The year’s first WVAU GENERAL MEETING is Sunday October 2nd, at 5 p.m. in the Hughes Formal Lounge. Swap mixtapes, meet new DJs, catch up with old friends, and (as always) eat eat eat.

The meeting is mandatory and you will be struck with a strike if you skip it. If you can’t make it, email Emily at wvauprogram@gmail.com before Sunday.

Bring a mix CD! We will be exchanging mixtapes at the meeting, so grab a blank CD from the studio while supplies last.

Sorry I Axed You In The Head
Sundays 10pm-12am
Name of Favorite Other WVAU Show
Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, Whale Bicycle Bottom, (Insert Gay Joke here) Mountain, Kickin’ it Old Skool

This fall, WVAU.ORG is featuring Show Spotlights to help spread the word about specific WVAU shows. Our inaugural Spotlight profiles Elaboration Collaboration, hosted by DJs Rob Kleiman and Kyle Calian. We talked to DJ Rob about live music, albums of the year, and Beer Pizza.

Name of show:
Our working title is “Elaboration Collaboration”

If I listen to your show, what can I expect to hear?
Our show will bring a mix of folk, electronic, hip-hop, oldies, bluesy rock, world music, and some good ol’ indie classics.

What makes your show special?
Originally I hosted Tricky Tracks, which always consisted of a musical medley. However, two hours of airtime can be a whole lot more fun with a co-host. I’ve joined forces with Kyle Calian; our show will feature comedy, drama, insights, rambling, and banter alongside a tasty mix of tunes, rhythms, and harmonies. We each have a different taste in music but it’s where we complement each other that makes out show unique and special.

What are your favorite genres to play, and why?

I enjoy playing a number of genres. I must say I’m a huge fan of the poppy side of Indie, but I also enjoy things that get you dancing like electronic music or the occasional reggae jam. I usually follow themes for my shows and I play things that reflect the theme or the mood I’m aiming to capture.

Name a few bands/artists regularly featured on your show:

Band of Horses, the Rolling Stones, Modest Mouse, the Beatles, the Talking Heads, the Black Keys, Givers

How do you discover new music?

When discovering new music I either find it by googling words like “totally rad”, through looking on music blogs, or, honestly, I just find out about new music through word of mouth. However, it’s my taste and intuition that I rely on to get a feel for if I actually like the song/ band/ cover

What’s the most recent concert you attended?
DC LUVS DILLA this concert honored J-Dilla, a hip-hop producer who died of Lupus disease.

What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended?
Radiohead @ NYC’s “All Points West Festival” ranks as the best concert I’ve ever seen.

Planning to see any shows in DC this fall? If so, name a few:
WVAU’s Capitol Punishment!
Peter Bjorn and John
The Head and the Heart

What musician/band would you take out to dinner, and what would you eat:
I’d like to eat have Beer Pizza with the Black Keys, Sushi with the Gorillaz, and Burgers with Dr. Dog.

What’s your favorite venue in DC and why:
I like the Black Cat because they’ve always been nice to me there, it’s spacious, there’s a pool table, and once I interviewed Dante, the club’s owner, for class.

List your five “desert island” albums:
Fate- Dr. Dog
40 Licks- The Rolling Stones
Whitest Boy Alive- Whitest Boy Alive
Forrest Gump Soundtrack- Various Artists
Silent Alarm- Bloc Party

What’s your favorite album of 2011 so far?
Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues

Name your favorite thing about WVAU:

It’s a bastion of coolness. WVAU is American University’s hidden gem. But in all seriousness, it’s another way that AU students can follow their dreams and have their voices heard.

Check out DJ Rob’s mixtape!

My last music adventure was Labor Day Weekend, which took me to to Randalls Island in New York City for one of the most popular electro/dance festivals of the East coast, Electric Zoo, that left me yearning for a little bit more of live trance and minimal house. The festival sold out for the second year in a row, and the island was jammed with dancers and music lovers from all over. The main stage and three different smaller ones provided an amazing range of acts that made me feel like a kid in candy shop. As it was with many other festivals, the acts overlapped, so you had to be ready to sprint.

