Join WRVU Nashville for a podcast that explores Carson Lystad’s radio show “Playists for Friends,” (Mondays at 5pm), a look at the Rap/Hip-Hop Releases of 2018 so far, and, finally,…
Last weekend I was able to fulfill a year-long dream of mine when I saw BROCKHAMPTON in concert in Indianapolis. If you listened to music in 2017, you probably heard about this group at least once. The 15-member “boyband” took the nation by storm at the tail end of what already was a fantastic year for music. Driven by outstanding production that’s somehow simultaneously progressive and nostalgic and verses from off-kilter personalities such as the unapologetically gay frontman Kevin Abstract, the charmingly sluggish Matt Champion, and electrifying Merlyn Wood, BROCKHAMPTON truly stands out among the hordes of hip-hop projects released each year. In this list, I will attempt to rank every song BROCKHAMPTON released in their SATURATION series, from worst to best. (Note: This includes songs only, not Skits, Scenes, Cinemas, or any of the bonus tracks included in the box set.)
Continuing their trend of putting out an album every year, Vulfpeck delivers with their 6th studio album Mr. Finish Line. Featuring 13 different artists throughout the ten-track-long album, the result is a stellar smorgasbord of pure funk-rock heaven that any fan of Vulfpeck’s previous work will be more than happy to bop along to.
“The best boy band since One Direction.” An artistic collective. The internet’s first boy band. Kevin Abstract’s newest group venture.
Next up for Cranberry Jam we have Nashville’s own Arlie! Formed in 2016 around singer-songwriter Nathaniel Banks and featuring WRVU’s Carson Lystad, Arlie specializes in creating a smooth blend of…
Pitchfork Music Festival boasts an impressive lineup that is as eclectic and genre-spanning a collection as it is all-encompassing. Just as it has in past years, Pitchfork delivered a list that truly has something for everyone without relying on superfluous bill-filling bands or kitsch or campiness. Here’s what to look forward to…
A while back, WRVU had the opportunity to interview Wet, the effervescent indie pop sensation that had eager Nashvillians lining up out the door to Exit/In in hopes of a ticket to the sold-out show. We talked before their Exit/In show about touring, new music, their writing process, being on the road and in the South, pre-concert rituals…to read it all, and watch for the first time/relive their show, check out the interview and concert footage below. (We also photographed the band backstage before the show, which you can check out below as well.)
Today is April 14th, and that means that school is finally winding down. For our seniors, however, their entire Vanderbilt career is in its final chapter; graduation is only four weeks away, and now WRVU’s graduating DJs only have a few radio shows left. So this week, I thought I’d sit down with a senior DJ and talk about his specialty show, what makes it unique, how he’s managed to keep his shows fresh for four years, and if he has any parting thoughts.
That DJ? Myself.
(Do you know how hard it is to schedule an interview with people this time of the year?! I swear I’m not trying to be self-aggrandizing. I’m simply out of options!)
Sometimes the Vanderbilt music scene can seem a bit dull compared to our neighbors at Belmont, but Allan Boudreau-Fine begs to differ. Boudreau-Fine, a sophomore, hosts VU Backstage, a weekly look into the thriving Vanderbilt music scene. I met with him this week to chat about WRVU’s only radio show focused on campus music.
Sun Seeker, whose newest single, “Georgia Dust,” has become a Third Man Records favorite, played some of their undeniably catchy and easily lovable tunes at Grimey’s last Saturday.
When Josiah Williams, a trombone performance major from Downer’s Grove, Illinois, isn’t performing in a Blair ensemble, you might find him reading something like this:
She’s all states, and all princes, I,
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compared to this
All honour’s mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
In that the world’s contracted thus.
Thine age asks ease, and since they duties be
To warm the world, that’s done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed they center is, these walls, thy sphere.
(John Donne, “The Sun Rising”)
Josiah’s love of poetry informs one of WRVU’s most unique shows: Wax Poetics. I sat down with the DJ this week to discuss his show, how it started, and what he’s discovered along the way.
The art of spotting a sample has faded to technology. Now all a good ear has to do is a quick google search or peruse a blog to reveal the mystique of an eloquent beat. But an infectious hook, loop, and vocal can haunt me for an afternoon. Or a few days. Or this past week. Red Pill’s 2015 release Look What This World Did To Us has been on regular rotation on my Spotify feed. Rum and Coke especially speak to my Friday nights’ struggles between a girlfriend, a graduate student’s bank account, and a bar tab. Yet that’s not what this post is about. On the self-titled track “Look What This World Did to Us”, Red Pill tells a Bukowskian tale with an acerbic tongue. Familiar to early Atmosphere, the track speaks of a guarded regret singular to the loss of youth.
After an incredible Round 1 voter participation, it’s safe to say these winners definitely deserved their victory (credit to Will Doran). Now it’s time to see which albums will make…
The time has come to see who will take the esteemed WRVU Album of the Year title from last year’s winner, Run the Jewels. 2015 had it’s fair share of…
As I walked up to the Exit/In an hour before doors were set to open, to my surprise a sizable line was already beginning to form in front of the venue’s locked entrance. Based on the number of cut-off sleeves and smell of fresh cigarettes hanging in the air, it was safe to say these diehard fans were there for the folk-punk headliner Andrew Jackson Jihad. However, I was there early for a different reason: I had the opportunity to sit down with Jordan Hudkins of Rozwell Kid—one of the openers for the night alongside Nashville locals Pumpkinseed and touring buddies Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts.
Many of us owe our first musical experiences to good ol’ mom and dad. Every generation has its musical highs and lows, but sometimes there comes along an artist that seems to transcend time. This list is dedicated to those universally appreciated artists. Here we have the top ten most popular artists that our parents taught us to love.
10. The Grateful Dead
It’s taken a while for this post to come to fruition but it’s finally here. After struggling to find Ben’s email address and then communicating online from different sides of the Pacific Ocean, I’ve ultimately compiled sufficient information to write this article. Keep reading to find out more about Ben Fensterheim’s show “But Why?”
The title says it all – we are hosting a ticket giveaway for the Bo Burnham show at the War Memorial Auditorium on Monday, October 19! This is right after…
Winners of WRVU’s 2014 Album of the Year Contest, rap duo Run the Jewels has been no stranger to critical acclaim since the release of Run the Jewels 2 last year. Killer Mike and El-P have not dropped any new material since then, but are set to release a remix album sometime in September. Meow the Jewels, the idiosyncratic remix of Run the Jewels 2 fans have been waiting months to listen to, will feature the duo rapping their lyrics over cat noises. Just this week, Run the Jewels gave a little sneak-peak into the album with “Oh My Darling Don’t Meow”, a play on “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry”.
WRVU is hosting its final giveaway this semester to give two lucky people a general admission ticket to CounterPoint Festival happening May 22-24 in Georgia! We will be announcing one…
Last Sunday I hosted a phone interview with Neat—a lo-fi, punk band from Southern Louisiana. Neat’s unrelenting fuzzy sound and rich guitar harmonies bring us back to a time when…