January 2012
10 posts
5 tags
Before the Concert: Die Antwoord-- A Listening...
The South African rap-rave phenomenon Die Antwoord is an endless fount of crude, brash and fantastically offensive media. Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er, the frontmen of the band, brazenly spew filth from their mouths (give the 8 minute version of “Beat Boy” a listen, if you dare) while bombarding the hapless viewer with images of penis galore— boobs, too.
Despite these seemingly repellant...
9 tags
Of Monsters and Men
In retrospect, with a name alluding to the famous novella written by one of my favorite authors (John Steinbeck), it was inevitable that I would explore the music of the band Of Monsters and Men. This six-piece indie/folk band is just the latest Icelandic group to emerge from the small, remote island that seemingly produces more internationally-acclaimed musicians than it should, joining the...
5 tags
Blue Ivy Carter- Will She Be A Future Superstar?
Arriving on January 7, 2012 and weighing in at 7 lbs, Blue Ivy Carter has created quite a stir. Baby Blue Ivy, the newborn daughter of parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z, was met by family and friends at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. However, already Baby Blue has made her singing debut less than a month after her birth in a new single from father Jay-Z.
Proud father Jay-Z expressed his love and...
7 tags
Introducing Icky Blossoms
Over the past ten years, a recurrent question in my life has been: “What’s in the water in Omaha, Nebraska?” While the answer might be rocket fuel, arsenic or pesticides, Icky Blossoms, the newest recruit of the mighty label Saddle Creek Records, shows us yet again that there must be something else- a chemical X of sorts that grants parched tongues beautiful gifts.
Comprised of Tilly and the...
5 tags
Cults @ Union Transfer (1/13/12)
I’m skeptical of buzz bands, those haphazardly assembled internet music groups with something like two or three tracks to their name. They make their way around the blogging circuit, some even fortunate enough to have a feature on Stereogum or Pitchfork, while others fall into oblivion with a “one-hit wonder” that makes everyone’s summer playlist or party sampler. Is there anything to qualify the...
6 tags
Occupy Kurt Vile
If rock ‘n’ roll has always tried to distance itself from popular culture/ industry as much as it can (which may not be much at all, despite Johnny Rotten’s best efforts), indie rock has been particularly adamant in its (usually doomed) refusal. Indie rockers only support independent musicians at small venues, with iPhones in the pockets of our Urban Outfitters jeans. When faced with these...
4 tags
Album you probably missed…from 1995: Al di Meola,...
In most popular forms of music, collaboration between great artists doesn’t necessarily result in a sum of all participating parts (think, for example, of “Ebony And Ivory” or the Jagger-Bowie version of “Dancing In The Streets” – they are both downright creepy). In jazz, however, the best recordings usually happen when great musicians play together.
On Rite of Strings, the fusion gods bless us...
3 tags
Still Dreamin': Revisiting the lessons from Teen...
Rock n’ roll has lived an eventful life thus far. In the early years it was an adolescent, playing by the rules and mimicking blues and swing music. By the mid to late 1950s, though, it hit a rebellious stage and hardly looked back. It seems that every era of rock since has offered something musically and culturally defiant that has made parents cringe and kids go crazy.
But times have changed....
4 tags
The Vegetable Report's Song of the Year
Amidst a chorus of Nina Simone-like vocal loops, Memphis style horns and African drumbeats, Merrill Garbus brings down the motherfucking house. That’s the best way I can think to describe “Bizness,” the standout track from tUnE-yArDs’ W H O K I L L and hands-down the best track of 2011. On top of being an exhilarating shot of musical adrenaline, “Bizness” feels important. Experimental pop...
6 tags
Previewing Poliça
After the breakup of Roma di Luna, it seemed like the world would never be right again- that is until Poliça, the latest project from lead singer Channy Cassell, came strolling down this new dark, brooding alleyway. Pulling along one or two members of the supergroup Gayngs, namely the talented Ryan Olson, Poliça has recently put forth several tracks that will no doubt make great strides this new...
