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The Portland based band Blind Pilot (currently touring in support of their second full-length release We Are the Tide) will be stopping by the WYEP studios for an interview and performance at 1pm this Friday, February 10.
Tune in to 91.3fm or wyep.org tomorrow at 1pm (EST) for live music and conversation with Blind Pilot.
If you’re a fan of the Block Party (weeknights from 8pm-12am EST) on 91.3fm, each month we feature one of the artists you’ll hear on the Block Party as an Album of the Month with a New or Renewing Membership to WYEP. The Block Party Featured Album is available in CD format for a $60 donation to WYEP.
February’s Block Party Featured Album of the Month is Undun by The Roots. Become a WYEP Member at wyep.org and grab a copy as your thank you gift this month.
Undun review by WYEP Afterhours Host Alex Gordon:
If there’s any one thing you’ve heard about The Roots’ 13th album Undun, it’s likely that it involves the term “concept-album.” But that label can be misleading. “Concept-album” conjures expectations for operatic epics, a grand ambitious departure from the expected. In that sense, Undun isn’t really a “concept-album” at all.
What people mean when they call Undun a concept album is simply that the songs tell a story. That story follows a fictional character named Redford Stevens, (named for a song by Sufjan Stevens, who contributes on several tracks), as he struggles to make sense of the crime and poverty that have come to define his life. Redford, ever the self-reflective protagonist, is both a product of the streets and a critic of the values they’ve instilled in him.
The songs trace Redford’s evolving perspective on his life and his choices as he matures, like in “Make My,” where he reflects on his obsession with money and the dissatisfaction he feels once he acquires it. “Addicted to the green, if I don’t ball I’ll get the shakes / I’d give it all for a peace of mind, for Heaven’s Sake,” raps Black Thought, as Redford.
There are songs on Undun like “Make My” and the single “The OtherSide” that sound relatively safe for a “concept-album.” Like any of The Roots’ albums, there’s a strong presence of pitch-perfect organic instruments, concise songwriting and as always, the greatest snare sound in hip-hop.
But peppered throughout the moments of structure and accessibility on Undun are interludes of avant-garde brilliance, like on the intro “Dun,” which finds the group treading dark soundscapes before plummeting into the ominous, straight-faced hip-hop of “Sleep.” One of the wonders of Undun is the way it layers the straightforward hip-hop with the “high-concept” stuff, producing a result that is neither straightforward nor “high concept.”
But back to Redford. With the character inspired by Sufjan Stevens and the album name derived from the eponymous song from The Guess Who, it’s easy to characterize the work as concept-driven, as with the final four tracks which re-compose and translate Steven’s song into an orchestral, sweeping tour through the album’s musical themes (they’re called “movements”). But Redford’s narrative isn’t imposed on the listener in any overbearing way. In fact, you can easily enjoy the album without acknowledging the “concept” aspect at all.
Redford isn’t the driving force of the album’s content; he’s not blind, deaf, or dumb, he doesn’t play pinball. Redford is simply the character through which the group can say what they want to say. And in that sense, he takes a backseat to the trademark style and intelligent composition that have come to define The Roots for their 15 year career.
Undun isn’t a great concept album, it’s simply a great album.
Pick up a copy of Undun by The Roots with your Membership today at wyep.org.
Kathleen Edwards will be joining Kyle Smith on this Saturday’s Music Mix at 1pm. Kathleen will be playing guest DJ and discussing her new record Voyageur – February 4 at 1pm on 91.3fm and streaming live at wyep.org You can catch her later that night when she performs at the Rex Theater on the South Side.
We’re compiling the top 500 Songs of All Time, as chosen by you, the WYEP listeners!
Vote now through March 30 for up to 25 songs that you feel should make the list, and be sure to tune in to hear where your selections ended up when we countdown this May.
EVERYONE who submits song selections will be entered to win four tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, dinner at The Hard Rock Café, and an overnight stay at the DoubleTree Hotel. (One entry per household.)
Vote today at wyep.org
WYEP’s Top 500 Songs of All Time Contest Official Rules:
OVERVIEW
WYEP listeners are invited to submit their favorite 25 songs to WYEP’s Top 500 Songs of All Time compilation. Each complete entry will be eligible to win the grand prize of four tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, dinner at The Hard Rock Café and overnight accommodations at the Doubletree by Hilton Cleveland Downtown – Lakeside. The contest begins January 23, 2012 and continues through and including March 31, 2012. Grand prize winner will be randomly drawn on March 31, 2012.
