Category: Blog

Categories
Music News and Interviews

DJ Ones’ Five Music Facts from the past week

1. Morrissey made his return to his tour playing at London’s Royal Albert Hall on October 27, after his onstage collapse on October 24. The former frontman of The Smiths was taken to the hopsital after he experienced breathing problems and collapsed onstage during the first song of his set at Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, England. via (NME)

2. Spoon has announced its next album will be released on January 26 and will be entitled Transference. The 11 song trackset includes their latest EP’s title song “Got Nuffin”. The album will be released in North America by Merge. via (Pitchfork)

3. All of the members of Los Campesinos! have been diagnosed with H1N1 virus. The band announced all its members had been diagnosed via its Twitter account with, “ALL OUR BAND IS BEING DIAGNOSED WITH SWINE FLU” before its show in Leeds, UK. They followed up with, “AND WE HAVE TO GO ONSTAGE IN TWENTY MINUTES!!” The band has no plans to cancel any upcoming shows due to illness. via (NME)

4. The Cribs has released its cover of the Kaiser Chiefs’ “Modern Way.” The cover, which was initially released as the B-side to its 2005 “Mirror Kissers” is now available for download with the proceeds going to Cash for Kids Action on Neglect Appeal. The organization helps children who have been neglected in the Leeds and West Yorkshire area of the UK, where two of the members are from. via (The Cribs)

5. In another act of goodwill, a charity album which features Arcade Fire, Cat Power, Bon Iver, and Grizzly Bear has raised around $590,160. The album entitled “Dark Was the Night” features more than 31 tracks from various artists and the money raised from the album goes to The Red Hot Organization, which supports HIV/AIDS charities all around the world. via (NME)

Categories
DJ Highlights

War of the Worlds: Tweet about the Alien Invasion!

As you may know by now, WKNC will be broadcasting a LIVE, localized version of Orsen Welles’ classic radio drama War of the Worlds.  The event will take place Halloween night from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.

Want to take part in the invasion?  Tweet about it! Update your Facebook status!

During the broadcast, the news about the aliens will become more and more severe.  You can do the same with your Tweets.  Be creative.  Tell your friends you’re freaked.  Tell your friends you’re being chased by aliens.  Describe where you’re hiding or what you see.  Help us destroy the Triangle for Halloween!  If you are listening on the Internet somewhere outside the Triangle, that’s great too!  The aliens are landing everywhere!  We’re all doomed!!

Disclaimer: “Help us destroy the Triangle” means, help us pretend to destroy Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and beyond using the radio the Internet, and your imagination.  Please don’t do anything stupid and get arrested.  That would be silly.  (And all liability would fall on you, dig?)

Categories
Concert Preview

Halloween Bash Thursday at Tir Na Nog

This Thursday, October 29, is Tir Na Nog’s Local Beer Local Band night featuring music from bands I Was Totally Destroying It, Left Outlet, and The Story Changes.

The doors open at 10 p.m., and you can expect a particularly spooky night at Tir Na Nog this week.

I will also be Interviewing I Was Totally Destroying It at 7 p.m.Thursday night. Stay tuned, and don’t forget your costume!

Categories
Concert Preview

Friday, we’re doing it On the Lawn

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We here at WKNC know that it’s been circled on your calendar and written in ink in your planner since we officially announced it, but for those less well-organized among you:

This Friday, October 30, WKNC, the Union Activities Board, Inter-Residence Council, and Student Government are presenting Schooner and Max Indian right here on Harris Field, in front of WKNC’s very own Witherspoon Student Center.

The festivities start at 6:30 p.m. with Schooner.  Max Indian will follow at approximately 7:30pm.  There will be free pizza (delivered in waves), a limited amount of free T-shirts, and free raffles for ticket giveaways to other local concerts and movies!

So really, there’s no excuse not to be there.  The weather will be great, so bring your blanket and have a little picnic while you watch some great live, local music.  And of course, as soon as our show is over, we can all head over to the Design School Bash (you were planning to show up fashionably late for that, right?)

