Blogs

In September 2000, DJ Will Eastman held the first Bliss, a small indie/electropop dance night at the now-defunct Metro Cafe. In the eleven years since, Eastman has become an icon of DC live music, opening U Street Music Hall with DJ Jesse Tittsworth and expanding...

What makes good music? That question is far too complex and broad for my, or really anyone‰'s, simple mind. The question itself already sets one astray. Our conception of good is arguably subjective. And our ideas of musical quality are almost inarguably subjective....

Labor Day came and went, and we shed what was left of our summer skin – and we also kissed goodbye all the summer music fests. Having no school is perhaps one of the most amazing parts of the summer, apart from it serving as the prime time for music festivals...

A little more than a week into my semester in London and I‰'ve had much time to explore, but regrettably, I have yet to catch a live show. (I did just buy a ticket to see GIVERS here in November. And it feels like only yesterday I wrote my “WVAU Loves…‰” post...

In today’s popular entertainment, the urge to create something more transformative from the rest, that transcends time and history, has become clear. It is perhaps hard for many of us find these higher ideas in today‰'s hype-ridden radio and blogosphere.åÊåÊHow...

How does one approach discussing music? It‰'s undeniably a matter of taste but yet we talk about “good‰” and “bad music. How should we even go about defining what is and what is not music? Anywhere I go, a few minutes spent with my eyes closed transforms the unnoticed...

Greetings from Jolly Old England! This semester I am continuing my AssWebbing duties from London for my semester abroad. Even though I won‰'t be back at AU and in the studio until January, I‰'m thrilled I can still be in the WVAU family by webbing some asses. Just a...

Just a few weeks ago I had one of the most amazing live music experiences. You know, one of those shows when you see a band or artist you‰'ve always idolized, it‰'s members possessing an almost greater-than human status to you. DC‰'s own in indie rock duo The Evens...

WVAU’s favorite ginger-locked Assistant Web Director Jesse Drucker made a mixtape to welcome the new WVAU year, featuring Captain Beefheart, Thee Oh Sees, and Ford & Lopatin.

In the past century, recorded music has thinned from cylinders to shellac 78s; vinyl LPs to cassette tapes; and now, from CDs to .mp3s. Like a print journalist dreads the death of the newspaper, I worry about what effect the disappearance of physical music may have on...

Just because you’re chatting on your radio show doesn’t mean you need to kill your momentum with dead air. Former WVAU DJ Zarek Chase gave us a few tips on using background music effectively. “Adding in backing music while you talk is a pretty easy...

One of our beloved veteran DJs, Ethan Meick, made a fantastic WVAU tribute mix on 8tracks. Check it out below, and stay tuned for plenty more 8tracks mixes on the website, made by featured DJs.

Pity the fate of disco. Though its influences can still be heard springing up in pop songs like Lady Gaga‰'s “Alejandro‰” and indie rock dance tunes from bands like !!! and Hot Chip, the name “disco‰” will always be associated with the worst of the seventies ‰ÛÒ ugly...

With the final day of the festival finally upon us, my friends and I did our best to savor the final shows. Smith Westerns kicked off the day with an enjoyable set that featured Dye It Blonde favorites “Weekend‰” and “All Die Young.‰” Singer Cullen Omori succinctly...

On Friday, after a long afternoon of waiting in ridiculous lines (for water, a charge for my phone, and Jack White‰'s Third Man Rolling Record store), I was ready to finally hear some music. Friday was the first day that Bonnaroo‰'s main stage, known as the What...

Cameron Meindl, one of our DJs, was lucky enough to attend this year’s Bonnaroo, and recaps four days of New Orleans funk, My Morning Jacket-fueled glowstick fights, Nathan Williams’ Aerosmith cover, and more unforgettable music. A first time festivalgoer,...

Adam Glickman and Kaitie O’Hare of Yikes on Mics! got to sit down with Mike Grubbs, the lead singer and pianist of the band Wakey!Wakey!. You can listen to their interview below! Mike Grubbs Interview by WVAUOnline If you want to learn more about Wakey!Wakey!,...

Running out of ideas for tunes to listen whilst studying for your countless exams and writing your endless papers? Please allow me to offer some guidance. Often I‰'ll be in the middle of jamming to my favorite song du jour, and I‰'ll unknowingly type the lyrics in my...

Former WVAU General Manager Lindsay Zoladz wrote a terrific piece in the Washington City Paper yesterday in defense of college radio stations. Of course, it's in WVAU's self-interest to support any article that supports us, especially one by a distinguished alum....

I already wrote about the brilliance of Merrill Garbus and her project tUnE-yArDs prior to her new release w h o k i l l, a masterfully constructed conglomeration of genres all anchored by Garbus‰'s powerful vocals and deft ukulele playing. On w h o k i l l, all of...

Anyone familiar with Dischord Records and DC music in general should know the name Q And Not U.åÊ They‰'re a band that existed during the late 90s and early 2000s, mixing punk rock with synthesizers and dance grooves.åÊ Recently, Chris Richards from Q And Not U spoke...

In a side alley next to the 9:30 Club WVAU DJs Dan Raby and Faith Masi met up with the members of the band Dom (Dom, Cosmo, Eric and Bobby K.) to chat before the band opened for The Go! Team. Dom shared their thoughts as well as their Old Grand-dad Whiskey. WVAU: So...

Two weeks ago in my last article I pondered why so many people seem to listen to bad music. I hypothesized that the reason behind the popularity of incredibly simple music was connected to people‰'s childhood. I deduced that some people did not grow up situated...

Daft Punk played at James Murphy‰'s house for the last time Saturday night, April 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. To the dismay of fans, Murphy, frontman of the indie-electro-dance-punk-etc. ensemble, announced Feb. 5 that LCD Soundsystem would play their...

Are they brothers? Yes. Are they both named Jeff? No. Is at least one named Jeff? Again, no, but besides their catchy yet confusing moniker, JEFF the Brotherhood is an up-and-coming name in indie music that you are sure to be hearing more of soon. They‰'ve played SXSW...

This article was supposed to be about the new Fleet Foxes album. But after listening to exclusively Helplessness Blues for two days or so, all I could think about was Paul Simon. Simon‰'s influence is palpable on Helplessness Blues, in its lyrics full of existential...

The occurrence is common enough. A person types in some band they heard about into Pandora, turn down the volume on their headphones, and now has some vague background noise as something else occupies their mind. Very often the music is very simple, docile music that...

The Joy Formidable played a fantastic show this past Friday, March 25, at the Black Cat, one of several stops on their North American tour after playing at SXSW in Austin. Rave reviews were given after their numerous SXSW 2011 shows, and their DC performance should...

Like to dance but can‰'t stand to listen to another second of Ke$ha? The Black Cat has solved your problem. The U Street club holds dance nights with themes including, but certainly not limited to: ‰80s, ‰90s, britpop, vintage hip hop, funky house, indie, electro and...

They‰'re part Motorhead; part psychedelic, ‰70s rock; and part indie-electro clash. They‰'ve opened for Nine Inch Nails on tour and collaborated with drone masters Sunn O))). Are you confused yet? Well, the band‰'s name is Boris, and they‰'re one of the coolest...