Sounds and interviews from the Live It Up on Hillsborough Street Festival, behind the scenes of recycling, Evan’s viewpoint about Renee Ellmers, flooding rains in the forecast, campus events, a breakdown of the 4-0 start to the football season, cooking Ribollita with Mark, and the WKNC Mailbag.
Category: Blog
Come down to WKNC and Tir Na Nog’s Local Beer Local Band to see LUEGO and SCHOONER! The show is FREE and starts at 10 p.m. Ages 21 and up.
Don’t forget to visit our fancy new Local Beer Local Band Homepage for the Fall schedule for LBLB and to download a FREE MIXTAPE with one song from each artist playing this season.
“I cannot emphasize enough how the sincerity of Phelan’s lyricism makes this album a cut above. If you can appreciate alt-country sounds like Wilco and Blitzen Trapper, you’ll also appreciate Taped-Together Stories.” -Tara Lacey, Performer Magazine
“Ocho thrives on trying more. Influences are a burden. Finally folding them until they’re beneath your tunes rather than simply on top of them—which Luego does on Ocho—is an accomplishment that can’t be understated.”-Grayson Currin, The Independent
And some feedback of our own… “Ocho relies much more heavily on background harmonies and a thicker and deeper sound that is stacked with layer upon layer of grooviness and cool. The bluesy ruggedness and heartfelt emotion of Phelan’s voice is still present but the album seems to be much more of a family affair and holds a certain friendly attire about it….”
“…rarely has a sibling relationship created something this harmonious….swooning vintage pop, fuzzy Guided By Voices-ish rock and
woozy Sinatra/Hazlewood-like country for an overall effect that’s equal parts dreamy, deadpan and doomed.” -Rebecca Raber, CMJ
“This is the best, most balanced material by Schooner yet…Sonically, lyrically and structurally, Schooner supplies a perfect mix of apathy and anguish to these songs, and there’s no better conduit for such than the voice of Reid Johnson.-Grayson Currin, The Independent
Tune in this Thursday, September 30 at 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. to hear a full interview with Luego! Schooner might show up too so listen in!! See you on Thursday, friends!
This week we talk about Superchunk’s move to Warner Bros, Jack White’s new triple decker record, and we review new albums from Superchunk and Interpol.
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Local Beat recap 9/17/10
Because of SPARKcon on September 17 we were limited to only one hour once again for the Local Beat. However, that hour was dedicated to SPARKcon as editor of “The Word” Kestrel Lemen joined us to talk about the giant art festival. As many were, I was extremely overwhelmed by the massiveness of all the different sparks, but Kestrel broke it down one by one for us. Give the interview a listen below:
88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week 9/24, written by May F. Chung, WKNC deejay
Listening to Arcade Fire is like listening to an opera. There’s a certain element of grandeur of popping in The Suburbs into the CD drive, an anticipation of knowing that whatever fills your ears for the next 63 minutes is something of high caliber. What do you expect from Arcade Fire, the band that has produced the beautifully wistful Funeral in 2004, and three years later, another genre-defying album entitled Neon Bible but tinged with notes of political intensity? You can hear the sweat of their performance. Win Butler, who has possibly the greatest name in indie rock, and his beloved, Régine Chassagne, both of whom form the backbone of the band, explore some of the themes that pervade most of the album, including its namesake.
Being a kid and growing up in the suburbs, then leaving and accomplishing great things before returning and discovering that everything you left behind—all the memories of innocence and heartbreak—has remained, patiently waiting, and as stoic as ever. The reverent nostalgia is evident in the lyric, “Now our lives are changing fast/Hope that something pure can last,” from “We Used to Wait.” Arcade Fire reflects on the neighborhood you grew up in (literally, as the new video for the song invites you to enter the address where you grew up and personalizes the video to your own childhood memories). The Suburbs is, in fact, a maturation of their last two albums. As the group comes to terms with adulthood, they still cannot help but wonder longingly over the days of kids when they used to dance under police disco lights (a reference to Funeral’s “Laika”). “In my dreams we’re still screamin’ and runnin’ through the yard,” croons Butler in the title’s opener. And yet, there’s a sense of cynicism against the new youth raging for an art form they do not understand. In “Rococo,” the group sings, “Let’s go downtown and talk to the modern kids/They will eat right out of your hand using great big words that they don’t understand.” There is no inspiration in experimentation anymore. Everything is contrived, art is vapid and self-emulating. Butler continues to chant “Rococo” as the chorus and mutters, “Oh, my dear God, what is that horrible song?” But the statement itself invokes irony.
