Program Director Georgia Dillane programming@wkcr.org
Director of Operations
Ben Erdmann operations@wkcr.org
Student Life Director
Teddy Wyche studentlife@wkcr.org
Publicity Director
Tanvi Krishnamurthy publicity@wkcr.org
Business Manager Casey Lamb business@wkcr.org
Jazz Heads
Rachel Smith & Stephen Park jazz@wkcr.org
New Music Head
Vivien Sweet newmusic@wkcr.org
Classical Head
Melisa Nehrozoglu classical@wkcr.org
American Head
Stephen Dames american@wkcr.org
In All Languages Head
Alma Avgar Shohamy ial@wkcr.org
Latin Head
Natalie Najar latin@wkcr.org
News & Arts Head
Macy Hanzlik-Barend news@wkcr.org
Sports Head
Isabelle Fishbein sports@wkcr.org
Dear Listeners,
Happy New Year! I won’t bore you with hollow platitudes about change or renewal, but I do find reflection valuable. There is no doubt WKCR has undergone some changes over the past year. Now’s The Time replaced Friday morning Bird Flight. Protest coverage pre-empted over two weeks of normal broadcasting in April. We have many new faces this fall that replaced long-time members who left in the spring. However, sometimes things need to change a little bit in order for them to remain the same. By opening up space for growth, we allow the station to get a breath of new life so that we can continue to be “The Alternative” for New York City. In this new year, we remain just as committed as ever, despite the tumultuous times for radio we are in, to providing you with high quality programming that you cannot find anywhere else, whether on your radio dial or elsewhere, imbued with a human touch. 2025 is shaping up to be more promising than ever on 89.9.
This guide has some of our reflections on the previous year for music. Most notably, you can find WKCR’s top 50 albums of 2024 on pages 26-28, a comprehensive and collaborative effort involving the most dedicated members of our staff. We have also attached a crossword puzzle themed around this list at the end of the guide. Further, dedicated moviegoers can learn about the Newport Folk Festival ahead of viewing the recently released Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown in an article on pages 13-15. Finally, hear directly from Georgia Dillane and Tanvi Krishnamurthy, two of KCR’s most central figures over the past two years, in an interview on pages 8-12. More joys not detailed here abound on these pages, like always, waiting for you to discover them.
When you ask who invented hip hop and where it was invented, you will probably get different answers from different people. Most agree on the South Bronx as the origin of the genre. Few these days will say Queensbridge. Even fewer may argue somewhere else. When asked who is the originator of the genre, who snapped the culture into existence, who sat on the cusp of when there was hip hop and when there was not, you will most commonly hear DJ Kool Herc. Some will argue for Grandmaster Flash, and some for Afrika Bambaataa. Many, like myself, will argue that the genre and broader culture grew out of a variety of converging factors—funk, soul, disco, nightclub/party culture, and urban poverty, among others— making it hard to pinpoint an exact moment when hip hop started. The important thing is that hip hop started as a radical culture, born out of the Black youth of impoverished New York communities, who innovated given the resources available. One element that has been there since the beginning is sampling.
Many early members of the hip hop community found their inspiration in their parents’ record collection. Grandmaster Flash, known for his turntable prowess, spoke of his childhood obsession with watching his father put on a record after he would come home from work. The jazz, soul, funk, and R&B of the 1960s and 1970s would form the basis of this new cultural movement which started in the 1970s and ran full steam ahead into the ‘80s. Grandmaster Flash described an experience at a house party in his youth, watching the crowd lose it during the drum break of each track. DJ Kool Herc had a similar experience. These
earlier innovators asked: why can’t we just have a track that is all drum break? That’s the best part. Why not extend it?
Thus, sampling as it pertains to hip hop was born. DJing—effectively live sampling—was born on a two turntable setup. Turn on one, play the drum break. When it’s over, turn to the second turntable, which has the drum break cued up. While the break is playing on turntable two, reset turntable one. Repeat. With this innovation, early DJs took up turntable and record as their instrument. They not only needed technical prowess to seamlessly loop the beat manually, but they also needed an ear for good breaks, not simply good records.
As hip hop spread, so did sampling. And as hip hop moved from an exclusively live genre to a recorded one, DJs entered the recording studio. Records made exclusively of drum breaks were created to allow DJs to enthuse the crowd without having to rotate between so many records. Sampling devices, such as the Fairlight CMI (one of the first-ever samplers), were invented and entered the market throughout the late ‘70s. Samplers allowed artists to record music onto a device and play it back as needed, making sampling for recorded music much easier.
As the popularity of hip hop grew, so did the availability of samplers. Early models could cost upwards of $5,000 in the 1980s and held little memory, so later models aimed to optimize for cost effectiveness and memory length. Hip hop’s two most notable samplers are the Akai MPC series, with the MPC 3000 being seen as the industry standard in the 1990s, and the Emu SP-1200, especially popular among East Coast producers. Certain samples
themselves also became popular. Chief among them is James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” drum break sample, which saw drummer Clyde Stubblefield’s work get repurposed thousands of times.
The 1980s was a time of immense innovation in sampling. With DJing, one could only sample one record at a time. With samplers, producers rose in prominence and could save recordings and layer multiple instrumentals and elements. Producers like the Bomb Squad from Public Enemy were known for their bombastic sound, which drew in upwards of five samples per track. At this time, there were no legal guardrails for sampling. Copyright law existed, but had yet to be applied to sampling in hip hop, meaning the precedent for artists up to this point was that any recording they could get their hands on was fair game to be used in their music.
However, this precedent would be rattled to its core in 1989. De La Soul’s innovative debut project 3 Feet High and Rising, produced by Prince Paul, was released, incorporating abundant samples from eclectic sources of jazz, pop, soul, and more. In the middle of this record is a 1:11 interlude track titled “Transmitting Live From Mars” which pulls a 12 second sample from “You Showed Me” by The Turtles, a pop group whose popularity peaked in the 1960s. The Turtles sued De La Soul for $2.5 million in 1991 for using their music, allegedly settling for $1.7 million out of court. The Turtles’ lead man Mark Volman described the suit, saying, “Sampling is just a longer term for theft. Anybody who can honestly say sampling is some sort of creativity has never done anything creative.”
The second blow to sampling would come in 1991 with the court case Grand Upright Music, Limited vs Warner Bros. This case saw Biz Markie’s track “Along Again” sample Donnie O’Sullivan’s track “Alone Again (Naturally).”
O’Sullivan’s Grand Upright Music won the case. Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy, who opened his decision by citing the Ten Commandments, ruled that sampling without express permission from the owner of the copyright was copyright
infringement and thus unconstitutional. Markie would recover, with his next album titled All Samples Cleared, but permanent changes followed.
This case marked a watershed moment in hip hop and in the history of sampling, stifling the creative juices of the practice at its peak. Following the decision, labels and artists alike panicked and reworked albums in progress. Free sampling was banned. All samples now had to be cleared by the labels of the music getting sampled and in many cases royalties had to be paid. Some artists supported sampling and gave their work for free to be reworked. Most sought royalties, especially groups who were seeing their music rediscovered by crate diggers and producers who breathed new life into five second loops previously long forgotten.
