Daytime DJs Pick the best albums of 2010

Another year is practically in the books, and with it comes time to recapture our favorite moments in music from the past year. I sought to get a large number of Daytime deejays to give us their favorite albums of the past year. And what a year it was! Below is the collection of great albums as decided by a great deal of Daytime deejays. See you next year!

Just John

1. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
2. Beach House - Teen Dream
3. Future Islands - In Evening Air
4. Caribou - Swim
5. Sharon Van Etten - Epic

May Day

1. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
2. Beach House - Teen Dream
3. Vampire Weekend- Contra
4. Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
5. Twin Shadow - Forget

DJ Elly May

1. Bob Dylan - The Original Mono Recordings
2. The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
3. Dark Dark Dark - Wild Go
4. Spoon - Transference
5. Jimi Hendrix - Valleys of Neptune

LOLCait

1. Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
2. Various Artists - Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: The Songs of John Prine
3. John Prine - In Person & On Stage
4. Megafaun - Heretofore
5. Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt

N!cole

1. Cotton Jones - Tall Hours in the Glowstream
2. Y La Bamba - Lupon
3. Breathe Owl Breathe - Magic Central
4. Casiokids - Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar
5. Harlem - Hippies

DJ Jacoblivion

1. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
2. The National - High Violet
3. Ratatat - LP4
4. Bassnectar - Timestretch
5. Jaga Jazzist - One-Armed Bandit

SarahNade

1. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
2. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
3. The Black Keys - Brothers
4. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
5. Yeasayer - Odd Blood

Anastassia

1. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
2. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II
4. Warpaint - The Fool
5. Phantogram - Eyelid Movies

Professor X

1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
2. Owen Pallett - Heartland
3. The Books - The Way Out
4. Beach House - Teen Dream
5. Yeasayer - Odd Blood

Hurricane Julia

1. Peggy Sue - Fossils and Other Phantoms
2. Tallest Man on Earth - Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird
3. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
4. Bonnie "Prince" Billy and the Cairo Gang - Wonder Show of the World
5. Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas - Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas

DJ Ones

The National - High Violet

1. The National - High Violet
2. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
3. The Black Keys - Brothers
4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
5. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More

Agent Orange

1. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
2. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
3. Caribou - Swim
4. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
5. Twin Shadow - Forget

DJ Mensch

1. The National - High Violet
2. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
3. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
4. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
5. Ra Ra Riot - The Orchard

DJ Ray

1. Beach House - Teen Dream
2. Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
3. Sharon Van Etten - Epic
4. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
5. Julian Lynch - Mare

Hot Tamale

1. Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
2. The Black Keys - Brothers
3. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
4. The National - High Violet
5. Blair - Die Young

The DONoftime

1. Tame Impala - Inner Speaker
2. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
3. MGMT - Congratulations
4. Spoon - Transference
5. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

Mollypop

1. Crooked Still - Some Strange Country
2. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
3. Steeldrivers - Reckless
4. Chatham County Line - Wildwood
5. Darren Hanlon - I Will Love You At All

DJ Kligz

The Tender Fruit - Floatsam and Krill

1. The Tender Fruit - Flotsam and Krill
2. Future Islands - In Evening Air
3. Sharon Van Etten - Epic
4. Beach House - Teen Dream
5. Sleigh Bells - Treats

Lovely Lucia

1. The Love Language - Libraries
2. Future Islands - In Evening Air
3. Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
4. Phantogram - Eyelid Movies
5. MGMT - Congratulations

Riff Raff

1. Future Islands - In Evening Air
2. Beach House - Teen Dream
3. The Morning Benders - Big Echo
4. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
5. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

Monsieur Mêmes

1. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
2. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
3. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
4. Bear Hands - Burning Bush Supper Club
5. Four Tet - There Is Love in You

Tommyboy

1. Future Islands - In Evening Air
2. Beach House - Teen Dream
3. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
4. Caribou - Swim
5. Four Tet - There is Love in You

Goof

1. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
2. LCD SoundSystem - This is Happening
3. Beach House - Teen Dream
4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
5. Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt

Major Tom

1. Matt and Kim - Sidewalks
2. Suckers - Wild Smile
3. Future Islands - In Evening Air
4. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
5. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

Synthesiser Patel

1. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
2. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
3. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
4. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
5. Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon

AndyQ

1. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
2. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3. Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
4. Vampire Weekend - Contra
5. Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Chuck

1. Salem - King Night
2. Beach House - Teen Dream
3. The National - High Violet
4. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
5. Zola Jesus - Stridulum/Valusia

Jacob

1.  Superchunk - Majesty Shredding
2.  Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone
3.  Free Electric State - Caress
4.  Various Artists - Scott Pilgrim VS the World
5.  Royal Baths - After Death

What are some of your favorite albums of 2010? Leave your comments in the comment section below.

Interview With The Amazing Devin Townsend

Greetings Metalheads,

The Noobhammer here to post an interview I did with the great Devin Townsend Friday, December 10. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting other interviews on the blog, so here is the first of many. We discussed Ghost, Deconstruction, writing music, and much more. Enjoy!

Devin Townsend Meets The Noobhammer!

"Wind and Willow" or Mark and Sarah

A band's music is available to everyone. But what goes on behind the scenes can change their reputation, for better or worse."Wind and Willow," or Mark Tillman and Sarah Peters are getting married this month, a fact that is hard not to see when they're performing live. While boy/girl duos are nothing new, "Wind and Willow" has a story that's pretty unique. Mark met Sarah while working in Canada, and since then they've been exchanging music and talking, a lot, on Skype. Divided by two countries, it's only been within the past few months that Sarah could move to Raleigh. Since then the  duo has been able to really develop a mature sound, with each member contributing a vital, but incomplete part without the other. Sarah's powerful voice can give a song its intensity at times, and it's sweetness in others. Mark's impressive assortment of instruments gives each song it's unique character that Mark exhibits himself, both on and offstage. Both"Wind and Willow" as well as Mark and Sarah, have a lot to look forward to, though it may be a while before we see them onstage again.

Local Beat Christmas Special

If you are anything like me you love this time of the year with the lights, food, family, and music!  I personally am a huge fan of Christmas music and any holiday related tune I can get my hands on is put into my non-stop playlist for the month of December.

That is why I am excited to announce the Local Beat Christmas Special.  This coming Friday December 24th the Local Beat is dedicating all three programming hours to local Christmas music.  Instead of interviews and talking this week we are only playing Christmas and holiday tunes recorded by North Carolina musicians.  In total we should have around 50 different holiday songs by North Carolina artists.  Some may be traditional but we are mostly shooting for original material.

Be sure to tune in whether you are driving to visit family, at a tacky sweater party, or roasting chestnuts over and open fire!

As always the Local Beat starts at 5 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m. every Friday evening on WKNC.  Listen live here and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and ReverbNation!

DJ Ones' Five Music Facts from the past week

1. Don Van Vliet, more popularly known as the iconic experimental rocker Captain Beefheart, passed away on December 17 due to complication from multiple sclerosis. The Michael Warner Gallery that represented his work as a painter officially announced his death, and in a statement said, "Don Van Vliet was a complex and influential figure in the visual and performing arts." He was 69 years old. (via Rolling Stone)

2. Singer-guitarist of Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore, has announced plans to work on a solo album. The album, which will be produced by Beck, is titled "Benediction" and will be released on Matador Records. (via Philadelphia Weekly)

3. Das Racist was recently detained and deported from the United Kingdom after being stopped at customs. The group has claimed that they were detained for over eight hours after problems with paperwork. Following their wait, they were sent back to Switzerland. (via DasRacist.net)

4. After completing a song for an upcoming movie, in an interview with Pitchfork, The National's Aaron Dessner has mentioned a collaboration between the band and singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. The band is currently working with her in the early stages of an upcoming record that is in its earliest of stages. (via Pitchfork)

5. Peter Bjorn and John have announced their next record. The follow-up to 2009's "Living Things" is titled "Gimme Some" and will be released March 29. (via Pitchfork)

The Pinhook's Second Great Band Swap to conclude Saturday night

Some hell-acious wintery mix 'n such got in the way a couple weeks ago, so the final night of The Pinhook's second annual Band Swap featuring Cassis Orange, Hog, Mosadi Music, and Embarrassing Fruits, will be this Saturday, December 18th. Cover is $5 and the joint starts at 9pm.

