KTRU 91.7 FM SPRING 2008 Houston’s Local Artists: 2007’s Best Albums in Review People often say that there isn’t much good music in Linus Pauling Quartet Bring Back The Guns Houston. They are wrong, and getting wronger by the All Things Are Light Dry Futures minute: 2007 was one of the best years for Houston music Camera Obscura Feow! in recent memory. In no particular order, KTRU runs Linus Pauling Quartet reminds us After changing names and winning down 10 of the year’s most notable releases in this quick that barbarians, aliens, malt liquor, 24- three Houston Press Music Awards guide to a banner year in a burgeoning music scene. hour Mexican food, and motorcycles (Best New Act ‘00, Best Indie Rock all lie at the foundation of rock and roll’s ‘03, Best Indie Rock ‘05), Bring Back Jana Hunter hallowed temple. Don’t call it tongue-in-cheek—every the Guns have finally released a full album, and it was There’s No Home track is backed with dead-serious Jimmy Page-grade easily worth the wait. Their guitar-driven sound is Gnomonsong Marshall-stack ass-kicking. Veterans of Houston’s psych heavy but still quick on its feet, framed by constantly Erstwhile Houstonian Jana Hunter, heyday LP4 mix hard rock imagery with utter electrified shifting time signatures, punctuated with guitar hooks an Arlington native who recently mi- competence, the way unpretentious rock was meant to be. that never end like you’d expect. Vocals are strained, grated to Baltimore, is a key player in overdriven. Bring Back The Guns are at the vanguard the national New Weird America/Freak Balaclavas of Houston indie rock. Folk Scene. However, this album is less abstract than Balaclavas EP & Inferno EP some of her contemporaries’ work—delicate meandering Self-released Kay guitar, tasteful reverb, and occasional backing strings or This young band debuted in 2007 The Talk Show steel make this album appropriate in any laid-back set- with two surprisingly strong EPs that Self-released ting. Her voice gives the album a curious modern tinge, are really halves of a full album. Their Kay, leader of the underground soul/ unduplicated elsewhere and worth checking out. pseudo-Gothic punk combines the hip-hop group The Foundation, stands brooding minimalism of Joy Division with the unsettling out in the Houston rap scene because Insect Warfare oddness of the Residents for one of the most unusual, of his introspective lyrics and jazzy, World Extermination idiosyncratic and affecting sounds in Houston. atmospheric production. Intelligent and urbane, his music 625 looks back to independent rap acts from the early ‘90s Over the past two years, Insect UGK like A Tribe Called Quest, updating them with a smooth, Warfare have become one of the most Underground Kingz modern sound. Kay is undoubtedly one of the figures to respected names in the Gulf Coast Jive watch in underground hip-hop, in part for his unorthodox heavy music scene, exploring the This album from the “country rap” approach to promotion: he offered the entire album as speedy, uncompromising blend of hardcore and grindcore duo was among the most anticipated a free download on The Foundation’s MySpace page. known as power violence. Their first “full-length” crams and then the most celebrated hip-hop 20 impossibly violent songs into just 22 punishing min- albums of 2007. Bun B and Pimp C Motion Turns It On utes. It’s complex, brutal, and unstoppably amazing. had one of the sharpest one-two punches around, set- Rima ting off a real counterpoint of vocal styles with swampy Self-released Devin the Dude production and a rare political consciousness. John Motion Turns It On may just have Waitin’ to Inhale Lomax of the Houston Press called it “a very promis- the most apt name in Houston: their Rap-a-lot ing kickoff for the second phase of UGK’s career—” instrumental rock is both suffused Waitin’ to Inhale is relaxed and a phase that, sadly, will never materialize: Pimp C was with joyous motion and profoundly humorous—that is, weed-fueled—rap. found dead in a Hollywood hotel room on December 4. turned on. Combining the scope of prog with the energy Devin’s most recent release didn’t sell of math rock, the band races through dynamite riffs that much more than its predecessor, 2004’s Fatal Flying Guilloteens evoke masters of jammy guitar rock from Hendrix to To Tha X-Treme, but has cemented Devin’s position as Quantum Fucking Explosions in the Sky. Their first full-length release is one of the most friendly, talented and downright fun French Kiss expansive and roomy yet, at just over half an hour, lean rap artists in the South. The Dude, during his leaner Once a costumed gag, this aggres- and easily digestible. years referred to as “your favorite rapper’s favorite sive, unpredictable punk band is now rapper,” is now Houston’s very own favorite rapper. getting national attention. See the Ian Wells, Daniel Mee, Matthew Wettergreen and reviews section later in the folio for a full synopsis. Dennis Lee contributed to this article.
noise musicians, and performs regularly at Super Happy Fun Land. These are just a few examples of local The Houston Experiment musicians at the city’s creative core, past and present. Acts that have since moved By Mark Flaum escape the limelight since releasing his then, moving through group and solo away from H-town, such as Charalambides ‘Weird?’ ‘Experimental?’ Those ad- first album to almost universal inatten- projects of his own (Black Leather Jesus, or the mystery man behind most of the jectives might apply, but the real word tion back in 1978. Jandek’s blues is unlike Priest in Shit, and Werewolf Jerusalem, Ventricle Records catalog, should also behind the outer limits of the Houston any other the world has ever known. His as well as a number of releases under his be honored for their innovation. So many underground is ‘unstoppable.’ There is a music is a metaphor for itself—at times own name) and in collaboration with a Houston musicians have provided hours fountain of creativity in the sounds of this broken, unmusical, and staggering, at huge range of performers. For music so upon hours of original music to intrigue city, and when a musician hits the mainline, times wretched and tremendously sad. He determinedly un-listenable and abrasive, your ears and mind. the flow cannot be stemmed. Record after is earnest and honest, and while he’ll tell harsh noise has stayed surprisingly alive record, song after song, the true innova- you everything you could possibly ask him through two decades of development, and tors of Houston music stretch the word about his soul, you will never understand is surely as popular today as it has been at What is the ‘prolific’ until it begs for relief. him. For decades he was dismissed as any other point in its history. After a flood Take for example DJ Screw—no longer amateurish and untalented, but ears have of compact discs, records, tapes, CD-R’s, Rice Radio Folio? underground, the music of Robert Earl finally started to turn back to Jandek; and 7”s, I doubt even Ramirez himself has The Folio is first and foremost a pro- Davis Jr. has finally fallen from the sky we’re starting to realize that his music is a clear sense of how much music he has gramming and listening guide designed and changed the face of hip hop. Shift the his music, not my music or your music. created over his career. He still performs to help you keep up with what’s on pitch down, let the beats float gently like Fortunately, Jandek was prolific, too—45 live regularly in Houston and elsewhere. air. For your pleasure, our DJs also hammers made of cloud, let the voice of studio albums and seven live recordings. Lastly, Rotten Piece, composed