Now that the year 2012 is coming to a close us here at WKNC look back at our top five albums of the year once again. Although we might not always agree on what is the most amazing, the love of great music not only kept us excited throughout 2012, but we look forward to the amazing music that it will bring as well. Take a gander at what are a few of the albums we loved throughout this year, as chosen by WKNC DJs. See you in 2013! Sarahnade [...]
July 11, Hopscotch Music Festival released its entire schedule featuring over 15 venues and 175 bands in downtown Raleigh. In light of the announcement, Adam Kincaid, host of the Local Beat, and Michael Jones sat down to discuss the schedule, band conflicts, festival expectations, and their general excitement at what the festival has to offer this year. To view the entire lineup check out it out here . Hopscotch Schedule 2012
Lower Dens have had a good year. With the release of "Nootropics" in early May and overwhelmingly positive reviews afterwards, they have had one of the greatest stretches in their still young career. On top of this recent success recording, I took the trip to see how it would translate live at Kings during their show on Thursday June 21. The evening kicked off with a non-musical act, something not expected and pretty entertaining. Alan Resnick took the stage as a man who has created the perfect digital copy of himself. His set continued as [...]
While performing an incomplete version of what would become “Eyeoneye,” Andrew Bird remarked to the TED audience, “Songwriters can sort of get away with murder. You can throw out crazy theories and not have to back it up with data or graphs or research.” Although Bird only occasionally touches in the theories of the absurd, he would not need an alibi to get away with his sixth studio album Break it Yourself. In the TED speech and in music as well Bird has become a master of addressing his audience. Much of the [...]
Danny Brown (left) Sunn O))) (right) Although the full lineup has yet to be revealed, the fine folks at Hopscotch Music Festival have announced two artists that will play in September. Danny Brown, coming off of the successful release of his 2011 album XXX was announced to play the festival March 29. Two days earlier Sunn O))) were put on the bill. This will mark the first show for the doom metal rockers in North America since 2010. They will play Saturday, Sept. 8, in the Memorial Auditorium, showing how [...]
Click here to view the embedded video. The excellent new album from Bowerbirds which is out March 6 via Dead Oceans now has a video to accompany one of the standout tracks, "Tuck the Darkness In." The video for the track from The Clearing features an inquisitive child's journey with fish. Although that sounds silly, the video might have you in tears by the end. Actual photo of DJ Ones by the end of video
Joy Division 's Unknown Pleasures has one of the most iconic album covers of all time, and throughout the years individuals of all merchandising types have been able to capitalize on Peter Saville's design. However, with the release of the new Mickey Mouse shirt that takes inspiration from the iconic album cover, one can't help but ask, "Why?" Firstly, it's easy to see why this is such a great idea. Working on the pure novelty of it, music nerds of all shapes and sizes might be brought into the idea of having the altered [...]
It hasn't taken too long for the boys from England to start working on their next album. The follow-up to last year's Pala has already begun, and the trio is looking for inspiration in different places. Friendly Fires is channeling the atmosphere of Stanley Kubrick's classic The Shining for their next album. In a recent interview with 6Music , guitarist Edd Gibson stated, "I think we are trying to force on an element of the film The Shining , or the book The Shining , as a cultured [...]
In keeping with the holiday spirit, Arcade Fire has set out to help raise money for Kanpe , an organization helping to rebuild Haiti. The band has promised to match donations up to $300,000. Along with helping raise money for Haiti, band members Régine Chassagne and Win Butler have stated that they will send a personally signed postcard to each individual that donates. On their website lead singer Butler wrote: Hi Guys, This is Win from Arcade Fire. If you are having a hard time deciding what to get your friends [...]
This year's Grammy Award nominations have been announced, and among those in the independent circle, Bon Iver came away with four nominations: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Alternative Music Album. His song "Holocene" receives the nod for both record and song of the year. A handful of nominations for other independent artists were also included in the list of Grammy candidates. Alongside Bon Iver, The Decemberists picked up nominations for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for their track "Down By the Water." Wilco's [...]
