September Staff Picks

Happy College Radio Day! September flew by so quickly, we have no idea where it went. Among the exorbitant amounts of homework, papers, tests, and hours at work, the station managed to throw a successful third birthday party to celebrate the start of a new year. To celebrate College Radio Day and the beginning of a new month, we took an in-house survey to see what our DJs have been putting on repeat to get them through September, and these are what some of our DJs said they couldn’t get enough of. What about you? Leave us a comment down below with your favorites for the past month.

Touché Amoré — Is Survived By
“Fans of my show will know I love this band, but by any standard their latest album is amazing.  Is Survived By continues Touché Amoré’s unique brand of post-hardcore with just a touch of 90’s emo.  The lyrics are more heartfelt that most bands of their ilk, the guitar work is superb, and the drums are some of the best of any record this year.  This definitely reads as their most mature and best record to date.  It’s not to be missed if you’re a fan of Touché Amoré, punk, or rock in general” — Justin Lyles, host of Noise Complaint

“At once somber and hopeful, Touché Amoré’s new album brings the same amount of honesty with even more exciting and inspiring instrumentals. If you’re listening to one post-hardcore release this year, it’d better be this.” — Luke Runte, co-host of Oh Messy Life

Pearl Jam — “Sirens”
“It’s my favorite band, and the new album will come up next so I am super excited!” — Diego Suarez del Real, co-host of Old Time Radio Show

Artist: Lady Gaga
“Lady Gaga is a good representative of freedom of expression. I truly appreciate her support to everyone looking to start their own paths and express themselves in whatever form. It is inspiring to see someone become an icon in such a short amount of time.” — Isaiah Ross, host of The Boogie

Lana Del Rey — “Black Beauty”
Lana Del Rey — Born to Die
Venue: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Radio Show: Cinema Forte
“A very unique show with great hosts, and there’s something different every week.” — Natasha Naik, host of Exotic

St. Lucia —  “Elevate”
“I just love how this song always makes me wanna dance no matter where I am. The tune is very infectious, and this would be an ideal song to play at a party. “Elevate” will be on their new album When The Night, which is going to be released on Oct. 8! I’m even more excited that St. Lucia as well as Two Door Cinema Club will be coming to Houston on Nov. 5 at the Bayou Music Center!!” — Ody Ezeigwe, host of The Random Odyssey

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Bauuer, Just Blaze ft. Jay Z — “Higher”
“Like Skrillex and ASAP Rocky’s hit, “Wild for the Night,” rap in combination with trap, electronic, or dubstep music is the perfect combination. Bauuer, better known as the culprit behind “Harlem Shake” makes a great song featuring the vocals of rap god Jay-Z. The music video is probably the coolest music video ever featuring Kerala’s martial art Kalaripayattu shot in scenic south India.” — Catalina Campos, host of Glitter Frenzy

Artist: Machinedrum
“My pick for this month has to be Machinedrum. He recently released the Vapor City LP on Ninja Tune Records. The album has had a solid turnout with critics and is making heavy rotations in DJ sets globally. My personal favorite tunes on the album is “Center Your Love” and “Eyesdontlie.” The entire album is amazing and shows how genres can be twisted and altered to create something completely fresh and unique. Machinedrum also has released recently a joint EP with Jimmy Edgar, titled METAPHYSIX, I: Mentalism” under their alter egos of Aden (Machinedrum) and Creepy Autograph (Jimmy Edgar). The entire EP is fantastic, but the standout track on this release is the song titled “Whip,” made by Aden that takes a somewhat minimal approach to dance music but most definitely keeps it sexy and true to what dance music is all about. Definitely check out those releases and listen to everything that the man has put out because so far, the man has been brilliant.” — DJ Arc, host of The FewTure

Curren$y and Young Roddy – Bales
“It’s always a pleasure to hear new music from the Jet Life crew. Luckily for the fans, Curren$y and his team are always hard at work putting out new material, often times for free. Just a few weeks after releasing the Jet Life compilation mixtape Red Eye, Curren$y has teamed up with his JL partner Young Roddy to bring us one of their best projects yet. Bales became one of my instant favorites thanks to the combination of familiar laid-back beats and the introduction of fresh, catchy hooks and brilliant verses. The duo collaborated once again with producers Harry Fraud, AJ Beats, and Sledgren,  whose signature sounds can be found on some of the mixtape’s standout tracks. Overall, Bales proves to be a valiant effort by the established Curren$y and up-and-coming Young Roddy, keeping the party going from start to finish. You can pick up Bales for free on Datpiff.com” — Dayra Gonzales, host of Sessions

