Blogs
WVAU’s #9 Song of 2015: "Alright" by Kendrick Lamar
Courtesy of Empire Radio It's ironic that I was asked to write an article about a song from Kendrick Lamar's sophomore album To Pimp a Butterfly because I had not actually listened to the album until about a month ago. Although Kendrick is one of my favorite rappers,...
WVAU’s #9 Album of 2015: "What For?" by Toro Y Moi
One of the most hotly contested indie albums of 2015, a lot has been said about Toro Y Moi's fourth studio album What For?. Drastically different than anything frontman Chaz Bundick had ever released, the band's new sound caught the indie music community totally...
WVAU’s #10 Album of 2015: "T R A P S O U L" by Bryson Tiller
T R A P S O U L is not only novel and exciting, but it is a display of how much Bryson Tiller has advanced since his last mixtape, Killer Instinct, was released in 2011. All 14 tracks featured on T R A P S O U L are a little bit out of this world: spacey, cosmic,...
WVAU’s #10 Song of 2015: "Gimme All Your Love" by Alabama Shakes
Courtesy of Balcony TV I invited my best friend from back home over the other day to sip peppermint tea and use Crayola's finest to color in elaborate Christmas scenes printed from some suburban mom's “Adult Coloring Pages” Pinterest board. At some point in the...
WVAU 2015: Most Underrated Albums
So The Flies Don't Come by Milo Courtesy of Bandcamp If I had my way, Milo's So The Flies Don't Come would be on every Best Albums of 2015' list in existence. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of power (yet) and until that does happen, Milo's works will be...
WVAU 2015: Most Overrated Albums
I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty Courtesy of Flac-Lossless You're sitting at a bar in Bushwick waiting for your date. It's a blind date that your friend set you up on and you're feeling really weird about the whole thing. Your friend said the guy was...
WVAU 2015: Best Rackspin Find
Royal Headache- High Courtesy of Stereogum I was rummaging through the rack looking for material for my first show when I stumbled upon Royal Headache. Although High was put on the rack at the beginning of the semester with no review, the album unexpectedly became...
WVAU 2015: Best Local Artists
Genocide Pact Courtesy of Decibel Magazine As a long-haired metalhead freak, the first thing I did when I came to AU was try to connect with the local scene. And although DC is rich with musical history and has a thriving punk and hardcore scene, I was disappointed to...
thinking the song was about each of us
we came to the conclusion that Drizzy was truly genuine and that he really does love each and every one of us. - Lauren Peressini "
WVAU 2015: Best Music Videos
Titus Andronicus ÛÒ The Magic Morning As my entire cohort of Facebook friends and Twitter followers probably know, I was super excited for the release of Titus Andronicus's fourth LP, The Most Lamentable Tragedy, and freaked out when a few lead singles dropped, hung...
WVAU 2015: Best Twitter
Lil B The Based God @LILBTHEBASEDGOD Possibly the only rapper that follows (1.31 million) more people than follow him (1.2 million) on twitter. People today are awfully concerned with their ratios on social media. Lil B is not one of those people. Lil B is not afraid...
WVAU 2015: Best Beef
The Beef of Our Generation: Meek Mill and Drake It seems like a millennium ago… rolling through my neighborhood on a beautiful July morning bumping Dreams Worth More Than Money in my parent's mini van. Singing along to “R.I.C.OÛ, trading off Meek and...
A Short Lived Love Affair: Why I Can’t Pick A Top 5 Anything
Courtesy of Casual Hippie Unlike many of my co-DJs at WVAU, I don't have an all time favorite band, album, or song. Shocking, I know, but let me explain. I grew up listening to music but knowing nothing about it. Most of the songs I listened to growing didn't have...
Interviews: We Were Promised Jetpacks
Courtesy of Hercules Moments A few weeks ago, We Were Promised Jet Packs brought Black Cat down with their unique balance of post-punk and indie pop. Staff writer Julia Zaglin met up with them after their set to talk roots, dream venues, and horoscopes. How was...
A Farewell Transmission
Everybody needs more (good) sad music in their lives. So when I stumbled upon Songs: Ohia, I was absolutely elated to add another great artist to add to my rainy day playlist. Songs: Ohia's most popular album, Magnolia Electric Co., really resonated with me when I...
