Independent Weekly's Top 40 of 2008

The Independent Weekly has chosen their top 40 tracks from the Triangle music scene from 2008.  The list features brief summaries of each band and their song, plus free downloads of all 40 chosen songs.  Very cool.  To access the list click here.

Some notable gems that even we at WKNC missed include Lois Deloatch's traditional piece of "Down By The Riverside," a fantastic jazzy/blues number,  Michael Holland's country tune "Ballad of Eric Rudolph," and Kooley High's hip-hop track "Kool With It" from the Summer Sessions.  Be on the lookout for these tunes to hit the Local Lunch & other WKNC formats in the near future.

A couple of songs I might have been able to survive without out that made the list include Bryce Clayton Eiman's static laced "The Black & The Black" and ambient/indie band Boyzone with their song "Six Hunkth," but its no secret I shy away from ambient/experimental tunes, and you gotta make everyone happy, right?  I am also a tad bit confused on how Oregeon folk singer David Karsten Daniels made the list.  I understand he plays the Triangle frequently, but would appreciate any knowledge on his relation to the Triangle.

Some notable exceptions include Greg Humphreys, Lonnie Walker, Tift Merritt, & Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies.  But alas, only room for 40, and I think the Indy always does a fantastic job with these sorts of lists.  By the way, does anyone consider Ryan Adams, Hotel Lights, or Roman Candle local anymore?  Just a thought...

Post-Rock. Is It Metal?

Pelican is a band from Chicago on the amazing Hydra Head Label run and founded by Aaron Turner, founder of ISIS. Other bands on the label roster include Boris, Jesu, Kayo Dot, Lustmord, Merzbow, Zozobra, and Cave In. Past bands include Cult of Luna, Sunn O))), and Neurosis. Many of these bands are ambient drone bands or post-rock bands. Other bands which are similar to these artists are ISIS, Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai, Anathema, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Adai, Red Sparowes, Russian Circles, The Angelic Process, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, North, Godflesh, and Mountains Became Machines. All these bands are pretty heavy, when it comes to emotional and moving music, and have toured with metal bands. Many metal heads listen to these bands and enjoy them. So is Post-Rock really Indie Music? Or is it just another offshoot of Heavy Metal. I'm going to say Metal, due to the sheer fact that most of these bands have metal roots. ISIS was a doom band as well as Anathema. Justin Broadrick, founder of Jesu and Godflesh, was the original guitarist on Napalm Death's "Scum". It just seems to me that Post-Rock should have it's name changed. In this author's humble opinion, to Ambient Metal. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go work on my Instrumental Ambient Metal Avant Garde band, Renob Sinep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoB7Ymcq4iI

-Noobhammer

Downcycle to call it quits?

Local hard rock act, Downcycle, announced today that their lead singer Joe Verga is calling it quits in the band after a year and a half since the band reformed in May 2007, citing "personal issues."  The three original members, Barry Knain, Todd Parham and Sean Loepp plan on sticking around however, and looking for a new vocalist or "joining the circus."

This is their second vocalist in as many years, the first being Mike Bonavita.

In the meantime, its unlikely Barry, Todd, and Sean's side act, Headbelt, will be seeing the same drop off.

From Your Friendly Neighborhood Americana DJ

As the lovely host of Americana Blues & Company here at WKNC, I am frequently asked two questions when I try to explain my show to someone:

1. Wait, your DJ name is Sweet Annie Rich?  But that's not your real name...
2. What is Americana?

To answer the first question, I must say to you: Gram Parsons.  If you do not know who he was, look him up.  It will make answering the second question much, much, MUCH easier.

Secondly... Americana is a LOT of things.  It's not simply country or bluegrass or rockabilly or what-have-you.  It's an amalgamation of the genres born right here in America (hence "Americana"), and, to quote the late great Gram Parsons himself: it is Cosmic American Music.  It is where all of the purely American styles come together to create the true spirit of music.  It is pure and transcendent.

For a primer in Americana, here's a video which contains the old (a Gram Parsons song with Emmylou Harris, who is ubiquitous to the genre) meeting the new (Ryan Adams singing the part Gram used to sing) to keep this transcendent spirit alive and going:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_ie8BDBSZs

GWAR Will Swallow Your Soul!!! (If You Have One...)

GWAR is coming to the House of Blues at Myrtle Beach on 12/13. We here at Chainsaw Rock have 5 tickets to give away and you can be one if you listen to the metal starting 12/4 going to 12-5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWRKlNlRsgI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtiTZ2WS3Fg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jQzzaiP9l4

-Noobhammer

88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week 12/2/08

New album 'Heart On' lacks electricity
Kyle Robb
General Manager, WKNC 88.1 FM

Hailing from Palm Springs, Calif., Eagles of Death Metal is masterminded by high school friends Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. Though Homme’s other band, Queens of the Stone Age, had already achieved widespread success prior to Eagles’ debut release of Peace, Love, and Death Metal in 2004, he has maintained a musical partnership with Hughes since 1998.

First and foremost: Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. Perhaps best summarized as garage rock, Homme once described the band’s sound as “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals.”

Their debut received favorable reviews and several tracks were featured on commercial spots and in the movie Thank You For Smoking. Their follow-up, Death by Sexy, was released in 2006 and featured contributions from Jack Black, Liam Lynch and Dave Grohl among others.

Heart On opens with the rhythmic clapping of "Anything ‘cept the Truth," which quickly descends into the treble drenched riffs of Hughes’ guitar. In addition to the opener, Eagles are at their high powered rocking best with upbeat tracks like "Wannabe in LA," "High Voltage," and "Secret Plans."

Of course, as with any other Eagles of Death Metal album, the release is latent with hilarious quips on the nuances of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Tracks like ‘(I Used to Couldn’t Dance) Tight Pants’ and ‘Cheap Thrills’ highlight the band’s authentic brand of rock humor, but neither compare to the majestic ode to self abuse that is ‘Solo Flights.’

Ultimately, the album makes for a fun listen and contains solid tracks from top to bottom, but if you’re looking for that infectious toe-tapping crunchy rock anthem that stays in your head for days, then look elsewhere. There is not a single track on the album that can be identified as a weakened link to the album’s fluidity, but conversely, there is not a single track which differentiates itself as spectacular. This lack of electricity is what ultimately places Heart On behind its predecessors.

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

Cynic-Traced In Air: A review which should be traced in air

Cynic has been around for many, many years. Fifteen years to be exact, and they have not lost a single ounce of musicianship with their aging. They are still as technical as their early nineties counterparts, Death and Atheist, yet they somehow found a way to break out of that death metal mold and become something quite unique. Their second cd, Traced In Air, has turned alot of heads due to its departure from Focus in terms of brutality. Yet what they have dropped in brutality, they more than make up for with melodic and amazingly brilliant song-writing. The songs have so many layers to them, that you cannot wish to comprehend them with only one listen. With this release, Cynic have shown the world what it truly means to be a progressive metal band. All the songs on the album pick you up off your feet and carry you where you can be lost in the music, only to thrown into a tornado of organized chaos which leaves you breathless just set you back down on your feet a few moments later. This sensation may sound displeasing, but it will have you wanting to go back and listen to it over and over again. It is a short cd, which is very agonizing due to nature of the songs which just leave you wanting more. Cynic is truly a one-of-a-kind band and you should definitely pick this cd up just so it will never leave your iPod, cd player, or whatever music player you use. It is that brilliant of an album, and I hope they don't wait another fifteen years to release another cd.

Cd Score:
[rating:5/5]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fhVLykF3nU

-Noobhammer