auld lang syne, etc

around here at wrmc things are quite sleepy, since santa is bringing the station a makeover, and is bringing us lots of vinyl to move around come january. i hope that winter break has treated everyone splendidly, and that family has not made everyone completely 100% nuts.

so, in the spirit of the end of 2008, i thought i'd make some lists! who doesn't like lists!? so without further ado:

The Year That Was: 2008 @ WRMC

top twenty artist played on wrmc in 2008

20. man man
19. vampire weekend
18. cat power
17. sufjan stevens
16. andrew bird
15. hot chip
14. of montreal
13. spoon
12. okkervil river
11. tv on the radio
10. chromeo
9. feist
8. bob dylan
7. lcd soundsystem
6. daft punk
5. cut copy
4. david bowie
3. the beatles
2. wilco
1. radiohead

top ten most-played albums of 2008:

10. chromeo - fancy footwork
9. menomena - friend and foe
8. calvin harris - i created disco
7. the smiths - the queen is dead (woah!)
6. feist - the reminder
5. vampire weekend - s/t
4. tv on the radio - dear science
3. cut copy - in ghost colours
2. lcd soundsystem - sound of silver
1. radiohead - in rainbows

top ten most played songs of 2008:

10. beirut - nantes
9. mgmt - electric feel
8. beach house - gila
7. architecture in helsinki - heart it races
6. lcd soundsystem - all my friends
5. new young pony club - ice cream
4. cut copy - lights and music
3. simian mobile disco - i believe
2. lcd soundsystem - someone great
1. m.i.a. - paper planes

clearly this is not indicative of every single show at wrmc, so i encourage everyone to post his or her top-ten faves of 2008, favorite wrmc dj moments, etc. we will be back rocking in j-term of 2009 and you can keep your internets tuned to this blog for lots more fun mp3s, music news and rambling of college radio djs! hurray!

Under Construction

WRMC will be undergoing a facelift this holiday season. While all of you are sifting through sails at Walmart, construction will be underway upstairs in Proctor Hall. We are all very excited to see what our new space will look like and have our finger's crossed that we will be able to broadcast live come January.

From WRMC: A Happy Holiday Season.

And now, something from our cassette archive.

Little Joy

This music is slow life on a beach sipping Mojitos with a sexy lady. It really warms up the balls-out-cold of Vermont in November.



Little Joy is Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes, Rodrigo Amarante of Los Hermanos, and Binki Shapiro.

Oh this is nice.

Biggie Smalls, What?

Its not every day that a Biggie demo from 1992 falls into your lap. Indeed, I might go so far as to say that makes for a BANNER day.

The demo, though not of the highest production quality, and with the incredibly annoying voice of the random dj who found the tracks over the chorus, is still absolutely fantastic.

Macs and Dons, an unreleased track, is probably the most upbeat Biggie beat ive ever heard. Check it for yourself.

Biggie Smalls - Macs and Dons (zShare)

On Rotation

Let's highlight some music.



Something you should definitely check out is Devendra Banhart's side project, Megapuss. The band is made up of Banhart, Priestbird's Greg Rogove and Stroke's drummer Fabrizio Moretti. The members of the band got together and made up song names, only to later write music to match the names and put together an album. Its called Surfing.



The vinyl lp comes out December 9. The CD is out on Vapor Records.

Fresh Cold Cuts on Rye

You have probably heard of Coldcut, the British dance/hip hop duo. You probably like them.

In England, they have this great thing called the BBC, which owns radio and TV and internet outlets. Though this may be a scary example of government control of the media, they tend to do an excellent job with music programming.

BBC Radio 1 has a show called Essential Mix that is basically a late-night mix from a famous DJ or group broadcast over the air. Think DJ Shadow or RJD2 or Diplo doing a live concert set on the radio and that's about it.

