The days may be getting noticeably shorter but the hours we are putting into bringing you beloved alternative programming on the best spot on the dial certainly are not. In October we overcame some tough technical challenges to fix the issues with signal interference some of you may have been experiencing. My soul does not rest easy when 89.9 is not received loud and clear and we appreciate you sticking with us. We also pulled off a successful 24hour remote broadcast of Ragas Live from Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn which is always a magical experience for all who partake. It seems both “The Alternative” and “The Home of Technical Difficulties” remain fitting nicknames. October was busy, and November is shaping up to be busy as well, which means that while my readings for class may not be getting done, at least we can all share some good jazz.
November brings some exciting special broadcasts to the calendar, including a two-day country music festival, the return of our hip hop festival after its success last year, a short Joni Mitchell tribute, and our beloved longstanding celebration of the great tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. Country music has a long history on WKCR, as 89.9FM is one of the only places you can find country (and I’m not talking post-9/11 pop-country!) on the air here in New York. Willie Nelson and Buck Owens have both made appearances in the past and our storied countries shows are a staple of our American department.
As always, we appreciate your support and listenership! Happy November! Peace and love,
Ted Schmiedeler Station Manager
Cover art of Joni Mitchell by McCartney Garb.
FEATURE PIECE
IGone Country: Music & the Country "Moment"
by Sam Seliger
t has been stated widely that country music is having “a moment.”1 This in and of itself does not mean much, as any concrete declaration of a pop culture “moment” by corporate media is little more than a selfgenerating piece of publicity in a coordinated media strategy.2
But while—or maybe because—the autopilot operation of the PR industry is as central to country music as Wrangler® jeans, there may be additional forces at play here. Of course, the best-funded country hits have gotten their time in the mass media sun, but they have been joined there by the high-profile country ventures of Beyoncé and Post Malone, which would have generated far greater controversy and skepticism in previous eras.3 Even a number of prominent
artists in the culturally left-of-center channel between indie and pop have been identified with the trend.
1 Or more accurately, that it has been having one. The lack of discussion as to whether that moment is continuing would indicate that it is not.
Connor Murray, “Country Music’s Having a Moment – Understanding the Hits, Controversies, and Broken Records,” Forbes, August 22, 2023.
2 Jon Caramonica, “Country Music in 2023 – The Personal Overtook the Political,” New York Times, December 27, 2023.
3 While the genre identity of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter was heavily discussed, it was not particularly controversial: the country music establishment quietly excluded it, while many in culturally liberal media spheres championed it. But few people were up in arms about her decision to don a Stetson, at least so long as they did not have to include her in their genre.
Long central to country music is the notion of “countriness,” an identity that should not be incomprehensible to any person attentive to the idea of genre. It has some commonality with both “mainstream” and “indie” rock’s notions of authenticity and genre legitimacy, but also an association with more essentialist notions, such as the role of Blackness in both stabilizing and defining the boundaries of the hip hop genre community. In short, it is an implicitly ethnic notion of identity that brings together “country people,” country singers, and to some extent the country music industry in mutual recognition, and separates them from outsiders and imitators.4 Historically, the dominant version of this identity formation has been very racist, and although many good people in the industry are working hard to change it, it largely remains that way today.
Countriness has both tangible and intangible qualities, but its boundaries were traditionally the sole province of the producers and Jessica Nicholson, “A New Crop of Pop Stars Are Going Country,” Billboard, February 15, 2024.
4 For an excellent examination of the development of countriness and country music, and the role of commercialism in mediating the two, check out Diane Pecknold’s book The Selling Sound: The Rise of the Country Music Industry.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter (2024) brought the conversation about the "country music moment" to the fore.
consumers of the commercial genre of Country Music. These two groups have long negotiated their competing commercial and communal needs for the term: it has been associated with ethnic origins, cultural practices, musical styles, and political identities.5 And while outsiders have sometimes tried to claim their own countriness, they have generally been rebuked when they have been acknowledged at all—at least until “alternative country” scenes at the end of the millennium provided additional ground for claimants.
What we have seen in the current resurgence of country, broadly defined, is a new interest in the affinity of countriness alongside simple investment in the active commercial genre.
The artists influencing this development can be broadly split into two camps: “country acts”— those whose music is sold and consumed in the commercial category of Country, in compliance with all of the expectations that that entails— and everybody else.6 There are few meaningful generalizations that can be made about all of the artists in each group, yet the distinction is crucial due to the insularity of the genre and its adherents.
As the “bro country” epoch has finally broken (Florida Georgia Line separated in 2022) the country music industry has come to dedicate itself to two new stars in particular: Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs. Neither artist has a particularly unique style or novel persona–Combs’s boringness has been repeatedly identified as his significant trait–but they have succeeded in adapting country music
5 Cathay Brigham, “Constructing and Internalizing Countriness: Authenticity and Fan Diversity in Country Music Culture” (PhD Diss., University of Indiana, 2009).
