To round out 2016, WKDU DJs wrote about their fave music memories of the year. We’ll share some each day until New Year’s Eve. Here’s the third, and stay tuned for more tomorrow!
By Es Hamidi
Some of my favorite musical memories of 2016, in order of appearance:
- The Snails at Kung Fu Necktie, March 4th, 2016.
The Snails (no, not that corny Philly band of the same name!) are the most fun rock and roll band I have come to know. Featuring Sam Herring and William Cashion of Future Islands and a few more of their friends, the amicable arthropods produced a concert experience that was as sweaty as it was musical. They captivated the room, even playing one song twice in a row in the middle of their set (“Wow, that one was so good, we’re gonna do it again!”). Their album, Songs from the Shoebox, is no slouch either.
- Seeing Matmos perform their album “Ultimate Care II” live at the International House. April 13th, 2016.
This album is based entirely around sounds gathered from the group’s Whirlpool Ultimate Care II washing machine. It’s a riveting home listen (on “very dirty laundry” colored vinyl) but hearing (and watching!) them trigger sounds and beats on an actual washing machine in the concert hall was an even more absorbing experience. Simultaneously bizarre and frisson-inducing; nothing else quite like it.
- Going to Jamaica with Duprex, crashing his family reunion, visiting a radio station, and learning the true beauty of reggae music. July 2016.
So, yes, this year I guess I did become yet another dumb white guy who’s into reggae music. Though the stuff I’ve grown to like isn’t just your uncles’ beachy Bob Marley standards. Plans for the trip started when Duprex, the amicable selector of Thursday evening fame, approached me about donating equipment to a community radio station in the village of Accompong (the area and its history is fascinating– I encourage reading up on The Maroons and their badassery in particular). Peter and I went to Duprex’s house in Boscobel, fifteen minutes from James Bond Beach, and had a great time Tokyo Drifting on gravelly back roads, eating jerk chicken, and meeting lots of friendly people.
Honorable mentions:
- Every hungover Sunday morning I spent listening to Porches’ 2013 debut, Slow Dance in the Cosmos. A+
- Hearing The Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it That Way” in a Cuban cab and rocking out.
- Visiting Radio 1190 in Boulder, CO with Maren and hearing the DJ play Mitski and Don Cherry in the same set. Wild!
So, for this year at least, over and out. Here’s to making more musical memories in 2017….