Cold Cut has an excellent version of this Essential Mix, two hours of beautiful hip hop samples and dance beats.

get it here

and enjoy

best,

Sam

Paper Route Gangstaz

Yea, the tape is finally about to be out. It is going to be absolutely insane. And its (almost) free. Kinda like the 'In Rainbows' release, you pay what you want. Cept you have to pay at least 1 cent. But, if you drop more than 5 bucks, you get a few sweet bonus tracks. Peep it.

01. Blaqstarr feat. Jhi-Ali - Stuntastic (prod by Diplo)
02. Jackie Chain feat. Jhi Ali - Rollin’ (Diplo Remix)
03. PRGz - Woodgrain (Emynd Remix)
04. B.O.S.S. feat. G-Side - Real Good
05. B.O.S.S. feat. X.O. - Naturalz Pt. 2
06. Big P.O.P.E. feat Wale - Don't Go (Diplo Remix)
07. Dawgy Baggz feat. Money Addict & B. Dewitt- Travelin
08. Untamed feat Dawgy Baggz - Shotz
09. PRGz - Bama Gettin' Money (Diplo Remix)
10. Mata feat Mali Boi, M.P. & Big P.O.P.E. - Streetz
11. Jhi-Ali feat Cooley Da Dude & Big P.O.P.E. - Alabama
12. X.O - Grind Baby
13. PRGz - Soul Glo (The Knocks Remix)
14. X.O feat Mali Boi & CeeCee - 100
15. Money Addict feat Pluck - Hood Celebrity (Diplo Remix)
16. Money Addict - Life, Money & Drugs (Diplo Remix)

bonus tracks ( $5.00 and over )
17. PRGz - Woodgrain
18. PRGz - Bama Gettin' Money
19. PRGz - Soul Glo
20. Money Addict feat Pluck - Hood Celebrity
21. Amp G - Lookin Good

Check it here.

Super Bonus, heres a track from em thats been heating up the internets.

Paper Route Gangstaz - Bama Gettin Money (Diplo Remix) (zShare)

The Avett Brothers in VT

We've talked about them before. Well, here's your chance to see the banjo breaking, guitar smashing, bass thumping Avett Brothers. This Saturday, November 15 at the Chandler Music Hall in Randolph, VT. For ticket information click here or call 802-728-6464 and speak to the wonderful Kathy Corrao.


They are supporting their new EP, The Gleam II which we are spinning here at WRMC both on vinyl and compact disc.

Seriously, go.

For now, some treats






(photo courtesy of theavettbrothers.com)

Keenhouse

Keenhouse is an LA based electro artist on the new Binary Label, who definitely deserve some attention. Theyve been putting out fire with some of their new acts, such as The Kids are RADIOACTIVE and NightWaves. Really just fire.

Keenhouse - Deep in the Forest (YSI)
Keenhouse - Deep in the Forest (zShare)

Apple Juice Kid Remixes Miles Davis

This joint is sick. Absolutely sick. Its a mixtape of Miles Davis remixed by Apple Juice Kid, and really I just don't have the words to describe it. All i can say is that you must download it ASAP, and listen to its greatness.

The Apple Juice Kid - Miles Remixed (zshare)

where do you run, do you run, do you run to?

welcome back to another installment of get to know yr rotation!

today, boys and girls, we will focus on a much hyped up and comer: the vivian girls. naturally i heard about this band through the grapevine and even managed to read about them in the middlebury campus in an article written by wrmc's own rock manager melissa marshall. i know that melissa shares my love of all things female indie rock, so i was excited when the cd made it into the station.

the vivian girls offer a product that is refreshing in its simplicity. having grown up listening to lookout! records and kill rock stars, these three girls make me feel like i'm in a time warp, transported to olympia, washington in 1991. the vivian girls sound like le tigre and bikini kill made a baby with the jesus and the mary chain. strong harmonies, distorted fuzzy guitars, and three girls from brooklyn with bangs and a taste for irony. they also put this out on their own and its climbing the wrmc charts! so listen to it and jump around your room and shake your booty!

love, rachael

vivian girls - where do you run to
vivian girls - never see me again

Fly into our Airspace Missus Palin

WRMC loves Sarah Palin, Russians, and alumni.

