John Richards

Were laying in the shadow of your family tree Your haunted heart and me Brought down by an old idea whose time has come And in the shadow of the gallows of your family tree There's a hundred hearts soar free Pumping blood to the roots of evil to keep it young www.tvontheradio.com

Peter Murphy wrote this song with his keyboard player/guitarist Paul Statham. Explaining the title in an interview with Songfacts, he said it is "an attempt to describe or evoke a conditional commitment to one partner". www.songfacts.com

Nation of Language will play The Crocodile on Thursday, October 14th. bit.ly

Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, to the radio

"I'd like to request This Year by the Mountain Goats. It's been that kind of morning. - Jim" You are not alone, Jim.

"My best friend passed away last night and I'm lost. I just did a bunch of laps in the pool trying to swim with goggles full of tears. Could you please play Paint It Black? He was the best, did more for everyone than they, including me, ever did for him. He was my neighbor when we met and I thought at first that he was Cortez Kennedy. He actually used to get stopped by people thinking he was Tez and asking for his autograph. We've had season tickets to the Seahawks since 1999. We were just texting about going to the games again soon. Thanks and stay safe. RIP Mario, love you my brother. - Russ" === Watch Charlie Watts (RIP) keeping perfect time in this live performance in 2003: www.youtube.com

ON THE RADIO (WHOA OH)

Big Thief is back with their first new music since 2019’s 'Two Hands', which was their second album release that year following up 'U.F.O.F.' Both tracks we’re released simultaneously and produced by the band’s drummer, James Krichvenia. bigthief.bandcamp.com Big Thief stopped by and played live in the KEXP studio back in 2019. Check out their full performance here: youtu.be

Happy birthday, Musa!!! === Allison on the Eastside writes: Oh John.... when my kids were in elementary school we would play life on Mars and starfish and coffee right at 7:45 every morning on the drive to school. I just dropped off my 7th grader, and waved goodbye to my freshman and junior this morning. You're making me a bit misty remembering us rocking out in the drop off line so many years ago. Thank you fir the great memories. 💕 === Remember when Prince did this song with The Muppets? www.youtube.com

Good morning John & Owen. My best gal Sylvia turns 11 today. She’s listened to KEXP nearly every day of those 11years. She’s often the first one to turn on KEXP in the morning. Music is a special language we share as a family. Could you please play one of her favorites, Freedom 90 by George Micheal. With gratitude!! Sarah & Sylvia === George Michael was trying to free himself from the shackles of Sony, which was his record label at the time. They created an image for him to promote his Faith album, and Michael was now trying to distance himself from it. In the video, all the Faith trademarks explode: the jacket, the jukebox, the guitar. Michael was the victim of a Saturday Night Live skit mocking the video.: www.youtube.com

Jungle will be live at The Paramount on Friday, October 22! -- Jungle's excellent third album, "Loving in Stereo," a "collection of wall-to-wall bangers," was just released to critical acclaim on August 13th.: www.nme.com

Baltimore-born, DC-raised Maimouna Youssef aka "Mumu Fresh" is a critically acclaimed Afro-Indigenous singer, Emcee, songwriter, activist, workshop facilitator and audio engineer - a “quadruple threat” according to The Roots’ Black Thought. maimounayoussef.bandcamp.com "Work" is the first single from her forthcoming album 'Vintage Babies II: Queen of Culture'. maimounayoussef.com

Yves Tumor will be at Neumos on Wednesday, November 3rd. -- "Jackie" was recently picked as a KEXP Song of the Day. Subscribe & download this track for free: bit.ly

Radiohead announces KID AMNESIA, a multiple format triple-album release marking the 21st anniversary of Kid A and Amnesiac, out November 5th via XL Recordings. KID AMNESIA collects Radiohead’s fourth and fifth albums alongside the debut of a newly compiled third disc titled Kid Amnesiae. Exclusive to this release, Kid Amnesiae is comprised of unearthed material culled from the Kid A / Amnesiac sessions. Along with alternate versions and elements of Kid A and Amnesiac album tracks and B-Sides, Kid Amnesiae features the never-before-heard "If You Say the Word” (available now as a digital single) and a previously unreleased studio recording of "Follow Me Around. Additionally, on the November 4th eve of KID A MNESIA’s release, Canongate will release two art books by Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood cataloging the visual works created during the Kid A / Amnesiac sessions.

EERA is Anna Lena Bruland, Norwegian singer/songwriter, back with her first new track in three years. Recorded following a tour with Mitski and Ghostpoet, the new album will be out December 3rd on Just Dust Recordings. www.eera.co.uk

"Biting My Nails" is a cover of a song by Genevieve Waite off her 1974 album "Romance is on the Rise".

