KWUR.COM

CONCERT SEASON IS APPROACHING

laurelmo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:20:33 +0000

Winter can be quite a dead season for concerts in St. Louis, but the Spring concert schedule is shaping up to be aaawesome! Check out these sweet shows in the coming months:

YACHT: March 1 @ Plush – Last time I saw these guys they had a dance party with the entire crowd on stage, faked a video-chat in the middle of the show, and had a question and answer segment. Expect quirky dance music with plenty of crowd participation.

Bass Drum of Death: March 2 @ The Old Rock House – Fun, loud garage rock. They played every song at double speed at their last show in St. Louis, making their set only 30 minutes long, but twice as exciting.

Howler: March 9 @ The Old Rock House – If you didn't shell out the cash to go see Radiohead in St. Louis this night, you can catch Howler put on a show of summery surf rock.

Distant Worlds with the St. Louis Symphony: March 23-24 @ Powell – St. Louis Symphony is playing the music from Final Fantasy. If you were a video game kid like me, this is exciting.

The Hive Dwellers: March 27 @ The Luminary – Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening's current band with the other members constantly changing.

Mission of Burma: April 4 @ the Firebird – IS THIS THE BEST THING EVER OR WHAT? Super rockin' post punk doods, check out "Vs." if you're unfamiliar.

Shabazz Palaces: April 24 @ The Luminary – Ex-Digable Planet's MC's latest project with futuristic electronic beats.

Melvins: May 3 @ The Firebird – These guys ruuuuule. Sludgy, grungy rock famous for being a favorite of Kurt Cobain and Boris (named after a Melvins song).

Hustle Week All Night Broadcast Tonight from 8pm to 8am

catlyne — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:58:25 +0000

If you haven't heard already, this week is KWUR's Hustle Week–and tonight from 8pm to 8am we're bringing you some very special programming for the Annual All Night Broadcast. Tune in to KWUR 90.3 and take part in a beloved KWUR tradition. Better yet, call in and share a favorite KWUR memory! Even better than that, call 314-935-5952 and make a donation to the station so we can keep freeform radio alive for Washington University and the surrounding community.

Programming highlights include:

8-9pm: Songs about radio and money.

9-10pm: Trainee Hour (Hear from our newest DJs.)

10-11pm: All-DJs Freeform Hour (Hear from DJs new and old.)

11pm-12am: Live in-studio featuring Britches

12-1am: KWUR House Band performs live on-air

1-4am: 36 Years of Debauchery (A rad jam from every year of KWUR's existence.)

4-5am: Best new music

5-6am: KWUR's Weirdest/Best (Including but not limited to: Shel Silverstein, Whale Sounds, that sweet Queen Latifah track.)

6-7am: Ambient poetry (Have you ever wished that English Literature Hour With Vincent Sherry had a little something extra? Now it does! Ambient music! For an hour!)

7-8am: Traffic, weather, mo(u)rning (Don't let this clever pun deceive you–we will be in high spirits indeed.)

Stream at kwur.com, on iTunes (under eclectic), or on our KWUR radio app for iPhone or Android. Or! Park in the lot behind the station and tune into the terrestrial radio waves.

Thank you for your support!

Ximena Sarinana comes to KWUR 11/18 at 1 pm

DJ Nova — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:53:07 +0000

In case you don’t know, Grammy winning Mexican vocalist Ximena Sariñana (hi-MEN-a sa-rin-YAH-na) is coming to the station tomorrow to talk about her self-titled English debut.

Her latest album “showcase[s] her deep, striking voice, smart, thoughtful lyrics and offbeat personality” with production expertise from Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen, Devo, The Bird and the Bee), Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Natalia Lafourcade.

She has won the Best New Artist Award in the Premios MTV Latinoamerica 2008 (Latin MTV Awards) and received three Latin Grammy Nominations for Best New Artist, Best Alternative Song and Producer of the Year. Her debut album, “Mediocre,” also received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. In Mexico, she is a household name. She has appeared in 11 films (among them box office hit Amar Te Duele and film festival winner Dos Abrazos) as well as three prime time telenovelas.

Come to the station or listen in at 1 PM. Ximena Sariñana is a fantastic artist and Deanna and I are quite excited to interview her!

KWUR Hustle Week!

catlyne — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:57:51 +0000

It's the most magical time of the year! That's right folks, it's KWUR HUSTLE WEEK! Hustle Week is a beautiful time where you, our favorite listeners, get to show your favorite radio station a little love and affection. Radio isn't cheap, and we need your support to keep bringing you the great alternative music you love. As one of the last completely free-form stations in the country, KWUR needs your help to keep rocking as W…ashington University's best radio station. Anything you give will be a huge help in our quest to keep radio in St. Louis free.

