Fontaines DC, Skinty Fia

We've widened our acoustic lens this year and are pleased to present top five to 10 albums of the year from 16 disc jockeys spinning tunes at two independently owned radio stations* (plus two of their team members) and three prolific local musicians/artists. The styles range from country to death metal, from indie pop to jam bands, from blues to roots and everything in between and around the edges. There are legends such as Buddy Guy and Elvis Costello. There are bands with such names as Fat Earthers and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards. The lists include live concert recordings from mega-stars including the Rolling Stones and Tom Petty, both from 1977. Who knew iconic artists Jimmy Cliff and the Dropkick Murphys were still making music?!

From this diverse, albeit select group of taste makers, the most mentioned artists are the following: Fontaines DC (five mentions), Wet Leg (four mentions), Zach Bryan (four), Titus Andronicus (four), Tedeschi Trucks Band (three), Elvis Costello (three), Big Thief (three), Buddy Guy (three), Harry Styles (three), and all of the following getting two mentions: Spoon, Duke Robillard Band, Yard Act, Willie Nelson, Koe Wetzel, Goose, Dead Horses (in no particular order).

In the age of artificial intelligence and algorithmic soulless programming, we treasure the effort each of these participants make to seek out the authentic artists not typically found on big media driven airwaves and platforms. If you have not tuned into either of these radio stations, either on the dial or on the Internet, you are missing out. (Note: Yes, there are a handful of albums that technically came out in 2021. We are working on that discipline problem.)

WQUD Vintage Radio 107.7 FM, WQUDFM.com

This vintage radio station cranks out more live on-air content and music programming per square foot of office/broadcast space than any place on Earth. Well, at least in the Quad Cities' region. Broadcasting from the Triangle in downtown Erie, Illinois, just outside the QCA metro area, at WQUD all the on-air talent is free to “play, say, and do whatever they want as long it fits under FCC guidelines,” says GM Aaron Dail. If you like hearing Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard, while still being able to catch Judas Priest or Bob Marley in the same hour, you may enjoy WQUD. Sure, they have the classic vintage cuts from Beatles and Stones but they also mix in 1950s doo-wop and even Frank Sinatra. They also dedicate precious air-time during prime time slots to feature local artists from country to blues to rock and metal, and have a full three-hour show of nothing but local licks Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. with Johnny Dollar. And you will not find any more entertaining and laugh-out-loud locally written and produced radio advertising for local businesses anywhere on the dial.

 

MONDAY-FRIDAY

6 - 10 a.m.

A.D. in the Morning with Aaron Dail

1. Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak

2. Cody Johnson, Human- The Double Album

3. Lainey Wilson, Bell Bottom Country

4. Koe Wetzel, Hell Paso

5. Zach Bryan, All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster

Willie Nelson, A Beautiful Time

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Mojo Request Show with Mama C

1. Willie Nelson, A Beautiful Time

2. Harry Styles, Harry’s House

3. Marcus King, Youngblood

4. Little Big Town, Mr. Sun

 

4 - 6 p.m.

The Ride Home with Pat Jones

ALSO SUNDAYS 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Jonesy's Rockabilly Rebel Show with Pat Jones

1. Black Keys, Drop Out Boogie

2. Black Crowes, 1972

3. JD McPherson single, Let’s Rock

4. Stephen Sanchez, Easy on My Eyes

5. Willie Nelson, A Beautiful Time

6. The Dead South, Easy Listening for Jerks

7. Suffragettes, Roller Fink

8. 3 on the Tree, Live From the Underground

Zach Bryan, American Heartache

SATURDAYS

5 - 8 p.m.

Outlaws, Rebels, and Legends with Outlaw Dave

1. Joshua Hedley, Neon Blue

2. Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak

3. Ashley McBride, Lindeville

4. 49 Winchester, Fortune Favors the Bold

5. Molly Tuttle, Crooked Tree

 

2 - 5 p.m.

Muddy Water Radio with Angela Meyer

1. Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak

2. Miranda Lambert, Palomino

3. Lainey Wilson, Bell Bottom Country

4. Ashley McBride, Lindeville

5. Hailey Whitters, Raised

6. Kaitlin Butts, What Else Can She Do

7. Tyler Childers, Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven

Harry Styles, Harry's House

Midnight – 2 a.m.

ALSO WEDNESDAYS 10 p.m. - midnight

Zaggyland with Zaggy

1. Ice Nine Kills, Welcome to Horrorwood

2. Bad Omens, The Death of Peace of Mind

3. Avey Grouws Band, Tell Tale Heart

4. Molly Durnin, It’s Fine

5. Motionless in White, Scoring the End of the World

 

SUNDAYS 5 - 9 p.m.

Blacklight Blues Show with Hugo

ALSO TUESDAYS 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. & FRIDAYS 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. 

