Words cannot describe how excited I am: Atlas Sound and Broadcast, international music heroes, will be at our tiny Midwestern college tonight. The Selmanaires will perform an opening set at 9, and they are also Atlas Sound's back-up band.
A policy announcement: we have limited capacity! This show has generated quite a buzz in the Cities. So, only members of the Carleton Community will allowed in from 8:30-9. After 9, the general public can enter until capacity, so if you're late you might (but hopefully not) have to wait outside. Come early: the first 20 people will get an Atlas Sound or Broadcast poster!
Music starts at 9, doors open at 8:30.
There has never been a better Tuesday night at the Cave, possibly ever.
Every week the Program Department features one outstanding show on KRLX. This week we're featuring the program that digs deepest into the KRLX treasure trove.
Alex Walker and Ryland Bowen-Johnson take radio back to its roots. Instead of plugging in i-pods and laptops, The Family Jewels is a virtually all analog show - digging deep into the KRLX record library and dusting off the best of our vinyl. In their second term with the show, Ry and Alex devote the first hour to rock, and the second hour to the vast collection of early 90s hip-hop found on the libe's west wall. Listeners get innovative mixes, the high fidelity of classic 33 1/3s, and two audiophiles at the helm.
If you want a loving dose of KRLX circa 1991, check these two out. It's format radio at its absolute best.
The Family Jewels: Thursdays to Fridays 11:30pm - 1:30 am. Check it out.
Bristol duo, Fuck Buttons, formed in 2004 and were signed to the rarefied All Tomorrow's Party label in 2007. In 2008 the group released "Street Horrrsing," a brilliant aural assault of a record that sounds like a noise rock group attempting to create a shoegaze album. I had the privilege of seeing the group perform at the 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival and with a Fisher Price cassette player in hand the duo played a raucous, volatile set at Union Park's tiniest stage, captivating the small but steadfast audience with their dynamic, inventive looping. ( Fuck Buttons will be appearing at the Cave in November and are not to be missed. )
This year Andrew Hung and John Benjamin Power (yes those are their real names) have released "Tarot Sport" which showcases the band's maturity and seemingly limitless depth of talent. The album is considerably more focused and less abrasive than "Street Horrrsing," and the record's opener "Surf Solar" sounds like the perfect musical accompaniment to a Dario Argento horror film (sorry Goblin). "Surf Solar" is undeniably spooky yet so remarkably ordered and composed, that it achieves a sort of sonic transcendence. The album's middle track "Olympians" is gorgeously textured and reminiscent of Brian Eno's "Another Green World" album. I thought I would grow tired of an hour long record of discordant noise, but I find myself continually revisiting "Tarot Sport" and upon each listen discovering a new dimension of the group's sophisticated, hypnotic sound.
The Carleton Scrapbook is KRLX's main Features show. We collect the stories of interesting people at and around Carleton - convocation speakers, extras on "Gossip Girl," and, of course, Carleton's very own celebrities.
Two weeks ago, Joe Concannon and I interviewed a young man easily recognizable for his unique fashion sense and his glistening, greasy hair. Listen to Andrew "James" Wilson's story here.
Some subjects discussed: swing, Elvis Presley, "the ladies," hair grease, having more books than friends, houses with white picket fences, rebellion, self-respect.
Listen to the Carleton Scrapbook at 2:00-3:00 pm CST to hear more.
It’s been quite a year for Alan Palomo. Back in February 2009, when everyone was still reeling from Animal Collective’s pop opus Merriweather Post Pavilion and had just begun anticipating Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimst, Palomo released two very different singles onto the internet , attaching his name to only one. The first, “No Reasons”, comes from his other project Vega. The track is clean, crisp, loud, and all there; or, in other words, everything that Neon Indian isn’t.
When we received “Deadbeat Summer”, all that came with it was a funky picture of two Native Americans walking along the plains: no names, no background, no nothing. But then something special happened: While “No Reasons” merged smoothly into the blogosphere alongside all of those 80’s revivalist projects, “Deadbeat Summer” started to gather more and more attention (with good reason). I remember my first listening to this track back in February; I imagine the puzzled expression on my face must have resembled the way a dog looks when it hears it’s master’s voice on the answering machine. The opening to ‘Deadbeat Summer’ starts out sounding like somebody took all the film out of a cassette, pulled it all out of order, and then placed the cassette back in the recorder. One can only use the word ‘warped’ to describe the result.
‘Deadbeat Summer’ samples Todd Rundgren’s “Izzat Love?”, but unlike the original track the sound loops all over the place in a way that anyone after playing enough innings of Rotblatt can identify with. The sound was completely new, and before the summer hit many other artists that had been making similar music also begin collecting a lot of buzz: Washed Out, Memory Tapes, Weird Tapes, Memory Cassette, JJ, etc. Palomo managed to hold onto his anonymity until Neon Indian simply became too big to handle. By the time it was revealed that the same guy behind Vega is also Neon Indian, it was safe to say that Palomo had created a new genre of music.
