John Richards

Good morning Seattle, and welcome to The Morning Show! It's Monday morning, and we're so glad you're here. How are you today? You can reach out to us during the show at dj@kexp.org, or send us your requests by TXT at 206-903-5397. "And we became the stories, we became the places..." That's Zola Jesus' voice singing these lyrics with Anthony Gonzalez: genius.com

It's hard to believe that Robert Smith was only 30-years old when this album was released! It was The Cure's 8th studio album. The sound of the album was a shock to the band's American label Elektra Records. Smith recalled "they thought I was being 'wilfully obscure', which was an actual quote from the letter [Smith received from Elektra]. Ever since then I realized that record companies don't have a (bleeping) clue what The Cure does and what The Cure means." After this album was mixed, one of the band's founding members, Lol Tolhurst, was fired; he rejoined the band in 2011 for reunion shows.

Last month, Doves released their first new album in 11 years! The album immediately shot to the top of the UK albums chart; this is the album's third chart-topping release. “‘Carousels’ is a really exciting track to come back with, especially now as it’s shot through with a lot of hope,” vocalist Jimi Goodwin NME. “It calls back to going to the fair when you’re a kid, dodging all the psychos and getting your waltzer money taken off you. “We’re still really excited about trying stuff that we’ve never done and going to places that we as a band have never been to, and ‘Carousel’ certainly does that. We’ve never just been a band to plug in and play guitar – we draw on all of these different influences and make up our own.” He continued: “It’s a good harbinger of the album and just a great mission statement. Without having any agenda or a backstory as to what the record is, it just shows off our love of sonic weirdness, atmosphere and energy. We unanimously knew that this would be great as the first thing that people hear of us coming out of the gate after all this time. It’s a mission statement.” Read the whole thing: tinyurl.com

Live Forever is the debut album from Washington DC-based Bartees Strange. The artist recorded this album in upstate New York, with many of the lyrics recalling his experiences growing up as a black man in Mustang, Oklahoma. “I’m often the only black guy in the room when I’m playing in a band or working in a studio, and I’ll be honest, I don’t think the engineer always knew what I wanted to capture, what I was trying to do, or what I was referencing,” Strange explains. “I wanted a space where I could be in control of how it was gonna sound and have people there to check me that I trust.” Strange previously released an EP named "Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy", where he covered five songs by The National. Check out the interview with Rolling Stone: tinyurl.com

THE NEVERLY BOYS finds Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio teaming up with Swedish singer/songwriter Daniel Ledinsky to explore "the unknown, the magic, the heartbreaks, and the aspirations," as they put it, on their debut album 'Dark Side of Everything'. (The two teamed up previously to co-write songs for Blondie, Pussy Riot, and TV on the Radio.) "Never Come Down" is a song about emotional fatigue and its aftermath. “When you’re younger, you think you’re going to live forever. Then, you reach a point when you know that’s not possible. In western culture, we avoid death like the plague ─ no pun intended. We don’t really look at the certainty of it,” he explains of the latter. “When I was writing this song, there were a couple of lines alluding to that. It’s about being ping-ponged around emotional states your whole life. Then, you realize all of a sudden, it’s all temporary, and that’s OK.” -- tinyurl.com

More music from Manchester this morning; the duo of Ellery James Roberts and Ebony Hoorn. This is the duo's third record, and their first self-released album. This single was entirely funded via the band's Patreon. LUH talked about the song in a statement: “After reflecting on our rapturous moment, from the sensational and quickly suppressed alternative narratives (or ‘conspiracy’ theories) to the 1984-esque group think and virtue signalling conformity of the ‘new normal’,” the band explained, “the song intends to refute the linear notion of time reaching its near catastrophic conclusion in favour of a cyclic awareness of conscious evolution. We are now entering a moment of great transformation, and we intended to meet the challenge with an optimistic reverence for whatever may come.” Check out their Patreon: www.patreon.com

By request! After signing with Columbia, Pete Yorn debuted 'musicforthemorningafter'. He played the bulk of the instruments himself and supported the album by touring for 18 months, enabling the record to go gold by April 2002. According to Yorn, the name of the song was inspired by a Les Paul Yorn bought at a second hand store. After he got home from the store, he took a shower and had the guitar riff in his head. After he got out, he grabbed his newly purchased guitar and started to play. Unable to think of a name for the song, he glanced at the back of his pre-owned guitar and for the first time noticed the name "Nancy" scrawled into the back of it. Watch the video for "For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is) here: youtu.be

Neneh Cherry's 2018 album tackles issues ranging from gun violence to the refugee crisis, and was co-produced by Four Tet and Massive Attack's 3D. With this song, she returns to the protest song format she launched her career with in 1982. Over a dubbed out synthesis of the musical worlds of Four Tet and 3D she fuses the personal and political. She references the history of Colonialism as well as Europe’s on-going refugee crisis in a brave and timely protest song; one that uses empathy and compassion as its disobedient tools. Check out the video here: youtu.be