Many got greedy. Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground, perhaps the best instance of this greed, clashed with an up and coming A Tribe Called Quest over a sample. Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest sampled the bassline in the track “Walk on the Wild Side” by Lou Reed on Tribe’s soon-to-be smash hit “Can I Kick It?” Reed affirmed that the only way Tribe could sample the song was if they paid all royalties from the track to him. To complicate matters, the portion sampled by Tribe was not written or played by Lou Reed. It was written and played by session musician Herbie Flowers, who was paid for his studio time and made no royalties on “Walk on the Wild Side.” Thus, Lou Reed was using a bassline he did not write or play in his own track to take all the money from a different track that reworked that same bassline he did not write or play. Further, A Tribe Called Quest knew they had a hit on their hands that would help launch the group’s career, so they accepted the deal despite how poor it was for them.
Sampling in the 1990s would be restricted from what it was in the ‘80s. In the ‘90s, groups focused on using one to three samples per track. Adding more samples would drive up production costs for an album. Only the biggest artists could sample the most expensive music
because of sample clearance fees. Warner Bros. v. Grand Upright Music, Limited created a pay-to-play system where the richest producers could stay on top because they could afford the best samples to produce the best music. Smaller artists were at the whim of record labels and any independent artists had a hard time navigating the sample clearance landscape without a record label to be their intermediary, giving more power to the labels. The story, however, is a bit more complicated, as dedicated hip hop disciples continued to seek out rare, eclectic, affordable sound bites to sample. For some people, restriction only forced them to get more creative. A dedicated underground would persist. However, as the ‘90s waned and the golden era of hip hop passed, sampling became increasingly less common in the early 2000s and in mainstream hip hop.
as stifling creativity in any significant way.”
Another development in sampling’s legal history would take place in 2000. Jazz flutist James Newton would file a complaint against the Beastie Boys for their use of a three-note six-second sample in one of their tracks from the 1990s. However, in a big win for sampling, a judge would rule that this specific use of the sample was “de minimis,” or so small that it did not require a sample clearance. This set the precedent that artists could use samples in small doses and would not have to go through the financial and logistical hurdles of clearing them. However, this small win would be rolled back in 2005 with the case Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films. In this case, NWA was sued for their use of a two second sample of a Funkadelic track in their 1990 “100 Miles and Runnin.” The judge overturned the de minimis precedent and ruled that all samples, no matter their length, required a license. He stated, “Get a license or do not sample. We do not see this
However, I would argue that it did stifle creativity, and that legal restrictions do continue to restrict sampling. Sampling declined following the Grand Upright Limited case, according to a study produced on the topic by Claire McIeish and published by the Cambridge University Press. This study outlines a decline in sampling in the immediate years following the case. Many had to adjust their style. Public Enemy’s wall of sound philosophy could not survive hundreds of sample clearances, leading to a scale-back in their 1991 release Fear of a Black Planet, which came out months after the Grand Upright case. Artists had to adjust their style, contorting their vision into restrictive legal frameworks if they could not afford to pay for every sample they sought to use. The rich could stay on top, as an infinitely large budget could clear almost any sample, while the upand-coming had less access to sampleable music due to financial constraints.
Further, in this current system, fewer samples are used per track, meaning the prominence of each sample in the track (when they are used) often increases. This makes tracks more derivative of what they sample. If a track samples three main songs and seven more songs in a minor way, the track will be more unique than if a song only samples one song. The current system incentivizes the
Claire McIeish, 2023.
latter over the former, because it is easier and cheaper to secure clearance for just a single song. By putting an effective cap on the number of samples used in a track, through the addition of restrictions and red tape, the court system and record labels have only produced the very thing they sought to destroy: hip hop tracks that are purely derivative of what they sample.
If courts give producers free rein to make whatever they want, they will find creative ways to make new music. We saw this before the Grand Upright case. When given the choice between creating something new and something purely derivative of source material, good producers will create something new. There may be producers ripping off existing music, but they will not be able to compete with producers creating transformative works. On the contrary, give a Drake album a listen; I am sure you can find a song that is extremely derivative of what it samples, to the point where it sounds more like a remix than a new song, such as “Circo Loco” or “Nice For What.” This type of sampling is exactly the type of thing early court cases tried to prevent. Instead, the cases have just created a way to mainstream such music to the benefit of record labels, who can cash in on sample clearance fees and creatively shallow big hits.
But the current system does not necessarily serve the artists getting their music sampled, either. The holder of the recording license has ultimate say in a sample clearance, giving labels immense power in this process. Labels set prices and negotiate from a place of immense strength, as producers looking to sample have more to lose from their song getting denied because they cannot pay a clearance fee. Additionally, session musicians suffer immensely. Clyde Stubblefield, the drummer whose “Funky Drummer” drum break has been sampled literally thousands of times, struggled to make ends meet playing local shows in Madison, Wisconsin for much of his life and had to crowdsource money to cover medical bills when he fell ill. His label— or rather, James Brown’s label—made millions
off his drum break.
Of course, in my view, musicians should get paid and should have to consent when their music is sampled. However, the current system fails to treat both the sampler and the samplee as equals. It tilts the playing field against producers in favor of labels who can cash in big on clearance fees. It produces an environment where the big artists have more creative freedom, making it harder for the upand-coming to climb to the top. Understanding this history and identifying the current system’s shortcomings is crucial to building a less exploitative, more equitable one for future artists.
Works Cited
“An Overview of Sampling.” IP Law 422 001, iplaw.allard.ubc.ca/2023/02/23/an-overviewof-sampling/. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts. “The State of Sampling: The Landscape of Sampling and Copyright Law in 2023.” Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts, 14 Apr. 2023, wjlta.com/2023/04/14/ the-state-of-sampling-the-landscape-ofsampling-and-copyright-law-in-2023/.
“Classic Copyright Cases – De La Soul.” Briffa Legal, 6 June 2023, www.briffa.com/blog/ classic-copyright-cases-de-la-soul/.
Mcleish CEA. Hip-hop sampling aesthetics and the legacy of Grand Upright v. Warner. Popular Music. 2023;42(1):79-103. doi:10.1017/S0261143023000090
Ted is a regular host of Extended Technique, Thursdays 3-6pm. If this article has whetted your appetite for innovative hip hop samples, check out his Free Samples series on WKCR’s Soundcloud, for all your hip hop sampling needs!
A MEMBER
TSitting Down with Georgia & Tanvi
by Ted Schmiedeler
ed Schmiedeler: Thank you both so much for being with me today. Could you each introduce yourself, starting with Georgia and then moving to Tanvi? Which positions have you held during your time at KCR?
Georgia Dillane: Hello, everyone. My name is Georgia Dillane. I am a senior at Barnard and since joining KCR, I have been a programmer, the Publicity Director, and now the Program Director.
