4,992Shows
249,891Spins
Thursday, Sep 9 2021, 7AM
Today is Music Heals: Mental Health. We're acknowledging the struggles of mental health and emotional well being that so many of us deal with and how music can really make a difference.
Find a list of mental health resources here: www.kexp.org
Bragg explained, “To me, ‘I Will Be Your Shield’ is the heart and soul of the album. I’ve come to the conclusion that empathy is the currency of music – that our job as songwriters is to help people come to terms with their feelings by offering them examples of how others may have dealt with a situation similar to that in which the listener finds themselves. After what we’ve all been through, the idea of being a shield – physically, emotionally, psychologically – resonates beyond the pandemic.” - bit.ly
The new album is out October 8th.
Julien Baker joined frontman Scott Hutchison for vocals on this song, and after his death in May 2018 she stated: "Been trying to find the right words but there are none; Frightened Rabbit’s music had a huge impact on my life, and what interaction we had was always marked by such kindness. My heart is broken for this loss and for those who loved and were close to Scott."
- bit.ly
Here's Frightened Rabbit performing live in the KEXP studio in 2016: www.youtube.com
Frontman Scott Hutchison described this album as "a lot more intense" than its predecessor Sing the Greys. Following the album's completion, it took around a month for him to be able to listen to it.
Damien also performed this song on the Morning Show in 2012: www.youtube.com
Berlin-based duo Lea Porcelain is producer Julien Bracht and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Markus Nikolaus.
They say, "The song describes a time in everybody’s life that make you lose faith in yourself, in someone else, or in life itself and you just need to hear from someone that one day everything will be OK again. That no matter what, with time and patience we all will be OK.” Read more from our interview with Lea Porcelain about this song here: www.kexp.org
www.kexp.org
Sharon Van Etten said in an interview in 2012, "I wrote the song about a friend talking me through a panic attack. Moving to New York City and doing what I do, social anxiety is a really ridiculous kind of curse to have. But I met people along the way who deal with it — performers as well — and they are learning to deal with it daily and deal with it in different ways. "We Are Fine" is a duet with Beirut's Zach Condon, who has social anxiety, too.": n.pr
Ann Marie in West Seattle:
Gosh, I do love this day you dedicate to the music and not feeling alone. I think of myself and my friends. And I don't cry as often, and I feel better...But god damn, nothing like Fred Rodgers to start the water works. Thanks for being so great to all of us through the air waves. ❤
==
Damn you, John! You can't play that tear-jerker Mr. Rogers story while I am trying to work!
But seriously, thanks so much for today. I work in the public school system providing mental health screening and counseling to youth. Destigmatizing mental health is so very important. Thanks for using your platform to help those of us in the trenches every day.
Layne
John,
Thank you for being a friend to all the kids who listen to your show. One of your listeners, Maiga (MY-ga), age five, starts kindergarten in West Seattle on Thursday. We would love to hear M83's "Frog Song" Thursday morning to help her - and all the 5 & 6-year-olds across Seattle get ready for their first day. Maiga always listens closely when you play that song as she likes to hear the girl talk about the frog.
It could feel a little bit scary to walk into a big new school, with bigger kids who started last week. But if we think about how all the kindergartners are doing it together at the same time, we might realize we're not alone. Maybe we could be the biggest group of friends the world has ever seen.
That song changed for us as we became parents of a young child. Maybe it could also help some of us grown-ups trying to process this moment get some feels out too, before we head to school (hopefully before 7:30 Thursday, gotta get out the door!).
Thanks either way, for all you do,
Maiga's Dad
============
Ben E. King recorded this shortly after leaving The Drifters in 1960.
"Stand By Me" was the name of a gospel hymn written by the Philadelphia minister Charles Albert Tindley in 1905. His hymn became popular in churches throughout the American South and was recorded by various gospel acts in the 1950s. The most popular adaptation was by The Staple Singers, who recorded it in 1955. It was this version that Ben E. King heard; he pushed The Drifters to record it, but the group's manager rejected it.
During my last depressive episode (in the pandemic no less), I listened to John Richards on KEXP talk about depression in an effort to normalize it, and I realized that I needed to help with that effort. People need to see that depression impacts lots of people. I am a person who happens to sometimes experience the debilitating effects of depression – I am not just my condition, but it IS a part of me.
I know it took courage for John to talk about it, so I borrowed some of his, and went on Facebook to write honestly about my struggle.
