John Richards

There is an old interview where Billy Corgan is asked about the title "Rhinoceros." His response was the following: “Say you write a song about a chandelier, and the chandelier gives off light. And the light is the color red and red reminds you of the color you're not supposed to wear around a bull. So you name the song 'Cow'." imdb.to -- The music video for "Rhinoceros," which features the band "looking bored,"" was one of the Pumpkins' earliest and was directed by Angela Conway: youtu.be

Nation Of Language will be at The Crocodile on Thursday, October 14th! bit.ly -- Their sophomore album, 'A Way Forward,' is coming out on November 5th. -- NoL's Ian Devaney says of the trio’s new track, "'Across That Fine Line' is a reflection on that moment when a non-romantic relationship flips into something different. When the air in the room suddenly feels like it changes in an undefinable way. It’s a kind of celebration of that certain joyous panic, and the uncertainty that surfaces right after it." bit.ly -- nationoflanguage.bandcamp.com

The endlessly prolific Casper Clausen will release his second release of 2021 (first was a debut solo album, 'Better Way') with Efterklang. 'Windflowers' comes out October 8th. Lead single “Living Other Lives” is a deeply pretty song with a soft, warm glow about it, grounded by a crisp programmed beat. Here’s what Clausen has to say about it: "Living other lives started out as a jam in my Lisbon studio during Spring 2020 lockdown. I was playing around with my 404 sampler and I found that kind of groove that makes my head bop — put some samples on it, and I could listen to it forever — a good sign. So I was just having that on loop while scrolling through my instagram feed. The lyrics sort of came out of that moment; living other lives, imagination jumping from one life/image to another, revisiting, updating myself, absolutely bodiless, while scrolling up and up with my thumb. It’s a fascinating world we’re living in, so strangely symbiotic and aware of what everybody’s doing, I feel I’m living multiple lives all at once. Watching all these people expressing and changing themselves far away, out there around the planet." bit.ly -- Director Søren Lynggaard Andersen made the “Living Other Lives” video with an old Russian 16mm camera during the making of 'Windflowers' on the Danish island of Møn. youtu.be -- efterklang.bandcamp.com

'The Understanding' was released on this day in 2005. The Norwegian electronic music duo is joined by half of Swedish electronica duo The Knife - Karin Dreijer is featured on vocals for "What Else Is There?". The music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table. bit.ly youtu.be

“The Darkness That You Fear is a hopeful piece of music. When we found the combination of the different voices worked set to the flow of the music it made us feel optimistic, like it was something we wanted to share.” - Tom Rowlands youtu.be

In INXS's official autobiography, 'INXS: Story to Story', Andrew Farriss said that the famous riff to the song appeared suddenly in his head while waiting for a cab to go to the airport to fly to Hong Kong. He asked the cab driver to wait a couple of minutes while he grabbed something from his motel room. In fact, he went up to record the riff and came back down an hour later with a tape to a very annoyed driver. bit.ly Check out the official music video here: youtu.be

My partner Alena is in active labor in Albuquerque and we are listening to the Morning Show as she bounces on an exercise ball. We would love some Kurt Vile vibes for getting in the zone and to welcome our daughter Frances into a universe of love and music! Thanks KEXP and John for letting our growing family know we are not alone! ~ Eric -- See the official video for "Life Like This," directed and animated by Adam Avilla. Avilla said that the video is "a story about getting at the heart of inspiration and the surreal disjointed journey that the pursuit entails." He added: "I feel that artists of all disciplines can relate to such a notion of getting pleasantly (or sometimes unpleasantly) lost in your own thoughts, and from them reap inspiration for our best work." bit.ly youtu.be

"Stay cool in Seattle!" Request from Claudine in San Antonio. -- Check out the video for stellastarr* "My Coco": youtu.be -- stellastarr* performed "Freak Out" live on The Morning Show, recorded exclusively for KEXP at the Cutting Room Studios NYC back in 2009: youtu.be