Freewhieelin' with Hugo

1. Sam Locke Ward and Bob Bucko Junior, Bubblegum Necropolis

2. Lost Tribes of the Moon, Chapter II, Tales of Strife, Destiny, and Despair

3. Mythospere, Mythosphere & Pathological

4. Faith in Jane, Axe to Oak

5. Rosalie Cunningham, Two Piece Puzzle

6. Obsidian Sea, Pathos

7. Extermination Day, Be the consequence

8. Northless, A Path Beyond Grief

9. Dead Meadow, Force From Form Free

10. Sonic Flower, Me and My Bellbottom Blues

Elvis Costello & the Imposters, The Boy Named If


Additional WQUD Team Members

Jason DeSplinter, DeSplinter Special on A.D. in the Morning

1. Casey Donahew, Built Different

2. Cody Jinks, Mercy

3. Creed Fisher, Rebel in the South

4. Corb Lund, Songs My Friends Wrote

5. The Wilder Blue, The Wilder Blue

6. Aaron Watson, Unwanted Man

7. William Clark Green, Baker Hotel

8. Randy Rogers Band, Homecoming

9. Sunny Sweeney, Married Alone

10. Koe Wetzel, Hell Paso

 

Katie, Office Manager

1. Poe the Passenger, Alinea

2. Jackson Wang, Magic Man

3. Smash Into Pieces, Disconnect

4. Shinedown, Planet Zero

5. Warren Zeiders, 717 Tapes

6. Kane Brown, Different Man

99PLUSKFMH.com*

While technically not a terrestrial radio station any longer, KFMH was the eastern Iowa and western Illinois “pirate” radio station (found on the FM dial at 99.7) from 1973 to 1994. With their “100-watt blowtorch,” KFMH was a pioneer in blending formats traditionally siloed into programming slots or stand-alone corporate owned stations for blues, rock, jazz and reggae. Some say they invented the “block party” segment playing three to four songs of the same artist in a row. KFMH to this day heavily supports the Mississippi Valley Blues Society and the annual MVBS Blues Fest typically held in downtown Davenport. Amazingly, after a 19-year hiatus from the FCC governed airwaves, Steve Bridges and his pirate ship crew of on-air talent, led by Jim Hunter, relaunched the station in 2013 online with a 24/7 internet stream. Most of the original on-air talent is still carefully curating and hosting daily and weekly music programming blocks, playing only four minutes of local advertisers at the top of each hour. The eclectic music mix is like no other. And for those of us who literally cried when they went off the air nearly 30 years ago, we are thankful we can still tune into The Plus.

Buddy Guy, The Blues Don't Lie

MONDAY-FRIDAY

6 - 9 a.m.

Tommy Lang’s KFMH Top 10 (in alphabetical order)

3rd Secret, 3rd Secret

The Head and The Heart, Every Shade of Blue

Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs, External Combustion

Ozzy Osbourne, Patient #9

Pixies, Doggerel

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Return of the Dream Canteen

Smashing Pumpkins, Atum

St Paul and The Broken Bones, The Alien Coast

Eddie Vedder, Earthling

Wet Leg, Wet Leg

 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Bill Klutho's Top 10

1. Jack White, Entering Heaven Alive/Fear of the Dawn

2. Titus Andronicus, The Will to Live

3. Anthony Gomes, High Voltage Blues

4. Shemekia Copeland, Done Come Too Far

5. Elvis Costello, The Boy Named If

6. Tedeschi Trucks Band, I am the Moon (four discs)

7. Goose, Dripfield

8. Fantastic Negrito, White Jesus, Black Problems

9. Stereophonics, Oochya!

10. The Sun Sawed in 1/2, Before the Fall (the last of 3 EPs released by the group, powered by original members Tim Rose and Doug Bobenhouse)

Tedeschi Trucks Band, I Am the Moon

1 - 7 p.m.

Jim Hunter's Top 10

10. Duke Robillard Band, They Called It Rhythm and Blues

09. Smithereens, The Lost Album

08. Dropkick Murphys, This Machine Still Kills Fascism

07. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Live at the Fillmore 1997

06. Rolling Stones, Live at the El Mocambo 1977

05. Buddy Guy, The Blues Don't Lie

04. Taj Mahal/Ry Cooder, Get on Board

03. Tedeschi Trucks Band, I am the Moon pts 1-4

02. Amanda Shires, Take It Like a Man

01. Elvis Costello and The Imposters, The Boy Named If

 

7 - 10 p.m.

Captain Steve's The Blue Zone

Top 10 Blues albums in no order

John Mayall, The Sun is Shining Down

Eric Gales, Crown

Duke Robillard Band, They Called it Rhythm & Blues

Larry McCray, Blues Without You

Edgar Winter, Brother Johnny

Taj Mahal/Ry Cooder, Get On Board

Charlie Musselwhite, Mississippi Son

Mavis Staples/Levon Helm, Carry Me Home

Shemekia Copeland, Done Come Too Far

Buddy Guy, The Blues Don't Lie

Wet Leg, Wet Leg

SATURDAY

9 - 11 a.m.

