EDIT: Giveaways, Giveaways!

EDIT: Due to a last minute change in plans, I won't be leaving town this weekend, but I will be gone next weekend.  That means: show tomorrow, no show on 7/17.  Lots of giveaway edits.  Read below.

The good news: Kate from Say Yes! To Music is going to sub for me (next week I hope)!  She just started her first summer DJing and is doing a kickass job of it, so I'm glad to be able to give her some drivetime.  Tune in and let her know if you like what you hear!

The better news:

This week as well as the week I get back, July 11th and 25th,  will be a blowout of giveaways.  

This week I'll be giving away a slew of tickets to Forecastle Festival (see forecastlefest.com for details), including 2 3-day passes, 2 Sunday VIP passes, and a few other 1-day passes that have not yet been claimed.   Also, I'll be giving away two passes to see Spiritualized at the Mercy on 7/22!  

Only July 25, I'll be giving away a pair of tickets to the Apples in Stereo show on 7/29 with Poison Control Center and Big Fresh at the Mercy Lounge.  The show's 18+ and kicks off around 9pm.  And along with your tickets, you'll get a copy of the Apples' latest album, Electronic Projects for Musicians.

So mark your calendar for this Friday and next and make sure to tune in from 4pm-6pm CST on your drive home.  Or listen in at WRVU.org if you don't have a radio nearby.  Giveaways will start shortly after 4pm and continue throughout the show.

Feel free to ask if you've got any questions, and get yourself geared up for all the great music in and around town!

Minimix: The reason I haven't posted in a week and a half...

I'm back from the family beach trip, which was a delightful mess of competitive tubing and aggressive drinking, long days out on a boat and long evenings playing beach games, family sing-alongs and incredible food.  It would be unfair to say I'm the oddball of the family, because it's so obvious we've got the same blood--we're loud, boisterous, active, always talking and socializing and enjoying each other.  My indie-hipster leanings are somewhat the exception.  The cousins gather together with a deck of cards and a cooler of Summer Beer and listen to Rihanna and other top 40 until five AM hits and we've got enough energy left to walk nextdoor and sleep until noon.  The whole family gets out the banjo, or the guitar if there's not one around, and sings "Margaritaville" and "Bitin' My Fingernails" and even all seven-and-a-half minutes of "American Pie".

With only about thirty of us at the beach this year, we weren't as big of a group as usual, but with aunts, uncles, grandparents, boyfriends, in-laws, cousins, second cousins, great-grandchildren... we're a crowd.

So after that wonderful exhaustion, I came home and immediately packed up the minivan and began the move to my new house!!!!! which I couldn't be more excited about.  It's old as hell and covered in ivy and KA fraternity brothers lived in it last year and left us a keg and a bunch of beer and a hole in the ceiling and I love it.  My closet is larger than the kitchen of the last place I lived.  I'm just completely ecstatic about being there.

But, the move has kept me busy (since I've also been working 830-5) and the point of that whole spiel was that I have not posted because I have been out of town and moving.

Also, I won't be able to do my show this week because I'll be in Wisconsin for a wedding, and the week after that I'll be in Chicago for Pitchfork!  So, my deepest apologies.  This week I've got a kickass sub, Brandon Spencer from Nashville Mixtapes, so check him out and see what you think.  I'm not sure about the week after that, but I'll let you know.

In the meantime, to make up for it, here's a minimix of songs loosely related to what I've been doing this week.  Enjoy!

The Dalloways, "A Place to Call Our Home"

Art Brut, "Moving to L.A."

The Spinto Band, "Brown Boxes"

Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood #2"

Beach House, "Home Again"

Playlist, 6/20

Thanks to everyone who called in this week with requests or to win tickets. Sorry I didn't have more to give away! Check back here in the upcoming weeks for more info about tickets, in-stations, local shows, etc. but in the meantime, don't expect an update until the 1st or so. I'll be heading over to sunny North Carolina this Sunday with my family--which means aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, in-laws, cousins' kids, boyfriends, and on and on--for a week of competitive tubing, competitive drinking, and competitive sunbathing. Then I'll be moving into a new house the day I get back in town, which is sure to take all the fire out of me for a few days. If anyone wants to sell me a dresser, desk, or bed, let me know....

