John Richards

As of 2019, Urban Hymns is ranked the 18th best-selling album in UK chart history and has sold over ten million copies worldwide.

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

This song is about making a deal with God to swap lives with another person. Bush explained in a 1985 interview: "It's about a relationship between a man and a woman. They love each other very much, and the power of the relationship is something that gets in the way. It creates insecurities. It's saying if the man could be the woman and the woman the man, if they could make a deal with God, to change places, that they'd understand what it's like to be the other person and perhaps it would clear up misunderstandings. You know, all the little problems; there would be no problem." www.songfacts.com

Hey John, I lost my Uncle last night. He fought a long battle with Lukemia. After getting a transplant, and being declared cancer free he was struck with graft v host disease. He fought literally until his last breath. He was my family's rock and the last male of his generation. I'm going to miss him terribly. Thanks for giving me an outlet to write this. You are an inspiration to me to keep going and live the best life I can. Hope you are doing well yourself. If you can work something in for him, I would appreciate it. Not even sure what to request. Maybe Jump Into the Fire? Or Someone Great? Or combine into the LCD cover? oooh, Running Up the Hill feel great too! Cheers, Brian ========== Thank you Brian. You are not alone.

The Neverly Boys are a new duo made up of TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek and Swedish singer/songwriter Daniel Ledinsky, who has worked with artists as varied as Rihanna, Carly Rae Jepsen, and yes, TV on The Radio. The pair met while writing songs for what would become TV on The Radio’s 2014 album Seeds. Earlier this year, amidst covid-19, a troubling political landscape, racial inequities, they decided to release their debut, Dark Side of Everything. It was their hope that the album would add love and hope to a world in turmoil. KEXP’s Owen Murphy spoke to each via the internet from their respective homes in Los Angeles about their friendship, and how there’s light within the moody sound of the album. Listen to the interview here: soundcloud.com

Hi John. Can you please play pure morning, placebo. Thank you, John John in Illinois ========== Brian Molko of Placebo told NME in 2017 about this successful single from the band: "I like the music for ‘Pure Morning’, but I’m not very keen on the lyrics. We did it during a b-sides session and we never really thought it would be a single. I just knocked out some lyrics really quickly and didn’t pay too much attention. If I’d have known it was going to be a single I probably would have spent a bit more time on the lyrics."

New title track from TORRES' fifth album out July 30th! “Thirstier” is the third single from the new album, following “Hug From a Dinosaur” and “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head.” TORRES plays the Tractor Tavern on Monday, Sept 27th - torresmusicofficial.com

Tori fought hard for the whistling that comes in over her piano at the beginning of the song. Everyone else - including her then-boyfriend/producer Eric Rosse - was in favor of a mandolin line that guitarist Steve Caton came up with. "Everybody really liked that," she told The Baltimore Sun in 1994. "And even in the mix studio, I was screaming at the top of my lungs that it had to be a whistle. I want the cowboys coming over the hill. Eric was laughing his head off, and the mixer, Kevin Killen, said to me, 'This whistle is naff, Tori.' And I said, 'Well, guess what, Kevin. When you make your own song, you can put your own mandolin on it. This is a whistle. F--king put it in. Put the sample in.' So I got my whistle, and I'm happy as a clam to this day."

Long-time KEXP fave Courtney Barnett has announced her third album, titled Things Take Time, Take Time, out November 12th on Mom+Pop Music / Marathon Artists. "Rae Street" will be the opening track. The single shines with the influence of her previous songwriting partner Kurt Vile, while resonating with her now-signature style of capturing an ordinary day with her sharp eye and wit. Courtney will be stopping by Seattle on Tuesday, December 14th with Bartees Strange at the Paramount. Read more and find the tour dates on KEXP: www.kexp.org

Hi John! It’s Lucia from Austin, a proud KEXP supporter for almost 20 years. It’s my birthday today. Can you play Lips Like Sugar by Echo and the Bunnymen or Down I5 by Case/Lang/Viers? Thank you!!❤️💙💜💚 ========== Happy birthday from the Morning Show Lucia!

