The Tap

The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea

2009-04-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'm a whore for Pitchfork.tv.

Check this video out, directed by a member of Jesus & The Mary Chain. It feels like a live performance.

WECB Showcase!

2009-04-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Now I don't get to support local music as much as I would like at The Tap, but WECB is putting on a great showcase of Emerson bands. It all goes down 4/19 at Tommy Doyle's in Harvard Square (the original location of the first House of Blues).

The Line Up:

State Your Mind

Ferris Wheel

SymondSaid.

Check out the details and RSVP.

Back From The Dead

2009-04-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

Back from a long lazy hiatus. Things are a little crazy but I'll try to blog a little more continuously.

So appropriately, check this out:

Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields are Dead Man's Bones.

You can download their song "In There Room Where You Sleep" on their MySpace. Here is their music video for "Name In Stone."

The Tap - Feb. 25 Playlist

2009-02-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

Here's the playlist for last nights show. It's pretty juicy, bookended by some of the biggest leaks of the year: new Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Mastodon.

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero – It’s Blitz!

2. Crystal Antlers – Several Tongues – Tentacles

3. Air France – No Excuses – No Way Down

4. Yo La Tengo – Gentle Hours – Dark Was The Night

5. Antony & The Johnsons – Aeon – The Crying Light

6. Yeasayer – Tightrope – Dark Was The Night

7. Beirut – The Akara – March Of The Zapotec

8. Beirut – Venice – Holland

9. Fires Of Rome – Set In Stone – You Kingdom You WECB

10. Phoenix – 1901 – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

11. John Frusciante – Unreachable –The Empyrean

12. Bon Iver – Woods – Blood Bank

13. Polly Scattergood – I Hate The Way – Polly Scattergood

14. Spinnerette – Ghetto Love – Ghetto Love – EP

15. The Boy Least Likely To – A Fairytale Ending – The Law Of The Playground

16. Grand Duchy – The Long Song – Petit Fours

17. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Gentle Sons – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

18. Vetiver – Down From Above – Tight Knit

19. The Thoughts – First – Consider The Bear WECB

20. Architecture In Helsinki – That Beep – That Beep

21. Bodies Of Water – Dear Boy – RAM On L.A.

22. Stuart Murdoch – Another Saturday – Dark Was The Night

23. Mastodon – Oblivion – Crack The Skye

Concerts This Weekend

2009-02-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

I've cooked up a little bit of a concert calendar. These are all the shows that have caught my eye this weekend.

Fri, Feb 20 - WERS Welcomes The Delta Spirit @ The Middle East Downstairs

Sat, Feb 21 - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals @ The Orpheum Theater (Supposedly Ryan Adams last tour, ever.)

Sun, Feb 22 - Antony & The Johnsons @ The Berklee Performance Center

Mon, Feb 23 - Concert 4 George Harrison (Birthday Tribute) @ Harper's Ferry

Tue, Feb 24 - Tapes 'n Tapes w/ Wild Light @ The Paradise Rock Club

Excellent show after excellent show. Have fun and see some music.

The Tap - Feb. 18 Playlist

2009-02-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

Yes yes, finally, the playlist for The Tap - Feb. 18! If you remember I had the big giveaway for the Dark Was The Night compilation so I featured many tracks from the album. My good friend Rob Huttick, from all the way in Spain won the contest. That's some serious dedication.

1. Lotus Plaza – Quicksand – The Floodlight Collective

2. Air France – Never Content – No Way Down

3. The Books & Jose Gonzalez – The Cello Song – Dark Was The Night

4. WEAVE! – Mouthpiece Hysteria - WEAVE!

5. Dan Auerbach – I Want Some More – Keep It Hid

6. The Bird & The Bee – Diamond Dave – Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future

7. Papercuts – Dictator's Lament – You Can Have What You Want

8. Dirty Projectors & David Byrne – Knotty Pine – Dark Was The Night

9. Andrew Bird – Anonanimal – Noble Beast

10. Fires Of Rome – Dawn Lament – You Kingdom You WECB Pick

11. Franz Ferdinand – Bite Hard – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand WECB Pick

12. Handsome Furs – Radio Kaliningrad – Face Control

13. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Come Saturday – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

14. Sufjan Stevens – You Are The Blood – Dark Was The Night

15. Grizzly Bear – While You Wait For The Others – Morning Becomes Eclectic

16. JJ Grey – Orange Blossoms – Orange Blossoms

17. Swan Lake – Spanish Gold, 2044 – Enemy Mine

18. Antony and Bryce Dessner – I Was Young When I Left Home – Dark Was The Night

19. Trail Of The Dead – Halycon Days – The Century Of Self

20. Here We Go Magic – Only Pieces – Here We Go Magic

21. Bon Iver – Brackett, WI – Dark Was The Night

23. My Morning Jacket – Thank You Too (Live) – iTunes Live From Las Vegas At The Palms - EP

Edit 12:56PM: More links forthcoming.

