WRVU Unplugged: Heena Koona

September 22, 2016

img_7228

Two nights ago I’m sitting at my desk, dead eyed, and I open innumerable Chrome tabs in avoidance of my paper that’s due the next day. I decide to refresh my Vanderbilt gmail inbox for the sixth time, something that traditionally needs to be done after I scroll through my entire Facebook feed. It turns out that neither of the two WRVU DJs I’ve reached out to earlier in the day is able to meet up this week for an interview. I get it. It’s a busy week and I only gave them a few days to clear their schedules for me.

So I think in my head, “What if I interview myself?”

WRVU: A Blast from the Past

September 20, 2016

1984: Joe Strummer with WRVU DJs.

Over this past weekend a couple of us on the e-staff got together to clean out WRVU’s office. Full of dust, old CDs, and old promotional t-shirts, this needed to be done. So on Sunday morning we banded together with a roll of paper towels, some all-purpose cleaner, and a truly impressive number of trash bags. WRVU is over forty years old at this point, and with time inevitably comes a series of knick-knacks and souvenirs that someone just can’t bear to get rid of. That’s where we came in. Over the course of several hours, we excavated the desks and shelves of WRVU’s office, unearthing a startling collection of items in the process.

The Mainstream Alternative

September 19, 2016

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/40954677835641460/

We all have that friend who talks incessantly about how they relate to Twenty One Pilots on a spiritual level, then ask you if you’ve heard “that new one from Suicide Squad.” They appear to listen to “Chocolate” by The 1975 on a loop on Spotify, with a brief intermission of Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.” They drone on about how they are literally obsessed with Imagine Dragons and can’t wait for fall just so they can play “Sweater Weather” on their new record player as they down their third Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL if you’re edgy).

Miike Snow’s Second Coming

May 25, 2016
Miike Snow lights up the stage at Marathon Music Works
Miike Snow lights up the stage at Marathon Music Works

I was justifiably skeptical in my approach Marathon Music Works for Miike Snow’s return to Nashville after their three year hiatus to pursue personal projects. My sentiment was further warped upon waiting in line to receive my ticket and photo pass, when I was eavesdropping on a woman behind me that was ‘desperately in need of a sitter.’ It was in that instant that I was struck with the realization that I was utterly companionless, afloat in a sea of financial-independence. The late-twenty to late-thirty-year old crowd filled up all the space around me and I buckled in to receive whatever was coming my way.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

April 25, 2016

Well, it’s here at last. The trees have donned their leafy green uniforms, the ENO hammocks have found their places amongst the summery shade, and every student is slowly dying a crippling death by means of final exams. This only means one thing for us here at Vanderbilt, and that thing is summer. Before we are set free to our respective internships and summer vacations, we must make it past the hurdles that stand between us and our 14 weeks of relative peace.

If You Go West, Check These Out

April 19, 2016

Screen Shot 2016-04-19 at 12.37.45 AM

As a school in music city, Vanderbilt has an endless supply of great live music venues, concerts, and amazing festivals. I have not been to very many myself, but the ones I have attended – Live on the Green and the CMA Festival – have been very positive experiences. This being said, a large majority of the music festivals that I hear about when I talk to other students include Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois, and Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee.

A New World

April 18, 2016

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EiozW3tUF4Q/maxresdefault.jpg

I had no idea who Porter Robinson was when I went to Hard Summer 2015. With other names like ODEZZA, Griz, Big Gigantic, Bro Safari, and Chemical Brothers,  it struck me how many kids were wearing black t-shirts with Windings font and carrying “we <3 Porter” signs. Just before his show, I found myself with a group of Robinson fanatics who warned me I was about to have an experience of a lifetime. I smiled, gave a big-festival-hug, and turned toward the stage aglow with the art deco neon of Robinson’s debut album, Worlds.

A Healthy Playlist: “Fruit Salad”

April 15, 2016
courtesy of Ellen Scott of metro.co.uk / Getty
Listening to this playlist is the equivalent of beaming over a big ol’ fruit salad. (Photo courtesy of Ellen Scott of metro.co.uk / Getty)

For some people, salad–especially fruit salad–is really fun to eat. Just search “person eating salad” on Google and you’ll see that 9 out of 10 results feature inexplicably jovial individuals brandishing a bowl of salad in one hand and admiring a tomato or a tuft of lettuce speared on a fork held in the other.

However, as exhilarating as it may be to eat salad, it’s even more fun to listen to it.

WRVU Unplugged: Evil Home Stereo

April 15, 2016
What's a writer to do?! (Photo by Jamison Stoike)
What’s a writer to do?! (Photo by Jamison Stoike)

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!)

Teen Suicide’s Goodbye Celebration

April 15, 2016

(Image courtesy of Consequence of Sound)

Since 2011, Teen Suicide, with Maryland singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sam Ray at the helm, has been fairly consistently lobbing explosive blasts of genre-scattered lo-fi emo/indie pop onto the internet via Bandcamp. Even with all the activity though, and a decent following, the group (mostly the outlet for Ray’s own songs more than a traditional band) “disbanded” in January of 2013, but returned to performing in various capacities by the end of the same year.