Each band on the bill will be incorporating covers of the other acts into their set, and yours truly along with Shorty Shorts will be filling the time in between and after with sweet, sensual jams.

Be thar!

The Best Albums of 2010

WKNC Pick of the Week, December 2, 2010

By John Gomes, WKNC Daytime deejay

It's that lovely time of the year where we put up Christmas lights, enjoy egg nog shakes at Cook Out and look back on the year that was. 2010 proved to be an eventful year, despite all the terrible moments -- earthquakes, oil spills, that bad call in the Maryland football game -- this year saw the release of some good albums. I highly recommend my personal Top Five list for your listening pleasure over break.

1) Yeasayer—Odd Blood

The sophomore release from this eclectic group is a warm, pop-infused masterpiece—a curious departure from the darkness of their 2007 debut album. Yeasayer introduces huge, pulsing synths and primal rhythms into their sound, resulting in some infectiously upbeat and organic numbers. Odd Blood isn't one-dimensional, however. The album features a couple of heavier, darker tracks to balance out the pop sound. Yeasayer remains experimental as ever, exploring everything from R&B to Middle Eastern dance music. The end result is a well-rounded, highly enjoyable album. (Bonus points for the band self-producing it.)

2) Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Possibly the most anticipated album of the year, Arcade Fire's third release garnered universal praise. Like Odd Blood, The Suburbs represents a new sonic direction for Arcade Fire—gone are the Baroque sounds and grand crescendos that defined the band's sound. Instead, the album maintains a latent energy throughout every song, steadfast rhythms layered with rich textures and tones. These elements form the perfect vehicle for the album's main concept -- innocence and coming-of-age set in the backdrop of suburbia. Poignant and poised, The Suburbs is Arcade Fire's best release yet.

3) Best Coast – Crazy For You

Though many artists are doing the retro surf-rock thing nowadays, Best Coast does it best. The group is led by Bethany Cosentino, whose approach is refreshingly simple -- reverb-heavy guitars, easy chord progressions and honest lyrics about boys, her cat or getting high. Sure, it seems like a third-grader can write these songs -- "One day I'll make him mine / And we'll be together all the time" -- but there is beauty in the simplicity. The songs on Crazy For You are little pieces of pop perfection -- they're sweet, short, and will stay in your head for days. Put this album on and you'll feel like you're on a beach.

4) Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record



Broken Social Scene is a rather apt name for the group whose massive lineup continuously changes. With so many band members playing so many instruments and adding so many sounds and textures, Forgiveness Rock Record is inevitably orchestral and grandiose. Each song exhibits a different dimension of beauty, from the majestic climaxes of "World Sick" to the melodic angularity of "Art House Director." Though not as cohesive as previous albums, Forgiveness Rock Record is still classic Broken Social Scene -- lush, resplendent and larger than life.

5) Caribou – Swim

Dan Snaith, who operates under the name Caribou, is an electronica artist and British mathematician. Naturally, you wouldn't expect those two things to go together. Swim evokes the same reaction with its out-of-left-field collection of tracks. Flip-floppy synths, divine bell chimes, and even jazzy flute flourishes all coalesce atop powerful, danceable grooves while whispery vocals echo and modulate in and out of your consciousness. This is not your father's electronica album. Each and every song evolves into something surreal at the end, with elements of rock, jazz and psychedelica thrown in the mix. Out of all the albums on this list, Swim sounds the most transcendental.

88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week is published in every Friday in the print edition of Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.

12/13 Top Ten albums on WKNC's Daytime shows

	Artist	Album	Label
#1	CLOUD NOTHINGS	Turning On	Carpark
#2	KISSES	The Heart of the Nightlife	Surrounded by Sound
#3	NO JOY	Ghost Blonde	Mexican Summer
#4	BOTANY	Feeling Today	Western Vinyl
#5	PARTING GIFTS	Strychnine Dandelions	In the Red
#6	EUX AUTRES	Broken Bow	Bon Mots
#7	DEMON'S CLAWS	The Defrosting of...	In the Red
#8	JESSICA HERNANDEZ AND THE DELTAS	Weird Looking Women in to Many Cloths	self-released
#9	ARTICHOKE	Bees	self-released
#10	PS I LOVE YOU	Meet Me at the Muster Station	Paper Bag