Antony & The Johnsons

2009-02-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

Stereogum is just giving out all the good stuff today. Here's a video of Antony & The Johnsons performing the song "Aeon" from his album The Crying Light on Letterman. Antony really belts it out on this one. I can never imaging having a voice as strong as that. But if I did I would destroy mountains, shout to Iceland to declare my oncoming attack, and probably sing a little bit here and there.

Also if you tuned in last night, the big fourth track from Dark Was The Night was *drumroll* Antony & Bryce Dessner covering Bob Dylan's "I Was Young When I Left Home!" Antony needs all the love he can get.

Also look for the playlist and updates on last nights shown in the near future (hopefully later today).

Edit 3:12pm: You can also see Antony & The Johnsons live in Boston on Sunday at the Berklee Performance Center! Count me in.

2009 BRIT Awards

2009-02-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks Stereogum.

Dark Was The Night

2009-02-18T07:24:00.001-08:00

Yesterday the indie super compilation Dark Was The Night was released. For those who may not know, it is a compilation for the Red Hot Organization. The Red Hot Organization raises funds for AIDS relief and AIDS education through pop culture. The organization has raised $7 million over the course of 20 years and this year they'll be capping it off with one of their biggest compilations yet: Dark Was The Night. Here's the tracklist.

A pretty monstrous list, right? As if 31 exclusive covers, new songs, and unreleased b-sides from these artists weren't enough reason to buy the comp -- you're also donating to an AIDS relief fund. Feels good, huh?

Make sure to listen into The Tap tonight from 6-8pm because I'll be giving you a chance to win this compilation! I'll be playing 5 songs from the album throughout the night and I want you to call in at 617-824-8852 or Instant Message me on AIM at LiveOnWECB when you hear the fourth Dark Was The Night track of the show.

Edit 11:24am

I've also got this sweet widget from the Dark Was The Night website. It's a little fickle so if it doesn't play immediately wait, give it another click, or try a different track. These are a few of my favorites from the album.

February 17 - Big Day For Indie Releases

2009-02-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

I was taking a look at some big releases I was looking forward to when I noticed: everything is coming out February 17th. Check it out:

... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Century of Self

Architecure In Helsinki – That Beep

Dark Was The Night

Malajube - Labyrinthes

Morrissey – Years Of Refusal

M. Ward – Hold Time

Although I've kind of lost track of Trail Of The Dead (winners of the most cheesy, Final Fantasy-inspired website ever) and Architecture In Helsinki (they never stop amazing..), I've never had much love for Morrissey, and M. Ward is better in collaboration than on his own, this is a pretty big release date. Dark Was The Night is the super-indie compilation for the Red Hot Organization, and Malajube are the catchy francophone indie-rockers from Montreal.

What February releases are you looking forward to?

Edit 1:07PM

You can also listen to all of Malajube's Labyrinthes here.

"Tunnelvision" - Here We Go Magic - Video Premiere

2009-02-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

"Tunnelvision" by Here We Go Magic is a colorful loop of abstraction and fuzz that cycles into a pop mantra. I played it on last week's showand today the video premiered on Pitchfork TV. The video embodies the pieces of the song in abstract and found film. It's also literally a kaleidoscope. Their self titled album will be released 2/24.

Welcome to Apture Science

2009-02-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

I have implemented a blogging technology called Apture. Basically what the sucker does is if you put your cursor on a link with a film strip next to it the video will pop up and play within the window! Amazing! If you'd like, you can click the video and head to the linked site (where you can watch in full screen and what not). You can also drag the window around so it won't block your view.

Apture does not work with all content, so you'll still have to click off the page sometimes but it should be a cool little addition to the site.

I am, however, slightly suspicious of the name the similarity in name to Aperture Science...

Edit: 5:10PM

I should also point out that our WECB Ops Manager, Jeff Penfield introduced me to this wonderful tool. You can check out his show, Achilles Last Stand Thursdays from 2-4pm on www.wecb.emerson.edu and follow his blog.

The Tap: Taparoo

2009-02-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

The Tap

The Concert Calendar

2009-02-12T08:15:00.001-08:00

I'll also be making up a weekly concert calendar for shows in the Boston area. Here are some of the choice shows I've found.

