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wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com for

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details. This

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is World Cafe. I'm Raina Duris.

0:24

The University of Georgia dominates the small

0:26

city of Athens, Georgia. Before you even

0:28

get to the campus, you're greeted by

0:30

the bright red of the UGA Bulldogs

0:33

everywhere you turn. And when

0:35

we were there, fresh-faced bright-eyed pledges roamed

0:37

the streets in their suits and dresses. It's

0:39

clear Athens is a college town and that

0:41

Athens is a sports town, but

0:43

Athens is also a music town.

0:46

And inside the imposing Tate Student Center

0:48

on UGA's grounds, tucked behind a long

0:50

Starbucks line, is a radio station with

0:52

a long legacy of getting the music

0:54

made in Athens out to the wider

0:57

world. The UGA student-run WUOG

0:59

90.5 first signed on in 1972. And

1:04

in 1980, they were the first radio

1:06

station to ever broadcast what would become

1:08

Athens' biggest band, REM. Now

1:11

these days, WUOG, also known as

1:14

WUOG, is still searching out and

1:16

playing the best new music Athens has to offer.

1:19

We visited to find out what they're playing and were

1:21

greeted by a group of students who worked there. Hi,

1:24

I'm Laura Duncan. I'm the programming

1:26

director here at WUOG. Hi, I'm

1:28

Jo Robinson and I'm the publications

1:30

director for WUOG. Hi, I'm Wyatt

1:32

Ellingson. I'm a DJ here at the station. Hi,

1:34

I'm Jake Martinez and I'm the training director here at

1:36

WUOG. Hi, I'm Garrett Hutter and I'm

1:39

the internal affairs director here at WUOG. So what

1:41

are you guys doing right now? I'm

1:43

loitering. I'm

1:45

studying, doing work. People

1:48

usually just hang out in here and like do

1:50

homework, chit chat, wait for

1:52

their shows, listen to other people's shows. And

1:54

it's like a nice in-between classes. Like it's

1:56

a nice, what's it called? Chill

1:58

down. I was gonna say. I was thinking limbo

2:01

and then I was like maybe purgatory. WUOD

2:05

is a fun welcoming place to

2:07

chill. But there are rules. Program

2:10

director Laura Duncan explains that the station has

2:12

a very clear directive for what goes on

2:14

the air. They call it

2:16

their philosophy. Philosophy

2:18

is basically the way,

2:20

we're an alternative radio station so we want to

2:23

keep everything as small as we can and highlight

2:25

smaller artists. So philosophy is an artist can't have

2:27

had a song in the Hot 100 in the

2:29

last 20 years or

2:32

an album in the top 20 of

2:34

the Billboard 200 ever. So that

2:36

takes out like Fleetwood Mac even though they're older

2:38

and they earn that top 20 and we can't

2:40

play them. But there are

2:42

exceptions to philosophy. I asked about

2:44

a show on their schedule called

2:46

Soft Scaly Underbelly. Every week

2:48

I have a guest DJ

2:50

come in and they can play any of their

2:53

out of philosophy favorites so it's our Soft Scaly

2:55

Underbelly like a dragon. It's where our thought is.

2:57

Our weak foot. So

3:01

you can play anything out of philosophy. So

3:04

that's where you can play your bigger artist like if you want

3:06

to play a Taylor Swift song. Or

3:10

if you want to play, I'm trying to think. Harry

3:12

Styles. Pink Floyd. Anything. Grateful

3:15

Dead. Something like that. The

3:17

Beatles. I think I had a, my first

3:20

interaction with WUOD was actually a Soft Scaly

3:23

Underbelly. I have a friend that's two years

3:25

older than me that came here. She graduated.