Janis and Jimi—40 Years Later

It's hard to believe it's been 40 years since we lost two of my favorite artists of the twentieth century, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. I began reflecting on this fact as I was creating my "Top 5 Albums of 2010" list for the WKNC blog. Number 5 on my list is Jimi Hendrix's posthumous release Valleys of Neptune which includes previously released material as well as never-before-heard tracks. It occurred to me as I was adding it to the list that it had been just over 40 years since we lost Jimi (November 27, 1942-September 18, 1970), and I recalled the loss of Janis Joplin (January 19, 1943-October 4, 1970) in an autumn forty years ago that must have seemed like a devastating blow to a counterculture already reeling from the backlashes against the "Summer of Love" in 1969.  Less than a year later, they lost Jim Morrison (July 3, 1971) of The Doors as well.



I remember the first time I heard "The Wind Cries Mary." My dad always listened to Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan when I was younger. I was bugging him while he worked in the garage one weekend morning when I was probably about 11, and the classic rock station started playing this song. It was magical, and even though I'm sure I must have heard it before that morning, that was the first time I realized that music could move a person in a way that nothing else could. I stopped talking (which my dad probably thought was a miracle) and just listened. The hushed electric guitar, the riddling lyrics, the slowly swaying drum beat—they all captured me for three and a half minutes while my dad continued working away. When the song was over, I asked, "Who was that?" He told me it was Jimi Hendrix. I asked if he was still around, and my dad told me no. It was devastating, but it started me on a quest to hear as much of the wonderful music as possible.



Janis Joplin came to me later in life. As a kid she always came paired up with Jefferson Airplane for some reason. If I heard "Piece of My Heart," I always felt like "Somebody to Love" or "White Rabbit" should follow. For all I knew, they could have been the same person. But before you all shriek in terror at the idea of confusing Grace Slick with Janis Joplin, let me say that at least I was aware of the innate greatness of both. My memory of how I "discovered" Janis is a bit hazier than my memory of Jimi, but when I heard "I Need a Man to Love" in high school, I felt like I had found my soul.  Janis' performances of such songs (and if anyone's seen footage of her live performances you know what I mean) awakened a feeling in me I hadn't felt since the first time I heard "Voodoo Child."

While I would never argue that either Janis or Jimi revolutionized music forever (they certainly had a lot of help at a great time in music), I would say they changed my experience of music forever. It's been a long 40 years, and now we have artists like The Black Keys resurrecting blues rock and The Black Angels making psychedelic rock accessible again.  Artists are taking the polish back off their work and getting back to a more raw sound.  40 years later, Jimi and Janis are gone, but their influence lives on.

Which artist(s) completely changed the way you listen to music?  Use the comments to share your memories.

Holiday happiness from WKNC (We mean giveaways, of course!)

Here at WKNC we're all about the joy of giving, and in that spirit, we present you with this week's giveaways.

12/14: Sister Hazel with Matthew Mayfield and Union County at Lincoln Theatre



12/16: Trekky Records presents "Christmas at the Cradle" featuring The Old Ceremony, Filthybird, The Tender Fruit, and more!  All at Cat's Cradle.  And we have tickets for electronica group Conspirator at Lincoln Theatre.

12/17: Larry Keel and Natural Bridge at Casbah in Durham

12/18: Cherry Bounce Vaudeville Show at Kings featuring Hank Sinatra, The Floating Children, and Gouge Wrestling. We also have tickets for KO Kid with King Mez and more at Cat's Cradle and Tonk at Casbah in Durham.

Elly May and Ones Discuss Album Disappointments of 2010

Recently I sat down with my good pal DJ Elly May to go over what we thought were some of the biggest let-downs of 2010. This is not to say that either of us hated any of the albums that we listed (although in some cases that was most certainly the case), rather, these are albums that we thought would deliver but sadly did not. Elly May and myself sat behind the mic and discussed in depth what let us down this year, and we have that conversation below. For those of you out there who just want to figure out the set of albums we were underwhelmed with, I have conveniently listed them below in no particular order. Stay tuned to our blog to see what Daytime deejays have thought of as the best albums of 2010 in the next weeks.

