Mikel McCavana '12 makes his debut appearance on WBOR this semester with "Punk Rock Saved My Life." His show will feature varying styles of punk music ranging from contemporary to '90s emo to post-punk.
McCavana said he has planned on joining WBOR since his first year at the College, and is now finally getting some airtime as a senior this year. In the meantime, he's been busy heading the Bowdoin Musical Collective (BMC) along with Nyle Usmani '12. BMC works to showcase student musical acts around campus.
"I love sharing music with people," said McCavana. "WBOR is a more structured way to get the music that I love out there to others who might not know about it."
What song makes you homesick?
MM: Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" for sure. Their first EP came out just around the fall break of my freshman year, so I listened to it a ton during my first visit back home from college.
What lyrics make you want to cry?
MM: "And at once I knew I was not magnificent" from Bon Iver's "Holocene." The song is supposedly about awe in the face of natural beauty, but that one line can also sum up just about every feeling of painful inadequacy that it's possible to feel.
What musician do you listen to the most?
MM: I can't give a completely definitive answer, but this past summer I did have the new Bon Iver album on repeat all the time. I must have listened to it the whole way through without interruptions almost every single day.
What song makes you most nostalgic for your childhood?
MM: "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order. My dad used to play New Order all the time around the house while I was growing up. We weren't really a Joy Division family.
What is your 'guilty pleasure' song?
MM: The top 40 this summer was the best that it's been in recent years, so I don't really feel guilty about saying this: "Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj. Amazing hook.
Silliest lyrics?
MM: Anything that Owl City writes. And not in a good way.
What was the first musician you saw in concert?
MM: I think it was at the Vans Warped Tour way back in middle school, so I'm not totally sure, but my best guess would probably be The Bouncing Souls.
Best song for slow-dancing?
MM: I'm going to go with the super cheesy "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith. That's the stuff that middle school dances are made of.
What lyrics make you want to party?
MM: "Let's get reborn tonight, like a phoenix in bar lights" from Banner Pilot's "Empty Your Bottles."
Rap or rock?
MM: Is rap-rock not an option? What if I'm really jonesing for some Limp Bizkit?
Best break-up song?
MM: For channeling vaguely adolescent emotions, it doesn't get any better than Fall Out Boy's "Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things To Do Today."
Artist that will stand the test of time?
MM: The Magnetic Fields. Stephin Merritt makes timeless music.
Song that makes you angry?
MM: "Regular People (Conceit)" by Pantera. Not because it's bad, but because that song is 100 percent furious rage.
Best song to kick off the new school year?
MM: "Can't Hardly Wait" by The Replacements will always remind me of fall at Bowdoin. It perfectly captures the emotional mix of nostalgia about the past and optimism about the future that surfaces at the beginning of every school year.
What lyrics are stuck in your head right now?
MM: "Forget about the things that don't matter. / Of course it's easier said, but no rush. / We don't want you losing touch" from "Losing Touch" by the awesome Portland-based punk band Pinsky.
-Compiled by Jordan Daniel Lantz.
Tune in to "Punk Rock Saved My Life" with DJ Mikel McCavana every Wednesday from from 11 a.m. to noon. on WBOR 91.1 FM or stream online at wbor.org.