“The Wilderness” is Explosions in the Sky’s Newest Musical Journey

April 13, 2016

The Wilderness.Explosions in the Sky

Post-rock quartet Explosions in the Sky released their seventh studio album, “The Wilderness” early this April. As a fan and avid listener of their early material, I was skeptical that the group could deliver as engaging and original music as “Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever” or ”The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place.” Their soundtrack material in the interim, such as “Friday Night Lights,” and also tracks off of “All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone,” begin to sound cookie-cutter in their almost melodrama, due only by the group’s early masterful sound.

Second Semester Senior Year According to U2

April 12, 2016
Here’s U2 looking super young

Just the other day I was making the seemingly endless hike from Kissam to Blair when I put my iPod on shuffle. Yes, times were desperate. My battery was running low and Spotify refused to connect, so I was listening to music that I had actually purchased off iTunes (talk about a throwback.) A U2 song came on and I suddenly realized that the lyrics were speaking to my very soul. You see, second semester senior year is not easy. Whether or not you know what you’re doing after graduation (guess which category I fall in), it’s a confusing and emotional time. But don’t worry, Bono, The Edge and the two other guys are here to empathize with you. The following playlist is a bunch of U2 songs that are a reflection of the struggles of being a second semester senior. Hopefully, this will help motivate you to power through the next month – or at least entertain you as you procrastinate until the bitter end.

A Brief History of the Exit/In

April 12, 2016

There’s something about the music venue at 2208 Elliston Place. I’m not sure what it is, but when you walk through the door into that dimly lit music den to see a show, the world ceases to exist and you become a part of something greater. With its lax security policies and blackwashed interior, it’s a rather unassuming joint; however, when your gaze falls upon the list of names on the dark wall behind the bar, it dawns on you that you’re on sacred turf.

Dr. Dog Returns to the Ryman

April 7, 2016
I was in a bad position for picture-taking but here's a nice picture of the band. Source
I was in a bad position for picture-taking but here’s a nice picture of the band. Source

Last summer, a friend and I somewhat spontaneously decided to go to Shaky Knees music festival in Atlanta, partially to avoid the mess of Vanderbilt graduation and partially because of the killer 2015 lineup. We each had our own personal ideas of bands we wanted to see, but as with any music festival (especially a smaller one like Shaky Knees, where there were only at most two bands playing at the same time), we often had a bit of unscheduled time to casually listen to bands that we weren’t familiar with or didn’t know at all. One such band was Dr. Dog.

Black Mountain’s IV – Reminding Me Why I Love Space Rock

April 7, 2016
via pitchfork.com
via pitchfork.com

Per recommendation from a friend, I recently decided to check out Black Mountain and, more specifically, the band’s fourth studio album, aptly titled IV. Released on Jagjaguwar, the Canadian band’s fourth album truly reminds me why I fell in love with space rock back in high school. The album is jam-filled, spaced-out, and altogether trippy at times, but it also has some really great in-your-face guitar riffs worth mentioning.

Frankie Cosmos’ “Next Thing” Perfects the Art of Sophisticated Youth

April 7, 2016

Frankie Cosmos' Next Thing

“I’m twenty, washed up already,” Frankie Cosmos proclaims in the aptly-named “I’m 20,” the eighth track off her newest release, Next Thing. With poignantly simple lyrics that paint her persona as one fearful of being a corporate sellout, “I’m 20” most notably marks a transition point in both Greta Kline’s latest album and in her career as Frankie Cosmos—marking a kind of profound recognition as she fears it’s happening, rather than after the fact. With words that touch on the flirtatiousness of being playfully young and also scared of not being young, Frankie Cosmos’ Next Thing is a monument of youth and its fading, and adds tremendously to her body of work, showcasing both consistency and novelty.

IM DOING WHATEVER AND FEEL OK: Kool A.D.’s “All Love”

April 5, 2016

a4058181288_16

Rap’s vitality has always been a condition of it being dynamic; rappers come up, styles are birthed, stolen, recycled and then tossed aside. The new stuff rises to the top while remaining indebted to the old at the same time. The resultant mixture is perfect, in a sense, as both listeners and rappers are constantly kept on their toes, and new sounds are abundant. If only someone would come around ever once in awhile and offer some perspective and observation on rap’s current sounds, lyrical trends, and subject matter though.

Yo La Tengo Returns to Nashville

April 4, 2016
via telegraph.uk.co
via telegraph.uk.co

Last Tuesday marked Yo La Tengo’s triumphant return to Nashville at Exit/In with a concert that was likely one of the biggest genre-rollercoasters of a set I’ve ever seen. Through the band’s decades of genre-bending with their largely varied discography, I couldn’t expect the show to be any different, and it didn’t disappoint.

WRVU is not operated by Vanderbilt University. The views and opinions expressed by this organization are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
policy or position of Vanderbilt University or its official representatives. Vanderbilt® and the Vanderbilt logos are registered trademarks of The Vanderbilt University.