Concert Calendar:

Thursday, February 12 – Trust Company – Harper’s Ferry (High School throwback)

Friday February 13 – Spirtual Rez w/ State Your Mind – The Middle East Downstairs

Friday, February 13 – WERS Welcomes The Submarines – The Middle East Upstairs

Friday, February 13 – Los Campesinos! w/ Titus Andronicus – Paradise Rock Club

Sunday, February 15 – Fujiya & Miyagi – The Paradise Rock Club

Sunday, February 15 – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – The Middle East Upstairs

Inaugural Show w/ Playlist

2009-02-12T07:58:00.001-08:00

Last night was The Tap's debut show on WECB! The playlist featured some songs I found the day before, and evening the morning before the show - so you got the freshest songs out there. For example The Thermals single was released yesterday morning, and Swan Lake was the night before the show. I'll have impressions of the Swan Lake album up later.

As far as the playlist goes: what do you think? Did I play a your favorite artist, but a song you didn't like by them? Did I miss out on some really cool new band? Are some of these songs overplayed - are you sick of them already? Hit me up with your impressions!

Here's the playlist:

Andrew Bird – Fitz & Dizzyspells – Noble Beast

--------------------------------------------------------------------

All The Saints – Papering Fix – Fire On Corridor X

Antony & The Johnsons – Epilepsy Is Dancing – The Crying Light

Animal Collective – My Girls – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Vetiver – Rolling Sea – Tight Knit

Scott Weiland – Paralysis – “Happy” In Galoshes

Arcade Fire – Lenin – Dark Was The Night

Hauschka – Tagtraum – Snowflakes And Carwrecks

Here We Go Magic – Tunnelvision – Here We Go Magic

Junior Boys – The Animator – Begone Dull Care

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Gone, Gone, Gone – Raising Sand

Charles Spearin – Mrs. Morris – The Happiness Project

Bon Iver – Blood Bank – Blood Bank EP

Blackout Beach - Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982 – Skin of Evil

The National – So Far Around The Bend – Dark Was The Night

Handsome Furs – Talking Hotel Arbat Blues – Face Control

Franz Ferdinand – What She Came For – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Young Adult Friction – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Wavves – Get In The Sun – Wavvves

The Lonely Island Boys – Jizz In My Pants – Incredibad

My Morning Jacket – Knot Comes Loose [Live] – iTunes Live from Las Vegas At The Palms EP

Neil Young – On The Way Home – Sugar Mountain Live

A.C. Newman – There May Be Ten Or Twelve – Get Guilty

Coldplay – The Goldrush – Life In Technicolor II

Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler – Working On A Dream

Swan Lake – Paper Lace – Enemy Mine

Grand Duchy – Volcano! – Petits Fours

The Thermals – Now We Can See – Now We Can See

Fleet Foxes - Mykonos Music Video

2009-02-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

Fleet Foxes have a new music video that was premiered on pitchfork.tv today. The song is "Mykonos," the rumbling harmony explosion from the Sun Giant EP (recorded after their LP Self Titled). I am reminded instantly of two things: Dougal and the Blue Cat and The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein. Lots of shapes, colors, evil shapes with mustaches, and Fleet Foxes, what more could you want? I think the story is about two brother shapes on some..adventure...doing something.

Also Robin Pecknold cut his hair (shock) and upped a few solo songs he's played with on his MySpace. In more Fleet Foxes news, word is they've been working on their follow up album since Thanksgiving. Robin Pecknold also apparently likes David the Gnome, who would have guessed?

Introduction

2009-02-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

Welcome to The Tap blog! This is the blog space for the radio show "The Tap," featuring yours truly Wednesdays from 6-8pm on WECB.

What can you expect from The Tap? The show is based on NEW music, and pretty update as well. You'll hear the newest songs, releases, and leaks up to the date. If you like to scrounge around the indie scene, I'll be aggregating all of it right here (along with some mainstream stuff). I hope to keep all of my shows up to date to the month, so everything you will hear will be (roughly) a month young. With all the other shows out there to support classic rock, 90s alternative, and eclectic mixes supported on WECB, I'm hear to keep you on the pulse of music today.

I'll also be keeping you up to date with the Boston music scene, concert calendars for all the hottest shows at your favorite venues (Middle East, Paradise Rock Club, TT The Bear's) and also lots of info on events going on at the Emerson College campus!

Check it out, I'll be posting links to my favorite news articles of the week, I'll have CD reviews and features for WECB albums of the month, maybe some interviews that our Music Director will be working on, my playlists, and anything else fun and fresh that I'll find.

So I'm K-Fresh, Assistant General Manager of WECB. You can listen at wecb.emerson.edu to our free form radio station (and don't worry, a new website is in the works and will be launched soon!). The station launches our Spring semester tomorrow so make sure to tune in and listen to all the cool programming we'll have.

You can also join my facebook group, WECB: The Tap and follow me on Twitter.