Tonight marks a very special night in the recent history of local music. For the last time, LocalCut contributor and friend Arya Imig will host Sound Judgment on KPSU, the Portland State radio station. For over three years, Arya (full disclosure: he’s been a good friend of mine since my freshman year of high school) has used his Monday night show to champion local music, giving breaks to the Shaky Hands, Starfucker, World’s Greatest Ghosts, Emily Katz, and Southern Belle before just about anyone else did. And that list is just the tip of the iceberg.

Last week Arya celebrated the end of Sound Judgment by inviting 18 (!!!) bands and artists to play on his two hour show, including the Shaky Hands, the Online Romance, Nelson Kempf of the Old Believers, the Morals, the Rainy States, and Randy Bemrose. It basically sounded like the greatest party ever in KPSU’s basement studio, with bands performing in both the DJ and interview booths while everyone else watched from outside. Instead of heading down to the studio to hang out with everyone, I decided to stay in at home, make a cup of tea, and listen to the show on, gasp, the radio. If you missed it, stream it while it’s hot:

Part One:

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Part Two:

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Even if you don’t have time to listen to the whole thing, I’d recommend coming back and really engaging with it when you have the time. There’s some really astounding performances during the whole two hours, from the Rainy States unplugging and doing an acoustic version of “Move On! Move On!” (one of Arya’s favorite songs) to a really fucking amazing two song set by Blue Skies For Black Hearts. And if you only have a few minutes, skip to about 51 minutes in to listen to the Shaky Hands and friends perform an impromptu version of a song they wrote about KPSU. It’s a silly, jaunty number, but when Nick Delffs sings “We got the radio man/ His name is Arya/ And he’ll play our songs/ He’ll play them for you,” it’s touching and simple and so true. Arya’s done more than just about anyone I know to support local music the past few years, and a whole bunch of people (myself included) are going to miss listening to Sound Judgment every Monday night.

In the meantime, you can still listen to These Are the Days, an exclusive podcast that Arya makes just for LocalCut. Thanks for the memories, Arya, and we wish you the best wherever you go.

The final episode of Sound Judgment airs tonight from 10 pm – 12 am on KPSU. You can listen at 1450 am or online at kpsu.org/listen

Links:
KPSU

Photo by Nick Albertson

Related posts:

1. Photo Review: Sound Judgment Festival 3 Last weeke
2. LC Radio: Portland Makes Music, Episode 3 March 1, 2
3. LC Radio: Portland Makes Music, Episode 2 February 1
4. LC Radio: Portland Makes Music, Episode 1 January 4,
5. LC Radio: Portland Makes Music, Episode 4 April 5, 2

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