Req	New Rel	V/A	Artist	Song	Album	Label	Genre
			Sol Seppy	1 2	The Bells of 1 2	Gronland Records	Other
			M. Ward	Right in the Head	Internet Release	Merge	Other
			The Bicycles	Two Girls From Montreal	The Good, The Bad, and the Fluffly	Label Unavailable	Other
	X		Kink Ador	Little Sister	Get Lucky	Self-Released	Other
			Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins	Happy	Rabbit Fur Coat	Team Love	Other
			The Jealous Girlfriends	I Quit	The Jealous Girlfriends	Self-release	Other
			Donovan	Wear Your Love Like Heaven	Donovan	Legacy	Other
	X		Spiritualized	Soul on Fire	Songs in A&E	Fontana	Other
	X		Bombadil	Julian of Norwich	A Buzz, A Buzz	Ramseur	Other
	X		Portishead	Machine Gun	Third	Mercury	Other
			Explosions in the Sky	Look Into the Air	How Strange, Innocence	Sad Loud America	Other
	X		Mates of State	Great Dane	Re-arrange Us	Barsuk Records	Other
			Zookeeper	Snow in Berlin	Becoming All Things	Self-release	Other
	X		The Futureheads	Walking Backwards	This Is Not The World	nul records	Other
	X		The Wedding Present	Santa Ana Winds	El Rey	Manifesto	Other
			Cory Branan	Sour Mash	Live on Antennas to Heaven	None	Other
			Dr. Dog	The Old Days	Fate	Park the Van	Other
			Silver Jews	Punks in the Beerlight	Tanglewood Numbers	Drag City	Other
	X		She and Him	I Was Made For You	Volume 1	Merge	Other
			Rufus Wainwright	April Fools	Rufus Wainwright	Dreamworks	Other
			Dragonette	Get Lucky	Galore	Mercury	Other
			Bloc Party	Hunting for Witches	A Weekend in the City	Vice Records	Other
			Chromeo	Call Me Up	Fancy Footwork	Vice	Other
			How I Became the Bomb	Secret Identity	Let's Go!	Self-Release	Other

Quick Update

Tune in tomorrow to win tickets to....

The Voodoo Experience

October 24-26

New Orleans

Featuring The Stone Temple Pilots, R.E.M, Nine Inch Nails (full lineup to be announced Monday!)

www.thetenthritual.com

Forecastle

July 25-27

Louisville

Featuring Dr. Dog, Method Man, Groovatron, and plenty more

www.forecastlefest.com

Kink Ador's CD release party for Get Lucky

Wednesday, June 25

12th and Porter

Featuring Spoken Word Jen, Jon Nicholson, Dan Cohen, Chip Green and others

$5

That's four separate pairs of tickets being given away (2 for the last show mentioned) and a TON of chances to win.  So tune in.  The giveaways will start promptly at 4pm.

Thanks for listening!

Playlist, 6/13

Here's the playlist from this week. The Early Evening were excellent company in the station, and don't forget to catch them tomorrow night at The 5 Spot around 9pm. I'm planning on being there, so if you make it out, come by and say hello! And don't forget to tune in next week for a chance to win tickets to Forecastle.

Rock Plaza Central, "When We Go, How We Go" from Are We Not Horses?
Emma Wallace, "Exceed My Expectations" from A Reason to Stay Up All Night
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, "The Charging Sky" from Rabbit Fur Coat
Ra Ra Riot, "Each Year" from Ra Ra Riot
Luna, "Dear Diary" from The Days of Our Nights
Cory Branan, "Crush" from The Hell You Say
Neutral Milk Hotel, "Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone" from On Avery Island
Happy Birthday Amy, "The Holidays" from Sue
Mogwai, "Killing All the Flies" from Happy Songs for Happy People
The Wedding Present, "Don't Take Me Home Until I'm Drunk" from El Rey
Mates of State, "The Re-Arranger" from Re-Arrange Us
The Shout Out Louds, "Impossible" from (Impossible)
Architecture in Helsinki, "Heart it Races" from Places Like This
Les Malicieux, "We Are Okay" from Demos
Blackstrap, "The Bitter, The Sweet" from Steal My Horses and Run
The Early Evening, "Heavy Lids" from Everyone's a Legend
The Early Evening, "People" from Everyone's a Legend
The Early Evening, "Sleeping in Your Arms" from Everyone's a Legend
Amy LaVere, "Killing Him" from Anchors & Anvils
The Mountain Goats, "Autoclave" from Heretic Pride
Matt Pond PA, "The Crush" from People Have a Way

Playlist, 6/6

Thanks to everyone who tuned in on Friday to listen to the show. As I mentioned, I've got a lot of good stuff coming up in the upcoming weeks, so check the sidebar to keep updated on in-stations and ticket giveaways! Also, thanks to those of you that called in and didn't hang up on me (read below). You put me in a much better mood.