of two generate a healthy serving of album the MC blow up like a balloon, like the The latter are particularly remarkable in musicians who have been a creative force reviews, playlists, band profiles, concert words you can’t quite understand in those that, prior to 2004, Jandek never performed in Houston since the early ‘90s, has also calendars, interviews, and news and in- quicksand dreams, let it all get screwed a note in public. At a music festival in never earned enough attention outside of formation about KTRU and the Houston up. Screw music might relate to hip hop Glasgow, he was finally persuaded to break city limits. The duo has been performing music scene. today the way shoegaze did to rock in his silence unannounced and shocked since the early ‘90s, moving comfortably the early ‘90s—it’s an inescapable sound fans worldwide. To this date he has only between noise, wild collages of sound The Folio was a more regular feature that changed everyone who listened but performed once in his hometown, also and video, rumbling drone music, and from the 1980s through the early 1990s, when it educated and enter- disappeared as soon as it began. And yet unannounced, back in 2006. Curious fans free improvisation. They’ve recorded at tained readers on a weekly basis. The today, a rapper can’t pass through Houston will find a little insight into the myth of least 50 compact discs, perhaps a dozen station’s boost to 50,000 watts and without dropping the name of DJ Screw, Jandek in the documentary Jandek on tapes, and a number of videos—most of resultant lack of a reliable on-campus though he left the world seven years ago. Corwood. which were self-released. They run a local signal until the late 1990s contributed His legacy lives, and so does his back Even further from the mainstream lies label called Lazy Squid Rekkids, which to its (partial) abandonment. This year, catalog—hundred of hours of mixes and one of the early originators of the sub-base- releases their own work as well as music the folio lives again, in a longer, if less freestyle backing tracks. So prolific was ment genre known as harsh noise. Richard from a number of other performers who frequent form. If you are new to KTRU, Screw that an entire storefront has been Ramirez first created explosive feedback explore similar musical terrains. Live, the Folio is an excellent place to begin established (7717 Cullen) to market noth- assaults and collages in 1989, inspired by Rotten Piece performances have featured what will no doubt be a long and fruitful ing more than his back catalog. Japanese innovators such as Hijokaidan dual electronics, guitar-synth histrionics, love affair. If you’re already hooked, the Not all of Houston’s outer voices have and Merzbow, as well as by a broad sweep and even a duet for saws—one singing, folio is just another way to get more of been so charmed by public attention. of less harsh outsiders such as Nurse with one chain-style. Moreover, the group has what you love. Another true original has managed to Wound. Ramirez has stayed active since been very active in supporting touring
1 Artist Profiles and ktruviews rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008 Artist Profile:His Name Is Alive By Mark Flaum album on the Philadelphia-based High ensembles: Detroit based Nomo and Fusion. Finally, a live take on the first track Marion Brown is often referred to as Two record label. New York City’s Antibalas. They played brings the album to a close. one of the great, unknown musicians of His Name Is Alive (HNIA) is perhaps two songs from Brown’s early Free Jazz Overall, the performances here the free jazz era. He started his recording a strange band to be involved in bring- work, and a further three from the ‘70s may lack the pure musicianship of the career as a sideman in New York City, ing attention to the forgotten works of trio. Defever later brought the band to original works, for Marion Brown and playing alto sax behind a wide array of a jazz master. HNIA is the brainchild of his studio to re-record several of those his colleagues are among the most ac- important bandleaders. His contributions Warn Defever, who started his band as a songs and supplement an album release complished jazz musicians. Nevertheless, can be heard on Archie Shepp’s Fire home-taping project with various female with three tracks. The album begins with separated from the fierce talents of the Music and John Contrane’s Ascension, friends providing vocals for his basement a condensed studio version of the first original performances, the beauty and two powerful and vital masterworks of pop songs. Defever eventually caught the part of Sweet Earth Flying and is played power of the compositions hold their free jazz recorded in 1965. Soon after, he attention of the 4AD label, and His Name Is almost tenderly despite a powerful pres- own. Furthermore, Defever brings a very debuted as a bandleader, with a tribute to Alive became a staple of the 4AD catalog, ence from the saxophone. Next is “Juba different sensibility to the music, in the Shepp on Impulse! and two albums on the which features seven HNIA albums in just Lee” from 1967, a piece that grows slowly touches of funk, the electronic glows, and underground ESP-Disc label, released in over a decade. While the early albums in waves, though a certain tension lurks the arrangements for a very different set 1966 and 1967. These albums established were comfortably rooted in the 4AD below. “Capricorn Moon,” another early of performers. The jazz canon has always Brown as a fiery, explosive player who dreamy pop aesthetic, by the early 2000s work, brings a gentle funkiness that wasn’t been hesitant to adopt works from the could cut through and soar above fierce (when 4AD became part of the Beggar’s in the original, and the solos are a lot less free jazz era and after, and it falls to musi- percussive storms. He was also a scholar, Banquet family), Defever turned towards visceral. Next on the album are “Novem- cians such as Defever to prove that these moving to France to pursue his studies soul and rhythm-and-blues, which brought ber Cotton Flower,” a rearrangement for compositions have as much life outside of and eventually holding faculty positions his relationship with the label to an early electric piano of one of Brown’s earliest their creators’ hands as do the classics of at several American universities. Soon close and may have alienated his fan base. compositions, and “Bismallhi ‘Rrahmani’ the bop era. his music moved in another direction, Since then he has moved on to his own Rrahim,” the only piece on the disc not The label High Two is donating a becoming more spiritual and soulful, label and continued to release albums. But actually composed by Brown. This piece portion of the proceeds from this re- and less explosive. He released a trio of that doesn’t fully encompass the recorded was in fact composed by Harold Budd, and lease to the Nepalese Youth Opportunity albums in the early ‘70s entitled Afternoon output of HNIA—Defever continued to Brown performs it on Budd’s Pavilion of Foundation. Also, as Brown’s own health of the Georgia Faun, Geechee Recollections, release basement tapes, live recordings, Dreams album for Brian Eno’s Obscure has been failing—he recently underwent and Sweet Earth Flying, which drew on and noise side-projects on the Time Stereo label. Defever injects it with searing, multiple surgeries and is convalescing in Brown’s Georgia upbringing as much as label, named after his own home studio. glowing guitar to make a powerful and a rest home—a rediscovery of Marion they did free jazz. These albums are the Jazz was possibly the only style of music emotive piece. Following that are two takes Brown’s work may be more critical now bulk of the focus of the band His Name Defever hadn’t dabbled in. of “Geechee Recollections,” one from the than ever. Is Alive’s tribute project, which began as Then, in November 2004, in a gallery performance and one from the studio, both a concert performance in Detroit back in in the Detroit area, Warn Defever teamed with a percussive foundation that feels 2004 and has now been released as a new up with members of two afrobeat-oriented Indian, or like Alice Coltrane’s Indian-Jazz