Categories
Non-Music News

EOT10 Yearbooks 10/26/09

Student Media leaders are working on several projects that you don’t want to miss out on, so this week, the Eye on the Triangle team interviewed the leaders spearheading some of these projects to give you a look at what’s ahead.

SPORTS:
Derek Medlin and John Cooper Elias talked briefly about the football team, the basketball team and more in Wolfpack sports.

VIP:
In this week’s VIP, we talked to former Agromeck Editor John Cooper Elias (who also leads yearbook workshops) and current Agromeck Editor Bryant Robbins about why yearbook sales are facing a downward trend and what makes yearbooks still important in this information age. Two articles were cited in the interview about national yearbook trends, one from The Economist and one from The New York Times.

To bring the issue back to home, Matt Moore went around campus and asked students if they saw the important of the yearbook, which you can listen to in the segment.

We also discussed briefly the declining trend in all print media publications, the topic of Tuesday’s “Focused” section of Technician, titled “Is print dying?”

For more on the Agromeck, you can add Agromeck Man on Facebook.com or follow @Agromeck on Twitter.com, and you can also follow Technician @ncsutechnician.

COMMUNITY CANVAS:

This week’s Community Canvas was extended to give listeners a behind-the-scenes look of WKNC’s Halloween broadcast from 7 – 8 p.m., an adaptation of War of the Worlds. Damian Maddalena, who will join the rest of the newly formed radio acting troupe, The Two Cabbage Radio Players, for a performance of “War Of The Worlds.“

From Technician: "Based off of H.G. Wells’ novel, the radio play imagines an alien invasion taking over New York, interrupting a broadcast in the process. Damian Maddelena, graduate student in forestry and environmental resources, first had the idea to produce the show about a year ago. He saw a live broadcast that a Los Angeles traveling troupe performed on campus, and it triggered the idea.” Check out Thursday’s Arts & Entertainment section of Technician for the full story.

WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK:

This week, I sat down with our student of the week, Andrew Tucker. Tucker, a senior in political science, talked about his new hobby, mixed martial arts and the training he now goes through daily for his fights. He also discussed his involvement with the re-established fraternity on campus, Kappa Alpha, after a five-year hiatus.

SOUNDBYTES:
This week’s Soundbytes asked students what their favorite part of the N.C. State Fair 2009 was. As expected, most answers surrounded fried foods.

Be sure to listen to next week’s show – VIP will focus on non-profit organizations, and we’ll also be giving you an update on former chancellor James Oblinger’s hiring situation.

Listen to episode 10.

Categories
Weekly Charts

WKNC’s top 30 albums from the past week

Check out the top 30 albums played during the past week, compiled by Daytime Music Director Jenna St. Pierre:

1. Temper Trap – Conditions
2. Headlights – Wildlife
3. Via Tania – Moon Sweet Moon
4. Big Pink – A Brief History Of Love
5. James Husband – A Parallex
6. Noah and the Whale – The First Days Of Spring
7.  Happy Hollows – Spells
8. Royal Bangs – Let It Beep
9. No Age – Losing Feeling [EP]
10. Depreciation Guild – In Her Gentle Jaws
11. Fool’s Gold – Fool’s Gold
12. Vivian Girls – Everything Goes Wrong
13. Brazos – Phosphorescent Blues
14. Flaming Lips – Embryonic
15. Port O’Brien – Threadbare
16. Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
17. Lake – Let’s Build A Roof
18. Bear in Heaven –  Beast Rest Forth Mouth
19. Le Loup – Family
20. Kitty Daisy and Lewis – Kitty Daisy And Lewis
21. Sea Wolf – White Water, White Bloom
22. Sissy Wish – Beauties Never Die
23. The XX – The Xx
24. Gospel Gossip – Dreamland
25. Rubik – Dada Bandits
26. Why? – Eskimo Snow
27. Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy
28. Very Best – Warm Heart Of Africa
29. Lou Barlow – Goodnight Unknown
30. Soundtrack – Where The Wild Things Are