Req	New Rel	V/A	Artist	Song	Album	Label	Genre
			Spiritualized	Shine A Light (Unreleased Mix)	Friendly Fire	Dedicated Records	IndieRock
			Professor Murder	Free Stress Test	Professor Murder Rides the Subway	Kanine	IndieRock
			Elf Power	Venus and Mercury	Internet Exclusive	Rykodisc	IndieRock
			Electric Touch	Don't Be Afraid	Electric Touch	Label Unavailable	IndieRock
			Mary Epworth and the Jubilee Band	The Saddle Song	Internet Release	Self-Released	IndieRock
			Stephen Malkmus	The Hook	Stephen Malkmus	Matador	IndieRock
			Numero 6	Da piccolissimi pezzi	Quando arriva la gente si sente meglio	Label Unavailable	IndieRock
			Good Shoes	We Are Not the Same	Think Before You Speak	Brille Records	IndieRock
			Caitlin Rose	Answer in One of These Bottles	Dead Flowers	Theory 8	IndieRock
			Nouvelle Vague	Dance With Me	Bande a Part	Peacefrog	IndieRock
	X		El Perro Del Mar	Inner Island	From the Valley to the Stars	The Control Group	IndieRock
			Spoon	Johnathan Fisk	Kill the Moonlight	Merge	IndieRock
	X		M83	Kim & Jesse	Saturdays = Youth	Mute	IndieRock
			Mogwai	Tracy	Young Team	Jetset	IndieRock
X			Ryan Adams and the Cardinals	Let It Ride	Cold Roses	Lost Highway	IndieRock
	X		Islands	Creeper	Arm's Way	Anti-	IndieRock
			Sun Kil Moon	Unlit Hallway	April	Caldo Verde	IndieRock
	X		Portishead	The Rip	Third	Mercury Records	IndieRock
			Cinerama	Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang	This is Cinerama	Scopitones	IndieRock
			Centro-Matic	I, the Kite	Dual Hawks	Quality Park	IndieRock
	X		Hotpipes	The Future Is Where We Belong	Future Bolt	Liquid Panda	IndieRock
X			Tokyo Police Club	Your English Is Good	Elephant Shell	Saddle Creek	IndieRock
	X		Be Your Own Pet	Twisted Nerve	Get Awkward	Ecstatic Peace/Universal	IndieRock
			Sea Wolf	You're a Wolf	Leaves in the River	Dangerbird	IndieRock
			The Hold Steady	Massive Nights	Boys and Girls in America	Vagrant	IndieRock
			M. Ward	Four Hours in Washington	Transistor Radio	Merge	IndieRock

A view from this side of the board...

I wouldn't call myself a calm person by any stretch, but I love confrontation and can tolerate a great deal of criticism.  What I can't tolerate is rudeness.  A listener who was less than inspired by the Mogwai song I played this week called in, said "Thank God that's over." and hung up on me.  The first half didn't piss me off, the second half did.  If you don't like what I'm playing, feel free to check out 107.5 or NPR or Jack.FM or put in a CD or a tape or sing to yourself or SOMETHING, but don't be rude to me.  Feel free as well to call me and let me know that you didn't like the song.  I don't mind.  Just give me a chance to explain to you that you not liking the song is never going to stop me from playing it.

We here at WRVU don't play the music we play so that anyone and everyone can appreciate it.  We don't care about the least common denominator.  We play it because we like it; we hope some of you do.  We play it because we believe that not everyone likes the same music.  We play it because we want what we love to have an audience--and if two hundred people turn off their radios and two people buy the album, we've been successful.  If we believed that our entire audience had to enjoy a song for it to be worth playing, we'd be another commercial Top 40 station.  

I know you think your music taste is THE BEST.  But do you remember how much you loved those ridiculous pop-punk bands when you were thirteen?  Or maybe you, like me, went through a ridiculous country music phase at age twelve.  Get over yourself.  I love it when we like the same music; I love it when you call in and want to know the name of a band, or where to buy an album, or when to catch someone live.  But the moment you start thinking that our DJs should be catering to your interests, you're missing the point.  We're not here for YOU.  We're here for the music.

So when you want to call in and tell me (or any of us) that you didn't like a song we played, keep this in mind: it's not your show.  When you call in and say you don't like a song and treat us rudely, you don't even make it to the status of music elitist--you come across like an asshole.  So for god's sake, at least give me the courtesy of a response.

Forecastle Festival Ticket Giveaways

Thanks to the generous folks up at Forecastle, forty-two of you guys will be joining me (and some other WRVU'ers) up in Louisville this July for a weekend of excellent music of all sorts, from hip-hop to twee, along with fifteen grassroots artists and about fifty activist organizations represented. Along with the big-ish names you probably all recognize, I'm thrilled to see several Nashvillians represented--The Protomen are playing the pre-party, and All We Seabees are playing Saturday morning. The tickets are fairly cheap for a three-day pass, but if you'd like to grab some for free, a bunch of WRVU shows will be giving away all kinds of passes in the upcoming weeks--single day, two-day, three-day, and a few exclusive VIP passes. For the record, I have no idea what it means to be a VIP at Forecastle, but it can't be bad, right?