We're hosting some fun and unique events, so be sure to tune in, stop by, and show your support!

Monday, November 14th-Friday, November 18th
Mix CD Exchange and KWUR Apparel Tabling in the DUC
11:00 AM-2:00 PM
Want to discover some new tunes? That's our specialty. All week KWUR will be hosting a mix CD exchange where you can trade a mix CD that you create with a mix created by somebody else. We'll have blank discs too, so feel free to take one home and bring it back with some excellent music. Sharing is caring! And we'll be selling some brand-new, fresh KWUR gear to boot.

Sunday, November 13th-Saturday, November 19th
DJ Date Auction
Some of our DJ's will be auctioning off the opportunity to spend a little quality time with them. The highest bidder will not only win a great date, but will also graciously donate to KWUR! Score! Check out our event page to see the dates and make your bid: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=135398289896721

Thursday, November 17th
All-Night Broadcast!
Be sure to tune in to 90.3 FM or www.kwur.com to listen to one of the greatest KWUR traditions, the All-Night Broadcast. Your favorite DJ's will be spinning the best of KWUR and staying on the air all night for your entertainment! Call in to donate and receive some excellent gifts!

Don’t forget to check out the KWUR-themed meals, provided by Bon Appetit, which will be served in the DUC this week! Rock n’ roll ribs, Fleetwood Mac n’ Cheese… you can even show KWUR your love while you eat.

Want to donate? Here's how!

You can send a check to:

KWUR 90.3 FM
Campus Box 1205
One Brookings Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63130

Or call KWUR at 314-935-5952 or email underwriting@kwur.com with your name, contact information, and the amount you would like to donate. DJ's will be manning the phones and get you squared away. We have some great items we'll give you in thanks for your donation. Here are some gifts you can receive:
$10 = A free Stack Sessions Sampler, offering the best band performances from our in-studio sessions
$25 = An awesome KWUR t-shirt
$50 = A personalized KWUR t-shirt created by our DJ's
$75 = A personalized song written about you!
$100 = We'll name any part of the station after you for an entire year
$150 = We'll create a custom station ID with you that will live in the annals of KWUR history forever!

Thank you so much for your support, and please consider donating to KWUR so we can keep bringing you the best of free-form radio!

Between the Buried and Me, Animals as Leaders at The Pageant

redluke22 — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:09:44 +0000

This is definitely not one to miss.

Between the Buried and Me is one of the best metal bands of the last decade, infusing metalcore roots with a healthy dose of melodicism, as well as elements of blues and jazz, arena rock, bluegrass, and just about anything else you can think of, creating their self-described "adult contemporary progressive death metal" sound.

Their 2007 album "Colors" is widely considered a progressive metal masterpiece. They recenlty released the EP "The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues" on Victory Records.

Animals as Leaders is led by 8-string guitar wizard Tosin Abasi, and his jazz-and-electronica influenced "djent" stylings.

Thier second album, "Weightless" was just released on Prosthetic Records, and is one of the best records of 2011, in my opinion.

Both bands will be performing at The Pageant on Sunday, November 13. Doors open at 7 pm.

Interview with organist Gail Archer, Sat. 10/22/11

George Y. — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:37:53 +0000

Gail Archer, a concert organist based in New York City, is traveling to the St. Louis area to give an organ recital at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ladue this Sunday, 10/22/11, at 5 PM. I will be interviewing Ms. Archer live on my Saturday classical show starting around 1 PM. She has a new album out called Franz Liszt: A Hungarian Rhapsody on the Meyer Media label. Admission to the concert at St. Peter's is free, and it should end in time for everyone to get home for baseball. As always, feel free to drop me a line (classical@kwur.com) with any questions.

Death Grips: Whoa. [WARNING: really dark music]

BlastMastr — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:15:55 +0000

Hey!