Categories
Weekly Charts

Top 10 Chainsaw albums from the past week

1. Baroness – Blue Record
2. Megadeth – Endgame
3. Immortal – All Shall Fall
4. The Red Chord – Fed Through the Teeth Machine
5. Saviours – Accelerated Living
6. Belphegor – Walpurgis Rites – Hexenwhan
7. Converge – Axe to Fall
8. Epica – Design Your Universe
9. Ahab – The Divinity of Oceans
10. Rammstein – Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da

Categories
Weekly Charts

Top 10 Afterhours albums from the past week

1. Boys Noize – Power
2. Felix Da Housecat – He Was King
3. U.S.E. – Love World
4. Amanda Blank – I Love You
5. David Guetta – One Love
6. Lusine – A Certain Distance
7. Wallpaper – Doodoo Face
8. Capsula – Sense of a Drop
9. Vinyl Life – Innovation
10. Yppah – They Know What Ghost Knows

Categories
Playlists

TOP 10: Red Collar

This Top 10 comes from Durham’s Red Collar.

Red Collar has had a fascinating year so far.  Its members decided to grasp their dreams by quitting  their great 9 to 5 jobs, cashing in retirement plans, holding yard sales and almost putting a home on the market in order to follow their dreams of touring. They document their journey on their blog.

Below are the lists of what each member is currently listening to. Red Collar said, “These lists of music reflect not only what we’re listening to now but bands we’ve played with over the past year.  There are local – now national – bands whose lead we admired and followed.  There are local – and soon to be national – bands who we love and trade war stories with.”

Beth: Bass/Vocals

1. Tom Waits – “Going Out West”
2. The Gaslight Anthem “The High and Lonesome Sound”
3. The Love Language – “Stars”
4. Des Ark – "Lord of the Rings and his Fascist Time Keepers”
5. Yo La Tengo – “I feel like going home”
6. Jawbox – “Savory”
7. K’Naan – “Dusty Foot Philosopher”
8. David Dondero – “the Real Tina Turner”
9. CCR – “Long as I Can See the Light”
10. Carole King “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”

Mike: Guitar/Vocals

1.  Megafaun – “Gather, Form and Fly”
2. Spoon – “Everything Hits at Once”
3. Joe Tex “Papa was Too”
4. Sonic Youth – “Teenage Riot”
5. Bon Iver – “Skinny Love”
6. American Aquarium – “Katherine Belle”
7. TV on the Radio – “Shout Me Out”
8. Spider Bags – “Teenage Eyes”
9. Hammer No More the Fingers – “Shutterbug”
10. Modest Mouse – “Broke”

Jason: Lead Vocals/Guitar

1. The Love Language – “Providence”
2. Hammer No More the Fingers – “Some Bad Ass New Song”
3. The Sandwiches –  “And Out Come the (Timber) Wolves”
4. American Aquarium – “Katherine Belle”
5. Dave Dondero – “The Real Tina Turner”
6. I Was Totally Destroying It – “Come Out, Come Out”
7. Look Mexico – “You’re Not Afraid of the Dark, Are You?”
8. Worn in Red – “When People Have Something to Say”
9. Tooth/Claw Split 10"
10. The Mountain Goats – “This Year”

Jon:Drums

1. The Pogues – “Bottle of Smoke”
2. Ben Nichols – “Last Pale Light in the West”
3. Guided By Voices – “A Good Flying Bird”
4. Modest Mouse – “Dashboard”
5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – “Jack the Ripper”
6. Glenn Kotche – “Mobile, Pts. 1 & 2”
7. The Clash “Straight to Hell”
8. Townes Van Zandt – “Lungs”
9. Bela Fleck – “Matitu”
10. Wilco -“One Wing”

