Mark your calendars, set the clocks: Jon Solomon’s 24th Annual 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show is coming soon! The marathon begins on Saturday, December 24 at 6:00 PM ET and ends Sunday, December 25 at 6:00 PM ET.

It’s not Christmas without Jon’s annual holiday marathon. Seriously! From the absurd and bizarre to the beautiful and almost-kinda-holy, Jon’s show traverses the terrain of holiday music. No two marathons are alike, and perhaps that’s why listeners both near and far flock to the radio and/or webstream. So says Inside Jersey:

Forget the Bing Crosby-Nat King Cole-Mariah Carey loop that seems to air on every station in every mall – Solomon mixes covers of traditional hits with songs by bands from the region, recordings lost to attics and basements, and esoteric picks like “Mr. Russian, Please Don’t Shoot Down Santa’s Sleigh,” a Cold War-era number.

Which is not to be confused with “Can Santa Miss Those Missiles,” Solomon says.

You can RSVP for this show on Facebook.

Jon wants you to know that if you would like to make some requests, by all means get in touch.

Watch a live stream of everything happening in Studio A (goes live on December 24th):

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!

More concert reviews?

More record reviews?

More station updates?

Let us know in the comments!

The WPRB Membership Drive begins today! The full schedule for our special week of programming will be:

Sunday 10/9

7pm – 10pm                        John Weingart

10pm – 2am                       Mister Various

Monday 10/10

6am – 9am                        Classical with Toby

9am- 11am                         Classical with Sara

11am – 1pm                       Jazz with Dan Buskirk

1pm – 3pm                        Yo Gabbie Gabbie

3pm – 5pm                        Scullination with Eli

5pm – 6pm                       Timeout with WPRB Sports

6pm – 6.30pm                WPRB News

6.30pm – 7pm                The Week In Review

7pm – 9pm                       DJ Rev MC

9pm – 11pm                     Rock with Aaron

11pm – 1am                      Metal Mania

1am – 3am                        DJ Carnie

Tuesday 10/11

6am-9am                         Classical with Michael

9am – 11am                     Classical with Bob

11am – 1pm                      The Outerspace Employment Agency

1pm – 4pm                       Rockabilly Roadhouse

4pm – 8pm                      Motorfunker

8pm – 10pm                    Not Truth, But Effect with KPC

10pm – 12am                  Transitional Soundscapes

12am – 3am                     Extremities

Wednesday 10/12

6am – 11am                        Classical Discoveries

11am – 1pm                        Classical Discoveries Goes Avant Garde

1pm – 3pm                         The Clothesline with Wilbo

3pm – 5pm                        The Front Porch with Molly and Adoley

5pm – 7pm                        The Death of Tango with Pablo

7pm – 10pm                      Rock with Jon Solomon

10pm – 12am                    J.T.

12am – 2am                      The Sprawl with Mickey Kane

Thursday 10/13

6am – 11am                        Towe on Thrsday

11am – 1pm                        Blues, Bop and Beyond with Will Constantine

1pm – 3pm                         Teenage Lust with Colin

3pm – 5pm                        Majestic Jams with Gabe & LP

5pm – 7pm                        Doubleplusgood with Lizbot

7pm – 9pm                        Clean Yr Room with Art and Julia

9pm – 11pm                      Best of the UK with Scott

11pm – 1am                       Peacock Dreams with Lance Loud

Friday 10/14

6am – 9am                         Classical with Kate

9am – 11am                       Classical with Nathan

11am – 2pm                       Serenade to a Cuckoo with Jerry Gordon

2pm – 5pm                        Pop Rocks with Louisa

5pm – 8pm                       The James & Andy Show

8pm – 9pm                       State of the Station

9pm – 10pm                     Lauren & Dixon

10pm – 12am                  Slot Time with Surgeon General

12am – 3am                     Music with Space with Mike Hunter

Saturday 10/15

6am – 7am                        Classical with James

7am – 9am                        Classical with Gabe

9am – 11am                       Sangeet

11am – 12pm                    The world’s Fare with Pangaeo

12pm – 4pm                     FOOTBALL – Live Coverage Princeton vs. Brown

4pm – 6pm                       All Ages Show with Paddy

6pm – 8pm                       Recherché with Readie Righteous

8pm – 10pm                     DJ Shane FM

10pm – 12pm                   Old School Rock and Roll with Kurt

12pm – 2am                     Between the Lines with Sitesh

Sunday 10/16

6am – 10am                      Sunday Morning Opera with Sandy

10am – 1pm                      Sunday Jazz with Jeannie

1pm – 3pm                        Musical Odyssey with Bonnie and Xander

3pm – 5pm                       Jamrock Radio with Selecta Bam Bam

5pm – 7pm                       Side-B Radio with Phil Jackson

To make a donation, either call us during a show at 609-258-1033 or go to pledge.wprb.com

Bernard Wöstheinrich

Bernhard started in about 1987 to intensely experiment with his own soundsand tunes after he found out that drawing and painting simply weren’t enoughto adequately express himself. He went about to find something that mighthad a more “performing” approach. Inspired by the likes of Einstürzende Neubauten and other informal and experimental music, he finally began towork in a very personal way to compose and record some early tapes.