3:28

But she was a DJ and she told me to

3:30

tune in. Crazy to think I was just

3:32

like, I'm going to tune into her shift and now I'm like being

3:35

interviewed by NPR. Who'd

3:38

have thought? That's WUOG music

3:40

director Elizabeth Kim. Today

3:43

Elizabeth and the station's other music director, Mal

3:45

Holmes, are picking some songs for us. We

3:48

settle into one of their studios to talk about

3:50

the tracks but first Mal shares how she got

3:52

involved with the station. Like freshman

3:54

year, then you know like the engagement fairs that

3:56

happened in college. So like I found WUOG and

3:58

I was like. This is cool. So

4:01

I first wanted to become a DJ, so

4:03

I became a DJ. Now I

4:05

get to be a cool music director. What

4:07

made working for a radio station seem

4:10

cool? If we hear all the time all the young

4:12

people aren't listening to the radio, they're only streaming, why

4:15

was this something you wanted to do? Uh,

4:17

do you or me? Okay, so,

4:20

well I'll preface with first, I've

4:22

always known I want to be an

4:24

entertainment major, so

4:27

career-wise, I wanna be a music supervisor. This

4:30

was just perfect for me, I

4:32

didn't really know. All I saw was one of

4:34

our other exec members, Rissa. I just saw a

4:36

girl with green hair. She was like, you're

4:39

cool, and just pulled me along. We profile

4:41

people so long. It pulled

4:43

me along, she was like, hey,

4:45

are you into music? And I'm like,

4:47

yeah. So, I mean, I just

4:51

came and it looked really cool. And I

4:53

guess the thing with streaming music, listening to

4:56

Spotify all the time, it's more

4:58

so the fact of I get the

5:00

influence of putting people onto what I like. And I,

5:02

I mean, now my taste is

5:04

a lot more niche, but my

5:06

freshman year, I've already felt like, yeah, I have

5:08

like some deep cuts, I have cool bands who

5:10

I've never heard of, I know quarters have changed,

5:13

hey, I had some good cuts. No, I know,

5:15

I know, I agree, no, I agree. It's just

5:17

like you come in here and you're like, who?

5:21

Exactly, that's exactly what I felt. People have been band

5:23

after band after band, and you're just like, who?

5:26

Who are you talking about? It just goes straight over the dome. Who are we talking

5:28

about? So I feel

5:30

like now my taste is so much more niche,

5:32

but then I was thinking, I can

5:35

influence people, I can learn more

5:37

music, and I can interact with

5:39

cool people who like what I

5:41

like. And so yeah, and so

5:43

that's just like how

5:45

I felt it would be so cool to be involved. I

5:50

didn't come at, I didn't actually come

5:52

at WUG intentionally. I'm from

5:54

a pretty small town, no music scene. I

5:56

was in like band as about it.

6:00

I say no music family, like no record

6:02

store, like not a venue for

6:04

Miles. And

6:06

so just like coming here, it's just

6:08

so different and just being in the

6:10

lobby, people talk about music all the

6:12

time. And I wouldn't say like music's

6:15

something I need to talk about like 24-7. But

6:19

you know, it kind of made me realize I was like, it's such

6:22

a huge part of my life. I'm

6:24

here every day, like

6:26

all the time and not

6:30

because I necessarily have to be. So it just kind

6:32

of showed me like, it's like I can have a

6:34

job that I like

6:36

that's with my hobbies and something that I'm

6:38

like super passionate about. I

6:40

am at WUOC at the University of Georgia

6:43

right now. I'm talking to Elizabeth Kim and

6:45

Mel Holmes on the World Cafe for our

6:47

Sense of Place Athens Georgia

6:49

series. You

6:51

both have chosen a few songs. Two songs

6:54

each, one older one and one

6:56

newer one to play for us today. They

6:59

aren't necessarily from Athens artists. Three

7:01

of them are. Three of them are? Okay. So

7:04

Elizabeth, why don't you go first? What

7:06

is your older pick? This was so hard for

7:09

me to pick. I wanted to do

7:11

everything from like B52's REM to Elephant

7:15

Six. But I went

7:17

with Shiny Happy People by REM. REM

7:20

did have their first show. It was on

7:22

WUOC. So Bill Berry was also

7:24

on WUOC for a while and

7:27

he was like one of their radio personalities

7:29

I've seen. And

7:31

it's just kind of crazy to listen

7:33

to that song for me and just

7:36

kind of be here and be like it's

7:39

crazy to think that it's not

7:41

literally like, you know, we were in

7:43

the same spot as them at a

7:46

certain point. You talk to

7:48

anyone that's gone here, especially like my

7:50

parents' generation. I have a few family friends that

7:52

have been here and they're like, oh

7:54

yeah, we used to go watch REM at the

7:56

40 wall all the time. And I'm just like,

7:58

that's crazy. So I just thought

8:01

like that one, it's one of their more

8:03

popular songs, I could have gone with a

8:05

deep cut but I think that one really

8:07

highlights like how they

8:10

started from such small place and

8:12

then they made it to a

8:14

world stage. Okay so, the world

8:16

has changed. It's already on the ground, we have

8:18

a deep cut. There's

9:32

no time to

9:34

cry, happy,

9:37

happy. Put

9:54

it in your heart, put

9:57

it in your heart.