My favorite tent, the Sunday School Grove, had house playing all day long and was in my opinion the ultimate spot of Zoo. The crowd here was super engaged with all the kick-drum and experimental beats from artists like Gui Borratto and Dubfire. With live performances from contemporary artists like Nicolas Jaar, there was something for everyone. Here is the video of the layered live set of this 21 year old music genius. If you don’t know much about him, I highly recommend you check out his album Space is Only Noise, that showcases an array of experimental minimal beats.

Another performance that was pretty stellar was the one of New York’s disco duo Chromeo. Here is the video of his song Night by Night.

Twitter sensation, music producer, DJ and overall cool dude Diplo pleased the crowd with popular remixes of his project Major Lazer as well as dropped some Moombaton, and then surprised us all with Puerto Rican ghetto Princess Maluca Mala.

To close the night and thus my summer fest experiences, music legend and techno pioneer Richie Hawtin, moved the Sunday School Grove to utterly frenzy with a set that can only be described as foreplay before the best sex you’ll ever had. Yes, that’s a bold statement, but you had to be there to see the way he slowly dropped techno and built up the energy with heavier tech-house beats.

And that was a little a breakdown of my summer experiences. Here is a little shout out (sort of) that Diplo sent American University during this year’s Mad Decent Block Party in Philadelphia.

By Angela Varela

If Fugazi is for the bearded used-to-be punx, and Wu-Tang is for the children, then Wugazi is for the children of the bearded used-to-be punx. #logic

If there ever was a quintessential D.C. band, it was Fugazi. D.I.Y to the core and ever evolving in sound, Fugazi breached the gap between unpolished, angst-filled punk and art. If ever there was a band to lay the beats to a Wu-Tang Clan album, Fugazi would also be my – and assumedly many other’s – last thought. But, after a few lists to 13 Chambers, this summer’s hyped mashup album from Minneapolis musicians Cecil Otter and Swiss Any, Fugazi seemed like a perfect match.

When you think mashup records, Girl Talk and DJ Danger Mouse’s career-launching The Grey Album come to mind. Combining the work of two artists with contrasting styles is what mashups are all about – it makes them somewhat of a novelty, something not to be taken to seriously unless its good enough to take seriously. I think that’s what gave The Grey Album such relevance and staying power, but Wugazi? I was skeptical.
Not unlike Dangermouse’s pairing of the Beatles and Jay-Z, Wugazi and 13 Chambers is an ironic pairing – two bands with much overlay in recording and touring history – unlike the latter – but you’d never see them on the same concert bill.

Fugazi and Wu-Tang seem even further removed, at least ideologically, when you consider the differences between the Fab Four and Hova. Fugazi’s frontman Ian MacKaye is famous for his coining of the term straightedge. Method Man – his stage name, a reference to marijuana – and the rest of the Clan notably tout their love for life’s indulgences and (often) illegal activities. There could be stranger pairings, I guess. Someday there might be a Kanye West and Taylor Swift record. I’m making the prediction it’ll be titled Eighth Grade Dropout.

Anyways, back to Wugazi….

13 Chambers has a number of standout tracks from beginning to end. “Sleep Rules Everything Around Me,” the record’s opening song and initial teaser track that surfaced on the Internet, is easy flowing mix of the Clan’s classic “C.R.E.A.M.” layered over the somewhat obscure Fugazi track “I’m So Tired,” a somber piano ballad from Instrument Soundtrack. This seems to be the formula for most of 13 Chambers’s musical pairings: Wu-Tang singles and “famous”-ish verses with low-key Fugazi instrumentals, many from Instrument Soundtrack or later records in their discography. “Nowhere to Wait,” is another notable song. RZA’s harsh vocals from the Gravediggaz’s 90s banga “Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide” blends really well with Fugazi’s classic “Waiting Room.”

