Artist Spotlight: The Weeknd

 

OH. MY. GOSH!!! Never have I been this excited to do an artist spotlight. This has been long overdue (but better late than never). If you have turned on the radio in recent weeks, I'm sure the name The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, comes to no surprise. However, for some of you who refuse to become victim to the mainstream and the artists that come out of it, let me reassure you that his sound, though on mainstream media, resembles no other. For most of us sex, drugs, and rock & roll sounds all too familiar. But The Weeknd puts his own spin to the term by substituting rock & roll with R&B. Rhythm and Blues is often sad and/or love songs that often get tiresome. Abel's talk of depression, drug use, his inability to be loved, and being homeless, separates him from your average R&B singer. Dark and often gloomy beats accompanied with these lyrics that few R&B artist touch on, is what gives Abel is platform. One can only say compliments so much. The proof is in the pudding, Tune into WNJR 91.7FM for a listen to his new album The Beauty Behind the Madness.

Gaming Den

Hey, Hey, Hey, Everybody
Welcome to the Gaming Den

Seeing how Halloween is coming by this weekend I thought I would talk about a horror game titled, Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Below is a summary from Steam, because I would not be able to give this game justice.

The last remaining memories fade away into darkness. Your mind is a mess and only a feeling of being hunted remains. You must escape.
Awake...
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, a first person survival horror. A game about immersion, discovery and living through a nightmare. An experience that will chill you to the core.
You stumble through the narrow corridors as the distant cry is heard.
It is getting closer.
Explore...
Amnesia: The Dark Descent puts you in the shoes of Daniel as he wakes up in a desolate castle, barely remembering anything about his past. Exploring the eerie pathways, you must also take part of Daniel's troubled memories. The horror does not only come from the outside, but from the inside as well. A disturbing odyssey into the dark corners of the human mind awaits.
A sound of dragging feet? Or is your mind playing tricks on you?
Experience...
By using a fully physically simulated world, cutting edge 3D graphics and a dynamic sound system, the game pulls no punches when trying to immerse you. Once the game starts, you will be in control from the beginning to the end. There are no cut-scenes or time-jumps, whatever happens will happen to you first hand.
Something emerges out of the darkness. It's approaching. Fast.
Survive...
Amnesia: The Dark Descent throws you headfirst into a dangerous world where danger can lurk behind every corner. Your only means of defense are hiding, running or using your wits.
Do you have what it takes to survive?

What I can say, is that it does a very good job at scaring you, and then some. Below is a trailer for the game.

Warning it is still very scary.

Tune in this Thursday at 9pm to listen to The Ravanator for some spooky songs from my library on wnjr.org or 91.7 FM

The Trouble With Us

 

Hey guys! I hope everyone's week has been going well so far, and I hope you're all ready for some new music!  Chet Faker has been one of my favorite artists for awhile now, and if you haven't heard of him then I highly suggest checking out some of his music. His cover of "No Diggity"and his song "Gold" are two of my favorites. Chet Faker has also collaborated with Flume in their song "Drop the Game,"and now he is collaborating with DJ and producer Marcus Marr on their new EP "Work" coming out December 4th. If you want to get a feel for the EP then I suggest checking out the single "The Trouble with Us." This song gives off a very groovy and funky vibe, which is definitely something I would expect from these two.  If you are interested you can listen to the song above, or you can tune in next Monday night at 10PM during mine and Danielle's radio show "Bad Dance Moves." Hope you guys have an awesome and safe Halloween weekend!

Spotlight on Josep Jorjoliani

Good afternoon WNJR audiences! I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday. So per usual, Wednesdays mean someone has the spotlight and today's is one of WNJR's Joseph Jorjoliani. Joseph is from Georgia (the country not the state guys) and is a junior here at DubJay. Joseph is the station manager at WNJR Radio and is responsible for making schedules, setting up meetings and much more. He has a radio show as well, Global Perspectives with Joseph Jorjoliani, which you can catch at 4PM on Fridays. He is also a triple major in German, International Studies, and Communication Arts with an emphasis in Public Relations. Whoo! Yes, you guys are right, Joseph is a very busy and ambitious young man, so if you have a question about what it's like to be an international student or how to manage your time, please visit our page and feel free to send Joseph an email. Alright guys, stay safe and have a great day!

Throwback Tuesday !

