What's Up With Metal?

Lots.
In the most prolific quarter in my tenure as Metal Director, we now have over 50 hard/heavy/rockin albums in rotation. That's just new stuff! Here are a couple of my personal favorite currently spinning:

Luna Mortis (Melodic Death Metal)



Within the Ruins (Progressive/Technical Metalcore)


Obscura (Progressive Death Metal)

And don't worry! Shows are slowly starting to trickle back to Seattle starting in a few weeks!

[ ♫ ] KSUB TOP FIVE, 2/17 - 2/24

01. Belle & Sebastian, BBC Sessions
02. Matt & Kim, Grand
03. Lilly Allen, It's Not Me, It's You
04. Lights, Self Titled EP
05. Mi Ami, Watersports

This week was dominated by Belle & Sebastian's BBC Sessions, a selection of recordings from 1996 to 2001 that include four rare tracks. They're one of my favorite bands, so I'm glad to see them getting lots of spins. Matt & Kim continue to rock KSUB with their newest album, Grand -- a fabulous record, go get it if you don't have it already. Lilly Allen's It's Not Me, It's You is also ranking high. You can check out a review of that album just a few posts below. One girl electro-hipster wonder, Lights, is not far behind Lilly in the rankings. And my new favorites Mi Ami (who just came through the Vera Project yesterday, actually) finish out this week's top five. They've been reviewed in this blog as well.

Tune into KSUB this week to catch all of these albums in rotation and more!
There are currently 80+ new albums battling it out on KSUB at the mercy of our talented DJ's

SU IS NOT SHORT FOR WSU

Universal sent us Asher Roth's single, "I Love College," this week. No! No, no, no, no. I would rather break that CD into tiny, gut piercing shards and eat it than put it into rotation. But nobody's holding a gun to my head, so I don't think it will come down to that. I would send it to WSU if I wasn't so sure that they erected a golden idol of Asher Roth to worship in their wheat fields.

I thought this video was like, viral marketing for Not Another Teen College Movie III.

Fun fact: You'll note that he originally sampled Weezer, which everybody thought was so fun but when it got to the radio, the Weezer sample is gone. And also, he uses the phrase "awfully crazy." Rock on, bros!

YOU GOT RADIO IN MY NEWSPAPER!

Check out the mini-program guide in the Spectator this week!

The Valentine Mixtape Cheat Sheet

Ten tracks by local artists to woo your lover and up your indie cred.
By: Emily Hiraki

D.I.Y. Solves 21+ Dilemma
A peek at the Seattle DIY scene from the inside.
By: Cameron Collins

Seattle Gets Built & Butchered
Portland Natives The Builders and the Butchers get the thumbs up.
By: Kelli Upshaw

Musique Heads to the States
Two French-Language releases are already topping the charts this year!
By: Emily Hirkai

KSUB Delivers Live
All about Live Music on KSUB!
By: Arman Birang

REVIEW | MI AMI, "WATERSPORTS"

Mi Ami, "Watersports"
Quarterstick Records, February 17, 2009
Review: Emily Hiraki

Watersports is my favorite album of the year so far. True, it's not for everyone – you won't find anything like their wild, ethereal sound on Top 200 radio. I feel the only way to describe Mi Ami is as the jungle cousins of Wild Orchid Children that are still fighting to rock after being given a sedative. Their seven long tracks are more like some kind of ambient experiment than any song, with healthy doses of expertly crafted swells of energy. These San Francisco natives are doing something so right with quiet, driving beats straight out of the jungle and disjointed vocal melodies. This is one of those albums that compels you to seek out the band live because you know it will be an adventure/party. And lucky us! Mi Ami is coming to the Vera Project on February 24th.

Check out their Myspace.

REVIEW | LILLY ALLEN, "IT'S NOT ME, IT'S YOU"

Lilly Allen, "It's Not Me, It's You"
Capitol Records, February 10, 2008
Review: Emily Hiraki

Lilly Allen is a modern woman! In this week's release of It's Not Me, It's You, breakout British songstress Lilly Allen has all but abandoned the sweet and easy sound that she brought to the States in 2006. It's Not Me, It's You mixes Allen's soft voice with drum machines and keyboards in a gentle re-branding of her pop sound. In past interviews, Allen has mentioned that she tired of her first album Alright, Still and was excited to do something new with It's Not Me, It's You. But in the album, you can hear the struggle between new styles and the fear of losing fans – the result is something that too carefully walks the line between old and new. An enjoyable album that's destined to get lost in the shuffle this year.

[ ♫ ] TOP FIVE, 1/27 - 2/02

01. Past Lives, Strange Symmetry
02. Hey Marseilles, To Travels and Trunks
03. Reel Big Fish, Fame, Fortune, and Fornication
04. Matt & Kim, Grand
05. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavillion

Local badasses, Past Lives topped our charts this week! They're opening for the Murder City Devils next week. I wonder how many DJ's I'll see there... Hey Marseilles also dominated! Good thing Katy made the arduous trek down to SU Admissions to collect the album from frontman Matt Bishop!! Reel Big Fish's summer fun cover album ranked third! Matt & Kim are well deserving of their spot in our top 5. Seattle, I seriously hope you caught them at Chop Suey on Matt's birthday! And Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion remained hot on the charts for the third week in a row!

UPDATE: Speaking of the fabulous Past Lives and Hey Marseilles, I just recieved an e-mail from Loveless Records announcing that both bands will be playing SXSW as part of the SxSeattle Showcase. They'll be joining the Blue Scholars, Common Market, Barcelona, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, New Faces, Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band, and Dynah. For free! Now, if only I could get down to Austin...

IT'S THE KSUB BLOG!

KSUB is Seattle Univerisity's number one, student run radio station. A fabulous alternative to commercial radio in the Seattle area and around the world! We've been broadcasting online since 2003. We do have a super low power FM transmitter, but since it's home is on top of Lemiux library which is currently under construction, our FM broadcast is on hiatus!

Seattle University! Stay plugged into our RSS feed for local music updates, concert calendars, and GIVEAWAYS! Don't miss a chance to get on the guestlist to see one of your favorite artists for free. That goes for the rest of you, Seattlites too! Our music and promo department are working hard this year to take advantage of all the swag that comes through our inboxes!