This brings up another interesting part of the record: Otter and Andy’s use a wide variety of Wu-Tang lines, often from its member’s solo records and side projects. Why did no Minor Threat, or Evens, or Rites of Spring tracks make the cut? I guess Minor Tang just doesn’t sound as good as Wugazi.

So, what is MacKaye and the rest of Fugazi’s opinion on their pairing with Wu-Tang Clan? I don’t really know. As artists that have seemingly always supported one’s individual license for creativity in art, I think they’d support the effort, not necessarily the music. MacKaye has presented a contradicting view on hip-hop – calling it a descendent of punk rock, while also stating distate the more hardened hip-hopers that glorifying the gansta lifestyle. I’m guessing he’s probably not a Wu-Tang fan. Still, check out 13 Chambers. It’s a fun listen. Seriously.

By Anthony DeLuise

Later on in the summer I embarked on another journey across the US, this time to middle-of-nowhere Tennessee for what I thought would be the ultimate music experience, Bonnaroo.

If you are ready to be awakened by asphyxiating heat, consume at least half of spoon of dust per day, fight hippies to have some room in the ultra-packed crowds, all the while surrounded by poor sound quality, this was the perfect place for you! After almost dying of heat exhausting and semi-acclimating to the unbearable heat, I toughened it up and tried to enjoy the diverse lineup as much as I could.

After being perhaps the most hated individual at the This Tent (all of the stages were named after pronouns to make everything a little more confusing) for pushing my way up to the front, I enjoyed the performance of one of my favorite musicians of this year, Florence and the Machine. This British soul-pop goddess lived up to all my expectations with a flawless combination of theatrics and immaculate vocals. Unlike many pop artists who after touring for months start going through the motions, Florence gave her everything to the crowd. During the hour and half in a 95 degree tent, she made the audience forget the discomfort by getting everyone to sing along to song “You Got the Love,” and brought tears of joy during “Dog Days Are Over.” Her performance was without a doubt the highlight of that day. Here is the video I took:

Later on this musical pilgrimage, it was not difficult to embrace my inner gangster during Lil Wayne’s performance, which raised the bar for the following day (Eminem). His entrance was something from a sci-fi movie and for a second I thought I was being capture by the Martians. Wayne exhorted all that energy that he had probably stored during his time in prison, and drove the sweaty audience to ecstasy with his grimy swag during “A Milli”, “Welcome to the Hood” and as you could have guessed, the catchy “Lollipop.”

Wiz Kalifha was another act that made me feel the $300-some ticket was worthwhile. The Pittsburgh rapper known for his love for weed smoking and laugh, pleased and teased the immense crowd that gathered under a setting sun at the the What Stage. High as kite and hiding his glassy stare under Ray Bans, Wiz delivered a performance that moved from sexy to effervescent with popular song “The Thrill.” Overall, Bonnaroo was hot, dusty, and utterly worthwhile.

By Angela Varela

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

This Saturday, September 24th , Eastman is celebrating the 11-year anniversary of Bliss with a six-hour DJ set. To help you celebrate this milestone with Bliss, WVAU is giving away a few tickets TOMORROW VIA TWITTER to the party. Stay tuned!

What makes good music? That question is far too complex and broad for my, or really anyone’s, simple mind. The question itself already sets one astray. Our conception of good is arguably subjective. And our ideas of musical quality are almost inarguably subjective. Therefore, if one pursues this question their answer will only be a reflection of their own taste, and that isn’t useful at all – except maybe to them.

However, generally speaking, one of the major differences between people is to what degree and in what form they want roughness in their music. This roughness takes many shapes ⎯ from dissonance to distortion ⎯ but in my experience the arguments people have over what is good or bad music comes down to a difference in degree of roughness.

Personally, I like my music to be like granite mountainsides more often then not: nice and scraggily but still possessing some form (examples can be found below). Others prefer their music to be like an unkempt bed: it has some rolls but is still generally soft to the touch. This may manifest itself in the form of Arcade Fire, The Beach Boys or Wagner. At the extremes are velvet and rock quarries (examples could include the new Fleet Foxes album or any mathcore, respectively). Obviously this isn’t the only element deciding what people like to listen to but it seems to be a key one.