Tanvi Krishnamurthy: My name is Tanvi. And since being a part of WKCR, I have been a programmer, the Jazz Department Head, and now I’m the Publicity Director.
TS: I would say you both have been a seminal part of WKCR’s leadership structure in the last two years. I’m curious—what made you each want to join KCR in the first place?
GD: I think this is a good question to be asking both of us, because in large part, I think it was very entangled. Tanvi and I both did WBAR [Barnard College Radio] and just had an affinity for radio and music. I was interested in KCR because it offered a very different structure to that at Barnard. I was just excited to get involved with another thing on campus and being able to do it with Tanvi was encouraging for me. Tanvi, what are your thoughts?
TK: Yeah, I don’t think I would have joined WKCR if it wasn’t for Georgia. This is probably just symptomatic of me being a Barnard student, but I feel like I was aware of WBAR before WKCR. I know Georgia explained to me very vaguely about how she got into the intern process for KCR her freshman year, but it never went anywhere. I think we were both
very much intimidated by it, and I think I was encouraged by the fact that my friend was doing it with me.
TS: After you joined, what made you want to continue to get more involved?
GD: I think seeing other people’s passion for the station very immediately. I don’t want to call it a competition, but there was this real excitement for being able to sign up for shows. It felt like you really had to be on top of it when you’re doing the intern process with your peers. And interestingly, Ted—not to call you out—we were doing the intern process together and seeing how much you were throwing yourself into it, and [how you were] very passionate about getting through the process and starting doing shows, I was like, oh, I can do that too; it’s not embarrassing to be eager about being a part of this club, because to be a meaningful part of it you have to go above and beyond and be enthusiastic about being a part of it.
TK: I agree with that. Also, one of the things I remember we've both talked about is our first programming meeting. We attended a jazz department meeting and Zachary [Vanderslice], who was the department head at the time, was like, 'Listen, we have a bunch of shows that need filling,' and we were like, 'Okay, we want to contribute in some way.' We were kind of put on the spot, which was a good thing, and so we were like, you know what, let’s just do it. That resulted in us doing a Daybreak [Express] for the rest of the semester.
I also remember relating to what Georgia was saying, about how there’s sort of a friendly competition with the other newly licensed people. I remember being at John Jay [dining
hall] with Georgia, and the two of us realizing that the In All Languages shows were getting dropped [for programmers to fill] at that moment and we were staring at our phones, waiting to press the react for the African Show. We were like, oh my God, are we going to get it? I remember it was because we were talking about how [former News & Arts Head] Ian Pumphrey really wanted it too. We were like, we need to beat him before he gets the show.
GD: Yeah, we were fighting with him. He was our enemy for a while.
TK: Haha. Yeah. There really are just so many opportunities to show that you are excited and care about doing stuff. I think WKCR is one of those places where, whether you’re a programmer or a board member or on the executive board, having excitement for it and going above and beyond is the big thing.
I think there’s so much freedom at KCR to do that. And that’s how you foster an environment in which other people want to do that. Then you get a lot of cool projects done and do great programming because of it.
GD: Yeah, and I think that the jazz department meeting was so funny because it was really just maybe us and like three other people. What made me sign up for the Daybreak Express show was that I was nominally interested in doing a jazz show, but jazz was obviously the most intimidating department to be a part of. Zachary is listing off the free shows, all of which are the early morning jazz shows. I was just so uncomfortable by the silence that happened after he asked for people to sign up for them. I was like, fine, I’ll do it. But that was important for me.
Georgia & Tanvi. Drawing by McCartney Garb.
TS: I’m curious if you each have one physical item in the station that you hold dear, and potentially a story behind it.
TK: Okay, I’ll go first because I have one and I feel like I’d be doing a disservice to myself not to say this, but I have to say the cabinets in [meeting room/live performance space] MOO. That’s where we keep all of the tech stuff for live shows, which I never really help out with in that way. So I have no reason to go in there, but at the end of my sophomore year, after Georgia had been on the E-board for like a semester, I don’t know who [she had] talked to about this, but for some reason painting [the cabinets] landed in my lap. Basically, redrawing the cows and fish there because the existing weird paper taped to it was falling apart.
So during finals week, right before I left, I just drew a bunch of cows and fish on the cabinet doors. I thought that was special because I didn’t feel like I had a major role at KCR at that point. It made me feel very special that something that I contributed to was going to be cemented onto the cabinet walls and doors.
GD: You have a much better answer than me; I’ve been thinking about it this whole time and I’m really struggling, because I feel like, given the nature of the station, I don’t know if I have a particular relationship with one thing, but I feel like if one thing were to go missing or seem out of place, I would suddenly notice it. It feels like what is meaningful is just this sum of random parts strewn in the hallway.
That being said, as a funny one, when I was doing Daybreak every week, the “he/him” mug became a really important item for me because I would make tea in it every morning. But it’s gone now, so I don’t know where that is.
TS: That’s a good one. I am curious to hear what each of your favorite projects that you’ve worked on at KCR has been, given that you’ve had your foot in so many different roles. Maybe for this one we can do your favorite project you worked on for each of your positions.
GD: When I was Publicity Director, the fundraising campaign that we did spring of
2023 was one of the first really stressful things that I did [in that role]. What ended up being so meaningful was: one, I went through a lot of the archives to try and create images for the promotional material for the fundraiser; but two, just the amount of interaction I was having with people when they were responding to our call for help, particularly at that time when it was like looking really dire.
Having really only joined the station meaningfully like six months ago in the fall of that year, I had already recognized that the station was important, but during that week of creating all of this material promoting our fundraiser and hearing back from people, it was like, 'Wow I’m a part of something really important, not only to my peers in the importance of a college radio station as a community building thing internally, but also just the absolutely insane reach that our station has and the importance that it has in people’s lives.'
TK: [This is] also unrelated to answering the question, but that was probably the first moment that I really felt like, 'Oh, KCR has a very strong community.' That was all of our first fund drive, and the station’s first fund drive in forever. I was like, 'We all care about what we’re doing a lot.' It was really beautiful, and I felt a part of something wonderful.
My answer for when I was Jazz Head—I’ll give two answers, which maybe is a cop-out, but I do think helping navigate like replacing Bird Flight with Now’s The Time is special. [Outgoing Jazz Head] Satch definitely knew more about that stuff than I did when I was in the position, but it was meaningful to see how there are particular ways to change the station while still acknowledging the history that comes before it. There’s a balance to both of those things, and I think we've done a good job of that with Now’s the Time. I always like the opportunity of opening space up to programmers to experiment more, which I think this show has allowed people to do, and it’s been really awesome seeing it get programmed live basically every week.
The other thing I’ll say is I feel like when I was Jazz Head, I really learned how to work
with venues and artist management. That was special because establishinga relationship with the Winter Jazz Fest people brought a lot of joy to me personally and other members of the station. I also think that’s something that KCR obviously should fit into. So it was good that I was able to work on that, and that it’s lasting for the next iteration of Jazz Heads. Those are my two answers.
