THIS IS SCIENCE: November 2009

11.30.2009

Riding Horses: 11/30 Playlist

11.29.2009

Turkey Break with The Globes, Telekinesis!, and The Lonely Forest

Guess where I went this past Friday...

[The Lonely Forest, both pictures above from their myspace page. That knit one is amazing.]

[Telekinesis!, picture from their myspace page]

[The Globes, picture from their myspace page]

Oh, and it was spectacular and wonderful and mind-blowing and just a ton of F-U-N. :)

I saw The Globes and The Lonely Forest in concert last spring during TLF's CD release concert at The Vera Project, and they were even better than I remembered them. I must say: The Lonely Forest are kick-ass on stage-- not only do they play well, but they perform well. Definitely a charismatic bunch, and seeing them interact with one another on stage not just as musicians, but as friends... that's definitely the extra bit that makes their performances quite memorable.

This was my first time seeing Telekinesis! in concert, and they were good-- Chris Walla was up on stage doing guitar for them. The drummer/lead-singer is incredible-- as my friend Alea pointed out to me, he must have some beastly strength to be able to sing and play some rocking drum set. Oh, I love PNW music! There's so much camaraderie in it, and it's great to know that these people who make amazing music are just genuine people at the end of the day.

And oh wow. It was my first time at the Showbox at the Market, and I must say, it is one gorgeous venue. The crowd was great, although having high schoolers hit on you is a little awkward. All good fun though, although I will be looking forward to going to concerts after I turn twenty-one: sitting at the bar with a hard apple cider would have rounded out my night of enjoying the local music. :)

Oh, and someone answer me this: I noticed that unless you were with the crazy moshing crowd right at the front of the stage, hardly anyone was moving to the music-- no head-bobbing, no nothing, really, which is such a shame! Did I miss the memo or something?

But the most amazing thing about this was that as I was waiting in line to buy tickets, a woman comes up to me and gives me her ticket, saying she doesn't need it anymore. She was gone before I even found the words to say thank-you. So wherever you are, Lady Who Gave Me The Free Ticket To The Show, THANK-YOU. What a wonderful way to start the holiday season.

Lastly, WE'RE BACK ON AIR TOMORROW! TUNE IN TO 90.1 FM from 10-11 AM-- I've got a good bunch of songs lined up for you guys; I missed you! :)

11.23.2009

Long Distances: 11/23 Playlist

Control | Kid Sister
Long Distant Love | Scissors For Lefty
Norway | Beach House
Meet You | Kind of Girl
On Fire | The William Blakes
El Scorcho | Weezer
Some Are Lakes | Land of Talk
I Am Leaving | Laura Groves
Raincoat Song | The Decemberists
The Power of Not Knowing | The Kings of Convenience
Magique | We Are Wolves
Between the Bars | Elliott Smith
Wish I Could Forget | The Weepies
Which Way to Go | Variety Lab
Coast of Carolina | Telekinesis!
Blessa | Toro Y Moi

Last show before KUPS goes off-air on Tuesday for the break! I'll see you guys on air again in a week, but I'll undoubtedly be posting up good music stuffs I find online in that time span. I'm hoping to be going to a Telekinesis!/ The Lonely Forest concert this coming Friday, so hopefully there'll be that to talk about, too. :)

11.22.2009

oooohhh

New music video from N.A.S.A. They never disappoint.

11.19.2009

Meet Kid Sister, your healthy dose of hip hop courtesy of THIS IS SCIENCE. Hailing from Chicago, she's been shaking it up all through the world lately. She doesn't play around. she's got the beats, the voice, and the artistic style to go with it-- the way she shakes up her songs with an electronica touch just make you want to daaaaaance. It's really good stuff. Here's "Right Hand Hi," which I played on my show not too long ago. If you're by yourself, DANCE.

Here's the >>video<<, too (can't post it on here, boo). I'm reminded vaguely of Lady Gaga... but Kid Sister does her own thing, for sure. Below is the song "Control," which is also friggin' awesome.

Dance to it. Enjoy it. Stay warm, guys. :)

edit on 9/21
Holy crap, I just downloaded her first album, "Ultraviolet." It came out on the 17th of this month AND IT IS BOMB. "Switchboard" and "54321" are great. It definitely helped me pound out my ten-page biochem paper today. HOLLA!

11.18.2009

What, me? Worry?: 11/18 Playlist

Thin Line | Jurassic 5, featuring Nelly Furtado
Soda Pop Confusion | Variety Lab, featuring Kidsaredead
Baby | Devendra Banhart
Colors | Kira Willey
2:45 AM | Elliott Smith
Two Doors Down | Mystery Jets
Person Person | Mirah
Flightless Bird, American Mouth | Iron and Wine
My Ship Isn't Pretty | Kings of Convenience
Nina Sing | Common Market& Funklove
Peacetime Resistance | Kings of Convenience (had a little disc mishap here-- oops!)
Processed Beats | Kasabian
Don't Say You Don't | Maritime
Fixed it! | Thao
The World at Large | Modest Mouse
What Me Worry | St. Vincent

Sometimes I think of my life as a sort of television show, and I think of songs that would go perfectly with the "scenes" of my life as a TV show. "Santeria" would have played over the ending scene of the episode "Freshman Year"; Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" was the sound of me pulling an all-nighter sophomore year; and Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean" is for whenever I'm feeling like a BAMF.

