72 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(07/04/16 12:44am)
Just in time for the Fourth of July, the directors here at WIUX have curated the perfect playlist to accompany your backyard barbecue. As everyone knows, no barbecue would be complete without a generous portion of dad-rock. This mix is so full of electric guitar solos and sweet, sweet harmonies that it might just physically manifest your dad right to your grill. Yep, there he is, wearing white crew socks with those Adidas sneaks and wow, is that a polo? No, no, it's an Old Navy Fourth of July t-shirt. Classic look. He's definitely got some burgers going, maybe some brats, and perhaps he's gonna treat the fam to some smoky baby back ribs. Yep, there's your dad--standing in what can only be described as a power pose in front of that grill. He's got a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's in one hand and a bottle of ice-cold Coors Light in the other. This playlist will undoubtedly have him singing at the top of his lungs and reminiscing about when groovin' was groovin'.
[embed]https://play.spotify.com/user/wiux/playlist/0yu5RT1HtgBrNdilB3uS5t[/embed]
(06/28/16 4:03pm)
Ahead of the band's show at the Bluebird tonight, Joe Karnes of Fitz and The Tantrums talks with Jess about the band's many musical influences, making the most of touring, and their process for creating their new self-titled record.
The show is 21+ with doors opening at 7:30, and you can find tickets here.
(06/24/16 8:24pm)
Released June 24, 2016
Rating 4/7
The Avett Brothers have a sacred place in my heart. Emotionalism saved my life in a very non-hyperbolic way. I love this band. I love how within their discography I can find a song for any emotion I might be feeling—from celebration to lamentation, it’s all there. They have cemented their place in my musical history. The Avett Brothers have been endlessly important in my journey of crawling toward becoming an emotionally intelligent human.
That being said, True Sadness, the band’s ninth full-length record, strikes me as their least compelling work—though it is undeniably their most adventurous.
But let’s go back a bit. The Avett Brothers began working with the mythic producer, Rick Rubin on 2009’s I and Love and You. At that time, the Avetts were producing fairly standard folk rock. Their earliest works teetered more toward bluegrass and that rowdiness still streaked its way through Emotionalism and Mignonette. With Rubin’s assistance came a more polished, more focused version of their established sound. I and Love and You is the band’s most commercially successful record, and with good reason. It’s beautifully produced. It’s cohesive with enough variance to keep things interesting.
The track list for I and Love and You was significantly less than their previous LPs and with that paring down they were able to create a work that felt like it honed in on what was truly essential about their music. That record was musically beautiful and full of lyrics that were unapologetic in their sentimentality. It was fun and insightful and outward-looking. It felt like Rubin had provided the direction the Avett Brothers needed.
They have produced three studio albums with Rubin since then, and each one moves farther from that I and Love and You sound. Which is not inherently bad. Artists are allowed to evolve (even if I don’t strictly approve of the new direction (she types from her bedroom in central Indiana)). The Carpenter, Magpie and the Dandelion, and now True Sadness have seen the Avett Brothers heading, tentatively at first, toward a more rock-inflected, experimental sound. While this is new fare for their band, the brothers originally started off in a hardcore punk-rock project. So it would seem that they are moving almost circularly toward those earlier influences.
It’s just that with each new record the songs lose something. Maybe it’s that a high production value seems to lessen the sincerity of folk songs—I’d rather have a messy recording with heart over anything else. Maybe it’s that the themes that run through True Sadness aren’t as accessible to me as the Avett’s earlier works are. It’s true that I haven’t experienced divorce, devastating personal loss, or the unending march of time (I’m in my prime! So I’ve heard!). Maybe it’s that with nine full-length albums under their belts along with years of touring, the songs on this record strike me as a bit tired—even the electronic mess that is “Satan Pulls The Strings.”
A foray into electronic music (even this strange EDM/banjo hybrid) feels like an obvious choice for a band tired of doing folk. In cases where electronic elements are employed for the sake of “shaking things up,” it comes off as disingenuous—which is the last word I’d ever imagine using to describe the Avett Brothers on the whole. Songs like “I Wish I Was” and “Fisher Road to Hollywood” are more akin to earlier Avetts, but within the context of True Sadness, they don’t shine like they might have elsewhere.
I don’t think I could ever wholeheartedly dislike an Avett Brothers record. They are too precious to me. I probably won’t end up tattooing the cover of True Sadness onto me, but there are moments I do enjoy on the album. And if I’m looking at their music chronologically, the journey they have made from raucous and idealistic kids to world-weary, mature musicians is kind of beautiful. And if I’m also thinking about my growth in the period of time that I first heard I and Love and You and worked backwards in their catalog until right now, it makes sense that nothing will match their earlier works in importance for me. I don’t need them like I did back then. Which is also kind of beautiful.
(06/02/16 12:04pm)
It's June and things are ~heating up~. School's out and summer is upon us. It's a hazy, humid time to sip lemonade and sweat through your clean shirt in less that 20 minutes. Maybe it's the oppressive heat that throws us into a kind of seasonal delirium. We see summer as the time of potential. Things could happen! Adventures await! We here at WIUX want to be sure you've got the proper soundtrack for all of your midnight drives and days at the beach. This playlist is sure to get you into those groovy summertime vibes.
(05/20/16 11:25am)
Rating: 5/7
May is a good month for a new Mutual Benefit record. It’s an in-between month. It’s a month where things are growing, and the air is kinetic. Every Mutual Benefit song has that same quality—like you’re about to witness a delicate, rare flower bloom for just a moment. When Jordan Lee visited WIUX last year, he speculated that his next album would be full of boring love songs. Skip a Sinking Stone is a twelve song—all of which are far from boring—meditation on love, fear, and moving forward.
