“The Weekly Gems Countdown has been one of my favorite things about being Music Director for the past year. Bailey and I always see each other for the first time each week on our Monday show and catch up with one another. It was an hour long of playing great music, gossiping and drinking matcha. It genuinely makes me so sad that this is the last time we get to host this show, but you can’t get rid of us that easily! Next year, we plan to still host a show together so you all can keep updated with our lives.” – Brighid.

For our final Weekly Gems, we will be sharing with you our top 10 songs at the station! Whether they were featured on the show or we discovered them because of good old Zetta, we are here to have the best last show. Cheers to a great year of charts!

“KCSU’s Weekly Gems Countdown” is written by the KCSU Music Directors and describes the top artists that your local 90.5 FM DJs are playing this week! This article is posted weekly on Sundays and discussed on their show “KCSU Weekly Gem Countdown” which airs every Monday from 11-noon. During the show, you can learn more about each musician or band before tuning in to the top 10 countdowns on Monday from noon-1, in which the music directors present to you the latest songs topping the charts and breaking down each song’s sound and feel. See bottom of article for this week’s charts.

1. CMAT – pop – (Brighid’s choice of “I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!”) CMAT is an Irish country/pop singer and songwriter. CMAT’s third single, “I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!” describes the feeling of having no control over your life. CMAT explains to Genius that the song is “mainly about urban isolation — about having all the freedom and resources to do whatever you want but still choosing to do nothing out of deeply-embedded social anxiety and detachment from your own emotions.”

This song was a huge part of the Weekly Gems Countdown and one of my favorite that played at the station.

2. Woodbelly – country – (Bailey’s pick of “Colorado Hipster”)
This is one of the best bluegrass songs in the station. As a big bluegrass fan, this is one of the first local bluegrass songs I ever heard, and I play it on my show all the time. Wood Belly has shared bills with the Infamous Stringdusters, The Steeldrivers, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and many other established Bluegrass bands. This song comes from their 2018 album entitled Solid Ground.

3. DRAMA – electronic – (Brighid’s choice of “Good For Nothing”)
DRAMA is an electronic duo that writes the most heartbreaking songs – but groovy! They are just on their rise of becoming mainstream from their recent performance at Coachella. For me, I discovered this song one day in the office and I’ve had it on repeat ever since.

4. Alabama Shakes – soul – (Bailey’s pick of “Don’t Wanna Fight”)
This is just an incredibly solid song by an incredibly solid band. They are well known for both of their albums, 2013’s Boys and Girls and 2015’s Sound and Color. In 2018, they won the Grammy award for Best American Roots Performance, and then went on hiatus shortly afterward. Every Alabama Shakes song is amazing in its own right, but this one gets me moving and grooving every time.

5. Steve Lacy – r&b – (Brighid’s choice of “Give You the World”)
Steve, Steve, Steve. What do we have to say about him? He was constantly on the charts Fall semester of 2022 – “Bad Habit” to be exact. The artist from Compton, California, who also created all his music on Garage Band, has won a multitude of awards and is now critically acclaimed.

This was my personal favorite song off the album – so sorry it wasn’t “Bad Habit,” but this one is severely underrated.

6. Durand Jones and the Indications – r&b – (Bailey’s pick of “Sea Gets Hotter”)
Durand Jones and the Indications remind me of one of my best friends from back home, and was the soundtrack to the summer after my senior year of high school. This song is just smooth and lovely, and reminds me of a warm summer afternoon. Sea Gets Hotter is from their 2019 album American Love Call, but their 2021 album Private Space is my personal favorite.

7. Wet Leg – alt/indie – (Brighid’s choice of “Ur Mum”)
WET LEG! This was a band that KCSU allowed me to discover when this came out. It’s insane I love it so much. The British duo was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys and is getting the recognition they deserve! Wet Leg only made it one the charts once, but did make it on KCSU’s Top Albums from last year.

8. Kurt Ville & John Prine – alt/indie – (Bailey’s pick of “How Lucky”)
I am a die hard John Prine fan. His music is so raw, and his lyricism and storytelling is unmatched. He’s also a crazy amazing guitar player. This song is a sweet little ditty about enjoying your life as it is, and it never fails to make me happy. Kurt Vile is an amazing artist as well, so to have them on a track together is a special treat.

9. Lady Gaga – pop – (Brighid’s choice of “Babylon (Haus Lab Version)”)
For two months, Bailey and I didn’t host the show together it was Stevie and I! In that time, this Lady Gaga song was on repeat! This song just reminds me of the first couple times I did this show and the freshness of it all. Shoutout Stevie, I love and miss you!

10. CMAT – pop – (Bailey’s pick of “Nashville”)  CMAT has been a station favorite for as long as I’ve been at KCSU. Her album, “If My Wife New I’d Be Dead” was on our charts for what felt like forever. If Weekly Gems wasn’t already the highlight of my week every week already, this album would have definitely made it the best. While this is a no-skip album for me, “Nashville” is one of my favorites for sure.

Top 10 Songs from the week of 4/24:

1. “Emerson” by Annie DiRusso
2. “I DON’T MIND” by Co-Stanza (local)
3. “Rollercoster Ride” by DAZY
4. “Warning Signs” by DEVON
5. “Hate Dancin'” by King Gizzard
6. “This is Why” by Paramore
7. “Good Days” by SZA
8. “Choking” by The Velveteers (local)
9. “Lovebomb” by YEAH YEAH YEAHs
10. “Tortue Me” by 100gecs ft. Skrillex

The Music Directors can be reached at music@kcsufm.com