December 2011
9 posts
3 tags
Reign State's premier music video for "Mr. Mail"
Having just finished up working on their new music video, Brooklyn’s experimental/indie/soul band Reign State is proud to present their film for “Mr. Mail” off their debut EP “Neko Neko.” You can check out the entire video after the jump!
For more information about their work, feel free to contact Reign State at reign.state@gmail.com or see their blog.
“Neko...
10 tags
The Best and (Unfortunately) Worst Rap Albums of...
Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco, J.Cole , Lil Wayne, Jay-Z & Kanye West, Drake, Big Sean, Wale, The Weeknd
In 2011, rap music evolved and went to new heights and also some incredible lows. This was the year of the mixtape come-up, as many underground artists released official studio albums. While many already mainstream artists disappointed, some represented well and maintained their place in the...
8 tags
WQHS Interviews Jets and Eagles Players (12/18)
This past Sunday (12/18), Zack and Mike from WQHS’s The Zone got the chance to interview several players from the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles in the locker room after the game. Check out the interviews after the jump.
The interviews in order: Muhammad Wilkerson, Nick Mangold, Antonio Cromartie, Matt Slauson, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Nate Allen.
20 tags
WQHS's Best Albums of 2011
As 2011 comes to a close, the DJs of WQHS give you their top ten albums from this past year.
Check out the entire list after the jump.
[photo via birdswitharms.tumblr.com]
10. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - We’re New Here
Who the hell is Jamie xx and why is he so good at everything? With every remix released under that moniker, I just simply can’t believe the sheer talent that...
WQHS Presents Ceaser Live Soul (11/30)
Check out Ceaser Live Soul’s on air performance from November 30 with Shameka Sawyer on Guilty Pleasures with Savannah Bre (Wednesdays 4-6 pm on WQHS.org)
Welcome to the Underground: Philadelphia's Indie...
Here we are again my friends. Gathered here to read and witness what’s really going on in indie hip-hop music in Philly. Well, I have two hidden secrets that’s keeping the streets of Philly buzzing about hip-hop music. Because it’s the season for giving, I’m going to give you these two gifts early. You may have heard rap, but you haven’t heard it like this. Check out the article after the...
2 tags
The Devil Wears Prada this Saturday! (12/10)
Don’t forget to check out The Devil Wears Prada this Saturday (12/10) at The Electric Factory! Opening bands include Whitechapel, Enter Shikari, and For Today.
See the previous post for the remaining opportunities to win free tickets to this show on WQHS.org!
5 tags
The Devil Wears Prada Ticket Giveaway!
Tune in to the following shows for your chance to win a free pair of tickets to see The Devil Wears Prada this Saturday (12/10) with openers Whitechapel, Enter Shikari, and For Today at the Electric Factory!
12-1pm Monday, December 5th Rooftop Ruckus with Rachel Russel and Kelsey Cloonan
8am-9am Wednesday, December 7th MC^2 with Rosa Escandon
10pm-12am Wednesday, December 7th Go EZPASS! with...
7 tags
Welcome to the Underground: Philadelphia's Indie...
As many of us already know, Philadelphia is a huge melting pot that is filled with a rich history in the arts, theatre, and music. From Will Smith to The Roots, Philly is known to produce some extraordinary talent. What many of us don’t know is we have a very prominent and thriving Indie Hip Hop Movement that’s evolving in small clubs and hip hop battles around the city. As a DJ that focuses on...
November 2011
18 posts
4 tags
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
“Got up, went to Twickenham, rehearsed until lunchtime –left the Beatles—went home, and in the evening did King of Fuh at Trident studio, had chips later.”
Written by George Harrison in January 1969, this diary entry epitomizes Harrison’s indifference toward the Beatles and anything else that got in the way of his spiritual journey. It’s also one of many archival things in Martin Scorsese’s...