The album opens with the instrumental “Madrugada.” The word in Spanish means “early morning,” which is a pretty accurate descriptor for the vibe of this short intro. It’s like a musical sunrise. The music carries directly into the second track, “Skipping Stones.” As Lee predicted, this is a love song, but it swaps out a happy-go-lucky vibe for self-awareness. “I’m so afraid to feel this way again, but I let you in,” Lee sings as the music opens into a flourish of orchestral instruments. The next verse mirrors this with, “I’m so afraid to fall in love again//I know how it ends.” It’s the level of insightfulness one has come to expect and appreciate from Mutual Benefit after listening to 2013’s Love’s Crushing Diamond.
“Closer, Still” and “Lost Dreamers” are odes to the insular nature of being in love. The first being more about two people trying to transcend barriers with each other, and the second being a testament to two people apart from the rest of the world. All Mutual Benefit music reads as introspective, and while the instrumentation has an airy, moving quality to it, the lyrics add a grounding, contemplative tone.
Next up is “Getting Gone.” This track is about touring and its emotional complexities. The drumbeat has a relaxed yet definitively forward-moving quality to it. This song sounds like being piled into a cramped station wagon winding its way through a dusky forest. While touring does not sound easy, Lee makes some sense of small revelations gained on the road when he sings, “If there’s one thing I know it’s that all good times go//And the hard times too.” It’s a successful track about moving through—both physically and emotionally.
“Not For Nothing” could also be read as a touring song. This track first appeared in the Shaking Through series last year, and I fell in love with it right then and there. It has gone through some slight changes for this album—incorporating a similar drumbeat to “Getting Gone”—but the heart of the song is the same. It’s about leaving and still wanting continuity. “Starry nights and endless skies//I think I got it bad this time//I stayed up looking for some sign out the window.” It’s a song about missing someone and finding your way back to them, and perhaps subsequently back home.
After a brief interlude with “Nocturne,” we float into “Slow March.” It’s a measured track about the gaps in understanding between two people. “Many Returns” moves Skip a Sinking Stone into darker territory. Its minor chords and chorus of haunting “ooohs” is a departure from the dreamier majority of the record. “City Sirens” is a 1:45 vignette about the grave omen of blaring sirens.
The album wraps up with “Fire Escape” and “The Hereafter.” The latter concluding the record with a revisit to the skipping stone imagery from earlier on. Skip a Sinking Stone is most assuredly an album about love, but Lee isn’t claiming to have all the answers. Although, when he sings, “Does love die or does it come back and find us every time?” I have a feeling he knows that one.
(05/04/16 6:04pm)
Here at WIUX we like to keep things fresh. We like to keep things moving! Our motto is “Out with the old, in with the new!” That’s why we have a brand new board of directors for your favorite Pure Student Radio! As soon as the annual elections were over, the new directors stormed the radio house Les Miserables-style and took over (just kidding, please no one graduate, no one leave, time stop moving).
WIUX’s directors have assembled a spiffy playlist for you to jam to while studying for finals or basking in a sun-drenched Dunn Meadow. These tunes are our current favorites and they’re sure to get you hyped for summery vibes ahead!
Good luck with finals. Talk soon!
xoxo,
WIUX Directors 2016-17
(04/25/16 2:43am)
Released 4/22/16 via Topshelf Records
5/7 stars
It rained in England today. Because it always rains in England. It was rainy and cold and things are in that strange transition period between being dead and alive again. The trees are sprouting tiny leaves; the grass is still brown in places. But the real harbingers of spring are the bluebells. They’ve cropped up in the woods surrounding campus and even if they’re not that impressive of a patch by my English friends’ standards, they are mesmerizing to me.
It all seems a fitting backdrop—the weather, this place, the bluebells—to take in Sorority Noise’s latest release, It Kindly Stopped for Me. As the title taken from Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death” suggests, it’s a four-song EP ruminating on the theme of loss and grieving.
We begin with “Either Way.” It’s a reserved track with deceptively simplistic lyrics. It begins with the repetition of “I saw my chance, saw my chance and I took it,” and then transitions seamlessly to, “You saw your life, saw your life and you took it.” It’s a simple turn, but it is devastating in execution. This simplicity runs through It Kindly Stopped for Me and is a key factor in its success.
“A Will” comes next and is no less arresting. In it, Cam Boucher deconstructs himself into parts to be given away. It has a steady build, but the instrumentation never gets out of hand. There’s no explosion of sound. Instead it trails off with a march-like drumbeat as if to imply a continuation of this grief. It never boils over, but it never quite goes away either.
Up next is “Fource.” This song is the shortest on the EP, at only 2:07, but it is the most compelling. It’s a song about the loss of a friend, and it starts off in an almost casual sing-song tone, “We lost another one today, makes more than I can count on one hand.” The song sounds as though it’s been made up and recorded while Boucher was on a walk in the woods. Footsteps can be heard throughout the track, and his vocals devolve from singing into a rhythmic sort of talking. He decides between words at certain points and it sounds as though he’s mostly thinking all of this up on the spot. It is a mourning song, but it also contains the repetition of the phrase, “I think I’ll be okay.” The track ends with probably the most emotionally raw lyric on the EP, “Today was an off day. I’ve had a few.”
It Kindly Stopped for Me ends with “XC.” It’s similar to “A Will” in its slow build and emotionally charged lyrics. “Your god sees my friends more than me,” is one example. Overall it’s a fitting end to the EP.
The main factor that sets this EP apart is its emotional honesty. There doesn’t seem to be any pretense in these four songs. There is a simplistic beauty to their vulnerability. Which is sort of descriptive of this genre as a whole. Emo—or pop-punk or whatever we’re calling it to make ourselves feel less weird about liking it—is having an important moment. And yes, people who listen to and create ‘emo’ music are stereotyped as young people who like to slam their doors and write lengthy tumblr posts about how no one understands them, but that’s not what I’ve been hearing lately. The songs on It Kindly Stopped for Me aren’t simply about being misunderstood or sad. They aren’t relishing in unavailability. Instead these songs, and all of Sorority Noise’s music, seem to be about reaching inward and exposing hard, complex, and potentially uncomfortable emotions in the hopes of being heard. Of being understood. There’s something refreshing about that. These songs are not couched in some elaborate metaphor, they aren’t trying to fly above our heads. They are asking us to sit with them in whatever emotions they conjure. That’s important. That’s beautiful.