It was risky, I’m a Psychology professor, and it is hard to admit that sometimes life is hard.
But, the most amazing happened. People were kind, they were supportive, they were understanding, and they listened.
I truly believe that experiencing my lows has enriched my life by providing contrast, as well as contributing to my caring for those who struggle, just as I was then. I am happy to say that episode is now past, I got better, and if it happens to you, you can too.
#IAmNotAlone (and neither are you).
So, thanks John Richards – you and EVERYONE at KEXP make a difference in my life every day. Whether it’s Elbow’s “One Day Like This,” or Kevin playing ABBA and then Arcade Fire’s “Everything Now” or so much other great music from great DJ’s - #MusicSavesMeEveryDay
With virtual hugs,
Diana
===============
Thank you Diana! You are not alone!
"It's a song about nobility and personal sacrifice," Bono explains in the book U2 by U2, "about doing what's right, even if your heart is telling you otherwise... Love, in the highest sense of the word, is the only thing that you can always take with you, in your heart. At some point you are going to have to lose everything else anyway."
Part of the inspiration for the 2019 album "Songs of Our Native Daughters" came from a tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC that Rhiannon Giddens took with her daughter.
She came across a "deadly serious" satirical quote, as she put it, by the abolitionist William Cowper that read: "I admit I am sickened at the purchase of slaves … but I must be mum, for how could we do without sugar or rum?"
In the album's extensive liner notes, she writes, "I was massively struck by the sentiment, and I thought of the modern-day slavery that produces all the things we can’t do without — iPhones, TVs, and so much else. I took a picture with my iPhone, and I remember immediately texting the image to my co-producer Dirk Powell, saying this needs to be a song."
-www.wpr.org
Can you please play "You ain't alone" - Alabama Shakes?
I saw Brittany Howard Last night and it was my first concert in 564 days and music really does heal. It was soooo therapeutic to feel music again
Shaw in Philly
==============
Brittany Howard told the story of this song to NME. She said: "I wrote that song to myself. It's meant to uplift. I was leaving my dad's house and I had this melody in my head and I was singing these words and by the time I got to the highway I knew how the song should be."
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this song. The Beatles recorded it a year earlier, but never released it as a single. The Beatles were so impressed with Cocker's version of this that they sent him a telegram of congratulations and placed an ad in the music papers praising it.
Discussing “A Word & A Wave” songwriter/vocalist Ian Devaney offered, “I was thinking a lot about simple social gestures and how randomly important they can be in key moments. How empowering it can feel when someone remembers your name; how slighted you can feel when someone you only kind-of know passes by without acknowledgment.
The song is a kind of vignette on someone who desperately wants to be the one that makes everyone feel good and has in turn neglected themselves. Trying as hard as they can to be there for people who are barely in their lives, hoping that this will bring meaning and fulfillment, when it really just ends up leaving them emotionally spent and scattered."
U2 lead singer Bono listed this song on his "60 Songs That Saved My Life" playlist.
“These are some of the songs that saved my life,’ Bono wrote of the playlist. “The ones I couldn’t have lived without… the ones that got me from there to here, zero to 60… through all the scrapes, all manner of nuisance, from the serious to the silly… and the joy, mostly joy.'”
bit.ly
Music can really make a difference.
www.kexp.org
It's his life indeed. Talk Talk was fronted by Mark Hollis and signed to EMI in 1981. The label sent them on tour with another one of their acts, Duran Duran, and commissioned a slick video for their single "Talk Talk." Both bands had a new-wave synthesizer sound, but that was about all they had in common. Hollis did the required promotion but didn't enjoy it - interviews were clearly a work obligation. Musically, he was not going to be swayed by popular taste or record company pressure, and for the second Talk Talk album, which didn't appear until two years later, he included "It's My Life," a manifesto of sorts where he asserts his independence.
bit.ly
Rose says, “This song is so hard for me to play. “25, Alive” was the only song on the album I wrote after my mother passed. I will never forget when it was finished, when I took my hand off the fret and my middle finger locked into my palm and I thought I was so fucked. Like, physically, emotionally fucked up. Like I would never play again.”
