John Richards

Released on this day 49 years ago in 1972.

I just had to write in after hearing Astral Weeks. My husband and I are in the hospital with our newborn son listening to his very first morning show. Crazy to even write that. It’s been a wild ride and KEXP has been there with us every step of the way. Can’t thank you enough for all of your music , vibes, and energy. Glad to know we have KEXP and we are not alone! Keep on KEXP! Much love, Briana and Scott, New York Morning Faithful == For this amazing album, Morrison and collaborators hired jazz-based musicians for the session. They were unknown to Morrison and included Richard Davis, Downbeat’s Musician of the Year, The Modern Jazz Quartet drummer Connie Kay and guitarist Jay Berliner, a Charles Mingus collaborator who had played on the classic album The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Apparently there wasn’t much communication between Morrison and the session players. He remained somewhat remote and didn’t provide a guide sheet or any direction as to what he wanted. Davis recalled that he didn’t even introduce himself and seemed very shy. The band more or less jammed and the result was unlike anything else in the current pop/rock sphere with its blend of classical guitar and jazz melded with Morrison’s own impressionistic free-form poetry. Read the full story here: classicalbumsundays.com

Les gens viennent et parlent mal (Ils parlent si mal) Des sentiments qui pourtant comptent (Tellement ils comptent) Prise au piège de quelque chose de fort (Quelque chose de fort) Je n'ai décroché pour personne (Jamais pour personne) Chris, aka Christine & The Queens, performed an exclusive set for Live on KEXP at Home, back in May. Savor the performance (and delightful interview with DJ Morgan!): bit.ly.

This song originated with a lyric inspired by a line in Kurt Vonnegut's 1963 satirical postmodern novel, Cat's Cradle. "Who were you to ask for anything more? Do you wait for your dancing lessons to be sent from God?"

It's Brandi Carlile's birthday and she is a butt kicking butt kicker who kicks ass in the butt. Massive love from you KEXP morning show pals. == Brian: Just started Brandi's book, and bought tickets for the gorge over the weekend. So looking forward to it. Especially after learning how much the gorge means to her! book.brandicarlile.com

Watch the Swedish sisters performing live for KEXP in 2014 here:www.youtube.com

Happy 3rd anniversary to this amazing album. == Neko Case said of this song: 'It's about how gross it is that so many nations or organizations find some sort of glory in having made something extinct that made the nation so great. I was in England; I was looking at lions that were on some crests and I was imagining myself or what I would to say to the last lion of Albion. I had a fantasy that all these billionaires would buy Mars or move there, and when they got there, because they were going to colonize it, there would be an army of lions waiting to devour them." bit.ly Watch the video here: youtu.be

Last Saturday's Sound and Vision with Emily Fox is must-listen-radio. Incredible conversations with KEXP's Tia Ho, DJ Gabriel Teodros and Kimmortal on the intersection of music in the Asian and Black hip hop communities. Larry Mizell Jr. and Kevin Sur on the term "API". Plus we shared the powerful story of how ECHODRONE, fueled by a need for connection amidst the lockdown, the murder of George Floyd, and the racial injustice felt deeply by band members of Asian descent, found hope in music: www.kexp.org Support the band here: echodrone.bandcamp.com

Remember that time Slowdive came to KEXP and performed live? THAT WAS AWESOME. www.youtube.com

Dry Cleaning shared a live performance recorded exclusively for Live on KEXP at Home - check it out: bit.ly. --- drycleaning.bandcamp.com Speaking of dry cleaning; ever wonder how martinizing came to be? www.mentalfloss.com

Nation of Language will be at the Crocodile October 14th and the morning show is planning to be there...brooding in a corner smoking clove cigarettes.

...putting clove cigs down to dance.

Happy 61st to one of the most bad ass bass players ever, Simon Gallup of The Cure.

Speaking in Tongues is the fifth studio album by Talking Heads and was released on this day in 1983. It is said that many people made flippy floppy when listening to it.

Support this brilliance here: mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com

Released on this day, 53 years ago today. Learn it, know it, live it.