The Only Reason it’s Okay to Say You’re Stuck in the 1960’s: A Review of Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane
Courtesy of Herb Greene Fotos You know that cool uncle you have? The one that your dad somewhat resents? Yeah, he listened to Jefferson Airplane. He listened to Jefferson Airplane a lot, and he listened to Jefferson Airplane at the right time. Sadly, we live in...
A Look Back at some of Skuffy’s Favorite Musical Moments
Courtesy of Truly Gadgets It's almost clichÌ© at this point to say that music “does things” to you. We all know it can affect one's mood, often independent of the lyrical subject matter that may or may not be present. And it goes without saying that there...
Weekend Watch: Reviews from the Week of 10/16
Grimes Art Angels (4AD) By Max Gowan Appealing, Heavily-Produced Pop A few years ago I saw a Nardwuar interview with Claire Boucher where she claimed that Mariah Carey was her favorite artist in the world. This statement seemed surprising coming from the dark,...
Dancing with the Stars
Lately I've been coming to terms with my guilty pleasures and proudly admitting my love for them (ie Twilight, Justin Bieber), and right now I'll just come out and say that I'm pretty obsessed with astrology. It's really fun to read into people's personalities...
What do you get when you mix jazz, funk, pop and latin beats? Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux
Courtesy of HKW “Les Ambassadeurs” is a jazzy, afro-pop funk group from Mali, headed by Mali music legend Salif Keita. The group fled Mali during the 70s in order to escape political unrest, heading to Ivory Coast, and later to Paris in the 80s. It was after this...
Interviews: Sun Club
Sun Club is an experimental indie pop project based out of Baltimore Maryland, and has received a lot of hype over the past few weeks from the release of their first full length album The Dongo Durango. WVAU DJ and music staffer Matt Reise got to meet with band...
Re-envisioning Solidarity
In the wake of a tumultuous, tragedy-filled week, a word, well maybe more of a concept, has been flowing through my mind and surely the minds of others: Solidarity. Solidarity has been said so frequently in response to violent racism on college campuses and terrorist...
Musicians don’t always need to be the voice of a generation
Writers block. It's a hard thing to overcome. It's quite strange, actually. There is so much to talk about in regards to protest—especially now in regards to the events at Mizzou, Yale, and the scores of other college campuses across the country. I could write about...
Weekend Watch: Reviews from the Week of 11/9
Carroll ÛÒ Carroll (Entertainment One) By Matt Reise Passively Trippy Indie Rock To Take a Bath To Four Minnesota sad boys formed Carroll to release their feels in the form of trippy indie rock, which their first full-length album Carroll does flawlessly. The sound...
For The Girls About To Rock
Courtesy of Huffington Post This week we look past the modern musical mistakes of my childhood, and investigate a little bit of classic rock. When I was in middle school, my friend group was inexplicably and obsessively obsessed with the movie School Of Rock. If we...
Listens of the Week: BreakBot & LXURY
BreakBot I'd like to write about the electronic funk producer BreakBot, who, in 2009 got signed to Ed Banger Records. This 34-year-old French DJ adds a distorted aspect to classic funk music, and makes it feel current by using syncopation, and digital crunchiness....
The NBHD: The Band that DGAF What You Think of Them
I think my favorite thing in the world is to listen to bangers. Bangers are songs that will get you off your feet, move your hands in various directions, and most importantly, get you HYPED. It is almost impossible not to get up and make a fool of yourself while a...
“Christian” Music isn’t Always Heavy-handedÛ_or Awful
Courtesy of Wow Moscow Spotify's Discover Weekly playlists have given me some very interesting things. Ranging from new discoveries that I'll probably treasure forever, to the same bands I've repeatedly tried and failed to get into. The service at least knows what...
WVAU Capitol Punishment 2015: Alex G and Hop Along
WVAU is proud to announce that it will be hosting its winter Capital Punishment concert with Alex G and Hop Along on Saturday, December 5th. Join us in Tavern at 8pm for the show of the semester! The concert is open to American University students and is free with...
I Swear I Don’t Glorify Ian Curtis from Joy Division: A Review of Unknown Pleasures
Courtesy of Spin T/W: Suicide It's weird to be in America and talk about the importance of a band that never toured in America. Oddly, Joy Divison's Ian Curtis has a very American story. 138 days into the year 1980, Ian Curtis hung himself in the kitchen...