Soil Compilation

Music
The Fruit Bats and Matthew Logan Vasquez Raise The Crowd

Article by Myles Ackman and Kade Grierson | Cover Photo by Cat Dooley For the first time in fifteen years, Fruit Bats returned to Iowa City on October 21 for a performance at The Englert Theatre, with support from Matthew Logan Vasquez. “Iowa City was the first place I ever traveled far to, and I thought, ‘this place resembles freedom,’” – Fruit Bats and permanent member Eric D. Johnson. The three of us—Elle, Myles, and Kade—were the youngest people in the audience by far, and sat near the front on the edge of a sea of double denim, floral shirts, … Continued

Online Content
Rob Sand and Zach Lahn Go Head-to-Head One Final Time Ahead of the Iowa Gubernatorial Election

With the midterms just one week away, Iowa Gubernatorial candidates Rob Sand (D) and Zach Lahn (R) went face-to-face in their third debate of the season. Both candidates are competing to replace Gov. Kim Reynolds, who chose not to run for reelection after nine years. As Sand and Zahn settled into their podiums ahead of the debate, both were given one minute to provide their opening remarks. Sand, who has heavily emphasized cross-partisan viewpoints through his campaign, did just that to kick off the evening debate. “There are a lot of people in leadership in both the democratic and republican … Continued

Sports
In Defense of Not Watching

To watch or not to watch? Ryan Paris recaps his experience taking in Iowa’s devastating loss from the Minnesota student section.

News
 Miller-Meeks and Bohannan Face Off in One Final Push Ahead of Iowa Elections

Former state representative Christina Bohannan (D) and U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) met at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, on October 20 for Iowa’s First Congressional District debate. Both candidates discussed issues weighing on Iowans’ minds, including agriculture, healthcare, and the economy. Once opening statements concluded, Bohannan and Miller-Meeks were questioned on what immediate actions they would take to lower the cost of living for Iowans. Miller-Meeks voted for no tax on tips or overtime back in May of 2025, when she voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In reference to lowering the cost of … Continued

Need some new music in your life? We’ve got you covered! Check out what KRUI’s DJs have been playing lately for some recommendations. You’ll be glad you did!

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Rank Artist Recording Label User Supplied Version 1 BLACK KEYS El Camino Nonesuch 2 GUIDED BY VOICES Let’s Go Eat The Factory GBV 3 CLOUD NOTHINGS Attack On Memory Carpark 4 FIRST AID KIT The Lion’s Roar Wichita 5 LAURA GIBSON La Grande Barsuk 6 M83 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming Mute 7 REAL ESTATE Days Domino 8 GIRLS Father, Son, Holy Ghost True Panther 9 FEIST Metals Interscope 10 WAR ON DRUGS Slave Ambient Secretly Canadian 11 MAYER HAWTHORNE How Do You Do Universal Republic 12 YOUTH LAGOON The Year Of Hibernation Fat Possum 13 CASS MCCOMBS Humor Risk Domino … Continued

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Tomorrow, January 24th, Cleveland’s Cloud Nothings’ new album Attack on Memory will be released. But if you’re one of the many who have already downloaded it, you’ve probably listened to stand-out track “No Sentiment” a dozen or so times. Produced by the famed Steve Albini, the new album leaves behind the Times New Viking-esque lo-fi mess of Turning On to capture the energy and intensity of various John Reis bands, like the Hot Snakes and Drive Like Jehu. “No Sentiment” contains the albums’ thesis statement – “No nostalgia/no sentiment,” lyrics bellowed so purely, you have to believe in it.

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Everyone’s a music critic nowadays, and this fact is never more apparent then at the end of the year, but we’ve taken care to make sure our Top 10 Albums list is fairly representative of the listening habits of Iowa City.

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Rank Artist Recording Label 1 REAL ESTATE Days Domino 2 M83 Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming Mute 3 TOM WAITS Bad As Me Anti 4 MATES OF STATE Mountaintops Barsuk 5 FEIST Metals Interscope 6 MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND All Things Will Unwind Asthmatic Kitty 7 LOS CAMPESINOS! Hello Sadness Arts And Crafts 8 BEETS Let The Poison Out Hardly Art 9 BEACH BOYS The Smile Sessions Capitol 10 CHILDISH GAMBINO Camp Glassnote 11 DAVID LYNCH Crazy Clown Time Sunday Best-Pias 12 CASIOKIDS Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen Polyvinyl 13 DEER TICK Divine Providence Partisan 14 ST. VINCENT Strange Mercy 4AD 15 PETER WOLF … Continued

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Rank Artist Recording Label 1 GIRLS Father, Son, Holy Ghost True Panther 2 WILD FLAG Wild Flag Merge 3 WILCO The Whole Love Anti 4 ZOLA JESUS Conatus Sacred Bones 5 TWIN SISTER In Heaven Domino 6 TY SEGALL Goodbye Bread Drag City 7 DRUMS Portamento Frenchkiss 8 DJ SHADOW The Less You Know The Better Verve 9 DUM DUM GIRLS Only In Dreams Sub Pop 10 PORTUGAL. THE MAN In The Mountain In The Cloud Approaching AIRballoons-Atlantic 11 SLEEPING IN THE AVIARY You And Me, Ghost Science Of Sound 12 NEON INDIAN Era Extrana Mom And Pop 13 TALLAHASSEE … Continued

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Rank Artist Recording Label 1 WILD FLAG Wild Flag Merge 2 MEGAFAUN Megafaun Hometapes 3 GIRLS Father, Son, Holy Ghost True Panther 4 CAROLINE SMITH AND THE GOOD NIGHT SLEEPS Little Wind Self-Released 5 PIETA BROWN Mercury Red House 6 HALLOWEEN, ALASKA All Night The Calls Came In Amble Down 7 MALE BONDING Endless Now Sub Pop 8 ZOLA JESUS Conatus Sacred Bones 9 WILCO The Whole Love Anti 10 DRUMS Portamento Frenchkiss 11 BLITZEN TRAPPER American Goldwing Sub Pop 12 STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS Mirror Traffic Matador 13 DOM Family Of Love Astral Werks 14 TY SEGALL Goodbye … Continued

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By Max Johnson For fans of Iowa music, The Poison Control Center require no introduction. The Des Moines based group have released 3 full-lengths and a handful of EPs full of excited indie rock. Tomorrow, July 30th, their Never-Ending Tour will take a much-deserved break after two shows at The Vaudeville Mews. Let me cut to the chase — PCC’s newest album, Stranger Ballet, is my favorite album of 2011 (so far). The fingerprints of other excellent indie rockers are everywhere, but the band never lose themselves in their influences. It seems more like they’re honoring them. Imitation isn’t the … Continued

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