Patrick O'Leary is also the host of Jam Packed Sunday from 1 -4 p.m.

Top 10 for 2022, in alphabetical order. It was a good year.

Dead Horses, Brady Street

Goose, Dripfield

Groundation, One Rock

Jimmy Cliff, Refugees

Johnny Marr, Fever Dreams Pts 1-4

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava

Lettuce, Unify

Orgone, Lost Knights

Spafford, Simple Mysteries

Yard Act, The Overload

 

1 - 3 p.m.

Mary of The Heartland...The Heartland Hootenanny

Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

Tyler Childers, Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven

Dead Horses, Brady Street

Sarah Shook and The Disarmers, Nighroamer

Fontaines DC, Skinty Fia

Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

SUNDAY

9 - 11 a.m.

Tom Maicke's Top 10

He also hosts "The Late Show" every Wednesday night at 11 p.m., playing new releases in their entirety.

Elvis Costello, The Boy Named If

Buddy Guy, The Blues Don't Lie

Yard Act, The Overload

Spoon, Lucifer on The Sofa

Mavis Staples and Levon Helm, Carry Me Home

Titus Andronicus, The Will to Live

Archers of Loaf, Reason in Decline

Fontaines DC, Skinty Fia

Tedeschi Trucks Band, I am the Moon

The Beths, Expert in a Dying Field

 

noon - 1 p.m.

Jamie Toal, Host of Rock & Roll Rabbit Hole

In no particular order and never permanent…

Lizzo, About Damn Time

Fontaines DC, “Jackie Down the Line” (off Skinty Fia)

Lou Reed (new demos), “I’m Waiting for My Man” (off Words & Music, May 1965)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Spitting Off the Edge of the World (off Cool It Down)

Harry Styles, “As It Was” (off Harry’s House)

Sharon Van Etten, “Mistakes” (off We've Been Going About This All Wrong)

Mountain Goats, “Training Montage” (off Bleed Out)

Wet Leg, “Chase Longue” (off Wet Leg)

Porridge Radio, “Back to the Radio” (off Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky)

Titus Andronicus, “(I’m) Screwed” (off The Will to Live)

Honorable Mention: Weyes Blood, Alvvays, Goat Girl, MJ Lenderman, Bodega, and many others.

 

7 -11 p.m.

Off the Beaten Track with Roberto

Roberto's Top 10

Wet Leg, Wet Leg

Viagra Boys, Cave World

TV Priest, My Other People

Fat Earthers, Bored

The Sadies, Colder Streams

Gary Clail Sound System, Violence

Leftfield, This Is What We Do

Fontaines DC, Skinty Fia

Clutch, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach

Wovoka Jr, Whimsical Reflections on a Starry Night

Titus Andronicus, The Will to Live

Local Musicians Picks for 2022

Special thanks to three local musicians who took up the call to share their muses from 2022.

 

Pat Stolley's Top 10

Longtime studio guy and occasional performer. Lover of musics. FS2.futureappletree.com (in no certain order)

Tenci, A Swollen River a Well Overflowing

Whitney, Apark

Brendan Eder Ensemble, Cape Cod Cottage

Small Sur, Attic Room

Weyes Blood, And in The Darkness Hearts Aglow

Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

Pino Palladino/Blake Mills, Notes with Attachments

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Endless Rooms

Hot Chip, Freakout/Release

Peel Dream Magazine, Pad

 

Chris Bernat's Top 10

Lead singer of the local '90s indie band Tripmaster Monkey now leads the local musical project Chrash and also plays guitar. Hear Chrash's music on Spotify and apple music, or Chrash1.bandcamp.com (in no certain order)

Whitney, Spark

Rolling Blackouts Costal Fever, Endless Rooms

Wet Leg, Wet Leg

Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa

Big Thief, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

Guided by Voices, Crystal Nuns Cathedral

Titus Andronicus, The Will to Live

Harry Styles, Harry’s House

Fontaines DC, Skinty Fia

Margo Price, That’s How Rumors Get Started

 

Posey's Top 10

Posey is the lead singer in the Midwest's party punk band Road Soda. Hear this Quad Cities based band's music at RoadSoda333.bandcamp.com

Scowl, How Flowers Grow

New Junk City, Beg a Promise

The Callous Daoboys, Celebrity Therapist

Meat Wave, Malign Hex

Mindforce, New Lords

Post Malone, Twelve Carat Toothache

Run The Jewels, RTJQUATRO

The Flatliners, New Ruin

Escuela Grind, Memory Theater

Orville Peck, Bronco

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