By Aaron Levy (CIVL Station Manager) – Email
Print Edition: September 3, 2014
CIVL Radio Station Manager Aaron Levy isn’t a student now, but he was for a long, long… long time.
Here are some songs that brought him back to school back in the day.
Smashing Pumpkins — “Ava Adore”
One of the first records I ever bought. The first single from their departure record recently came back out with a Puff Daddy remix — which is hilarious, because at the same time I bought Adore, I also got Puff and the Family’s No Way Out and Ma$e’s own Harlem World.
Killer Mike — “Willie Burke Sherwood”
This song was my last year’s mega hit. Second-last on Mike’s R.A.P. Music album, it’s about fathers stepping up to raise their sons even when the odds are against them. Killa Kill says it’s his most emotional song, and beside the killer El-P beat, it tells some harrowing tales.
Run the Jewels — “Sea Legs”
Last year when school started back up, a CIVL programmer made me aware of Killer Mike’s collaboration with El-P, who started Def Jux Records in Brooklyn and produced R.A.P. Music. I saw them last month at the Biltmore, and you should all do the same when they’re back this winter.
The Tragically Hip — “Grace, Too”
I always thought this song was called “Grace 2.” I was walking around Kingston, the Hip’s home town when I first gave this a good listen, and it was on my playlist moving to Abbotsford in 2010, so it’s near and dear to my West Coast experience. Will, determination, and grace.
Kanye West — “Runaway”
Another song that took me by the hand. This one said, “Hey, even though Kanye’s a nutso crazy man, there’s reasons Pitchfork gave him the first 10.0 in nearly 10 years. He’s honest, brutally honest, self-reflective, and charming in the way he lights himself up.”