Founded by Leon Michels, who toured and recorded with the late, great Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings for seven years. 'Yeti Season' brings us to a different place in time—with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with 'Yeti Season'. elmichelsaffair.bandcamp.com elmichelsaffair.com

Ever see the government funded anti-drug movie Curious Alice. It's visually stunning and worth a look-see. www.youtube.com

Song of the year? Maybe, -- New music from the Nashville artist who "explores the fusion of country and soul". The new album - due out July 30 - was produced by Dan Auerbach. This track was cowritten with producer Hannah V. Read her account of how the song came into being: www.instagram.com iamyola.bandcamp.com www.iamyola.com

La Femme is a 9-piece French psych-punk rock band. They may be the biggest thing in France right now. They’ve soundtracked a fashion runway show and have been on the nation's biggest magazine (Les Inrockuptibles), twice. Plus, they have a word for every word we have (Steve Martin joke).

Hello, My big brother died yesterday, suddenly and inexplicably. Today we are trying to figure out how to live in a world without him. For my younger brother hundreds of miles away from me, who I know is listening this morning because he needs the comfort of the KEXP in the morning community as much as I do, could you play synchronicity II by the Police. It was on one of the amazing music mixes our big brother shared with us. Thank you, Sara

My brother Chris unexpectedly died in his sleep this past Saturday night, at 49 years old. Nick Cave said something like grief is the pact we make with love. On this side of the bargain, I can say that's accurate. I am being crushed from within and crushed by everything around me, because he is a part of everything. All my escapes are his escapes. The things that helped me through rough times helped him. And of course one of the biggest things we shared was music. My first concert 27 years ago was The Cure, on their Wild Mood Swings tour. I saw that concert at the ripe old age of 13 with my older brother Chris. He introduced me to The Cure, and through the shared influence of all my 7(!) siblings, helped make music one of the most important parts of my life. One of the most important parts of me. Would you please play one of my brother's favorite songs, The Cure's 'From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea' - and maybe let the world know just for a moment that Chris was here, and that we miss him. Thank you, Robert

Jennifer in Oregon: Hey John, I just quit my job this morning to start my own business. Could you please play Pink Floyd's "Fearless" for me as I'm making this scary and awesome leap? P.S. Jack London said "I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet." That's the goal.

The Prince album was #1 in the US, where it stayed for three weeks. Now it's time for a long distance dedication for a ... GET DON ON THE PHONE!

Bachelor is the new collaborative project of Californian indie rock artist Jay Som and Palehound’s Ellen Kempner. www.bachelor-band.com

Brighton’s Squid have released their long-awaited debut album! Under the Radar Magazine wrote that this song, "revels in the contradictions between natural and urban imagery, with bright neon bikes standing side by side with hillside mosquito nets on a concrete island." Yupper do. That's what they wrote. squiduk.bandcamp.com

The humorous song was long rumored to be a fanciful tale of a woman whose boyfriend was eaten by a shark. In her interview with Songfacts, B-52s vocalist Cindy Wilson offered another possibility: "Or he was flushed down the toilet by the Ty-D-Bol Man." bit.ly

"Hello, daddy. Hello, mom. I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb! Hello world! I'm your wild girl. I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!" This song was written on the spot by Joan Jett and Kim Fowley when they had Cherie Currie come in to audition for The Runaways. www.songfacts.com kexp.org

Posthumous album with Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen released in April, on the first anniversary of his death. "Cosmosis" was co-produced by Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) and features legendary Nigerian novelist and poet Ben Okri, who added his lyrics later as a tribute to Allen. www.bluenote.com Official clip of "Cosmosis": youtu.be tonyallen.bandcamp.com tonyallenafrobeat.com

“IDLES does not exist without Gang Of Four,” the band commented in a statement. “’Damaged Goods’ still sounds new and exciting after the millionth listen. We jumped at the chance to just to play it, let alone record it. It was an honour, a joy and a privilege.” ‘The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four’ is set to arrive June 4th.

Brooklyn band Nation of Language will be at The Crocodile on October 14th.