John Richards

After viewing a rough cut of Into the Wild, Eddie Vedder quickly went to work writing songs for the film, Into the Wild. After three days, he gave director Sean Penn a range of material to work with. Vedder said that Penn "gave [him] a lot of freedom," and added that "the biggest thing was trust, which was just kind of unspoken." He also said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things." He said, "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there."

When I hear this song I remember how the first time I heard it you played it on repeat 🤣 I have been consciously trying to change my internal voice from saying "this is hard" to "i am ok." It is hard. And i am ok. Thanks for the tunes ❤️ -Chris in Olympia ---- Lea Porcelain Reassure Us with “I Am OK" - Read the KEXP interview with Lea Porcelain here: www.kexp.org

Van Etten struggles with social anxiety and panic attacks, though she's figured out ways to manage them — one of them is asking a friend to talk to her. As she was working on "We Are Fine" she realized she wanted the song to be closer to the way she experiences an attack, by adding a voice. "We Are Fine" is a duet with Beirut's Zach Condon, who has social anxiety, too. Van Etten shared the story behind her serene track with NPR in 2012: www.npr.org

When asked about the story behind "Nobody's Fault but My Own", Beck said, "Well I went down to my basement. It was raining outside, and I wrote it."

"Within You Without You" is the eighth song on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the longest song on the album. This particular song is unique as it was written and performed by George Harrison, and the other members of the band were not involved. George Harrison sang lead vocals and played the guitar, sitar and tambura. As well as the sitar, the song features other Indian instruments such as the swarmandal, dilruba and tabla. bbc.in

In 1987 Bono explained that everybody in the group knows what the line "And you give yourself away" means: "It's about how I feel in U2 at times - exposed. I'm not going to do many interviews this year. Because there's a cost to my personal life, and a cost to the group as well."

In a 2012 interview, singer Jim Kerr recalled the production of the album as a wonderful time during the late spring and early summer of 1982 in which "everything we tried worked", adding: "There were no arguments. We were in love with what we were doing, playing it, listening to it. You don't get many periods in your life when it all goes your way."

Over the past couple months, Margaret Sohn has been rolling out her new EP as Miss Grit, Impostor. “‘Blonde’ is the song my angsty, adolescent self would have written,” Sohn said. “She was willing to adapt to her surroundings though her surroundings were unwilling to adapt to her.” Find here here: missgrit.com

Later this year, we’ll celebrate the 25th anniversary of the seminal debut album Who Can You Trust? (1996), which introduced the world to Morcheeba. But before that we get a new album from them, their 10th, Blackest Blue. It was crafted during the pandemic-stunted 2020, which afforded Edwards and Godfrey “time to write songs and really get to hone them,” as the latter explains in an official statement. “There weren’t so many pressures, so we could really take our time getting the songs right,” Edwards adds. You can preorder here: www.morcheeba.uk

Hi John, You could not have timed this mushy set better. Can I hear Nothing Compares 2 U? Either the Prince piano and a microphone version or the Sinead one? Whatever you like! Cheers, Leanne ================= You can also hear Prince’s original studio recording of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ here: youtu.be. His estate shared previously unreleased version with rare video of rehearsal footage back in 2018

"Little Oblivions" is the third studio album by Julian and her amazing talents are on full display as she played the piano, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, banjo, and mandolin throughout the album. Hear what she had to say during her recent KEXP at Home performance with Cheryl Waters. Stream it here: bit.ly Pre-order the vinyl here: bit.ly

Consequence of Sound described this track: "“Hysteric” kicks in shortly after sounding like it belongs in a John Hughes flick." - consequenceofsound.net

‘The Exploding Boy’ was a b-side to ‘In Between Days’, the lead single from The Head on the Door.

John, I’d like to make a request for both a full birthday (my son Ethan, at 38) and a half birthday (mine) song. Besides sharing a birth- date 6-months apart, we also share a deep, passionate love of music. The radio or stereo was usually on in our house while he was growing up…a habit, I’m happy to say, he and his wife still practice at their place in Portland. (And so is listening to KEXP in the mornings before work.) Music is our common language to express joy, sorrow, anger and laughter. We still argue or agree about who/what’s a good listen and…we both grow in our music libraries as a result. Music is in our blood! Anyways, I’d be delighted if you could play “Strangest Thing” by The War on Drugs. Ethan turned me on them a few years ago and now, we’re both fans. I know he’ll appreciate it. Thanks…We are not alone. Carol ==================