6 There is also a third category of “Americana,” but that will have to be for another article.
to the streaming age, producing the kind of function-oriented material that reiterates countriness while allowing fans to project their own particularities onto the material. Both singers make inoffensive music in both sound and theme, driven by a handful of emotional fealty to self-identifying cultural touchstones (namely beer, trucks, and God). Both artists represent a kind of blandly populist countriness that allows record companies to sell consumers a self-gratifying identity, with little other substance that could complicate the process. The growing commercial success of Wallen and Combs indicates that people are increasingly willing to buy this product, particularly in Country’s target demographic of young whites who do not particularly identify with any cultural subgroup.
This phenomenon has been clarified by the new success of Post Malone, a white SoundCloud rapper who gradually became one of pop music’s most reliable crossover figures, reaching both the passive-listening demographics and more actively engaged white working-class listeners as those two groups have further converged. Malone’s full-throated country turn F 1-Trillion received a surprisingly unified warm welcome earlier this year, especially given the genre’s historical insularity and protectiveness. But in
Morgan Wallen & Luke Combs. Photo by FilmMagic for CMT, via Variety.
the last decade, countriness has modernized, while other niches in pop music have collapsed. Countriness, and by extension “being country” has become more agreeable to consumers of “white pop,” particularly as streaming has demanded that consumers make marginally more active choices in their music consumption.
On the other side of the passive-active identification spectrum is country music’s newest outlaw-type, Zach Bryan. While his early material cast him among the imitators of Americana/ Country star Tyler Childers, he has since proven more distinctive. Bryan’s music, which seems to pour out of him and onto the internet at the superhuman pace of the most prolific rappers, bears the influence of earnest heartland styles like folk-punk and midwest emo, which owe much of their existence to the rejection of country and mainstream rock by previous generations of young middle-American white men. These styles are just close enough to listeners’ expectations of “country” for Bryan to get his foot through the door, but he stands out on Country playlists and at award shows. He also circumvented country music’s normative means of artistic germination, building an online following in independent music circles, yet he has still chosen to place himself solidly in the country genre, unlike previous outsider upstarts Childers and Sturgill Simpson. Bryan’s insistence puts him in a unique position: while it does not disavow Wallen and Combs’s generic countriness, it also aims to build a more active affiliation that incorporates more specific emotional positions.
Commercialization has been a welcome, central aspect of country music for decades, and for this reason has often made it the opposite of the ostensibly anti-commercial world of indie. While there were clear
demographic and emotional similarities between countriness and indie-ness, the two remained largely antithetical, even as the indie aesthetic increasingly proliferated in post-Nirvana pop music. The new popularity of Zack Bryan as a country artist shows that country fans are beginning to accept countriness reconciling itself to “indie-ness.” It is hard to engage with Bryan’s music without engaging with countriness, yet relating to his earnest approach and off-the-cuff style (lowfidelity audio and noticeable “imperfections” are central to indie’s signaling of personal authenticity) requires a well-developed understanding of the indie aesthetic and what it is meant to signify. Countriness, to Bryan, still means (white) boys driving their pickup trucks down a back road with a case of beer, but it also reclaims a specific kind of emotional fragility that holds a powerful place in country’s mythology, repurposing it and eliding it with the youthful alienation that indie has come to represent. This new imagining has so far enabled Bryan to navigate the well-worn tension of commercializing anticommercialism.
At the same time as Bryan has brought the emotional framework of indie into the country identifier, a mirror version of the
Zach Bryan opening for Luke Combs in Denver in 2022. Photo by Andrew Nelles for Tennesseean.com, via The Oklahoman.
phenomenon is happening with numerous artists in the indie rock/pop/folk/singersongwriter sphere, a development that I think necessitates further investigation. This broad subcultural spectrum has always positioned itself outside the mainstream while still having some access to it; however, in the past decade and a half, its access to the most elite spaces— particularly playlists and festival stages—has increased substantially. At the same time, the ascendance of the “poptimism” ideology and the dominance of Spotify have minimized the distinctions between “establishment” and “outsider.” Indieness may be more popular than ever—it is at least close to its previous highs around the Nirvana moment—but it also is less meaningful in and of itself. Because it has given up so much of its concern about being “normie,” indie music has opened itself to previously inaccessible affiliations. While prior generations of indie rock bands had to downplay and/or disguise their association with what we now call “classic rock,” today’s bands have no qualms about trying to ape Bruce Springsteen or the Rolling Stones, and the same is true about the ontologically uncool label of country. Historical elements of country music have become viable as both touchstones and musical tools for indie artists of all stripes and income brackets.