Speaking about the band’s new single, lead singer and guitarist Ritzy Bryan said: “I was at a low point just prior to writing this record, I was going through a difficult breakup that left me feeling quite lost and questioning myself." Read what else she said about this track: bit.ly -- 'Into the Blue' will be out August 20th. thejoyformidableofficial.bandcamp.com www.thejoyformidable.com

Happy Birthday to Cyndi Lauper, born on this day in 1953! -- Lauper wanted kids to think this was about dancing. She was hoping they wouldn't understand the real meaning until they got older. The video takes place in some kind of dystopian future where everyone conforms. It opens the "Burger Klone," where smiling, lobotomized customers get their meals. Lauper finds herself a bad boy with a motorcylce and rides off in an animated landscape (a coy reference to the song's meaning: when they stop a a gas station marked "self service"). By the end of the video, she has apparently gone blind. bit.ly youtu.be

Liz Phair released her debut album 'Exile in Guyville' on this day in 1993! Phair explained the meaning of "Never Said": "[This was] just kind of like about the music scene and how catty it was. People were always getting upset about something that someone had said about their band or whatever the latest gossip was. To me, I love the way that song is speaking in a rock shorthand. Like, “I ain’t done nothing wrong, I never said nothing.” There’s something insouciant and punk rock to just overtly speak in street language or street lingo or something. There’s just something that I always liked about that." bit.ly -- Liz Phair is playing at White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA with Alanis Morissette & Garbage on Monday, September 27th: bit.ly

Amidst a night of hazy scenes in their native Isle of Wight, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers found themselves at the summit of a Ferris wheel. They decided to start a band. The band is called Wet Leg. Arming themselves with guitars, a penchant for French disco, effervescent imaginations and a shared love of the The Ronettes and Jane Birkin, through to Ty Segall and Bjork, they set about making some recordings of their own. Enter their debut single, Chaise Longue. wetleg.bandcamp.com -- This video is so great: youtu.be

Mattie in Portland has been jonesing to hear ned's atomic dustbins walking through syrup. It's the double bass I swear Anyhow happy Tuesday! -- The Allmusic review said the album is "an almost bouncy, bright album, full of great hooks and lyrical cleverness." bit.ly -- From 1992's 'Are You Normal?': youtu.be -- www.nedsatomicdustbin.com

Happy Birthday to Jesus Jones' Mike Edwards, born on this day in 1964! Also known as "The Wanderer". www.jesusjones.com -- There is a message in the album booklet which warns people of "possible damage to musical equipment". It reads: "Warning This album contains extreme sounds which could damage musical equipment when played at high volume" bit.ly Check out the video: youtu.be

EMF "Long Summer Days" live at the London Astoria in 2001: youtu.be www.emf-theband.com

They named themselves Inspiral Carpets after a clothing shop in their hometown of Oldham in Greater Manchester. Here's a biography of this fixture in the "Madchester" scene: bit.ly

New single from Yves Tumor! yves-tumor.bandcamp.com -- Yves Tumor will play Neumos on November 3rd! bit.ly

Tune in to DJ Morgan's show on Saturday, July 10th to hear WOOZE's Live at Home on KEXP session! -- South London-based indie-rockers Wooze have unveiled their punchy and playful new single, ‘Witch Slap (IOU)’. In a press release, the band declared that ‘Witch Slap (IOU)’ is “probably the fastest song we have written so far, done in about 20 minutes after we had finished demoing another song in the early morning”. Thematically, they’ve dubbed it a “sadomasochistic take on a classic love song”. ‘Witch Slap (IOU)’ will appear on the band’s forthcoming second EP, ‘Get Me To A Nunnery’. bit.ly youtu.be

"The Big Beat" is a 1980 song by Billy Squier from his debut album 'The Tale of the Tape'. While it never charted, the song has become a sampling staple in hip-hop music. As of 2020, the song has been sampled in almost 300 recordings. bit.ly whosampled shows "The Big Beat" is sampled in 308 songs! www.whosampled.com

