John Richards

Olympia, WA "supergroup" CCFX gave their first live radio performance (It included "The One to Wait.") on The Morning Show in 2018: www.youtube.com? -- Purchase the CCFX EP right here: ccfx.bandcamp.com

The song's chorus consists of a sample from the B.B. King song "How Blue Can You Get" from his 1971 album "Live in Cook County Jail.": "I've been downhearted, baby, ever since the day we met." --- This was the most unlikely of hits, reaching #10 in 1996 for the Primitive Radio Gods. Read an interview with songwriter (and former air traffic controller) Chris O'Connor about the band, the song, and his writing process: www.songfacts.com

Toronto's Choir! Choir! Choir! came to Seattle and led a group of KEXP Amplifiers in an exhilarating group performance of this song. Watch an interview and that performance: www.youtube.com

"Cry Little Sister" is a song written by Gerard McMahon (under the pseudonym Gerard McMann) and Michael Mainieri, and performed by McMahon for the soundtrack to the 1987 film "The Lost Boys." -- CHVRCHES covered it for the Netflix film "Nightbooks." "We were so excited to work on this project as we are big fans of everyone involved," the group said. "Cinema -- horror in particular -- has always been a big part of CHVRCHES behind the scenes. We have talked about covering 'Cry Little Sister' for years and this seemed like the perfect moment to do it."

Would love to hear some Echo & the Bunnymen. Thank you for all you do for KEXP, your community and your staff. Someday, when we do that cross country trek, we will make it to Seattle for the station tour and *several* drinks at LOM. God I hope you have a lead on the MFers who wrecked the disco bathroom and took your shit. Stay positive John and get a good night's sleep! Bryan == Echo and the Bunnymen released a transformed "re-imagining" of this song in 2018. Here's the original video: www.youtube.com And, here's the "transformed" video: www.youtube.com

The War on Drugs will be live at The Paramount on Monday & Tuesday, February 21-22, 2022. -- This title track from their new album (due for release on October 29th) features backing vocals from Lucius and whose music video references many an older rock video.: youtu.be

Ohh, she'll be at The Tractor Tavern on Monday, September 27th! --- “I’ve been conjuring this deep, deep joy that I honestly didn’t feel for most of my life,” says Mackenzie Scott (Torres). “I feel like a rock within myself. And I’ve started to feel that I have what it takes to help other people conjure their joy, too.” -- The video for this terrific song mostly features Scott in a kitchen with her partner, the painter Jenna Gribbon.: www.youtube.com

My husband and I were debating over the best HELIO Sequence song last night and I said let’s email John and let him decide by whatever he plays on the radio. Our debate was between Harmonica Song, Keep Your Eyes Ahead, Stracenska 612 and Lately. We look forward to your judgment. Joni and Charles in Portland, OR --- John welcomed Brandon Summers of The Helio Sequence to the KEXP studio in 2018 for a live performance that included "Hallelujah" (Apparently, this is John's choice of the best Helio Sequence song!): www.youtube.com

For the love of all that is holy, PLEASE play Tubeway Army - Are Friends Electric Thanks John. Keep crushin! --Paul in West Seattle -- This song is about man living among robots - how you can lock yourself in a dark room away from any other human. Numan has Asperger's Syndrome, and many of this songs deal with themes of technology and isolation. -- Speaking to Dutch TV NTR, Numan said the song is about a robot prostitute and had the BBC known at the time, they wouldn't have playlisted it. "It was a futurist version of getting pornography in the post, what comes in a brown envelope so your neighbors don't know what it is." -- Watch a mesmerizing live performance: www.youtube.com

Trent Reznor remixed this song for its maxi-single release in 1997. Reznor sings backup in this mix, most notably in the choruses and the "God is an American" coda. Nine Inch Nails also also contributed guitar, bass, and drums. -- