Love (Anti)

21. Marketa Irglova – Anar (Anti)

22. Pujol – Nasty, Brutish, And Short (Saddle Creek)

23. Hella – Tripper (Sargent House)

24. High Places – Original Colors (Thrill Jockey)

25. Wooden Shjips – West (Thrill Jockey)

26. Megafaun – Megafaun (Hometapes)

27. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (4AD)

28. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire (Capitol)

29. Phantogram – Nightlife (Barsuk)

30. Body Language – Social Studies (Om)

Categories
Concert Review

Phantogram and EXITMUSIC at Cat’s Cradle, 11/15/11

I had the opportunity to see Phantogram at Cat’s Cradle last year, which ended up being a great show. I was really excited when I found out they were coming back around to the Triangle, but their performance this past Tuesday, Nov. 15, was not quite what I expected. I’ll get into this in more detail in a bit, but first I want to discuss EXITMUSIC’s opening performance.

EXITMUSIC was treated to a large crowd of fans, all pumped for the show that was about to ensue. Their set started out strong: the percussion was spot on and the lead singer had a very distinct, yet interesting voice; I instantly drew connections to the Zola Jesus performance I saw a couple of weeks before. Their style capitalized on the point at which a buzzy, guitar-driven band pushes into more intimate territory.  Unfortunately, that became redundant after a while. It was as if every song was meant to build momentum, but the set never hit a climax (although, it would fit their name of “EXITMUSIC”: every song written like the last song of an album).  The crowd was pretty stoical as well, presumably due to the fact they were just there to see Phantogram.  Their recordings do not succumb to this issue, however, so I would recommend listening to this band.

The set change involved putting a ton of lights around the stage, which got me excited for what was to come. The projections during Phantogram’s last performance were spot on, so I was excited to see how all of these lights were going to be implemented into the show. After the stage had been filled with fog and all of the band’s equipment set up, the crowd was pumped for Phantogram to begin.

After getting over the initial shock of the amazing light setup that was taking place, I realized I wasn’t into the performance. Phantogram started by playing a lot of tracks from their new EP, Nightlife, and an irking rework of an older song from their debut, Eyelid Moves. The striking break-beat drums of that release had been replaced by a more rolling rhythm line, and the guitar had been pushed down in the mix to make room for heavily sequenced synthesizers. The dark and intimate emotion of their older work was being replaced by a sense of artificial happiness that did not go over well, in my opinion. The crowd, which was densely packed and composed of a lot of new faces, didn’t seem to mind, and the band trudged on.

This mood pervaded a good bit of the rest of the set. Things started to change as the aggressive drumming on “Futuristic Casket” began (break-beat intact). The performance of that song was a complete change-up for the set. It felt aggressive and dark, and I was very impressed with how the lights interacted with the music. They ended their main set appropriately with “When I’m Small,” which was also a very solid rendition that rang true with everything their fans love about the original.

As the band left the stage briefly, mountains of applause erupted. Phantogram came back for a two-song encore, which began with the uncharacteristically slow “Nightlife.” This song was probably the highlight of my night; instead of pushing in those aggressive synths like they had for much of the performance, they kept the song rather stripped-down, which was a great stylistic choice both as a performance progression and as a closer.

All in all, Cat’s Cradle put on a decent show, though there were some mixing kinks. In general, the vocals were fairly quiet, and the percussion during EXITMUSIC’s set was mic’d too high. I would most definitely go back to the venue and am still digging the changes they implemented earlier this year.

-John and Kenneth

Categories
Non-Music News

Come join WKNC at Homecoming 2011: Tame the Tigers

Support N.C. State and come to Homecoming events continuing through the weekend!

On Friday, Nov. 18, Wear Red, Get Fed will be providing food once again in the Brickyard starting at 11 a.m. A blood drive will also be held all day in the Bragaw Activity Room and Carmichael Playzone.

That night will be the Homecoming Parade on Hillsborough Street starting at 6 p.m. And guess what? The parade will be emceed by your very own KNC DJs! Come join jose jose, Mollypop, Elly May and Jeff as they host the festivities.