Check out the newest track from Vlad and Boris, Russia's political-rock equivalent to Bono and Rage Against the Machine.



Dog-gone-it.

Barack Obama: The Mixtape

This is simply the greatest thing to come across my lap in the last few weeks. The list of people who drop on this is incredible, from Wyclef to Jay-Z. It is very political in nature, obviously, but even beyond that its just a very powerful message. Its about empowering people, and not to be cliche, but its about the American Dream.

Check the Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. David Banner,Busta Rhymes,Talib Kweli “Black President” Rmx pt1 *
3. Barack Obama “Stand Up”*
4. Nas Speaks on Politics
5. Styles P and Cassidy “Make It Out”*
6. Jay-z Speaks “The American Dream”
7. Barack Obama “One Mic, One People”
8. Russell Simmons Speaks on Obama
9. Joe Budden,Twista,John Mayer “Waiting on the World to Change 2008″
10. Angie Martinez “Yes We Need A Mixtape!!”
11. Kanye West,Malik Yusef “Promised land
12. Wale,Rhymefest,Christina K, Royce 5′9 “Black President” RMX Pt2*
13. Barack Obama “My Life”*
14. Jay-z “Lick a Shot”*
15. Russell Simmons on Change
16. Wyclef “Obama for President”
17. Charles Hamilton “The Moment”
18. Find ur Dreams (interlude) *
19. George Bush’s Highlight Reel
20. Mikkey Halsted “King George” *
21. Obama on Hip-Hop
22. Joel Ortiz feat Dante Hawkins “Letter To Obama” *
23. Akon , U.M. “Aint No Sunshine” *
24. Qadir, Dwayne (Invasion) “Its My Time
25. Johnny Polygon (Invasion),Amanda Diva “Colorblind” *
26. Mavado “We Need Barack” *
27. Jay-Z / Gabe Real “What We Need” (Speech)
28. Qadir “Yes We Can” Outro

Cop it here, and play it loud and proud.

Barack Obama - The Mixtape (New Mediafire Link)

Props to illroots for the drop.

cast off the shackles of yesterday! shoulder to shoulder into the fray!

a little musical reminder to fill out your absentee ballots, mail them in and take advantage of the right to vote!!
if only mrs. banks could have seen barack obama ...

don't know ourselves well but so what, we know each other

introducing: get to know yr rotation.
a weekly profile of a cd that i'm about to stick on rotation and thereby influence freshmen to play on repeat!

generally my ego sends out warning signals when a cd that i've never heard of crosses my (figurative) desk. clearly if i don't know it, it must be awful! i'm not the first music director to feel this way, and part of my job is to throw out the bizarre CDs featuring microsoft paint cover-art or some suggestively posed teenage girl singing r&b ballads. its the albums that look good when judging by the cover but sound like the worst bar rock you've ever heard that start to jade you, and when you've heard the 45th solo-project of some wayward member of polyphonic spree you start to hate music in general.

i was therefore surprised that i instantly fell in love with dear & the headlights. the sophomore release from these boys on equal vision records did not inspire much confidence in me, stating that it was RIYL modest mouse, the walkmen and hot hot heat. although i deeply love modest mouse AND the walkmen, comparing an album to three such disparate influences is, in my experience, recipe for disaster. drunk like bible times is a rare album that can patch together those aforementioned influences and add a few more (think bright eyes, wilco, kings of leon) to craft 12 consistently great tracks. in my opinion every song on this album is worth at least a few listens. the first song, "i'm not crying. you're not crying, are you?" is a jangly, catchy opener which leads into "bad news" - a track that swings back and forth between a slightly angular, modest-mouse-esque distorted guitar melody to a straightforward indie-pop refrain and back again, getting stuck in your head on the way. more raucous tracks like "saintly rows (oh oh)" are tempered by genuinely sweet ballads like "flowers for my brain". some of my other favorites are the relate-ably titled "if not for my glasses" and the acoustic, off-key vocals on "willetta". i could write a hundred more words about this album and sound more and more like any other snarky record review, so instead here are some treats.