CHECK OUT KTRU.ORG FOR DETAILS KTRUVIEW: Being a “New DJ” By Alyssa Ibarra couldn’t wipe clean the musical assump- I sat in the studio the early morning of tions and predispositions already etched my first shift, throwing tracks on air like I deeply into my brain. For years, I’d pushed was spreading something volatile through away metal and slept through classical, Houston—a wave of (Smog) hailing from so it was no surprise that on the day of the K-T-R-U Houston transmitter. I won’t my first shift, I conveniently walked past lie. I enjoyed it. But I wished I’d paid more their shelves in the stacks, looking instead attention to the DJs who had trained me. for bands that felt welcoming in their Yes, I knew the rules and policies, as they familiarity. I stopped mid-shift and asked were so politely shoved down my throat, myself, where did my initial curiosity go? but the grace of navigating through the I closed my eyes, trying to picture its last stacks with purpose—the intuition of know- manifestation, and realized that the curios- ing whether to play the blues track or the ity was trapped in my car, the place where Indonesian number after the electronic I was last spoon-fed good, diverse music. one—was all lost in the shuffle. I was You see, the DJs were the ones that did it simply a new DJ with an old perspective on so well. They fed me these sounds and I music, one that relied on safeness, though gulped them up, believing they knew what I knew very well that safeness would get they were doing. But then I became the me nowhere. DJ, and I couldn’t find a spoon. I had picked up the DJ application on This confusion stuck with me for a impulse. The only time I actually listened couple of weeks. After a few shifts, I now to KTRU was in my car, where once every understand that I would choke if I tried to couple of weeks I would find myself ex- swallow this station whole. I have to start claiming in surprise to no one in particular off nibbling around what’s comfortable that I actually knew the song playing. The and inch my way through the rest. Only songs were, for the most part, stuff I would then will I learn to drown out my musical never intentionally listen to, but oddly ignorance with the beats of reggae and enough they managed to get my fingers wash away my preconceived notions of tapping on the steering wheel. I’m not what good music is with the soapy noise saying I was sucked in immediately; it was that is genetic memory. It’s a process that a slow-growing addiction. But over time I I may never fully complete, but in my at- enjoyed having the unknown funneled into tempt, I will serve it all to you in three-hour my ears, because even if the style didn’t shifts and five-song sets, hoping that at fit, my ears adapted to it. They now hang least one tune will get your fingers tap- low, hypertrophied. ping—maybe even crawling toward the I was generally curious about the sta- stack of blank DJ applications. After all, tion to begin with, but I applied to become the music tastes so good, and you know a DJ simply because my ears demanded Houston is always hungry. more music. Unfortunately, mere curiosity
2 Artist Profiles and ktruviews rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008
KTRUVIEW: From the Board of Directors On December 18, 2007, the media control reality. Watch Al FCC’s five commissioners, in a 3- Jazeera (if you can find it in the 2 party line decision “that would U.S.), or listen to the World Radio make George Orwell Proud,”1 Network on KTRU—you would voted to loosen media ownership think you inhabited a whole other rules to allow cross ownership planet. We need more credible between newspapers and TV and voices, not less. radio stations in the U.S.’s 20 Even if all you care about is largest media markets. music, you should be concerned The decision follows over 20 about media consolidation. It years of eviscerated pubic ser- used to be you could hear local vice requirements, and a series artists and styles of all sorts on of townhall meetings across the your local radio rotation. Today country in which citizens almost you can drive from L.A. to N.Y.C. unanimously spoke out against and hear the same 20 songs altering regulations to promote from Cumulus and Clear Channel media consolidation. stations. Radio, television, and Commissioner Kevin Martin newspapers are dominated by a cites a changing media land- handful of mega corporations. scape (e.g. the internet) as dilut- A healthy democracy requires ing the need to regulate diversity media that challenges the status in media ownership between quo, “that challenges the gov- major networks, radio, and news- ernment, that acts as a fourth papers. And, he submits, news- estate, not for the state.” That is, papers are dying as advertising “before the consolidated press revenues dry up and paper sales leads us into another war.”2 sour, necessitating that compa- KTRU has a role in this. nies diversify into radio and TV to We are one of the last places remain solvent. in Houston you can hear local The economies of scale driv- music. We have a News show— ing consolidation are understand- a small one, which we are trying able. We would suggest however to build up. With 50,000 watts, that consolidating ownership and we are uniquely positioned for a narrowing the range of voices college station to do a little good available to the public outweighs in the world. any “growth of the economic pie.” The role of KTRU is to do We worry about the impact what little it can to fight the of consolidation on a country homogenized, the dissolute, and involved in a global war on terror, the vapid. This underpins our yet with some of the lowest voter mission statement calling for turnout in the Western world, underexposed, eclectic, progres- and where “localism” in network sive programming. Our mission is TV extends primarily to weather, more profound than playing weird sports, and “if it bleeds it leads” music. junk news. We find it hard to Comments can be directed believe that further consolidation to [email protected] and homogenization will improve the already tenuous quality of 1 Commissioner Michael J. Copps U.S. media. 