Yet crucially, what indie artists are trying to do with country music and countriness is quite different from the artists in the commercial engine that drives the self-defining genre. Even when they affiliate themselves outwardly with the label of country, as have Phoebe Bridgers and Ethel Cain, they are not deploying it in the reflexive, group identity-reinforcing way of Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs. Indie music has always been for the active consumer, those with greater cultural capital than country music fans, more than capable of identifying stylistic references and their implications. For many indie artists, when they incorporate country signifiers such as a banjo or fiddle, they indicate to their listeners that they seek to access a certain set of emotional spaces and communicative practices, ones that can
be more concretely imagined as some basic totems of country music history have seemed into the mainstream.
Much as mainstream rock began to do during the 1970s, indie rock is increasingly gravitating towards styles with an aura of traditionality as its concerns become increasingly domestic. Artists and fans are newly claiming to countriness, and defining or reconstituting it for their own needs in the process. As countriness and country music have continued to modernize and consolidate, they have left behind some seemingly old-fashioned elements of their affinity. Indie artists can access and deploy country tropes as a means of signifying lonesomeness or rusticity in part because those aspects are no longer active parts of what commercial country music is doing, and so their use no longer as obviously indicates compliance with the genre’s project as a whole. These artists are not country singers, but they are reconstituting countriness for a non-country community as listeners both in and out of the genre accommodate themselves to the identity in new ways.
Have yourself your own "country moment" and venture into countriness by keeping your dial tuned to WKCR on November 10th and 11th (Sunday and Monday) for our 48-hour country music festival.
You can consult the schedule for the festival, complete with themes and a list of DJs, on page 20.
MEET A MEMBER
Sitting Down with Lucia Santos
by Tanvi Krishnamurthy
Who are you and how long have you been in WKCR?
I am Lucia Santos, I am a senior at Barnard. I joined WKCR in October of 2021. Three years ago—t’s not four, is it? Three full years, into my fourth.
Why did you want to join WKCR?
I knew about WBAR before coming to Barnard, but I wasn’t aware of what WKCR had to offer, and I was impressed by that first general interest meeting. I looked up to the programmers in terms of their knowledge of music. I could tell people took it very seriously and I wanted to get involved. Because the station was coming back from COVID, a lot of stuff was still up in the air. It definitely felt like a time of transition. I remember my first few intern sessions. I shadowed Amiri doing a jazz show. I failed my Tech II test badly. I remember Red [Stein, then Director of Operations & Engineering] was like “...you’re gonna need to come back.” I did the thing where we had to record onto a CD as a part of the test. I still have it. And they wrote my name on it!
What are your favorite memories of KCR?
I had a really wonderful time two summers ago after classes had ended and I was still on campus. I was just programming over the summer. That was when me and Georgia [Dillane, now Program Director] did the Arthur Russell Sunday Profile. There had been a J Dilla profile right before that with Ann [Vettikkal], too. It just felt like there were lots of people interested in the music I liked, putting up different kinds of music, still maintaining a high standard of research. It was just fun to be
on air like that! That was also when I started doing more American shows, which was cool.
Also, just the amount of interesting live music experiences I’ve gotten through WKCR. I got to see lots of concerts thanks to World Music Institute, and that opened up a whole world of meeting performers and getting to know types of music that were new to me, and getting to bond with my peers about how interested we were in these artists who don’t always get represented in the U.S.
The Rosetta Reitz broadcast was really cool, too. My approach to KCR has been any time there is something that resonates with me personally, I am going to dive in. I haven’t been the most administratively involved, but I’ve been consistently taking things on when I find them most compelling. Everything is compelling, but it’s exciting when you feel there
Lucia Santos. Drawing by Lilia Miller.
is something directly related to my interests, like women in the blues!
I think that’s the best way to navigate being in KCR. Do you remember your first show? Wow. I think it was Middle Eastern Influences. I could probably go back and find the playlist. I did it because it was always open. Me and Lulu [Fleming-Benite] would often come in and do it, we would just giggle and laugh and program together. We were really into Faudel, an Algerian rai artist. That song, "Baïda," was the soundtrack of the first shows. It was just a lit song and it helped to play it to cut through the nervousness. Also some really good oud music, too. Then I did the African Show. Then sophomore year I got into Birthday Broadcasts and New Music and Sunday Profiles. And now, American, more. Never done a jazz show properly. It’s funny how you can be in your own world with WKCR, like there are people who have never done an IAL [In All Languages Department] show.
I always think of you as being an IAL person at the station, but now you’re most consistently programming in American.
I think it’s maybe because a lot of the IAL shows are at night. I should get into Coordinated Universal Time, though. Let me get back on that.
Midnight Bob ["Midnight" Bob Shuster, the station's resident professional audio engineer] comes into MOO, where the interview is taking place. Hi Bob! What are you up to? / Bob: Oh, the usual, just keeping things running. We discuss tech things for a few minutes. Midnight Bob intermission concludes.
I remember Bob was a question on the FCC exam when I got licensed. That exam was crazy. It was so long. You gotta know that stuff! Kings Cross Radio. Oh, wait—
It’s King's Crown Radio! King’s Cross is like Harry Potter. Okay, actually I forgot that that is just a place in London. It’s a London thing. I apologize. Put me in my place. Lucia, who studied abroad in London, then plays a British
rap song from her phone, and we listen to it together. What song is this so I can put it in the article?
