Top five ladysongs (in no particular order, but kind of in a particular order):

1. Charlotte Gainsbourg-”Paradisco”

2. tUnE-yArDs-”Bizness”

3. Kelly Rowland vs Kelly Rowland ft. Eve- Like This (DJ Nicky T Remix)

4. Deerhoof-Secret Mobilization

5. Björk-Crystalline

1. Sunday
2. Thursday
3. Saturday
4. Friday
5. Wednesday

5. David Bazaan’s new faith crisis
4. The Civil Wars
3. The new WPRB news team
2. Our speciality premiums
1. The discovery of multiple new The Smiths cover songs

5. Prosthetic Records
These guys get the nod for a combination of wise signings and long-running bands finally starting to pay off.  They’ve solidly established themselves as a great label for very solid, if occasionally unremarkable, death metal bands along the likes of Landmine Marathon, Neuraxis, and Skeletonwitch, who all released strong records this year.  Their best moves came at the start of the year, when they signed the criminally underrated Trap Them from Deathwish and the unbelievably brutal Dragged Into Sunlight from Mordgrimm. I would put money on the extra exposure bringing both bands into the stratosphere in the coming years.

4. Debemur Morti
Plain and simple, these guys put out 3 albums that are among the top 5 black metal albums I’ve heard this year.  E x | s t by Infestus is a beautiful piece of work that merges old-school and new-school black metal sensibilities better than anything else I’ve heard in a long time, and Blut Aus Nord’s 777 series is quickly proving to be one of the most impressive bodies of work in recent metal history.  While there is little else that’s too remarkable here, these picks alone deserve respect.

3.  Season of Mist
By far the most successful of the “major” metal labels this year, Season of Mist put out a staggering selection of quality albums.  Arckanum, Benighted, Cynic, Elitist, Esoteric, Kylesa, Nader Sadek, and The Project Hate MCMXCIX all came out swinging, and displayed Season of Mist’s grasp of a wide variety of metal styles, from doom to black to death.  With a few more big names waiting in the wings for possible 2012 releases (Dillinger Escape Plan and Atheist come to mind), it’ll only get better for SoM.

2.  Profound Lore
Chris Bruni is a genius.  I can’t say it any more simply than that.  Even stretching back to last year, when they released Slough Feg, Agalloch, and Stargazer’s most recent works, Profound Lore has barely released a single album that has been anything less than revolutionary and incredible.  They’ve cornered the market on doom, with groundbreaking releases by Loss, Subrosa, and YOB, while also releasing some of the best death metal all year with Antediluvian and Disma.  Profound Lore’s mark has become synonymous with progressive, evolutionary quality.

1.  Independent Artists on Bandcamp
This was the year, at least to me, that Bandcamp finally became what it was supposed to be—a truly revolutionary tool to allow bands and labels to connect with their fans with unprecedented ease.  For the artists, it gives them direct access to their fanbase, and allows a group of guys with just a few guitars and an 8-track to theoretically get their music out to thousands of people, and even get paid for it.  For the labels, it allows for a completely automated distribution effort with fairer cash distribution between the various parties, greater security, and greater management of how fans listen to their music.  For the fans, it makes it easier than ever before to listen to a band’s music and to support that band by buying albums and merch.  While labels will never go the way of the dodo, as Bandcamp grows, labels will be pushed to do more than just distribute music, and I think that is good for the entire industry.  Go to bandcamp.com, type in a tag (I prefer “sludge” or “doom”), and browse through what’s available…you’ll be amazed at the breadth and quality of music you’ll find.

Honorable mention goes to the guys at Seventh Rule Records.  While their musical selections have been a bit hit-or-miss at times, their PR has been incredible, and they are excellent at making their fans feel truly valued and welcomed.  More labels should work like they do.

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to resuscitate an old WPRB tradition – compiling yearly “best of” lists! So, our DJs and staff are taking some time to write up lists of your top 5 favorite anythings of 2011. It could be the top 5 albums released this year. It could be the top 5 songs about lemonade. It could be the top 5 bands they saw live this year.
To keep up with our lists, click here to access the page for the top 5 category. We’ll be adding more lists over the next couple of days, so keep checking back for more!

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune – Fascinating documentary about this quintessential political or “protest” folk singer and the 1960s in which he flourished. A great movie regardless of whether or not you like or are familiar with Ochs’ music.

Chasin’ Gus’ Ghost: Wonderful documentary about jug band music from the 1920s, 1960s and 2000s with, among many others Jim Kweskin, Geoff Muldaur, John Sebastian, and Bob Weir.

Beppe Gambetta; Live in Genova: Guided tour of Genoa and wonderful concert with Beppe, Patty Larkin, Gene Parson, Tony McMcmanus, …

Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart. A chronicle of Bela’s journey to Africa, meeting and creating music with musicians many of whom had never before seen a banjo. A fascinating and beautiful film.

Desperate Man Blues. A documentary following Joe Bussard, a wonderfully knowledgeable and opinionated fan of early blues and hillbilly music with a collection of more than 25,000 78 rpm recordings and his own radio show.

