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Just Like Heaven 2024

29 May, 2024

blog / music / music reviews / show reviews

If you’re longing and looking to tap into your indie-centered nostalgia, Just Like Heaven is the place to be. Every May, Goldenvoice puts on their annual Just Like Heaven festival, and this year marks 5 years since the first edition. It’s the time of year where you can bring back […]

Reviewing Vyva Melinkolya’s “Unbecoming”

05 Jan, 2024

blog / music / music reviews

KCSB’s Fall ’23 Assistant Music Director, Amber Cooper, reviews Vyva Melinkolya’s second album Unbecoming. Read on to learn more! Words by Amber Cooper Vyva Melinkolya’s Unbecoming feels like it slowly sucks the air out of your lungs; it carries a lot of weight, and its crawling pace feels like a sinkhole, drawing […]

Best Albums of 2023!

28 Dec, 2023

blog / music / music reviews

Words by: Bella Genolio (External MD), Marion Suchowiecky (Internal MD), and Ryan Tabib (Music Librarian) The music department at KCSB is constantly looking for the best music from diverse, underrepresented, and independent musicians. As the year comes to a close, we wanted to share our favorite musical gems from 2023. […]

Life Is Beautiful 2023 Recap and Review

16 Oct, 2023

blog / music / music reviews / show reviews

words by Will Bacaj photos courtesy Life Is Beautiful KCSB’s Promotions Director Will Bacaj attended the Life is Beautiful festival in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada Sept 22-24, 2023. Here’s his report from the scene. Having never been anywhere in Las Vegas beyond the Strip, going to Las Vegas for a […]

Portola 2023 Recap and Review

12 Oct, 2023

blog / music reviews / show reviews

words by Yasmeen Tsipena Photo courtesy of Portola Music Festival Six months ago I let my roommate convince me to buy a 300 dollar ticket to a music festival I had never heard of.  The 21+ electronic music festival took place the weekend of September 30th on the vast lot […]

Buddy Guy at the Hollywood Bowl

11 Sep, 2023

blog / music / music reviews

Our Internal Music Director, Marion, made her way to the heart of Los Angeles to see American blues legend, Buddy Guy, take the Hollywood Bowl. Keep reading for her recap and review.  Words by: Marion Suchowiecky It is difficult to overstate the influence of the blues on American music. If […]

Wednesday & Toner At The Teragram Ballroom 

18 May, 2023

blog / music / music reviews

Words by: Marion Suchowiecky and Justin Africawala On Friday May 5th, KCSBfm’s External Music Director, Marion Suchowiecky, and Music Librarian, Justin Africawala, made their way down into the heart of Los Angeles to attend the Wednesday and Toner concert at the Teragram Ballroom. Read on to hear the pair of […]

February’s Add of the Month: Chief Keef’s 4NEM

07 Feb, 2022

blog / music / music reviews

Drill music has proven to be one of the most controversial subgenres of hip-hop to emerge in the 2010s. Largely developed by artists such as Fredo Santana, Waka Flocka Flame, and Lil Reese, there’s an astute level of nihilism that goes into each aspect of every song, from the scratchy […]

Add of the Month

22 Dec, 2021

blog / music / music reviews

Make Drunk Cool Again – RXK Nephew This review is not for the faint of heart. I foreword my review with this statement because RXK Nephew makes music that is egregiously alternative – it’s music that sounds so anti-music that it wavers into its own subgenre. At the young age […]

Top 25 Albums of 2021

22 Dec, 2021

blog / music / music reviews

Yousef and Marion, KCSB’s music directors, have compiled their picks for the 25 best albums of 2021.   Yousef: For me, this year has been as hard as can be. Dealing with my mental health and constant turmoil within my relationships, I’ve had to take steps back from the world […]

♪ September Music Department Recommendations ♪

13 Sep, 2021

blog / music reviews / playlists

Yousef and Marion, KCSB’s internal and external music directors, have compiled a playlist of their September favorites just for you <3 Enjoy!   ******* ☆SEPTEMBER 2021 MUSIC DEPARTMENT PLAYLIST ☆   MARION’S RECS  Jonathan Richman – “That Summer Feeling” – Jonathan Richman’s lyrics always cut deep. But as this summer […]

August’s Add of the Month: DARKSIDE’s Spiral

08 Aug, 2021

blog / music / music reviews

KCSB’s music department is sitting down each month to write to you about one album added to our music library that left a strong enough impression on them to be crowned Add of the Month. For August 2021, KCSB’s Internal Music Director Yousef Srour goes in depth on DARKSIDE’s Spiral. […]

Music Department: August Recommendations

06 Aug, 2021

blog / music / music reviews

Marion and Yousef, KCSB’s External and Internal Music Directors, share their August music recommendations here. For more updates from the Music Department, sign up for their monthly newsletters right here on KCSB.org!   Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime (Yousef’s pick).  An escapade through the lesser-known branch of psychedelic music known as Tishoumaren […]

May’s Add of the Month: Mustafa’s When Smoke Rises

11 Jun, 2021

blog / music reviews

KCSB’s music department is sitting down each month to write to you about one album added to our music library that left a strong enough impression on them to be crowned Add of the Month. This month, KCSB’s Internal Music Director Yousef Srour goes in depth on Mustafa’s latest album, […]

Tape Quarantine: Sonic Youth’s Sonic Death

29 Jan, 2021

blog / DJ Posts / music reviews

With our 2019-2020 Internal Music Director under self-quarantine, Matty McPherson (Wane Lietoc) has taken to their personal tapes, highlighting and documenting the most outstanding in their collection. This time around, they dive deep into Sonic Youth’s dreamlike Sonic Death. In Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise (1985), Eszter Balint’s character strolls […]

December’s Add of the Month: Ichiko Aoba’s Windswept Adan

01 Jan, 2021

blog / music reviews

KCSB’s music department is sitting down each month to write to you about one album added to our music library that left a strong enough impression on them to be crowned Add of the Month. In December, External Music Director Finnegan Smith goes in depth on Ichiko Aoba’s latest album, “Windswept […]