KWUR DJ/Production Coordinator/National Heartthrob DJ Dependable sits down for a live, casual interview with members from Portugal. The Man at approximately 8PM central. Listen in at KWUR.com or on 90.3FM, and then go to the 9PM show at the Gargoyle!
Archive for February, 2010
Portugal. The Man interview…
Sunday, February 28th, 2010KWUR WEEK IS COMING!!!
Sunday, February 14th, 2010IN ALL CAPS! AT YOUR FACE!
Ladies, Gentleman, and Smizmars:
We are oh so happy to bring you a week of crazy fun time concert excitement, starting as soon as Wednesday. Important things to know:
-It’s at the Gargoyle
-It’s 18+ only. Sorry, guys.
-Robert Byrd is the longest sitting Congressman in the history of the US
-FREE with Wash U ID, 5 bucks without it
-Doors at 8, Show at 8:30ish
-It’s going to be unforgivably awesome.
Shows you will like include:
Wednesday, Folk/Blues Night with Drakkar Sauna and Illinois John Fever
Thursday, KWUR Dance Party/DJ Showcase Part Deux with Phaseone, DJ Invisible Cola, and DJs Neil O’Kelly and Greg Sergay
Friday, Hip-Hop Night with Sadat X from Brand Nubian and Dudley Perkins
Saturday, Wave Night with Boogie Boarder, Darlings and Spelling Bee
Go to every show. By reading this blog post, you have signed an internet contract which makes you have to go to every show. If you do not, legal ramifications will result.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
Album Review: Freeway and Jakeone, "The Stimulus Package"
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
(Philly) Freeway is best known for having the second best guest verse on the best single off the worst Jay-Z album like ten years ago. This album tries to strike a balance between the Minneapolis Rhymesayers Brother Ali sound and NY street grind and mostly fails, largely due to lethargic rhymes and indifferent beats. Other people might like this. By the way, when’s the Memphis Bleek album coming out?
7 has the most hooks and the most on-vacation Raekwon verse you ever wanted to hear.
BUT, if you really like hip-hop, I know you’re going to come out to see the LEGENDARY Sadat X on Friday the 19th. Rah KWUR Week!
Album Review: Hot Chip, "One Life Stand"
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Gently straddling the border between electronic and wave stands this English band. As usual, the vocals are shared between the higher-pitched Alexis Taylor and the more mellow voiced Joe Goddard and, as always, the songs benefit from the dichotomy.
Though a lot of the songs are obviously electronics based, their composition and presentation seems more in line with rock music. A lot of their preparation for the album came from extended time in the studio, not something you necessarily expect from an “electronic” band.
The really nice thing, to me, is that each of these songs is an individual on this album, yet it remains distinctively a Hot Chip release.
Some songs seem taken from a house music kind of sensibility (even a Giorgio Moroder/Donna Summer kind of sound on track 8) while others are practically wave ballads.
Special note: Tracks 2, 4 and 6 feature Charles Hayword of This Heat on drums and vox (the latter only on track 6).
1++++(KICK ASS, oscillators), 2+++(nice mix & strings), 3++(electro-dance, auto-tune), 4+++(single, great chorus), 5++(pretty, nice build), 6+++(Hayward on back-up vox, also super pretty ballad), 7++++(gorgeous, low-key yet upbeat), 8 (least favorite track), 9++(interesting percussion, solid), 10+++(nice mix of styles)
I’m Never Gonna Give It To You…
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010So a few posts ago, we gave you a review of the new Owen Pallet album Heartland. Here is an in-studio (live) performance of “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” (aka the best song on the album) from CBC’s Studio Q (thanks to P4k).
That this is a live performance makes this song even more exciting. If you weren’t aware, Pallet primarily performs songs live alone or with one other person (as in this performance, seen here with Thomas Gill) but his arrangements seem to require more than just one or two people. To make up for this (and add a whole lot of awesome), Pallet plays part of the arrangement on a keyboard or violin and then loops it over itself. This deepens the sound and enables him to play something else. I am also in complete awe at his control to play the violin and sing (listen for the chorus’s melody on the violin during the 3rd verse).
In other news, the review of the new Hot Chip album will be posted in the couple of days, so be on the lookout.