New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

It feels simple to say, but it carries a lot. Over the past week, more than 170 of you came together and raised over $25,000 to support WTSQ. That kind of response does not happen by accident. It happens because people believe in something and choose to keep it going.

Since 2015, WTSQ has existed because listeners decided it should. Not because it was easy, and not because it was guaranteed, but because independent, community radio felt worth building and protecting. Every donation during this fund drive is part of that same story.

It takes about $45,000 each year to keep WTSQ on the air. Reaching more than half of that in one week puts us in a strong position, even knowing there is still work ahead. The rest of that support comes in over time through sustaining members and local businesses and organizations who continue to show up for this station. It is a collective effort, and it always has been.

This past week also reminded us how fragile and important this work can be. Many of you noticed issues with our FM signal. What started as a weakening broadcast became an antenna problem that required immediate attention. We will be investing $1,200 to fully repair and stabilize the antenna, and we are looking at additional backup options so we are better prepared next time.

At the same time, we are continuing to move forward. After nearly two years of saving and planning, we have secured $10,000 in funding for a new studio mixing board, microphone processing, and an updated emergency broadcast system. These upgrades will improve the sound of every show and ensure we can deliver reliable emergency alerts when they are needed most. When everything is installed, we plan to open the doors and invite you in to see how your support turns into something real and lasting.

If you picked up a perk during the drive, thank you for that as well. These take time to produce and organize, and we expect about two months before everything is ready to ship. We will keep you updated along the way.

Over the weekend and into today, we have been celebrating in a way that feels very WTSQ. More than 88 hours of continuous vinyl records for Vinylthon 2026. There is something grounding about putting a record on and letting it play through. Thank you to The Wine Down and Sullivan’s Records for helping us bring that experience out into the community. Thank you to so many local businesses for donating gift cards during this drive.

And there is still more to come this week.

This Saturday is WTSQ The Folklore Tape, an intimate evening of live music at Folklore Music Exchange. Artists from across the region will share songs and the stories behind them in a setting that is meant to be close, present, and memorable. For those who picked up this perk or who support WTSQ as sustaining members, we are looking forward to sharing that night with you.

More than anything, this past week has been a reminder that WTSQ is not just a frequency. It is a collection of people who listen, support, volunteer, create, and care enough to keep it going.

Thank you for being part of it :)

Thank you for keeping it spinning!

WTSQ 88.1 FM
The Status Quo

New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

We’ve teamed up with Camp NeverNice for an incredible 2026 lineup of perks—featuring bold, handcrafted artwork and some of the most creative, collectible items we’ve ever offered. From exclusive apparel and prints to one-of-a-kind experiences and analog-inspired gear, this year’s rewards are built for true WTSQ supporters.

Don’t miss out—these perks are limited and only available during the fundraiser.

--> Click the link, explore the 2026 perks, and support WTSQ through our Fundrazr today!

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New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

(I saw Jonathan Richman this past week!)

New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou

Ok, so here's the deal – writing this usually takes me about 3-4 hours. It's currently 11:10 post meridian on Sunday night. I have to be up at 5. I have absolutely no idea what I have done today other than host a radio show and cook a pot of chili (loyal readers will remember the recipe from a few Top8s back). Let's get this show on the road.

Send your executive dysfunction lifehacks to wtsq.org/contact. God knows I need them. 

Remember Sports - Cut Fruit

There's a lot to like about Remember Sports. The name for one. Good name. Hell of a name. Also, the band has a wonderfully noisy take on indie rock with a bit of power pop. "Cut Fruit" is the new single. I love how this band takes real human drama and pathos and turns it into something exuberant. Think about the best Weezer songs from back when they were worth a good goddamn.

Sweet Pill - No Control

Philly's Sweet Pill has what I think is a pretty rad combination of 90s crunch, emo, and punk. "No Control" leans more into the punk elements, but still hits you with the band's usual sound. This track is a little more fun than what initially got me into them. The band's 2024 EP Starchild, and especially the track "Eternal", has really stuck with me and become one of my favorite releases from the last few years. I am not sure if "No Control" will quite hit that, but it is still pretty damn good.