Hey everyone! Hope you are all having a great week. Although it is not Thursday, I wanted to post a throw back jam by Wheatus. This is one of my all time favorite songs and I wanted to share it in honor of my show "March Badness" every Friday at noon. Tune in to hear pop, rock, hip-hop, and country. Enjoy the rest of the week and have a great day!

Adele is Back?

 

Looks like the musical genius is back!

Rumor has it! Afters years in hiatus the singer/ songwriter is back with her new album "25" and recently released song "Hello".  Excitement over Adele’s new single had the singer trending on twitter Friday morning. If you want to get caught up listen to her new song now on YouTube.

EMOTIONAL ROADSHOW - Summer 2016

Happy Monday, everyone! This Monday, I truly am happy. VERY happy. Not only because it's Halloween this weekend, but also because this morning I saw on Twitter that Twenty One Pilots is heading out on tour again for the EMOTIONAL ROADSHOW of Summer 2016!

Last month I was lucky enough to see TOP at their hometown show in Columbus, Ohio.  It was an incredible, albeit very painful show.  Let me tell you, the hometown pit for TOP is NO JOKE.  I ended up with a multitude of bruises and body aches the next day from getting pushed around so much.  However, it was 100% worth it to hear "Car Radio" performed live - I may have cried. A lot.

Now that you've been warned, here are Twenty One Pilots' tour dates as they were released approximately two hours ago: http://www.twentyonepilots.com/tour

 

If you aren't as excited as I am about this announcement, you probably haven't listened to Twenty One Pilots before.  In that case, I highly recommend you check out their newest release, "Blurryface," that came out in May 2015.  "Blurryface" is by far my favorite album released in 2015, close only to Halsey's "Badlands" and Dillon Francis's "This Mixtape Is Fire." Also be sure to tune in to Bad Dance Moves tonight at 10 PM to hear Jess and I freak out over EMOTIONAL ROADSHOW; we will keep you posted as soon as we hear who TOP's support will be for the tour as well!

Global Perspectives with Joseph Jorjoliani and Mathias Moller Preisler

Friday October 24th, Global Perspectives hosted a student from the land of happiness, the Kingdom of Denmark. Mathias Møller Preisler is an exchange student from the Roskilde Universitet, he will be spending only a semester at W&J, which as he says is not enough for a proper endeavor at this beautiful institution. As a tradition of Global Perspectives, Mathias played 5 Danish songs, including a modern world hit "Lean On", who knew that MO was a Danish artist?
Mathias also shared his adventurous experience in Pittsburgh and Chicago, which are the only places he has visited in the US so far. Of course, the impeccable host Joseph Jorjoliani gave Mathias traditional quiz trivia questions. Mathias performed very well for the first 4 questions but failed to answer 5th question about the GDP per capita of the Kingdom of Denmark.

For the full version of the show please visit Joseph Jorjoliani's Soundcloud page.

Spotlight on Marguerite Keisling

Hello beautiful audience members of WNJR. Today we will shine a light on the wonderful Margie Keisling. She is the Indie and Alternative Music Director here at DubJay and she does her job very, very well! Margie is Political Science major and would like to deal in mediation to help and give back to the community. Sadly Margie doesn't have a radio show, but you are welcome to email or visit her at WNJR. Thank you guys and have a great day!

Artist Spotlight: Bassette

 

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your fall break (lord knows it was needed). The artist I will be spotlighting today is Bassette. You would not think this young lady was 21 years old from the way her voice sounds so experienced. Her recent EP "Midnight Sound" has a sound that may remind some of Erykah Badu all while with a new school twist and modernized lyrics. Come take a listen on 91.7FM WNJR Radio.

Global Perspectives with Joseph Jorjoliani and Christian Weineart

Every Friday 4:00 PM listen to a very articulate, provoking humorous Radio show Global Perspectives with impeccable Joseph Jorjoliani. Tune in to 91.7 FM and listen to discussions on relevant Global issues comprising of cultural, social, political nature of the global communities, every friday Global Perspectives will host guests from around the world including but not limited to, Germany, Scotland, Spain, France,Brazil, India, South Africa, Denmark, Nepal, Burma, Mexico, China, Hong Kong and many more.   