We can be grateful she had the courage to continue. The song expresses a yearning for hope. Rose sings, “I want to feel that I can move forward.” And we want that too. Yet Rose is blunt. Instead of offering false platitudes, she tells us, “all I’m seeing is red and I can’t help but be mad at it.” - earmilk.com
Oh, Rose performed "25, Alive" in the KEXP studio in November 2019: www.youtube.com
And you can also hear her telling the story behind the song in her KEXP interview with Owen Murphy: soundcloud.com
Karen O described this song as "a love song to despair." She added: "It's a feeling that you have that visits you time and time again. It's an incredibly uplifting song , though, about wanting to run away from certain darkness in your life."
-bit.ly
God bless you John and KEXP. I'm wearing my You Are Not Alone shirt today. As you know I'm living with depression and my addiction recovery daily, and I love that I have KEXP as a partner.
You mentioned connection between mental and physical health. This summer I've dropped 30 pounds toward my goal of losing 60 lbs by year end. The walking, gym workouts, and intentional eating has brought some balance. Especially on days my head is saying to just sit this one out.
Play some Pixies because I know it makes you happy.
Jim on Phinney Ridge
------------
Thank you Jim!
Kindt:
"It is no secret that I am a big admirer of the Pixies. I discovered them way back in 1989 when a school friend slipped me a cassette of Doolittle. I was 14 and up to that point my musical world had been almost entirely classical. I was blown away. Their use of contrasting dynamics, unorthodox song structures and multilayered melodies were a revelation to me and have heavily influenced me as a musician ever since. During last year’s lockdown I found comfort in the piano and decided to revisit and rearrange some of my favourite Pixies tracks. This resulted in the release of Pixies Reimagined in August 2020."
twitter.com
Man…this morning’s show is just so important.
I’m an ER doctor and as I dragged myself outta bed early to get in a workout before going back to the hospital to deal with all the (avoidable) misery again, telling my brain that we need this physical stuff, too, in order to stay afloat. And then I hear your show and just cannot agree more with everything you’re saying and doing for all of us out here listening.
I made it through the workout without tears, but Karen O changed all that. In a good, and needed way. So, thanks a million :)
Would love to hear “Breathe Me” by Sia as an excellent addition to any mental health catharsis playlist if there’s time.
Big air hugs-Jack
=============
This tale of anxiety and self-harm was very real to Sia. The very night she wrote it, she attempted suicide by taking 22 Valium and downing a bottle of vodka, something she didn't reveal until a series of interviews in 2018. After, a phone call from an old friend convinced her to get sober. You are not alone.
I am a mental health therapist working with young adults who have experienced their first episode of psychosis. During non-Pandemic times we meet with our clients in the community: in their homes, in a coffee shop, or going for walks. Obviously I have had to completely change the way I work. I used to complain about my commute to work but once I was stuck working in my house I desperately missed my time in the car to give me some separation between work and home. I would go on walks and instead of listening to podcasts, I listened to KEXP because I needed to hear other people in real time.
Like most of us who do this work, I have struggled with my own mental health issues. Depression and anxiety have been something I have dealt with since my own adolescence. I do many things to manage it- exercise, writing, and spending time with friends. But always, more than anything else, I listen to music. It has literally saved my life so many times. I make playlists all the time for myself, my friends, and my clients. The song “Stay Alive” by Jose Gonzalez can always make things better, even for a few minutes, which can be magic.
Thank you so much for recognizing that mental health IS health. I have definitely felt less alone!
Love,
Keri
===============
Thank you Keri. You are not alone
I know this is a bit divergent from “normal’ KEXP programming, but I recently fell into a pretty major slump and fell back on a song that has kept me afloat many times – Miles from Nowhere (Cat Stevens / Yusuf).
Thanks to KEXP for caring.
❤
Caleb
==========
Music matters! You are not alone Caleb!
Just wanted to say thank you so much for helping me on Tuesday. It's been a crazy week and today is helping more. Music does heal and I feel like we all have some healing to do, no matter what the other people think they see of us on the outside.
For what it's worth, I'm no longer hearing Paint It Black constantly. I've moved to Waiting On A Friend. For the record, I'm not a Stones fan at all. Weird what gets in your head sometimes.
Thanks and stay safe!
Russ
===
Mick Jagger said in 1983: "Just let me be cynical for a moment. First of all, it's really NOT about waiting on a woman friend. It's just about a FRIEND; it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. I can see people saying, Oh, we're all much older now, Mick's writing this much more compassionate stuff, must be about a real person. But that's only in their perception of it."