2 Amy Goodman, “The FCC’s Christmas In a world of mediated ex- Gift to Big Media” perience, those who control the Field between RMC, Fondren Library and Herring Hall Artist Profile: The Bug Artist Profile: By Lance Higdon The subsequent album Killing Sound “The Bug” is the moniker of Kevin (released under the name Razor X Pro- Martin, a native of rural southeast Eng- ductions in collaboration with veteran land who pioneered a particularly brutal soundclash DJ The Rootsman) pushed The Red Krayola take on dancehall reggae. After putting the industrial-bashment juggernaut By Lindsey Simard in the Houston music scene. The Red in time in the noise/improv group GOD, even further to the margins. Featuring The Red Krayola began, humbly, as Krayola regularly played at Love, a club Martin began exploring the shared spaces cutthroat chants from MCs like Wayne a Houston rock trio in 1966, with the then located on the corner of Richmond between experimental music, hip-hop and Lonesome and Cutty Ranks, Killing Sound copyright-infringing name The Red and Shepherd and frequented by hippies. dub reggae in the groups Techno Animal presents a blissfully un-ironic filtering of Crayola. University of St. Thomas student The band encouraged audience members (a collaboration with Justin Broaderick titanium-tough drum machines and ca- Mayo Thompson, a guitarist and the only to join them on stage and do “something of Napalm Death/Jesu fame), Ice, and reening sound effects through a derelict stable member of the group throughout audible” during its free form pieces. Sidewinder. In the late 90s, Martin debuted Kingston meat grinder—a sound clash in its history, teamed up with fellow St. The band members referred to these The Bug with Tapping the Conversation, a simulacrum. Thomas student Steve Cunningham on participants as the Familiar Ugly; their an alternative soundtrack to the Coppola Subsequent to Killing Sound, The Bug bass and Frederik Barthleme, who was cacophony can be heard on The Parable filmThe Conversation. Produced with DJ has released two 12” singles that mark a better known for his fiction than for his of Arable Land. Vadim, the album mined digital dub and step away from dancehall towards dubstep, drumming. Barthleme described them After creating an even less accessible broken beat for inspiration. favoring a bass science and a half-time stut- as “elitist pseudo-hippies” entrenched in album Coconut Hotel and then releasing On the 2003 album Pressure, however, ter to the former’s tightwound riddims. the arts, better at thinking about music the more accessible God Bless the Red Kray- Martin smeared the brutal sonic palette Nonetheless, the ragga-influenced vocal than at playing it. ola and All Who Sail With It, Red Krayola of industrial and noise music over frantic contributions of Flowdan and Killa P (both Like most post-punk groups, The Red dissolved until the late ‘70s. Thompson dancehall reggae. The tracks juxtaposed from the grimey Roll Deep Crew), along Krayola wanted to deconstruct rock music moved to the UK and enlisted other post- the gruff, near-impenetrable sounds of with Martin’s splatter-happy production through experimental noise and structure. punk greats—including Gina Birch of MCs like ragga pioneer Daddy Freddy values, keep The Bug safely on the dark The band’s debut The Parable of Arable the Raincoats, Epic Soundtracks of Swell with distorted, dystopian versions that side of the yard. Land demonstrates these arty ambitions. Maps, and Lora Logic of X-Ray Spex and threaten to implode one’s speaker cones. When International Artists released the Essential Logic—to revive the group. album in 1967, it was lumped with other In the mid-’90s, after several more Red Texas psychedelia, such as label mates Krayola albums and a stint in Pere Ubu, the 13th Floor Elevators. Now, this still- Thompson began releasing Red Krayola notorious debut is seen as a precursor albums on the Drag City label, including to industrial rock and avant-garde noise 2007’s Sighs Trapped By Liars. rock. Want to hear Houston’s most famous Given the band members’ involvement post-punk band? Call KTRU to request Red in the Houston art scene, Red Krayola Krayola or listen to the post-punk show naturally became a notable participant on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m.
3 Events and calendars rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008 Hit the Ground Running By Mark Flaum and Daniel Mee
Houston’s scene runs the gamut from experimental to bubblegum pop, death metal to gamelan, so mark your calendars and checkout KTRU’s upcoming shows page, and other sites that note upcoming shows in the area. Don’t forget to ask around or make a call and see *All items subject to change— if the show is sold out. Also, stay tuned, and you just might pick up Stay up-to-date at ktru.org with maps, times, etc. a few free tickets. Friday, January 18, 2008, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Pick your fights: KTRU Live Broadcast @ Rice Memorial Center Lobby
Friday, January 18: Six Organs of Admittance @ Walter’s on Wednesday, January 23, 2008, 5 p.m. Washington Deadline: Fall DJ Applications: Turn in Outside KTRU
Saturday, January 19: Cooper-Moore, Forbes Graham & Nioka Friday, February 1, 2008, 5 p.m. Workman @ Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex Deadline: Battle of the Bands Demos and Applications Sunday, January 20: MGMT/Yeasayer @ Walter’s on Washington See ktru.org for submission details
Friday, January 25: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings @ Friday, February 29, 2008, 7 p.m. Walter’s on Washington KTRU Battle of the Bands @ Lovett Undergrounds/Lyles, Rice University Wednesday, January 30: Tetuzi Akiyama and Jozef van Wissem @ Byzantine Chapel Fresco Museum, The Menil Collection. Sunday, April 13, 2008, Noon to 9 p.m Friday, February 22: Black Lips @ Rudyard’s KTRU Outdoor Show @ Field between RMC, Fondren Library and Herring Hall Friday, February 29: Tatsuya Nakatani @ Super Happy Fun Land
Tuesday, March 11: Parts & Labor @ The Mink Backroom
Friday, March 28: The Dirtbombs @ Rudyard’s
Make sure you check out calendars online for a full list of upcoming shows!
http://www.spacecityrock.com/ http://www.namelesssound.org/ http://www.superhappyfunland.com/super_happy_calendar.htm http://www.superunison.com/
4 Events and Schedules rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008 KTRU Small Concerts: A Semester in Review By Rachel Orosco Although Houston’s fickle weather This past fall, KTRU’s tried to bring to forced us indoors for two of our four Rice some of the best bands that Houston’s concerts, the bands still rocked out and underground has to offer, free of cost. At- made sure the crowds experienced a great tendees saw everything from the quirky show. Even in the confines of Farnsworth tunes of The Mathletes, who compelled Pavilion, The Blades and The Gowns each the audience to form dancing lines in delivered phenomenal sets, captivating a Rice’s Grand Hall, to the funky beats of circle of fans and student-center passers- Studemont Project, which provided some by, who sat around the stage, bobbing of the fuel for Fall’s Sausage Fest when their heads from side to side. they performed outside of Valhalla. Why does KTRU organize these free Other performers in KTRU’s series concerts? To put it simply, we want to get of four free-concerts included The Satin underexposed music out to whomever we Hooks, Earnie Banks, The Blades, The can, however we can. These concerts are Gowns, Television Skies, Free Radicals, not just for DJs or the KTRU crowd. This and The Jonx. We chose these bands by semester we’ve seen quite a few new faces searching for the best-sounding under- from both Rice and the rest of the Houston exposed artists in the Houston area and community show up to our concerts, and beyond. To attract different groups of we hope this continues. And frankly, at students on campus and spark a general the end of the day, outside of expanding interest in concert-going, we used a variety your musical bubble and making it easy J. Van of on-campus venues—the Grand Hall, for you to experience bands you might Farnsworth Pavilion, and the Valhalla otherwise never get a chance to see, we lawn. We hope these conveniently lo- would be plenty satisfied just to see you Friday Night Lights cated free concerts provided an enjoyable come out and have a good time listening Studemont Project mixes things up at the Sausage Fest outside Valhalla by alternative to more typical Rice social to good music. adorning themselves with strings of light. functions.
