“The Top 10 Songs Spinning at KCSU” is written by the KCSU music directors and describes the top artists that your local 90.5 FM DJs are playing this week. The article is updated weekly on Sundays and discussed on their show, “KCSU’s Weekly Gem Countdown,” which airs every Monday from 11 a.m.-noon. Here, you can learn more about each musician or band before tuning in to the top 10 countdown on Mondays, in which the music directors present to you the latest songs topping the charts and break down each song’s sound and feeling.

*= Brand new to the charts this week!

1.Lady Gaga — Pop — (Ten spins on “Alice (LSDXOXO Remix)” off 2021’s “Dawn of Chromatica.”) From her Spotify: “Academy Award, Golden Globe & Grammy-winner Lady Gaga is a one-of-a kind artist and performer. She has amassed over 35M global album sales and 32B streams, making her one of the best-selling musicians of all time.” Among great musical accolades, she also acted as the lead role in the Oscar-winning 2018 remake of “A Star Is Born.” Her most recent release is “Love For Sale”, with Grammy winner and jazz artist Tony Bennett.

2. *Hiatus Kaiyote – R&B/Soul – (Nine spins on “Chivalry Is Not Dead” off 2021’s “Mood Valiant.”) Melbourne-based Hiatus Kaiyote has been making music since its 2012 debut album, Tawk Tomahawk. It is made up of Nai Palm on guitar and vocals, Paul Bender on bass, Simon Mavin on keys and Perrin Moss on drums. Their genre-fluid style and “knotty grooves” have grabbed the world’s attention, and artists like The Carters (Beyonce and Jay-Z), Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak and more have used samples from Hiatus Kaiyote in their songs. Their most recent release is 2021’s “Mood Valiant.”

3. *Rostam – Alt/Indie – (Eight spins on “4Runner” off 2021’s “Changephopia.”) Grammy Award-winning songwriter, producer and artist Rostam is a powerhouse in the music industry. Once a founding member of highly successful Vampire Weekend, he went solo and released his debut album “Half-Light” in 2017, which was very well received. He has also produced for some of today’s biggest artists like Frank Ocean, Solange and Maggie Rogers. His most recent album, 2021’s Changephobia, was released under his own label, Matsor Projects, and was quickly followed up by a remix album featuring electronic house producers like Ben Böhmer and A. G. Cook.

4. Weezer – Rock – (Eight spins on “The End of the Game” off 2021’s “Van Weezer”.) Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell and Scott Shriner. They self-released their debut, the Blue Album, in 1993, featuring “Buddy Holly”, “Say It Ain’t So”, and “Undone — The Sweater Song.” The album went on to become a multi-platinum success. They’ve released fifteen albums throughout their career, and the popular song “Pork and Beans” won a Grammy for Best Music Video in 2009. Their most recent release is 2021’s “Van Weezer”.

5. The Nova Kicks (Local) – Rock – (Six spins on the 2021 single, “Better Than You Could Believe”. Based out of Denver, the Nova Kicks is made up of longtime friends Luis Prado and Enrique Sandoval in 2015, later adding Annie Kelly on bass and Brandon Fierro on drums. They spent several years playing shows around Denver and establishing themselves in the local indie-rock scene before releasing their debut EP in 2020, called “Son of a Stray.” The band describes having tons of influences from blues, country, and punk, all of which make their way into their music. They’ve released two singles in 2021: “Raton” and “Better Than You Could Believe.”

6. *Yola – R&B/Soul – (Six spins on “Stand For Myself” off 2021’s “Stand For Myself.”) Mixing sophisticated tones from genres like soul and classic pop, Yola spins together 2021’s beautifully nuanced album, “Stand For Myself.” The project shares stories of “allyship, black feminine strength through vulnerability, collective awakening and loving connection from the sexual to the social.” She says that the album is about the vitality we bring to our spirit when we stand up for ourselves and stand in our many-layered complexities as people.

7. *Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine – Alt/Indie – (Six spins on “Back to Oz” off 2021’s “A Beginner’s Mind.”) The concept album “A Beginner’s Mind” is a collaboration between songwriters and artists Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine. They were inspired to write an album with each track based on a different movie. Source materials include zombie-horror film “Night of the Living Dead” as well as “All About Eve,” a classic featuring Bette Davis. Their Bandcamp states that they were looking to create songs that “seek to investigate the meaning of life, the meaning of death and everything in between.”

8. People in General (Local) – Rock – (Five spins on “Cinderella” off 2019’s “Piglet”.)  As stated on their Spotify, “People in General is a four piece jazz-pop band from Fort Collins, Colorado. Before the formation of the band, the band had a deep history playing with each other in various ensembles. Formed in 2019, People in General has pop roots and weaves together anything from jazz to math-rock on top to add complex textures to the compositions.” The band’s lineup currently consists of Abe Dashnaw on Guitar and vocals, Matan Birnbaum on keys, Ethan Christi on drums, and Ben Eberle on bass.

9. Bad Bad Hats – Alt/Indie – (Four spins on “Gloria Love” off 2021’s “Walkman”.) From their website: “Bad Bad Hats is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their music is rooted in classic pop songwriting with elements of nineties rock influence and an overall lightheartedness. Kerry (guitar, vocals) Chris (bass) and Con (drums) have toured the country several times in their trusty minivan, sampling the best local cuisine along the way.”

10. Lane 8 (Local) – Electronic – (One spin on “Road” off 2020’s “Brightest Lights”.) Denver-based Daniel Goldstein, also known as Lane 8, has become a leader of the melodic house scene, selling out venues such as Brooklyn Mirage and the iconic Red Rocks in Colorado. He released his debut album, “Rise”, in 2015 with deep house label Anjunadeep, and has gone on to put out two more studio albums, 2018’s “Little By Little” and 2020’s “Brightest Lights”. He also founded his own record label, This Never Happened, in 2016.

The music director can be reached at music@kcsufm.com.