GD: For Program Director, I think so much has happened in the last year. So much, in fact, that it’s hard to really think about the last year as a whole unit. I haven’t done my end-of-year reflections on the whole thing yet. But I think another example of understanding the reach of our community was the Bix Beiderbecke fiasco of 2024.
I think, Ted, I ultimately owe a lot of this decision to you and working together on it. Despite how stressful that was, I felt sound about reinstating the broadcast after a lot of deliberation—it felt important for me. It was very early on in my time as Program Director and I was still stretching my muscles in terms of how much authority I had over programming. To say this is important to the station because it’s important to our listeners and because it’s also just important to the history of the station felt really good.
TK: Yeah, that’s good. For Publicity Director, I think I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been really good about physically making things. I’m not even just thinking about screen printing a bunch of shirts—which is a big accomplishment and I’m proud of myself and the ones who helped me in order to make that happen—but also, shout-out to [Director of Engineering & Operations] Ben Erdmann for purchasing a scanner over the summer.
My job is so focused on digital stuff because all of our social media is digital, managing the website is digital. Communications at this point is a digital career path, you have to be oriented in that way. I appreciate that I found a way to make it—I don’t think analog is the right word in this case, but I’m able to experiment with it in a way that feels creatively fulfilling. It also feels like something that I haven’t done
before, or that previous Publicity Directors haven’t necessarily done before. It’s just fun to me. So I like that I’m able to use collages and beat that scanner to death, honestly. *Georgia makes a beating hand motion over an imagined digital scanner* Part of that goes alongside making zines, shirts and stuff like that, where I’m physically making things as Publicity Director—which in the 70s & 80s, was what a real Publicity Director would do. They’d be making pamphlets and zines and flyers to be handing out to people instead of posting on social media.
TS: That’s a very, very KCR answer. We’re definitely kind of reaching the end of an era here at KCR with the graduating senior; so many of them are really important for our post-COVID recovery. But you, I would say, are two of the most important in that regard. Do you have any parting words of wisdom or reflections you want to leave behind?
TK: I think there’s not a lot of things that you as late teens, early 20s can legitimately throw your entire self into. KCR is one of the things you can do that with. It’s one of those things that, at least in my experience, is something worthwhile to let yourself get completely overtaken by. Obviously, there’s a balance, but take advantage of this while you’re still in undergrad or still attending school here and can do that, because once you graduate, there’s not a space for that anymore, because you need to give the station space. I think it’s good for people to throw themselves into it if they really want to. This is a place that thrives off people going above and beyond, because people really just care about music, the culture of KCR, and the community it establishes internally and externally. If you feel passionately about that, I think it’s worth it to throw yourself into it.
GD: On that same note, KCR is an incredible microcosm of types of experience that so few people get in college, because it’s like: one, an intergenerational community of people; two, you’re doing meaningful things, which is arguably what everyone in their life wants to be doing, and to have that opportunity in college
is enriching beyond comprehension. And to be able to work with your friends and your peers on, again, issues that are actually meaningful to other people sets the stakes very high. But the payoff is so meaningful.
I think it’s important for people to think of radio as an important medium despite its going out of date, because it trains you to to see value in something despite its ephemerality, which is something that we’re going to have to reconcile with for the rest of our lives as things continually get replaced by newer forms of information and presentation. I think it’s really valuable to ground ourselves in a sense of history while doing forward-looking decision making and planning.
TS: Beautifully spoken. I want to end by asking each of you to give a WKCR related compliment to each other.
GD: Oh, my God.
TK: Okay.
TS: This is inspired by the one guy in the 2016 presidential debate asking Trump and Hillary Clinton to compliment each other.
TK: You should include that when you write the transcript.
TS: Oh, I will, I will.
GD: Okay, Tanvi. You and I have known each other for many, many years pre-WKCR and all. You had and continue to have this encyclopedic understanding of music and artists and musical culture, you know relationships to artists and all of these things, but it is remarkable to see how much you’ve come to know about jazz, something that you already sort of had an interest in and an understanding of. But to take it in a way that is so particular to you. There are artists where now we all think of you, of you as the Pharaoh Sanders person and the Jeff Parker person. You have these artists that you know so much about and understand their position in the context of a history of jazz that you’ve really taken the time to understand, and watching the way you host shows evolve over time has been wonderful to see.
TK: That’s very sweet, Georgia. For you, I would say you would say this is something that I
remember so vividly. After you got the position as Publicity Director, there was a moment of you being like, shit, this is, like, a fuckton of work. I remember being like, damn, yeah, it is kind of intense.
TS: Do you want me to leave in the swears?
TK: It’s up to you because I don’t know how this On Air Guide business works.
TS: Publicity Director, by the way.
TK: Yeah, anyways. I remember this was at a point where I was just a programmer at KCR and I could tell that you were a bit overwhelmed. I was like I want to support you in doing this; you’re locked into this for the next year and it could be a lot of payoff or it could be horrible, but I wanted to support you in the way that you do it. For me, I think that is one of those things where I didn’t have to do anything. You flourished in that position kind of immediately. I know you and we have talked about the way our academics are going or the way our career trajectories are going. I’ve never seen you waver about KCR; you’ve always been committed to it. You’ve always expressed the correct attitudes and mindsets and decision making towards it. I think that was from the start with Publicity Director and it grew even more when you became Program Director. So for me, it’s just been really awesome to see you take on that trajectory in KCR. And I think it’ll apply to all the other stuff that you end up doing later on in life as well. I think it’s especially meaningful to me because I got to see it as a part of something that I’m also a part of.
And then I also get to do it in the capacity of working alongside you when we’re both on E-board together, which not many can say you can do this with your best friend and it turns out completely fine. You know, they say don’t do business with your friends or whatever, but I think you and I did a good job together. I think it’s been really special to see you take on this thing that felt like a big jump, but I think you fit into it naturally and you’ve excelled at it.
TS: Two great stewards of our wonderful station. Georgia Dillane, Tanvi Krishnamurthy. Thank you both for joining me today.
by McCartney Garb AMERICAN
TThe Rise of Folk-Rock
he Newport Folk Festival was established in 1959 during a burgeoning folk revival movement in the United States. At the 1965 Festival, Bob Dylan shattered folk purists’ hearts when he appeared on stage with a band, cementing his position among those defying the acoustic tradition. By the time this issue of On Air is published, the new Bob Dylan biopic, featuring Timothée Chalamet, will have already been released. Having not yet gotten the chance to see it, there won’t be any enlightening movie commentary in this article. But the film is based on a moment in American music history that I do tend towards: the moment folk was electrified, forever changing the mainstream music landscape.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Greenwich Village in New York City seemed to house the highest guitar-playing, folk-obsessed, collegiate-aged population in the country. With jug bands and vocal groups and solo harmonicists, you couldn’t walk very far at all before encountering a cafe with traditional tunes wafting from the front door. It’s in this environment that Bob Dylan became the voice of a generation. But it is also here where groups like the Mugwumps lost their footing.