also, in case re-introductions are necessary, i'm rachael, i'm the music director-ette at wrmc and my favorite wrmc-related activity is singing and dancing without shame in the station during my show and obsessively labeling things. i also like listening to the messages in the office when they are full of the transmitter talking. writing this has been ten times more fun than doing my russian homework.

dear & the headlights - saintly rows (oh oh)
dear & the headlights - if not for my glasses

Chromeo vs Treasure Fingers

Treasure Fingers just got their shit WORKED. Chromeo absolutely kills it with their remix of 'Cross the Dancefloor'. It sounds a lot like Chromeo, but its got a feel thats distinctly different, in a way that makes you want to just sorta dance and maybe snap your fingers a few times. Its def worth checking out.

Treasure Fingers - Cross the Dancefloor (Chromeo Remix)

On a related note, Chromeo is playing in Montreal on Friday, tickets are still available. Calvin Harris is also dropping a DJ set, which should be ill.

LIVE IN CONCERT...WRMC-STYLE

Starting today WRMC will have local bands and artist play live on air every Thursday at 6pm. The show will showcase artists from the college and the surrounding area. If you, or anyone you know is interested in getting heard on the FM airwaves contact us at wrmc911@gmail.com.



Today's show features Matt Bell, singer-songwriter extraordinaire. Stay tuned for clips from the show and in the meantime tune in to WRMC 91.1.

Wardicus Wednesday #6 - Library Relics

In an effort to be remembered as the music managers who finally got the record library under control, Rachael and I have been spending a lot of time going through the stacks trying to figure ways of better organizing the labyrinth. While not actually succeeding and only finding my way out of the depths by firelight fueled by Ben Kweller albums, I did manage to find some relics of an era of music long since passed. Here they are:





Boards of Canada released their Hi Scores EP in 1996 before any of their major record releases. While not their first record, it is a nice melding of their (at the time) developing sound with some of their influences such as Warp labelmate Aphex Twin.





DC trio and distortion masters Trans Am take simple rock motifs from established bands of the past and expand them. There's something mechanistic about their songs but in a way that makes you believe that the coming robot revolution may be a good thing.





The Last Great Wilderness is the final album by C86ers The Pastels. It is the soundtrack for the David Mackenzie movie of the same name. Bleak and distant, it separates itself from The Pastels normal sound in order to recreate the winter highlands of the band's home as portrayed in the movie. (Also, the movie is pretty good.)





Finding this album apart from other Sleater-Kinney works and refiling it correctly was my personal high point of the work in the library. (Though I realized that people need to play it more and marked it my pick of the month on the shelves in studio.) I remember when the album came out six years ago and, damn, that makes me feel out of touch. At the time I liked it because I was angry and I wanted to rebel and shit and the songs, like, meant something. I still like it because I'm angry but also because every song is perfectly crafted.

Concert Update

Dear Vermont,

Please prepare for face melting musical chaos. This weekend Higher Ground in Burlington has an all-star lineup. To start the weekend off we have Lotus, a staple of hippie-dippie-dance-trance-electro that has been grooving across the country for the past few years. The five-piece band is promoting their new album, Hammerstrike, on October 14. The band has the album up for streaming on their website here.

Saturday night things get a little more hectic. Dan Deacon, member of the Baltimore art collective Wham City, will be playing his special blend of crazed dance electro in the Showcase Lounge. Deacon's live shows have a reputation for being intimate and insane as he positions himself in the audience and thrives on audience participation. The trained composer can work loops and soundbites like few can. This show will not disappoint.


Here are two songs from this weekend's performers. If you have a heart condition, you have been warned.





Sincerely and always yours,

WRMC

Why hello

Hey WRMC, my name is Taylor and im the electro manager. I also like to blog, and thought id throw some badass stuff up for WRMC.