Bicep is the Irish DJ duo of childhood friends Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar and they formed Bicep in 2009. The duo started with a blog about house and disco music, moved on to DJ sets, and have worked with artists including Jessie Ware on her recent album. “We have strong mixed emotions, connected to growing up on an island,” McBriar and Andy Ferguson say of this record’s title. “Wanting to leave, wanting to return." 'Isles' drops this January: bicep.bandcamp.com

"thanks for the running podcasts -- I am extending my streaks and distance significantly listening to them, and as someone who has never liked running, I am finding an unexpected joy on these runs." -- Dan in Austin Local Seattle artist Chong the Nomad "spent much of her college career learning to score compositions for film, and she draws from this cinematic background to create her own consistently evolving style of dynamic, quirky, shape-shifting music that blends sleek electronic production with an addictive pop sensibility." Chong the Nomad put out this new EP last month. Check it out here: chongthenomad.bandcamp.com

The cover art for this upcoming album features Ann Druyan, the creative director of the Voyager Golden Record project and partner to scientist Carl Sagan. The image was run through a spectrograph, turned into sound, then re-rendered as an image -- very apt given the transmission process for images from the Voyager spacecraft. bit.ly Enjoy the lovely video accompanying this song: bit.ly

youtu.be Fans of both artists will know that Blake has some familiarity with the track, as he produced, arranged and played piano on Ocean’s original version of “Godspeed” for his 2016 album Blonde.

"Hey, it’s Noah from Milwaukee. First, love y’all. Would love to hear some of that new Future Islands. Always makes me smile and dance when I hear it. Have a great days." The animated video for this track from Future Islands' most recent record is AMAZING: youtu.be “We first met with Wayne White back in 2014 to discuss collaborating on a music video,” the band said in a statement. “We’ve been wanting to work with him since then. We’re stoked that we were finally able to work together on the video for ‘Born in a War.’ We love the puppets he created and his unique interpretation of the song.”

The first single from PVA's forthcoming debut EP "Toner", set for release on November 20. 'Talks' is about how we invent games in order to avoid expressing our true feelings or take the risk of being hurt," says Josh. "The song also takes inspiration from real relationships and the fictional relationship between John and Abigail Marston (the two main characters in video game Red Dead Redemption)."

"Down In It" was the first single for the 1989 album Pretty Hate Machine and the third track on the disc. It has been stated by Trent Reznor that this song is the first he ever wrote and is a rare treat to hear live. In this live video, Trent Reznor reminisces about his younger days when he sees someone in the crowd wearing a shirt he wore during the recording of Pretty Hate Machine. Nine Inch Nails (NIN) then segues into performing Down In It live @ the Wiltern as part of their Wave Goodbye tour: youtu.be

Good morning to Sophia, who requested this song, with the issue of supporting small venues during this pandemic front-of-mind! 24 years after the release of this one, the Beastie Boys admitted in their new book that it's about a sound engineer: “We were totally indecisive about what, when, why and how to complete songs. Mario [Caldato Jr.] was getting frustrated. That’s a really calm way of saying that he would blow a fuse and get pissed off at us and scream that we just needed to finish something, anything, a song."

This is the first new track in five years from chillwave pioneers Small Black -- from their new 7" EP, due out in November. The video is quite cool: youtu.be The band notes about this single: "Tampa’s about that trip you visualize in the future to keep the ship afloat in your present. The paradise you’ll reach where everything will fall into place. The thing is, when you actually arrive, you just end up staring at your phone, instead of racing with the dolphins. Your relationship problems are still there, actually amplified by the high stakes of “making the time count”. It’s that “wherever I go, there I am” dilemma." Find the band here: smallblack.bandcamp.com

Seattle-based Weep Wave consist of Dylan Fuentes, Dylan Trujillo, Colton Harold, and Cameron Smith. Check out this live performance from Live Art in Tacoma in 2019! youtu.be weepwave.bandcamp.com

Happy birthday to Karl Wallinger, born on this day in 1957! Karl started World Party in 1986 after leaving The Waterboys. Prior to joining The Waterboys, he was musical director of a West End performance of The Rocky Horror Show! Watch World Party's 2013 in-studio performance here on the blog: blog.kexp.org

This new track from Aimee Mann was commissioned as the opening theme for HBO's recent six-part documentary, "I'll Be Gone In The Dark", about the hunt for the Golden State Killer. This haunting cover of Leonard Cohen's track of the same name builds on Cohen's instrumentation, adding sweeping strings. Check our Aimee's live performance on KEXP, hosted by Stevie Zoom: youtu.be

This Is The Kit, aka Kate Stables, will release "Off Off On" via Rough Trade Records on October 23rd. Stables worked on the new record with producer Josh Kaufman, a Hold Steady collaborator and member of Bonny Light Horseman and Muzz. Kate explains the meaning behind lead single ‘This Is What You Did’ as “A bit of a panic attack song. The negative voices of other people that are your own voice. Or are they? Hard to say when you’re in this kind of a place.We all get into negative mind loops sometimes. Especially when you’re not getting the fresh air and outside time you need to stay healthy.” thisisthekit.co.uk

Peter Tosh, reggae artist, founding member of the Wailers, was born on this date in 1944. He would have been 76 years old. He was murdered in 1987 at the age of 42 during a robbery of his house. "Legalize It" was Tosh's debut album as a solo artist after leaving The Wailers. After its release in 1975, there were significant efforts to ban the song but, nevertheless, it was distributed and catapulted Tosh to Reggae fame.