Robber Robber - Suspicious Minds (Elvis Cover)

Holy hell, these crazy MFs hit us with an Elvis cover. And it's fantastic. I have always thought that if you do a cover, you should try to do something different with the song than the original artist did. Robber Robber certainly accomplished that here. The song is completely rearranged.  The guitars flirt with fuzzed out stoner rock, and the vocals are more or less whispered in a too-cool-to-care monotone. I really, really fuck with this cover, but I will add that the band also recently released an also terrific single called "Talkback" that almost wound up here instead.

Young Mountain - Sympati

"Sympati" has a good measure of rock music catharsis. Things get quiet and then get loud and finally find a struggling, survival of spirit in the midst of it all. Something that I really think only rock music does. There's a lot of other great music out there, don't get me wrong. But these kind of thunderous moments of defiance are best accomplished with a guitar, bass, and drums.

Or that's what I took from it anyway, however I think this song is in Swedish so it could be a grocery list for all I know.

Slut Intent - Peppa Pig

Proper punk rock. Femme fronted and extremely pissed off. This is the kind of thing you catch in a basement and count yourself lucky if you leave without a chipped tooth. Slut Intent brings the whole thing on "Peppa Pig", and really on everything I have heard from them. As a side note, I especially like it when shit is mixed so that you can understand the vocals. A+ from Auntie Em, kids.

The 3Strikes - Time To Say Goodbye

I don't know if this is really true, but there's a part of me that feels that everything will be ok as long as someone is out there playing old school punk in the vein of bands like the Ramones, the Descendants, or Pennywise. Drunken sing along choruses make you best friends with some kid in the pit who loves the same song – for exactly 2 minutes. "Time to Say Goodbye" is a perfect example of this kind of music. I'd have loved this when I was 19-20, just like I love it now. This is the kind of song that makes you remember to tuck your shoelaces in so you don't fall down in the pit.

Automatic - Terminal 

Synth-punk from LA with a little electroclash for good measure. Automatic drops a sort of breakbeat into something that hits the ground running. Or maybe that's dancing. "Terminal" is weird enough to be interesting, but goes hard enough to get your ass moving. This really grabbed a hold of me. Automatic might end up being one of my new favorite bands.

Honeymoan - If I'm Honest

Honeymoan calls themselves pop. I can hear it. And there's nothing wrong with pop. But this sounds way too band-oriented to be a pop track in 2026. "If I'm Honest" has a lot more of an edge to it than pop usually does too. I'd reference 90s stuff like Lush or Garbage as a comparison, just with a little more gloss.

Which brings us to this week's extra innings. These are just a few bonus tracks I am into right now. These aren't new, they are just awesome.

Sweet Pill - Eternal

Smog - Hit the Ground Running

Otis Redding - I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) (Live at the Monterey Pop Festival)

And a playlist with everything.

Thank all of you for reading and listening for another year.

-emily. 

Emily

1. Wednesday - Bleeds
2. Snocaps - Snocaps
3. Mei Semones - Animaru
4. They are Gutting a Body of Water - Lotto
5. Lung - The Swankeeper
6. Andrew Adkins - Vandalia
7. Nourished by Time - The Passionate Ones
8. Smerz - Big City Life
9. Tyler Childers - Snipe Hunter
10. Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You

Lou (In no particular order)

Oxis - Oxis 7
Oklou - Choke Enough
Wednesday - Bleeds
The 1975 - Still… At Their Very Best (Live From The OA Arena, Manchester, 17.02.24)
The Wild Shoats - Yell In The Shoats
Smerz - Big city life
Mei Semones - Animaru
Dijon - Baby
Water From Your Eyes - It’s a Beautiful Place
Annahstasia - Tether

And here's our collaborative best of 2025.

Thanks to everyone for a great year of music.

Anyway, the ass end of the year continues to be a time when very few bands are dropping new releases. As a result, I have a track from May in here and a few from September. But they are great tracks that I would absolutely have included earlier in the year if I'd heard them.