(04/01/16 2:44pm)
Pinegrove is a very good band who are from New Jersey. They sing songs about many things, but believe it or not, they do not actually sing any songs about pine trees on their latest album, Cardinal, which came out in February. I know what you are thinking, and yes, I was also mislead at first, but trust me, it is still a very good album which you should listen to right now. I have taken the liberty of compiling some nice photos of pine groves you can look at while listening to Pinegrove.
1. This is just a pretty standard pine grove. Just easing into this. Notice the scrubby undergrowth--perhaps the shade is too strong for smaller plants to thrive?
2. Here we have a more verdant pine grove. Much greener. Probably early spring. I'm not even sure all of those trees are pine trees. But the majority are definitely pine trees.
3. Fun Fact: Another name for a pine tree is an evergreen! Because even when all the other trees have lost their leaves, the pine tree is still alive and well. This snowy path divides this pine grove. Where does it lead?
4. Ah yes, another snowy image of pines. Beauteous. The national tree of Christmas is the pine tree. Christmas usually happens in winter when it is most likely to snow.
5. The sunlight is sinking into this pine grove as if to ask, "Are we doing enough to conserve our coniferous forests?"
6. This pine grove is actually a trick! It's only a miniature version of what an actual pine grove might be like. This is just a model. I bet it had you fooled for a moment.
7. If you are looking to up your Google image search, just type in whatever you want with the word 'tumblr' after it and notice how much artsier your results will be! This is a truly artistic pine grove. Makes me want to use the word 'ennui' in casual conversation.
8. This is not a pine grove, but it is in fact the band that is called Pinegrove. There is a distinct difference. I must confess, this is my favorite kind of Pinegrove.
You can listen to Pinegrove here.
(03/21/16 10:33pm)
I want to let you in on a secret of mine. I, Mary Luncsford, really truly sincerely enjoy country music. I think it all began when I was a child (I’m lying down on a couch as I write this). My mom would put on that channel that played the country music videos all day and I would watch and dance and it was all downhill from there. Once something holds some sort of nostalgic quality, there’s really no going back. Over the years, I have learned to hide my love for horrifically corny, sentimental songs about heartache and wide open spaces. I have PLAYED IT COOL (or at least tried my hardest). But lately I’ve been thinking (and listening to a LOT of Kasey Musgraves), and really country music has some redeeming qualities. The one I would like to share with you today is that country music is full of WOMEN. BEING. DONE. WITH. YOUR. SHIT. Please imagine me clapping my hands between each of those words.
I would like to make a disclaimer before I give you some examples of this. I am VERY aware that the whole of the genre is extremely white-washed and functions on the idea that everyone is straight. And the majority of country songs, whether about love or heartbreak, center around the ideal of the heteronormative relationship. The genre is problematic. No question. But I would like to use the idea of reparative reading (thanks, Eve Sedgwick!!) to look at what some women in country music are doing to push back within this oppressive masculine structure. Is this okay? Are we cool? Just message me if not and we can totally talk about this more.
First, let us begin with Jeannie C. Riley’s 1968 classic “Harper Valley PTA.”
This is a tune about a woman being chastised for dressing and behaving in a way that the local PTA deem “inappropriate.” Does Mrs. Johnson just accept this? No way! She marches into the PTA meeting and calls out the members on their hypocrisy. Preach.
Next let me bring to your attention a little song called “The Pill,” by the Queen Mother of country music, Loretta Lynn.
She’s done having babies! She’s got birth control! She’s got autonomy over her body and her life! Just try to stop her! Considering women’s reproductive rights is STILL a debate we’re having, the fact that this song debuted in 1975 is pretty badass. Thank you, Ms. Lynn.
Jo Dee Messina is my guiding light. I knew her songs before I was even in school. It’s hard to pick just one of them because there are so many that embody being a ~*strong woman doing her own thing*~. So I’m putting two on this list.
“Stand Beside Me” is PEAK JDM. “I want a man that stands beside me, not in front of or behind me.” Yes, this music video is perhaps the cheesiest thing ever created, but the message here is really empowering. Her lame boyfriend comes back and begs for her to forgive him (ugh). Does she go with him? NO. But it’s not as if she puts on that it’s an easy decision to make. “It’s hard to tell him no when I want him so bad, but I’ve got to be true to my heart.” She’s making the harder choice because it’s the one that is better for her. Imagine baby Mary with crossed eyes singing this song while standing on a coffee table. Don’t you feel inspired?? Same.
“Bye-Bye” is less dramatic than “Stand Beside Me”, but I still get a lot of life from it. And bonus: another A+ video. I feel like Jo Dee Messina could teach us all a lesson in being DONE with people who aren’t treating us like they should. In this scenario, she is finally fed up with her indecisive love interest. Instead of moping over lost love, she rips her rear-view mirror off!! I think that’s maybe illegal but whatever, good riddance!! Onto the next. Amen, Jo Dee. Amen.
The Dixie Chicks do not need an introduction. Their majesty stands on its own.
This is one of their more um…out-there songs. But what is girl power if it isn’t opening up a fruit stand with your bestie after murdering your abusive husband?? Please note the glory that was the bandana top.
Shania Twain is a country Queen from Canada. Her greatest hits album deserves its own shrine.
In this song, Shania rattles off her expectations for any man she dates. “Are her standards too high,” one might ask. Heck no! He’s gotta be considerate, charming, and PUNCTUAL. Plus, as this video shows, she’s so hardcore that she lives in a stable and frolics around a field in a denim on denim ensem. I think she knows what she’s talking about here.
More currently, Nikki Lane is smearing the image of the perfectly tidy country singer. She swears, she has tattoos and when I saw her live last year, she took off her wedding ring, dropped it on the ground and held up two middle fingers—all without missing a note!! She’s a true outlaw.
