The Monkey Blog by WRBC » Matt and Kim

2009 – The Year in WRBC

Doug Ray — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:40:53 +0000

2009 was an interesting year in the history of WRBC. The saw several key changes and its prominence on campus grow to a significant degree. It was a year marked by a variety of concerts, excellent programing, and a few bumps along the way. The WRBC board and the station at large has worked hard to make 2009 one of the best years in our over 50 year history on FM and hopes to build on that momentum in 2010.

Thus, here is a partial rundown of everything that was accomplished over the past year.

January 15: Winter Semester general meeting, we welcome new members onto the board and completely fill the schedule for the third semester in a row.

January 17: Concert by Black Taxi (With Class of 2010 Co-Presidents and Bates Musicians’ Union)

February 28: Concert by FM Belfast (With Bates Musicians’ Union)

March 6: 30th Annual Trivia Night

March 21: Bates Public Art Club, Musicians Union, and WRBC collaborate to bring present “DISCHARGE” featuring numerous campus electronic musicians and artists.

March 26: WRBC helps to support the Bates College Art-In to help give student art a home in the otherwise dormant Chase Hall

May 22: First Ever WRBC Field Day

May 23: Concert by Friends Academy (With Shred Club and Class of 2010 Co-Presidents)

September 10: Fall Semester General Meeting (results in forth consecutive semester with a full schedule)

September 17: The Matt and Kim Ticket Trivia Extravaganza — A miniature Trivia Night style ticket give-away event.

September 18: Concert by Matt and Kim (With Chase Hall Committee)

October 10: Concert by Glenn Jones

November 14: WRBC and the Bates Libertarians present “unDISCHARGED” featuring Anamanaguchi and other campus electronic musicians.

November 23: The Monkey is re-established as a Blog

Additionally, we made numerous upgrades to the station throughout the year including computer upgrades and other new equipment. The board is currently developing a digital music library, online playlist tracking, and a more streamlined application process. We also had a very successful t-shirt sale.

For fiscal year 2010, we were only one of three clubs at Bates to see our budget rise from fiscal year 2009. After issues in February and March, WRBC established a healthy working relationship with the Chase Hall Committee with a new liaison program, which has benefited both clubs and the student body as a whole.

Additionally, WRBC moved up to #18 in the College Radio Rankings published by the Princeton Review and got several mentions on the pages profiling Bates in their book chronicling America’s Best Colleges. WRBC events were never poorly attend and always received positive reviews from the campus media as well as the overall student body. In 2009, WRBC was featured in newspapers throughout New England and the station was even mentioned in Iceland’s #1 newspaper. WRBC expanded its internet capabilities to include a Twitter page alongside our existing Facebook and MySpace pages, and our website received over 18,000 hits with visitors coming from all fifty states and 118 different countries including China, Pakistan, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, and Australia.

It has been a busy year for WRBC, and as the station moves forward providing the best non-commercial free-format radio programming, increasing collaboration with other clubs and our role in the community, both Bates and Lewiston-Auburn, remain our top priority.

Thanks for listening.

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.

Editor’s Picks: 10 Best Songs of 2009

Doug Ray — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:11:45 +0000

With just 16 days remaining in 2009, and the music calendar winding down, its time to look back at the year in music as I provide you with my picks for the 10 best songs of the year.

1. “Laughing With” (Far) Regina Spektor

This dark piano ballad about our ironic relationship with God is simple, beautiful and delightfully addicting.

2. “All is Love” (Where the Wild Things Are) Karen O and the Kids

The movie might not have lived up to its expectations, but the soundtrack was absolutely fantastic. Karen O and her assembled indie rock supergroup really score with this track, a brilliant and childish indie-pop hit that will be around for sometime.

3. “Rome” (Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix) Phoenix

The French rockers made it into the mainstream with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and this track, delightfully electronic and new wave, is a gem.

4. “Daylight” (Grand) Matt & Kim

Would the summer of 2009 have happened without this song? I am fairly certain this was being hummed all over the United States.

5. “Blue Skies” (The First Days Of Spring) Noah And The Whale

The climatic track on what might be my favorite album of the year. It is the indie-folk equivalent of a rain dance.

6. “I’m on a Boat (feat. T-Pain)” (Incredibad) The Lonely Island

Possibly the funniest collaboration of the year. When Auto-Tune and nerdy comedians unite, a great party hit results.

7. “Sleepyhead” (Manners) Passion Pit

Passion Pit is the new “it” band. This song apparently makes them worth $30K. It is fun.

8. “Monte” (Zee Avi) Zee Avi

This Malaysian singer was a surprise breakout this year. This is a great little narrative song with her distinct blend of American and South East Asian/Polynesia instrumentation.

9. “If I Were A Fish” (Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know) Múm

The best use of Banjo, Glockenspiel and numerous other disjunctive instruments that I know of this year. Icelandic music is so delightfully bizarre.

10. “Can’t Stop Partying (Feat. Lil Wayne)” (Raditude) Weezer

Weezer and Weezy? Sign me up.

Honorable Menton:

“Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues” (Dawn Metropolis) Anamanaguchi; ”My Girls” (Merriweather Post Pavilion) Animal Collective; ”Only You Can Make You Happy” (Still Night, Still Light) Au Revoir Simone; ”I And Love And You” (I And Love And You) The Avett Brothers; ”My Night with the Prostitute From Marseilles” (Realpeople Holland) Beirut; ”Stillness Is The Move” (Bitte Orca) Dirty Projectors; ”I Gotta Get Smart” (Love Is Not Pop) El Perro del Mar; ”All The Pretty Girls” (Aim And Ignite) fun.; ”Sexy Bitch (Featuring Akon)” (One Love) David Guetta; ”The Chorus In The Underground” (Lost Channels) Great Lake Swimmers; ”The Word Suicide” (White Lies For Dark Times) Ben Harper & Relentless7; “Wisconsin Beaches” (Wildlife) Headlights; ”Boy 1904″ (Riceboy Sleeps) Jónsi & Alex; ”I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris” (Years of Refusal) Morrissey; ”Joy” (Joy) Phish; ”The Girl And The Robot” (Junior) Röyksopp; ”The Rain” (Strict Joy) The Swell Season; ”Sex O’Clock” (Ciao !) Tiga; ”You And I” (Wilco (The Album)) Wilco; ”This Plane” (Deal Or No Deal) Wiz Khalifa

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.

WRBC and CHC present Matt and Kim

WRBC — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:59:04 +0000

WRBC, Bates College Radio, and the Chase Hall Committee, the principal campus programming board, will present Brooklyn, New York Band ‘Matt and Kim’ (www.mattandkimmusic.com/), at Bates College in Lewiston in Chase Hall on September 18th, 2009. Doors will open at 9:30; the concert costs $3 for Bates Students and $8 for the general public. Tickets go on sale on www.batestickets.com on September 1^st.

Matt and Kim are an electronic pop duo consisting of Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino. Noted for their simple dance melodies, they have been featured in festivals such as the Siren Music Festival in Brooklyn, Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, and the KahBang Indie Music and Art Festival in Bangor. Their most recent release Grand, which reached #170 on the Billboard Top 100, includes the Singles “Daylight,” which was recently featured in a commercial for Bacardi, and “Lessons Learned,” the video of which has been nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.

Matt and Kim are one of the premier bands in the rapidly expanding Brooklyn-based independent music scene. This show promises to be one of the best electronic shows in the state of Maine this year.