OFFICIAL RULES AND ELIGIBILITY
No purchase necessary to win. Void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. Must be 18 years or older to be eligible for grand prize. Each entry of WYEP’s Top 500 Songs of All Time must contain complete information including 25 songs/artists and contact information. One entry per person/email address. Employees of WYEP and Essential Public Media and their immediate family are not eligible to win.
HOW TO ENTER
To enter, visit www.wyep.org. Complete the contact information, vote for your top 25 songs of all time and submit your entry by clicking ‘Submit’. Limit one (1) entry per person, per email address. Once submitted, entries become the exclusive property of WYEP. For a copy of these Official Rules, print them from the website or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by March 31, 2012 to WYEP’s Top 500 Songs of All Time, Attn: Rules Request, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15203.
DRAWING
One Grand Prize winner will be randomly drawn from all eligible entries on March 31, 2012, at WYEP. Entrants need not be present to win. Winner will be notified by phone, mail or email. If prize notification is returned as undeliverable, or if winner does not respond to notification within five (5) days of the date of notification, prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected. Except where prohibited by law, potential winner will be required to complete, sign and return a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility/Ownership/Liability Release and Publicity Release.
In addition to on-air specials, the Year in Review programs, and more, you can find audio archives of Third Thursdays and Studio Sessions on our On-Demand page at wyep.org.
We’ve done the calculations and have determined that the following were the most listened to Studio Sessions (and one Third Thursday and one concert preview) online in 2011:
09. Big Hurry 3rd Thursday
08. Fitz and the Tantrums
07. KT Tunstall
06. 2010 Holiday Hootenanny preview
05. Iron & Wine
04. Bobby Long
03. Jayhawks
02. Avett Bros
01. Peter Murphy
Re-listen to them, or discover them, and others, today at wyep.org.
Curious to find out what the WYEP programming staff picked as their personal favorite albums of 2011? Wonder no more!
Cindy Howes – Morning Host
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Donora, Boyfriends, Girlfriends
Florence + The Machine, Ceremonials
Beirut, The Ripe Tide
Foster The People, Torches
Paul Simon, So Beautiful or So What
Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues
Laura Marling, A Creature I Don’t Know
Sarah Siskind, Novel
Host Skull, Totally Fatalist
Iron & Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean
Brooke Annibale, Silence Worth Breaking
Dawes, Nothing Is Wrong
Mike Sauter – Midday Host
(in alphabetical order)
Dave Alvin, Eleven Eleven
Nicole Atkins, Mondo Amore
The Black Keys, El Camino
Glen Campbell, Ghost on the Canvas
Hayes Carll, KMAG YOYO
Drive-By Truckers, Go-Go Boots
Fountains of Wayne, Sky Full of Holes
Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, Rare Bird Alert The David Mayfield Parade, The David Mayfield Parade My Morning Jacket, Circuital Tara Nevins, Wood and Stone Raphael Saadiq, Stone Rollin’
Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Marble Son Lucinda Williams, Blessed
Rosemary Welsch – Afternoon Host
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Scandalous
Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow
Hayes Carll – KMAG YOYO
Lisa Hannigan – The Passenger
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
My Morning Jacket – Circuital
Over The Rhine – The Long Surrender
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What
TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
Gillian Welch – The Harrow and the Harvest
Wilco – The Whole Love
Tom Waits – Bad as Me
Kyle Smith- Director of Content and Programming
Decemberists, The King Is Dead
TV on The Radio, Nine Types of Light
Lucinda Williams, Blessed
Dawes, Nothing Is Wrong
Ryan Adams, Ashes and Fire
The Head & The Heart, The Head & The Heart
Amanda Shires, Carrying Lightning
Beirut, The Rip Tide
The Jayhawks, Mockingbird Time
Death Cab For Cutie, Codes and Keys
Wilco, The Whole Love
Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes
The Posies, Blood/Candy
Brian Siewiorek – Production Director
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Tom Waits – Bad As Me
Bjork – Biophilia
Beirut – The Rip Tide
Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
WU LYF – Go Tell Fire on the Mountain
tUnE-yArDs – WHOKILL
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys!
