Staff Pix 2/9: Meet the WECB.live Managers
Last week marked the start of WECB.live’s Spring 2024 programming schedule! For our Staff Pix episode, we asked the WECB.live managers to submit songs that they would recommend to someone that wanted to get to know them better. Here are their picks, presented with blurbs worthy of a promotional sticker on a jewel case. Tune in to Staff Pix on Fridays 5-6PM EST!
Karenna Umscheid, General Manager
“This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Live” by Talking Heads
I have a playlist titled “Karenna Songs” with an assortment of celestial emojis and DJ Miffy as the cover, and it’s where I keep every song that’s so emphatically me, I can’t imagine anyone else listening to it like I do; in other words, it’s the music I would drop if I died in Minecraft. Right at the top of the playlist is “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) – Live” by Talking Heads. It is essential that this is the live version, from the greatest concert film of all time, Stop Making Sense. Stop Making Sense is pure, sparkling magic, and no track is more potent than “This Must Be The Place” where David Byrne dances around a soft glowing lamp. Though all the lyrics are weird and gorgeous and sweet (which is in typical Talking Heads fashion), my favorite one has always been “Love me ‘til my heart stops / Love me ‘til I’m dead.” With the atmosphere of love so palpable and constant, the song asserts the intangible reality of belonging within a desire to be home, in happiness and comfortability, he supposes that this must be the place.
Second Pick: “Triptych” by Samia
Livy Burdo, Live Coordinator
“This Must Be My Exit” by Oso Oso
A bit embarrassing to admit, but this whiney midwest emo acoustic ballad was my top song of 2023 with 75 listens between my discovery in August and December 31st. Perhaps my love is fueled by my high school hyperfixation with the manic pixie dream girl, and absolutely any medium that resembles the brooding, angsty, untouchable edge of a young woman who suffers from feeling misunderstood yet neglects every person in her life’s emotions. Peyton Sawyer from One Tree Hill? Clementine from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? The one and only Juno, in that case, every female co-star of Michael Cera’s? Somehow all these woe-is-me women chased by pick-me men searching for a cure to their turmoil through infatuation, resemble the same energy as the lusty cheesy poetry hidden in Oso Oso’s track. But come on, tell me that when they break out into “there’s just shit I don’t need anyone to know,” you can’t help but thrash your head and scream along.
Second Pick: “SuperBloomer” by Arcy Drive
Julia Norkus, Milk Crate Editor-in-Chief
“All These Things That I’ve Done” by The Killers
Izzy and I were talking about this theme, and I thought about the memories I have associated with music. Birthdays, car rides, break ups—everything pivotal in my life seems to be underscored by something more than just my sobs into a pillow. There were a few car rides when I was a kid that finished with rousing renditions of “All These Things That I’ve Done,” each one with my brothers, my dad and myself all fighting with the volume of the radio. Lyrically, I’ve always been fascinated by Brandon Flowers’s choices, with lines like “I got soul but I’m not a soldier.” I don’t it ever fully made sense to me, granted I wasn’t super worried about what it meant—mainly, I wanted to understand how it felt. On some of those car rides, I’d turn the volume up when I could feel a song in my teeth. I wanted to feel the syncopation, the lyrics, the way everything fits together like a perfectly designed puzzle with just the right colors and shapes. I wanted to hang on to that feeling, let it seep into my pores and crawl around in my skin, the exact way I felt it when I was a kid in my dad’s car. It was one of the many songs that made me, and as I get older and maybe a little wiser, I think I understand the song a little bit more each time I listen.
Second pick: “In My Way” by Muna
Izzy Desmarais, Milk Crate Editor-in-Chief
“Foolish Father” by Weezer
Weezer is my favorite band and they have been since I was seven years old. A piece of my childhood, their songs accompanied me at my highest and lowest points of adolescence, and they provide sincere comfort in early adulthood. The tenth track off Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014), “Foolish Father” is, at its surface, about an absent father. While this aspect, thankfully, does not resonate, it’s the song’s ending that has left an indelible mark on me. So much so, I have a tattoo of this album’s cover art. After Rivers Cuomo sings the chorus one last time, a child choir pipes up and assures both Cuomo and the listener, “Everything will be alright in the end.” It repeats six times and gradually grows in intensity, but in the most comforting way. The lyrics swell in my heart every time I listen, and those stupidly simple words mean so much to me.
Second Pick: “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me’” by Fall Out Boy
Rebecca Calvar, Art Manager
“Stella Brown” by Jelani Aryeh
I heard this song on my friend’s playlist and I’ve been listening to it on repeat for some reason. I think I like it so much because of the way this song encapsulates that feeling of being “in the middle” with someone, like you truly don’t know what they want and you just wish you can read their mind and be the person they envision in their head. He kind of loses his mind about it in this song, you can see in the lyrics that he often ponders and over thinks and I just feel like we’ve all been that person before when we start to deeply like someone.
