The Witching Hour ϟ wizard rock radio
Do you live in a cupboard under the stairs?
Can you talk to snakes?
Have you ever accidentally turned your aunt into a giant balloon?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be a wizard. Worried? Don’t be! The Witching Hour brings you witches and wizards up to speed on all things Harry Potter.
The Witching Hour is a wizard rock radio programme. The show is currently on hiatus. During regular seasons it airs on the Whitman College radio station, 90.5 FM Walla Walla, and streams online at KWCW.net. Find us on Facebook or in iTunes!
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The Remus Lupins | ALL CAPS | Harry and the Potters
Dearest fans,
Today’s show will be a selection of the DJs’ favorite tunes and a reflection by Sara and Mehera on their favorite things about The Witching Hour. They also read their fake graduation speech, “Dragons,” aka “More WIZARDS.” We hope you enjoy. It’s our last-ever show on air, so don’t miss out.
The Witching Hour will return with more live shows in January 2013, hosted by Claire + a NEW DJ. Look for some mixtapes over the next six months. In the meantime, we will miss you all more than we can say. We love you, dear fans.
Without further ado, we present:
Season 5 - Episode 14 - The Sad Show
“Harry Potter and the Remix of Death” by Mike Relm (WATCH THIS!!)
“End of an Era” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“So This Is It (Taking Off This Locket)” by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
“Pretty Girl” by Peeved
“Potions Yesterday” by Draco and the Malfoys
“Illegal Love Potion” by the Parselmouths
“Teenage Werewolf” by the Remus Lupins
“I’m Bringin’ Sneakoscopes” by the Sneakoscopes
“Woe is Me” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Norbert Will Eat You!!!” by the Mudbloods
“Don’t Leave” by Ministry of Magic
“Underwater” by the Giant Squidstravaganza
“I Believe in Nargles” by the Whomping Willows
“Song for the Death Eaters” by Harry and the Potters
“She a Mudblood” by Danny Dementor
“Caught in Your Devil’s Snare” by Into the Pensieve
“The Burrow” by RiddleTM and Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
“The Bravest Man I Ever Knew” by Ministry of Magic
“The Real Mad-Eye Moody” by Philosopherock
“We are Wizards” by MC Kreacher
“My Dad is Rich” by Draco and the Malfoys (Anthology of Slytherin Folk Music version)
“Our Fireworks Say Poo” by Gred & Forge
“The Boy Who Lived” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Phoenix Lament” by MInistry of Magic
J.K. Rowling is sad.
Harry is sad.
Ron is sad.
Hermione is sad.
Even Snape is sad.
But fear not, we’ll be back again. Until then, dear listeners!
a few highlights from harry potter fan culture
(obviously not all of them, but a random sampling)
themelburnianwannabe Asks:
thewitchinghourkwcw Said:
Hi! Sadly, we’ll be on a bit of a hiatus for the next 6 months, so we won’t be able to play the song in the immediate future. We’ll check it out, though and hopefully we can include it when we release a few mixtapes in the meantime. Stay tuned!
xoxo
ilovetextingandscones Asks:
thewitchinghourkwcw Said:
Hey there! Sorry if we’ve been slow to reply—Mehera and I (Sara) just graduated so things have been kind of hectic. Anyways, thank you so much!!! Listeners like you are the reason we wanted to create a podcast, so we’re glad you enjoy the show. What country are you from?
And we LOVE “Whatever You Like” too. Keep wrockin’!
xoxo
Mehera
“It’s a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up.”
Sara
This statement rings incredibly true for us as Mehera and I sit in the studio for the last time. It also rang pretty true for Harry Potter, when he was facing an imminent battle with a dragon in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
M
Believe it or not… we have always loved the Harry Potter series. As a kid I would wait eagerly for the hefty, hard-cover books, excited to tear through the story in one six-hour sitting, and read nothing else for the few days afterwards. I felt a sense of belonging when I read them, and in the books I felt I had a community with which I could identify.
S
For the uninitiated, J.K. Rowling’s seven-part story follows the coming of age of boy wizard Harry Potter as he navigates classes, friendships, awkward dates, and evil wizards at his school, Hogwarts. It was, without a doubt, a literary and cultural phenomenon. It sold almost 500 million copies, won numerous awards and inspired children and adults around the world to pick up a book and read.