11:00

A A A

11:06

A A

11:11

A A A

11:16

A A

11:21

A A A

11:26

A A

11:30

A A

11:34

A A

11:38

A A

11:42

A A

11:46

A A

11:50

A A

11:54

A A

11:58

A When

12:00

you come around. Some. Later

12:02

or am their one of the bands

12:04

that me a big like of one

12:06

the artist and me to fix my

12:08

back in the day that different only

12:10

because it's not as big like i

12:12

feel like of modules a band like

12:15

if your music narrative yogurt you're going

12:17

to know but I don't feel like

12:19

this annual will know any one of

12:21

highlight that cause like an incessant deep

12:23

cut big bands and I just wanted

12:25

to highlight that and then also daughter

12:27

was azores my thought process and picking

12:29

my choices. So of Montreal's is like

12:31

the indie. Rock vibe that

12:33

was really popular during this time

12:36

we're late nineties is that grunge

12:38

vibe robbed and so a lot

12:40

of like Athens bands met fine

12:42

art and nut and genre of

12:44

music so I feel like they

12:47

really showcases like. How.

12:49

The progression of Log and also

12:51

Athens music scene has signed So

12:53

like when we think alike local

12:55

bands today even a lot of

12:57

them slowly think of them ourselves

12:59

like as the Dais X Loggers

13:02

we like He has us on

13:04

as like this in Athens band

13:06

be Kenya indie rock like that

13:08

or printing friend said in a

13:10

scientific eventual and have done that.

13:12

This intuit everything disappears when you

13:14

come around. It's of Montreal or

13:16

rock cafe. Now

14:17

hear. Me

14:21

Now. He

14:23

he. Ha!

14:40

Ha ha ha. He.

14:48

He ha. Ha!

14:59

Ha! Ha!

15:20

Ha! Everything

15:25

have had it is.

15:36

Hop. Around.

15:46

Our. World Cafe and with as Montreal

15:48

everything disappears when you come around a

15:50

ban from Athens, Georgia where I am

15:53

for a sense of place they have

15:55

Rock Cafe! I'm here with Elizabeth, Kim

15:57

and Mal Home with both knees. It

15:59

does. Good at wool og at the university

16:01

of Georgia. So.

16:04

And he needs either. You're. Young, you were

16:06

to really hear it here when Aria was

16:08

playing their for So. How

16:11

much did you know about the history? of this

16:13

station when you started working at it.

16:16

Absolutely. Nothing here I'm I'm still

16:18

learning. Yeah seen as a lot more

16:20

than ideal of us. Have been here

16:22

but a little bit longer. So.

16:24

Before we get your new songs.

16:26

What these see? As.

16:29

Your. Role and Loves role

16:31

now. In the music scene

16:33

as having like today isn't own

16:35

I feel like I think I

16:38

see leg or purpose here is

16:40

kind of just to amplify like

16:42

is similar to the. I

16:44

would assume the media directors of back then

16:47

were at. The goal is to amplify voices

16:49

who are not only local that who are

16:51

as a small bands as I had a

16:53

path census Winds and Crow and it's get

16:56

airplay like I feel like that. Purpose.

16:58

Of our jobs hasn't really shifted

17:00

in terms of anything major is

17:02

really just like these new bands,

17:04

these altering bands or and now

17:07

today million and was a good

17:09

thing to the. Spirit. Of the

17:11

rule has changed at all. Oh my,

17:13

You think workplace a pretty big role in

17:15

late getting word out about shows here?

17:17

It's still. Definitely a word of

17:19

mouth saying in this league does his own.

17:21

Even if you're not on social media you're

17:23

gonna hear about a show that skyn that

17:26

happening in all your friends are going go

17:28

to. I do think that workers can and

17:30

show up and words tissue to shows that

17:32

probably wouldn't have like. as the

17:34

following his and stuff that makes

17:36

a sound that know my name

17:38

is Evelyn that decides you hope

17:40

to l radio station do is

17:42

a good thing Yeah letter to

17:44

sound like we're making these bands

17:46

or anything like that but you

17:48

know like we get excited for

17:51

shows. Okay, well. That's.

17:53

A new songs yeah I want you to talk

17:55

about the media legitimacy policy to a new band.

17:57

I was with See You on his third. There

18:00

I'm I'm I have to flip a coin

18:02

here as really good defensively and between two

18:04

different songs, I think I'm going to go.

18:08

Boys or. I'll

18:10

say it, Suck up by Honey Puppy. And

18:13

tells us any puppy hyper the

18:16

is one band of like part

18:18

of a collective cold hard tech

18:21

which is their to like. A

18:24

pretty big. Collective. Here

18:26

in Athens and it's a lot of

18:28

different bands like a nuclear tourism until

18:30

market who you guys are talking to

18:33

later in his Sicily. more of like

18:35

an experiment so and punk and definitely

18:37

to sleep like alternatives in. Like the

18:39

Pure since the word and I'm like

18:42

kind of collective where they burrow house

18:44

parties and they have organized shows is

18:46

so that you don't need to have

18:48

like a label so you know like

18:51

put things together their female lead which

18:53

is kind of different from the other.