Which is, you know, all the time. :)

11.17.2009

Artist of the Week: Variety Lab

Is it weird that I have a crush on someone who's stage name is Kidsaredead? Thought so.

Anyhow, Variety Lab is the artist of the week on THIS IS SCIENCE. I hadn't heard of them until I listened to their newest album, "Team Up With Variety Lab," which has some pretty neat collaborations on it-- my favorite is the one with Yael Naim (of New Soul fame) on the song "Love Is a Bird." Variety Lab is an electro-pop band from the lovely land of France, and they have some serious groove going on throughout this album, particularly in "Soda Pop Confusion," which is definitely my favorite song off the entire album. All-in-all, the groove has a definite seventies kind of vibe to it-- I was listening to it as I was studying in the library, and I thought of people with poofy hair and side pony-tails in brightly colored windbreakers and leggings dancing. And it was RAD.

btw, Kidsaredead is the singer on Soda Pop Confusion. Watch his legs in this video-- very Gumby-esque.

Listen for:
"Soda Pop Confusion"-- more tambourine! more brass! more... vibraphone? i can dig it. Kidsaredead also has a surprisingly sultry voice that makes all the girls want to chase him. Or maybe just me.

"Not Enough"-- I thought of Hellogoodbye from my good ol' highschool days when I listened to this. Listening to this, I was like, "yep. definitely an electronic band." MORE SYNTH!

"Which Way to Go"-- the piano on here is rocking.

All-in-all: This is some quality import right here. If anyone has any recommendations for older Variety Lab songs, give me a holler.

11.16.2009

sick sick sick: 11/16 playlist

Sorry this is up so late guys. If I'm not doing music, I'm doing... SCIENCE. Namely, cancer biology. It's really crazy: although cancer is by no means a conscious entity, the way it invades your body and evades all it's protection mechanisms is pretty ridiculous. Cancer is a BAMF at the molecular level, that's for sure.

11.14.2009

slow down moses

I was sitting at work the other day, calling up alumni and whatnot, and I hear this song with a kick-ass beat come up on the stereo. I write down the artist and song name and download the album the next day: "Nina Sing" off Tobacco Road from Common Market.

I google Common Market and lo and behold, was I in for a treat-- the MC for Common Market (Sabzi) is the same one for The Blue Scholars, another group I've admired for some time already. Man, am I slow on the uptake! I love PNW hip hop.

Also, the rapper for Common Market, RA Scion, has a sick beard.

"Trouble Is," off their newest record, Tobacco Road.

"Nina Sing," the song that started it all. Performed live (with a full chorus!) at another awesome radio station, UW Seattle's KEXP.

11.13.2009

IM GONNA LET YOU TALK BUT

KUPS WON THE MTVU WOODIE AWARD!!!! YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

thanks all who voted-- couldn't have done it without you. :)

11.11.2009

story time!

i played ida maria's "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" today, which is just pure, wonderful, unadulterated fun. and i was singing and dancing along to it, and i mean REALLY going for it: i was hitting those high notes! i was jumping around the studio! whooooo! i was totally digging it.

apparently, i was digging it so much that i didn't realize the wonderful man who comes in a keeps the station neat and tidy was in the room with me, wearing a slightly shocked look on his face. but i think he was mostly amused.

i was mostly mortified.

THE END!

EPIC WISH DAY PLAYLIST 11/11

11.10.2009

if you see me walking around with my headphones on, chances are i am listening to one of these songs: select songs off my top 25 most played on itunes

Amazing Baby-- The Narwhal
I feel like I'm sailing with Captain Ahab whenever I listen to this song.

Saving Days in a Frozen Head-- Kaki King
I know a lot of people don't like Kaki King's vocals, but whatever. Girlfriend can sing as well as play some kickass guitar.

Blue Flower, Blue Flame-- Destroyer
I love the lick in the chorus. Plus I love his voice.

Utsukushii Shibuya-- Ozma
I'm sentimental.

Gifted-- N.A.S.A.
I like to dance.

Blue Ridge Mountains-- The Fleet Foxes
This is the most beautiful song I have ever heard that isn't classical music. It's right up there with Grieg's Lyric Pieces for me. No joke.

A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque-- The Foxes do Blue Ridge in an abandoned wing of a historical building in France. I watched it five times in a row after I first saw it.

Artist of the Week: Thao and the Get Down Stay Down

I'm seriously digging the new album "Know Better Learn Faster." Thao's distinct and highly nuanced vocals, in addition to awesome beats from the Get Down Stay Down, are a little more refined and a little more mature in this album. I think I can definitely say I like it more than "We Brave Bee Stings and All." But that playful persona Thao is known for is definitely still there.

[from here]

I've read elsewhere that this is supposed to be a break-up album of sorts, and I agree: it makes for good sitting-by-the-window-and-watching-it-rain-and-thinking-about-how-it-was-good-when-it-was-going-but-ended-up-going-to-the-shitter-but-oh-well-it's-all-good-in-da-hood kind of music. And what with the PNW being in a fall-raining-into-winter kind of mood, goodness knows we need a soundtrack for that.