M
We felt the sensation of time speeding up to a dreaded moment when the final Harry Potter book released in 2007. We felt it again last summer with the eighth film. And we’ve been feeling it for the last few months when thinking about the end of our time here at KWCW.
S
As some of you know, Mehera and I have had the pleasure of hosting a weekly radio show on K-Dub about Harry Potter for the past two and a half years. Over five seasons with The Witching Hour, we’ve come to realize that for us, Whitman has become a sort of Hogwarts. Whitman is a community that helped us pursue whatever dream we wanted, be it in politics, BBMB, visual arts or wizard studies.
M
(We’re kidding about the last one.) But really, Whitman has been about so much more than academics. Through our friendships, through experiential and social learning and the other ten million activities we juggle, we learned to make choices. We learned to challenge our mentors, peers, and ourselves. We learned to question ideas presented to us, and to trust in our own skills, capabilities and convictions. We learned that it’s okay to make mistakes, and that there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. Whitman has taught us that a strong community, like Harry’s, can be a force for positive change in the world.
S
When we were young, we looked up to characters like Harry, Hermione and Ron. They were our role models for standing up to inequality, even when it wasn’t popular or easy. They taught us the power of choice, and that we are defined not by our abilities, but our actions. And now Whitman has given us the opportunities to become those people ourselves, both on campus and in the future. Because, in your first year, the possibilities seemed endless. You think, man, four years is FOREVER—
M
(It seems like so recently we were being dragged all over campus for Pinging.)
S
—but time passes quickly. Suddenly you’ve reached the end, and you don’t always know what’s coming next.
M
As we also learned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, “[There’s] no point worrying yet, [Harry] told himself … what would come, would come… and he would have to meet it when it did.”
S
We might stress and worry about leaving the comfort of Whitman and confronting new challenges—
M
Like dragons.
S
But now that our experiences here have shaped us into capable and thoughtful people, we firmly trust that if we live in the present, and enjoy every day fully, the dragons won’t seem so dragon-ish and, well, we’ll face them when they come.
M
We have faith that each and every one of you will meet whatever is to come with knowledge, respect, and courage. We know all of us will continue to support each other in the years to come just as we have in the past four. And we really look forward to hearing about what the future has in store for each of you.
S
At the end of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, we felt a sense of closure with the epilogue, in which we learned everyone is more or less living happily ever after. Even though the series has ended, we can always return to the books and find comfort in them.
M
We are years away from our own epilogues. We teeter on the edge of the chapter, both excited and nervous to turn the page and continue our own stories. We’re unsure of what future battles we will face, whether they be dragons or debt.
S
Although in all fairness, the two are pretty similar.
M
Truth. But we worry about where we’ll be in the next five, ten, or fifteen years. From this point, the next chapter seems too great an unknown.
S
Fortunately, like Hogwarts was for Harry, Whitman will always be here as our home. We can always look back on our years here, and remember the immense strength and support of this community. We can always look back fondly on fantastic student performances at Coffeehouse—
M
—on warm days spent sitting in the birdbath near Hunter—
S
—cheering our friends on in IM Flag Football games—
M
—and attending what, to us, will always be known as “Core” class.
S
We can go into the future knowing we can always come back to this place.
M
When we were young, we thought we needed some of Harry’s magic to overcome our own evil wizards. But as it turns out, magic isn’t real.
S
That was a tough one for us to learn!
M
But really, in the wise words of JK Rowling: “We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.”
Sadly, the KWCW stream was down and we weren’t able to get a recording of the show. Listen to some of our old ones instead!
This week is all about Pottermore. We play a random collection of tunes that relate to several new tidbits we learn about the Potterverse through Pottermore—about wandlore, the Hufflepuff house common room, J.K. Rowling’s original list of characters, Quirrell, McGonagall, and more!
PS: Our apologies for the crappy audio quality. Everything’s been a bit fuzzy since lightning struck the radio tower a few weeks ago.
