5. Nick Waterhouse: Time’s All Gone (Innovative Leisure Records)

I have a tendency to over-think a lot of the music I listen to, but I can appreciate that, at some level, Nick Waterhouse’s modern brand of early R&B-heavy rock and roll is all about the dance floor. It’s all blasting horns, jittery hi-hats, old school pentatonic guitar solos, and a voice that jumps from a smooth croon to a howl at the drop of a big kick drum beat. But I can also appreciate that beyond that (here we go with the over-thinking), Nick Waterhouse’s music all began with loving records. It’s about loving their ability to connect you with a long line of people who are suspended in time and singing themselves into existence and then doing something to insert yourself into that tradition. If that makes no sense, which I’m sure it doesn’t, Chris Ziegler’s essay that appears printed on the back of Time’s All Gone articulates this a lot better than I ever could, so you should probably just go read the whole thing here. And then forget I ever said anything at all and get back to dancing.

♫ Listen to “Don’t You Forget It”

4. Sic Alps: Sic Alps (Drag City)

Last spring, I stumbled upon the weird world of Sic Alps’ 22-track double album, Napa Asylum. At first, it played like the sound of songs falling apart at the seams, but the more I listened, the more I realized that what originally sounded haphazard and half-formed actually made a lot of sense. In these noisy nuggets, there were all the things that make good songs work. There was an unexpected focus to the construction of these songs paired with a Californian looseness — an almost scientific curiosity that drove the band to lazily roam from song to song dissecting hooks and riff. And after I had learned to hear this strange interior logic, my greatest shock when I turned on their self-titled follow-up was the immediately agreeable sound of a string arrangement. For a band whose songs felt unpredictable, this was the most unpredictable move of all. Was Sic Alps cleaning up its act? Not really, no. Sic Alps is fueled by contradictions. The songs are tighter without being tight, and cleaner without being clean. It’s gentle at one moment and rough around the edges at the next. Those gritty little moments of pop sensibility that crop up on Napa Asylum come to fruition on tracks like “God Bless Her, I Miss Her” and “Moviehead” without a sickly kind of sweetness. Most of all, every sound on Sic Alps sounds deliberate, even as Mike Donovan tosses it off with his signature cool carelessness. Speaking of signature cool carelessness, check out that corgi on a swing.

♫ Listen to “God Bless Her, I Miss Her”

3. Sharon Van Etten: Tramp (Jagjaguwar)

Sharon Van Etten is one of those artists who I’ve proudly watched grow up from a shy young pup to a bonafide HBIC in the past few years, so excuse me for having too many feelings about this one. SVE is no stranger to big, aggressive emotions, but since the release of her delicate debut in 2009, she’s been inching towards a bigger range of sounds and heavier production on her albums. With the help of Aaron Dessner, she takes a big step in that direction on Tramp. And even as she hits hard on tracks like “Serpents” or explores the new sonic possibilities that electric guitars bring on “I’m Wrong”, it’s Van Etten’s plain and simple songwriting that keeps drawing me back to her. I remember underlining a line of H.D.’ s “The Garden” in one my English classes right before this album came out: “If I could stir, I could break a tree — I could break you.” It read with a kind of conditional strength, speaking of a force buried just deep enough that it could be felt but not accessed. The line immediately came back to mind when I listened to Tramp for the first time. At her best, SVE writes songs that are able to articulate this same ambivalence and tension between empowerment and paralysis with just the twist of a few words, no matter the backdrop she’s singing over.

♫ Listen to “Give Out”

2. Jessica Pratt: Jessica Pratt (Birth Records)

Jessica Pratt’s self-titled debut was something of a year end surprise (…get it?), but it’s been in heavy enough rotation since its mid-November release for me to know this love is real (like Top 5 real). Tim Presley of White Fences fell deep in love with Pratt’s voice, too, as in enough to use his own money to create a record label just for her to release her album. It’s not hard to see why. Her unusual and intimate delivery has generated a long list of comparisons — it sits comfortably alongside some of my favorite old femme folk discoveries like Sibylle Baier, Karen Dalton and Bridget St John, yet somehow also recalls an unlikely cross between Stevie Nicks and Joanna Newsom. But after all the comparisons, in a sea of singer-songwriters, Pratt’s timeless voice and ear for melodies really distinguish themselves and stand on their own merit.

♫ Listen to “Half Twain the Jesse”

1. Daniel Rossen: Silent Hour / Golden Mile EP (Warp Records)

Few albums can make me dance with such enthusiastic anticipation as Sparky before kibble time, but I feel like once a year, one of the staples of my musical diet announces a release that just can’t come soon enough. This year, that announcement came from Daniel Rossen. Ever since he joined Grizzly Bear in 2005, I was struck by the Rossen moments on albums. He contributed his sophisticated guitar work without being showy, and his distinct voice always caught my ear a little more than Droste’s. After digging into his records with side-project Department of Eagles and finding his covers of Judee Sill and the equally inimitable pop sensation JoJo, I started hearing the parts of the arrangements on Veckatimest where you could clearly point to Rossen’s influence. Obviously, when I heard that he would release a solo EP, I already knew I would love it and started excitedly bounding around the veritable food bowl of the radio inbox in anticipation. When March came around, he did not disappoint. It was, as expected, full of typical Rossen: delicate acoustic guitars, booming drums and lurking strings for added weight, layers of vocals, heavily arranged breakdowns to showcase his fretwork. It’s nothing surprising or groundbreaking, but it sure is a beautiful 20 minutes. Standout moments include the big, chugging glamrock breakdown on the bridge of “Return To Form” and the haunting piano hymn of “St Nothing”. And even if Silent Hour / Golden Mile may have gotten lost in Shield‘s more recent shadow, I keep finding myself reaching back to this little gem instead.