BONUS: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. The Martin Scorsese 207 minute film from 2005.

More concert reviews?

More record reviews?

More station updates?

Let us know in the comments!

We got to the show in time to catch the last half of the set from opening band Dom (unfortunately, getting terribly lost on the way to the venue meant we missed the first band, Lo-Fi Fnk, who I highly recommend checking out). Dom’s known for happy, poppy rock numbers, but they recently released an EP that veers more toward atmospheric/chillwavey sounds. We heard both this evening. I enjoyed hearing them stretch their musical boundaries, but the crowd was definitely more enthusiastic about the poppy numbers like set closer “Living in America.”

(side note: one of the simultaneous upsides and downsides of attending a show on a Friday night at a “clubbier” venue is the party atmosphere in the crowd – everyone’s really excited but they’re also talking a lot and so I tend to feel bad for the opening acts who are trying to play but no one is paying attention)

At 10PM on the dot, AIH came onstage to rapturous applause. This band contains members with an interesting mix of styles: you have your glammed-out frontman and frontwoman in fancy outfits with shiny accessories juxtaposed with some serious beard action. I have to admit that the vision was a little incoherent (are they all in the band? are some of them just the touring backup?), but I can go there if that’s where they want to take me. They pounded out an hour and a half of poppy, dancy numbers drawing from all over their discography, not just new tracks, which especially impressed my show-going companion who’d seen many of their shows before but had enjoyed their recent record less than their previous records. The crowd was composed mostly of yuppies in suits (or maybe that’s just where I was standing), but they seemed to be really enjoying themselves, proving that AIH can play to people in suits too! The band seemed to have a technical gripe with the venue: despite their repeated requests for more lights on the crowd (it’s really dark in there- they wanted to be able to see the audience to make it more of a participatory experience, which I totally dig), the lights would come on for a second or two and would then go back out. Ah well.

They closed with a three-song encore that ended with a raucous sing-along to “Heart It Races,” and with that, we were on our merry way. Apparently, they’ll be back early next year touring behind a new record, unless I misheard. Thanks for the uplifting, dancey workout, AIH!

A former classical director, Sara Shukla, sent me a link to a great piece in the NYT earlier this evening (click!) that kind of prompted some renewed thinking on the topic.  It’s true that people don’t listen to the radio as much these days, but you could also say that it’s true that people don’t listen to music in the same way any more either.  The much-heralded “death of the music industry” has failed to really impact the success of most radio stations, especially many free-form stations like WRVU and WPRB, because these stations provide things you just can’t find on the internet or on satellite radio or what have you.  On stations like WRVU and WPRB, you have engaging and thoughtful DJs who know a heck of a lot about music putting together sets of music for your listening enjoyment and often commenting on them in enlightening ways.  Whether you agree with a certain DJ or not, it’s hard as a music listener to not see the value in this.  Independent radio also has an endearing unpolished nature to it, making otherwise obscure music accessible and relatable and interesting to those who might not have found it interesting in the first place.  The benefits for station staff are also immeasurable.  Speaking as a student, I believe I’ve learned more through working at WPRB than in any combination of classes I’ve taken in school, and I think that anyone who has ever worked in college radio would agree to at least some degree.

Lest you worry, WPRB is not in any danger of being sold.  In fact, WPRB is and will continue to be a thriving, musically and newsically and sportsically diverse organization for years to come.  Thanks to our community-supported model, we exist due to the generosity of our listeners and so are not beholden to any organization that might seek to squash us without our input.  Like all independent stations, however, WPRB is doing its best to remain relevant in the digital age, and we’re making plans to expand online offerings in the future (which could include more online accessibility to broadcast material and special online-only content).  We love to hear support and suggestions from our listeners, so if you’ve got any cool ideas, comment on this post and we’ll take them under consideration.  Whether it’s organizing and executing a supercharged membership drive to maintaining balance in the schedule between familiar shows and new voices to fixing the website when it’s broken, there’s always issues to hammer out at WPRB, but thanks to our listeners, I think we’re producing better radio than ever.

I personally hope WRVU is able to find the silver lining really soon.  In a year that has seen the sale of WRVU, KUSF, and KTRU, independent broadcasters need to ensure that they stay relevant and connected to their listener bases.  As for these new online stations, I think that if WRVU’s DJs are able to continue to produce a great product while finding ways to engage listeners even from an online stream, they can remain a vital part of Nashville’s music scene and the broadcast landscape as a whole.  Perhaps moving to a more community-supported format would do them good; perhaps, at this point, it’s better to make lemonade from their lemons.  In any case, please remember how important our listeners and supporters and DJs and staff (who are all volunteers) are to us at WPRB, and we could literally not exist without your support.  You can make sure that we keep running strong by donating now or in October during our drive, or by purchasing WPRB merch through our new online store, or by calling in during your favorite radio show to chat with the DJs, or by just tuning in every once in a while.  With your support, we can remain weird and wacky and wonderful well into the future.

Follow the WRVU saga here and here.

Submit events to calendar@wprb.com!