The Brian Jonestown Massacre — “Vacuum Boots”
The Devil Makes Three — Do Wrong Right
Concert: RUSH’s Clockwork Angels Tour
Music Venue: Fitzgerald’s
Radio Show: NPR
“So pretty much, Fitzgerald’s houses the majority of the smaller bands that I tend to enjoy. Favorite tracks and albums tend to fall within the realm of folk rock & psychedelic rock, which tend to have a smaller fan base. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a more recently discovered band for me and thus has been taking over my playlists and listenin’ time during this month of September. And what about RUSH? Well, what’s there to say?… IT’S FREAKIN RUSH! No two ways about it. I likes my guitars; I likes my drums; and I likes some bassy goodness; and RUSH does a great job at integrating their own unique let’s say “flavors” into an awesome bowl of rock “dining delicacy”… I also like my food. As for NPR, it keeps me up to date with whatever’s going on in the world. I tend to listen to it in the car on my trips to-and-from school. Not much more to say.” — Israel Rodriguez, co-host of Old Time Radio Show

Arcade Fire — Reflektor
“The full album is not due until the end of October, but if this title song is an indication of things to come, then we are in for one hell of an album. Reflektor is bound to be one of the best albums of the year and when you manage to wrangle David Bowie in for a track, I’m sold.” — Nicholas Page, host of Dead Air

Drake feat. Majid Jordan — “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
The Maine — Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
“Call me a fair weather Drake fan, but I love everything about this track: the beat, the lyricism, and the feelings it provokes. Not only have I been blasting this song in my car, but I’ve revisited The Maine’s sophomore album, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, this month and have been blasting that, too. To put it simply, I just can’t stop. Blame it on the nostalgia, relative relatability, or what have you, but it seems like I won’t stop for a while. Cheesy, I know.” — Samantha Wong, host of The Traveling Show

Bruno Mars — “Gorilla”
“His voice is able to take me back in time; he’s timeless.” — Hugo Basurto, host of Double Take

The Temper Trap — “Science of Fear”
Kings of Leon — Mechanical Bull
Music Venue: House of Blues
Concert: Imagine Dragons
Radio Show: Cinema Forte
“I’ve been going back to a couple of songs I’ve loved back in the day, and “Science of Fear” has been on repeat for a couple of weeks now. I recently went to the Imagine Dragons concert, and it was down right amazing. Seeing as mainstream as they are becoming, they still stick to the love of the music, and you can just hear that they love what they do. The new KOL album recently came out, and it is a pretty good album, but still not my favorite of theirs. I still recommend it though. House of Blues is cool…just go to a concert there. And listen to Cinema Forte on Coog Radio. We rock out.” — Sasha Rodriguez, co-host of Cinema Forte

Bastille — Bad Blood
“The band from London, England is led by lead vocalist Dan Smith and was started off through an independent record in 2010. Their latest album Bad Blood was released in March 2013 and was hit in UK’s Album Record Chart. The instruments, beats, and vocals infused create the euphoria of emotions and in a cheesy way a feel for freedom. With an upbeat chant, the album starts off with “Pompeii” and should definitely be everyone’s car anthem. As for my favorite track, “Flaws” is a beautiful track with such wonderful lyrics in which evokes the idea that Smith should just serenade every girl in the world. If you have a chance, the acoustic version of this track is just as sweet. Overall, the album is amazing and within a year became of my favorite bands.” — Michelle Nguyen, host of Lend Me Your Heart

Nylo — “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
“I cannot get enough of the Nylo’s single “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” It’s a smooth, romantic track that’s perfect for a lazy weekend.” — Meagan Rochard, host of Female Privilege

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Drake — Nothing was the Same
It’s quite obvious that my prime choice of music listening for the month of September has been Drake’s latest album effort Nothing Was The Same. As a huge fan of hip-hop and as an avid follower of Aubrey “Drake” Graham’s acting and music career, I feel like this project served as another honorable accolade among many in his illustrious works. I recently sat down to watch Elliot Wilson’s interview with Drake and through that one-on-one session, Nothing was the Same made a lot more sense than it did originally. All of his works did. From the production to his choice of channeling his personal issues into his artistry, Drake has set himself aside from the box that many of his critics struggle to trap him inside. He’s in a genre all by himself, and this project — filled with Wu-Tang Clan references and swift, elegant R&B-Rap flavor — provides clear evidence of why it is so.” — Bryan Dupont-Gray, host of Rising Sun Radio

Lil Ugly Mane — “On Doing an Evil Deed Blues”
Though this was released right at the end of August, I’ve been jamming this all through September, especially since it marks the end of Lil Ugly Mane’s career. A couple more features and one last album and Shawn Kemp will be out of the rap game. Not without good reason though, as you’ll hear in this single “On Doing An Evil Deed Blues.” — Rahul Rao, host of The Mobius Strip