“So High” by Mist featuring Fredo. In All Languages, including that of the Birmingham youngsters.
What are you going to miss about KCR?
Access to all that music. I’m always in shock when I go into the library. I’ve been taking note of stuff more and more, because when you’re in a music rut, you can always go into there and find stuff that is new to you but essential to the genre, and expand your knowledge in concrete ways.
I’m going to miss the fun things we get to do as programmers, like getting tickets to shows, going to Ragas Live, and having a direct connection to the music scene in NYC in a way that isn’t necessarily because you’re making your own music or performing. It’s nice feeling like you have a place in that world because of KCR, even if you’re just a programmer or a student.
Favorite show at KCR?
Footsteps of Reggae. I’ve been listening to that every week.
Any final thoughts?
I wanna do more interviews before I graduate. I get nervous doing it but I really like talking to musicians and giving people a chance to tell stories about their work. I want to do more of that in the future, with KCR or elsewhere.
I also remember Matt Rivera’s 78s class. Moments like those are quintessential and show me how important WKCR is. It's intergenerational, sharing knowledge that you can’t just learn online. You have to have it passed down to you, and I’m proud to be a part of something like that. This deep care of music is inherited and through WKCR you learn how to care about music.
That’s a beautiful way to end this interview. Thank you for sitting down with me, Lucia. She sings “So High” by Mist one last time.
am
Sin Fronteras
Jazz Alternatives
Nueva Canción
Som do
Special Broadcasts
SPECIAL BROADCASTS
Joni Mitchell
Thursday, November 7th, 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Election scaries? Tune into our Joni Mitchell Birthday Broadcast to quell the fears. We celebrate this legend with a broadcast celebrating her life and work. The 8.5-hour broadcast will preempt Thursday’s Cereal Music, Out to Lunch, and Extended Technique.
Country Music Festival
Sunday, November 10th - Monday, November 11th, all day (48 hours)
Join us for a 48 hour celebration of country music here on WKCR! Themes will include Early Country, Women of Country, Political Country, Cajun Country, and the music of some of the genre's great and less known figures alike. Find a full schedule for the festival, including themes and DJs, on page 20.
Hip Hop Festival
Friday, November 15th, all day
Following our hugely successful, 72-hour festival last November commemorating the 50 year anniversary of Hip Hop, we will continue to honor the influence and talent within the genre with 24 hours of programming. This broadcast will take place on a Friday to honor the legacy of the Stretch & Bobbito Show, which ran in the timeslot of our current hip hop show Offbeat during the 1990s and hosted a variety of greats from Nas to Biggie to members of the Wu-Tang Clan. Tune in!
Coleman Hawkins
Thursday, November 21st, all day
In typical WKCR fashion, we will hold our 24 hour birthday broadcast for the great Jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. Born on November 21st in 1904, this year we celebrate Bean's 120th birthday!
THEMED SHOWS
SUNDAY PROFILES
Sundays 2:00-7:00 PM
Bauhaus
November 3rd, 2:00 - 7:00 PM
Host: Ben Erdmann
TBD
November 17th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM
Host:Rachel Smith
Labeled: TBD
November 17th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM
Hosts: J Cohn & Steve Mandel
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Saturdays 9:00 PM-12:30 AM
Host: Ale Díaz-Pizarro
La Traviata (Verdi)
November 2nd, 9:00 PM-12:30 AM
Host: Jamie Palladino
TBD
November 9th, 9:00 PM-12:00 AM
Host: TBD
La Wally (Catalani)
November 16th, 9:00 PM-12:30 AM
Andrea Chénier (Giordano)
November 23rd, 9:00 PM-12:30 AM
Armida (Rossini)
November 30th, 9:00 PM-12:30 AM
Show Listings
JAZZ
Daybreak Express, weekdays 5-8:20am
Out to Lunch, weekdays 12-3pm Jazz Alternatives, weekdays 6-9pm
The core of our jazz offerings, these three programs span the entire range of recorded jazz: everything from New Orleans jazz, jazz age, swing era, bebop, hard-bop, modal, free, and avant-garde. Hosts rotate daily, offering an exciting variety of approaches, some of which include thematic presentation, artist interviews, or artist profiles.
Birdflight, Tues.-Thurs. 8:20-9:30am
Archival programs from the late Phil Schaap, one of the world’s leading jazz historians, who hosted this daily forum for the music of Charlie Parker for about 40 years.
Now's The Time*, Fri. 8:20-9:30am
The newest show from WKCR Jazz is dedicated to jazz as a living art form, providing a weekly space to listen to the young and current musicians pushing the genre forward.
Traditions in Swing, Sat. 6-9pm
Archival programs from the late Phil Schaap, this awardwinning Saturday night staple presents focused thematic programs on jazz up until about World War II. Schaap presents the music, much of it incredibly rare, from the best sound source, which is often the original 78 issue.