While the song itself isn’t necessarily to do with ~sister’s doin’ it for themselves~, the video is all about girls being fed up with shit. Nikki assembles her vigilante girl gang to go stir up trouble, and in the last scene even passes on the opportunity to keep chatting up some cutie because her friend comes in and explains that they’ve gotta go because she just found out her boyfriend was cheating on her so now they have to go light his motorcycle on fire. And Nikki’s like, “yeah, of course, let’s do it.” Brings a tear to the eye.
FINALLY--and I feel like we’ve really gone on a journey together--we end with Kasey Musgraves. Who is possibly the coolest country artist that ever lived. Most of her songs are about chilling out, embracing who you really are, and also smoking weed if that’s your thing.
“Follow Your Arrow” is such a simple and sweet song, and it matters a lot coming out of a genre that hasn’t always embraced progressiveness. Did I cry when she sang this on her Tiny Desk concert? Yes, yes I did.
For all of its cheesiness, close-mindedness, and numerous flaws, country music made by some true Queens has a few promising qualities. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go sing each of these songs at the top of my lungs.
(03/11/16 4:53pm)
Released 3/8/2016
Rating 5/7
If you’ve spent any time going to house shows in Bloomington, chances are you’ve been cramped in someone’s living room while Hoops played a few songs. The quartet is making synth-laden psych-pop tunes that sound akin to music from TOPS and Foxygen via …And Star Power.
Their latest release, Tape #3, is five tracks long and clocks in under thirteen minutes. It kicks off with “4U Pt. 2” The focal points are the bass-heavy beat and deadpan vocals. It’s probably the most reminiscent of Hoops’s beginnings as an ambient noise project. The next track, “All My Life” has a more pop-like structure with a distorted guitar taking center-stage. It’s an upbeat tune and has a dream-like quality that seems to float through the whole tape.
Next up comes “Underwater Theme” which is an apt descriptor. It’s a super-distorted track that sounds like something you might hear at the bottom of your neighbor’s swimming pool. The bass adds a really thick texture to the tune. “I’m Hurting” is a speedy song that contrasts with the previous “Underwater Theme.” This one sounds more frantic. There’s a real sense of urgency on this track, and it’s definitely a moment of tension on this otherwise pretty chill tape. For me, “I’m Hurting” is probably the most emotive track on the record and it’s an easy song to identify with. It’s a nice digression.
Hoops finishes up the tape on a high note. “Feelin’ Fine” is a shimmery track that sounds like the transition between spring and summer. It’s a jam session that doesn’t get too out of hand. The guitar weaves its way through the track and guides us to the end of the tape. “Feelin’ Fine” is definitely a track to put on your summertime road-trip playlist (which of course you have). While Hoops isn’t exactly charting new territory on this tape, it’s a solid record with some glimpses of where they could be headed in the near future.
You can listen to Tape #3 here:
And if you like what you hear, be sure to check Hoops out at Culture Shock on April 9!
(03/02/16 9:43pm)
Released February 26, 2016
Rating 6/7
You know when you hear thirty seconds of something and know that it is going to be incredibly important? You immediately begin to message all of your friends, maybe you email your mom (Just me? Just me.). It’s like your head is bursting and you need to share the feeling. That’s what listening to any track on Lucy Dacus’s debut album, No Burden, is like. Each song is its own little revelation.
The nine-track album begins with “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore,” which was released as a single last year. While the steady electric guitar at the beginning almost tricks you into thinking the song will be a raging anthem, Dacus’s vocals arrive and keep things understated. She floats effortlessly through feelings of discontent regarding being mislabeled in her friend group. The lyrics are straightforward and relatable, but the shining aspect is Dacus’s voice. Her warm alto is the guiding light of No Burden, and even if her lyrics on each track weren’t so expertly crafted, she could probably sing the phonebook and I would still be enamored.
Next up is “Troublemaker Doppelganger.” It begins with a sort of Southern-inflected electric guitar and drums. The song is about, as the title suggests, spotting the lookalike of a bad-news girl Dacus used to know. “I wanna sleep with the windows down / but not 'til that creature’s in the ground.” We’re never let in on the beef between the two girls, but we can be sure it’s serious. The song morphs into a wider discussion about innocence lost and waking up to the reality of ugliness in the world. This happens a lot throughout No Burden—we begin a track in one place and end it with a vaster idea.
“Green Eyes, Red Face” is a lilting and dreamy glance across a crowded bar; and “Strange Torpedo” is an uptempo example of the control Dacus has over her voice. The lines bleed together and even at the loudest moment of the song, she never sounds as though running through the notes takes much exertion at all. “Dream State…” is a love song not lacking in complexity. “If you hadn’t come over I would be so much colder / I would be much less confused.” Modern love described expertly.
The second half of No Burden turns inward and the lyrics become more introspective. “Trust” is an acoustic exploration into what it means to let go and trust oneself completely. When she sings, “If I trust in something else, I don’t need to trust myself,” we realize that Dacus is not quite there yet, but if the insightful songs on No Burden are any indication, she’s well on her way.
“Map on a Wall” is a self-aware masterpiece clocking in at 7:28. Every minute is necessary to build from a personal plea, “Please, don’t make fun of me / You know I get frightened so easily,” to the glowing awareness that every person is living a completely unique human experience. It ends with what seems like a credo, “If you want to see the world, you have to say goodbye // Cause a map does no good hangin’ on a wall.”
“Direct Address.” This. Song. This is maybe the best love song ever. Like maybe we can be done writing them now because this exists. “Honesty is like a kiss on the lips / Come closer and I’ll tell you exactly how it is.” SOS THIS LINE IS KILLING ME. The songs seems to be dealing with a missed connection of sorts rather than a fully realized relationship, and Dacus’s smoky voice leads us heart first into the world of this tune. “I don’t believe in love at first sight / Maybe I would if you looked at me right.” It’s a gorgeous track concerned with the potential for things to unfold.