This week Global Perspectives hosted an international exchange student from Germany, Christian Weinert. Christian is mastering art of education at the University of Cologne and will be spending a semester at the Washington and Jefferson College.
Christian has shared many interesting facts about the city Cologne, that has many attractions for visitors to enjoy, one of them being the cheapest flight tickets to and from Cologne. Cologne is well known for its Cologne Cathedral that is under protection of UNESCO national heritage center. Christian talked about the social life and entertainments in Cologne, "the beer Kolsch is one of the landmarks of Cologne, no one else in Germany or in the world can brew Kolsch besides Cologne".

Christian brought several songs that truly represent the spirit of the beautiful country of Germany.

You can listen to the show on the soundcloud page of Joseph Jorjoliani

Artist Spotlight: Mark Borino

Yay for Thursdays!! It's time for artist spotlight. I have came across this artist Mark Borino and was almost blown away. For someone who writes and produces his own records, Mark Borino is due a large amount of credit. A not so typical R&B sound with fantastic beats and intelligently written lyrics make up his phenomenal sound. Tune into WNJR 91.7 FM to take a listen!

Picks of the Week

Hey you guys! Fall break is just around the corner here at W&J, which means I am going to leave you all with some new music to check out while we are away.  These songs aren't necessarily new releases, but lately I haven't been able to stop listening to them!

Number 1 Pick: Here - Alessia Cara

Other Picks:

Breezeblocks - alt-J

Electric Love -  BØRNS

Light - ODESZA (feat. Little Dragon)

Someone New - Hozier

I am in love with all of these artists, and I definitely suggest you check some of them out!  If you have time don't forget to tune into Bad Dance Moves on WNJR, Monday nights at 10!  We will not be here this upcoming Monday because of fall break, but Danielle and I will be playing a lot of new music (including a few of these songs) for you guys when we are back on the air October 26th!  I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and some new music!

Spotlight on Danielle Shellgren

Hello beautiful people! It's already Wednesday which not only means we're closer to the weekend but that means it's spotlight time! Today's spotlight shines on Danielle Shellgren. Danielle clearly attends DubJay and is majoring in Communication Arts with a PR emphasis and an Accounting minor. She is also a staff member here at WNJR and has a radio show called Bad Dance Moves. She talks about a wide variety of jamming music, so don't miss her on Mondays at 10:00PM on wnjr.org or 91.7FM. Have a great Wednesday everyone!

The Moment (For A New Album?)

Hey everyone, Danielle here! This past weekend was homecoming here at W&J, so I was busy hanging out with alumni and cheering on our football team; therefore, I didn't have much time to browse new releases. However, I wanted to write about an album I'm hoping for instead. Over the summer, I got to see Hoodie Allen live for the first time (he was on the Boys of Zummer tour with Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa... talk about a killer lineup!) - and it was AMAZING. I've been a huge Hoodie fan for years, but after seeing him perform live, my adoration for his music has only grown. In the past month Hoodie has released two new tracks, entitled "Let It All Work Out" and "The Moment." 

Both songs are available for free download on Hoodie's SoundCloud page, and I HIGHLY reccommend you check them out. I'm hoping that these new songs mean that Hoodie plans on releasing a new album or EP in the near future... after all, this month marks one year since People Keep Talking came out! So, have a great week, enjoy these new tracks, and I'll make sure to keep you all updated if Hoodie Allen announces anything about a new release. 

Note: Jess and I will not be on air for Bad Dance Moves again next week because we will be at (yet another) concert. In the mean time, check out the artists we are going to see: Hippie Sabotage and CHERUB!

The Walls Group

 

Photo from: http://thewallsgroup.org/about-us/

(From left to the right) Rhea, Paco, Ahjah, and Darrel also known as The Walls Group, is an emerging gospel group that mix the musical style of pop and gospel to draw the younger crowd. They are incredibly talented and grounded in their faith. The Walls Group is produced by the musical genius Kirk Franklin. As a listener they are very encouraging their songs are about making sure you are still humble even if you have a lot material things and how as humans we are imperfect, but that's okay. I love listening to them they are great way to start my mornings!

In honor of today being Tuesday, what better way to kick off the day than a song by Timeflies Tuesday. Timeflies Tuesday is a two man band from Boston Massachusetts. While they are famous for their unique cover songs, they also have a new album out called Just for Fun. The duo post new cover songs every Tuesday and here is one of their most notorious cover songs of all time. Enjoy and check out Timeflies Tuesday every Tuesday!