Phil Lives*, Mon. 3-5am
Archival broadcasts of longform programs from late NEA Jazz Master Phil Schaap.
CLASSICAL
Cereal Music, Mon.-Thurs. 9:30am-12pm
An entirely open-ended classical show to start your weekdays. Tune in to hear the most eclectic mix of classical music on the New York airwaves!
The Early Music Show, Fri. 9:30am-12pm
Dedicated primarily to European medieval, Renaissance, and baroque music, all from before 1800 (±50 years).
Extended Technique*, Wed. & Thurs. 3-6pm
WKCR’s first interdepartmental show (in the New Music and Classical departments) dedicated to contemporary classical music. You’ll hear everything from 12-tone and minimalist compositions to film and video game scores, and all things in between.
Afternoon Classical, Fri. 3-6pm.
Similar to Cereal Music, most of Afternoon Classical has no restrictions on what type of classical music to play. The last hour of the show, however, is dedicated fully to the music of JS Bach.
Saturday Night at the Opera, Sat. 9pm-12:30am.
One of NYC’s longest running opera shows, Saturday Night at the Opera is a 3.5 hour show that allows operas to be played in their entirety, with room for commentary, descriptions, and some history.
NEW MUSIC
Afternoon New Music, Mon. & Tues. 3-6pm
Our daytime new music program features a wide variety of music that challenges boundaries and subverts categorizations. Shows include everything from seminal new music compositions to the most challenging of obscure deep cuts and new releases.
Transfigured Night, Tues./Thurs./Sat. 1-5am
Our overnight explorations into the world of new music, Transfigured Night rewards our late night listeners with a wide range of sounds and experimental music.
Workaround*, Fri. 9-10pm
WKCR presents live DJ sets from Columbia students and local artists.
Live Constructions, Sun. 10-11pm
This weekly program features a live in-studio performance or a performance pre-recorded specially for the show.
AMERICAN
Honky Tonkin’, Tues. 10-11pm
One of WKCR’s longest-running American music programs, Honky Tonkin’ lands in the harder side of Country music. Emphasizing the greatest voices in the genre, Honky Tonkin’ is a country music dance party every Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s Just as Bad, Tues. 11pm - Wed. 1am
Tuesday’s Just as bad explores the world of blues prior to World War II. Shows weave their way through the first decades of recorded music history and turn to the postwar years in the final half hour.
* Indicates show was created after January 2022
LISTINGS FOR LISTENERS
Night Train, Wed. 1-5am
All aboard! One of our two overnight programs in the American department, Night Train rolls through the postwar R&B and soul tradition, from the genre’s emergence in the 1940’s and 50’s through the funk revolution in the 1970’s. Shows often feature extended live recordings and concerts.
Offbeat, Fri. 1-5am
Offbeat is committed to broadcasting undiscovered new hip hop music. Shows typically focus on exposing underplayed or up-and-coming new artists, including experimental instrumental artists not typically played on mainstream hip hop radio.
Across 110th Street, Sat. 12-2pm
Kicking off our Saturday afternoon American music run, Across 110th Street airs soul, funk, and dance music from the 1960’s through the 1980’s and 90’s.
Something Inside of Me, Sat. 2-4pm
Something Inside of Me is WKCR’s Saturday afternoon blues show, focusing mostly on the electric and post-war styles.
Hobo’s Lullaby, Sat. 4-6pm
Rooted in the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s, Hobo’s Lullaby airs American folk and traditional music styles from the early 20th century through the present day. From old staples like Leadbelly, Elizabeth Cotton, and Woody Guthrie to contemporary stalwarts like the Carolina Chocolate Drops and lesser known artists, domestic traditions are alive and well on Hobo’s Lullaby.
Notes from the Underground, Sun. 12:30-2am
Notes from the Underground showcases contemporary hip hop and rap music with an emphasis on emerging and experimental artists. The program also hosts local and visiting artists for interviews, freestyles, and guestcuration.
Amazing Grace, Sun. 8-10am
Greeting listeners on Sunday morning, Amazing Grace shares with listeners the world of the African-American gospel tradition.
The Moonshine Show, Sun. 10am-12pm
On the air for nearly 60 years, The Moonshine Show showcases the American Bluegrass tradition, from the earliest roots in vernacular string-band music, through
* indicates show was created after January 2022
the genre’s pioneers in the 1940s and 50s and advancements in the 60s and 70s, through the leading innovators and stars of today.
The Tennessee Border Show, Sun. 12-2pm
One third of WKCR’s country music programming, along with Honky Tonkin’ and the Bluegrass Moonshine Show, Tennessee Border highlights the singer-songwriter tradition, from Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt to Lucinda Williams.
LATIN
Caribe Latino, Mon. 10pm-12am
Caribe Latino is a music program that features the diverse, upbeat music from numerous Latin communities in the Caribbean. Popular Latin rhythms such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Latin Jazz take center stage throughout the program.