Dylan Kwabena Mills, better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC, rapper, songwriter and record producer. The beat for this song heavily samples "The Big Beat" by Billy Squier. In a 2016 interview with Complex Magazine, Dizzee Rascal noted about making this one, "I started writing so that the “Woos!” would come at the end of the sentence. I built around that. It wasn’t crazy to me because I was into heavy metal and rock and grunge before I was into hip-hop." bit.ly

From Run‐D.M.C.'s debut groundbreaking self-titled album, released in 1984. Run‐D.M.C. sampling Billy Squier's "The Big Beat" all throughout "Here We Go (live at the Funhouse)". bit.ly

Good morning! If you can fit in Long Legged Larry this morning for my husband Alex. He's getting his classroom ready for the last day of school today. Thanks! ~ Ellen in Olympia -- Hi John! I'm working outside in the Seattle area today (gawd help me!) and just came across two tiny frogs, which made me want to hear a froggy song! Can you please play Aesop Rock's Long Legged Larry or the Frog song (or both?!) Thanks! ~ Celeste -- Aesop Rock's story-song about a bearded bullfrog superhero is impossible not to love. Go, Larry! Watch the animated music video: youtu.be aesoprock.bandcamp.com

Teaming with the playful producer Tobacco, Aesop Rock has a joyous playdate with his overlooked senses of humor and storytelling. bit.ly Aesop Rock has been credited as one of the most verbose MC's in Hip-Hop today. Known for his dense and abstract wordplay, he manipulates language to illustrate elaborate stories and difficult concepts with sharp clarity. TOBACCO is also recognized as Black Moth Super Rainbow. Known for working with pre-digital electronic instruments like analog synths and tape machines, he crafts distorted, experimentalist beats that intertwine feelings of tension and anxiety with sensations of bemusement and pleasure. Together, Aesop Rock and TOBACCO are Malibu Ken. aesoprock.bandcamp.com

Can we just call it Monday Part II? 'Morning John & crew, World is upside down - we've had 2 days of steady rain in MD & Seattle is sunny & headed for 90s? Kate Tempest's Perfect Coffee would sound great. Or, of course, Tribe's Can I Kick It - thanks. Amy Baltimore -- Kae Tempest performed "Perfect Coffee" live in the KEXP Studio in 2017. Watch their full session here: youtu.be

Some of us in Seattle don't enjoy the 90+ degree temps and would prefer the rain. *some* -- Garbage is playing with Alanis Morissette & Liz Phair on Monday, September 27th at White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA. bit.ly “Only Happy When It Rains” was Garbage’s second single off their self-titled debut. It hit US radios in January 1996, and quickly became the breakthrough that brought Garbage international fame. Garbage "Only Happy When It Rains" live: youtu.be

Wolf Alice is playing at The Showbox Market on Monday, October 25th. bit.ly -- "Freazy" is from their debut album from 2015. Check out their live performance in the KEXP studio where they played other tracks from 'My Love Is Cool': youtu.be

Erasure is out touring, but not stopping in Seattle. They will be close, playing in Portland on February 23, 2022. www.erasureinfo.com -- Andy Bell was one of the first openly gay pop stars, and according to Spin magazine (February 1989), he would sometimes introduce this song on stage by saying: "When I was a little girl, I asked my mummy, 'Can I be gay when I grow up?' She replied, 'Yes, if you show a little respect." This song is known for the very high note Andy Bell hits toward the end, which gives you an idea of why Vince Clarke chose him from a long queue of applicants after he placed an ad in Melody Maker looking for a vocalist. bit.ly

Out on this day in 1988! AllMusic wrote that the album "is one of the finest British post-punk albums of the '80s. Its parts may be borrowed, but it runs like a well-oiled machine." bit.ly youtu.be

Not to be confused with their first album, which is also called 'The House of Love'. It is generally referred to either as 'Fontana' (after the record label it was issued on) or 'The Butterfly Album' (after Trevor Key's sleeve art). bit.ly