Sisters of Transistors put out the track 'The Don' pretty recently, which was pretty great. However, it just got worked over by Acid Girls. They absolutely kill it. Check it

Sisters of Transistors - The Don (Acid Girls Grey Disco Remix)

Also, if ya wanna cop more great music, take a gander at my blog, auralsatisfaction.blogspot.com
laters

Booty Shakin' with Of Montreal

"This record is only for broad-minded people, who like to dance, make love and freak the f*ck out. It’s not for most inanimate objects.”

-Kevin Barnes



Check it.

The new Of Montreal album comes out October 7. In addition to the above choice quote, Barnes says of the new album, "This record is my attempt to bring all of my puzzling, contradicting, disturbing, humorous...fantasies, ruminations and observations to the surface, so that I can better dissect and understand their reason for being in my head. Hence the title, Skeletal Lamping. Lamping is the name of a rather dreadful hunting technique where, hunters go into the forest at night, flood an area in light, then shoot, or capture, the animals as they panic and run from their hiding places."

This is the albums first single which was released August 29, a 7" on Polyvinyl Records.

Globalization

Music is an international language.

Wardicus Wednesdays #5 - Thursday

I'm back from the north country (where the internet is a public access terminal in the local library) and I brought some music with me.




I know that the Olympics are in China and that it's 2008 not 1980, but Moscow Olympics rock. The five piece from the Philippines has a little bit of twee, a little bit of shoegaze and a little bit of straight up pop. See also: Asobi Sesku, Galaxie 500





New Cansei de Ser Sexy. If the last album was about alcohol and making love to Death From Above, this album is about hard drugs and fucking to HEALTH. It's still dancey as all hell, but it's harder and dirtier and riot grrrler. See also: Ratatat, Le Tigre





Ra Ra Riot are good at chamber pop. They may not be the best, that title belongs to the band's influences -the heavy hitters of indie rock, but it's summer and they're fun. Perfect for short walks (or drives) to the park/beach/liquor store. See also: Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend





Sennen is about BIG. Big noise, big spaces, big walls. They group is from Norfolk and it shows: they sound like ambient, nu-gaze and post-rock all rolled into one. I'm really digging these guys right now. See also: Mogwai, Verve

Hillbilly Love Songs Go Major Label

The Avett Brothers have spent the last few years tearing up the summer festival scene and pretty much running circles around the south of this country. Their stops in the NE have been few and far between yet they still have managed to get themselves a nice dedicated following where ever they go. If you were able to catch their show at Higher Ground a few weeks ago, sick life. The Avett's albums continue to flow but the real gem of this band is the live performance. When I saw them last summer I was blown away by the energy of the band. The Avetts are composed of three members, Scott and Seth Avett on banjo and guitar respectively, as well as stand-up bassist Bob Crawford. I swear to you every song either Seth or Scott would break a string from playing so hard and, without turning his head, would throw the guitar over his shoulder backstage where a roadie would be watching the sky, ready to catch it and switch in a new instrument. I have never seen such pretty instruments take such a beating. If you have the chance to see them do it.



Now I ask myself what is the point, or general relevance of this post?

Just returning from Chile, I find myself extremely out of the loop on all music happenings/news/whathaveyou. However, I have learned in my absence that the Avett Brothers will be moving from their small town label Ramseur Records to the major label, American Records, a division of Sony BMG/Columbia. The Avett Brothers are doing an album with Rick Ruben? Wowzers.

This new move is a bit startling for me. The newest and last Avett Brothers project on Ramseur Records came out last month, The Second Gleam, and along with most of their newer stuff is more slow and sentimental compared to the upbeat, hoedown, foot stomping music of their past.

Will this new move from cornfield to skyscraper soak the Avett's in the sweet stench of success? Only time will tell.

Here is a song from the new album and one of my favorites of an older album.

Wardicus Wednesdays #4 - Wicker Park Fest.