I have been making a lot more soup and watching some movies. School starts back in a few weeks, so I need to do a lot of human things between now and then. School ruins my life.

Send us a list of what ruins your life at wtsq.org/contact

Agriculture - Bodhidharma

I don't always get super into extremely screamy vocals. They all sound the same and most of the time I can't make out what they are saying. I'm usually into the metal or punk bands they front, but the vocals just don't often set well on my ears. Agriculture is a different kind of band. Their screamyness is in the service of black metal with a fair dose of shoegaze – blackgaze some people call it. Their new album "The Spiritual Sound" has a lot of different sounds and influences. Agriculture pairs the aggression and intensity of black metal together with a lot of textures from other genres from doom to ambient. Hell, there's even some folk here. "Bodhidharma" is the standout track for me, but the whole album is great. This is a refreshing find that kinda wakes me back up to this kind of metal. Thanks out to Bug for putting this on my radar.

Bonus points – if you're into this, make sure you also check out Thou out of NYC.

Forty Winks - Commie bf

Yet another fucking awesome band coming out of Pittsburgh. It must be the pierogies. Forty Winks has a new EP called "Love is a Dog From Hell" (a reference to one of my favorite poets, Charles Bukowski). The whole EP is excellent, and I was torn between "Commie bf" and "Spurs". This is a moody rock band that can bounce between dreamy and clipping insane noise the next. "Commie bf" is a more punk track in the vein of classic Nirvana but with some jangle.

Bloodsports - Rosary

The band's pithy bio calls them "new york city guitar music" and they appear to be as good as their work. "Rosary" starts with a wispy atmosphere before turning into a great thundering mass of guitar noise with a stompy beat.

Total Wife - Second Spring

If I go long enough without hearing a flanging guitar, I start to shake and stutter until someone hits me with an epipen filled with a shot of Souvlaki Space Station. Next time, I could just as easily turn to Total Wife. "Second Spring" shows a really perfected dichotomy of soft-as-a-cloud vocals with supernova levels of crunch and fury. This is really gorgeous and perfectly executed.

Home is Where - artificial grass

It sounds absolutely insane to combine emo and country. Until you hear it – and I have to say, this truly fucks. "Artificial Grass" adds a bit of twanging sweetness to an angular emo guitar figure and eventually finds its way to a time signature change and some intense vocals. I am super into this. The whole album is "Hunting Season" and it's extremely worth a spin.

Good Flying Birds - Eric's Eyes

Another one from Bug. Good Flying Birds are here to chew bubblegum and jangle like motherfuckers and they are all out of bubblegum. You all know how I feel about jangle, but Good Flying Birds are bringing something else here too. Tracks like "Eric's Eyes" show a real lofi punk vibe along with the indie jangle.

Water From Your Eyes - Born 4

I have featured Water From Your Eyes before. These guys combine various synth textures from chiptune to more ambient sounds with sudden and often surprising leaps into distortion and guitars. "Born 4" is typical of this. It features a hyper chiming music box that swirls around your brain and eventually breaks out into something abrasive and noisy. I kinda see this stuff as the 2020s children of one of my all time favorites, Sleigh Bells.

University - Bee

University is a British punk act that keeps the noise and jagged edges of that genre while insisting on the elbow room to explore some other sounds. "Bee" starts out with a vaguely honky-tonk beat but quickly clobbers it with a big wet mess of noise. The guitar seems blithely unconcerned with tune or even timing here, and the track is absolutely the better for it. Think of bands like Sonic Youth.

And this week's extra innings. Just a few other things I am listening to.  Which, this week, is actually just TAGABOW.

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water - Sour Diesel

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water - 63 Skies

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water - jadakiss

And a playlist with everything.

Thank you all for reading and listening.

-emily

New Music Monday playlists released every other Monday! 

Send any new tune suggestions to lou@wtsq.org. Thanks for tuning in to Mornings with Lou, every Monday-Friday 7-9 AM. :-)

Mornings with Lou