“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” is easily the best song of the album and neatly ties The Surburbs together. Everything we view as kids is gargantuan, including “Dead shopping malls [that] rise like mountains beyond mountains.” If there’s any showcase of Chassagne’s beautifully hypnotizing voice, it is this song. “Sprawl II” is a component of “Sprawl I (Flatlands),” but both reflect on the same memory of the sprawl, or the home communities of the surburbs where all the houses that line up look the same. For Chassagne, it is a mountain, a childhood reserved for riding bikes and playing in parks. For Butler in “Sprawl I,” it is a flatland, a miserable suffocation of civilized society. Is this the same band that used to crowd all their instruments (including a double bass, xylophone, glockenspiel, French horn, accordion, harp, mandolin and hurdy-gurdy) into the elevator as a delightful experiment? Apparently so. Instead of relying on the success of formula, Arcade Fire strives for a new, vibrant sound on The Suburbs, which serves, if nothing else, as a testament to their own greatness.
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.
Each week, the WKNC music directors tally up spins for new releases and submit their top 10s to CMJ.
CMJ Radio 200 from WKNC’s Daytime Rock
| Artist | Album | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | J. RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS | J. Roddy Walston and the Business | Vagrant |
| #2 | THIEVING IRONS | The Midnight Hum | Seabird |
| #3 | GRASS WIDOW | Past Time | Kill Rock Stars |
| #4 | CHIEF | Modern Rituals | Domino |
| #5 | GOLD MOTEL | Summer House | self-released |
| #6 | FRANKIE ROSE AND THE OUTS | Frankie Rose and the Outs | Slumberland |
| #7 | TWIN SHADOW | Forget | Terrible |
| #8 | CEO | White Magic | Modular |
| #9 | SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN | Let it Sway | Polyvinyl |
| #10 | DARKER MY LOVE | Alive as You Are | Silver Hornet |
CMJ RPM from WKNC’s Afterhours
| Artist | Album | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | CEO | White Magic | Modular |
| #2 | TWIN SHADOW | Forget | Terrible |
| #3 | !!! | Strange Weather, Isn’t It? | Warp |
| #4 | FOUR TET | Angel Echoes (Remix) | Domino |
| #5 | BATHS | Cerulean | Anitcon |
| #6 | BORGORE | Borgore Ruined Dubstep [EP] | |
| #7 | DREAMEND | So I Ate Myself, Bite by Bite | Graveface |
| #8 | BLUE SKY BLACK DEATH | Third Party | Fake Four |
| #9 | CROOKERS | Tons of Friends | |
| #10 | RUSKO | O.M.G.! | Mad Decent |
New local label Denmark Records, started by UNC-CH graduate and Vinyl Records creator Tripp Gobbel and NCSU graduate Logan Sayles, have just put out their first release, a split seven-inch between electro-soul duo ArnHao and the Flying Lotus-esqu Holygrailers. Entitled Denmark One, you can stream the seven-inch for free here and purchase a copy, including an expanded digital EP, here.
Both acts play Friday at Local 506 alongside Cex, The ExMonkeys, Casual Curious, and The Biters as part of the fifth annual Signalfest.
Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is an annual American Library Association event observed during the last week of September. Banned Books Week celebrates free and open access to information and intellectual freedom. NCSU Libraries celebrates this annual event with Banned Books Soundwave, a website offering sound clips of excerpts from banned books read by members of the NC State community including faculty, administrators, and students.
Marian Fragola, Director of Program Planning and Outreach for NSCU Libraries, will discuss Banned Books Week and the Banned Books Soundwave project on Mystery Roach. We’ll also listen to some banned songs and hear a few recordings from the Banned Books Soundwave project. Should be a fun morning.
