Culture Queue

This week, we’re exploring the other realm. That’s right, we’re setting up our Ouija boards, buy cloves of garlic and traveling to the most mysterious places in the twin cities for a look at some urban legends. Lock all your doors, keep the lights on and listen to Aaron Bolton’s venture to Gray Cloud Island, Patrick Sharkey’s soundscope of spookiness and Max fuller’s ghost hunt.

This week, we’re staying home. I mean sure, Minneapolis and St. Paul are bursting with things to do, places to visit, bands to listen to - but we all need a breather sometime right? We just need to sit down on our sofas, take a nap in our beds to wake up refreshed and ready to take on the Twin Cities and its limitless culture. Aaron Bolton hangs out at a house show, Nathan Gerdes listens to house bands, and Katie Bolin does some online dating.

This week, instead of studying for all those classes we’re in, we’re taking a break, putting our feet up and reading some comics. The colorful, eventful, suspenseful print media that has reflected American culture since the Great Depression. Although our cherished superheroes lost popularity in the middle of the 20th Century, blockbuster movies, A-list actors and special effects have revived the genre in ways that couldn’t have been conceived in the 1930s. So let’s dive into the action.

This week, we’re conquering the final frontier. We’re pointing our microphones towards the heavens tonight in our special space edition of Culture Queue. We will learn the mysteries of the skies above us while being brought back down to earth through the lens of the Twin Cities. Newly appointed producer Maxxx Fuller packs his bags and prepares to move way way way upstate, Jared Hemming plays us the soundtrack of the place with no sound, and Noel Clark looks up at the stars from his campsite.

This week, we’re paying tribute to a Minnesotan institution. The venue that is synonymous with Minneapolis nightlife, and a place that helped distinguish the city’s thriving music scene. I’m of course talking about First Avenue. The famous venue has had quite the identity crisis over the last 45 years. It was a bus station turned club called The Depo, which was later changed to the whimsically patriotic Uncle Sam’s, then just Sam’s and finally, on New Year’s Eve 1981, First Avenue as we know and love it was born. Thousands of bands have graced First Ave’s stage, with many of them earning a place on their exterior wall of stars. We went to find out the secrets behind the venue and what it takes to turn nights of crowds, bands and booze into a business.

This week, we’re playing the imitation game. We explore what it is to be someone you’re not, whether it be in the limelight of Hollywood, in the realm of internet aliases, and in the dubious reality of reality TV shows. Matt Curtis speaks to a student at the U who tried his hand at the pop life, new volunteer Jared Hemming reflects on the sights of sounds of Hollywood, and Todd Crotty finds his 15 minutes of fame at America’s Got Talent.

This week, we’re finding entertainment at the grassroots. In the age of the internet, audiences for our work have never been more available. Whether you’re make YouTube videos with your old high school friends or you have a Soundcloud with demos of your songs recorded with an iPhone, this is the age for everyone. Tonight we hear stories of people following their passions from the ground up. Matt Curtis speaks to students at the U premiering their latest theater production, Aaron Bolton listens to local independent bands and Amy Friedman gets sold on student entrepreneurs.

This week, we’re exploring the ins and outs of fitness. When something bad happens a cliché that is often uttered goes something along the lines of “at least we have our health,” illustrating the importance of wellbeing above all else. In this day and age we’re making an effort to keep our spirits wholesome, eat healthily and keep fit. Amy Friedman looks at the modern world’s take on yoga, Noel Clark talks to a hardworking health organization and Katie Bolin rides with the Minnesota bikers.

This week we’re talking technology. We’ve come a long way from Pong, dial up and computers that filled entire rooms, we live in an age where we’re hooked up whenever we see fit, and things are only getting smaller, faster and more capable. But with all these advancements, certain responsibilities need to be taken, and risks need to be avoided. Aaron Bolton investigates a data breach, Marjorie Otto weighs the morality of pirating content, and Joe Krall gives advice in securely using the internet.

This week, we're concluding the exciting, inventive, all-new Die Hard Radio Play, as presented by the folks at Radio K and Culture Queue. Strap in for the audio ride of your life.

To celebrate the holidays, We have a special radio play presentation scheduled for this evening. In 1988, a unapologetic action flick hit theaters destined to become a classic. Now Culture Queue will retell the story of Die Hard, because nothing captures the spirit of the holidays quite like Bruce Willis gunning down German terrorists. It's the Die Hard Radio Play, only on Radio K, real college radio.

This week we’re speaking with groups who are trying to make it, despite the obstacles. People who are aren’t in positions of power, who are taken advantage of, who fighting to make themselves heard. New reporter Max Fuller wants to know why Hollywood is keeping out African Americans, I paint a picture of a potentially shady internship, and Aaron Bolton gives us a Soundscope.

This week, we’re on the search for a deal. We’re glancing through store windows, we’re browsing websites and we’re riffling through newspapers for the satisfaction of savings. To know we are getting a deal is a prize so sweet, but are we willing to sacrifice the lives of small businesses and media creators to get them? Katie Bolin takes a look at local businesses and their experience with coupons, Marjorie Otto examines the ethics of pirating, and host Matthew Curtis talk to Sam Segal about Radio K’s Weekly Release Spotlight.

This week, we’re taking the power back. The man, the system, whatever you want to call the all-powerful force in society that you glare towards when things don’t work out – we’re fighting it. We’re protesting and contesting in two stories from our producers. In the first, Aaron Bolton gets in gear to argue Parking Tickets in the cities, Parker Lemke tries his hand at student protests and I talk to Sam Segal about Radio K’s Weekly Release Spotlight.

This week, we’re relying on the Twin Cities community. The eclectic, exciting and energetic society that we’re fortunate to surround ourselves with. We’re a diverse people who can change the entire world or make one person’s day a little bit better. Katie Bolin looks to Minneapolis to change Ebola in the US, Parker Lemke checks out the local comedy scene and Aaron Bolton gives us the go-to anti-stress soundtrack.

Fall is before us already and we’re more than ready for it at Culture Queue. We’re snuggling up and listening to music, prepping the Halloween decorations and candy, and finding time to skateboard before the snow comes. Aaron Bolton finds the connection between music and skateboarding and Katie Bolin gives us the rundown on the definitive Halloween playlist.

This week, we’re exploring the beauty of nature. The leaves are falling, the snow is on its way, and there’s so much to be admired. Now it would be great if Minnesota had more seasons that Winter and nearly winter… Katie Bolin harvests the apple orchards of Minnesota for a story, Aaron Bolton listens to music on a rainy day, and Matthew Curtis interview EDM star Porter Robinson about his debut album, Worlds.

This week, we’re speaking out, through powerful poetry, against crimes in our city, for the plight of the needy. Parker Lemke listens to modern poetry in Minneapolis, and Matthew Curtis find the facts on bike theft, and Aaron Bolton looks into the benefits of music therapy.

This week, we’re covering excellence, what it takes to achieve it. Whether it’s joining others and working together, leaving competitors in the dust while you go it alone with your own style, or just waiting until your time comes. Aaron Bolton scratches the surface of the vinyl resurgence, Parker Lemke pledges to cover academic fraternities, and Matthew Curtis takes a look at one of the leading tech companies in the game.

After putting the first week of school behind us, we’re reflecting on what means to be a student. Someone who is swamped with work and still trying to find time for themselves, saving pennies wherever they can and trying to get by. Zoe Peterson reads up on the rising prices of college textbooks, Katie Bolin sees what you can do if you’re taking care of a pet on a budget, and Parker Lemke finds the time to see what is going on in Art in St. Paul.