98.1 FM WQAQ

Ride - Seagull

Nowhere (1990)

Ride plays shoegaze. This song has always been the song I revert to when introducing someone to shoegaze.  I hope y’all an enjoy this song/genre as much as I do.  

Bomb The Music Industry - Sick, Later.

Vacation (2011)

Bomb The Music Industry! has been one of my favorite artists for a while now. They have a rigid, no-bullshit D.I.Y. ethic and have always released all of their material for free. Admittedly, their discography is a little daunting and dense, but fear not friends; BMTI just released their most accessible record yesterday. That’s not to say the accessibility is a bad thing, because make no mistake, Vacation fucking rocks. Disregard all of my cheap buzzwords though, just download the album for free off of Quote Unquote Records. 

Download here. 

Four Tet - Unspoken

Rounds (2003)

      Four Tet has always been of those left field producers - one who takes an idea, expands it until it’s unrecognizable and then breaks it back down again. Unspoken takes up most of side C and is close to ten minutes long. At no point do you get sick of the simple composure of the song. It’s a journey of a song that is always enjoyable, granted you have some time to sit down and enjoy it. 

Zomby - Witch Hunt

Dedication (2011)

Zomby has always been one of my favorite “all around” artists. He keeps to himself, much like Will Bevan did, and doesn’t seek the media’s attention. He claims to have written over one million songs, but only has three LPs to add to his measurable count. First listen through left me disappointed with Dedication, but upon hearing it all the way through just one more time was enough to persuade me into enjoying this album. It flows well, offers a rich soundscape and many nuances with each listen. This is absolutely an album you need to listen to, if you have any interest in Hyberdub or Dubstep.

Grown Ups - Couch-King 

Handholder (2011)

My love of emo is well known around the station, so I thought it would be appropriate to have my first audio post jock one of my favorite emo bands around right now. Grown Ups is like if American Football and Latterman got drunk together and then jointly gave birth to a prodigy kid adept at jamz. Full of tight riffs, huge sing-alongs, and palpable energy this band is seemingly impossible to resist. They just released a new EP, Handholder, on Doghouse Records and will be playing The Space in Hamden on August 4th along with The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Dear Leap, and High Pop. Check em out. 

Bars Of Gold - The Hustle

Of Gold (2010)

This is an album I surprisingly missed from last year. The reason it’s surprising being Bars Of Gold contains members from one of my favorite bands, Bear Vs. Shark. Bars Of Gold features Bear Vs. Shark’s prolific singer, Marc Paffi. Marc has a distinct voice, delivery, and witty lyrics. This specific song features a banjo and stomping drums. It created an instant fan in me. I like to put it on in the car on the way home from work. You should give it a try. 

Boris - Riot Sugar

Heavy Rocks (II). The better half of the double Boris release (the other being ‘Attention Please’). Catch their tour this fall around the U.S. with support from numerous bands including Tera Melos and Coliseum

Sbtrkt- Wildfire

Sbtrkt is an anonymous producer (and sometimes DJ) from London whose music sounds like Flying Lotus and James Blake had sex in you 8-bit nightmare.  

This song “Wildfire” is the first single off the self titled debut and features vocals from Little Dragon (almost one time WQAQ interviewees who had to cancel at the last minute). This song is bass-y, catchy in a way that would warrant progressive radio airplay (like WQAQ), has enough squeals and glitches to satisfy the most devoted dubstep fan, but the whole time this song never loses his milky wobble and smooth flow omnipresent throughout the entire album. 

Give it a listen!

Jamie xx - Far Nearer

You can thank Burial for the vocal manipulations here, but this song is dope. 

Blondie - In The Sun / (Kickin’ it old school!)

Having the best summer of your life? Is it full of too much fun, carelessness, clear skies and quality beach time? Neither was Debbie Harry’s in 1976. While she sings of NYC being “covered by gray,” this track serves as an energetic-new-wave-punk-rock-with-a-dash-of-surf-rock escape to the ideal summer: sunshine, fun, and undiluted happiness. 

The entire track is like a 2 minute and 38 second summary of Best Coast’s 2010 Crazy For You…except a hundred times better. So take a mini vacation from adulthood and listen to “In the Sun” off Blondie’s self-titled debut album, dance, go crazy. And repeat.

Happy Summer from 98.1 WQAQ!

Shabazz Palaces - Free Press And Curl

Black Up (2011)

If you haven’t read into all the hype surrounding Sub Pop’s first rap group, then you should listen to this and have the music tell you about it.  This is one of the best sounds I have heard in a while.  Enjoy this on a hot summer night and BUMP DAT SHEET.

Wilco - She’s A Jar 

Summerteeth (1999)

Everyone here at WQAQ wishes you a happy rest of the summer. Here’s something to lay out in the sun to or take a long drive down to the water. Enjoy.