7 tags
Beach Boys: The Smile Sessions
For nearly a half-century, the Beach Boys’ SMiLE has been one of the greatest myths in pop music history. Brian Wilson’s unfinished symphony was a “woulda-coulda-shoulda” prospect all the way. The album that some insist would have dwarfed the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper and forever changed the course of popular music instead drove Brian into a career-destroying nervous breakdown.
Thanks to The...
8 tags
Rihanna: Talk That Talk
It took her six albums, several costume changes, a new hair color, and some major break-ups for her to release her best record yet. The sound speaks for itself. The moment her voice utters the first verse from her Billboard eleventh #1 single “We Found Love”- I knew that Rihanna was no longer the good girl gone bad. She was now the bad girl gone superstar. Her last album Loud was a feat that only...
5 tags
Rachael Yamagata @ World Cafe Live (10/31)
“I’ve been wanting to write a song like ‘Stick Around’ for a while now. I wanted to write a song you could have sex to. And I want to hear about it when you do…so post on my Facebook wall about it. It would make my day!”
The Rachael Yamagata I saw live on Halloween night at World Café Life was far from what I imagined. On first listen her albums give you an image of a slightly...
5 tags
Architecture in Helsinki @ Union Transfer (11/16)
If there’s one thing that an astoundingly older crowd at Union Transfer on a dreary Philadelphia Wednesday night could take away from Architecture in Helsinki’s bubbly set, it’s that the Australian five-piece doesn’t mind a bit of a boogie. With an impressive tour bus idling in the car lot and a decidedly depressing forecast keeping many punters away from a last minute, curiosity-fueled ticket...
10 tags
Drake: Take Care
After I heard it, my heart stopped. That was it. That was what I anticipated for over a year. It was the hip-hop soundtrack to the film Titanic. It was basically the perfect R&B album, but stuck with a hip-hop label. Aubrey “Drake” Graham said Thank Me Later with an incredible debut and we all did. Now with his sophomore release of Take Care-that is exactly what I want to say...
4 tags
Dizaster vs. DNA: Finally, it went down!
I was expecting to open up the KingOfTheDot YouTube page to find the above video uploaded last Monday- its reported date of release. Instead, the video was so long, it took another day and a half for it to drop. Finally on November 15th, it made its way to thousands of computer screens worldwide. But the question is, after waiting all this time for this video to be released, was my...
6 tags
WQHS Interviews Cameron Bird from Architecture in...
On November 16th, the darlings of the Melbourne indie scene, Architecture in Helsinki, arrived in Philadelphia amidst a whirlwind US tour that featured the cheeky use of synthesizers, extremely unsafe activities performed on exercise bikes and thick, thick, thick Australian accents. In between making a creatively nutritious smoothie and gearing up for his show at Union Transfer that night, the...
6 tags
The Postelles @ The Trocadero Theater (11/15)
After watching The Postelles open for The Kooks at The Trocadero Theater on the night of November 16, it was easy to see why the show was sold out. As I walked into the venue, they were just starting their first song, and I could immediately feel their contagious energy reverberating throughout the space. Stepping in a little further proved I wasn’t the only one who had fallen victim to lead...
8 tags
The World/Inferno Friendship Society @ Union...
Why don’t you rise me up?
Down by the pumpkin patch
I’ve been waiting all year just to get myself born,
I’ve been waiting all year just to meet you.
A crowded space. The smell of sweat. Smoke and booze. A man with a toaster on his head. A shoe against the side of my face. The World/Inferno Friendship Society. If you have ever attended Hallowmas, then you know exactly what I’m talking...
4 tags
The Saurus: All I Know Is That
For those of you who do not know The Saurus: go to YouTube, search his name, and explore some of the best that battle rapping has to offer. The Saurus has a resume that stacks up to only prove that he is at least in the top ten of anyone, if not everyone’s favorite battle rappers. He has teamed up with Illmaculate in the World Rap Championship… twice. He has also won the Scribble Jam...