The seeds for Keep Your Eyes Ahead were sown in 2001. On September 6th, my mother received a call that nobody ever wants to get: her husband, my stepfather, had been killed in a truck accident in Colusa, CA. Martin had been driving trucks for the last few years for a glass company making deliveries weekly from Portland to San Francisco. Heavy wildfires had clogged the air along I-5 with smoke, and with little visibility, he had collided with a truck stopped in front of him. He died instantly. It was devastating. Martin was an amazing man who was my mother’s soul mate. He was the stability in the family, a quiet but strong person. They had just bought a new house together, the first in my mother’s life. And she had gone back to school and completed her court reporting degree. Things had been looking so good after so many years of struggle and with Martin’s death, it felt like the ground had been ripped out from beneath her and our family.
In 2018, Brandon Summers looked back ten years to discuss the album "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" with KEXP: www.kexp.org
Listen to the isolated vocals on this track. It's PURE MAGIC. www.nme.com
“You’re Not Alone” by Mavis Staples? I saw Jeff Tweedy perform this back in July in my first live show in what felt like forever. It’s a great song that I think fits in well today.
Thanks for the music.
Paul from Danbury
=============
Jeff Tweedy produced the album. He told the story of this song to Mojo magazine:
"That came out of a conversation with Mavis, where I told her my theory that all music basically says the same thing, which is: you're not alone. Even a kid in his room listening to the most abrasive punk rock or heavy metal, what they're really getting out of it is, 'We're in this with you.' Somewhere down deep there's a communication happening that's sustaining. So after we talked, I thought that'd be a good song to try and write for this record."
www.songfacts.com
Arlo Parks has shared of "Hope": "The song surrounds isolation, being present in your pain and knowing that you’re not the only one on the planet feeling low. I think especially in times like these it’s important to focus on the inevitability that things will get better."
--
See the video, which Parks calls "a warm, vibrant exploration of friendship and introversion.": www.youtube.com
---
DJ Gabriel Teodros hosted Arlo Parks in a KEXP Live at Home session: youtu.be arloparks.bandcamp.com
"It's getting harder and harder to say 'it's okay'" - Eddie Vedder asking for help from the audience during this performance at The Gorge. Don't forget you can ask for help too! For a list of resources, you can go here: www.kexp.org
"Now if you're feelin' weary...If you've been alone too long....Maybe you've been suffering from...A few too many...Plans that have gone wrong..." Here are the lyrics: www.azlyrics.com
--
Want to read a lovely tribute to this now-37 -year-old album?: bit.ly
What you gonna do when things go wrong?
What you gonna do when it all cracks up?
What you gonna do when the love burns down?
What you gonna do when the flames go up?
Who is gonna come and turn the tide?
What's it gonna take to make a dream survive?
Who's got the touch to calm the storm inside?
Who's gonna save you?
Alive and kicking
Stay until your love is
Alive and kicking
Stay 'til your love is
Until your love is, alive
Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to The Morning Show with John Richards! Thanks for listening...and being here!
Of this new song, Noah says: "It’s easy to wax poetic about places and times you’ll never get back. Memory is always glossy around the edges.
I moved to Seattle in 2009, a small town kid, just 20 years old. I lived out of my sleeping bag in garages, under tables, on couches, until finally moving into a place in the Queen Anne neighborhood with some friends. There was a feeling that anything was possible. That if you worked hard enough, gave it your whole soul, you could make your voice heard. And that it MATTERED. At least to me.
I spent the next decade growing up in that city. Making friends, losing friends, making mistakes and trying (though often failing) to learn from them. Over time, like all things, the city changed. The few bands that “made it” moved away, while the less fortunate gracefully bowed out when the insurmountable odds finally stacked too high. Tech companies moved in and priced out the artists. The culture of the place I fell in love with slowly disappeared.
When Covid hit in early 2020, all the bars closed and I finally realized my time there was over. So I packed up and left. And yet, like Lot’s wife, I can’t help looking back, the voice in my head taunting me with Springsteen’s “Glory Days”. I loved Seattle. I miss it. Or I guess I miss the memory of it.
This track was recorded in one take at Andy’s studio in Seattle. The legendary Greg Leisz added pedal steel after. This one’s for Brian.
Let me know what you think,"
--
Noah Gundersen returns with his much anticipated new album, ‘A Pillar of Salt’ out October 8th ahead of a US headline tour kicking off October 9th.: easystreetonline.com