Saturday, November 29, 2008

A Voice From the South

The Real Housewives of Atlanta. From left to right we have Lisa the businesswoman, DeShawn the Christian with a locked jaw, Kim the questionable, Nene the beautiful and glorious, Sheree the confident "fashion designer with no fashions"

One theme in hip hop is reppin' where your from or at least the region. Fat Joe said,
Now why everybody's so made at the South for?/Change your style up...
The north will most likely always be my home but I've become quite intrigued with the South within the past two years, especially with the Real Housewives of Atlanta having me hooked to Bravo. So I decided to go through my recently played iTunes playlist and checked out all the artists that were from the South (alphabetical order):

1. Beyonce/Sasha Fierce (Houston)
2. Ciara (Atlanta)
3. Lil Wayne (New Orleans)
4. Ludacris (Atlanta)
5. Rupaul (Atlanta/San Diego)
6. T.I. (Atlanta)
7. Three 6 Mafia (Memphis)
8. Yo! Majesty (Florida)

I love them all.

A little treat

Friday, November 28, 2008

how nov. 21st changed my life


She Keeps Bees, with the opener, The Love Story, was nothing short of a dream come true for me.

when i first heard She Keeps Bees i was sitting alone in my room in friedman b4, looking for something new, something i could sink my teeth into. i had just gotten my hands on the Shhhh EP and by the time "Pile Up" faded out, i was fully committed. this summer while in new york, they played twice, and both times i was stuck waiting tables at Bogota (woot woot) running into the bathroom, checking my cell phone, hoping that i would be done before their set was over. but alas, having been left unfulfilled i figured, well shit, why dont i see if they will play at smith? as soon as jessica larabee emailed me back saying she was interested, i put her in contact with sarah (who makes magic) and the rest is history.

which brings me to my first point. the reason the show was such a success (a dream come true) for me is because somehow we managed to create something that kind of, dare i say it, resembles a music scene at smith. could it be? trying to get smith college students to attend anything is like pulling teeth. you can bribe us with cupcakes, promises of dates, puppies, and intellectual stimulation. maybe even free music or a free performance of some sort. but it doesnt matter how many cookies you bake or how many fliers to hang, the smithies just wont come.

this year WOZQ got literally zero dollars for special events (im not kidding- our budget read $0 for special events) so all our events have been running with the hopes of making back some of our money through ticket sales. and so the fact that we had to charge entrance to a generally skeptical public makes it incredible that we had such great turn out. that, coupled with the fact that R.A.W. was kicked off by another performance only ten days earlier, that wasnt free and already had great turn out (rock n' roll camp) makes the night just downright unbelievable. but i have to believe it, because it gives me hope for the future of music and a music community on smith campus. one which has less to do with a cappella and hand bells, and more to do with the self-expression, and subsequent self-confidence, that comes from creating and performing one's own music. (lets not forget what we learned at rock n' roll camp!)

which brings me to the role women play in music and radio, and how our presence is more often than not overshadowed by our male counterparts. which, in turn, makes what happened on november the 21st that much more important. here we had two bands headed by female musicians, brought over by WOZQ, a primarily female run radio station (!), playing for an audience made up of mostly women.

and basically, i could not have been happier with the event. thank you to all those of you who helped run the event, you did a fabulous job, and special thanks to sarahbarr, jordan, and all those on the special events team! thanks also to katie d and hannah for set-up. and of course, thank you so much to all those who came out to the show!

here are some pictures of the night:


the love story

she keeps bees


davis ballroom

the after party!

waffle breakfast

family portrait outside of savers

a sound is not a sound

i tie sounds to places, but beach house's is universal in its beauty. i tie it to every dreamy memory i've had since first hearing them about a year ago. partly because i play them any time anything remotely nice is happening so i can connect the moment to a good sound. but also because beach house transcends the geographical boundaries i arbitrarily and subconsciously order bands into.

their first 7" release is of a single, "Used to Be", recorded this past summer. the b-side is a demo of "Apple Orchard" recorded three years prior to the release of their self-titled.