6 tags
WQHS Interviews Tom McClung of WU LYF
WU LYF is nothing, four dumb kids calling out heavy longings for a place to call home, two brothers greet two brothers and play heavy pop. I don’t feel at home in this place, like your hearts drunk on kerosene and all you need is a spark. A lil’ flare of Lucifer.
Those four dumb kids from Manchester (but don’t call them a Manchester band), England made their North American debut at...
7 tags
Gregory Alan Isakov @ Union Transfer (11/3)
The inkling I got from his stage presence at Thursday night’s performance at Union Transfer was confirmed by my phone interview with him the following Sunday afternoon— Gregory Alan Isakov’s demeanor is just as sweet and unassuming as his music.
Isakov, who combines lush guitar chords with tender cello harmonies, the soft strum of the banjo, and the occasional longing strains...
WQHS Presents Maggie and Chris (10/29/11)
Take a listen to Penn’s own Maggie and Chris who performed live in studio during wizzard sleeve with Jason Oscar on WQHS.org!
6 tags
St. Vincent @ Union Transfer (11/2)
I have been a moderate St. Vincent fan since her 2009 release of Actor, so when I saw that her highly anticipated new album Strange Mercy dropped in September, I immediately downloaded it. Since my purchase (in mid-October, again as I said I am only a moderate fan), I have listened to the whole thing through at least twenty times- and every time it gets better. I became a true St. Vincent fan....
7 tags
WQHS Interviews Nick Sylvester of Mr. Dream
This Friday, November 4, Brooklyn punk rockers Mr. Dream will take the stage at the First Unitarian Church playing songs from their new album, Trash Hit. After making their quick transition from the music critiquing world to performing, they’re kicking off their Fall tour Friday night, opening for indie supergroup Mister Heavenly. WQHS DJ Aldrin Abastillas chats with drummer and producer Nick...
8 tags
SBTRKT @ Union Transfer (10/30)
Masks hide things. Some women spend hours before mirrors every week with blush and concealer masking their every imperfection. Rebels take citizens hostage, using balaclavas to hide their identities. Kids (and college kids) dress up on Halloween to disguise their various ulterior motivations: getting candy, getting laid. When it comes to SBTRKT - only the latest in a slew of pop culture figures...
6 tags
Simple Plan GIVEAWAY!
Stay tuned to WQHS.org for your chance to win tickets to Simple Plan at the Electric Factory on November 27! Don’t miss this show with opening performances from Forever the Sickest Kids, The Cab, and Marianas Trench.
For more information, go to Simple Plan’s website here.
Call in for your chance to win:
“What’s your favorite Colour?” with Dawn Androphy & Chase...
October 2011
6 posts
6 tags
WQHS Interviews Los Campesinos!
Last week, I spoke with Ellen Campesinos!, bassist and founding member of the seven piece Welsh outfit Los Campesinos! The critically acclaimed band has just wrapped up their newest album, titled Hello Sadness, and are preparing a string of shows in the UK, America, and Japan. Ellen and I discussed the bands origins, the new album, and the band’s connection with their fans. Check out the...
6 tags
Dawes @ TLA (10/27)
On October 27, Dawes and Blitzen Trapper co-headlined a show at the TLA with support from The Belle Brigade. Each group brought their own brand of fun folk-rock to a crowd that by end of the show just about filled the 1000 person space. Shows with three bands can get pretty long, but the groups kept the show lively to move the night along at a nice pace.
Opening the night was...
9 tags
Austra @ First Unitarian (10/26)
It was like one of those spell casting ceremonies you witness on National Geographic channel at four in the morning. Or something like a moody electronic recollection of the disco era’s theatrical flair for melody and movement. In either case, Austra’s performance at The First Unitarian Church on October 26 sent a vivacious chill throughout the audience that caused the room to swell with...