Who are the Mugwumps? What does that name even mean? Well, no one really knows. What the name is about, I mean. But the group formed from two dissolving folk trios and a session musician who grew up in the Village amidst all of this musical activity. It consisted of members John Sebastian, Zalman Yanovksy, Cass Elliot, Denny Doherty, and Jim Hendricks. Four of those members would later go on to form two renowned folk-rock groups, The Mamas & the Papas and the Lovin’ Spoonful.
The Mugwumps’ music was too fresh for a scene still caught in the throes of traditional composition. They performed covers like most other folk purist groups, but instead of an acoustic, Zalman Yanovsky plugged in his Thunderbird Gibson; they found unhappy audiences in both folk and rock clubs alike. It wasn’t that the music was bad, it was just too early for audiences to latch onto any sort of electric version of folk. Now, all that is left of their sound is a nine-song album released after their dissolution, an album meant to capitalize off of the big-time names that emerged from the group.
However, there would soon be an expanding market for this kind of sound. Just like most music genres of the 1960s, I would be remiss not to mention the influence of the British Invasion. It was in Cass Elliot’s apartment that John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky watched the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show together. The younger audiences that had previously latched onto the serious air of the folk revival were turning their heads to the raw, new expressions coming from groups like the Kinks and the Animals. The Animals, with their 1964 hit “House of the Rising Sun," completely transformed the traditional American guitar tune into an eerie, dramatic, and loud composition, with haunting organ keys by Alan Price and Eric Burdon’s powerful vocal performance. Out of all the versions of “House of the Rising Sun,” this one has probably had the longest-lasting legacy. The song has dubious origins, but the earliest similarly-recorded versions date back to 1933, by an Appalachian duo. The Animals heard it in an English club, performed by Johnny Handle.
By September 1964, the song had made its way back to the United States at the top of the charts.
It was clear that the British were significantly impacting the American music market, to the extent of taking traditional folk tunes from Appalachia, repackaging them, and successfully sending them back to America. It was while walking down the streets of Greenwich Village that Yanovsky and Sebastian decided to form what would be the American response to the Beatles. Many bands have been given the title, “American Beatles” in that era: the Spoonful, the Beach Boys, the Byrds. Whoever it was, it was clear that there was some sort of response warranted to the explosive breakout of the Liverpudlian band. Deciding on a name from
Mississippi John Hurt’s song, “Coffee Blues”, The Lovin’ Spoonful recruited Joe Butler on drums and Steve Boone on bass, both with experience in dance hall bands, playing rock for venues on Long Island. Joe Butler was responsible for bringing rock to Greenwich Village with his band the Sellouts, aptly titled, although their music wasn’t particularly unique. Like most rock at the time, it seemed derivative of Merseybeat streaming over from the Atlantic. It was The Lovin’ Spoonful where real magic happened, at dark and dim rehearsals in the basement of the Albert Hotel in late 1964 and early 1965.
By March, Bob Dylan was already picking up the electric guitar with his new release Bringing
Illustration by McCartney Garb.
it All Back Home. Half acoustic, half electric, it is both a timid and somehow eruptive declaration. Like the youth of America that he had for two long years represented, he was turning away from the confines of the American folk revival, from the strict traditionalists. In June, the Byrds released their first album, titled after their cover of the Bob Dylan tune “Mr. Tambourine Man”. In July, The Lovin’ Spoonful released their first single, “Do You Believe in Magic.” Penned by John Sebastian after a performance at the Night Owl Cafe, the singer-songwriter as a concept was in full bloom. That same month, Bob Dylan would appear with an electric band backing him at the Newport Folk Festival.
The word ‘folk-rock’ was first used to describe the Byrds album release in 1965, but it was clear that this sound was brewing at least a year before Roger McGuinn entered a Columbia studio with the backing of the Wrecking Crew. In San Francisco, there were the Beau Brummels; in New York City, the Mugwumps. Who knows how many garage bands were left unrecorded, in between the two jolted coasts? Listening to collegiate vocal folk groups from their peers in one ear, the imported English rock sound in the other. Deciding to put an electric guitar to “Turn! Turn! Turn!” becomes natural, even warranted. The ingredients were always there, and as the exchange across the Atlantic got richer and more numerous, these folk-rock bands became inevitable. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t pushback, folk purists screaming ‘Judas’ as one freshly-minted folk-rocker took the stage in Manchester.
Nowadays we laugh at or ridicule the people who booed and jeered at Dylan in 1965. But this wasn’t just about the loudness of songs like “Subterranean Homesick Blues” or “Maggie’s Farm.” The folkies of the early 1960s revival were seeing something beloved get slowly tarnished in front of their eyes. And this isn’t dramatic either, although it may seem that way now. With the Beatles’ electric, pop-rock influence also came the band archetypes, the kitschy teen magazines, asking John Sebastian and Denny Doherty, “What’s your favorite type of girl?” It’s hard for the same serious,
respectful nature surrounding folk music to exist in that environment. The more folk-rock evolved, the more it pushed boundaries, losing the traditional compositions that once filled the debut albums from these groups. In the end, the singer-songwriter won out.
It’s hard to overstate the impact these folkrock groups had on music in the sixties. It wasn’t just an impact, it was the music. For two straight years, folk-rock was the dominant, cutting-edge sound. The Americans got their response. Where would Rubber Soul be if Bob Dylan never went electric at Newport? Or Zal Yanovsky had never plugged into an amp at the Night Owl Cafe? One of the most notorious music duos of all time, Simon & Garfunkel, may have forever disbanded if it wasn’t for the electric guitar and drums added to “Sound of Silence” in June of 1965.
In a few short weeks, I’ll be in the theatre, watching a modern retelling of this exact moment. I’m no Dylanologist or film critic, I don’t care about the biographic accuracy or acting. I’m just excited to see the film revolve around that “controversial choice” that placed Dylan at the head of a pivotal and dramatic moment in American music history.
McCartney is a regular host of Hobo's Lullaby, Saturdays 4-6pm. Tune in to hear them explore folk-rock regularly, and join them on their quest to track down Simon & Garfunkel vinyl LPs.
am
am
Sin Fronteras
Jazz Alternatives
Nueva Canción
Som do
Special Broadcasts
SPECIAL BROADCASTS
Max Roach
Friday, January 10th, all day
The great Max Roach turns 101 this year and marks the first special broadcast of 2025 at WKCR. Last year's centennial will be hard to beat, but we have a feeling it will be just as good. Tune in to hear 24 hours of some of the best jazz drumming you’ll ever hear!
Roy Eldridge
Thursday, January 30th, all day
Nicknamed “Little Jazz,” Eldrige represents all that is good in the genre. His playing marked a significant shift in trumpet playing and his influence on the likes of Dizzy Gillespie would pave the way for bebop’s emergence in the scene. Join us at the end of the month for a 24 hour celebration of “Little Jazz.”