This seems to raise the question: why is it people like roughness in their music? Traditionally, in the West, people’s conception of beauty has been relatively smooth. The Baroque periods in art and music exemplify this trend. Started around the 19th century, some artists began to move away from this smooth ascetic eventually leading to the works of Picasso, Henry Cowell, or later John Cage. These changes all came with new definitions of what beauty itself was. Before it may have been defined as what is good in the world by western standards: love, friendship, pastoral landscapes, and major thirds. Now, beauty may have been defined as what the world is with all of its hatred, apathy, loneliness, poverty, suffering, boredom, malnutrition, discarded dreams, death, unidentifiable shapes, and atonal clusters of sound.

Some may argue that artists have been dealing with these later issues since people began producing art. They are right. I’m probably wrong. However, I do feel that songs such as Mozart’s Requiem or Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony that dealt with these issues using traditionally beautiful musical structures are fictionalizations of the world rather than reflections of it. Not to say I don’t find them beautiful but it is a beauty of man’s mental structures rather than the beauty of the world itself.

Regardless of all that, the question still remains, why do most people like some degree of roughness in music? To this, I can only answer from personal experience. To me, smooth music just sounds phony. Perfect harmony is a figment of our imagination. Conflict and contradiction exists between myself, my environment, other people, and my self. Dissonance, harshness, distortion somehow reflect this conflict. Even if a song is trying to represent happiness or love or something like that it just sounds wrong if there is no conflict in it. Perfect consonance will never exist in the world and trying to seek it just seems ignorant. Any song worth its while will have some elements in it reflecting the beautiful dissonance that surrounds us.

I am far from finding any worthwhile answers to these questions. The reason that people like different degrees of roughness in their music cannot be boiled down to differences in definitions of beauty. The world would be far too easy to understand if it could. In the end people will listen to the music they want to listen to regardless of how they define beauty or view the world. However, I would encourage everyone to feel out the rougher music out there. You may just find that getting a few cuts and scrapes feels spectacular.

By Jesse Drucker

Playground Sounds
Thursdays 8pm-10pm
Show Description
Ever wanted to listen to music when you wake up or you are about to fall asleep but you are way too tired/drunk/crossfaded to actually select an artist? This is what you have been looking for. Playground Sounds is a show about discovering music that comes from all kinds of place and that makes you jiggy, laugh and reflect. On this show, you will hear electronica, folk, rock, indie, pop, indie-pop, indie-rock (I could go on). Just click on listen now, open it up on your itunes, and hear me play some tunes for you which will make you kick back, relax and enjoy.
Name of Favorite Other WVAU Show
Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, Baroque-back Mountain, Sorry I Axed You in the Head, Whale Bicycle Bottom, Some Things Considered

Erratic Static
Fridays 10am-12am
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Show Description
An exploration of alternative electronic music. From hip-hop to chillwave, underground house to lofi, if a synthesizer is involved, I’ll play it. From time to time, I’ll play my own music and the music of my band Radtooth.
Name of Favorite Other WVAU Show
Late Night Lofi, Nyightime, Some Things Considered, Baroqueback Mountain

Interested in becoming a college radio DJ?

WVAU is hosting a general interest meeting TODAY, 7pm in the Butler Board Room (on the 6th floor of MGC). Show up, meet the Executive Board, and find out how to lend your voice and favorite music to the interwebz by joining the best club on campus.

Seriously, we are the best club on campus.

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

During Memorial Day Weekend this summer, I made a nine hour trip to a city that changed everything I knew about music. Many Americans don’t know much about this city, or have only heard about its car manufacturing, poverty and high rates of violence (Hello, 8 Mile). Yes, I am talking about Detroit.

