American magazine, July 2016

in the community
SLIGO CREEK STOMPERS,
The Fuss, Medications, and Caz and
the Day Laborers.
Local music fans who listen to
WAMU 88.5 may hear a slew of songs
they recognize this summer. The
station’s Capital Soundtrack project
is overhauling the music it plays
during news breaks and programs like
Morning Edition with Matt McCleskey,
the Diane Rehm Show, and the Kojo
Nnamdi Show and dedicating all of its
interlude music to DC-area artists.
DC sound
Andi McDaniel, WAMU’s director
of content, and Ally Schweitzer,
the station’s music reporter, are
the brains—and ears—behind the
project. The two strive to craft a
“WAMU sound” that’s fresh and
distinctly DC. “We want the music we
play on air to tell a story about our
region’s culture,” says Schweitzer,
who runs the station’s music website,
bandwidth.wamu.org.
Right now, WAMU is relying on staff
suggestions, but “going forward,
we’re going to be incorporating more
listener submissions,” she says.
Thus far, WAMU’s showcased
songs from acts like jazz vocalist
and DC native Akua Allrich and
electronica artist Andrew Grossman,
whose “Death to Rockville Pike” no
doubt resonated with WAMU listeners
sitting in traffic on the bustling
Maryland road.
“We have no preference for genre
or style; we just need the music to
be instrumental and suitable for the
news and talk shows during which we
play it,” Schweitzer says. “Interstitial
music is special. Its mood needs to
match the tone of what we’re putting
on the air.”
“This is Us”
SPEEDWELL
Start to Finish
“Naiad”
AERIALIST
Moon Patrol
“Furniture”
OTIS INFRASTRUCTURE
The Red, Red Robin
“What’s Happening Brother”
MARVIN GAYE
What’s Going On
“Afrocentric”
“October”
SAM PHILLIPS
Stay the Night
“Pray for Snow”
THE SEA LIFE
In Basements
“Dit Floss”
PROTECT-U
Free USA
“Colleen’s Wedding”
LANDS & PEOPLES
Pop Guilt
“You’re a Liar”
14 AMERICAN MAGAZINE JULY 2016