The Bewitched Hands – Birds and Drums
If you’re a fan of the Block Party (weeknights from 8pm-12am EST) on 91.3fm, each month we feature one of the artists you’ll hear on the Block Party as an Album of the Month with a New or Renewing Membership to WYEP. The Block Party Featured Album is available in CD format for a $60 donation to WYEP or on vinyl for your gift of $75.
January”s Block Party Featured Album of the Month is El Camino by The Black Keys. Become a WYEP Member at wyep.org and grab a copy as your thank you gift this month.
El Camino review by WYEP Afternoon Host Rosemary Welsch:
The word circulating about The Black Keys new album is that it’s a change up for the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. Yes and no is my response to that suggestion. Yes the pair has moved from their Akron home and studio to a new set up in Nashville. Yes, they’ve teamed up with producer Brian Burton, aka, Danger Mouse and tweaked their sound a bit, adding backing chorus, a few keyboards, and a touch of glam rock, rockabilly, and even a bit of surf guitar to their repertoire. And, yes, they’ve sped up the tempo in contrast to their last album Brothers. Still the band sticks to their building blocks – grinding garage rock with an emphasis on guitar and drums. The duo plays all instruments with additional keyboard help from Burton.
El Camino opens with the single “Lonely Boy.” Auerbach’s grunge guitar emerges out of dirty feedback shadowed by Carney’s propulsive percussion. Auerbach breaks into reverb-dipped vocals, supported by a chorus ripped straight out of Concrete Blonde’s playbook. The sound is both reminiscent of The Black Keys’ past work, but there is a new twist that adds depth. The guys don’t let up on the next track: “Dead and Gone” features chorus and glockenspiel, and a bass driven reggae rhythm. Auerbach breaks out into a fuzz guitar solo mid-way through. Once you hit track 3 “Gold on the Ceiling,” an homage to 1970s glam rock, you’ve got the message – Auerbach and Carney are in high voltage form. “Little Black Submarine” begins as an acoustic ballad with Auerbach, sans reverb, sings to his acoustic guitar until light percussion and organ sneak in. Suddenly growling electric guitar and pounding drums turn the song into a rock anthem.
El Camino leaps around like that, with influences of early rock and soul sliding in and out of the mix. Here and there you’ll catch progressions that bring to mind The Doors, T Rex, and The Animals. What you hear less of is the heavy blues influence of Brothers and Auerbach’s solo album Keep It Hid. The change could reflect the influence of Brian Burton who, besides producing, co-writes the songs. Auerbach and Carney experienced commercial success on their last release but found the songs difficult to reproduce on tour due to their mellower tempo. El Camino will keep the duo rocking on the road and should continue to expand The Black Key fan base.
As an addendum, the car featured on the album cover is not an El Camino. It is a Chrysler Town & Country van, a vehicle the band has used for touring. El Camino, according to the guys, was simply a better title.
- Rosemary Welsch (afternoon host)
Pick up a copy of El Camino by The Black Keys with your Membership today at wyep.org.
Singer-Songwriter Carrie Rodriguez will drop by WYEP next Wednesday (January 4). Rodriguez will guest DJ with Afternoon Host Rosemary Welsch at 2pm, and discuss her upcoming Club Cafe concert, as well as what she’s been up to musically since releasing an album of covers this past year (which included her takes on Hank Williams, John Hiatt and Lucinda Williams songs.)
Rodriguez last visited WYEP in 2008, before playing a WYEP Member Appreciation Show. Visit our On-Demand page at wyep.org to listen to that interview and performance.
Tune in at 7pm (or stream online at wyep.org) this Friday, December 23 when 91.3fm airs The Rolling Stones: Some Girls radio special.
This music intensive special features songs that made Some Girls the classic album that it is, as well as previously unreleased tracks and never-before heard interviews with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood.
For the 10th Anniversary of the death of George Harrison, Mike Sauter put together the special While My Guitar Gently Weeps – A Tribute to George Harrison.
It examines the many collaborations Harrison took part in, plus you’ll hear some covers of Harrison’s compositions. It’s now available to listen to on-demand at wyep.org.
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