THEMED SHOWS
SUNDAY PROFILES
Sundays 2:00-7:00 PM
Grant Green
January 5th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM
Host: Sid Gribetz
Labeled: Criss Cross Records
January 12th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM
Host: J Cohn & Steve Mandel
TBD
January 19th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM
Host: TBD
Benny Golson
January 26th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM
Host: WKCR Jazz Department (Collectively)
Keep an eye out for a forthcoming poster design celebrating all the Special Broadcasts held by WKCR in 2024! The poster features all-original illustrations by WKCR's publicity team— including McCartney Garb's original drawing of Max Roach, which is this month's issue's gorgeous cover—and is being assembled by Publicity Director Tanvi Krishnamurthy. Stay tuned for a chance to memorialize all that WKCR brought you in 2024!
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
by Rachel Smith JAZZ
The Kenny Barron Quintet at the Village Vanguard
In keeping with his holiday tradition, Kenny Barron appeared this month at the Village Vanguard––first with his quintet (December 17-22) and then with his trio (December 2429). But this year, something was new: Kenny’s latest studio album, Beyond This Place (Artwork Records, 2024). Kenny took the Vanguard with Immanuel Wilkins (saxophone), Steve Nelson (vibes), Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass) and Johnathan Blake (drums), and I had the pleasure of attending the late set on Thursday, December 18. Despite poking fun at his age on the bandstand— he has a great sense of humor— octogenarian Kenny Barron only improves with time. The atmosphere that dominated the Vanguard on Thursday night was one of deep wisdom, and Kenny seemed to be the source of this knowledge for the entire Quintet.
The first three tunes of the set might have served as a musical biography of Kenny himself. The set opened with Dizzy Gillespie’s “Be Bop”—Kenny toured with Dizzy’s band from 1962-66. The Quintet slowed down the tune, but it was certainly not lacking for energy: Kenny’s right hand flitted across the keys and upheld a lively spirit. The next tune was “Lemuria,”
the first track from Kenny’s Lemuria-Seascape (Candid, 1991), also slowed down a little from the recorded version. This tune was less familiar to the audience—and perhaps even to the musicians—but it quickly captured their hearts with its frolicking sound. The third tune was “Beyond This Place,” the title track from Kenny’s latest studio album—and one aptly named, as the listening experience is truly transportative. The tune showcases what I mean when I call Kenny a wise player: he knows how to take his time, and his mastery comes through even when the tunes seem “simpler” at first blush. These minimally ornamented compositions give the listener a chance to feel the depth of Kenny’s playing. In an interview I aired back in August 2024, I asked Kenny about being called a “lyrical player.” He replied that he loves melody, and tunes like “Beyond This Place” are where he really shines. Anyone who has not yet understood what jazz cats mean when they talk about the “spiritual” experience of jazz should listen to Kenny, because Beyond This Place is full of soul. Kenny has poured his human essence onto the keys and presented it for your listening pleasure. To put one’s soul into the music, one must
Kenny Barron, 2018. Photo by Tore Sætre via Wikimedia Commons.
also put their body into the music. And Steve Nelson was deeply physically engaged: he transferred all the energy from his body to the vibes. One young appreciator in the second row gave just as much energy, shaking his head to the beat with the enthusiasm of a rock fan. Steve and Immanuel were the two additions to the core of the music—Kenny’s working trio— and, in fact, they often played together. The complementarity of the sounds was surprising and fresh.
Immanuel Wilkins was the youngest player on the bandstand, but he fit perfectly within this group. This performance showed off his soft side, in volume and touch. In one particularly impressive moment, he let a tune fade to conclusion by blowing nearly pure air through his horn. Immanuel is not a flashy, young player grasping for attention. The saxophone comes easy to him, like a natural extension of his own trachea, and he plays with a comfort that resembles Kenny’s wisdom. He also does not hog the spotlight: both Immanuel and Steve stepped off the bandstand when they were not playing so that listeners could appreciate Kenny, Kiyoshi, and Johnathan.
Kiyoshi Kitagawa and Johnathan Blake have played with Kenny for twenty-seven and twenty years, respectively. Kenny’s working trio is a testament to the value of having a stable group. Individually, these musicians are masters of their art; together, they are the sound of genius. The depth of their communication is immediately clear to the ear but invisible to the eye (no head nods or hand-waving take you out of the music). The effect is something more spiritual than telepathy. When in unison, they sound so natural; when taking solos, each musician brings the piece somewhere unexpected.
Johnathan Blake is the locomotive of the group, keeping the momentum of the music and pushing it forward. In each of his solos, he surprises the listener with a new rhythm that nevertheless feels at home in the piece. He builds and relieves tension, never letting the energy lag or the audience lose focus. I was not too familiar with the work of Kiyoshi Kitagawa
before this performance—I had really been missing out. In many quintet (and larger) gigs, the sound of the bass gets lost on the bandstand; the fullness of the sound lets you feel the presence of the bass, but you struggle to actually hear its notes. But this was not true of Thursday night’s performance. I was watching Kiyoshi’s fingers as he plucked the bass (which I find a great way to really get into the music) and I could actually make out the notes. And this was the case for every tune. After the performance, I asked Kiyoshi how that was, and he showed me the amplification that was set up. However, I’m not convinced that was all of it; I believe it is also his instrument and technique. Listeners really got to enjoy that specific touch during the final tune: Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints.”
Kenny told DownBeat in 2022 (he is a regular in DownBeat—he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2022 and occupies the top spot in both the Critics and Readers polls this year) that he is “just the vessel” for the music. And that humility, that spirituality, could not be more audible than it was at the Vanguard on December 18.
Hear more from WKCR Jazz deparement head Rachel Smith during her weekely Out To Lunch show, every Thursday afternoon from 12-3 PM!
Georgia Dillane, Program Director: Rejecting AI playlist algorithms, embracing listening to albums in full.
McKenna Roberts, Chief Engineer: I listened to over 100,000 minutes of music this year, and a lot of that was just while walking around or letting something play in the background. Next year I’d like to spend more time with my thoughts and be more intentional about the music I listen to (and honestly all art I engage with).
Tanvi Krishnamurthy, Publicity Director: More analog listening! Georgia got me a radio that is also a CD player and this is the first time I've ever owned something that would allow me to listen analog. I hope I can accrue a good CD collection and that I make use of this format of listening more! The convenience of streaming is awesome, but physical music and listening via the radio produces an intentionality I really appreciate.
Ale Díaz-Pizarro, Librarian & On Air Editor, host of Saturday Night at the Opera: This year, I finally got really into The Magnetic Fields in preparation for my Sunday Profile on 69 Love Songs, and it reminded me of just how rewarding it can be to know the catalog of an artist you love backwards and forwards. Sort of echoing Artemis, I hope 2025 will be the year where I finally get really into Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, David Berman, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison—artists I know I love, but would like to love even more deeply.
AROUND THE
What
Melisa Nehrozoglu, incoming Classical Department Head: Echoing Georgia—stay up to date with new artists or discover music through record labels, publications, and so on… keeping myself curious and open!
Ella Presiado, outgoing host of Monday Morningside: Seconding Tanvi on more analog listening. Too often, I stream music on my phone or computer at the expense of my walkman and cassettes, which unfortunately sit on my shelf most days Also, I want to dance more!