Bernhard leads his own solo project “The Redundant Rocker” and his maincollaborator is Markus Reuter (in CENTROZOON). He has also worked with IanBoddy, Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock, No-Man singer Tim Bowness, Conrad Schnitzler,and Synapscape’s Philipp Münch. He has released music on a variety of labelssuch as DiN, Burning Shed, Tonefloat, Unsung Records, and continues to push at the boundaries of rock, electronica, and the avant-garde.

Bernhard elicits meaning from abstraction in electronic music and painting.He has studied graphic design and has created an eclectic body of work inboth graphics and music. Using a compositional approach akin to his work asa visual artist, Bernhard usually begins by improvising abstract sonic structures which are subsequently developed into an increasingly detailed aural picture.

For more information visit:

http://www.redundantrocker.com

http://www.centrozoon.de

Vic (Left) and Dean (Right)

Master Electronic Musicians Dean De Benedictus and Vic Hennegan will be performing 3 sets on this weeks edition of Music With Space on Friday Night just after te midnight hour (technically Saturday morning.) This is a “must not miss” even for fans of electronic and ambient music.

About Dean - Dean’s music, among other mediums, is the result of his will to tie an essential common thread together between opposing genres and mentalities, as well as draw from them a natural sense of emotion, expanse and mystery. This Southern California-based producer / performer / musician / visual and conceptual artist (otherwise known to the electronic/ambient community as Surface 10 or as Surface 10 Activity) has always utilized his interest in a variety of styles and cultures to enrich the quality of his musical expression. Beginning his deep exploration of music in the 80′s, De Benedictis covered a wide gamut of musical experience; moving through many jazz fusion and progressive rock bands, music theory classes, and producing/performing source music for network television over 12 years of his career

About Vic -   An artist and a spiritualist, Hennegan contemplates the state of humanity through his music. “Many of us have lost our connection with ourselves, the planet, the universe and those around us. Through dance, we connect to our spirit self and to the earth. Through song, we connect to each other, becoming instruments in tune and in harmony reaching a new and higher level of consciousness. My intention and purpose is to create and bring forth music—for dance, for harmony and for spiritual connection.”

“Vic Hennegan absorbs the beauty of this surroundings and translates that to a fine musical expression.” (Little Universe) Hennegan’s work as a live performer makes him a rare commodity in the electronic world. With computers, samplers, vocals and synthesizers, Hennegan’s instinctive hand creates techno-trance and ambient music in a wildly fun, uplifting spiritual experience that will take your soul on a journey to the center of ecstasy.

Hennegan’s music emanates a unique warmth which moves the listener to a state of euphoria. Through complex and insistent rhythms and vocals, Hennegan accomplishes “a lush dynamic that relentlessly strives to entertain.” (Matt Howarth, SonicCuriousity.com)

Every week this summer, WPRB will highlight one its DJs in “Get To Know WPRB’s DJS.”

DJ Name: DJ Emanuel Ferrietis

Show: “The Outer Space Employment Agency,” Tuesdays 11Am to 1 PM.

Blog ForYour Show?:

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Outerspace-Employment-Agency/126122274072342

Type of music played on show: Jazz and Jazz-related music.

Reasons why you decided to be a DJ?: “Well, I wanted to make jazz more accessible, less mysterious. Other reason, I was inspired by a few WPRB DJs such as Marvin Rosen, Will Constantine, and John Weingarten).”

Day Job: “Am I not getting paid for this?”

Where are you from originally?: Central New Jersey.

What can you not stop listening to right now?: One person is Steve Hudson, “Galactic Diamonds,” Moth Guts-3 and Bitches Brew Live at John and Peters.

Favorite summer food?: Bent Spoon’s Basil Ice Cream.

What are you reading right now?: “Two things: Jeffrey Eugenides, Middesex and the other is John Ellis, American Sphinx (about our third president).”

What is your favorite city in the world that you have visited?: Reno.

Favorite Song Lyric: “Set the gearshift for the high-gear of your soul/You’ve got run like an antelope out of control.”

Anything Else?: “Jazz should be an accessible music and art form. There’s lots of great stuff, even from the 70s and 80s… There’s lots of great music coming out and we should try and support our local artists.”

by Jake Sanders

Ah yes. Like a national holiday for those who aren’t quite patriotic, The Pitchfork Music Festival comes around but once a year…however, I don’t have the money to attend. No, I’m not bitter or jealous. After all, there’s a ton of music blogs to choose from that give an group-by-group account of the festival, plus all the really juicy stuff that happens off stage. That should be almost as good as being there, right?