[Sidenote: if this is truly a “direct address” does the person realize this song is about them, and more importantly did they immediately have a heart attack when they heard it??]
The album closes with the slow and ethereal “…Familiar Place.” It’s a callback to “Dream State…” with the repetition of the line “Without you I am surely the last of our kind.” It wraps up No Burden nicely after the string of really lyric-heavy tracks.
No Burden puts Lucy Dacus on the map in a very major way. Her songs are thoughtful without being overwrought. Her lyrics are relatable and intricately laced together, and her voice is sure to convert any doubter. This album will definitely be on repeat for a long while.
(02/29/16 12:08am)
I feel like all I’ve been doing the entire month of February is screaming my head off. So many cool and exciting and wonderful things have happened! New shows! New music! Fave bands! It’s all too much; I’ve been overwhelmed with emotion (what else is new though). While each of these events deserves a 12-page analysis paper, I haven’t got time for that, so instead I’m going to run through them at lightning speed. Ready? Let’s go!
1. Margaret Glaspy’s EP
Okay, so technically this came out in January, but I’ve been listening to “Somebody to Anybody” nonstop since then, so it’s going on this list. Margaret Glaspy’s vocals can slip so effortlessly between commanding and tender and whatever she sings demands your attention. Let’s not even get into the lyrics on this puppy: “I don’t want to be somebody to anybody, no // I’m good at no one.” JUST STAB ME IN THE HEART. I’m eagerly awaiting her debut album due out later this year on ATO.
2. PWR BTTM’s KEXP session
After listening to their album on a continuous loop last semester and transcending my physical being during their show at the Bishop, I’ve ferociously devoured every piece of PWR BTTM-related news, and their KEXP session was probably the best Valentine’s Day gift I will ever receive. If you watch the entire session (and really, you should), you can hear Liv and Ben talk about their Bloomington show. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go light some candles at my shrine to them.
3. Darby Forever
THIS MOVIE. Gah. Aidy Bryant’s short film premiered on Vimeo last week, and it is just about the dreamiest thing I’ve ever seen. Darby works in a boring fabric store, but has an incredibly lively imagined world in which she becomes different versions of herself. The synthy soundtrack is perfect for the dreamy//hazy vibe of the whole film (honestly surprised it wasn’t debuted on Rookie because it’s that cute), and it is consistently hilarious. But what I love the most about Darby Forever is that it’s all about a girl who finds meaning in the most mundane circumstances, and there’s something really beautiful about being able to convey that idea with such charm and humor.
4. Love
This Netflix show, starring Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs, was created by Judd Apatow, and even if I didn’t provide you with that information, I bet you could have guessed! It’s witty, brash, and employs his brand of realism that is just slightly more uncomfortable than reality. The show, as you may have surmised from the title, follows Gus and Mickey as they haphazardly trip through what could be the beginnings of a relationship. The humor and expertly-handled timing (there were points where I felt like I was LITERALLY going to crawl out of my skin from hardcore secondhand embarrassment) might not be up everyone’s alley, but it’s definitely worth a try. The characters are honest and an idyllic take on romance is always appreciated.
5. Lucy Dacus’s debut album No Burden
Holy wow. This album was debuted on Noisey and it gives me A LOT OF FEELINGS. Dacus’s songs are self-aware and expertly crafted and her voice makes me cry little tears of joy. Formal review (who am I kidding, I just want to write 500 words about how great this is) forthcoming, but until then, check this girl out and weep with me.
(02/14/16 7:16pm)
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and it’s the most important day of the year for lovebirds. This day will totally set the tone for the rest of your relationship. Mess up February 14? Well, I don’t want to be a pessimist, but it’s very likely all downhill from here.
For music lovers, a great way to show your affection is through a perfectly curated batch of songs. As Rob Sheffield so eloquently pointed out, “love is a mixtape.” The slightly more modern take would be that love is a playlist, although it doesn’t have the same ~romance~ to it. On the other hand, cassettes are on the rise. Okay, scrap what I just said about playlists because if your honey doesn’t take the time to google how to make a mixtape, drive to Goodwill to buy an old stereo with a cassette player, and painstakingly craft a tape that will win your heart forever, they aren’t worth it. Just dump them, honestly.
However, making and giving the mixtape isn’t enough! It’s what each song says that really matters. As everyone well knows, there is a hidden meaning to everything. Did your crush just decide to put “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows” on this tape because it’s a fun song you’ve mentioned enjoying OR are they subtly trying to hint at the fact that Lesley Gore also sang “It’s My Party” and they want you to know that they, like the infamous Johnny, are STEPPING OUT ON YOU AT YOUR OWN BIRTHDAY PARTY?? Love is a battlefield, am I right?
Luckily for you, I am here with a couple of love songs your babe will likely put on your Valentine’s mixtape and what they REALLY mean. You’re welcome.
"I Really Like You” Carly Rae Jepsen
This song is RIFE with double meanings. Sure, your beloved could be telling you that they “really really really really really really like you,” OR they could be trying to tell you that they really like Tom Hanks. It’s a total toss-up. Definitely ask for a follow-up explanation. That being said, if you’ve been dating for more than two days and they haven’t told you they love you yet, then what’s the point?? Dump them.
“At Last” Etta James
Classic. I’ve got to hand it to your crush for keeping it traditional, going with a foolproof love song to woo your heart. Then again, maybe it’s a little too predictable…Quick, think of your crush. Do they have boring tendencies? Are they adventurous? Do they never want to go out for Indian food even though you LOVE Indian food? This could be a bad sign. Maybe they’re a bit too by-the-book. Maybe they’ll end up stifling you creatively and emotionally. Better dump them.