Artemis Edison, programmer: Kind of in an inverse way to Melisa's, I find myself listening to loads of new artists and being blissfully unaware of the classics. This new year I'd like to begin exploring genres and their histories in full.
Casey Lamb, Business Manager, host of Afternoon Classical: Review a new release on my show every week!
is musicyourresolution?
Rachel Smith, Jazz Department Head: Listen to something out of my usual taste every week! Also, read and watch more books and movies about musicians and their work.
Ted Schmiedeler, Station Manager: Listen to more albums that may not be considered the pinnacle of a genre but are important foundations built by that genre’s pioneers.
Muna Ali, programmer: I want to explore more music from around the world! I recently got into Sahrawi desert blues and Iraqi shoegaze, and would love to learn more about global musical movements.
Stephen Dames, American Department Head: To program a show in a department that I’ve never programmed in before!
Natalie Najar, Latin Department Head: Listening to less music when I walk around or do errands, embracing the overstimulation of the world.
Sofía Trujillo, programmer: Going off of the what McKenna said, I find myself listening to a lot of earworm music when I’m walking around or doing unimportant earrands, and so next year I want to feel like I’m really choosing the music I’m listening to as compared to being caught in listening to music that has been almost chemically engineered to be addictive.
album in its entirety. Similar to how people sit and watch a movie, I enjoy listening to albums in the same way, with the same attention the music deserves.
Ben Erdmann, Director of Operations & Engineering: Listen to music for a week nonstop. And spend less time listening to playlists, more listening to full albums.
Natalie Lahr, programmer: Something I’ve been (trying) to do this year is to listen to at least 1-2 songs I’ve never heard before every day. I’d like to be more consistent with that! Also, I’d like to move away from Spotify & stream on Bandcamp and other platforms that better support artists.
THE STATION your new resolution?year's
Namya Dalwani Manghnani, programmer: Experience as much live music as I can.
Katie Stollmack, programmer: I really want to expand the geography of the music I listen to. I think my taste is pretty diverse, but mostly within the US. I’d love to find artists I love from every region I can.
Sawyer Huckabee, programmer: To continue to discuss the philosophy of music genres on my NARTS show with friends, which I hope will culminate in an essay where I investigate what would constitute the theoretically perfect pop song.
Francisco Javier Reyes, programmer: My musical resolution for the incoming year is to set aside more time to actively listen to an
Sam Seliger ('24), former Program Director: To start a Substack.
Stella Fusaro, programmer, host of Extended Technique: Listen to one album a week!
David Gonzalez ('24), former programmer: To try to experience more music of the moment. I like a lot of music that is very past its glory days, and I wanna try to embrace new modern musical movements and enjoy those instead of wishing I was alive some other time.
Damaris Lindsay, programmer: Sometimes you just need to lay down, listen to music and stare at the ceiling. I intend to do more of that.
Michael Onwutalu, programmer: I listened to nearly 200,000 minutes of music this year, which makes sense. Music, more than anything, was a barometer for affective fitness. I listened for isolation; I listened too much for numbness. December’s arrival witnessed me listening less overall—unintentional but indicative of a relationship with music that, over the last four years, finds me aphasic when I attempt to give it definition. I have no clue as to what I’d want to do differently.
2024 ROUNDUP
IWKCR’s Favorite Albums of 2024
compiled by Sam Seliger
n a tradition we have come to look forward to every single year, here are the top 50 albums released in 2024 that WKCR staff members loved and listened to over and over again. 2024 was an exceptional year in music, and if you didn't get a chance to fully be immersed in it, we hope this list can provide a rough guide to all the sounds that made the year what it was.
Nala
Jessica Pratt Here in the Pitch Mexican Summer
Mannequin Pussy · I Got Heaven · Epitaph PUNK ROCK 20.
Vince Staples · Dark Times · Blacksmith WEST COAST HIP HOP 21. Father John Misty · Mahashmashana · Sub Pop/Bella Union INDIE ROCK 22.
23.
Bladee · Cold Visions · Trash Island
Mabe Fratti · Sentir Que No Sabes · Unheard of Hope A R T P O P 24.
Vampire Weekend · Only God Was Above Us · Columbia INDIE ROCK 25.
Astrid Sonne · Great Doubt · Echo FRENCH INDIE 26.
Allegra Krieger · Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine · Double Double Whammy SINGER-SONGWRITER 27.
Beyoncé · Cowboy Carter · Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia B E Y O N C
Samara Joy · Portrait · Verve VOCAL JAZZ 30.
Phil Geraldi · AM/FM USA · Self-released AMBIENT/FOUND SOUND 31.
32.
Arushi Jain · Delight · Leaving
Mach-Hommy · #RICHAXXHAITIAN · Self-released HAITIAN HIP HOP 33. Magdalena Bay · Imaginal Disk · Mom + Pop SYNTH POP 34.
Schoolboy Q · BLUE LIPS · TDE/Interscope MAINSTREAM HIP HOP 35.
Julian Lage · Speak to Me · Blue Note POST-BOP 36. Kenny Barron · Beyond This Place · Artwork POST-BOP 37. Khruangbin · A La Sala · Dead Oceans/Night Time Stories GROOVE 38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
Xiu Xiu · 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips · Polyvinyl
Laetitia Sadier · Rooting for Love · Drag City
Antonio Fernández & Pedro de Dios · Cantes Malditos · Everlasting F
El Khat · Mute · Self-released
Lucki · GEMINI! · Empire
Mr. JazziQ & Vigro Deep · The Grass is Greener · Sound African Recordings A
Hurray for the Riff Raff · The Past is Still Alive · Nonesuch AMERICANA 45.
Cosmic Analog Ensemble · Les Grandes Vacances · Jakarta JAZZ FUSION 46.
47.
Ryuichi Sakamoto · Opus · KAB
Mdou Moctar · Funeral for Justice · Matador TUAREG ROCK 48.
Roy Hargrove · Grande-Terre · Verve POST-BOP 49.
50.
Joanne Robertson & Dean Blunt · Backstage Raver · WORLD MUSIC S L O W C O
With contributions from Ben Erdmann, Natalie Najar, Teddy Wyche, Michael Onwutalu, Emma Lacy, McKenna Roberts, Sam Seliger, Dylan Farley, Melisa Nehrozoglu, Eleanor Moseley, Stephen Dames, Rachel Smith, Ella Presiado, Stella Densley, Tanvi Krishnamurthy, Ben Rothman, Hannah Puelle, Ted Schmiedeler, Georgia Dillane, Brendan Sarpong, Eamon Costello, Eva Elizabeth Arroyo, Stella Fusaro, Fiona Gaugush, Hadassah Weinmartin, Ale Díaz-Pizarro, Alex Arredondo, Macy Hanzlik-Barend, Ian Pumphrey, Anika Strite, Perry Wakatsuki, Zachary Vanderslice, Satch Peterson, Helena Theis, Francisco Javier Reyes, Kyle Murray, Isabelle Fishbein, Courtney Eileen Fulcher, Casey Lamb, Ann Vettikkal, Eddy Zhang, & Vivien Sweet.