Urbano Latinx, Tues. 12-1am
A weekly Latin show airing contemporary sounds from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the diaspora, Urbano Latinx features mixes of salsa, merengue, Latin punk rock, and more.
Sin Fronteras*, Wed. 12-3pm
Falling in the space of Out to Lunch on Wednesday afternoons, Sin Fronteras explores the tremendous Latin Jazz tradition.
Nueva Canción, Wed. 10-11pm
Nueva Canción is an exploration of protest music created throughout Latin America during the 60s and 70s and its numerous other manifestations throughout other countries and time periods.
Som do Brasil, Wed. 11pm - Thurs. 1am
From samba and bossa nova to MPB, hear the numerous and enchanting sounds and rhythms of Brazil.
Sonidos Colombianos, Fri. 10-11pm
Sonidos Colombianos presents music from one of the most culturally diverse countries of Latin America: Colombia! Our bilingual musical tour is guaranteed to include not only cumbia, but also the guitar-based bambuco from the Andean region, the harp llanero music from the Eastern Plains, the marimba-infused currulao from the Pacific Region, and the accordiondriven vallenato of the North Atlantic Coast.
LISTINGS FOR LISTENERS
The Mambo Machine, Fri. 11pm - Sat. 2am
The Mambo Machine is the longest running salsa show in New York City. The program presently plays a wide spectrum of Afro-Latin rhythms, combining new and old into an exciting, danceable mix.
El Sonido de la Calle*, Sun. 2-4am
A companion show to Saturday night’s American Notes from Underground, El Sonido de la Calle highlights the diverse world of contemporary Spanish-language hiphop and dance music.
IN ALL LANGUAGES
The Celtic Show, Mon. 12-1am
Music from across the island of Ireland throughout the era of recorded music, particularly focusing on traditional folk and vernacular music forms.
Coordinated Universal Time, Mon. 1-3am
Coordinated Universal Time brings our listeners the latest cut of music from anywhere in the world, especially highlighting music that does not get attention in America. Our programming tries to bring the hottest and the most recent tunes to WKCR’s airwaves.
The African Show, Thurs. 10pm-12am
The longest running African music radio show in the United States, the African Show brings you a variety of music from the entire continent of Africa.
Middle Eastern Influences, Fri. 12-1am
During the hour-long show, Middle Eastern Influences features a wide range of beautiful tracks from regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and even, at times, South Asia.
Sounds of Asia, Sat. 6-8am
Rechristened from Sounds of China, Sounds of Asia explores the recorded musical traditions and innovations of Asia and the Pacific islands.
Eastern Standard Time, Sat. 8am-12pm
One of New York’s most popular Reggae programs, Eastern Standard Time takes listeners through Saturday morning from 8 am to noon with the hypnotic sounds of Reggae and Jamaican dance music.
Field Trip, Sun. 6-8am
Field Trip focuses on the music and practice of field recordings: music recorded outside of a studio. Tune in and you may catch field recordings that were recorded fifty years ago, others that were experimented with by your favorite Afternoon New Music artist, or even those documented in New York City by WKCR itself.
Raag Aur Taal, Sun. 7-9pm
Raag Aur Taal explores the sounds and rich cultural heritage of South Asia. The term “Raag Aur Taal” roughly translates to “melody and rhythm,” indicating the classical nature of this program.
Back in the USSR, Sun. 11pm-12am
Back in the USSR features music from across the former Soviet Union and soviet states across Eastern Europe and East and Central Asia, from the mid-20th century through the present.
NEWS & ARTS
Monday Morningside*, Mon. 8:30-9:30am
Monday Morningside is WKCR’s morning news broadcast to kick off the week, featuring news segments on events around Morningside Heights and upper Manhattan. If you’re not an early bird, all episodes are available as podcasts on Spotify!
SUNDAY PROFILES
Sunday Profile, Sun. 2-7pm*
A WKCR staple, programmers use five hours to showcase longform profiles of pioneering artists. While the primary focus remains on jazz music, we also feature other styles and traditions from across WKCR’s different programming departments.
* indicates show was created after January 2022
CONCERT REVIEW
TJazz Icon Herbie Hancock Returns to Newark
by Rachel Smith
he promotional blurb for Herbie Hancock’s September 29, 2024 concert at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) ended with a promise: “Above all, Herbie has fun. And so will you.” Boy, were they right! The concert was like an amusement park ride: fast-paced, unexpected, and thrilling. The stage was bathed in pink and purple light. Herbie played piano, keyboards, and even brought out his key-tar at the end of the show. The bright white key-tar reflected the stage lights and shone against the outline of his figure, dressed all in black.
You could tell Herbie was having a blast. He spoke directly to the audience, delivering
profound messages about world peace and making lighthearted jokes about the number of offices that Terence Blanchard has. He interacted with his band members on the stage, bending low and twisting and dancing around with them. With those moves, he almost seemed to be living out a young boy’s dream of becoming a rockstar.