Have you guys heard about my new favorite thing that happened this summer? It's called Death Grips and its my new favorite thing. Here's why:

So as a person who mainly listens to hip-hop but recently has for some reason gotten into hardcore punk [Black Flag] and heavy electronic noises [Tobacco], I have been thinking all the time: 'I wish there was a really intense hip-hop group that utilized heavy electronic noises and yelled ALL OF THEIR LYRICS.' Then this happened. Death Grips is a trio made up of drummer Zack Hill (having cut his teeth in the group Hella), some mysterious angry guy named MC Ride and a third even more mysterious guy (Flatlander?) who maybe has a hand in producing. What do they do? Well sometimes they take a famous Link Wray song and chop it up and make it ear-bleedingly awesome and then yell over it ("Spread Eagle Cross the Block"). Sometimes they make sparse, heavy beats and then yell over that ("Takyon"). Sometimes they take Black Flag samples and yell over those ("Klink"). Sometimes they make far too intense electronic beats and yell over that, but for you guys that like yelling less, there are a couple super cool electronic tracks with regular talking ("Culture Shock"). I think it's super cool future music and I think it's awesome.

It gets better! The whole album, Ex Military, is free on their website. Click the album art, listen, get angry (and also, if you like it, pay them money to support them while you're angry)!

-BlastMastr

Just for fun

redluke22 — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:03:15 +0000

And because it's so freakin' cool.

And because they're playing the Pageant in November.

Classical new releases @ KWUR, May-August 2011

George Y. — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:29:57 +0000

Very late update on classical new releases at KWUR, 90.3 FM for a 4-month spell, but better late than never, or some such cliche. So here goes:

1. C.P.E. Bach: Sei concerti per il cembalo concertanto (Six Concerti for Harpsichord): Andreas Staier, harpsichord; Freiburg Baroque Orchestra; Petra Müllejans, leader (harmonia mundi HMC 902083.84)

2. Songs and Duets from Slovenija! (Slovenian Lieder and Duets): Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano; Marcos Fink, baritone; Anthony Spiri, piano (harmonia mundi HMC 902065)

3. Rose of Sharon – 100 Years of American Music, 1770-1870: Joel Frederiksen, Ensemble Phoenix Munich (harmonia mundi HMC 902085)

4. Stories – Berio and Friends (music of Luciano Berio, Cathy Berberian, John Cage, Roger Marsh, Jackson MacLow, and Sheldon Frank): Theatre of Voices; Paul Hillier, director (harmonia mundi HMU 807527)

5. The Songs of Johannes Brahms – 2: Christine Schäfer, soprano; Graham Johnson, piano (Hyperion CDJ33122)

6. Philipp Schoendorff – The Complete Works: Cinquecento (Hyperion CDA 67854)

7. Herbert Howells: The WInchester Service and other late works: Winchester Cathedral Choir; Andrew Lumsden, conductor; Simon Bell, organ (Hyperion CDA 67853)

8. Beyond All Mortal Dreams – American A Capella (music of René Clausen, Steven Stucky, Ola Gjeilo, Frank Ferko, Edwin Fissinger, Healey Willan, Stephen Paulus, and William Hawley): The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge; Stephen Layton, conductor (Hyperion CDA67832)

9. Constantinople & Françoise Atlan: Premiers songes (Early Dreams) (Analekta AN 2 9989)

10. Ernest Chausson – Concert, op. 21 and André Mathieu – Piano Trio & Piano Quintet: Alain Lefèvre, piano; David Lefèvre, violin; Quatuor Alcan (Alcan Quartet) (Analekta AN 2 9286)

11. Jean-Philippe Rameau: "L'orchestre de Louis XV" (Suites for orchestra) – Les indes galantes, Naïs, Zoroastre, Les Boréades (Alia Vox AVSA9882A+B)

Any questions, feel free to drop a note at classical@kwur.com. Will try to blog more promptly in the future, and thanks for reading.

Frak the Gods Tour: You should be there.

redluke22 — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:12:37 +0000

St. Louis often gets the short end of the stick as far as great metal shows are concerned. While we live in a respectably-sized city, we are in relative geographic isolation compared to some of our larger-market midwestern brethren: namely Chicago and Cleveland. In my opinion we get two or three or four really good shows per year, and as such we must make a concerted effort to support them when they do come to town. This is one of those moments. The "Frak the Gods Tour" (kudos to the promoter for the Battlestar Galactica reference) features a truly incredible lineup of some of the best up-and-comers the scene has to offer. Headliner Periphery has been making waves since their self-titled Djent-styled debut album came out last year, and better support cannot be found than Dutch metallers Textures and their American Tech-Death comrades The Human Abstract, both of which released monster albums this year (the latter's "Digital Veil" being one of my favorite records thus far in 2011). The show is tomorrow evening (Sept. 27) at Fubar in central west end. Now that you have been briefed on the significance of this event, you have no excuse not to be in attendance. I shall link to music videos from all three bands, for your visual and auditory pleasure.

Periphery

Textures

Human abstract