All sorts of names were tossed around, from “GorillaVsBearCore” to “Glo-Fi”, until Internet music sources eventually settled on “Chillwave” (if they've settled at all, but this doesn't matter). By this point in time, two other Neon Indian singles had been released: ‘Should Have Taken Acid With You’, and ‘Terminally Chill.’ One could easily argue that within this community, the summer of 2009 belonged to Neon Indian. Everyone was talking about this new genre, and the Psychic Chasms LP still had months to be released.
Izzat Electronic? Izzat Psychedelic? “Izzat Music?” Absolutely, and fucking good music at that. Neon Indian takes the music of the Reagan period, albeit to a lesser extent then Vega, and twists it into a format that resembles a slow fade into obscurity and absurdity. At many points, Palomo’s distinctive brand of “chillwave” seems downright silly; at others, painfully detached. Perhaps this is why so many confused hipsters that are struggling to find something to hold onto after the commercialization of Indie Rock can find common ground with an album that simply floats by for about thirty minutes. As to whether the floating is through space, personal crises or just another acid trip, Palomo leaves that up to the listener. But what will make this album outlast all of those newly established Chillwave copycats is that underneath all this chillness bordering a farcical extent, there is a tortured presence presiding deep – way, way, deep – down that simply refuses to come out…at least while the acid is still going strong.
Before his incredible DJ set at the Cave last Friday night, James Pants took time out of his - ahem - busy afternoon schedule in Northfield to talk to Helen, KRLX features director, and Nicole, KRLX music director. The result is a wildly funny interview. Go Listen....
Simian is a great little band from back in early 00s England, which unfortunately only graced the world with two albums before splitting apart. Luckily enough, however, the record libe has their album We Are Your Friends (as well as an album by the follow up project of some of the original members, Simian Mobile Disco.)
Many will be most familiar with Simian in the form of Justice’s 2006 remix of the Simian song, "Never Be Alone," released under the name "We Are Your Friends." The Simian album of the same name is significantly lighter fare than the Justice mix, but you’ll still find it chock full of catchy choruses and electro schtick.
For being little more than indie pop, the album covers a considerable amount of ground in its meager 40 minute run. Opening up with the unabashedly Beatles-eque “La Breeze” and finishing off with the superb watery, spacey sounds of “She’s In Mind” and the hard-hitting, electro-funk of “End of the Day”, this album is just pure fun. Although you’ll find a lot of different sounds on the album, for an overall sense of the band, imagine if Primal Scream decided to produce an album of Brit pop, and voila! I give you Simian.
--Phil F.
Frank Wright is a Mississippi-Born Free-Jazz tenor sax player, who is perhaps one of the more underground or elusive of the New York 60s jazz scene. His style is most akin to Albert Alyer although don’t dismiss this has an imitation -- this is original, fascinating music. He largely recorded for ESP and European free-jazz labels, after his move to Europe in the 70s, and was no where near as prolific as many of commentaries. His sound is characteristically powerful and intense.
Frank Wright Trio, released on ESP-Disc in 1965, features Wright on tenor, Henry Grimes on bass, and Tom Price on Drums. It’s short, explosive, and a terrific introduction to Frank Wright.
The Earth starts with a haunting Wright introduction, erupts into a middle section at the extreme high end of the tenor range, followed by an interplay between Henry Grimes’ bass and Price’s incessant crashing symbol rhythm
Jerry starts has an almost taunt to hard-boppers -- a beautiful, well-written melody which is then dismantled. Wright solo’s has an existential feel to it, a peculiar anguish. Listen to the way he ends his first solo at around 6:00
The Moon is the harshest and fastest tune on the record. Challenging, but incredible stuff. The key word here is velocity. The air doesn’t just travel through the horn, it is forced.
This an original KRLX vinyl transfer. If MP3s aren’t your thing, feel free to go down to the record library and check out the record.
Yeah, so as far as new music this week, slim pickings. Aside from a couple bonus copies of the Stone Roses reissue (up for grabs, if you want 'em), we received nothing too special in the record libe.
This, however, gave me the opportunity to give a better, more attentive listen to HEALTH's latest LP, "Get Color." Yeah, the video and album were released on September 4th and 8th, respectively, so maybe this post is a little behind the times. But this happens with a lot of albums I end up really liking: I give it a listen or two, think it's alright, and put it back on the proverbial shelf. A few days/weeks/months later, I return to it again and get hit full-force. It's a strange phenomenon. But yeah, "Get Color". Who cares if this is a month overdue; believe me, this album is definitely worth going back to. Get it in the 'New Music' section.
And the video, directed by the bassist/noisemaker John Famiglietti, reminded me why there are music videos in the first place:
This track is on the Megaseg; let's get these guys some deserving air time.
KRLX-FM 88.1 * 507-222-4102 (office / record libe) * 507-222-4127 (request / live)
300 North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057-4000
KRLX is a service of Carleton College in Northfield, MN
Before his incredible DJ set at the Cave last Friday night, James Pants took time out of his - ahem - busy afternoon schedule in Northfield to talk to Helen, KRLX features director, and Nicole, KRLX music director. The result is a wildly funny interview. Go Listen....
Yeah, so as far as new music this week, slim pickings. Aside from a couple bonus copies of the Stone Roses reissue (up for grabs, if you want 'em), we received nothing too special in the record libe.
well... how was it? can we get a review?