The Specials' debut album dropped on this date in 1979! "True innovators of the punk era, the Specials began the British ska revival craze, combining the highly danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude, and taking on a more focused and informed political and social stance than their predecessors and peers. The band was originally formed in Coventry, in 1977, as the Coventry Automatics and later the Special A.K.A. by songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers, with Terry Hall (vocals), Lynval Golding (guitar, vocals), Neville Staples (vocals, percussion), Roddy Radiation (guitar), Sir Horace Gentleman (bass), and John Bradbury (drums). An opening slot for the Clash stirred up interest with the major labels, but Dammers instead opted to start his own 2-Tone label, named for its multiracial agenda and after the two-tone tonic suits favored by the like-minded mods of the '60s. The Dammers-designed logos, based in '60s pop art with black and white checks, gave the label an instantly identifiable look." goo.gl

Speaking of the British ska revival craze, Madness released their debut album on this date too! "One Step Beyond" is a tune written by Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster as a B-side for his 1964 single "Al Capone". The video for this track debuted the band's "Nutty Train" dance.

Our third track from October 19 1979 -- really a great day in music history -- "Refugee" from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Damn the Torpedoes". This album holds a spot on Rolling Stone's "Greatest Albums of All Time", and was only kept from the #1 slot on the US Albums Chart by Pink Floyd's "The Wall". Read this collection of tributes from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, and more after the death of Tom Petty here: www.rollingstone.com

The Montreal band is back with their first LP in four years on October 23rd. Groovy video: youtu.be “We started working on this a couple of years ago. [frontman] Warren [Spicer] was afraid for a friend’s health. He thought he was self-medicating too much and not taking care of himself. He couldn’t let go of this image of an overworked dude swallowing too many sleeping pills and falling asleep with the stove on. So it began as the place next door, sometime before Greta Thunberg turned the expression into a rallying cry, where Earth is the house and the people are sleeping. It’s terrifying, and on the whole we’re not unlike this friend, are we?” plantsandanimals.bandcamp.com

This song is taken from the Saddle Creek 50 compilation! Saddle Creek put together this compilation to celebrate their 50th release, each band on their roster released an album and non album song on the compilation! saddle-creek.com Here's live video of The Faint at KEXP's Hood to Hood celebration in 2014: blog.kexp.org

Thanks to DJ Stew for the intro to this track! Although 'School' undoubtedly exorcised some lingering high school demons, the song was actually written about Seattle. For a while these inspiration were made explicitly clear in the song's working title - 'The Seattle Scene'. Cobain's complaint was that, having escaped the soul-sapping confines of Aberdeen for the supposed freedoms of Seattle, he perceived the same kind of cliquishness, snobbery and social politics among the city's music-scene makers that had made high school such a nightmare for him.

Philadelphia shoegaze outfit Nothing have announced details for their fourth album. It’s called "The Great Dismal" and it comes out October 30 via Relapse. “The Great Dismal refers to a swamp, a brilliant natural trap where survival is custom fit to its inhabitants. The nature of its beautiful, but taxing environment and harsh conditions can’t ever really be shaken or forgotten too easily,” said frontperson Domenic Palermo in a statement about the record.

Originally released in 1994, this track was featured prominently in the 2017 film "Baby Driver". Jon Spencer: "Things changed a little bit [after 1994's Orange], but we were just always nose-to-the-grindstone. We were working, and working very hard, making the records we wanted to make and touring. I'd like to think that if we got over, it was just through hard work and sweat and playing and turning people on. Yeah, things changed, but it's not like I was given keys to the city or the record label bought us Cadillacs or that I got a dinner invitation from Eric Clapton or something."

"Hi John, are you familiar with Johnny Cash's cover of "Solitary Man"? It has some great backing vocals by Tom Petty. Would be nice to hear that this morning. Have a good one, Trent" The title track from Johnny Cash's 2000 album; this cover of the Neil Diamond track received a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. As Trent notes in his request, Tom Petty helps out with background vocals.

Lyn requested this track -- quite possibly the best video about a cat with a puppet owner that exists out there: youtu.be Try not to puke in the Meow Mix

This R&B track by Ray Charles has been called one of the first soul songs. Biographer Michael Lydon summarized the impact of the song: "'What'd I Say' was a monster with footprints bigger than its numbers. Daringly different, wildly sexy, and fabulously danceable, the record riveted listeners. When 'What'd I Say' came on the radio, some turned it off in disgust, but millions turned the volume up to blasting and sang 'Unnnh, unnnh, oooooh, oooooh' along with Ray and the Raelets. [It] became the life of a million parties, the spark of as many romances, and a song to date the Summer by."

Speaking of Aaron Frazier, here's Durand Jones & The Indications covering this famous David Bowie track. Just 15 days left till the US elections! Watch Durand Jones & The Indications performing live in our studio in 2019 here: youtu.be