♫ Listen to “Silent Song”

– Catherine DeGennaro

The video is based off a drawing/acting version of the game telephone. Deacon and film maker Ben O’Brien start the video by creating a scene. The scene is then shown to the next team, who has an hour to try and recreate it from scratch as best they can. The 19 teams in the video are all members of the Baltimore art scene – including members from art collective Wham City and indie rock group Future Islands. Take a look after the break!

– Dave Greek, host of The Discovery Channel, 10-11pm only on WGTB

8:00 – Guy Contact (aka the Rockin’ Weekend Kids, aka T. Rex Pizza)
8:20 – The Standard
8:40 – Mellon Folly
9:00 – Rego
9:20 – Tyler
9:40 – Danny in the Dark
10:00 - Dagos
10:20 – Zoe
10:40 - Law Abiding Criminals

Nevertheless, WGTB is excited to announce that we’ve been featured on mtvU’s College Radio Countdown! Go check us out on mtvu.com. You can also see our mugs airing all up on those TVs at Yates for the rest of the weeks along with our top 10 countdown to help you bust through those last ten flights on the stairmaster.

But wait, there’s more! If you can’t get enough of us, our favorite locals, lesser-knowns and friends of the station will be featured all week on mtvU’s tumblr. You might even see us on Instagram.

BONUS: example quality MTV programming circa 1994.

Take a listen to “When My Name is Spoken” after the jump and catch the band live at IOTA Cafe (21+) in Arlington this Thursday night opening for Adam Arcuragi.

As an added bonus, if you like what you hear, you can grab a download of “I Am Following The Sound” from Rolling Stone.

- Catherine DeGennaro, host of The Crate, which airs on WGTB from 5-6pm EST on Sundays.

But just because you’re tough doesn’t mean that you can’t curl up on your couch (away from your windows) and put on some good tunes to help you weather the storm. So here’s a mix of rain and wind. And here’s to you, Sandy. Click through for the mix and the full track listing.

Songs for Sandy from WGTB on 8tracks Radio.

Track listing: 1. I Can’t Stand The Rain – Ann Peebles // 2. Rain – The Clientele // 3. Buckets of Rain – Bob Dylan // 4. The Storm – Patrick Watson // 5. Wind and Walls – The Tallest Man on Earth // 6. The Wind – Cat Stevens // 7. Wind Was The Wine – Woods // 8. Rain – The Beatles // 9. Rainbounce – Reptar // 10. Windstorm – School of Seven Bells // 11. Little Bit Of Rain – Karen Dalton

Short answer: yes.

This cat has the right idea. This cat loves decorative gourds.

We at WGTB want to celebrate this season with a very calm and relaxed Gourds and Chords Open Mic Night, dedicated entirely to the love of music, talent, tomfoolery, and apple cider. Everyone is welcome to come and sing, read, dance, joke, etc. All you have to do is show up in Bulldog Alley at 8pm on Saturday to sign up if you want to perform.

Bring your friends and bring your skills, we’ll bring the apple cider.

P.S. Get in the decorative gourd spirit.

Friday Mix: Going Coastal from WGTB on 8tracks Radio.

First round of papers and exams getting you down? Do you find yourself gazing longingly out of the windows of Lau pining away for the better days of summer 2012? We’ve got the cure. This week’s Friday mix is bringing you back a little bit of the beach. Click through for the full track list. 

Track list: “All Night Long” – The Frowning Clouds // “Sticky Fruitman Has Faith” – White Fence // “Death Cream” – Sonny & the Sunsets // “Tell Me (What’s On Your Mind)” – Allah-Las // “Silent Machine” – Cat Power // “You And Me” – Teen Mom // “Flood’s New Light” – Thee Oh Sees // “Walk Through Walls” – Birdlips

Summer 2012 from WGTB on 8tracks.

01. Prescription Vision – Mrs. Magician
02. Magic – Girls
03. Eighth Avenue – Hospitality
04. People in Her Mind – Poor Moon
05. Easy Ryder – Ty Segall & White Fence
06. All I Have To Do Is Dream (Everly Brothers) – Tashaki Miyaki
07. By Your Side (Sade) – Beachwood Sparks
08. Fever Dreams – Nurses
09. Keep It In Motion – Guided By Voices
10. Saldanha Bay – Pears
11. Limeade – Jeans Wilder
12. I See The Void – Sonny & The Sunsets
13. High Fantasy – Lace Curtains
14. Unto Caesar – Dirty Projectors

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the blog in the past month, you’ve already heard a bit about rising sophomore Peter Fanone. He stopped by the WGTB studio in early May to talk a little bit about his newest single, “Friends For Now.” But he also took a break from studying on a sunny Saturday afternoon during finals to serenade us and the rest of the front lawn with two original songs. Take a listen after the jump, and keep an ear out for more from Peter in the fall.

A/V + Editing: Catherine DeGennaro