9 tags
Bjӧrk: Biophilia
Over four years after the release of Volta in 2007, Bjӧrk’s latest album Biophilia built up quite the hype as Bjӧrk fanatics followed her every move, from the gradual release of each track as part of the world’s first app-album in collaboration with Apple to the impressive live performances as part of the Manchester International Festival, in which she introduced her new tracks with instruments...
7 tags
RJD2 @ Union Transfer (10/14)
Arriving at Union Transfer a little later than I would have liked to, we stumbled into the beginning of Icebird’s set. Such was the slightly ad-hoc setup onstage at UT - the latest venue championed by Philadelphia promotion giants R5 Productions - that I recognized Ramble John “RJD2” Krohn over by the keyboards and so surmised that for once, the venue manager had been right and the main event was...
7 tags
James Blake @ The Trocadero Theater (10/8)
There’s James Blake the musician, whose eponymous debut album was critically acclaimed and lauded for its post-dub soundscapes, minimalist lyrics and sparse instrumentals. Then there’s James Blake the performer, who not only significantly transforms his songs for live renditions, but constructs a musical space that at moments can crush you underneath it’s heavy bass, and at other times can fill...
September 2011
10 posts
13 tags
WQHS Fall Show
Thursday, October 6th- there is no better place to be than the Rotunda for the 2011 WQHS Fall Show. Featuring some of Philly and Brooklyn’s raddest live acts, this spectacular experience can be yours for only $8 ADV or $10 DOS. All ages- we don’t discriminate. Buy tickets in advance at wqhs.ticketleap.com/tony.
There may or may not be live animals.
7 tags
J Cole : Cole World: The Sideline Story
After three successful mixtapes, many guest musical guest appearances, and some saucy tabloids (rumors of dating pop star Rihanna), Jermaine Lamarr Cole, artistically known as “J.Cole,” may perhaps prove in his debut album that it just may soon be a “Cole World” after all. The substance is there. The lyrical flow is distinct enough to set him apart from other likewise upcoming artists such as Big...
6 tags
WQHS Interviews Kreayshawn
Philly got a big dose of the pint-sized rapper Kreayshawn this weekend at the POPPED! Music Festival. The internet starlet has accrued almost 20 million views of her smash hit, “Gucci Gucci,” has been nominated for Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, and has had an international tour all in the last six months. A couple hours before performance, she sat down with WQHS to talk about...
7 tags
Murder By Death @ World Cafe Live (9/25)
I have a white shirt with an olde-time carnival advertisement on the front depicting elephants and acrobats and someone named WM.H. Batcheller, the Champion Leaper. For ten cents only, you can come see the amazing and spectacular show! And what show is this? None other than MURDER BY DEATH (which it proclaims in bold letters at the top). I’ve had this shirt for quite some time now, having bought...
3 tags
Ben Harper GIVEAWAY!
Don’t miss Ben Harper this Thursday (929) @ the Electric Factory with Grace Woodroofe! Stay tuned in at WQHS.org for your chance to win a pair of tickets!
For more info on the show, go to Ben Harper’s website here.
7 tags
WQHS Interviews Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats
On the night of September 14, the First Unitarian Church experienced a rush of Portland sound as Fruit Bats took the stage after their two opening acts, Vetiver and local Philly band Citay. Fruit Bats played their upbeat folk pop to a group of eclectic listeners ranging from avid fans to old hippie dancers.
Citay was an amalgamation of people and sounds. With the lead vocalist playing an...
Maria Taylor: Overlook
In the seven year hiatus of the chilling dream pop duo Azure Ray between 2003’s Hold on Love and the most recent release Drawing Down the Moon, musicians Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink have had considerable success in their respective solo careers. While Orenda Fink has put out a mix of solo work and collaborations with the likes of Art in Manila and O+S, Maria Taylor has consistently released a...