Right after the parade at 7 p.m. will be the Homecoming Pep Rally: Packhowl presents The Wayans Brothers emceed by KNC’s DJ Carizmatic.

So come on out to the celebration and cheer on your Wolfpack as we try to Tame the Tigers!

 

Categories
Concert Review

St. Vincent Amazes at the Brudenell

Let me start by saying that on Wednesday, Nov. 16, a tiny woman in massive heels brought a packed venue to its knees. As one of my English pals so articulately put it, “She makes that guitar her bitch.”

St. Vincent brought out the largest crowd that I have seen at the Brudenell Social Club (although I haven’t been to that many), and rightly so. She has come off of one of her most successful and critically acclaimed releases, Strange Mercy. With anticipations high, the tension was palpable as the stage crew tuned the guitars, adjusted the lights, and kicked the fog machines into full gear, after a wait that seemed like an eternity.

When she did come out, the tiny Annie Clark in her high heels showed that big surprises come in small packages. Playing mostly off of the excellent Strange Mercy, the powerful sound of St. Vincent demonstrated the best of the recent album. Despite the amazingly forceful performance of many of her excellent new tracks, Clark came across as incredibly modest throughout those brief moments in between songs where she gave the audience a brief glimpse into everything from her music video for “Cruel” to her recent cover of The Pop Group’s “She Is Beyond Good and Evil.”

It wasn’t all constrained to the new work, as Clark and company provided some of the greatest moments performing older hits, including an excellent cover of “She Is Beyond Good and Evil.” It was St. Vincent’s performance of “Marrow” that they were able to give a much more intense life to, which cannot be given complete justice when listened to recorded. It was the encore that stole the show with an amazing rendition of “Your Lips Are Red." It featured Clark jumping into the audience at the most intense moments of the track, and within seconds doing a complete turnaround and calming down the song to what was the end of one of the greatest performances I have seen in recent memory.

And on that night Clark certainly made that guitar her bitch.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itt0rALeHE8

Categories
Non-Music News

EOT75 Missions of Mercy 11/15/11

Impromptu Musicians- Nick caught up with some students at N.C. State who spontaneously play their instruments around campus to find out more about what they do.

No Shave November-  If you’ve noticed an increase in facial hair on some of our male students recently, that’s probably because we are right in the middle of No Shave November.  Dave got the low-down on what’s going on.

Cub Scouts- The WKNC studio was host to some special visitors: a scout troop.  Chris has the story.

Bad Movies You’ve Gotta See- In the kickoff episode of this series, Jake reviews “The Car”, a 70s thriller that….. You’ve Gotta See!

Missions of Mercy Dental Clinic-  The Missions of Mercy Dental Clinic, a project started by the North Carolina Dental Society, travels around the state to deliver free care to those who can’t afford the luxury.  Twelve times a year, the M.O.M. sets up for the weekend to serve 400 to 600 patients.  Our contributor Mark was there this weekend as they worked to keep North Carolina residents’ teeth pearly white.

Poetry- The Windhover is N.C. State’s premier literary magazine and is available for free on campus.  Occasionally here at Eye on the Triangle., we try to meet some of the artists who make the magazine, and this week Dave interviewed poet Tim Reavis about some of his poetry that will be featured in this year’s publication.

Listen to episode 75.

Categories
DJ Highlights

A Discussion of Oysters on Mystery Roach, 11/19/11

Tune in to Mystery Roach this coming Saturday, Nov. 19, from 8-10 a.m. for a discussion about oysters.  The conversation will cover their biological history and underwater soundscapes with MEAS graduate student Ashlee Lillis, and their cultural/economic history with historian Matthew Booker (Both from NC State). I will add cooking tips throughout the show and playing songs loosely based on an ocean theme. (Still up in the air about Octopus’s Garden. Sorry, Ringo.)

Get in on the conversation (musically and otherwise) by calling the Mystery Roach Hotline (919-322-8863), posting on the Facebook Fan Page, or sending an email.

Talk to you then.

–La Barba Rossa