“Love Is Strange” Mickey & Sylvia
Who could resist this masterpiece from the classic film, Dirty Dancing? It’s fun, danceable and the spoken-word bit is setting the two of you up for a cute couple moment where you’re both mouthing the words—I need this to happen. But how do you know this love is real? If they want to bring Dirty Dancing into this relationship, they had better be prepared to really show up. That’s right. The true test of love is to be able to do the jump/lift at the end of the movie. Sure, Baby and Johnny had weeks to practice in a lake, but true love should be enough for you two to pull this off. If they don’t catch you, then I’m sorry, it’s over.
“Your Song” Elton John
Yes, a simple, understated tune. Who needs those grandiose confessions? If this song shows up on your mixtape, you can be sure that your crush is easy-going and sincere. But wait a minute, “excuse me forgetting, but these things I do // see I’ve forgotten if they’re green or they’re blue.” IS THIS ACCEPTABLE? Any worthy love should be able to describe your eye color in vivid detail. I’m talking, the minute distinction you make between brown and hazel (of course your eyes are hazel, is everyone blind??). I’m talking the difference between the shades 00 32 FF and 00 37 FF. If they say your eyes are just “blue” or worse, if they can’t even REMEMBER. It’s done.
“If I Didn’t Care” Amy Adams & Lee Pace (originally sung by The Ink Spots)
If this version of this song ends up on your Valentine’s mixtape, it can only be because your crush remembered you singing it one time after you’d seen Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day because it was on Netflix and you had read the book some years earlier because it was mentioned on a list of 1,000 books to read before you die which you saw at the Central Library in Indianapolis and you only really enjoyed the movie because Lee Pace was in it and you’ve never really gotten over the fact that they canceled Pushing Daisies and him singing just makes you weepy. If this is the case, you should probably drop them because they know way too much about you at this point.
It is my sincerest hope that this analysis has brought clarity and insight into your relationship. In the off-chance these songs aren’t on your Valentine’s mixtape, feel free to DM me to discuss your options. Happy Valentine’s Day. Don’t overthink it.
(02/03/16 5:42pm)
Drink sizes in England are very underwhelming. Or perhaps they’re more appropriate, but I haven’t seen a latte bigger than 12 ounces since I’ve been here. I want the Polar Pop-sized coffee, I need it. But I’ve had to make do. Which is why I am sitting in this perfect little coffee shop, sipping my second vanilla latte in two hours. It’s fine.
One of the best things about being anywhere (A+ syntax!) is having the chance to wander around and find little spaces like this one. It’s got plenty of natural light, cozy corners filled with very on-point throw pillows, and all of the baristas look they could quite possibly be starring in a Sundance film at this very moment. So hip! So beautiful! Being away from Bloomington has left a Pourhouse-shaped hole in my heart, but I think I may have found a (temporary) replacement.
I like coffee shops because I like coffee, but more importantly, because I like the universality of coffee. You can walk into a coffee shop and pretty much know what you’re going to find. It can be very soothing. Sure, I don’t understand how the rate of exchange actually works or the casual use of the word “love” as a term of endearment, but I understand coffee. I understand sitting here and watching the people as they come and go. That I can do. And I wonder how long I have to sit here before I become one of them—before I become a regular, before the Sundance kids and I can all laugh and talk about our modules (aka classes) and they can invite me to all the cool happenings around town. The required time for this is probably less than I have.
Which is another thing I’ve been thinking about. As I’ve been wandering around, drinking my weight in coffee, I’ve had this nagging sense of transience. I’m neither here nor there. I’m passing through, like a little ghost. It’s just that five months is a long while, and also not very long at all when most of these people seem to have roots here. Even if I do keep coming to this café on a regular basis, even if the adorable barista with the dyed grey hair (COME ON) can anticipate my order, I’ll have to leave again. It’s not a bad feeling, this temporariness. I think we probably have it in us all the time, but mostly we can ignore it because we’ve got more pertinent things to worry about. I guess coming over here has made me more aware of it, and I’m extremely grateful to be able to be feeling this while drinking a very nice latte in a foreign country. But it’s a lot to think about.
I suppose this is the point where I should make a declaration about living in the now and being all here! But I’m feeling a bit too over-caffeinated and a bit too flimsy at the moment. Instead I sit and listen to everyone chattering around me and I pay attention to this feeling which is not really loneliness, but probably its second cousin. Just then, one of the baristas is passing and turns to me to say, “Your glasses are really beautiful.” And I say thank you and then go into an unnecessary explanation of Warby Parker. And I’m here—at least for a bit.
(01/25/16 6:53pm)
Jet-lag. Jet-lag is not a joke. I keep waking up too early and forgetting where I am. Who planned this campus? There are lots of trees, but everything feels like it was tossed here haphazardly—like someone was playing Monopoly but then got angry and threw the board. No limestone. The IT people in the library are nice. IT people are always nice. What’s that about?
Haven’t eaten a real meal in close to 48 hours. That’s a lie, I ate that suspicious mini bagel in the plastic wrapper on the plane. Oh my God, why did I eat that mini bagel? I need a Sprite. I literally recognize nothing in this vending machine. Granola bars are safe. Wow, thank you God for creating granola bars. But like this one specifically.
ASDA is the British version of Walmart. They don’t refrigerate their eggs. The checkout lady is not having my cheerful American-ness. Oh wow, she really does not like me. My card isn’t working. Okay, Mary, don’t cry in the British version of Walmart. Please.
When is the last time you saw something completely new for the first time? Wow wow wow. It’s like my eyes want to devour everything. I’m never going to understand this place. Wait. Stop. Take a breath. Look around. Look up. It’s the third day. You’ll be fine.
(12/02/15 5:58pm)
For me, living alone is like what I imagine drugs are like. Sometimes you’re deliriously happy and you’re screaming, “Pants are a social construct!” Then other times, it’s too much and you just have to lay listlessly on your bed and stare at the ceiling for half the day. It’s a give and take, but for me the high is worth the low.