Speaking of the musicians on the bandstand, he had assembled a talented and surprising group. Terence Blanchard played the trumpet and occasionally stole away to the side of the stage to join Herbie on keyboards. He really seemed to bring the group together. The
Photo courtesy of NJPAC, via Rachel Smith.
guitarist was Lionel Loueke, who studied with Herbie and whom Herbie once called “a musical painter.” After the first tune, Herbie took the time to introduce every musician on stage individually and share a few thoughts on their musical genius. The first time he heard Lionel, he thought he was listening to multiple guitarists at once. The talented James Genus joined in on the base and a young and in-demand (you can hear why in a matter of seconds) player, Jaylen Petinaud, sat at the drums.
There was a multi-generational group on stage and the audience was multi-generational too. During the applause (and there was much of it), I looked around me at my fellow Herbie Hancock fans and marveled at the diversity of the audience Herbie and his band had pulled together. I felt like tapping my neighbor on the shoulder and asking him how he knew of Herbie Hancock.
The show was musically complex and demanding. The sound was so cohesive that,
at times, you could not tell which tones were coming from whom—or even where on the stage. The musicians had matching gray rags to swipe the sweat from their foreheads after each number. And they used these rags in the spirit of fun and whimsy, too: they shook them to cheer for one another and threw and twirled them around to draw the audience’s attention here and there across the stage. Herbie played mostly with his full ensemble, with one notable interlude that was much more stripped-down: just him on (modulated) speaking vocals and keyboard. One thing was for sure: musically, this was not the same Herbie who shared his point of view on Blue Note records. The night ended in a standing ovation, where the audience gave back to the musicians all the energy they had spent playing. Yet some audience members were nostalgic for the Herbie Hancock who took off in 1962. “Play Watermelon Man!” one man shouted as Hancock left the stage.
Photo courtesy of NJPAC, via Rachel Smith.
Melisa Nehrozoglu, programmer: "Porcelain" (2000) by Moby, used in "A$AP Forever" (2018) by A$AP Rocky.
Ben Erdmann, Director of Operations & Engineering: "Straight to Hell" (1982) by The Clash, used in "Paper Planes" (2008) by M.I.A. I will defend why this is hip hop if needed. Seconded by Sawyer Huckabee, programmer.
Sawyer Huckabee, programmer: "Can't get Used to Losing You" (1963) by Andy Williams, used in "Hold Up" (2016) by Beyoncé (via Ezra Koenig). Ben [Erdmann] used mine, but I'll think of another. I'm stretching hip hop a little bit, but... here's my pick.
Ben Rothman, Music Acquisition Director: "Big Yellow Taxi" (1970) by Joni Mitchell, used in "Got Til It's Gone" (1997) by Janet Jackson & Q-Tip.
Timely for Joni's birthday broadcast!
McKenna Roberts, Chief Engineer & On Air Managing Editor: "Answers Me" (1986) by Arthur Russell, used in "30 Hours" (2016) by Kanye West.
Perry Wakatsuki, programmer: "I Can't Stand (To See You Cry)" (1974) by The Escorts, used in "Don't Cry" by J Dilla (2006). Beautiful, masterfull, brilliant.
Namya Dalwani Manghnani, intern: "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin (1971), used in "Rhymin and Stealin" (1986) by the Beastie Boys.
Brendan Sarpong, programmer: "Ain't No Need to Worry" (1987) by the Winans ft. Anita Baker, used in "HAZARD DUTY PAY!" (2021) by JPEGMAFIA.
AROUND THE
What is your of a sample
I actually never put this together until I heard "Answers Me" during Lucia [Santos] and Georgia [Dillane]'s Arthur Russell Sunday Profile last year.
Stephen Dames, American Department Head: "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" (1982) by Michael McDonald, used in "Regulate" (1994) by Warren G & Nate Dogg.
Stella Fusaro, programmer, host of Extended Technique: "Hung Up on My Baby" (1974) by Isaac Hayes, used in "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" (1991) by Geto Boys & in "Transportin'" (2017) by Kodak Black.
"Huit Octobre 1971" (1975) by Cortex, used in "Rapp Snitch Knishes" (2004) by MF DOOM.
Anika Strite, Classical Department Head: "Silver Soul" (2010) by Beach House, used in "Money Trees" (2012) by Kendrick Lamar ft. Jay Rock. Basic, but...
Casey Lamb, Business Manager, host of Afternoon Classical: "For What It's Worth" (1966) by Buffalo Springfield, used in "He Got Game" (1998) by Public Enemy.
Ian Pumphrey, programmer: "Move Me" (1999) by Kohta Takahashi off the Ridge Racer soundtrack, used in "BALD!" (2021) by JPEGMAFIA.
Alicia Yu, intern: "Human Nature" (1982) by Michael Jackson, used in "It Ain't Hard to Tell" (1994) by Nas.