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Pottermore
“Quick Quotes Quill” by Tom Riddle & Friends
“Owl Post Strike” by the Owl Post & the Mudbloods
“If You Wanna Rock at Quidditch” by the 8th Horcrux
“Meet Me on Diagon Alley” by Ministry of Magic
“Hedwig’s Jam” by the Weasel King
“If This Wand Could Talk” by Catchlove
“Grab My Wand, I Dare You” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Trains, Doubts and Dreams” by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
“Train to Nowhere” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“The Sorting Hat” by Talons & Tea Leaves
“SLY in Slytherin” by Swish & Flick
“Just a Hufflepuff” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“We are Ravenclaws” by DJ Accio
“Go Go Gryffindor by the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts
“The Duel” by Draco and the Malfoys
“Potions Yesterday” by Draco and the Malfoys
“Petunia by RiddleTM
“My Baby” by Ministry of Magic
“Butterfly Kisses for Minerva” by Tom Riddle
“Different as can be” by Joe Walker and Brian Rosenthal (AVPM)
“Battle of Hogwarts” by Ministry of Magic
Hey dear listeners, we’ll have our next podcast, all about POTTERMORE, out soon. In the meantime, you should add us!
Mehera: QuestFeather100
Sara: CatPatronus96
Claire: SeerMist63
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Yes, yes I am cool. The fact that I inspired a podcast episode, and for such a good cause (little-known/cut-short wrock bands), makes me so proud and happy. Thanks, guys. And if you think you know who I am, you probably do. I’m just not that sneaky. Props for MC Kreacher, and… okay, the whole setlist is great. Way to give some love to the little guys. Keep it up, yo!
Yay! Thanks for tuning in!
And lols, thon it is, for all future references~~ TWH also hates tha gender binary!
This show was inspired by an old post by the Wrock Snob (you can read it here). We think we know who you are, Wrock Snob, and if you are, thanks for listening!! We’re totally in awe! You’re cool!
Anyways. This week, we give it up for the fabulous wrockers and wiz hoppers who spin mad tracks, but for one reason or another, never wrote more than a handful of songs. This episode is for all of you.
Season 5 - Episode 12 - One-Hit Wizards
“We are Wizards” by MC Kreacher
“House Elf 4 Life” by MC Kreacher
“Don’t Touch That” by MC Kreacher
“Don’t Wanna Be a Deatheater” by the Brothers Black
“Kiss Me (Hermione’s Lament)” by the Brothers Black
“Fawkes’ Lament” by Talons & Tea Leaves
“Hallelujah (The Boy Who Lived)” by Talons & Tea Leaves
“No Matter How Far (I’ll Still Love You)” by Talons & Tea Leaves
“My Parents Are Muggles” by Seen and Unforseen
“Taking You 2 Skool” by Dumbledore
“WizardPartay2Nite” by Dumbledore
“U Down w/OOTP?” by Dumbledore
“The Year Harry Went Emo” by Peeved
“Expelliarmus Kid” by Peeved
“Werewolf on the Grounds” by Ninen 3/4
“Potterwatch” by the Basilisk in Your Pasta
“Oliver Wood” by the Basilisk in Your Pasta
“Voldemort, Peace Off!” by the Basilisk in Your Pasta
“Flight” by Witherwings
“Aragog Tonight” by Bella’s Love
“For Those Who Are Desperate, For Those Who Are Lost, For Those Who Have Acne” by Bella’s Love
“Beneath Your Scar” by Muggle Relations
“The Hogwarts Sex Song” by Buckbeak’s Flight
“Rock with a W” by Buckbeak’s Flight
“The Wings of Me” by Buckbeak’s Flight
“Underwater” by the Giant Squidstravaganza
“Whatever You Like” by DJ Ronald B
This week, TWH considers religion in two ways:
In the first hour, we talk about the role that religion plays in the series—from the Bible quotes on Ariana and Kendra Dumbledore’s and James and Lily Potter’s graves, to the Jesus figure that Harry comes to represent when he is willing to sacrifice himself on behalf of his friends.
In the second hour, we discuss how the Harry Potter fandom functions as a religion, which features guest speaker Luis Alba-Sanchez!! Luis has looked closely at this idea, and he explores the function of the books as a “sacred text,” the devotion of fans as seen in Dear Mr. Potter and more.