First, I don't care that it's not Wednesday. I like alliteration. I just finished my summer class, so give me a break if I'm a little behind this week. On to the post.

There are three major reasons why Wicker Park Fest is better than Pitchfork.
1) The price - I paid $30 to go to one day of Pitchfork. Wicker Park Fest was only $5 and that was a donation. I only paid it because I'm a good person.
2) The location - Wicker Park Fest is only 3 L stops from my apartment, while Pitchfork is 45 minutes on a crowded train. Also, it's smaller so you don't have all those out-of-towners coming to flood the streets with their dunks and deep-v's.
3) Post-rock - Wicker Park Fest loves less accessible music like math rock, post-rock, post-math-rock, neo-post-rock, and also Prefuse 73. While Pitchfork had the heavy hitters, Wicker Park Fest had the goodies. For example:




Nomo blends funk, afro-beat, and free jazz wonderfully. Influenced by the likes of Sun Ra and even played a cover of "Rocket Number Nine" during their set. The band has not one, not two, but three drummers. And a tenor sax player who resembled Bruce Willis. What more could you want?





Daedalus is an eccentric dj who performs his sets dressed in Edwardian attire (notice the mutton chops). He's shy and frequently shows humility when the audience cheers his mixing of 40's & 50's samples with homemade beats and pop lyrics. He's an extensive record collector, a Ninja Tunes spinster, and all-around boogie maestro.





The homegrown Chicago band Joan of Arc was formed by Tim Kinsella in the wake of the break of of Cap'n Jazz. Using subtle electronics and sampling techniques, the band is often described as "difficult." I don't get it. It's pop music.




Here we have another Chicago band, Maps & Atlases. They do math rock. I wish I had gotten video of the performance instead of just this picture because it's funny to watch hipsters try and shuffle in 7/8.





Finally for some post-rock. Red Sparowes (sic) consists of members of a number of other musical projects, most notably Isis. They are set apart from the rest of the post-rock clan by their extremely long song titles. I mean, this song's full title is "The Great Leap Forward Poured Down Upon Us One Day Like A Mighty Storm Suddenly And Furiously Blinding Our Senses." Damn. These guys were loud and dirty. My ears are still ringing.

How I got laid last night....two words

Sebastien Tellier. Produced by Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo, Sebastien Tellier's Sexuality is some SERIOUS baby making music. The 80's are back. Fingers of Steel (that actually is a track title) is a definite banger. Sexual Sportsware and Manty pack all of the sinister sexuality of the Blade Runner soundtrack. This is considered a good thing in the most classy sado-masochism circles. I know. I have seen these beastly orgies on Redtube. Expect this album to be a muse for the dirtiest remixes on the Hype later this month.

In light of my afterglow, I have chosen to include the Zander Manshel Ep, Groove.

Sexual Sportsware

Fingers of Steel

Gooove EP

Wardicus Wednesdays #3 - Covers

For whatever reason, I've been listening to a lot of covers over the course of the summer. In lieu of any new music, here's the best of them:



Dan Rossen - Too Little, Too Late
Dan Rossen lends his haunting vocal talent to Jo Jo's Too Little, Too Late. According to Pitchfork, he recorded the song for fellow Grizzly Bear member Ed Droste's 29th birthday. Too cute.



Mobius Band - Digital Love
Former Sepomaners Mobius Band released the Love Will Reign Supreme EP last Valentine's Day full of covers of songs about love. The last track is the beautifully arranged electroacoustic version of Daft Punk's Digital Love.



Final Fantasy - Peach, Plum, Pear
This version of Peach, Plum, Pear is off of Final Fantasy's Young Canadian Mothers 7". Notice the volume change at 1:56 when Owen Pallett moves closer to the mic. Meh, it doesn't bother me as much as Joanna Newsom's voice.


Dr. Dog - Heart It Races
Dr. Dog covering Architecture in Helsinki. God, I love this. I've listened to it ten times a day, everyday, since the beginning of summer.