Trying to get to a concert of this size is the same story almost every year. The ads show up around the beginning of spring for the summer shows, there’s a lot of hype, there’s a lot of bands listed, and even the price is affordable. And I think, “Yes, this will be the year I’ll get to see at least one, get out there and really jive, y’know?” Yet I wonder.. “How will I make it there? I don’t think I know anyone who lives in East Sussex, and I’m not sure if there’s even a hamlet nearby where I could rent a room.”  So I become resigned to looking around for local shows, or if the money’s really tight, watching The Last Waltz at home.

Thankfully, the blogs are there for people who couldn’t go to Pitchfork. You can skip a rock on the internet and hit a music blog covering it. If you’re quick enough, you can catch the live streaming videos during the performances, but if not, there are the  write-ups that some blogs do. It’s not exactly the same as hearing the band live, but if you know them well enough it’s kind of interesting to read what they sounded like, and to check out some pictures too. And for bands that you’ve never heard, it’s good to read about what their performances were like, and to check them out some other time. To be fair though, sometimes they can leave something to be desired. I would like to know how Neko Case and Fleet Foxes played, but reading on Pitchforks’ blog that an out-fit looked like it was from a yard-sale and how there were five beards were on stage seems a bit like reading tips from Vogue or GQ.

One thing that I do love about reading the blogs is checking out the pictures. I’d like to think that I’m a purist and couldn‘t care less about what a band looks like. But, I know that I’m really not, and that I do like to see the funny faces that musicians make and the like. Like, scrolling down a list of pictures on onethirtybpm.com and Brooklynvegan, then seeing Robert Pollard performing a high-kick without any context or without actually having been there is hilarious to me. Or, seeing Ariel Pink putting three fingers in the air and grimacing. “He looks so angry here,” I think to myself, “and yet he makes such pleasant music”.

It is a stretch to think that a combination of pictures and a short description is any substitute for seeing a band live.  But I found out about a lot of new groups looking over all this stuff, so thanks to all those who went and wrote about it.  Then again, it could be that the bloggers are just flaunting how much fun they had, just callously rubbing it in our faces. Just giving us little tidbits of information to keep us mildly interested, but really laughing themselves silly thinking about all those who couldn’t go.

But no, I’m not bitter at all, really.

Deerhunter

 Day Three

by Griffin Winton-LaVieri (WPRB Music Director)

Sunday was the hottest day of them all and I was the most worn out. We saw The Fresh and Onlys, Kurt Vile, and Ariel Pink at the Green Stage but I was too tired and hot to be able to judge them well. Kurt Vile seemed to be well liked by everyone in the crowd. Ariel Pink seemed out of it as he performed, falling down at one point, and left the stage for unexplained reasons half way into the set, thus cutting the set down significantly. Also, Ravi and I made it to the festival grounds first that day.

Sunday was also the day that OFWGKTA performed. We probably made the right decision in not joining the massive crowd but viewing the chaos from afar.  It looked like madness. Tyler, the Creator, the front man of Odd Future, despite having a cast on his foot which caused him to hobble, jumped in the crowd on multiple occasions.  One of the friendly security gaurds, Jeff, described working it as the hardest thing he’s ever done. Jeff was in Iraq 6 months ago.  The meaning of Odd Future and their controversial lyrics has been and will continue to be the theme of many think-pieces. You can make your own call about the whole thing.

Sunday improved as Deerhunter’s set at the Green stage approached.  Deerhunter are simply, a quality band. Hits such as “Helicopter”,  “Revival”, and “Nothing Ever Happened” were performed. “Nothing Ever Happened” was definitely the highlight as they jammed along – rhythmic and euphoric. No new songs were played but I was fine with that, having never seen them live. Bradford said that they had just returned from the UK and concluded ”It’s good to be back in the USA. Fuck anybody that tells you it isn’t the best country in the world.”

After Deerhunter we got dinner and walk around. Cut Copy was playing so we watched them from afar. It was impressive to see the huge crowd jump up and down as a mass.  Cut Copy put on a high energy show and ended with “Need You Now.” I like that song.  After Cut Copy was the final headliner, TV on The Radio.  I’m not a big fan of them so I persuaded Ravi that we should cut out early as we were going to another after-show.  The second song TV on The Radio played was “Dancing Choose” so I felt like we saw at least one important TV on The Radio song and could leave the festival knowing it was a weekend well spent.