Sleigh Bells are scarce on details these days about the follow-up to their excellent 2010 album Treats . However, they recently announced that their new album will be titled Reign of Terror . Although the date is not set in stone for the release of their sophomore album, they do have a trailer for it. You can watch it below.
Azealia Banks may be a name unfamiliar to most listeners out there, and that's because she hasn't recorded her debut yet and her touring history has been rather scarce compared to most artists. But this isn't stopping Banks from being one of the most heralded up and coming artists; among those singing her praises, NME decided to put her atop their Cool List for 2011 . The list itself seeks each year to organize a handful of artists that NME has deemed cool for that year. What exactly that means is still quite vague. Regardless, [...]
Click here to view the embedded video. Let me start by saying I had no intention of creating a definitive, all-encompassing Winter 2011 playlist. A feat like that should be left only to the people who can spend all of their hours sorting through thousands of albums, identifying the standouts, and only then would they be able to define what they believe a Winter 2011 playlist should consist of. Knowing that my capacity as a human to waste away my days listening to music is limited, I instead turned to a modest [...]
St. Vincent Let me start by saying that on Wednesday, Nov. 16, a tiny woman in massive heels brought a packed venue to its knees. As one of my English pals so articulately put it, "She makes that guitar her bitch." St. Vincent brought out the largest crowd that I have seen at the Brudenell Social Club (although I haven’t been to that many), and rightly so. She has come off of one of her most successful and critically acclaimed releases, Strange Mercy . With anticipations high, the tension [...]
I think I picked the right place to study abroad. Constellations Festival is relatively young, but that doesn't keep the event from bringing in some of Indie's finest acts. 20102s festival included the likes of Broken Social Scene , Sleigh Bells , Local Natives , The Vaccines , and many other fantastic acts. With hopes high for this year, the festival returned to the University of Leeds Student Union on Nov. 12, and it brought acts including Yuck , Braids, The Big Pink , The Antlers , and [...]
The single for The Black Keys' next album El Camino has been released online by the band. The video features a very enthusiastic listener dancing along to the lyrics to the song, not unlike how many of us DJs at WKNC dance in the studio. El Camino is set for release Dec. 6. Share and Enjoy:
"This in no way a return to basics; it is an example of how to successfully tackle the complex." If there was one thing Alan Palomo would have to answer to with his second album as Neon Indian , it would be the huge amount of hype and acclaim from his 2009 debut Psychic Chasms. The Texas-based musician, coming off of rave reviews and praise, also had the distinct problem of being grouped among a handful of musicians making similar, yet compelling music. All this combined did not necessarily make it [...]
Out of all of the bands that had an excellent 2009, French songsters Phoenix had a breakout year with their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix . Now their 2009-10 world tour has become the subject of a new documentary chronicling the band's trip across the globe. That documentary, which is titled From a Mess to the Masses , is directed by Antione Wagner, who was also responsible for the music video of the single "Lisztomania." You can watch the entire documentary below. Click here to view [...]
Click here to view the embedded video. The Black Keys are set to follow up their Grammy-winning album Brothers with El Camino , which will be released Dec. 6 in the United States. However, their announcement was not without some hijinks. As originally posted by Rock it Out! , the Ohio duo released a video showcasing a van salesman; at the end of the video the release date, a website, and The Black Keys are all connected. It does not stop there. The [...]
Male Bonding at the Brudenell Consider this an introduction, partly because many of you may have never visited nor even heard of the lovely Brudenell Social Club . The main reason for this is because it is in Leeds, England, where I, DJ Ones, am currently stationed for my year on exchange. I found myself looking for great music clubs in this fine city and stumbled across the Brudenell Social Club, where I learned that KNC favorite Megafaun had played a handful of days before my arrival in the U.K. When I heard [...]
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