18:55

Bands on the I Think and.

18:58

I don't know I think that they're not,

19:00

they're not tweet but I think they have

19:03

like this cuteness to them that you don't

19:05

see in a lot of in a lot

19:07

of punk bands on which I think really

19:09

make them stand out and their of really

19:11

fun live show Jersey who is their lead

19:13

singer or you know I love or stage

19:16

presence I think see so different from a

19:18

lot of female artists and I do that

19:20

They went to u t a and they

19:22

were in the endless prove their music business

19:24

or them here are you know hyper business

19:26

I the researchers and to suspicious because. You

19:29

know they're definitely I think something that the

19:31

fines or sound right now. I love Honey

19:33

Puppy or can I say. here's

19:37

anybody with circa You're

21:43

listening to the World Cafe. That was Honey

21:45

Puppy. The song was called Suck Up. I'm

21:47

speaking with Elizabeth Kim and Mel Holmes of

21:50

WUAG at the University of Georgia as WUOG

21:54

90.5, the student-run station at UGA.

21:57

Right now, talking about a couple of songs

21:59

you've both tried. goes in, newer songs that

22:01

sort of define the sound of the

22:03

station. Now, what did you

22:05

choose? So I chose Joe's

22:08

in a beginning. Joe,

22:11

if you don't know, he is Joe Keery

22:13

from Stranger Things. And

22:16

so I was, again, going with the whole genre

22:18

thing, I was really trying to think of like, where

22:20

we are now as a station. And

22:22

I feel like a lot of our

22:24

DJs, especially like for specialty shows, have

22:27

a focus towards psychedelic type music. And

22:29

so I was signed between this and like one other

22:31

thing, but he gets a bit more airplay. And

22:34

also relevant is he just came

22:36

out of philosophy. Because of

22:39

TikTok. Exactly. TikTok. We

22:41

can't play him anymore, but he was a big favorite

22:43

in the station. Like we really love to play him.

22:46

It kind of hurts us. Like we're so happy. It

22:48

doesn't hurt. He was there for them this whole time.

22:51

I know, I know, I've reached the rewards. Like

22:54

I'm incredibly happy that he's being successful. I

22:56

just, I don't know, I was like a

22:58

music nerd, somebody who kind of gatekeeps a little bit.

23:01

It does hurt. But the song itself

23:03

is like, it has a psychedelic element

23:06

to it. It's very synthy,

23:08

electronic, but it's not EDM. It's not going to

23:11

EDM. He just, I don't know. I

23:13

like his sound. Like he plays around nicely.

23:15

Like it's just a really solid song. I

23:17

feel like a lot of music right now

23:19

is going to psychedelic, but it's not top

23:21

40s popular. So

23:24

it kind of plays into like what we as a station, what we

23:26

as like 20 year olds, 18 year

23:29

olds, 23 year olds are really liking right now

23:31

in terms of music. And so I think it's

23:33

such an interesting transition between from when Wauwauk was

23:35

kind of starting in the 70s, 80s, 90s and

23:37

where we are now. Let's

23:41

take a listen to Joe, end of beginning and we'll come

23:43

back. I'm

24:03

going to do

24:05

this. I'm

24:10

going to

24:13

do this. I'm going to

24:16

do this.

24:22

I'm going to do this. I'm

24:29

going to

24:31

do this. I'm

24:35

going to do this. I'm

24:46

going to do

24:48

this. I'm

24:54

going to do

24:58

this. I'm

25:00

going to do this all the time.

25:05

I'm going to

25:09

do this. I'm

25:15

going to do

25:17

this. I'm

25:21

going to do this.

25:27

I'm going to do this.

25:57

I'm going

25:59

to do this. I'm begging you, girl,

26:01

I see it. Oh,

26:06

you're the enemy. I

26:08

was in it. I

26:12

wasted it till the end of

26:14

the day. That

26:21

was End of Beginning from Joe. And

26:24

that brings us to the end of

26:26

our conversation. I'm talking to

26:28

Elizabeth Kim and Mal Holmes from the

26:30

University of Georgia and their student-run radio

26:33

station WUOG or W-U-O-G. They're both music

26:35

directors here. I really

26:37

enjoyed talking to you guys. Thank you so much for having me.

26:40

No, it was amazing. Thanks so much for

26:42

thinking about it. I got the email

26:44

and I was like, hello me? What? I'm

26:46

positive syndrome. You

26:49

guys know what you're talking about. Thank

26:51

you. This was so much fun. I'm Raina

26:53

Duras back in a moment with more World Cafe.

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