Every Wednesday at 9:13 am, one of WYEP’s trusted music experts joins me (Cindy Howes) on The Morning Mix to play a couple favorite new songs and share some insight. Today we welcome Jess Phaneuf from WUMB in Boston!

In case you missed it, here's what Jess played:

Chris Stapleton, "Either Way" - My goodness this song is so gut-wrenching! Every time I listen, I'm stopped in my tracks by Stapleton's vocal performance...and I'm so moved by the lyrics. Even though I've never found myself in this particular situation, the story is told so powerfully that I can actually FEEL how heart-breaking it would be. That's a sure sign of a talented song-writer!

The Secret Sisters "He's Fine" - Laura and Lydia Rogers have that wonderful sibling chemistry and I'm thankful that they're back with a new album - You Don't Own Me Anymore. Brandi Carlile produced the record and I think it's some of their best work yet! This particular song is catchy and fun... even though it's also about heartache!

Friday mornings on WYEP, Chef Bill Fuller (Corporate Chef for big Burrito) joins Cindy Howes at 7:30am for Pairings! Bill & Cindy challenge each other to pair up your favorite music with matching menus. Let’s see what they came up with this week. Listen to the audio:

Below are the 5 key tracks that you need to know from k.d. lang.

The multiple Grammy Award-winning k.d. lang has steadily been producing music since 1984. She is known for her hits "Constant Craving" and "Miss Chatelaine" as well as her collaborations with artists such as The Reclines and Tony Bennett.

• Song: "The Consequences of Falling"

• Album: Invincible Summer
• Year: 2000
• Comment: The lead single from lang's 2000 release.

• Song: "Lifted By Love"

• Album: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
• Year: 1993
• Comment: The first of lang's singles on the US Dance Chart, the song was featured on the soundtrack for Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

• Song: "Helpless"

• Album: Hymns of the 49th Parallel
• Year: 2004
• Comment: Originally a Neil Young song, this album featured covers of lang's favorite fellow Canadian musicians.

• Song: "Atomic Number"

• Album: case/lang/veirs
• Year: 2016
• Comment: The lead single from lang's collaborative effort with Neko Case and Laura Veirs.

• Song: "Constant Craving"

• Album: Ingénue
• Year: 1992
• Comment: Perhaps lang's most well-known song, it reached #2 on the US Adult Contemporary chart following its release.

Catch Key Tracks every weekday during the Midday Mix at 1 PM on 91.3 WYEP.

Every Wednesday at 9:13 am, one of Pittsburgh’s finest music writers joins me (Cindy Howes) on the Morning Mix to play a couple favorite new songs and share some insight. Today we welcome Scott Tady!

In case you missed it here’s what he played with commentary by Scott:

Ride, "Charm Assault" - One of the architects of the '90s shoegazer movement has released its first new album in 20 years (check it out on Spotify.) Here's one of three singles released recently. It's good to have Ride back with all the ingredients intact -- the driving drums, the chiming guitar, the urgent vocals from Mark Gardener with a bit of distortion. With age has come wisdom and a keener desire for political commentary from the English band.  Guitarist Andy Bell says this song "is a pretty straightforward expression of frustration and disgust at the people who currently run the country." 

Super Whatevr, "Bloomfield" - Here's a sample from the Orange County, Calif. alt-rock trio's first full-length album. The title caught my attention (no, it's not about the Pittsburgh neighborhood), but the catchy hook keeps me coming back. "Bloomfield" is a song about the aftermath of a relationship where you struggle with feelings and are searching for some excuse to return to the person you've broken up with, despite common sense telling you otherwise . As vocalist-bassist Skyler McKee says, "The lyrics are about arguing back and forth with your better judgment and the turmoil that comes out of that state of being."

Friday mornings on WYEP, Chef Bill Fuller (Corporate Chef for big Burrito) joins Cindy Howes at 7:30am for Pairings! Bill & Cindy challenge each other to pair up your favorite music with matching menus. Let’s see what they came up with this week. Listen to the audio:

WYEP hosts Pairings Dinner at Eleven
Chef Bill Fuller creates menu to match The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

This past Sunday (June 11, 2017), Eleven (part of the big Burrito's Restaurant Group) hosted a WYEP benefit dinner with a menu that paired with The Beatles landmark release, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which recently celebrated it's 50th anniversary. WYEP's General Manager and foodie extraordinaire, Abby Goldstein, was in attendance and taking notes. Abby detailed the menu on her food blog Goldilox Cooks. Read a preview below and check out Abby's full post on the WYEP Pairings dinner here.

Matching Music and Menus

Music and food go together like, well.....I can't seem to come up with a simile that doesn't include food references in song lyrics. They go together like beans and cornbread, like a cheeseburger in paradise, like a lime in a coconut, like jambalaya, crawfish pie and a file gumbo. When you have a dinner party, do you have your guests eat in silence?  If you are having a barbeque, would you choose to regale your guests with La Traviata?  For a holiday cocktail party, would you pick surf music as the soundtrack? Of course not. You would pick music to create the right mood, that special ambiance that will make your event most enjoyable. I am a big fan of Bob Blumer and his book The Surreal Gourmet actually has album suggestions to accompany various menus. It's a really interesting approach and one I think is worth exploring more.

I have the best job in the world. I am the general manager of a very cool non-commercial music radio station in Pittsburgh, PA - WYEP. Obviously, I am biased, but I would be remiss if I didn't make sure you knew about this amazing station. Hint - you can stream it online. But I digress. Pittsburgh has a thriving and growing food scene with new and interesting restaurants popping up all the time. One of the segments on WYEP is called "Pairings" and in this collaboration between our on-air host Cindy Howes and our own local celebrity Chef Bull Fuller, they match music and menus. Cindy will play a song and Bill will suggest a menu. Then Bill will describe a menu, usually something seasonal, and Cindy will suggest some music. This approach seems custom made for a dinner party, doesn't it?  So, that's exactly what we did.

Chef Fuller is the executive chef for the Big Burrito Group, which runs six restaurants. They do these benefit dinners once a month for local nonprofits in which they donate all the food and wine and the nonprofit sells tickets. We approached Chef Fuller about doing this as a theme dinner inspired by a classic album and he loved the idea. In 2014, we hosted a dinner at Eleven restaurant inspired by Bruce Springsteen's "The River" and it was a huge success.  This time, we chose The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. It was perfect timing for a perfect pairing. Chef Fuller personally designed and executed this perfect menu.


Read the rest of Abby's post at her food blog Goldilox Cooks.