Ooh! You got to the Torres song before I emailed. Thank you! Now, please play the Cody’s own song. That was equally awesome yesterday. Tim in Naples P.s. my daughter, dad, and I will be in Seattle on aug 6th. LOM for Saturday brunch!!!! ========== First emerging from a winter semester recording collaboration whilst studying at University of North Carolina Asheville, Wednesday is the brainchild of vocalist and guitarist Karly Hartzman and fellow guitarist Daniel Gorham. wednesdayband.bandcamp.com

'Morning, Would love to hear Unforgettable Fire by U2 - beautiful song. & I hope you're all managing somehow to cope w/the drought & heat. Thanks, Amy Baltimore ============ Great Rolling Stone interview with Bono about... everything: www.rollingstone.com

Nation of Language have announced their sophomore album, A Way Forward, coming Nov. 5. Ian Devaney (vocals, guitar, and percussion), said of the new album "“We drew a lot from the steady locomotive rhythms of bands like Kraftwerk and Neu!, while also looking to less-propulsive electronic artists like Laurie Spiegel and Cluster. The goal was to have a record that felt like a journey, like being on a train that gets lost in a colorful fog, and then suddenly bursts through into different landscapes." They'll be at the Crocodile on October 14th! www.nationoflanguage.com

Hi John! It’s Lucia from Austin, a proud KEXP supporter for almost 20 years. It’s my birthday today. Can you play Lips Like Sugar by Echo and the Bunnymen or Down I5 by Case/Lang/Viers? Thank you!!❤️💙💜💚 ========== Both of Lucia's birthday requests sound great this morning! Happy birthday!

Singer Ellie Rowsell said “This is one of the songs we wrote thinking that we would play it live." and Wolf Alice will bring this energy to The Showbox on Monday, October 25th, an all- ages show. bit.ly

Brand new from this Australian group. Check out their Bandcamp: amylandthesniffers.bandcamp.com

Ian Curtis was born today in 1956. He would have been 65. On July 18th, 1980, Joy Division released their second and final studio album, Closer. The album was released posthumously through Factory Records, following Ian's suicide two months earlier.

www.wetlegband.com The Isle of Wight duo of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers debut single is deadpan, cheeky and slightly salacious post-punk that is very much doing its own thing with distant relatives like the newly rediscovered Delta 5 and Au pairs from way back in the punk rock wars or the wonderful Dry Cleaning in these modern times. louderthanwar.com

"Grand" was recorded entirely in the Vermont home where Matt grew up

Camper Van Beethoven on their interpretation of the Status Quo’s 1968 hit “Pictures of Matchstick Men.”: “We were pretty good friends with the guys in a band called Spot 1019 at the time, and one of the songs they were playing was ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men,’” explains Camper bassist Victor Krummenacher. “I don’t remember who, but somebody said, ‘The violin would be great on that.’ So we did our own cover, and there was just something about that pocket that worked well for our band.” www.mixonline.com

Woods, the psych-folk partnership of Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere, will release More Strange, the deluxe edition of their highly acclaimed 2020 album 'Strange To Explain', on July 23. “It’s kind of my way of asking if anyone is still listening,” frontman Jeremy Earl says of "Nickels and Dimes." “It gets hard to tell if you are being heard with all of the digital noise out there. With no shows for almost 2 years it’s even more difficult. I miss seeing people’s reactions to our music. I miss talking to people after our shows. So this song hits especially hard for me right now. Is anybody out there?” woodsfamilyband.bandcamp.com

The Toronto band explained in a statement, "As Big As All Outside" is about living in decline and eventually escaping the sense of dread that constantly hangs overhead. “Over the last several years I don’t think I was alone in the sense of decline that seemed to be hanging over a lot of day-to-day existence, and on my bad days I can really let that feeling permeate everything. I’m consistently awed by all of the little things that can pull me out of it though” www.nme.com The band is reissuing their debut 2019 EP with this new single -- ducksltdband.bandcamp.com

The frontman of The New Radicals, Gregg Alexander, decided it was time for the band to break up after one album because he essentially figured they'd never come out with another hit as good as "You Get What You Give." www.distractify.com

Good morning! I made it to 46. My go to comfort album in the last 6-8 months has been Innervisions. There’s something special about it and it’s airy production that never fails to put me in a good place. Could you play Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing for me and everyone who needs Stevie to remind them they don’t need to worry? Thank you for all the music, community, and inspiration as I journey around the sun another time. Timm ================ Happy birthday Timm!