"Used to Be" plays like a dream; victoria legrand's voice against a soft, steady tambourine melting into lush reverbs. it's like if your love were a ghost and it expelled breaths and the breathing had a melody. and then the melody were a fog and the fog was spun sugar in the cave of your heart and the echo was a croon saying, don't forget the nights, when it all felt right...



beach house is a band i love with all my being so i can't review them on any important or critical level. there was a period of a couple months when i would leave parties early or skip class so i could chain-smoke and day-dream to beach house. i thought that part of my life was over but this single has brought it all back.

currently on tour with jana hunter (oh, man) and will be in northampton december 11th with tickley feather at the iron horse. it may change your life.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Ain't nothing better than showing me love




And free things. This is a little late but I'm still up (super pumped for thanksgiving I suppose..) and I need to give a serious shout out to the Alchemystics. They're a local hip hop/reggae/dub group in Western, Mass and they make beautiful music. Force of the Alchemystics stopped by WOZQ recently and showed us some love, dropped off a bunch of wonderful things and posed for a photo. I'm currently in love with the song Shine Eye Girl and I like to think that this song would have been inspired by me if they knew me before it was produced (yeah that was conceited but as Rihanna says, "Bitch, I'm special!")

Anyway, listen to them, love them, let people know about them because they're great.



we looked good. Sequin on the left, Force on the right. Yeah, I was really happy, he was cute.

No Homo



A few things have inspired me and all relate:

1. The November 11th episode of the Colbert Report (the first part with Dan Savage)
2. The Boondocks episode, The Story of Gangstalicious Pt. 2 [amazing show, get on it if you don't already watch it]
3. When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip Hop feminist breaks it down by Joan Morgan

I love hip hop. I love homos. I'm a homo that love hip hop but hip hop doesn't seem to love me. The homophobia in hip hop stems from the homophobia in the Black community. Why? Read about it (Joan Morgan's book touches on it a little bit, Pick Up the Mic, Black Sexual Politics by Patricia Hill Collins, Gender Talk by Cole and Guy-Sheftall, etc), but I don't really want to get into too much academic detail right now.

What I want to talk about are the gay artists in the hip hop scene making a name for themselves, well just one. Current obsession: Yo! Majesty. They're hot lesbian rappers from Florida and have been called "2 Live Crew's step sister" or something to that effect. PLEASE. 2 Live Crew had their time, no need to compare Yo! to anyone. They're currently on tour (check out their myspace for dates) and will be in Boston at the end of January;best believe I'm planning on going and winning JWL B.'s heart, at least for a night. JWL B. and Shunda K. are doing their own thing, making sweet tracks with sweet beats and winning my heart along the way. I mean what more could a girl want? If only other fly female rappers would come out of the closet. Don't trip, just because a woman is in rap doesn't make her a lesbian but there are a few that I feel just need to admit it. I mean it's Thanksgiving, aren't holidays the time to come out? I won't name names though.

Listen:
Booty Clap

happy thanksgiving. I'm thankful for family, friends, wozq, and all the divas that have paved the way.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Rock N' Roll Camp for Girls!

WAIT. how awesome was rock n' roll camp for girls? nicole georges was wonderful, sts taught us how to drum, and katy davidson played both songs i requested! the night was filled with magic; there were cupcakes, dance moves, and the disco ball was a twirling. here are some photographic highlights. the first is of our enthusiastic radio board selling treats, followed by davis ballroom in all its glory:


n. georges started things off and told us a delightful story about a first kiss, "guess who," and vegan peanut butter cups.

here sts is getting ready to show us how to play the drums!

and katy davidson finished off the night with some lullabies:

here we are, watching with delight in our eyes:

a dance party followed!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Hip Hop Royalty

Just in case you didn't already know. Here we have the King, Queen, and Jack (Prince) of mainstream hip hop music.

