Soil Compilation

News
Iowa City Takes Down Street Kiosks And Plans to Take Another

Article By Myles Ackman and Kade Grierson Two weeks ago—on September 22—city workers were seen across town extracting kiosk poles from the ground—the boards that you generally see around town crowded with posters—including one that previously stood outside China Star on South Clinton Street. People took to social media platforms such as Reddit to voice their concerns, with one post receiving 79 comments. Although local events can be found online, not all are promoted digitally. Some communities and event organizers rely on flyer displays to reach Iowa City residents. KRUI received the following response after reaching out to the city … Continued

Music
Phoebe Bridgers Live in Chicago

After three years of hibernation, Phoebe Bridgers returned to the stage this fall for The Lost Tour spanning across North America and Europe. On Saturday, September 19th there was a sold out crowd awaiting the four time Grammy winner at United Center without a phone in sight.

News
Opinion: The University of Iowa must do more to protect its marching band and performers

When a student dies under the university’s watch, it should become the concern of the entire student body. That is why, despite not being a member of the Hawkeye Marching Band or a student-athlete, I write today to call for more robust protocols and protections in the future to safeguard the health of some of the most dedicated and hardworking student-athletes on campus: the Hawkeye Marching Band.  It’s worth comparing what happened on September 5th to a similar tragedy that happened recently at Arizona State. This involved a draft pick, Matthew Mayich, who collapsed from heat exhaustion during an intense … Continued

Online Content
September 14, No New Jail Show

As far back as my first punk show as an Iowa City resident, I would continue to hear calls to action to vote against a bill being proposed to spend $125 million on building a new jail within Johnson County. It seemed like a persistent issue with little in the way of progress, as those with any power to stop it were refusing to listen to the pleas of concerned citizens. So when I saw the announcement of a show to protest this very bill, I knew it was something I couldn’t miss out on.  In collaboration with Johnson County … Continued

By L.C. Graf-Juarez 8 EP’s and still kicking, Mogwai’s “Earth Division” is striking and magical just like everything else they’ve ever created (any surprise there?). Although a question needs to brought up when “Get to France” opens with its haunting piano. Just how much time did Mogwai spend playing Kingdom Hearts before recording? Not that this is at all a bad thing, just that the song is very much like the melody that would play somewhere between the Boss and (if you know anything about Kingdom Hearts) losing Kairi. The composer of the Kingdom Hearts scores, Yoko Shimomura is a … Continued

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By L.C. Graf-Juarez Chill Sunday afternoons, incense burning, music slow, maybe a cigarette or two—it’s all part of the mood that the band She Keeps Bees creates with their 7th released album, “Dig On” the third release to be self-recorded. “All or None/Dark Horse” opens with strong vocals from Jessica Larrabee, and a great drum beat played out by Andy LaPlant. Larrabee gets low and passionate, giving the song a soothing rhythm; LaPlant only compliments her vocal style with a simple pattern. Perhaps what is most attractive about the song is the pure easiness it possesses. It doesn’t have distractions—ridiculous … Continued

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Tune into Local Tunes Tuesday night starting at 10 PM and ending at midnight to listen to local band “The Treats” play some of their songs live in the studio. So far, there’s no word on if they will be playing fully electric or acoustic; you’ll have to tune in to hear.  We’ll also be playing some Dead Larry from their latest album “As The Radio…” one of the best local albums in recent times, Kelly Pardekooper from his 2007 release “Brand New Bag,” also some David Zollo and more!  You can check out more about The Treats here. Also, we … Continued

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The Russian Circles have announced their new album Empros, with a release date of October 25th. Formed in Chicago in 2004, the Russian Circles have played Iowa City several times over the past few years. Listen to the Russian Circles here. 

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On August 2nd, Fruit Bats will release Tripper, the follow-up to their beloved 2009 release, The Ruminant Band. This album is a brand new add to the KRUI charts this week, and the infectious “Tangie and Ray” is a perfect traveling song for those moving back to Iowa City in the coming days. Fruit Bats will also play The Mill in Iowa City on September 7, with other KRUI favorites Vetiver and Breathe Owl Breathe.

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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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By Max Johnson “Triple Trinities”, Mumford’s brand new album, is epic. The nine songs on the album converse with one another, all of them focused around the single theme of religion, looking for the soft spots to sink their teeth into, to maybe find some answers to all the questions circling above them like vultures. The characters in the songs – preachers, atheists, God Himself, and an Antichrist or two – are three-dimensional and compelling. You might not be able to finish listening to it all in one sitting, all the narrators are so frustratingly human. Obviously, this is not … Continued

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By Max Johnson Utopia Park is an electronic-punk band from Fairfield, Iowa. The band is composed of Dominic and Philip Rabalais, who are the two most sincere and genuine human beings on the face of the Earth. There. That should be enough for you to listen to them. But if you aren’t convinced… The songs on Utopia Park’s self-titled EP build toward epiphanies, but at the same time, they work as a regression from, not a progression towards, complexity. Vocals go from simply shouted to non-verbal screaming. Instruments pile on top of each other until you’re convinced you heard a … Continued

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