Released in the United States as a single on August 2nd 1971, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September of 1971. It was his first number one post-Beatles. === “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” is composed of several unfinished song fragments that McCartney stitched together similar to the medleys from "Abbey Road." The song is notable for its sound effects, including the sounds of a thunderstorm, with rain, heard between the first and second verses, the sound of McCartney’s voice with a “telephone” effect heard after the second verse, and the sound of chirping sea birds and wind by the seashore. Linda’s voice is heard in the harmonies as well as the bridge section of the “Admiral Halsey” portion of the song.: www.the-paulmccartney-project.com

"In honor of Michael K Williams’s tragic passing, could you play the theme song from Boardwalk Empire? It’s Straight up and down by the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I know Williams was best known as Omar, but he was incredible on this show too. My wife and I are actually in the middle of re-watching the Wire, and we are doing so mainly because of his brilliance. What a terrible loss. - Cameron and Anna from Memphis"

“At Media Giant, we care about you – that’s why we’ve used extensive market research and scientific analysis to determine what makes a hit. ‘Afraid of the Dark’ is our initial offering, and our studies suggest you will enjoy it’s driving, danceable rhythm and relatable lyrical content.“ mediagiant.bandcamp.com

According to the producer, Tony Visconti, this song's bass line and melody took inspiration from Bowie's 1975 hit, "Golden Years." King Crimson virtuoso Robert Fripp played guitar on this track. Fripp also played lead guitar on Bowie's 1977 song, "Heroes." Bowie had previously used that famous "beep beep" hook in a little-known song that he wrote in 1970 called "Rupert the Riley."

Rainbow Arabia is an electronic duo based in Los Angeles, California consisting of Future Pigeon and Whisky Biscuit keyboardist Danny Preston and Tiffany Preston. The married coupe perform a brand of electronic music that combines elements of Arabic, North African, and Asian musical styles fused with American avant-garde dance pop. rainbowarabia.bandcamp.com

The vocals for this Neil Young cover are by Moira Lambert. www.saintetienne.com

The 1985 song is said to describe the frustrations of a woman with an affection for "a boy who likes boys", with songwriter Ted Ottaviano adding in a 2016 Village Voice interview that the song was "written about Boy Bar, which was a very exclusive gay club in the East Village." youtu.be

Happy birthday, Chrissie Hynde! At the time this song was written, she was dating Ray Davies of The Kinks; they had a daughter together in 1983 but split up soon after and never married. Hynde got married twice, first to Jim Kerr of Simple Minds in 1984, then to the artist Lucho Brieva in 1997 - neither worked out. "Relationships are not the be-all and end-all," she told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2015. "You have to be happy within yourself first. No man can give you that."

KEXP Presents: TORRES with Ariana & The Rose in a 21+ show at 8PM on Monday, Sep 27 at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle! Tickets: tinyurl.com Recorded at Middle Farm Studios in the U.K. during the pandemic in fall 2020, 'Thirstier’s' tracks are tailored for “post-plague celebration.” “I wanted to channel my intensity into something that felt positive and constructive, as opposed to being intense in a destructive or eviscerating way,” Mackenzie Scott said in a statement. “I love the idea that intensity can actually be something life-saving or something joyous.” bit.ly

"Good morning kexp family... starting my day off with a beautiful walk listening to my favorite station I'd love to hear This is Love by Paula Jean Harvey for a dedicated ardent amplifier in Southern California - Michael" === "I can't believe that life's so complex...When I just want to sit here and watch you undress..." Watch her in that white suit as she belts out this song: www.youtube.com

Lead vocalist Millie Duthie says of the new release, ""Gum" is about shrugging the weight of the world off your shoulders - being stuck, knowing it, and choosing not to care. The world is weird; life is confusing. You're not always going to get what you want, but let's stop talking about it." bit.ly thyla.tmstor.es

New music from the Swedish band. goat.bandcamp.com

"Good Morning John, In ideal world, I'd be reliving the Portland Sylvan Esso concert from last night as I drove up to Seattle for tonight's Sylvan Esso concert. The world is far from ideal at the moment, so I opted to cancel the trip and I'm sitting at home here in Edmonton (Canada) pouting. I'd appreciate a little SE if you can fit it in. Thanks. - Pat == YAAY! I'm going to Sylvan Esso show tonight!!! First show in a loooong time! I had tix to Black Pumas a couple weeks ago and was kinda relieved it got postponed-- way more comfortable with outdoor show at Marymoor Samantha from Olympia

"I'm in need of some Nina Simone. Please play Gin House Blues - Angie"

'A Beautiful Revolution (Pt. 2)' is a continuation of Common’s 'A Beautiful Revolution (Pt. 1)', which was released last year. The Emmy/Grammy/Academy Award winning artist has teamed up with Black Thought and Seun Kuti on this new single from the forthcoming release. The full album will include contributions from artists like Brittany Howard, Markus King, PJ and more, and will be released September 10th.

"Hi John! My husband and I are going to have childcare for our baby Mavis for the very first time in 8 long months today. I can’t decide if I want to jump for joy or cry. It's a nanny share thats going to be in our home, so it'll be a pretty full house. Was thinking Everybody's Coming to My House would be a fun request, but literally any Byrne will do ❤️ - Chelsea, writing her own request as the Morning Show assistant

We just got our hands on a new song from Diana Ross...yes, that Diana Ross. It's called If the World Just Danced,” and it's from her first album in 15-years. Originally scheduled for release this month, Ross’ 13-track Thank You album is now scheduled for November 5th. Work on the album began pre-lockdown and was wrapped up with Ross recording her vocals in her home studio apart from the producers (who include the ubiquitous Jack Antonoff).

A request! And released on this day in 1979! === This song is about how people use technology and material goods to isolate themselves from human contact. Numan has stated that he has Asperger syndrome, which is a mild form of autism, but until he was diagnosed, he had a lot of trouble relating to other people. Numan told Mojo magazine March 2008 about the original inspiration for this song: "A couple of blokes started peering in the window and for whatever reason took a dislike to me, so I had to take evasive action. I swerved up the pavement, scattering pedestrians everywhere. After that, I began to see the car as the tank of modern society." bit.ly

The theme song for the Wire (the first season version). RIP to Michael K Williams.