Second Pick: “Green Light” by Lorde
Nucci Delaney, Live Coordinator
“Rave On” by Buddy Holly, The Crickets
In the halls of the Quirked Up White Boy Museum, Buddy Holly has an entire wing. And in that wing, “Rave On” has a full display. The track wastes no time; Holly’s howls bounce energetically starting at the first second. Clocking in at less than 2 minutes, Buddy sets up his point efficiently: his girl rocks and this is a song about that. Lest we forget about The Crickets: okay yup that's enough about them. Their guitar and drums and bass provide the perfect backdrop for Buddy’s couplets. “Rave On” keeps things short and sweet and simple, a perfect antidote for the cold complexities of Boston’s winters.
Second Pick: “Close Your Eyes” by The Backseat Lovers
Lydia Aga, Programming Director
“Golden Boys” by Res
Res’ genre expansive sound that encompasses soul, rock, and hip hop made my ears perk up at first. The hook is addictive and the production is unique and inventive. Her sound is reminiscent of Santigold and P!nk, who were huge inspirations for me growing up. The song itself calls out the ways the media sanitizes images of Black men and I loooove a song with good social commentary. Her vibe reminds me of an early 2000s alternative earthy aesthetic I try to recreate sometimes. This song would totally play in a cafe somewhere in the PNW in the 2000s. Can’t wait to check her out some more, and so should you!
Second Pick: “Pirate in the Water” by Santigold
Mackenzie Wren, Programming Director
If you’ve seen me with earbuds in the past week, this song is what I’ve had playing on a loop. I love it a lot to the point that I even decided to show it to my history of popular music class as my open mic assignment. Ever since seeing The Lumineers in the fall at Oceans Calling with our marketing director Lauren, my life has truly been changed. Not to sound dramatic but, wow, The Lumineers are amazing and continue to take my breath away.
Second Pick: “Maine” by hallpass
Lauren Larking, Marketing Director
“Champagne Coast” by Blood Orange
My song of the day every day since November has been “Champagne Coast” by Blood Orange. It’s a dance-in-the-mirror, hair-whipping tune that has you twirling through your bedroom on a good day but scratching at your soul on a bad one. Blood Orange pulls deep piano notes together with synths and a consistent drum beat to produce a layered masterpiece out of beautiful simplicity. The lyric “Tell me what’s the joy of giving if you’re never pleased” is repeated multiple times throughout the track and encapsulates the gut wrenching feelings that Blood Orange is so masterful in creating. Whether I’m on top of the world or at the dock on the Esplanade, I know Blood Orange will be there with me. Along with a couple of goose droppings.
Second Pick: “Nikes On my Feet” by Mac Miller
Gabby Goode, Assistant Marketing Director
“Sentimental” by Nightcap
Studying abroad in Switzerland last spring was quite a journey for me, and "Sentimental" was my song of choice through it all. Whether it was the captivating beat, the layered vocals, or the passionate lyrics, this song resonated deeply with me and has remained a favorite ever since. The song's lyrics hit home, evoking a strong sense of being sentimental. My favorite part goes, "So you feel like falling around in circles feeling sentimental." With the moving words accompanied by a mesmerizing violin melody in the background, it brings together the song's meaning and is the captivating hook that made me fall in love with this song. I highly recommend this song to anyone seeking a new emotional yet upbeat song. The band releases their songs through "nobody gets it (records)," a fitting name that reflects their ability to express complex emotions that are often difficult to articulate. This song became my go to listen during my time abroad, helping me through that one heck of a semester. This song is an underrated masterpiece and you should go listen to it if you have the chance!
Second Pick: “Reputation” by Post Malone
Caitlin Molloy, Live Coordinator
“Bucktooth” by Lowertown
My mom has always had an eclectic music taste. From Eminem to U2 she always has something new on her playlist, a trait I am happy she passed on to me. I have never held any fear in showing her a new song or album, or whatever music me and my friends are into. She is always willing to hear and potentially add it to her ever growing playlist. When I first played the song “Bucktooth” by Lowertown for her, a favorite of me and my friends, it was an instant hit. It quickly became our song of the summer. Even now, months after her introduction and a year after I initially discovered the song, it is still consistently one of my top played songs on Spotify. I find myself playing it when I miss my mom or am thinking of good times with my friends. Finding connection though music has always been a huge part of my life, and this song always screams friendship to me. While the lyrics might hold more weight than they seem, the song is so playful and fun I can never help but do a little boogie with whoever I am with when it comes on. Just from the first few beats of the intro, I am transported back to hearing the song live with one of my best friends, or spinning around the kitchen yelling the lyrics with my mom. Without a doubt, this is one of the songs that will always be playing in the background of my head and my home.