KING
=

WEEZY F. BABY. With his latest album and all his wonderful collaborations, Lil Wayne is king. There's no denying it. Two questions: 1) Is that WOZQ on your fingers? 2) Marry me?QUEEN
=
KANYE WEST. Kanye, lots of respect for what you're doing but was there ever a bigger diva? (well me of course but for once, this isn't about me) Not even Sasha Fierce (aka Beyonce gone crazy) could compete. I like most of what I've been hearing from 808s & Heartbreak but here is essentially Celine Dion doing hip hop. An entire album bitching and moaning about an ex? Really?? I'll still be listening though so all hail Queen Kanye.
JACK/PRINCE
=
Tiny? You look different.

T.I., I love you boo, that's all. If it wasn't for Lil Wayne and everything he does, you'd be king. Two images because I love you so much.





Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Josh Ritter covers The Boss

One of my favorite Springsteen tracks.  Couldn't help but share.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Radio Awareness 'Week'

R.A.W. (that's Radio Awareness 'Week' but in a cool looking acronym) is going on now!  Woo!

R.A.W. is WOZQ's semiannual celebration of all things radio.  For the next week or so (really ten days), we'll be a little more visible on campus.  We'll have radio DJs in the red room and the TV lounge during lunch breaks, we'll be tabling in the lower level of the CC, and we'll top it all off with a date auction and kickass concert on the 21st!  This is a chance for DJs and listeners to get more involved in radio.  So visit the table, eat lunch at the DJ showcase, enter raffles for free tickets and other good shit, buy yourself a hot DJ date, and come see She Keeps Bees and The Love Story.  Check out the facebook event or the events section at www.smith.edu/wozq for more detailz.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

ROCK N ROLL CAMP FOR GIRLS

if you are not excited by our amazing lineup of nicole georges, katy davidson, sts, and smith's own chipp then you should maybe get excited about all the cupcakes and dancing, maybe cupcake dancing

you will never know if you don't show

ROCK N ROLL CAMP FOR GIRLS
TONIGHT! 11/11 7pm
Davis Ballroom (behind Cutter-Z)
Only 3 bux (what!)

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

American Dreams/American Nightmares

It seems to me that this election was all about ideals. What are the ideals of the American people? What is the American dream?

I couldn't really figure it out, so I made a mix instead.

American Dreams/American Nightmares (mediafire)

Dreams:
1. The Revo-Lution- Rachel and the Revolvers
2. California Gold- Retarded Muppit Farm
3. Railroadin'- Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant
4. Roadrunner- The Modern Lovers
5. You Can Make It If You Try- Sly & the Family Stone
6. Halloween Parade- Lou Reed
7. He's in the Ring (Doin' the Same Old Thing)- Memphis Minnie
8. Surfin' USA- The Beach Boys
9. If You Want to Sing Out- Cat Stevens

Nightmares:
10. Pledge- The Holy Modal Rounders
11. Political Science- Randy Newman
12. TV Party- Black Flag
13. I Believe- Knights of the New Crusade
14. Kill the Poor- Dead Kennedys
15. The Red Telephone- Love
16. Little Child Runnin' Wild- Curtis Mayfield
17. Credit- Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
18. By the People- Van Dyke Parks

DJs for Obama


Around 11:00 last night, Smith College erupted in cheers and [happy] tears... and partial nudity from some.  I cannot begin to describe the feeling of excitement on campus, and I'm sure it's the same at colleges and in towns and cities across the country (even world?).  To celebrate, I have two mixes that a couple of DJs released last week.  


The first is a full hour and is really beautiful.  It's by Z-trip who has done political mixes before, including For Those About to Vote (for the 2004 election).  He also has a sick remix of I Want You Back by The Jackson 5.  But all that aside, this is a nice not-so-little ditty that will make you very very happy to be in America right now.
Get it here: www.djztrip.com/obama.
The second is a shorter mix and is a more traditional hip-hop mixtape.  I think I like it even more. It's a bit more fun, I suppose. And it ends with Black President by Nas, which I fucking love.  
Right[ctrl]-click, download--> DJ YNOT - Politics As Usual (mp3)  

change!