Our top 50 list collects our favorite LP releases; however, 2024 also brought many stellar EPs that do not deserve to go unrecognized (especially one recorded in house right at WKCR's studios!). In no particular order, here are WKCR's favorite EPs of the year.
Sheherezaad Qasr Erased Tapes
Nourished by Time Catching Chickens EP XL
Tommy Lefroy born blue LAB
Little Simz Drop 7 Forever Living Originals/AWAL
With contributions from Sam Seliger, Fiona Gaugush, Ale Díaz-Pizarro, Ted Schmiedeler, Tanvi Krishnamurthy, Courtney Eileen Fulcher, Rachel Smith, Satchel Peterson, Anika Strite, McKenna Roberts, & Vivien Sweet.
Anthony Fuscaldo Group LIVE @ WKCR Self-released
Solution to WKCRossword from the November 2024 issue: "Take Flight" by Ted Schmiedeler
Fcukers Baggy$$ Technicolour
Ugly
Twice Around the Sun Self-released
Maruja Connla's Well Self-released
Bones and Jones In Yellow Community Music
Djrum Meaning's Edge Houndstooth
WKCRossword: "2024 in Review"
by Ale Díaz-Pizarro
edited by Ted Schmiedeler & Sam Seliger
Thank You!
WKCR's winter fundraiser, held December 5th-8th, continued WKCR's post-pandemic fundraising efforts and helped us close out the year on solid footing. Thank you to everyone who donated (whether via phone, check, or online) for helping us finish 2024 strong, and for supporting us for many years to come!
The following names are of listeners who pledged $100 or more over the phone and consented to having their name printed in this guide. We thank all contributors, of any amount and through any medium.
Eugenia Ames
Matthew Andersen
Michael Behar
Robert Bell
Katharine Berton
Benton Brown
Chris Brunson
Angelo Carlino
Chris Chanin
David Chorlian
Jan Clausen
Jon Cohen
James Coriy II
Bob Curtis
Holly Dando
Sandra Davies
James DePierro J.
Herb Decordova
Sanjay Dev
Adam Dohrenwend
Peter Donohoe
Dugger-Ades Family
Tom Dreker
Lisa Dresner
Burton Dryden
Bryant Dupre
Siobhan Dussy
Jacob Edelstein
Lynn Ella
Ellen Eylers
Thomas Farrelly
Renato Fraga
Nancy Freshley
George Garneau
Steven Glassman
Bernard Guerra
Sunny Hagendorf
Diane Jacobowitz
Pamela Jacobs
Robert James
Tony Jarvis
Rob Jost
Linda & Alan Kahn Foundation
Brian Kennedy
Paul Kenny
Colin Kinniburgh
Elizebeth & Adrian Kitzinger
Charles Komanoff
Lalitha Krishnamurthy
Spencer Lamb
John Leitch
Devin Leonard
Yvonne Lewis
Amy London
Jeanine Longo
Gerald Love
David Malcom
Michael Mandel
Anthony Marulli
Ken Mason
Hunter McQuistion
Wayne Miller
Michael Minnich
Michael Mongno
Tyrell Morris
Doris Nielsen
Timothy O’Reilly
Elisabeth Palladino
Vera Pavone
James Peligrino
John Phillips
Joe Piscopia
Eileen Preiss
Dale Prescott
Thomas Preston
Joseph Quirk
John Rank
Scott Rossi
Ian Russell
Matthew Saadat
Stephen Scholle
Blair Scribner
James Sekreta
Karl Stanton
Dan Sullivan
Lawrence Sykes
Levi Toledo
Ellen Tresselt
Donald Turton
Alan Vieiro
Dagmar Walter
Judith Weiss
Eileen Weitzman
John Whorten
George Wilson
Todd “Mix Greens” Zielinski
Mark Zollmer
SUPPORT WKCR
TOP 5 REASONS TO DONATE TO WKCR
1. You’d be helping a student-run, listener-funded, and volunteer-based radio station continue to bring you the absolute best in what radio has to offer. Music, arts, news, and sports— we’ve got the works!
2. You wouldn’t be a free-rider anymore.
3. WKCR donations are tax-deductible (so make sure you donate before tax season). For more info on that, or anything else business-related, email business@wkcr.org
4. Being “the Original FM,” our equipment is getting a bit old. Thanks to your 2023 donations, we were able to retire Buzz, the hamster that ran the wheel powering us. But our new hamster, Roach, needs to start saving for retirement... can you blame him?
5. Isn’t OnAir cool? Without proper funding, projects like this can’t come to fruition and, if they do, don’t make it very long. Donate to allow the little OnAir minions to stay in the job (we are all OnAir minions).
HOW TO DONATE TO WKCR IN 4 STEPS
BY MAIL
Step 1: Locate your nearest checkbook
Step 2: Indicate “WKCR” as payee and fill out as usual
Step 3: Mail check to CU Gift Systems, 622 West 113th Street, MC 4524, New York, NY 10025
Step 4: ...and VOILÀ! Just like that, you have become a WKCR supporter!
ONLINE
Step 1: head to www.wkcr.org
Step 2: Click the yellow “DONATE TO WKCR” banner at the top of the page
Step 3: Fill out the form in the giving portal and enter your information...
Step 4: ...and VOILÀ! Just like that, you have become a WKCR supporter! Did you know you can make recurring donations to WKCR when you donate online?
Just indicate your frequency preferences on the giving portal when prompted! WKCR also accepts checks to our direct address. Just follow the same steps listed above but mail the check to: 2920 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
On Air 's editorial board is Ale Díaz-Pizarro.
The editorial team for this issue was Artemis Edison, Ben Erdmann, Eamon Costello, Ella Werstler, Jem Hanan, McCartney Garb, Rachel Smith, Sam Seliger, Tanvi Krishnamurthy, & Ted Schmiedeler.
Special thanks to Alex Arredondo, Anika Strite, Ann Vettikkal, Ben Rothman, Brendan Sarpong, Casey Lamb, Courtney Eileen Fulcher, Damaris Lindsay, Dylan Farley, Eddy Zhang, Eleanor Moseley, Ella Presiado, Emma Lacy, Eva Elizabeth Arroyo, Fiona Gaugush, Francisco Javier Reyes, Georgia Dillane, Hadassah Weinmartin, Hannah Puelle, Helena Theis, Ian Pumphrey, Isabelle Fishbein, Katie Stollmack, Kyle Murray, Macy Hanzlik-Barend, McKenna Roberts, Melisa Nehrozoglu, Michael Onwutalu, Miranda Gershoni, Muna Ali, Namya Dalwani Manghnani, Natalie Lahr, Natalie Najar, Perry Wakatsuki, Satch Peterson, Sawyer Huckabee, Sofía Trujillo, Stella Densley, Stella Fusaro, Stephen Dames, Teddy Wyche, Vivien Sweet, & Zachary Vanderslice.