Math the Band - Zelda Theme
Math the Band's Cover EP is available for free download on their myspace. It's chock-full of 90's greats. Of course the song I remember the most from the 90's is the Zelda theme (I probably heard it for a month straight while (re)beating Ocarina of Time.)

Wardicus Wednesdays #2 - The Obligatory Pitchfest Post

Here in the second city things are gearing up for the Pitchfork Music Festival 2008. And while the six people currently crashing on my floor prepare for the likes of Public Enemy performing It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, I am preparing to write a 1200 word essay on representations of advertising in Nelson Algren's The Man with the Golden Arm and Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. So while hundreds swarm on to Union Park and I stay at home doing work, you can enjoy a few ditties by some of the bands you might have missed (or that I just really like) that will be performing without us.





Titus Andronicus is not only a play by The Bard, but also a punk band. They sound like The Clash. Really, really like The Clash. But that's not a bad thing. In fact, it's a great thing. See also: Times New Viking, No Age





If you're a sucker for that almost-bluesy folk-rock the likes of My Morning Jacket that's gotten so big over the past year, then the Fleet Foxes might be just what you need. See also: Dodos, Bon Iver





Songs in A&E is vastly different than Spiritualize's other releases. Jason Pierce has shed his love of higher planes of ambient electro rock for higher planes of gospel. See also: I don't listen to stuff like this normally.





Santogold isn't actually playing Pitchfork, but she is playing Rock the Bells, which happens at the same time. Aaron Gensler really likes her. (And if that's not a compliment, I don't know what is.) See also: M.I.A., The Gossip

monsters having fun, happy happy!

omg omg.
first there was my personal #1 crush and middlebury fave andrew bird as dr. stringz.
now mega-cutie feist takes on sesame street with a slight adaptation of her mega-hit for the preschool set. in my mind this redeems it post-ipod-commercial-selling-out.
i especially like when she says "chickens just back from the shore" because something about that just smacks of new jersey.


reminds me of my first taste of the joys of alternative rock:



although, nothing will take the place of my ALL TIME fave:
the oinker sisters.



(ps: that right there is especially for my momma)
(pps: after re-watching those a few times, i think my early love of these videos says a lot about me as a person)
(ppps: i dare you to watch all three and not be really really happy)

Wardicus Wednesday - #1

I've decided to revive an old tradition here on the blog and bring you weekly updates on what I've been listening to, what I should be listening to, and what I hear at parties.





This is all over the blogs these days. The kids just can't get enough of it, and I can see why. The album is filled with distorted riffs coming from squeaky guitars and sometimes there are even squeakier violins. Throw in some distant vocals and you've got lo-fi mastery that owes more to the Velvet Underground circa The Velvet Underground than Pavement.






This is Tape, and they're the best new thing I've heard in a long time. If Octopus Project, Port Blue, Explosions in the Sky, and Talk Talk spent a night on barbiturates and lots of wine, Tape would be the love child that rose incarnate from the resulting orgy like Venus from the sea. They blend instrumentation and electronic noise together quietly, powerfully, and transplendently.






Everyone should know these guys. They just put out a new album entitled Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. Say that ten times fast. No, try it in English: With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly. It's different than any other Sigur Ros album you've heard, but when was the last time Sigur Ros put out an album that wasn't. I'm assuming by now that everyone has heard the single Gobbledigook, so here's something else.






The incredibly blurry picture above is of Dan Friel. He is a member of Brooklyn-based noise rock band Parts & Labor, but I'm going to write about his new solo album. Friel plays keyboard and guitar and sings but does all them through every sort of comb filter and vocoder imaginable. Sounds kind of like Dan Deacon, but less dancey and more... well... noisy.




And finally, a little anecdote. Yesterday, returning from class, I stopped off at the Whole Foods in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. I only needed a few things: some soymilk, yoghurt, peanut butter, &c.. I was in the dairy section looking for yoghurt, but there was a man between myself and it. However, I was also between him and the milk that he needed. We met each other's eyes, did that thing where one person steps out of the way, but the other moves too, and kind of shuffled around each other. It was awkward, but I got my yoghurt and Andrew Bird got his milk.