SNEAK PREVIEW: 17th Annual Outdoor Show: 13 April 2008, Noon – 9:00 p.m. This year, we’re working on an Outdoor Show to match last year’s, which featured a catchy national act that drew large crowds to pack the Grand Hall to capacity. Weather and construction permitting, we will hold this year’s show on the field between the Student Center and Herring Hall, behind Fondren Library. Otherwise, we will rock it from the Grand Hall as we did last year. With the support of local businesses, student organizations and student government on campus, and from the nine residential colleges, we hope to secure a headlining act sure to entertain any- one who gives it a chance. This year we also expect to increase the number of bands at the show from last year’s five acts to eight
J. Van or nine. Expect to see a wide array of genres represented at this show, as no two acts will fall in the same category. KTRU’s Who needs a stage? 17th Annual Outdoor Show promises to be eclectic, electric, Gowns make do with limited space in Farnsworth Pavilion by leveling with fans. and, hopefully, outdoors. See you there.
SHAWNA Forney Space City Gamelan rocks out Space City Gamelan rocks out at Unusual Animals, an October collaberation of Asthmatic Kitty Records, Diverseworks, and KTRU Houston
5 From The Music Department rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008 top 35 for the week of 01.07.2008 ARTIST ALBUM LABEL Robert Wyatt Comicopera Domino Various Artists Everything You Always Wanted To Know About 60s Mind Expansive Punkadelic Arf! Arf! Garage Rock Instrumentals But Were Afraid To Ask Odd Nosdam Level Live Wires Anticon Prefuse 73 Preparations Warp Mirah And Spectratone International Share This Place K Vashti Bunyan Lookaftering Fat Cat/Dicristina Motion Turns It On Rima Self-released Richard Youngs Autumn Response Jagjaguwar Bush Tetras Boom In The Night Roir DJ Alibi One Day Tres Edit Certified Air Raid Material Alpha Pup The Lickets Journey In Caldecott International Corporation New Model Army High Attack Attack Yasushi Miura Meek Karidome Various Artists Eccentric Soul: Mighty Mike Lenaburg Numero Charlie Peacock Love Express Ex-curio Runway The Budos Band The Budos Band II Daptone Los Campesinos Sticking Fingers Into Sockets Arts And Crafts Future Rapper Land Of A Thousand Rappers Asthmatic Kitty Flying Lotus Reset EP Warp Letters Letters Type Treasure Mammal You Wish I Was Channeling Your Spirit Dreamy Draw Charalambides Likeness Kranky The Cave Singers Invitation Songs Matador Siouxsie Mantaray Universal Toots And The Maytals Light Your Light Concord Various Artists Can’t Stop It II: Australian Post-Punk 1979-84 Chapter Music Chicago Afrobeat Project (A) Move To Silent Unrest Self-released Corrina Repp The Absent And The Distant Caldo Verde Alice Coltrane Journey In Satchidananda Impulse! Coco Play Drums And Bass K Kilowatts Routes Artificial Music Machine Extra Golden Hera Ma Nono Thrill Jockey Various Artists Tango Around The World Putumayo The Donkeys The Donkeys Antenna Farm Playlist Recommendations By Adam Guerra The ‘playlist’ is a group of 100 CDs Artist Title Label chosen by the Music Department Donald Byrd Ethiopian Knights Blue Note Records that most people (including DJs) are unfamiliar with. CDs are dropped and Drakkar Sauna Jambraham Lincoln Marriage Records added from the playlist each week to keep things fresh. Listed below are ten Concrete Violin Triskedekaphobia Axis Mundi Fall 2007 former playlist albums that were particularly good and deserve Turner Cody Buds of May Digitalis Industries extra attention. They run the musical Various Artists Can’t Stop It! Australian Post-Punk 1978-82 Festival gamut from Jake Lefco (Philadelphia rap) to Donald Byrd (70s funk) to a Two Star Symphony Danse Macabre Self-Released compilation of Australian post-punk. Concrete Violin and Two Star Symphony Winston Jazz Routine Sospiri The Record Machine are both innovative local bands. Though Jake Lefco And You Are? KRURecords all of these albums have now been filed in the general stacks, all these albums Peter Toh Shoes of a Beast Hidden Track Music are still worth checking out, or at least worth requesting at KTRU. Konk The Sounds of Konk Soul Jazz
6 Programming Guide rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008
Navrang The Navrang (“Nine Colors”) Show covers the music of the Indian subcontinent, Specialty Shows with a focus on music from films, but also capturing the diversity of the region with Indian classical, folk, Indipop, Asian underground and “Western fusion” music out of the region in a “spicy musical curry.” Check it out Saturday afternoons, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. With Strange Names Revelry Report The Revelry Report airs Friday nights from 5 to 7 p.m. and focuses primarily on Specialty shows make up around 30 percent of our programming hours, most local events in and around Texas. In the past, the Revelry Report focused on just about during the evening hours between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. These shows endeavor to play everything, including Austin City Limits, national art openings (occurring locally), under/unexposed music from genres other than rock. Some of our shows have less- SXSW (South by Southwest, for newcomers), College Music Journal and a number than-intuitive names, which might leave you wondering what the hell is actually going of major benefits for various charities in and around town. on air. Here are the shows with the weirdest naming conventions: In its current incarnation, the show also places a strong emphasis on live studio performances by local and touring musicians, interviews with artists and musicians, Chickenskin and an overall coverage of events in Houston. By doing so, the Revelry Report has Chickenskin Music airs Thursday Evenings on KTRU from 8 - 10 p.m. The show narrowed its focus, aiming to introduce our audience to alternative outlets for night- gets its name from an old blues expression referring to music that gives you ‘chick- life while exposing the many wonderful events in Houston that might otherwise go enskin’, or goose bumps. At the beginning it was collage of bluegrass, folk, rockabilly, under the radar. classical and jazz. The idea coming from a thought—all music from A to Z is related, and can be played together. It’s just a matter of how you get from A to Z. Live guests Scordatura have always been a part of the show. Over the years we’ve hosted Lyle Lovett, Eric The Scordatura Show explores modern and contemporary classical music: i.e., Taylor, Jason Eklund, The Neville Brothers, James McMurtry, Preston Reed, Sue experimental, electronic, or otherwise unusual music voiced for more or less tradi- Foley, Tish Hinijosa, Ani DiFranco… and the list goes on. tionally orchestral instruments, generally since 1900. Representative artists would include Glass, Reich, Cage, Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer, and the like, though we try to emphasize lesser known material, as our show bleeds across into the glitchi- Genetic Memory ness of the Electronic Show, the experimentation of the Jazz Show, and the noisiness Genetic Memory is a series of three-hour experiments within the sonic void. It is a of Genetic Memory. continuously redefining aural enigma, wrapped around a divergent collection of refer- ence points, from percussive implosions to explosive decompressions, from trepanned sound poetry to doomed Grimmrobe sludge, from the meticulous and improvised to Programming Changes the orchestrated and chaotic, from old school industrial to new school drone, from Listeners should note the following changes from our Fall 2007 Folio’s free-jazz freakouts to freaky