Tune in, Saturday 9/25/2010, 8-10am.
Talk to you then.
-La Barba Rossa
Signal, the Southeast Electronic Music Festival, kicked off its fifth year last night with a hip-hop show at Cat’s Cradle featuring Pac Div, Kooley High, King Mez, and others and continues through Sunday in various Chapel Hill and Carborro venues. The festival features a wide array of acts, both national and local, from many different subgenres, including Le Castle Vania, Cex, Sammy Bananas, Tittsworth, The Beast, The ExMonkeys, and WKNC’s own Brooklyn Airlift.
Weekend passes for the fest are available for $40 today at the Ackland Art Museum from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Tallula’s starting at 10:00 p.m., and at Vespa on Friday night starting at 10:00 p.m. Individual tickets for each show will be available at the door of the venue the night of the show.
For more information on the festival, including schedules and past acts, check out their website here
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The Wailers talk to KNC
Danglin’, one of the lead singers of legendary reggae group The Wailers, took a few moments out of getting ready for their show at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro on September 24 to chat with me via email.
1) I saw that The Wailers were featured on the Solutions For Dreamers: Season 3 album with the song “A Step For Mankind.” How did they get involved in this project, and what does it mean to them to be a part of a humanitarian effort?
The Wailers have continued Bob Marley’s legacy and have done so since his death in 1981. His music speaks to us personally as it does to everyone around the world. The concerns then are the same concerns we have today, and this is the reason why we chose to record the song “One Step for Mankind” because it was our way of giving back. We have collaborated with the World Food Programme for a number of years. Last year we gave out thousands of shoes in Columbia to under-privileged kids. With this song, we are donating all the proceeds to the cause because hunger is such an epidemic around the world, and it is one of the simplest to overcome. It’s heartbreaking to know that a child dies from hunger every 6 songs. It made sense when we were asked to record the tracks for the Solution For Dreamers album because their focus was the same as ours.
2) In a time when musical styles are becoming increasingly more blurred and blended, what do The Wailers see as the state of reggae? Where do they see reggae going in the future?
Reggae music remains with drum and bass; it is the foundation of it and always will be— it’s also the heart-beat of the people. The vocals are always positive; it is political and leans towards change and equality. The drums and bass will always be the same. That is how reggae music is identified, and of course positive vibrations come from the vocals.
Reggae music expanding, whenever we do festivals we see such a wide age gap. From young people to people well into their later years come to dance and absorb the positiveness of our music. Reggae music will always survive because it is timeless, and the themes are universal. Everything is relevant to past, present, and future, and it’s forever expanding. So there’s no doubt whatsoever about it’s future. It’s evolving and merging with different genres like we did with “A Step,” we brought together reggae and rap and have Dr Dre’s protégé Bishop Lamont on the song doing his flow with the rhythm and rhymes.
3) Have global events and globalism itself influenced their music?
The reggae music in the beginning was a medium of expression; it was a way for the public to know what is going on around them. Whatever goes on in the world, The Wailers will speak on it. It is the music we provide that spreads awareness of world suffering and inequality. We are definitely the band to be expressing that.
4) After performing for millions of people all over the globe, what do The Wailers see as the pros and cons of performing in a smaller venue like Cat’s Cradle?
Whether it’s 2 people in the audience or 20,000, with the positive vibrations we bring, it’s a fantastic feeling. The most important thing is the number of people who can feel the music to the core of their being. Seeing people dancing, getting vibed up on the music is exciting. We want the audience to appreciate it for what it is. It doesn’t matter how many people, what matters is the number of people who walk away and really get the positive message we are trying to share. Reggae music is about bringing people together to share a positive experience and walk away with ‘good vibrations.’
5) Are there any important upcoming projects for the band?
The World Food Programme is the number one priority for the band. The Uprising Tour is starting in January. Those are the main projects in the works, but if you want to keep up with us and any new upcoming projects it’s best to go to www.wailers.com to keep track of the band and our whereabouts.
We are looking forward to coming to North Carolina and getting everyone vibed and singing along to all the song.
ONE LOVE to everyone and see you at the show.