Movement 2011, formally known as Detroit Music Festival, was a three-day music heaven for house and techno fans from all over the world. Considering the ever-growing commercialization of music festivals, Movement did an amazing job balancing big promoters such as Beatport, Red Bull and Paxhua with local commerce and artists. One of my favorite local stands was the Aptemal Detroit, a really cool clothing label that hand-silked screened original prints. Check out their gear at http://Aptemalclothing.com

The festival consisted of four main stages and held a capacity of about 30,000 people. In my life I have never witnessed people from so many places come together and take part in a “Movement” that originated in the early 90’s, electronic music. During the three days the drums and bass did not stop playing, even in the rain, from the well equipped stages that hosted the best sound systems I’ve ever heard. Among the most memorable acts was Matthew Hawtin’s three hour set that worked from minimalist vibes up to a more aggressive beat.

Seeing duo extraordinaire Soul Clap perform in the middle of storm was unforgettable. These DJs were all about the crowd and warmed us up with their catchy electro soul beats and genre blurring remixes. Another face melting performance was NYC sweetheart Heartthrob, who left everyone wanting more of his pulsating minimal techno, while Ricardo Villalobos also challenged the audience’s eardrums with his ultra-layered techno.

Although not a huge fan of Dubstep, I can’t deny the music genius of Skrillex. This 20-year-old dude has the rare gift of driving crowds completely insane with his impressive ability to combine dirty bass with pop sounds (such La Roux), while keeping the energy levels up the roof.

Movement was packed with the typical crowd that these type of concerts draw, the only difference being that most of the furry boot wearers were 20-somethings, except everyone had a huge appreciation for music. The bathrooms, unlike most festivals, were super clean and the staff was friendly and helpful finding your way around the festival. Motor City showed me one of the most gratifying music experiences I’ve had in the United States, and dismantled a raw beauty hidden under the image of a ghost city. The $80-something ticket was worth every penny.

By Angela Varela

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time once again.

WVAU will host its first Open Mic of the semester this Saturday, September 17th at 8:00pm in the Tavern. Dust off your acoustic guitars, form your joke bands, go dumpster diving for some children’s poems to read, whatever floats your boat. THERE WILL BE FREE PIZZA.

Promo Director Louise made this dope poster, so help us spread the word by printing it out and posting it on campus. Also, don’t forget to RSVP on the Facebook link here. See you there!

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

I have become slightly obsessed with a pub conveniently close to my housing, called the Lexington, which I name-dropped in my introduction post. Inside the poster-lined windows promoting upcoming events is a rustic but classic decor, complete with bull skulls on the walls between windows covered by burgundy drapes. The ultra hip, yet totally welcoming vibe perfectly suits the whiskey lounge, which hosts DJs when live acts aren’t booked. The upstairs differs a bit from the main floor, is much darker and the DJ stationed there plays a bit more electronic and upbeat alternative jams, making the second floor perfectly suited for dancing like a fool. And anyone who might know me is very aware that I enjoy (hand) dancing like a fool. Thus, I declare the Lexington my pub-crush.

On another night of my pub crawling adventures, we stumbled upon a jazz and blues joint called ‘Round Midnight. Inside there’s almost always a band playing, you guessed it, jazz and blues. The crowd varies from the ineffably indie to middle aged dudes who just really enjoy their blues. The night I popped in, on the stage was a trio of middle aged dudes who just really enjoy playing the blues. And they sounded fantastic. The crowd was bopping to the beats and the atmosphere was just as bouncy. No one was there to impress anyone else, just there to hear some damn good music.

Outside of the pubs, the street performers around London are exceptionally talented. Walking through the Tube one afternoon, I had to stop and admire the classical violinist that was nonchalantly set up on the side of an underground walkway. Bands will bring their entire set up to the streets and play for hours, collecting a fair amount of change (which actually hold decent value, unlike in the U.S.) in their instrument cases. Just because they’re playing in the streets doesn’t mean they’re not suited for the stage.

In the upcoming two weeks before my next post is due, I promise you I will finally check out a live show. (Let’s be honest, if I don’t make it to at least one by then, that’s straight up pathetic.)