I’ve lived sans roommate for over a year, and it’s better for me and for the rest of the world if I have time to myself—or else I’ll turn into even more of a grumbly old woman. But it isn’t all roses and drinking straight out of the milk carton! If you want to live alone, you have to be able to cope when the going gets tough. For example, no one was with me earlier this semester when the toilet from upstairs leaked into my apartment. No one was able to commiserate with me and kindly dab potentially toxic toilet water from my head. I was on my own for that one. If you should fall ill, no roommate is going to run to CVS for you, or bring a bucket into your room and pat your head sympathetically while also being vaguely disgusted by you. If you live alone and come down with something, notify at least three people so that if they don’t hear from you, they can come break down your door and rescue your nearly-calcified body from your bathroom floor.
There are some major perks to living ~solo~. For instance, no one is responsible for any messes except for you. As I type this, I can see that my sink is full of dishes. “Who could make such a mess,” I might ask angrily if I had a roommate. But alas, it was me. I am at peace with that. Probably the biggest advantage of living alone is being able to choose what music to play all the time. If I’m feeling “There’s Your Trouble,” by the Dixie Chicks for a straight hour, then so be it! I answer to no one!
If you think living alone is something you’d like to try for a bit, I think that’s a swell idea. It’s good to know what you’re like when no one is around. It’s good to be accountable for yourself and like, making sure you’re eating things other than chocolate chips and coffee—not speaking from experience, of course. But, it is hard. Because sometimes you will be a little too much alone. And you’ve finished hanging out with friends and sweethearts and whoever else, and it’s just you. And sometimes this will suck. And you will be faced with the very strong urge to lay on your bed and stare up at the ceiling and listen to Carrie & Lowell or Elliott Smith. Which is how I am feeling right now, which is why I am typing this—to stave off that feeling. “Twilight” will not put me in a productive place. There are dishes to do. Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes, you need to feel all of that. But sometimes you also don’t need to feel those feelings, ya feel?
So instead of spacing out, we are going to dance. You and me in our collective rooms. Each of us alone. Don’t worry I’m not going to judge your grooves. Let’s just get up and boogie because after all, what good is living by yourself if you can’t move freely and with abandon? Dance until you are sweaty and tired—until you feel ready to tell Mr. Smith and Mr. Stevens to call back another night.
(11/22/15 6:09pm)
Released 11/18
5/7
All music tells a story, but concept albums have the ability to take the storytelling element to the next level. Making a Fool of Myself is the latest release from Rubber Band Gun—the solo project of Foxygen touring guitarist, Kevin Basko. In this EP we are treated to a wild story about a local news station and the complicated lives of the news team. It’s zany and out there and also a lot of fun.
The cast of characters is as follows: Mentally unstable weatherman, Horace A. Hobart; his nemesis, anchorman Redd Reno; and chronic gambler/sportscaster Carol Fellington. The five song EP details one fateful day at the station when Horace decides to exact revenge on his cruel coworkers. What a time!
The first track, “Hurricane Horace” is the exposition. Horace is gearing up for what he deems will be “the night he’s remembered for.” The vocals are distorted so it’s hard to catch how eerie the lyrics are. The beat is quick and manic-sounding and it’s clear that this will not be a regular day at work for our crew.
“Redd Reno: The Hourly Update” is three minutes and twenty seconds of a strange, ambling manifesto. While it’s unclear what is meant by the lines, “life is sour and doesn’t wait for you to be in heat/you can’t sit on an egg and hope to shit gold,” it is clear that Redd Reno is a bully. The song picks up a Motown kind of beat at the end as Reno is heard hassling Horace. A helpful story guide provided on the album’s bandcamp page gives a description of Reno as “the alpha and the beta and occasionally the gamma before he gets his coffee.” In case that clears anything up for you.
Next up in this vignette is “Carol Fellington with the Sports.” Carol has got her own laundry list of issues. She’s sleeping in her office, gambling away all of her savings and day-drinking at work while her show is losing ratings! This song has a unique quality in that you could either cut a rug to the groovy beat, or spend half an hour with your discussion session doing a close reading of the lyrics (totally up to you, but I’d go with dancing).
Things were already precarious for our friends at Channel 17, but they take a turn for the worse in “Professional Confessional.” Horace finally snaps and over heavy reverb and distortion, the line, “light two bottles full of gasoline and toss them inside by the coffee machine” can be heard. The song devolves into the repetition of the title of the album accompanied by what we can assume is Horace ranting and raving. “Professional Confessional” is the longest track with the heaviest plot, but it also reads like a psychedelic rock song and it doesn’t come off as too overwhelming—maybe just overwhelming enough. I mean, we’re talking about a violent mental breakdown, so some gravity is expected.
The EP finishes up with “The End of the Mock”—an instrumental track that balances out the lyric-heavy tune preceding it. All albums have some sort of thematic overtones, but what makes concept albums like Making a Fool of Myself really interesting is that they are able to tell a really specific narrative with the addition of a music accompaniment. While this idea is definitely not new, the musical story of the Channel 17 news team is trippy and entertaining.
Making a Fool of Myself by Rubber Band Gun
(11/16/15 11:13pm)
We here at WIUX are really really excited for this show. What better way to spend your Tuesday night than with three absolutely killer bands? WIUX was lucky enough to catch up with Mitski, Palehound, and PWR BTTM ahead of their pit stop at the Bishop this week. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.
In the mean time, check out these tracks:
Mitski--"Townie" off of Bury Me at Makeout Creek
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHFr3vRai90[/embed]
Palehound--"Healthier Folks" off of Dry Food
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrP5QlNoVE0[/embed]
PWR BTTM--"1994" off of Ugly Cherries
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA2OUJtGuUo[/embed]
(11/15/15 4:55pm)
PWR BTTM is the band you need in your life right now. Composed of Liv Bruce and Ben Hopkins, PWR BTTM delivers knock-out songs to which you can sing, cry, and dance. Their debut album, Ugly Cherries came out earlier this year, and they're currently on the road with Mitski and Palehound--with a stop in Bloomington Nov. 17. WIUX caught up with Ben and Liv while on the road. Below they discuss their creative partnership, fashion inspiration and queer visibility.