We traveled on the “L” to Schubas. The venue struck me as almost equivalent to Maxwell’s, in New Jersey, as it was basically a bar with a room for concerts in back.  Unknown Mortal Orchestra opened the show. I haven’t really made up my mind about them but that is more a function of me not listening to them much than anything else. Yuck had played Pitchfork earlier that day but we had missed them so it was worth the trip, time and money. They are pretty heavily indebted to their nineties influences but nonetheless the music they make is enjoyable to listen to and I’m glad I got a chance to see them live.

Overall, the weekend met if not exceeded my expectations.  Ravi and I saw pretty much all the bands we wanted to and saw them up close. It was our own summer adventure. We left Chicago the next day separately–tired but happy.

Photo Credit: Ravi Prakriya

Zola Jesus

This is the second of WPRB’s four part review of the Pitchfork Music Festival held on July 15-17  in Chicago, Illinois.

 Day Two

by Griffin Winton-LaVieri (WPRB Music Director)

Having realized it was worth it to be up front and thus arrive at the gates early; Ravi and I spent two hours waiting outside the festival grounds on Saturday.  However, that day, instead of going to the Green stage where Fleet Foxes would headline, we opted for the nearby Red Stage. Our fellow early arriving Pitchfork attendees were generally more interested in Fleet Foxes so we had no trouble making it to the barrier.

The first act on the Red Stage was Woods. Woods are a pretty solid freak folk band. I haven’t really gotten into their music so I didn’t really recognize their songs but nonetheless enjoyed my self. One of the members of Woods sang through a pair of headphones, which is a rather novel way of making music. The lead singer sang in a pleasing falsetto.

After Woods, on the Green stage was Cold Cave. Thanks to the positioning of the stages and a jumbotron, we could observe the band though either a video feed or as tiny guys on a relatively distant stage. They were dressed in black and performed with remarkably high energy considering it was not only incredibly hot out but it was likely earlier than they would be ever expected to leave their apartments. I really like Cold Cave’s first record so I enjoyed hearing tracks like “Youth and Lust”,  “Hello Rats”, and of course, the title track. As mentioned above, the members of Cold Cave danced wildly around the stage (in a cool way, though) and I was ultimately unsure how much of the sound they were actively producing themselves.

Up next on the Red Stage was No Age. I’m a big fan of No Age and so I was particularly excited to rock out to them. Dean and Randy ripped through songs off of all three of their records and the crowd ate it up; bodies were pressed against each other,  water was flung overhead to cool us down, and crowd surfers flowed regularly over the barrier. No Age covered a Black Flag and the Misfits but the highlight of the set was “Everybody’s Down” which featured Dean leaving the stage and joining the crowd.  No Age are a quality band who write good songs and put on fun shows. Fun Fact:  The picture that heads the Pitchfork article about the festival was taken during No Age’s set and I’m the kid wearing red in the front row.

Destroyer played next on the Red Stage.  Naturally, Bejar’s epic jazzy jams were a stark contrast to No Age’s punk songs but it was now late afternoon and chilling out was in order.  Destroyer make enjoyable music and they performed their tracks well so it was a good set, even Dan Bejar, who is notoriously moody, seemed like he was having fun. I had the part in “Bay of Pigs” where Bejar sings “Magnolia’s a girl/ her heart is made of wood/ as apocalypses go/ that’s pretty good/ sha-la-la/ wouldn’t you say?’ and the synths come stuck in my head all day in anticipation of hearing it live so I was quite pleased when that song concluded Destroyer’s set.

After that, Ravi and I grabbed dinner and headed to the Blue stage for Nika Roza Danilova, who is better known as Zola Jesus.  With barely any trouble we were able to make it to the front, which made me happy because Zola Jesus is actually one of my favorite musicians and I had never been able to make it to one of her shows before.  Although I had read about how small a stature she has, it was surprising to see her in real life and realize that, yes, she is 4’11”.   Her size didn’t inhibit her performance in the least as she danced and pranced across the stage as she sang tracks from her Stridulum and Valusia EPs. The standout song was probably “Manifest Destiny” which is an incredibly powerful track in terms of Danilova’s vocal performance.  Zola Jesus is an artist to watch out for and I am incredibly excited to hear her new record Conatus, which  will be released in October.

Fleet Foxes were headlining that night but neither Ravi nor I are particularly familiar with their music so we left after Zola Jesus. Instead of being satisfied with a day’s worth of live music, we ventured to Chicago’s Lincoln Hall for an unofficial after-show.  Shabazz Palaces opened the show. I’m not a big fan of rap or hip-hop so they weren’t exactly my thing but I definitely acknowledge that they could be a quality act.  It was entertaining to watch the two members perform as many of the songs featured synchronized dance routines. The headlining act was Moonface, which is Spencer Krug’s new project.  It was an interesting performance as Krug played keyboards and sang and another fellow played marimba and drum machines.  It was fun and worth going to but after two days of standing on metal barriers, I was tired and my feet were incredibly sore.

Photo Credit: Ravi Prakriya