Gaming Den

Hey, Hey, Hey, Everybody
Welcome to the Gaming Den

So, I was playing through NieR today, and I was thoroughly impressed with the animations they used especially during the boss fights.

So, this would work with the boss having some form of gimmick, such as you can only hit the red blocks or the enemy pauses after an attack, giving you a chance to attack. When you get to a certain point it runs an awesome animation to continue to the next stage of the fight. You can see an example of this in the first boss fight below if you skip to 8:26.

Please excuse the blood

In this it turns 10 Dark Lances into 1 Giant Drill, which you can't normally do, and it looks amazing to boot. There are other animations where Nier does an aerial strike, slicing a boss in half, or he forms 2 gargantuan fists with magic and slams down onto the enemy.

Tune in Thursday's at 9pm to listen to The Ravanator for Video Game Music from Nier on wnjr.org or 91.7 FM

Saudi Impressions

(Left to Right: Hamid Al-Ahmari, Abdullah Al-Nakhli, Aseel Bahaziq, Ibrahim Bim Dakhil)
Happy Friday, y'all! Interested in learning about a different culture as you study for midterms? Last Monday's show consisted of Saudi Arabia's aspects on marriage and wedding customs in order to share their culture with the Washington community. Make sure to tune in to 'Saudi Impressions', live every Monday from 3:00PM to 4:00PM.

Artist Spotlight: People's Champs

Happy Thursday everyone! It's time for an artist spotlight. This week I'm spotlighting the Brooklyn based band People's Champs. A unique R&B sound with an intricate jazz feel is what these young adults are showcasing. October 23, 2015 People's Champs will drop their debut LP "American Dreamer." You can listen to one of their songs "Hostages" on WNJR Radio, 91.7 FM.

Picks of the Week

Hey guys! I hope everyone's been doing well this week! Only two more days until homecoming weekend here at Washington and Jefferson! Whether you are staying in this weekend to study or planning on hanging out with friends, you could always use some new music. Recently I have been obsessed with a few songs, and I think you guys will love them too. Here are some of my picks of the week:

Number 1 Pick: The Neighbourhood - The Beach

Other Picks:
 
Bad Suns - Cardiac Arrest

Aquilo - You There

Jetta - I'd Love to Change the World (Matstubs Remix)

Major Lazer - Too Original (feat. Elliphant & Jovi Rockwell)

It's definitely a wide variety of music, but there is a little bit for everyone!

Also some of you may have heard of The Neighbourhood and their hit song "Sweater Weather." Well if you are a fan and you are in the Pittsburgh area you will be happy to hear that The NBHD is performing at Stage AE on Monday October 12th!  And to make it even better they are coming with the band Bad Suns! I know I'll be there, and I hope some of you will be too!

You can also hear some of these songs on WNJR if you happened to tune in on Monday nights at 10 for "Bad Dance Moves," which is hosted by Danielle and myself! I hope you guys have a great weekend, and enjoy some new music!

Spotlight on Maia Ervin

Happy Wednesday gorgeous audience members! Today we're going to learn a little about Miss Maia Ervin. She's many things, but you all may know her as not only an attending student, but a radio host and staff member at WNJR Radio Station. Maia is majoring in Communication Arts and minoring in Philosophy. She is a sophomore and soon you'll be seeing her soon in the upcoming production of Avenue Q as Gary Coleman! So if you'd like to listen to good music and interesting topics, tune into Hashing it Out with Maia and Amina, Mondays at 8:00pm on wnjr.org or 91.7FM. Have a great day everyone!

Fresh Bread with Pastor Jones

If you want to be inspired and encouraged, it is highly recommended that you listen to Pastor Jones show "Fresh Bread", on Mondays from 12-2. Pastor Jones is the pastor of Apostolic Christian Temple here in Washington, PA. On his most recent show he had the pleasure of interviewing Bishop Kay Robinson, she was born in Springfield Ohio. Kay began singing at the age of 3 years old. She recorded her first album "God's amazing Love" at the age of 18. Afterwards, Kay founded the Robinson Singers trio and they traveled throughout the country. Her second album "We Need Time" was produced by, Rhythm and Blues singer, James Brown. Another album of hers was contracted by Bill Gaither, it was recorded at Benson Record Company of Nashville Tennessee entitled, "Because of Who's I Am". God gave Kay a revelation dream of the rapture, from which came another album release "Holy".