WIUX: Your debut album, Ugly Cherries came out this past September and since then you’ve played CMJ and gotten some much-deserved buzz. What’s been the most surprising or surreal part so far? Or has it felt pretty normal?
Liv: Um, I mean, we’ve never done this before, so it was all kind of surprising, but it was also very normal. It was both. Playing CMJ shows and playing release shows, it’s all another show to me. And that’s not to say like, it sucks. I love playing shows. I love playing a CMJ show at 1 p.m. in Manhattan as much as I love playing a sold-out Brooklyn DIY venue on a Friday night.
Ben: As much as we love playing like, sandwich stores in upstate New York. Like they’re all really cool and weird. What I get excited about is we use every show to try new material. It’s all really exciting. We just feel really lucky to be doing everything.
You have a pretty unique style of drag when you perform. How did you develop your individual looks and do you have any style inspirations?
Ben: My price range is a big style inspiration. For me I was inspired by very beautiful, high art conceptual drag queens like Taylor Mac and Ethyl Eichelberger. But I'm broke and have no talent, so that's what inspired my look.
Liv: My inspiration is Ben. Specifically, looking better than him always. That’s really the only thing I try to do. So you know, I set a low bar and then I jump over it.
You’ve said that the goal of your music is to make people feel less alone—which is like one of the best reasons to be doing anything. But who are some artists that do that for you?
Ben: At the moment, a band called Sports, out of Ohio. They’re incredible and their record is fantastic. Other people, just like David Bazan from a band called Pedro the Lion is my ultimate. Like lyrically makes me feel real and important and seen. Music I’m always turning to is like people who are sad in a happy way, I think is a good way of describing what I love.
Liv: All the bands that I’m really excited about right now are bands that we get to play shows with. Like Palehound and Mitski, obviously. Both of their most recent records have been really important to me personally and as a musician. I think that covers what we’re both listening to. I try not to listen to music because it stresses me out.
Ben: Oh. I like Death Cab for Cutie. They’re funny as hell.
What was the first music each of you heard that made music matter for you?
Ben: That’s a really big question. Um, the Shins’, Oh, Inverted World, and Pedro the Lions’ The Only Reason I Feel Secure. I’ve been listening to them for ten years at this point.
Liv: For me it was the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack and Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta.
Ben: Also, the Wicked soundtrack really fucked me up.
Can you describe your creative partnership with each other in three words?
Liv: I think even calling it a “creative partnership” is far more generous than we deserve.
Ben: We prefer the term 'fartnership.'
Liv: My three words are ‘catastrophic,’ ‘asphalt,’ and ‘dry’.
Follow up to that, since you switch instrumentation and vocals, how does the song-creating process work?
Liv: Sometimes one of us will write most of a song and then finish it with the other one. And sometimes it’ll be more messy and collaborative. “West Texas” we share vocal duties on. Ben had the vocal line with the different chord progression and then we made up the chord progression that eventually became the song in a jam. Like “Dairy Queen” I kind of wrote the chord structure and lyrics and then Ben made the guitar part something completely alien that never could have emerged from my tiny brain.
I feel like visibility is super important because as you’ve mentioned, queer folks aren’t often depicted in TV shows and movies as being in rock bands. How does that inform your ethos as a band?
Liv: I feel like I grew up thinking that my story was one that people didn’t want to hear because they only cared about me as a sidekick. So for me, it’s just about giving myself the space to talk about what I’ve experienced. And I think that realization that your stories are important and people would like to hear them is not something that only queer people have to realize. I think everyone who ends up telling their story at some point has to realize that about themselves. But I do think that with queer narratives there is that hurdle to overcome—that you can only really relate to like Damien in Mean Girls.
Ben: You know, it’s funny. For me, playing guitar became this quest to try to like overcome that for a long time. I mean, I could have stopped, but when I was teaching myself to play, I had to play things that were like super intricate in order to be validated. Because I had a lot of people tell me like, “Oh, you’re playing bass for that band. Good luck.” And really invalidated me because of my personality and femininity and stuff like that—like I wouldn’t be able to ‘hang’ as a guitar player in a band. So I just went nuts with my guitar all day for like months and months and months to be like, “Well, I’ll fucking show you.” That’s kind of a juvenile impulse, but it feels like as a queer person I have to really really serve it in order to be validated.
Your music feels so personal and introspective, but I feel like that also allows people to really identify with the songs—like through the specific, people are able to find something truer. Have there been any surprising moments where people have gotten something unexpected out of your music?
Ben: Yeah, lots of my like hetero male friends from high school are very much into PWR BTTM, and can feel something when Liv sings about wanting boys. Liv has a good thing they’ve mentioned before in interviews about how we both related to Rivers Cuomo singing about how he loves girls or whatever, and we always felt that kinship even though that’s not our experience. When we sing about “all the boys they don’t love me” and people relate to it—it’s something we didn’t expect, but it’s really cool.
No pressure, but what’s up next for PWR BTTM?
Liv: We’re on tour right now, and then after this one, we’re going to do more touring. We’re writing songs all the time and eventually they’ll end up as another album. I want to definitely take our time writing another album. I’m in no rush, and I don’t think Ben is either. We’re starting to pursue a dance theatre project that we’ll probably do in New York City. We’re thinking about doing that because Ben studied musical theatre, and I studied dance in college. We’re kind of looking at a bunch of different things. Eventually, one of them will be another album. But not for a while.
Ben: But that might be a lie.
Liv: Yeah, who knows with us.
(11/11/15 7:06pm)
On their latest release, Dry Food, Boston-based band, Palehound delivers mesmerizing guitar riffs and beautiful lyrics wrapped up in striking earnestness. Front woman Ellen Kempner talks to WIUX about the album, the song-creating process and what's up next for the band. Listen below and make sure to check out Palehound when they come cruising through Bloomington with Mitski and PWR BTTM on November 17.