Ted Schmiedeler, Station Manager, host of Free Samples: "On Green Dolphin Street" (1973) by Jimmy McGriff, used in "Jazz (We've Got)" (1991) by A Tribe Called Quest.
Taylor Guidry, programmer: "People Make the World Go Round" (1972) by The Stylistics; "How Many MC's..." (1993) by Black Moon; & "Sing a Simple Song" (1968) by Sly & the Family Stone, used in "All Glocks Down" (1995) by Heather B.
Jacob David, programmer: "Four Women" (1966) by Nina Simone, used in "The Story of O.J." (2017) by Jay-Z.
STATION
(2010) by Kanye West.
I'm grouping all these Kanye tracks together because I think they showcase the range and mastery of his approach to sampling. For one, there's the way in which the samples are embedded in the tracks almost as if the bars had been built around them, letting them stand alone while seamlessly incorporating them into the track. And another thing is the range: Nina Simone and Sister Nancy, not unfamiliar to hip hop sampling by any means, are just as at home as 50s country artist Brenda Lee (who you might know best from "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and who I personally find a little hokey) and prog rock touchstones King Crimson in Kanye's tracks. As someone who loves the genres the samples come from as standalones, it is always electrifying to hear them done anew in a hip hop track.
favorite use in hip hop?
Georgia Dillane, Program Director: "Peg" (1977) by Steely Dan, used in "Eye Know" (1989) by De La Soul.
This track also features whistling from Otis Redding's "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" classic. Liked by Stephen Dames, American Department Head.
Jem Hanan, programmer: "Boadicea" (1987) by Enya, used in "Ready Or Not" (1996) by Fugees.
Ale Díaz-Pizarro, Librarian & On Air Editor, host of Saturday Night at the Opera: "Do What You Gotta Do" (1968) by Nina Simone & "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy (1982), used in "Famous" (2016) by Kanye West. / "Sweet Nothings" (1959)by Brenda Lee, used in "Bound 2" (2013) by Kanye West. / "21st Century Schizoid Man" (1969) by King Crimson, used in "POWER"
"Heart of Glass" (1978) by Blondie, used in "Work It" (2002) by Missy Elliott.
Another master-class in sampling to build a track around—the calypso percussion at the beginning of Blondie's track is reworked into the driving beat for Elliott's exploration of female sexuality. Bonus points for the hip hop lore underneath–Blondie's "Rapture" (1981) was, after all, the first number-one single in the U.S.A to feature rap vocals.
Country Music Festival Schedule
SUNDAY, NOV. 10TH
Political Country
12:00 - 3:00 AM
DJs: CJ Gamble & Bella Lubelchek
Cajun Country
3:00 - 6:00 AM
DJ: TBD
Cappuccino Country
6:00 - 9:00 AM
DJ: Sophie Reimer
Johnny Cash
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
DJs: Ella Presiado & Lilia Miller
Families/Children of Country
12:00 - 3:00 PM
DJ: Fiona Gaugush
Women of Country
3:00 - 6:00 PM
DJ: Natalie Najar
Religious Country
6:00 - 9:00 PM
DJs: Stephen Dames & Taylor Guidry
"Beans from the Can"
9:00 PM - 12:00 AM
DJ: Alex Arredondo
MONDAY, NOV. 11TH
Spotlights: Country Profiles
12:00 - 3:00 AM
DJ: Stephen Dames
Country Groups/Duos
3:00 - 6:00 AM
DJ: Courtney Eileen Fulcher
Black Country, Old Roads: Black
Country Musicians
6:00 - 9:00 AM
DJ: Ale Díaz-Pizarro
Outlaw Country
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
DJ: Casey Lamb
Songwriters of Country
12:00 - 3:00 PM
DJ: Isabelle Fishbein
Hank Williams
3:00 - 6:00 PM
DJ: Cora Selzer
A Church, A Courtroom, Then
Goodbye: Marriage & D-I-V-O-R-C-E in Country
6:00 - 9:00 PM
DJ: Ale Díaz-Pizarro
Y'Allternative: Alt Country
9:00 PM - 12:00 AM
DJ: Ben Rothman
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On Air 's editorial board is Ale Díaz-Pizarro & McKenna Roberts.
Special thanks to Alicia Yu, Anika Strite, Artemis Edison, Ben Erdmann, Ben Rothman, Brendan Sarpong, Casey Lamb, Georgia Dillane, Ian Pumphrey, Iris Wu, Jacob David, Jem Hanan, Lilia Miller, Lucia Santos, McCartney Garb, Melisa Nehrozoglu, Michael Onwutalu, Namya Dalwani Manghnani, Natalie Najar, Perry Wakatsuki, Rachel Smith, Sam Seliger, Sawyer Huckabee, Stella Fusaro, Stephen Dames, Tanvi Krishnamurthy, Taylor Guidry, & Ted Schmiedeler.