prog noodlings, from primitive electrons to digital dust published schedule: devils, from Dadaist spasms to Actionist Grand Guignols, and a myriad of tangents in between. A rotating crew of hosts and hostesses gives each show a constantly shifting • Scordatura has gone from defunct to airing Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. center of gravity, with each DJ formulating his or her own definition of “music minus Tune in for modern and contemporary classical music. one chromosome.” On Monday nights, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., follow the unraveling • KTRU News has gone from defunct to airing Fridays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. strands of Genetic Memory. as we try to bring relevant issues and unheard voices to the fore. • The Electronic Show has been moved forward one hour, and now airs from MK Ultra 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. MK Ultra has been moved forward as well, to air Need a fix of the latest in underground electronic dance music? Not to worry— 9 p.m. to midnight. MK Ultra has you covered, and we’re one of the very few Houston radio shows that • Navrang has gone from defunct to airing Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. does. Every Friday night from 9 p.m.–12 a.m., we showcase 3 hours of live in-station Tune in for the music of the Indian subcontinent. DJ-mixes from the cream of the crop of local acts (and every now and then some • Spoken Word is back from the grave, and now airs Saturdays from 6 p.m. international superstars). We hit all the sub-genres, whether it’s house, drum n bass, to 7 p.m. progressive, breaks, etc! You can check us out on the web, at http://mkultra.us for past set recordings, details on sending promos, and how to submit DJ demos! The General Shift Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour What does a general shift, which makes up around 70% of our schedule, Once upon a time, when today’s college freshmen were little more than a staring sound like? The answer is as varied as the DJs that spin tracks, but there are complex and a bad perm, alternative, indie rock, garage, emo, grunge and hardcore certain commonalities. all had the same name: punk. Every Thursday night at 10, the Mutant Hardcore Our “playlist” consists of around 100 albums. General shift shows in- Flower Hour explores the genre that gave birth to all the lame bands that annoy your clude 4 playlist tracks per hour, plus one each shift. The hope is for DJs to try parents, your roommates, and your friends, proving that nothing is more cathartic out new and challenging music, while leaving them by and large free to select than giving everyone the finger at the same time, including yourself. Like Steven Van their own tracks. You also will hear at least 2 tracks from underrepresented Zandt, we play the Ramones, everyone who influenced the Ramones, and everyone genres each hour, including blues, jazz, world music from Afghanistan to the Ramones influenced. If it’s fast and loud, if it’s angry, if it rocks, we’ve got it—but Zimbabwe, improvised and experimental music, and even pure noise. It’s not it’s more complicated than that. D. Boon of the Minutemen put it simply: Punk is uncommon to hear a modern classical track, followed by indie pop, chased whatever we make it to be. with drumming out of Cameroon, followed by hip hop. It’s eclectic; it’s challenging; it’s KTRU.
Please note that once our newest crop of DJs on air, all spaces marked “Robo” and “WRN” will be filled with live bodies.
7 Programming Guide rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008 KTRU News, Reborn, Amplifies Otherwise Unheard Voices By Carina Baskett and mood in the absence of images—so I organizations doing some good in the but is going on in your own backyard. This summer, part of my job doing decided to somehow get involved in radio world. For example, we interviewed Dr. KTRU News’ overall focus is on Rice, ecology research was to sit outside alone production. I looked to KTRU. Fady Joudah of Doctors Without Borders, Houston, and issues or perspectives that and watch bees for hours on end. My iPod Part of KTRU’s mission is to educate an organization bringing doctors and are absent from the mainstream media. became my best friend, but I hadn’t added Houstonians and Rice students with eclec- medicine to people such as refugees who We are just getting started. The interest new music for ages, so my playlists quickly tic programming which brings underex- do not have access to healthcare. We also from the student body and community grew old. Thank goodness for countless posed and unheard ideas and traditions interviewed Professor Allen Matusow of and the quality of the programming have fresh podcasts, free radio-style shows to the fore—KTRU News nicely fits the the Rice History Department about how already risen greatly in one semester, and downloadable through iTunes. I listened bill. Sadly, news programming had been the Bush administration compares to we can only get better. to national and world news, science news, absent from KTRU for several years. those of the past, getting past the garbage Listen to KTRU News Fridays at 5 p.m. fiction and nonfiction stories. I fell in love KTRU News now broadcasts the voices on what passes for network news, and to To see the schedule of upcoming topics with the creative medium of radio com- of Houston and Rice thinkers, doers, and dispel some of the mystery surrounding and hear past shows, visit http://bang. munication—the way it leaves so much leaders. In just one semester, we have the culture of academia. rice.edu/outdoor. Email lexusinabaskett@ to the mind’s eye of the listener, the way already produced interviews, a bilingual Additionally, through the show, we ktru.org to get involved, or with questions the speakers are so human and intimate radio drama, and shows on politics, faculty hope to and highlight some fascinating and or comments because they use tone to convey emotion diversity, nanotechnology, and nonprofit relevant research you’ve never heard of,
8 Programming Guide rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008
WhatBy Paul Thompson isBrothers, MK Underworld, and FatboyUltra? Slim masses, and clubs to spread word about “Techno is lame, repetitive, and dull. It are reinventing their sound and tweaking upcoming events. barely qualifies as an artistic endeavor. It’s their performances to appeal to a changing As the only radio show based in Hous- the music of choice for people who can’t market. Acts such as Justice, Digitalism, ton devoted entirely to electronic dance seem to find the beat on the dance floor, and Simian Mobile Disco have released music, we have a passionate group of local and it all sounds exactly the same.” critically-acclaimed albums and embarked and national listeners (thanks to KTRU’s I can see where these critics are upon North American tours. webstream), an active presence on local coming from; radio-friendly, cookie-cutter Houston is a prime location for elec- music forums, and a wealth of high-quality, techno tracks, for lack of a better term, tronic music that is slowly beginning to archived sets at www.mkultra.us.. Every blow. KTRU is not about radio-friendly be recognized on a larger stage. Local Friday night from 9 p.m. until midnight, music. MK Ultra is not about radio-friendly producers create tracks that end up being MK Ultra features three guests who spin dance music. You can find that stuff else- spun in Asia and Europe by world-famous live sets in our studio. Although the show where. Instead, we want to expand our artists like Tiesto, releasing their cuts on is centered on the Houston electronic