I don't actually have the song I was going to share, but it's Don't Wait For the Needle To Drop by Dosh. It features Bird plucking some nasty beats. Hypemachine it or something.

put a price, put a price on my soul

this is what finals in berlin make me feel like.
also this video is my current favorite thing.

lil jon, he always tells the truth

this is my second attempt to post from berlin. while berlin is full of bacchanalia and late night dj sets, i've only seen a few local bands play here, and not for lack of trying, but rather for lack of expendable income. my musical memories of berlin have been forged by the few live shows i got to see, 100,6 motor fm - my ersatz-wrmc if you will, and lots and lots of viva and german mtv.

why do i love german mtv and viva so much? let me count the ways ... there are episodes of charm school, rock of love, and next uncensored in english to fulfill my brain's trashy tv quota. there are specials on britney spears involving 3 or more fake "experts" who predict her certain demise. there is the painfully awkward culture of lovelorn german teenagers who spend what must be hundreds of dollars of their parents money every month text messaging these television stations

well in between tokio hotel music videos and episodes of date oder fake? - a show in which a girl has to correctly guess which of the three guys she is on a "date" with is gay, which is taken, and which is single - they play the most amazing and random music video countdowns. my personal favorite of all time was titled "wish you were here" and featured a random sampling of germanys favorite dead musicians. the top five list featured elvis, queen, nirvana, johnny cash and of course number one was the notorious b.i.g. - its a cultural smorgasbord perfectly suited for my pop-culture-saturated tastes.

where is this love letter to german television programming going? namely, yesterday, after watching a hilariously poorly dubbed mark ronson appearance, german mtv served up this little gem:



it seems that my german counterparts can't get over vampire weekend either, and i have since seen this music video about 80 times in the last week (and i swear im not watching THAT much tv ...) - i love it. i love the song, i love the font in the video that is reminiscent of wes anderson, i love that it was all shot in one take, i just love love love it, and i hoped you guys would love it too.

also, germans call them wampire veekend. say it out loud. its funny.

Summer 2005 - Retconned.

Let me tell you something that you may or may not know about me. I LOVE Sci-fi. LOVE it. I love it so much that I want to use an antinumbing injection and return feeling to the lower half of its body so that we can enjoy it when we rub our bodies together between the sheets like the way it was done before government imposed abstinence. (Bonus points for anyone who knows the reference.)

Now I realize that I am behind the times on this (which goes against my aforementioned love of speculative fiction) but last night I watched Richard Kelly's Southland Tales. And it was awesome. But I'm not going to waste your time with a review. Instead, I'm going to share a clip that embodies the awesomeness of the movie. And guess what? It has to do with music.

And because it's summer, and we all want fun summery tunes, here are two things that come together (albeit in a slightly dark way) from the summer of 2005, before my arrival on campus: Justin Timberlake and The Killers.



That looks like a good time, right? I can't remember the last time I lip-synced to The Killers while simultaneously becoming the messiah. It was probably at a Mill party though.

MGMT Meets Snow

Being a small college radion station in Vermont, WRMC sees its fair share of snow. Even though its summer time, this powdery, white substance is still on some of our brains.



Such Is Life: Trailer

In recent years ski and snowboard movies have highlighted great music. Here is a trailer for the new Rage film, "Such is Life" featuring one of our favorites at WRMC, MGMT.

More from the Birdman

"I listened to my record recently and I’m concerned about how much I like it. "

Andrew Bird you cocky bastard. Check out Andrew's Blog on the New York Times Website as he works on his new album plus a tastey dribble of a new song, "Oh No."

This man is James Pants and he is a DJ who makes music that leaves your colors brighter and your whites whiter. Now available in original scent or Stones Throw.

Your colors won't run with this, but you should:
Crystal Lite feat. Deon Davis