To get a pair of tickets, tune into any of these shows:

Mon 6/9 5-7pm Assorted Fruits and Cheeses 2 Friday passes

Tuesy 6/10 8pm-12am Any Colour You Like 2 Saturday
Thurs 6/12 10pm-12am Nashville Mixtapes 2 Saturday
Sat 6/14 2-3pm The Funky Four Elements 2 Sunday

Sun 6/15 10pm-11pm Seagulls Over Nashville 2 Friday
Fri 6/20 4-6pm Antennas to Heaven 2 Sunday

Sun 6/22 10am-12pm The Mixdown 2 Friday
Mon 6/23 7-8pm All Your Summer Songs 2 Saturday
Thurs 6/26 10pm-12am Nashville Mixtapes 2 Sunday
Sat 6/28 2-3pm The Funky Four Elements 2 Friday

Sun 6/29 6-8pm Positive Spin 2 Saturday
Mon 6/30 5-7pm Assorted Fruits and Cheeses 2 Sunday
Tues 7/1 10pm-12am Any Colour You Like 2 Friday

Sun 7/6 10am-12pm The Mixdown 2 Saturday
Sun 7/6 6-8pm Positive Spin 2 Sunday
Mon 7/7 7-8pm All Your Summer Songs 2 Fri-Sat
Fri 7/11 4-6pm Antennas to Heaven 2 3-day

Sun 7/13 10-11pm Seagulls Over Nashville 2 Sat-Sun
Mon 7/14 5-7pm Assorted Fruits and Cheeses 2 Fri VIP
Tues 7/15 10pm-12am Any Colour You Like 2 Sat VIP
Fri 7/18 4-6pm Antennas to Heaven 2 Sun VIP

Good luck!

I am a failure as a music blogger.

So my mac is fixed and I am back in dear old Nashville, and I feel like the last two weeks has lasted for about two months. I have no idea who's playing in town next month. I have no idea who released an album while I was gone. My bloglines account is overwhelming. I haven't had a personal computer in two weeks, and I've been useless.

I'd be lying if I swore this nearly month-long siesta will never happen again. I don't aspire to be I Guess I'm Floating, or You Ain't No Picasso, or, you know... overly consistent. I keep busy. But I'm back for the summer, and at the very least, I'll be supporting the radioshow still. So keep listening! And keep reading. Please?

But we have passed the illustrious 1/3 of the way done point for the year, and I'm taking a peak at all the albums that have the potential to stick it out and make that album-of-the-year list come January. Some of these may not have the staying power, and some others that have already been released may come back and surprise me, but in the meantime:

Beach House, Devotion

"D.A.R.L.I.N.G."

Black Mountain, In the Future
"Black Cat" (from the bonus disc)

British Sea Power, Do You Like Rock Music?
"Waving Flags"

Caitlin Rose, Dead Flowers
Okay yeah, it's an EP, and for that reason alone I guess it HAS to get knocked off the list, but it's just so damn good.

Destroyer, Trouble in Dreams
"Foam Hands"

DeVotchKa, A Mad and Faithful Telling
"Transliterator"

Elf Power, In a Cave
"The Demon Daughter"

Foals, Antidotes
"Balloons"

Happy Birthday Amy, Sue!
"Bait"

The Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride
"Sax Rohmer #1"

Portishead, Third
Okay, I confess: I have not even heard this album yet. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow afternoon. But I love Portishead too much, and I can't wait to hear this one.

Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin, Pershing
"Oceanographer"
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Real Emotional Trash
"Baltimore"
Tapes N' Tapes, Walk it Off
"Demon Apple"

Tokyo Police Club, Elephant Shell
"Graves"

Umbrella Tree, The Church and the Hospital
"A New Job With The Police--A German Song"


And a second post will be forthcoming with the playlist from the radioshow (today at four!) and updated local concert calendar. I'm shaping back up! Just for you guys!

Bad news: my darling mac is having problems. Specifically, when I reboot it, the clock resets to 1961 and no applications (including the one that controls the clock) will open. And now, it seems to be temporarily rendering any charger that touches it unusable. So I can't shut it down... and now I can't charge it. I made it last through exams so that I would last through exams, but now that I'm done (HURRAH) my poor baby is going to have to get some work done. It's that time in its life, but I'm just praying it's not done for. Good news: Done with school, more time for posting, but now I've got no online access to my music, and little computer access. I'm also about to be cruising around the country for two weeks--Myrtle Beach, Charlottesville, and Champaign if you want to say hello--but I've got hardly any computer access in the meantime.

I'm just about to fold.

So I'm going to go work on wrangling up some cash to pay for a new computer, and sorry for being an utter failure as a blogger lately.