By Marissa Cetin

In today’s popular entertainment, the urge to create something more transformative from the rest, that transcends time and history, has become clear. It is perhaps hard for many of us find these higher ideas in today’s hype-ridden radio and bloggosphere.  How do we develop a critical view on the things we are listening to today?  Are we cutting through the noise and liking things for their true value? If so, what is it that we find valuable in the things we heard and see today?  These will be questions that I hope to explore with you on my weekly column, Shazam Wildcat.

In this biweekly column I hope to give you an insight on the music I’m currently listening to, music shows I constantly attend around the city and nation, analysis on upcoming albums, interviews, and music recommendations. Regardless of the different styles and genres I will explore on Shazam Wilcat, I would like to show you how many of these artists are sending a message beyond an entertainment and cultural context, translate it into bigger themes, and reflect on the messages they are trying to convey.

I hope we develop a relationship over the course of this semester, so voice your opinion and feedback on the comment section of this website, as well through other social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.  That’s all for now. Stay tune to my bi-weekly show with Disco Dianna, Mondays from 8-10pm ( D’N'A ) and enjoy the surprises that’ll be bringing to the studios. Get to me!

Whale Bicycle Bottom
Tuesdays 8pm-10pm
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Show Description
We paddle in a kayak of sound. Please join in, we like to cuddle and need the extra arms.
Name of Favorite Other WVAU Show
Indecisive Times

How does one approach discussing music? It’s undeniably a matter of taste but yet we talk about “good” and “bad music. How should we even go about defining what is and what is not music? Anywhere I go, a few minutes spent with my eyes closed transforms the unnoticed sounds that surround me into music. Last night I noticed that the cicadas in a nearby tree were croaking in three-fourths time. The cars that passed by and the people talking near me provided both melody and harmony. Is that not music?

These questions will provide a sort of focus to my column Explorations in Tone and Time. Every column will discuss some aspect of music either as an abstraction or using some artist or song as an example. I will speak completely from my personal musical aesthetic, but constantly attempt to account for others’ aesthetics as well. For every article I invite and encourage any readers to respond through the comments on the WVAU website, my email as shown on my DJ profile, or (my personal favorite) in person over a nice crumpet. Hopefully, an honest personal study of music will spark enough discussion to ignite a journey towards some higher truths.

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

Just a few days into my U.K. stay, I’ve already stumbled (in a couple of cases, a little bit too literally) upon pubs and discovered events that I am itching to explore and share the local London music scene with all of you back in D.C.

My first day wandering around my area, Kings Cross (Yes, I live down the block from Platform 9 3/4) and Islington, I walked around a corner to see a pub, a typical sight for street corners, and immediately sensed it would be my go-to spot. Its windows are lined with posters advertising their upcoming live music and DJ-ed events. And with few successful visits to the Lexington already under my belt, my suspicions proved right.

To get my Black Cat fix, I’m planning on checking out O2 Academy’s “Propaganda” event, self-touted as “The UK’s Biggest Indie Night.” I expect it will similar to the Cat’s “Peel” DJ night. I can’t wait to tell you if my assumptions are accurate. I’m hoping that O2 Academy might also fill the void left by the Black Cat’s ‘80s Night.

I’m hoping my musical Euro-adventures will lead to new discoveries to take home with me, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with all of you. And for those of you who might be studying abroad in London in future semesters, take notes!

Just a few weeks ago I had one of the most amazing live music experiences. You know, one of those shows when you see a band or artist you’ve always idolized, it’s members possessing an almost greater-than human status to you. DC’s own in indie rock duo The Evens were closing out the season of Fort Reno’s famed summer concert series, and while I’ve always loved a number of DC bands – especially Dischord Records’ roster – I think it was this moment that the importance of DC as a musical hub really hit me.

The arts will always take a backseat to politics and business suits in Washington, but you have to remember the influential musicians this city has produced – from Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye to Marvin Gaye and Duke Ellington. So my column this semester – Sounds From the District – will focus on DC’s musical offerings, reviewing shows and records and spotlighting bands both new and old. Indie and punk rock are where my personal musical interests lean, so expect that theme to continue with Sounds From the District.