"FUTURENOT debuted to the world on March 10th 2020 opening for Neal Francis at Barboza in Seattle hours before COVID quarantine orders were issued. We then spent the better part of 2020 creating this album in anticipation of a future beyond the pandemic, when we can bring these soundwaves to an orbit near you." Their debut "Greatest Hits" is available now: color-red.com www.futurenotmusic.com

The Toronto rapper Shad has become known as a radio and TV host, but he is primarily an old-school hip hop musician. Literate wordplay, layers of obscure samples, and a big sound colored by soul and rock, are all part of the Shad sound. For his new single, called “Storm,” he collaborates with soul singer Phoenix Pagliacci and Toronto’s former Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke. Shad's new song, "Storm" will be on his next album, called Tao. Read more here: www.newsounds.org

From Rolling Stone: Janelle Monaé has dropped a new single, “Stronger,” from the new animated Netflix series We the People. The 10-episode show, which was produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, debuted on July 4th and centers on civic engagement. The episodes include musicians like Monaé, H.E.R., Andra Day, Brandi Carlile, and Adam Lambert teaching viewers in song, which the singer evokes in her new track. “Even when we struggle and we get kicked down/We pick each other up with a little polish,” Monaé sings. “All of my friends want a legacy/Don’t wanna be left out/Every time you think we get a little weak/We get a little bit stronger.” Read more: www.rollingstone.com

Hi John, Thanks for your great set this morning; we're glad you're here! The kids and I are celebrating our dear Sebastian's birthday today and would love if you could play a song for him. He's the best dad and husband we could imagine, and, well, he turned us all on to KEXP! He'd love to hear anything fun by LCD Soundsystem or Arcade Fire. Many thanks, hope you have a great Thursday! Emily, Alden, and Eliot in Portland ========== Happy birthday Sebastian!

John! What up my dude? Tori never sounded so good. That Rae Street song could very well fit into a Tarantino flick. Just dig that voice. How about some Massive Attack, Beck or Radiohead? You make the call. Thanks John and KEXP -- Neil ============== Thanks Neil!

Hello… I emailed you back in February I think…At the time my husband John & I were in Houston while John was undergoing a clinical trial for his cancer that had returned. John had a grueling stem cell transplant months before & he was still recovering when the cancer returned. You did a shout out for John at the time and it made us so happy!!! I’m sorry to say that John passed June 1st after watching him take his last breath. I’m currently looking at the beautiful Pacific Ocean on the San Juan Islands. Please play Sunshine on My Shoulder by John Denver to help us remember the memory of my late husband John M. Zachara. Thank you!!! Dawn ========== You are not alone Dawn

"It was just sunny and it was all just the release of that tension that had been building up on me," Harrison said in a 1969 BBC Radio interview. "It was just a really nice sunny day, and I picked up the guitar, which was the first time I'd played the guitar for a couple of weeks because I'd been so busy. And the first thing that came out was that song. It just came. And I finished it later when I was on holiday in Sardinia." - bit.ly

Enjoy a KEXP interview with Brandon Summers of The Helio Sequence: www.kexp.org --- And, remember, you are not alone.

“We’re a million miles apart in a thousand ways…Love is love it never ends, can we all be as one again?” "Kylie Minogue is the most charming and unassuming pop superstar of all. She’s never been as provocative as Madonna or a vocal marvel to rival Mariah Carey, but her career has proven equally fascinating and enduring. The performer who was dismissively dubbed ‘the singing budgie’ when she broke through with The Loco-Motion in the late 1980s is now a gold-plated icon whose first name alone stands for joyous dance-pop brilliance." Read a tribute to Australian's best-selling female artist who released her fifteenth album, "DISCO," last year: bbc.in

Just remember to fall in love There's nothing else There's nothing else

"Outro" is the final song on M83's sixth album, "Hurry Up. We're Dreaming." "Facing tempests of dust, I'll fight until the end / Creatures of my dreams, raise up and dance with me..." ilovem83.com

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross Cover David Bowie's “Life on Mars” for Watchmen. The instrumental appears in the recently aired seventh episode, “An Almost Religious Awe.” - bit.ly

In 1980, David Bowie was in the middle of a new kind of transformation. After launching himself to stardom in 1969 with his first hit single, "Space Oddity," he spent a decade morphing from Major Tom to Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane to Halloween Jack to The Thin White Duke — a series of characters that also emblemized radically different approaches to rock music, from sci-fi glam to stark experimentalism. By the end of the '70s, however, he dispensed with such alter egos. Instead, he absorbed them all into a single if mercurial persona, one known simply as David Bowie. And that persona hinged on "Ashes To Ashes." www.npr.org

KEXP selected this song from iconic shoegaze band Slowdive as a free Song of the Day. Download it here: www.kexp.org -- Slowdive came to our studio in 2017 for an amazing live performance that included "Star Roving": youtu.be