And it is all good in da hood with Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. HOLLER!

-KP

Listen for:
Body (zesty, but zesty like you got a little bit of lemon juice in a cut on your finger)
When We Swam (catchy)
But What of the Strangers ("But, oh, what of this desert between?/
Oh, oh, what then of the strangers?/Oh, oh, what then of us?" yeah. you know what this is. go ahead, watch that rain.)

11.07.2009

there is no thunder

NO SHOW MONDAY
I gots to register for classes. Be back Wednesday!

11.05.2009

Check it: Kick-Ass Collaborations

Monsters of Folk with Monsters of Folk
Members from My Morning Jacket and Bright Eyes, and M. Ward kick it up with songs that range from solidly folksy (Temazcal) to decidedly electronic (Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.) with a modern, jazzy edge.

Check it: Whole Lotta Losin', Temazcal, Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)

N.A.S.A with The Spirit of Apollo
Jesus christ, I don't even know where to begin. Short for "North American South America," Kanye West, Karen O, David Byrne, Seu Jorge, and Amanda Blank are just a few of the amazing artists we see on this bomb-ass album.

Check it: Whatchadoin?, Gifted

Sufjan Stevens and the Manhattan Orchestra with The BQE
EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC, much like Cinematic Orchestra epic. Sufjan shows off his classical training and musical prowess with these collaborated arrangements with the Manhattan Orchestra. Apparently, there's a movie that goes along with the CD, too... neat-o!

Check it: Movement VII (Finale): The Emperor of Centrifuge, Interlude I: Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation

Discovery with Discovery EP
The guys from Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot whipped up this 9 track beauty. Expect to dance and sing. A favorite for when I want to wake up in the booth with a little cardio.

Check it: Osaka Loop Line, Carby (feat. Ezra Koenig)

last two shows, 11/2 + 11/4

Artist of the Week: The Kings of Convenience

[from here]

I think it's really cool this Norwegian duo are from the same city as Edvard Grieg (think classical music). In many respects, they share the same respect for simple, beautiful melodies.

Well, with Grieg on the piano, and these two on acoustic guitar. But you know.

Alternating between open, haunting chord-driven acoustic ballads (My Ship Isn't Pretty, Declaration of Independence) and masterful, rhythmically interesting pop-y pieces (Cayman Islands, Riot on an Empty Street), these two are definitely not a passing fad through my music library. The occasional piano (Me In You, Declaration of Independence) and appearance from Feist (The Build-up, Riot on an Empty Street) make for a big, red cherry on top.

Boat Behind, off their newest album "Declaration of Independence." Watch for Karen O!

A La Blogotheque Soiree de Poche vid of KoC taken just last month. They're so charming. I have a mondo crush on the both of them now.

WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Hi all,
Krystle from THIS IS SCIENCE here. I decided to put up this page to finally of get the conceptual portion of my show up and going.

But first off, an introduction! THIS IS SCIENCE is my radio show, first started in Fall 2009, on KUPS 90.1 FM and airing on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10-11 AM. During my show in the world's smallest radio booth, I play a lot of music generally under the alternative label, have one-person dance parties, and sing off-key along to the music.

I've referenced it on the air a few times (in the form of anguish over biochem tests and labs), but I am a super-nerdy science major, namely in molecular and cellular biology. I love every moment of it, and I figured that you know, since I'm sharing another one of my loves with you guys-- music-- why not go the whole way and do science, too?

How this will tie in with the music I am not quite sure of yet, but I think it's a start that two things I love (and hope you will love!) are combined into one. My plan so far though is to share tidbits of really interesting science with listeners in ways that you don't expect.

e.g. Why is it in Legally Blonde that Elle pins that chick in court because she took a shower after getting a perm? Why no showers post-perm? HMMMMMMMMMMM. THIS IS AN ANSWER FOR SCIENCE!

Meanwhile, expect show playlists + science and music-related links up on here. SO KEEP TUNED AND STAY AWESOME.

11.30.2009

Riding Horses: 11/30 Playlist

11.29.2009

Turkey Break with The Globes, Telekinesis!, and The Lonely Forest

11.23.2009

Long Distances: 11/23 Playlist

11.22.2009

oooohhh

11.19.2009

11.18.2009

What, me? Worry?: 11/18 Playlist

11.17.2009

Artist of the Week: Variety Lab

11.16.2009

sick sick sick: 11/16 playlist

11.14.2009

slow down moses

11.13.2009

IM GONNA LET YOU TALK BUT

11.11.2009

story time!

EPIC WISH DAY PLAYLIST 11/11

11.10.2009

if you see me walking around with my headphones on, chances are i am listening to one of these songs: select songs off my top 25 most played on itunes

Artist of the Week: Thao and the Get Down Stay Down

11.07.2009

there is no thunder

11.05.2009

Check it: Kick-Ass Collaborations

last two shows, 11/2 + 11/4

Artist of the Week: The Kings of Convenience

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