listeners’ awareness of how large a genre websites like iTunes and Beatport, and music scene, we have had internationally- “electronic dance” really is by featuring DJs turning out remixes for some of the big- renowned artists such as Junkie XL, BT, from both the Houston area and further gest names. DJs from the area are invited Infusion, and Hybrid drop in for live sets afield who produce and spin tracks you across the world to spin in front of huge and interviews. Our sound varies from have never heard before. crowds. Houston is home to one of the show to show: One week we might have After the initial boom of rave cul- largest dubstep (slow, bass-heavy music a three-hour dirty-house extravaganza, ture in the early ‘90s, the dance music that grew out of the English trip-hop scene) full of energy and pounding bass, and the industry became saturated with a slew communities in the US. It’s a popular city next time you tune in you could hear sexy, of underwhelming releases aimed at the for DJs to perform in, with clubs like Rich’s, laid-back deep house, or stuttering, glitchy general public. Hardcore listeners were Warehouse, and Bar-Rio pulling in artists breakbeats. We try to keep our listeners upset with artists’ decisions to yield to ranging from the aggressive electro-house coming back for more, and we do our the allure of pop culture, while casual mayhem of MSTRKRFT to the cascading best to give newer or lesser-known DJs listeners just thought the music sucked. synth lines and huge build-ups of progres- an opportunity to be heard. MK ULTRA Junkie XL drops by the studio for a live set Recently, however, dance music has seen a sive trance legend Paul van Dyk. Houston- Dance music is back, and Houston and interview. dramatic revival. Daft Punk’s current world based record labels and producing crews has put itself on the map as a hotspot tour, featuring the duo clad in robot suits organize some of the largest techno shows for producers and DJs alike. The influx your musical knowledge, and learn the performing inside of a giant LED pyramid in the South. MK Ultra allows DJs an op- of big names in addition to the wealth of ins and outs of electronic music. Tune in is being called the must-see experience of portunity to showcase their mixing skills local talent in the area makes MK Ultra a on Fridays from 9PM until midnight and the year. House music is getting sampled and track selections, producers with the really exciting show to be working for at start your night off right! in hit songs and names like the Chemical chance for their music to be heard by the the moment. It’s a great way to expand
9 ALBUM REVIEWS rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008
Artist: Various Artists Artist: Little Brother Title: Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics Title: Get Back 1918-1955 Label: ABB Label: Dust to Digital By Devin Naquin By Nick Schlossman Unfortunately, many deserving rappers get glossed over This is a 24-track album of musical snapshots from over 20 in both the mainstream rap and indie hip-hop circuits. These nations. Each track has been pulled from crumbling 78 RPM artists get ignored in “the game” because they don’t have the records produced between 1918 and 1955 (now an obsolete publicity backing of Interscope or Jive, and they get passed on format, replaced by 45 and 33.3 RPM vinyl) and cleaned to a sparkle. by the indie hip-hop elite because they aren’t “conscientious” Music store owner, musician, and writer Ian Nagoski takes you by the hand to visit enough in their verses. some of his favorite sounds from around the world, from intense Serbian nationalist epic Little Brother is one of those perennially forgotten. Since the inception of the group poetry to droning, otherworldly Buddhist prayer, to upbeat, pre-independence Cameroo- by rappers Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh and producer 9th Wonder in North Carolina nian rumba. Only a small handful of the tracks have been re-released since their original in 2001, Little Brother has run the gamut of the small-town hip-hop crew. Their first full pressings to vinyl in the first half of the 20th century, making for an eclectic collection length album The Listening released in 2003 was a surprise underground sensation but of rarities and exotica. went relatively unnoticed until Jay-Z enlisted 9th Wonder to produce “Threat” on The On the album you will find one of the first commercial recordings of gamelan music Black Album. Jay-Z’s notoriety and a subsequent national tour with Oakland hip-hop crew (while the original recording flopped in the 1920s, gamelan has gone on to become a Hieroglyphics pushed Little Brother to ink a major label deal with Atlantic. The group’s “world music” cliché), as well as a very strange and wonderful portion of Chinese opera sophomore effort The Minstrel Show released in 2005 reaped the rewards of the Atlantic and a 10-year-old Scandinavian boy singing. promotions behemoth with both critical acclaim and a glimpse on the Billboard charts. The album does not have an organizing idea or generic, targeted sound like the However, the waters since then have been murky. Putumayo World compilations you find in airport gift shops and finer grocery stores. It Released October 23 2007, Little Brother’s third album Get Back is the result of several is an all too brief foray into unknown world music, with Nagoski there to point out his drastic changes. The group has split with 9th Wonder, thereby pulling in various known favorites. and unknown producers including Illmind, Khrysis, and Hi-Tek for the album. However, The liner notes are invaluable and attempt to situate each song in terms of its com- there remains one track produced by 9th Wonder—“Breakin’ My Heart”, the shining star positional background, and why it was recorded. The album also provides a glance at track of the album featuring the self-proclaimed “best rapper alive” Lil Wayne. As if a the first several decades of an infant but growing recording industry. change in personnel weren’t enough, Little Brother has also opted to go independent Listeners will be excited by how difficult it is to pinpoint what part of the world each on this release and bid farewell to Atlantic. Likewise, any headway Atlantic was making song comes from without checking the track listing, and many share a peculiarly mys- in pushing the group onto mainstream media has lost momentum, leaving the group to terious, haunting quality. It is indeed a black mirror, a murky, distorted reflection of a remain relatively unknown. bygone world, the influences behind much of the music untraceable. Get Back then is an attempt at answering the fundamental question of groups like Little The album is conveniently available, tax exempt, for $15 from Dust to Digital’s website. Brother: Who are we rapping for and why? With popular rap culture and the independent It comes highly recommended. art chic so diametrically opposed, an artist is forced to choose sides, but what do you do when your work lies somewhere in between? After a stint at testing the mainstream waters, Little Brother is finally trying to answer this question. In “Can’t Win For Losing”, Phonte summarizes the group’s thoughts and ultimately comes to the conclusion that Artist: James Blackshaw “now I’m back on my shit/’Cause me and my team gon’ make do what it do/had a long hard talk with my nigga Jazzy Jeff/He said, ‘Fuck ‘em ‘te, do it for you!’” This realization Title: The Cloud of Unknowing sets the stage for the rest of Get Back—a manifesto for the new midstream hip-hop Label: Tompkins Square existential crisis. By Sam Barrett