And also this video…

Tools, live at the Cats Cradle and the Duke Coffeehouse

Red Collar | MySpace Video[/myspace]

Make sure to check these guys out Saturday November 7 at the Troika Music Festival and November 22 at the Berkeley Cafe.
Categories
New Album Review

88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week 9/8

Whitney “The Voice” Houston delivers with new album

Released 8/31/09
4.5/5 stars

When Whitney Houston first burst onto the scene in the mid 80s, she was the pinnacle of musical perfection. Modelesque looks, catchy songs, style, poise, undeniable stage presence and most importantly, a voice with limitless potential. Success surely followed, as Houston eventually sold more than 170 million albums, broke #1 records set by the Beatles and Elvis, earned more than $500 million worldwide at the Box Office, influenced a generation of singers and became the most awarded female artist of all time.

In the seven years since Houston’s last album Just Whitney, the musical landscape has changed a great deal. Record sales are at an all time low, the digital era has become even more dominant and vocal talent is no longer required to have a hit record, auto-tune and nakedness are. Just as the record industry has changed, Houston’s personal life has not gone without its share of transformations as there was the end of a tumultuous marriage to bad-boy Bobby Brown and stints in rehab.

With the release of Houston’s long-awaited “comeback” album, I Look To You, critics and fans alike have asked the question, “is there room for Whitney Houston in this new age?“ The answer is quite simply, yes.

I Look To You begins with the catchy first single “Million Dollar Bill,” produced and written by Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats.  "Million Dollar Bill" is an up-tempo, bass driven track, with a retro-disco vibe and is one of the albums best.

Next is the Danja produced, up-tempo, synth-driven “Nothing But Love.“  Houston shares how she has nothing but love for those who have hurt her in the past, while accepting responsibility for her own actions. Other up-tempos include the club worthy Euro-pop “For the Lovers” and the Leon Russell penned classic, made famous by Donny Hathaway, “A Song For You” which starts out as a piano-driven ballad, but soon turns into an electronic techno-smash.

With I Look To You, Houston sings some of the best mid-tempos of her career including the R.Kelly written, Tricky Stewart produced, “Salute,” “Worth It” and the Johnta Austin penned Stargate produced “Call You Tonight.“ "Salute” is the ultimate brush-off anthem done with class, while “Worth It” is the perfect love song reminiscent of Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You”. The Stargate produced, contemporary “Call You Tonight” has Houston singing to a potential love interest that she doesn’t have to time connect with.  Any of the aforementioned would be viable singles.

Houston, known for her ability to interpret songs, rather than writing, pens two of the albums island-influenced mid-tempo’s, along with R&B singer Akon. The duet “Like I Never Left”, sounds as though it could be directed to the a past lover or the to public in a plea to love her like she never went away. With “I Got You”, Houston talks of love and loyalty and how neither distance nor time can separate loved ones.

Houston is a self-described “balladeer’, so naturally an album from the legendary Icon wouldn’t be complete without a couple of power ballads. With both “I Look To You” and “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,“ Whitney comes from a spiritual place, sharing that when she was lost, it was her faith that brought her through.

Houston covers all bases with an album that will make you want to dance, cry, make love, feel inspired and everything in between. Vocally, the highs may not be as high and the lows are lower, but Houston still delivers and is able to convey each song with the feeling,  power and emotion as only she can. If you are expecting “The Bodyguard” era vocals, you will be disappointed. Whitney’s voice has undergone its share of changes, but is still better than the majority of who you’ll hear on the radio.

Houston and "industry father” executive producer, Clive Davis have managed to blend experience with relevance, in keeping with tradition of the classic Whitney we know and love, while remaining fresh and current. Overall, I Look To You is the perfect blend of ballads, mid-tempos and up-tempos from arguably the greatest female vocalist of all time. Welcome back, Whitney.

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

“Saturday Night Soul and R&B” with host Mir.I.am airs weekly from 9 to 11 p.m.