Not to be confused with their first album, which is also called 'The House of Love'. This one was released in 1990. It is generally referred to either as 'Fontana' (after the record label it was issued on) or 'The Butterfly Album' (after Trevor Key's sleeve art). bit.ly

'All of This and Nothing' is the first compilation album put out by The Psychedelic Furs on this day in 1988. The album has 14 songs, including one — "All That Money Wants" — recorded specifically for the collection. bit.ly

The Sugarcubes released 'Life’s Too Good' in 1988. The Sugarcubes, from Reykjavík, Iceland, are known for being the band that launched Björk, but in the late '80s and early '90s they were expected to be the next big thing by many in the music press. Writing for New Musical Express in 1992, journalist Stephen Dalton stated, "The Sugarcubes remain the coolest band ever, onstage and off, with the most drop-dead wonderful voice in pop history." Such laudatory statements were common in the media during The Sugarcubes' run. bit.ly

The legendary late 80s gangsta hip-hop emcee Ice-T was born Tracy Marrow in New Jersey. He began his career as an underground rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays; the second hip-hop album to carry an explicit content sticker after Slick Rick's La Di Da Di. "Colors" is the powerful title track of the classic 1988 movie 'Colors'. youtu.be

N.W.A released their debut album 'Straight Outta Compton' in 1988. The album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper The D.O.C. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. bit.ly youtu.be

John's favorite album, which happens to be from 1988. Three different storylines are at play in "Bone Machine". In an interview with Pixies frontman Frank Black, he explained the inspirations: "Girlfriend. Unfaithfulness. Creepy pastor whose intentions I later questioned. In that order." bit.ly

Jane’s Addiction debut album 'Nothing's Shocking' was released in 1988! Farrell created the cover image, which features a sculpture of nude female conjoined twins on a rocking chair with their heads on fire. He hired Warner Bros. employees to create the sculpture, but – after learning how to create sculptures by watching them closely – fired them and created the artwork himself. "The idea came from a dream I had," he recalled. "There were these two women swinging back and forth. They were joined at the hip and shoulder, and their hair was on fire. I just went from there, and [girlfriend] Casey [Niccoli] assisted me. We had a fellow come and do a plaster body-casting of her, then we made the twins' hair and head gear from pipe cleaners. You'll notice the chair rocks from side to side, as opposed to back and forth, so we had to have that made specially. We also went shopping for fake eyeballs." Owing to the cover, nine of the eleven leading record store chains refused to carry Nothing's Shocking. It was issued covered with brown paper. bit.ly

The opening track and the only single released from their third studio album, 1988’s The Land of Rape and Honey. The album title comes from the slogan of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, whose motto at that time was "The Land of Rape and Honey", the local economy being based on the agricultural products rapeseed and honey. The band chose the name after seeing the slogan on a souvenir mug. bit.ly -- Ministry is playing at Showbox SoDo on Wednesday, November 3 with Helmet and Front Line Assembly. bit.ly

Since its release in 1988, the song has been covered and sampled by various recording artists."It Takes Two" uses multiple samples from the James Brown and Lyn Collins 1972 song "Think (About It)." bit.ly -- Here's a fun read to dig into! How Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock’s ‘It Takes Two’ Became an Overnight Smash “It wasn’t even really planned. We just went in there and did it, basically.” bit.ly

Siouxsie and the Banshees released 'Peepshow' in 1988!!! Melody Maker described "Peek‐a‐boo" as "a brightly unexpected mixture of black steel and pop disturbance" and qualified its genre as "thirties hip hop". bit.ly

'Blue Bell Knoll' was released in 1988! Elizabeth Fraser named the album after a peak in southern Utah called Bluebell Knoll. bit.ly Video for 'Carolyn’s Fingers": youtu.be

From 1988! John's favorite cover! "Sweet Jane" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground. The song was written by Lou Reed, who was often quoted as saying that the Cowboy Junkies' version was his favorite. Here's the Cowboy Junkies' official video: youtu.be -- Cowboy Junkies are coming to Seattle playing The Moore Theatre on Friday, November 19: bit.ly