First off, if you’re not a fan of Black Flag, Black Sabbath, or any kind of punk/metal crossover, quit reading(and take this time to seriously rethink your life).  But for the rest of us, let’s talk a little about this awesome band called Annihilation Time.  And for those of you unfamiliar with the band, here’s a quick description of their sound: a quick kick in the jaw from a rusted iron boot, but due to masochistic tendencies, you secretly enjoy it and beg for more.  And if that description still doesn’t make sense, here’s a broader (yet a bit more boring) one: a fusion of 1980’s hardcore punk and thrash metal, glued together with wicked guitar solos ala Iron Maiden.  Trust me, it’s as sick as it sounds, but don’t take my word for it.  Just listen to Annihilation Time’s latest album, III: Tales of an Ancient Time, and prepare to grow your hair out and headbang like it’s 1981.  Give them a try:  http://www.myspace.com/annihilationtime.  

Hello there. I’m KSCR’s Music Director and every week I submit a playlist with the top 30 most played albums at KSCR that week to the College Music Journal (CMJ), which tallies similar reports from college radio stations across the country. This helps them publish charts akin to the Billboard charts, but for music circulating on college radio stations as opposed to commercial stations. KSCR’s genre directors also submit the top 10 albums played within their respective genres: Hip Hop, Electronica / RPM, Jazz, Loud Rock / Metal, and World music. Here is the list for what was played last week:

Radio 200

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Myself: Hello My name is Karl Nickenig

(anonymous group): Hi Karl

Myself:  I’m a musiholic and I love every minute of it!

This is the dialogue that runs through my head everytime I think about my love for music.  It’s unquenchable.  It’s like an addiction to crack-cocaine. It’s like the bottomless pit that swallowed up Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi.  If I could, I would marry music and make it my baby’s momma.  My headphones are my light and my iPod is my Bible.  I devour music in all formats: LP, CD, Cassette, 8-track, MP3, Radio airwaves, Grocery stores and Live, all as the good Lord intended.  Lo-fi, Hi-fi, Mid-fi and No-fi I love em all baby.  I don’t just have one poison of choice either; I listen to everything from rap, to gypsy jazz, to punk, to pop, to classical.  Its an Obsession (trademark of Calvin Klein).  However I would like to shift the focus off of me for a moment (I know my prose is so intriguing, enticing and titillating [haha tit]) and I would like to focus on those of you who enjoy the fine blogications of Bandwidth.  Start getting addicting to music!!  I know this may sound like a blunt statement, but believe me once you get hooked on music you just can’t quit (and won’t regret it).  Now you may be saying to yourself “but I’m just a young, supple 18 to 25 year old manchild/womengirl,  how am I supposed to start getting into new awesome music?”.  Well mister/miss Debbie Downer what I got are three simple tips that will help you on your musical journey.

1.  Keep an open mind - just try to see whats out there and judge the music for whats its worth.  I’ve heard too many people say “I like all music…except classical and country” and thats the wrong frame of mind.  Don’t let your preconceived notions about a genre or artist get in the way of actually listening to the music and judging it on its own terms.

2.  Actively seek out different music media- Now there is nothing wrong with listening to the big corporate radio stations every once in a while, but you can’t find interesting music outside the pop mainstream without (wait for it this is the shocker) GETTING OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM EVERY ONCE AND A WHILE!!!  There are alot of cool radio stations out there that play interesting music not played on the big radio stations (*Cough KSCR Cough*).  There are also good podcasts and sites where you can find the music you want and maybe something you didn’t expect.  Some other good places to check out (besides our lovely radio station) are NPR’s All Songs Considered, Pandora.com, Finetune.com, and the indiefeed podcast (all are free which is also a plus for us poor college folk).

3.Don’t Give Up - at some point along the line for some reason you may feel discouraged because you can’t seem to find the music that you like.  Well all I gotta say is don’t give up!  Finding new (good) music is totally worth the blood, sweat and tears you put into it and you’ll feel good about finding something new that you like on your own terms.

4.  Bake a Pumpkin Pie- It’s October and they’re delicious .

With all these steps in mind you should be on your way to becoming a Musiholic!

Here’s the second half of my top 10 favorite albums of 2007…

5. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
I think I’ve listened to “For Reverend Green” more than any other song this year. It’s wonderfully grainy, and the vocals display Animal Collective at the top of their game. Technically, the singing is rather poor; but it manages to be raw and feral with childlike sincerity and spirit, and I just feel that life-affirming tingle when I hear the singer’s ferociously cathartic screams. And this is just one song I’m talking about; many critics have cited the opener, “Peacebone,” or Strawberry Jam’s centerpiece “Fireworks,” as the song of the year. The album may seem like group’s usual sound, but is that really an issue when that sound gets better with every release? After listening to Strawberry Jam, the handle “Animal Collective” seems quite apt for such mastery of that balance between the savage and civilized. I’ll be looking forward to their next LP.

4. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime

Minimalism seems like such a compositional cop-out. One of the difficult things about composing/songwriting is linking together ideas in a manner that sounds effortless, coherent, and intelligent. That’s what’s meant when something sounds “inspired.” There’s not much of a challenge if all you need to do is cook up a musical nugget that can be drawn out for several minutes. That’s why minimalism is often boring. But Swedish artist Axel Willner, with the stage name “The Field,” manages to avoid this pitfall with From Here We Go Sublime, a work of techno-minimalist glacial goodness. Every idea he dreams up does not warrant a change. They’re strong enough to stand alone for quite a while. And not only does Willner seem to know this, but he’s mastered the right timing for the shifts when they do come. They’re subtle, with just enough wit to keep your interest, not only in the development but with their respective foundations. The music isn’t immediately gripping, but it’s certainly not boring. For lack of a better word, it’s just…chill, and this is how The Field avoids both saturating the listener with too much of a good thing, and diluting itself with time and repetition. Extrapolating this over ten tracks, it’s no surprise that this is one of 2007’s most consistent albums.

3. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

For some reason, Jens Lekman always feels like a guilty pleasure. There’s that crooning baritone, the lush orchestral samples, and the occasionally cringe-worthy lyrics of a hopeless romantic. Blend them together and you get a plate of concentrated cheesecake. And like an image conscious teenage girl (”this will go straight to my thighs!”), you know it tastes great, but after consumption comes regret. On opener, “And I Remember Every Kiss,” Lekman sings “You get a gun and you name it after a girlfriend” as the strings soar to the heavens, and I think “pff, what the hell does that mean???” But I love it. Somehow, Mr. Lekman manages to make all the drawbacks of his music, paradoxically, not drawbacks at all. It’s delightfully cheesy, and has a very classic feel. Lekman’s previous release, Oh You’re So Silent Jens, had some great tracks, but a lot of filler; the 17-track compilation easily could’ve done with 7 or so less. But there is not a poor moment on Night Falls 12 songs. During the course of this semester I must’ve played at least half of them during my DJ shift, and many of those more than once (especially “Shirin”). There’s plenty of cheesecake to go around.

2. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Okay, okay, I know that every music critic ever is on Radiohead’s nuts. And I know In Rainbows is one of their weaker releases…but we’re talking about, arguably, one of the world’s greatest bands. “Mediocre” for Radiohead is still quite good, and relative to everything else, this is one of 2007’s best. One of my friends mentioned that their choose-your-own-price marketing revolution may have distracted people from the quality of the music itself. I think he meant this in a bad way, but I think of it as a challenge. When you buy something, you almost feel pressured to test your product, to scrutinize it and decide if you got your money’s worth. When something is potentially free, any notion of exchange has vanished. You don’t feel the need to justify your investment. In Rainbows must not only deal with this, but it must grab the listener from the your-price-tag novelty and say “Yeah, it’s cool but I’m worth noticing, too.” And I think it meets this challenge. Opener “15 Steps” is nothing special at first, but as soon as York sings “One by one….,” it hooked me immediately. Many of the songs follow the same trend; they don’t immediately catch your ear, but they all have at least one climax, that “moment,” that you’ll want to hear over and over. The middle of Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, and the last minute of “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” in particular, come to mind.

It’s been said that Radiohead has more or less “played it safe” this time. Compared to Kid A, In Rainbows is not exactly artistically courageous. But in addition to the aforementioned trend, there are a couple things I’ve noticed in the songs that make this LP distinctive in its own right. For one, there’s a much greater focus on rhythm. In the past, I’ve heard people accuse Radiohead of having little of it, and they’re right. Save a few songs, there’s not much on their past six albums you can tap your foot to. But In Rainbows has much more pulse. Not only does this become obvious on the opening two tracks, but even the slower tracks (i.e. Nude, All I Need) have a prominent cadence. Furthermore, melody is subdued for a greater focus on mood. The songs here don’t have a sing-along quality; in fact it’s difficult to recall the vocal melodies. While Yorke still sings, he steps down from center stage to blend as an instrument with the rest of the band, allowing an atmosphere to envelope the listener. This effect is enhanced by thicker textures. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, for example, is probably their most polyphonic song to date, and there’s a surprising amount of strings in the latter half of the album. None of these changes are bad things; they’re just different. What’s interesting is that the third track, “Nude,” is nearly a decade old. Radiohead have played that song live since the OK Computer era, when it was also known as “Big Ideas.” And it doesn’t sound out of place at all. To be fair, they’ve changed the song a lot since then, but I think that’s a testament to both the brilliance of music and Radiohead’s creative skill; the song has been vastly modified stylistically to fit the overall delivery of the album, but it has still maintained it’s compositional core. I confess I do like the older version better, but it’s still intriguing to think how something can sound so familiar and yet so alien. And that’s kind of how In Rainbows is. It’s a more accessible Radiohead, but it’s certainly not a throwback; they’ve still got some tricks up their sleeves.

1. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters

I don’t get people. This album got solid reviews during it’s release (8.6 from Pitchfork, 4/5 from AllMusic, B+ from Stylus), and I haven’t seen it on any of the end-of-year lists I’ve read. Does the album not age well? Are they too Scottish? Or am I just retarded?

Anyway…despite my frustration, I think The Twilight Sad are the best new artist of the year, with the best album of the year. They’ve created their own sound with shoegaze and folk, weaved with pent-up frustration and the vast, beautiful night sky. Their instrumentation, with the shimmering guitars and yearning accordion on “That Summer, at Home I had Become the Invisible Boy,” is demonstrably gorgeous. The song titles are long-winded, but it’s clear The Twilight Sad wants to evoke visceral images, for they execute it remarkably for such a young band. On “Last Year’s Rain Didn’t Fall Quite So Hard,” not only does the music sound like rain, but downright oppressive rain, beating down the vocals, which can only emerge cross-faded in the isolated distance. Like the band name itself, everything on Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters is melancholic but radiant, executed with both grace and aggression, capturing the emotional range of anyone who’s…well, human. “Mapped By What Surrounded Them” and ” I’m Taking the Train Home” pack a one-two punch as the album’s zenith, but there’s not a bad song on here. One of my few complaints, however, is that the album is only 9 tracks long. And I know The Twilight Sad has more to offer. Their 5-track, eponymous 2006 EP contains two songs that were not included on Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters, which is a shame because they’re both phenomenal. If you like Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters, be sure to get those two songs.

Ironically, the lyrical content primarily revolves around the troubles of being a kid and growing up. But this isn’t anything I relate to at all; my childhood kicked ass. But then again, I didn’t grow up in a broken home, which I would assume is a primary conflict in this album (just look at the cover art). So obviously, the reason I love this album is not because it resonates with me thematically. The music is stunning enough in its own right. So maybe those who can relate will like The Twilight Sad even more…..or maybe not if it hits too close to home. I say you take the risk. This one should not be overlooked.

Counting down from ten, here are the first five of my ten favorite albums from 2007. Rankings are always difficult after the top five, so the following feel a bit indefinite to me…but I tried:

10. Burial - Untrue
I’ve just started listening to this, so there’s not much I know about dub-step artist Burial. But with an impressive net score of 91 on metacritic.com, and a good first impression, I feel Untrue deserves to be included on this list. By just the artist, album, and cover art, you have an idea of what it sounds like. It’s a bit like Massive Attack, but with the eerie darkness of Black Heart Procession and a hint of that Daft Punk flair (some tracks more than others). Untrue evokes a range of enigmatic moods that warrants repeated listens.

9. Robert Gomez - Brand New Towns

Upon hearing Robert Gomez, the Elliott Smith influence is immediately obvious. While it’s possible he may just have the unfortunate circumstance of having an eerily similar voice, Gomez is by no means a rip-off artist. While the songs have the beautifully vulnerable, melancholic feel and whispered vocals of Elliott Smith, all the ideas on Brand New Towns sound compositionally fresh. One never feels he’s trying to fill the loss of Smith with himself. His music’s more of a tribute than an ape-ing, for he creates his own agency. The songs have a bit more harmonic daring, and some are actually optimistic! Gomez is clearly talented, for Brand New Towns is remarkably consistent. There’s nothing drastically innovative going on here in terms of style/genre, but Brand New Towns is a songwriter doing what he does best, and that’s good enough for me.