Tim Showalter (Strand of Oaks) performed "Weird Ways" during a live session in the KEXP studio in 2019. See that whole wonderful performance: www.youtube.com

From the 'Singles' soundtrack released on Epic, along with tracks by Screaming Trees and Alice in Chains. According to Billy Corgan, the success of "Drown" was stymied by the label behind the soundtrack due to their pushing of Alice in Chains' hit. "That's classic record company. You would think, 'Hey, you've got this soundtrack. You've got two songs working radio, you're going to sell more soundtracks.' They killed our single to make sure that it wouldn’t hurt the Alice in Chains thing." - bit.ly

The Reds, Pinks, and Purples are a DIY kitchen pop project of Glenn Donaldson (Skygreen Leopards, Art Museums etc). His latest, "Uncommon Weather," which he describes as an "elusive portrait of San Francisco –– during one of its fluctuations as an untenable place for musicians and artists, comes out April 9th via Slumberland Records. Preorder the new album: theredspinksandpurples.bandcamp.com

Happy Birthday today to two members of the Posies! Michael Musburger (alive and well) and the late Joe Skyward who would have been 62 today. Can you spin "Dream All Day" for me? Thx! @MrAutumnMan1 via Twitter ================ Watch The Posies performing in 2016 in the KEXP Gathering Space here: www.youtube.com

Hi John, My daughter Maisie is turning ten on 1/28. It’s been a crazy year and wanted to do something extra special to celebrate her day. In fact a couple of weeks ago she was wondering if it would be possible for KEXP to play They Might Be Giants “Istanbul” for her birthday. She discovered the song while watching the Umbrella Academy. I was thrilled as I’ve been a life long TMBG fan. The first time I saw them was when I was 15. I was too young to get into the village vanguard in NYC so I had to bring my mom!! Our love for the band is multi generational. Our love for KEXP is also multi generational as it plays all day in our house. We’ve even got out pup Turtle into it as he rocks his KEXP sweatshirt at the dog park at Golden Gardens. Thank you for all you do - for helping us get through this insane time, for sharing your empathy and your vulnerabilities. For helping us as a community learn about the injustices in the world and provide a call to action to help. I find myself saying to others “I understand, you are not alone”. Thank you for your love of sharing new music and for digging deep into the archives and playing those gems that I used to play when I was in college radio. xo Aimee ================== Happy birthday Maisie from the Morning Show crew!

'Morning! Yay for Thursday. What # day of the week is this? Does Bjork - Human Behavior fit in your set? Thanks. Take care of yourself. Amy Baltimore, MD ================ I'm not sure the entire week has been ranked. Tuesday is firmly in the #7 slot, but Thursday? Maybe #4.

Back in September 2019 DJ Abbie hosted Nilüfer Yanya for a KEXP in-studio session. Check it out here: bit.ly

Gorillaz member Russel Hobbs says: "Song Machine is a whole new way of doing what we do, Gorillaz breaking the mold 'cos the mold got old. World is moving faster than a supercharged particle, so we’ve gotta stay ready to drop. We don’t even know who's stepping through the studio next. Song Machine feeds on the unknown, runs on pure chaos. So whatever the hell’s coming, we’re primed and ready to produce like there’s no tomorrow."

Santigold told Spin that she matched the song's angry emotion with an "epic" sound, layering her vocals, "into my own choir and getting producer Greg Kurstin to play percussion on a glass bottle to match a marimba sound. "It's really grand. It's my way of painting a musical landscape. These songs are multi-layered and ambitious sounding, like a Peter Gabriel epic," she said.

Back in the beforetimes Phantogram frequently performed live on KEXP. So many times that you can find four separate performances of just this track on the KEXP youtube channel. On the Morning Show from the Cutting Room Studios 11 years ago, The Doug Fir 10 years ago, Bumbershoot 9 years ago, and a KEXP VIP show at the Triple Door 7 years ago. Find all four here: bit.ly

Watch School of Seven Bells perform LIVE on KEXP back in 2011: bit.ly

"Sundial" features a sample of “Jab Andhera Hota Hai” from the 1973 Bollywood film Raja Rani, recorded by Asha Bhosle and Bhupinder Singh and written by Anand Bakshi and R. D. Burman.