At a time when contemporary artists use a lot to say very Artist: Fatal Flying Guilloteens little, James Blackshaw’s The Cloud of Unknowing is infinitely Title: Quantum Fucking refreshing: armed almost solely with a 12-string acoustic guitar, Label: French Kiss he crafts elegant musical landscapes that even some of the By Ian Wells most ornate instrumentation couldn’t hope to capture—all at the tender age of 25. Yet the album is never intimidating or overwhelming for the casual Eleven years after starting as a one-off gag act, the Fatal listener; it finds a perfect balance between experimentation and accessibility that it Flying Guilloteens have been featured in Vice, Pitchfork, and maintains throughout. even Spin, cementing them as the kings of Houston’s under- The four major tracks on The Cloud of Unknowing share the same narrative structure. estimated punk demographic. Their third full-length, released First, Blackshaw introduces a skillfully articulated idea, and then—through absolutely on French Kiss (Les Savy Fav, Thunderbirds are Now!), is their frantic finger picking—mutates it into its new but altogether fitting conclusion. This most polished to date (perhaps cleanly recorded is a better way to say it), absent of the transformation is fascinating to hear; literally thousands of distinct notes barrage the fuzz of their previous albums but still just as dangerous and raw as their infamous live listener’s ear as the track revises itself. These highly detailed lines never lose focus, shows. Each track is a riot, driven not so much by the drums as the screaming, grinding however; there is clear purpose to the way Blackshaw plays. guitars—this isn’t power-chord punk; each song is all over the fretboard. The Guilloteens Because the album is so sparse, the added glockenspiel and violin on “Running to (with Something Fierce, and in the vein of Pain Teens and Sad Pygmy) are keeping gut- the Ghost” provide unexpected counterweight to the guitar’s intricate melody. Yet they ter-punk alive in this city. Highly recommended. are never out of place; they merely provide emphasis for the song’s relentless progres- sion. Later, on the album’s 15-plus-minute closer “Stained Glass Window,” Blackshaw’s picking is in its freest and most contemplative form, meandering until it finally takes Artist: Noiseshaper shape and moves resolutely toward its stunning conclusion. Just as the track seems to Title: Real to Reel be climaxing, dissonance sets in, and the listener is brought back down from perhaps Label: Miracle Sounds the record’s most serene moment. By Scottie McDonald It is these moments that stand as a testament to how powerful Blackshaw’s new album really is. The fact that it is composed on a traditionally limited medium is of no Noiseshaper’s Real to Reel is by far Rice Radio Reggae’s importance—the album is a unique and wholly engaging listening experience. 2007 album of the year. Real to Reel has the feel of a traditional Dub disc, yet one that is sprinkled throughout with flavorful vocals—all of the 16 tracks feature electro Dub-style mixes, and most include guest singer, sing-jay or deejay vocals. Artist: The 1900s A number of the tracks are re-mixes from previously-released Noiseshaper albums Title: Cold & Kind and, while the original mix might be considered preferable, having all these tracks on Label: Parasol one CD strengthens its content. The two ‘non-Noiseshaper’ tracks, the opening Sly & Robbie track featuring Beans & Hawkman’s vocals (remixed by Noiseshaper, of course) By Rose Cahalan and a remix which follows of Ari Up’s “Me Done” from her Dread More Den Dead album, are fun listens also done well. “The 1960s” might be a more fitting name for this seven- Real to Reel is the debut release for Miracle Sounds (.com), the US extension of the piece Chicago band, because its utterly infectious debut astonishing EU (predominantly Dub) label, Echo Beach. Readers can hear excerpts from Cold & Kind is seasoned with an ample dose of gentle ‘60s Noiseshaper CDs at www.noiseshaper.net. Real to Reel continues its rotation on Rice psych-pop—think of a slightly less corny, more substantial Radio Reggae Wednesday afternoons, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., where we spin eclectic mixes Fleetwood Mac with a touch of Belle & Sebastian silliness. The opening track “No Delay” that underscore the multifaceted nature of reggae. Advance requests can be emailed builds nicely, albeit a bit predictably, from a simple piano line into a lush mix of vocals and to [email protected] or anytime via ‘e-quest’ at www.ktru.org. strings, but the album really starts to shine with “Georgia,” a shuffling, absurdly catchy little number that foregrounds The 1900s’ greatest strength: incredible vocal harmonies. The almost choral blend of Caroline Donovan’s reedy soprano, Jeanine O’Toole’s bluesy alto, and Edward Anderson’s rough-around-the-edges rasp is so good that it’ll send a shiver down your spine. The rest of the album (with the exception of the random 50- second woodwind interlude “When We Lay Down”) consistently delivers upbeat melodies that are always poppy without getting too sweet. Some might file this lighthearted band away under that pleasant but not terribly inter- esting category of “twee” and write it off as innocuous hipster fluff. But there’s a subtlety here that would be easy to miss: the weird tension between bright, jangly music and darker lyrics. In the title track, which defies characterization by interweaving touches of country and folk with standard driving guitars, O’Toole reveals that she is “cold and kind and filled with hate,” but she sounds so darn happy about it. It’s the same story with “City Water,” which contrasts downright angsty lyrics with lots of plucky arpeggios. Still, I’m impressed by the way the album as a whole manages to be so extremely orchestrated and lush (lots of tambourine, violin, and gorgeous interplays between shifting basslines and vocals) without overindulging. “Two Ways,” a great folksy track that melds rollick- ing fun with wistful yearning a la Iron & Wine (whom The 1900s has opened for on tour), exemplifies this fine balance. Cold & Kind proves that The 1900s has two crucial ingredients for an even better sophomore album: a signature sound that blends ‘60s pop and folk with slightly bluesy harmonies, and an ability to craft songs that are just plain catchy. With their next effort they’ll either further refine their sound by adding even more sonic layers, or sink into that dangerous territory of glossy overproduction by burying genuine emotion under a saccharine veneer of a bland commercialized “indie” sound. I can only hope they choose the former path. Overall, this is a nice little secret of an album, so check it out.
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KTRU Staff/Folio Staff/Contact KTRU rice radio folio ktru 91.7 fm SPRING 2008
How Can I Contact KTRU? KTRU SPRING 2008 Folio STAFF Listen to or read about KTRU at www.ktru.org. On air music requests: 713.348.KTRU (5878) Editor: Ann Wang You can also find email addresses for all of our directors at ktru.org. Copy: Nick Schlossman General correspondence can be directed to [email protected] Layout and Design: David Wang Contributors: Sam Barrett, Carina Baskett, Rose Cahalan, Alice Chai, How Can I submit music? Mark Flaum, Shawna Forney, Adam Guerra, Claire Hein, To submit music for airplay consideration: Lance Higdon, Alyssa Ibarra, Dennis Lee (D.L.), Scottie Music Directors McDonald, Daniel Mee, MK Ultra, Devin Naquin, Rachel C/O KTRU Orosco, Nick Schlossman, Paul Thompson, Lindsey P.O. Box 1892 Simard, J. Van, Ian Wells, Matthew Wettergreen Houston, TX 77450 How Can I contact other people?
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