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Religion in Harry Potter // Harry Potter as Religion
“Dumbledore” by Harry and the Potters
“Dumbi vs. Voldi” by Fresh Dumbledore
“Dumbledore’s Song” by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls
“The Last Enemy Defeated is Death” by Ministry of Magic
“Sacrifice” by Stephanie and the Quaffles
“Harry Potter is Dead” by Ministry of Magic
“I Couldn’t Kill Albus Dumbledore” by Draco and the Malfoys
“The Weapon” by Harry and the Potters
“Snape vs. Snape” by Ministry of Magic
“Open at the Close” by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls
“On the Other Side” by Ministry of Magic
“Like It’s Quidditch” by the Station
“I Want Harry Potter Back” by Lily & James
“It’s Real for Us” by Lauren Fairweather
“We’re the Potter Fandom” by the 8th Horcrux
“For Jo” by RiddleTM
“Post-Potter Depression” by Lauren Fairweather
Inspired by the greatest tumblr ever.
Unfortunately no podcast this week, and no song list this week. It was a derpy week OK!
Season 5 - Episode 10 - The Boy Who Derped
derp derp derp
This week features an in-depth discussion of blood politics in the Potterverse.
From pure bloods to Muggle borns, squibs to “half-breeds,” we look at how structural hierarchies in the wizarding world and Voldemort’s obsession with wizard “purity” create many of the same injustices that parallel the real world today.
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Blood Status
“Black Family Tree” by Hawthorne and Holly
“Black Family Anthem” by the Parselmouths
“The Black Family Tree” by Tonks and the Aurors
“House of Black” by Ministry of Magic
“Weasley Family” by the HolyHead Harpies with Catchlove and OBaTR
“I Heart Weasleys” by Ministry of Magic
“The Weasleys” by the Remus Lupins
“In Which Draco and Harry Secretly Want to Make Out” by the Whomping Willows
“Flesh, Blood and Bone” by Harry and the Potters
“My Prophecy” by the Butterbeer Experience
“Prophecies are for my Lovers” by Bella’s Love
“Spread the Pureblood Cheer” by the Purebloods
“Pure-Blood” by Swish and Flick
“Slytherin Girl Crossing the Rhine” by Draco and the Malfoys
“The Blood of a Prince” by Harry and the Potters
“Umbridge, Leave Them Kids Alone” by the 8th Horcrux
“Penelope” by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
“Filthy Little Mudblood” by Essence of Dittany
“She a Mudblood” by Danny Dementor
“Mudblood” by Obliviate!
“Squib” by Hawthorn and Holly
“Teenage Werewolf” by the Remus Lupins
“More than Just a Werewolf” by RiddleTM
“Werewolf Rights Now” by the Remus Lupins
“Veela Serenada” by Ministry of Magic
With the recent (derp/kind of recent?) release of The Hunger Games, TWH has been thinking about the ways in which wrock fan-culture is branching out beyond the Potter fan culture and into other fandoms. This week, we play some meta-wrock (wrock that talks about the Harry Potter fandom), the HPA, the Imagine Better project, what Lionsgate needs to learn from Warner Brothers, DFTBA, Dr. Who/HP crossover and more. We also debut two songs about The Hunger Games by Alex Carpenter!
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Meta-wrock and Fandoms
“Wizard Rock Heart Throb” by the Whomping Willows
“For Jo” by RiddleTM
“We’re the Potter Fandom” by the 8th Horcrux
“Voldemort Fangirl” by ALL CAPS
“Wrock Fan Girl” by the House of Black
“Needlessly Complicated” by the Butterbeer Experience
“Wizard Babies: The Next Generation” by the Whomping Willows
“End of an Era” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Reading” by the 8th Horcrux
“Trainers in Love” by ALL CAPS
“In the Hunger Games” by Alex Carpenter
“Silver Parachute” by Alex Carpenter
“Page 637” by Gred and Forge
“This is Never Going to End” by the Parselmouths
“Last Call” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Like It’s Quidditch” by the Station
“The Boy Who Lived” by the Moaning Myrtles
“Rock with a W” by Buckbeak’s Flight
“I’m Going to Hogwarts” by Lauren Fairweather
“The Real Mad-Eye Moody” by Philosopherock
“Socks!” by the 8th Horcrux
“Whatever You Like” by DJ Ronald B
so sorry dear listeners! it’s been thesis lyfe 4 eva~*~*~* but now it is done! so look forward to some brand new podcasts in the coming weeks, about:
- fandoms & meta-wrock (we talk about the hunger games, even!)
- blood purity
- (sadly, no podcast from our “boy who derped” show. that’s why it was the derp show)
- harry potter & religion