Disappointment 2010

DJ Elly May

1. Kate Nash- My Best Friend is You

2. Tunng- And Then We Saw Land

3. Rogue Wave- Permalight

4. Broken Bells- Broken Bells

5. Dead Weather- Sea of Cowards

6. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

DJ Ones

1. Marina and the Diamonds- The Family Jewels

2. The Drums- The Drums

3. M.I.A- /\/\/\Y/\

4. Klaxons- Surfing the Void

5. Band of Horses- Infinite Arms

6. Interpol- Interpol

DJ Ones' Five Music Facts from the past week

1. Singer Nick Cave was involved in a car crash Tuesday December 8. Cave smashed his car against a speed camera on the Hove seafront in Sussex, England. Cave and his two sons who were with him walked away from the collision unharmed. He refused to comment on the incident, and no other cars were involved. (via BBC)

2. After completion of the Tron Legacy soundtrack, Daft Punk will now be getting their own line of merchandise from Disney. The merchandise that Disney will be offering in promotion of the film and soundtrack include a set of light-up headphones, and a set of toys that depict their likeness. (via Pitchfork)

3. Los Campesinos! have announced plans to release a quarterly magazine titled Heat Rash. The publication will include a 7' single, and exclusive tracks to download from the band. The subscription also includes discounts to band merchandise, access to early concert tickets, and music before it gets released. (via LosCampesinos.com)

4. After announcing the process of recording an entire album on an iPad, Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn is planning on releasing said album for free on Christmas Day. The record, which was recorded exclusively on Albarn's iPad during his latest tour, will be available in its entirety on December 25. (via NME)

5. The British super-group formed out of members of The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys have detailed information about the release of their debut album. The group, named The Bottletop Band, is prepared to release their album in April. (via NME)

December 16 LBLB

Your favorite Thursday activity brought to you by WKNC and Tir Na nOg has returned again to present Jack the Radio and Debonzo Brothers! Local Beer Local Band Night is a FREE event, 21 and up, and starts at 10 p.m.


Jack the Radio—A more bluesy-rock feel. You can check this video of them playing at Tir Na nOg last month.

Debonzo Brothers —I've had a listen to their songs and they should complement Jack the Radio wonderfully.

Local Favorites on NPR Music’s Best of 2010

It's December, which means the Best of 2010 album lists are already coming out all around you. If you're like me, this means going back through iTunes and Last.fm to see what was really listened to the most or has made that special impression on you since January. Being Local Music Director, I listen to much more local music than anything else and am finding that quite a few local albums have made their way into my list for this year.

The folks over at NPR Music have already put out their top 50 favorites of 2010 and the list includes most of the important albums released since January. I was excited to see North Carolina's own Carolina Chocolate Drops on the list with their spring release "Genuine Negro Jig" alongside bands such as Arcade Fire, The National, and Sharon Van Etten.

Alongside the fifty chosen by NPR Music's staff, music lovers everywhere are getting the chance to vote for their very own top albums of 2010. The results of the poll will be revealed during All Songs Considered on Dec. 14 and Carolina Chocolate Drops, Future Islands, and Lost In The Trees are all nominees. You can vote through the link below and listen on Dec. 14 for the results!

NPR Music: What Are Your Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2010.

It's not about getting gifts... its about GIVEAWAYS.

'tis the season!

WKNC is true to the holiday spirit-- here are this week's giveaways:

12/7: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band @ Casbah



12/8: Buckshot Bluegrass Show @ Pour House

12/8: Jukebox the Ghost @ Casbah



12/9: Dance Revolution Party @ Lincoln Theatre

12/9 Stroke It Noel Night 1 @ Cat's Cradle (2 night Big Star tribute show)

12/10: Stroke It Noel Night 2 @ Cat's Cradle
12/11: Carolina Chocolate Drops @ Lincoln Theatre



12/11: Gene Ween (of WEEN) @ Cat's Cradle



12/11: Kooley High @ Pour House
12/12: Relient K @ Cat's Cradle



Remember, you have to listen to win!

Happy Holidays from WKNC!