Northwest electronic duo Odesza have teamed up with Australian producer Golden Features as BRONSON, releasing a self-titled debut album that they say in a press release, reflects "their respective needs to challenge personal struggles, both internal and external." They add, "Moreover, the trio recognized that their own battles were merely microcosms of the surrounding world. The hope was to craft a body of work that was reflective of that duality of lightness and darkness inherent to the human condition." BRONSON's "Vaults" was the KEXP song of the day for August 7th, 2020: www.kexp.org

Written by band member Martin Gore, this song is a call for people to put aside their differences and work toward unity. It's unusual for Depeche Mode because the lyrics are so blatant and leave little to the imagination. For this reason, Gore doesn't consider it one of his stronger songs and has not played it live since the '80s.

These PVA remixes come from Grammy-winning producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mura Masa, an early fan of the UK trio, and fellow South London producer and artist Lynks. pva.band

Talking about the EP, Eli shares, “Soundscape To Freedom is inspired by events happening in America: the pandemic, watching the news and police brutality, the killing of innocent Black people. Making music was therapy for the times. I wanted to create soundscapes for a Black person living in America.” Eli Fola is a Nigerian born, New York based multi disciplinary artist, saxophonist, DJ, Producer and talking drummer. He works to authentically preserve Yoruba culture and history through his immersive performances. www.elifola.co

Of ‘Nudge It’, frontman Jason Williamson says: Imagine you’ve got limited options, unsure how you’re getting by that week, looking out the window of the damp flat you don’t want to live in, and seeing a bunch of posers having a photo shoot because ‘cool architecture bro, we feel your pain’. “Reduced circumstance isn’t a pantomime. If you haven’t lived within its confines don’t use it to enamour your ideas. It confuses the platform for those that truly live it and more often than not buries creative breakthroughs because the arena is polluted by the view of their world through someone else’s privileged lens. “So beware the eager networkers, don’t settle for the 20p pay-out, nudge it, pop the posers. And don’t apologise for the fucker either.”

The year 1988 unleashed a barrage of classic albums like no other. Ground breaking records like Follow The Leader,Long Live The Kane and the controversial Straight Outta Compton, made Hip Hop fans proud to be a part of the culture. Nevertheless, the true Cinderella story came from a group who emerged on the scene with the moniker; Erick and Parish Making Dollars. And the hype surrounding their debut album Strictly Business, definitely got our Hip Hop juices flowing. - Read more at Hip Hop History: history.hiphop

The Wailers bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett nearly ruined the recording of "I Shot The Sheriff" because of one of his spliffs. Engineer Phil Brown recalled to Uncut magazine. "They were heavy guys but it was lots of fun. While we were mixing they were in the control room, smoking and dancing. I physically melted the 'I Shot The Sheriff' tape with the glowing debris from a joint while trying to do an edit. The spliff fell apart, and reached the tape before my hand! We called them 'baseball bats,' it was neat grass. Thankfully, there were three masters of that track, so I was able to steal the drum fill from the third take and splice it together. It saved my bacon. That was all down to Family Man. I blame him."

Join KEXP for International Clash Day 2021 – observed all day long on Friday, February 5th. We’ll be playing the Clash, of course, but also diving into the band’s influences, as well as some of the amazing music being made all around the world that shares their ethos as a band. As Joe Strummer said “We’re anti-fascist, we’re anti-violence, we’re anti-racist, and we’re pro-creative. We’re against ignorance.” www.kexp.org

Man this Sleaford Mods is good. How excited are we about _____Yard Act____, though? Their just having a few songs out is killing me. Katy B. === According to frontman James Smith, ‘Dark Days’ serves as “the last of four singles before we start work on the album, of which none of those songs will be on”. “It’s a world-building song, this one, everything we’ve put out so far is from the same universe, which is based on an imagined Yorkshire 100 years in the future,” Smith said of Yard Act’s latest offering.: www.nme.com

Brighton, England-based five-piece Squid have announced their debut album, Bright Green Field, and shared its eight-minute long first single, “Narrator”. The band collectively had this to say about the new single: “‘Narrator’ was inspired by the 2019 film A Long Day's Journey Into Night. The song follows a man who is losing the distinction between memory, dream and reality and how you can often mold your memories of people to fit a narrative that benefits your ego. Martha Skye-Murphy made the point that the unreliable narrator is, more often than not, a male who wishes to portray women as submissive characters in their story. After some discussions with Martha she thought it’d be a good idea that she play the part of the woman wanting to break free from the dominating story the male has set.”

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio will be live from John's lawn tomorrow at 9:30am Pacific!