WTMD is listener-supported radio from the campus of Towson University.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Altered Freebies: The Ting Tings; Ringo Deathstarr; Tim Kasher

What's better than music? Free music. Music director Tyler Laporte has scoured the interwebs to bring you the best free downloads featured on this week's Altered Fridays, 4 to 7 p.m.

The Ting Tings: Hands (Passion Pit Remix)
Are you reading this blog at work right now? Are the TPS reports starting to bleed together? Well, this Passion Pit remix of The Ting Tings' "Hands" will turn your drab little cube into a hip Brooklyn discotheque. Just don't clap your hands too loudly, it's not 5 o'clock yet.

Ringo Deathstarr: Imagine Hearts
Pretty girls singing over abrasive beats are nothing new, but Ringo Deathstarr changes the playbook a bit. "Imagine Hearts" beats hit hard, but they have a slight western twang. It's a new twist on an established genre. Check it out.

Tim Kasher: I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here
Beneath every happy power pop song, there is a melancholy core. "I'm Afraid I'm Gonna Die Here" sounds like a sunny day. Trumpets blare and hands clap, but Tim Kasher is too busy worrying about the next phase of his life to bop his head.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Weekend on the Radio Recap

Every Thursday morning at 6:20 and 8:20 a.m. Sam Gallant of the Creative Alliance shares with you all the cool happenings around town on Weekend on the Radio. In case you missed a detail about a specific event, here's the list for this week.


Thursday, 10/14
Friday, 10/15



Saturday, 10/16
Sunday, 10/17

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Mark Olson Flies High on Morning Sessions


Tune in at 9:20 a.m. Friday as The Jayhawks co-founder Mark Olson returns to WTMD to perform selections from his new album Many Colored Kite. 

In 1995 Olson
 walked away from The Jayhawks during the height of the band's commercial success.  The subsequent decade found him teaming up with his wife Victoria Williams for a series of albums rooted in folk and country music. 

"I've always been trying to find the weird world between folk and rock," he says. "The idea with folk music is that you can just pick up and go; you play anywhere, anytime. Rock is a little more difficult because you have to manage the logistics of drums and amps and everything. So, there’s a strange world in between the two that, I think, is wide open."


After divorcing Williams in 2005, Olson reu
nited with Jayhawks co-founder Gary Louris for a couple short tours. Last year the duo released Ready For the Flood, and there are talks of a full-fledged Jayhawks reunion. 

"
We got together three times in this past year, specifically to work up some songs," Olson says. "Now I feel we have a good batch, so the next step is to record them. We’re just getting that in motion now. We’re hoping to make a Jayhawks record . . . . that will come out next year."

Sunday, October 10, 2010

CD of the Week: On Approach

Everest's sophomore album, On Approach, invokes an era when vinyl albums were an event. The band honed their laidback California sound into a tight mixture of country, psychedelic rock and folk that caught the attention of Neil Young and earned them a spot opening for him in 2008.

Joel Graves
and Jason Soda's guitars are at the forefront, alternating between gentle fingerpicking and a robust echo. Although the band gained an impressive amount of critical buzz with their debut album, Ghost Notes, lead singer Russell Pollard says that the new album takes it to another level. 


“We weren't a band for very long when we made Ghost Notes. I had songs, we recorded them in just two weeks, then immediately toured,” says Pollard. “Now it’s guys who've actually struggled together and survived some tight spaces, cramped hotel rooms, some arguments and some really, really good times. There was a lot of collaboration, and we weren’t afraid to do anything.” 


Everest and Matt Costa perform at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, November 7.