8. Frog Eyes- Tears of the Valedictorian
Frog Eyes is hit or miss for a lot of people. With their penchant for manic vocals, volatile harmonic movement, and raucous instrumentation, many find them difficult to listen to. Frog Eyes offers no relief for such individuals, as they continue to explode with unruly charm on Tears of the Valedictorian, which becomes obvious from the start on the ironically titled opener, “Idle Songs.” What intrigues me about Frog Eyes is how they manage to create such brilliant, inspired motifs and lace them within a circus-like maelstrom of sound. It sounds spontaneous yet preconceived, primal but cultivated. It’s intoxicating, and they champion this approach with “Caravan Breakers, They Prey On the Weak On the Old,” one of my favorite songs of the year. While the album could be described as “more of the same,” one does notice that many of the tracks are longer than usual. Whereas 8 of the 13 tracks on 2004’s The Folded Palm were under 2.5 minutes, the 9 tracks of Tears of the Valedictorian run for an average of about 4 minutes. They feel more like movements then songs, as seemingly unrelated ideas are connected within the same song. That said, the style still sounds very Frog Eyes, but there are few bands out there pulling off songs of jarring grace so well.

7. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
It would seem that the positive response of Band of Horses’ debut album, Everything All the Time, gave them the confidence to polish their craft, for Cease to Begin sounds more cohesive and mature. While the debut album had plenty of engaging themes, they were undermined by mediocre song structure. They would be approached too quickly, left undeveloped, or overshadowed by too much other, less interesting material. But on Cease to Begin, the core delight of the songs are carried through their entirety; you love them from start to finish. The best examples of this are the phenomenal “Island on the Coast” and “Cigarettes Wedding Bands.” Cease to Begin has some down-tempo numbers, and while they are warm and professional, I would say they are the album’s weakness, as they damage its consistency. Nevertheless, the album’s highlights more than outweigh its setbacks. This album was surprisingly good, and I feel like an eye should be kept on Band of Horses’ future output.

6. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
Another pleasant surprise from Sweden. The Tough Alliance sounds like Röyksopp and Junior Boys teaming up with Jim Henson. It’s primarily vocals and synths/electronics, all wrapped in tangible fun. It’s frisky, giddy, and high-spirited, but it avoids drowning you in sunshine and the obnoxiously saccharine, cloying nature of twee-pop groups like The Polyphonic Spree (sorry TPS fans) with variations in ambience and mood. “Miami,” for example, is in minor, but still creates an energizing texture. Just listen to “Something Special,” “First Class Riot,” or “The Last Dance,” they should put a smile on anyone’s face.

Vampire Weekend came to the Echo last night and they killed. These witty preps from NY played a great live set, effectively translating their unique sound onto a live stage with a ton of energy. Long live danceable bass lines, airy island guitars, and diverse rhythms. Oh! and that keyboard! The boys got some chops. Did I mention the wonderful lyrics? Hold on, I think I’m drooling.

Indeed, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding this band of four Columbia grads - so much that even MTV got an interview with Ezra, Rostam, Christopher, and Chris. The best part about all of this? Vampire Weekend doesn’t even release their debut self-titled until January 29th. Granted, their notorious “Blue-CDR” of recorded full length promos was leaked and has been floating around the internet for awhile. But, that’s a lot of hype for a band with no official LP. So, why all the buzz?

Answer: Gloriously catchy tunes, excellent live shows, and a fresh sound.

Say all you want about Paul Simon’s Graceland, early Talking Heads, and African tribal music/drums. These kids can play fantastically well, and desearve the attention. Here’s a video of “Mansard Roof”:

Pick of the set: “Oxford Comma.” Vampire Weekend is out 1/29/08 on XL.

Some of my favorite concerts are those by new bands who are still truly humble and grateful to their audiences, Los Campesinos!’s show at the Echoplex on Nov. 27 was just that. Their set was short (but not too short), energetic, and…well as fun as you’d expect a band named Los Campesinos! to be. It was really refreshing to see how truly excited they were to play on the West Coast “in Hollywood” as they kept repeating to the audience in between their songs, and it showed in the energy they put into each of their songs. Some songs I’d recommend would be “We throw parties, you throw knives”, “Don’t tell me to do the math(s)”, and “You!Me!Dancing!”.

Their opening band was The Most Serene Republic who were excellent despite their slightly creepy lead singer…

Yea so this electronica artist from Montreal keeps coming out with consistently good tracks on his myspace page. From Kanye remixes to straight-up orginals, CFCF brings a sound that is instantly familiar. Maybe not as technically impressive as Daft Punk, but certainly as original. The sounds this guy makes with his computer are superb. Enough said. Check it out. And if you don’t trust me, trust PITCHFORK WHO HAS NAME-DROPPED HIM MULTIPLE TIMES !!!!!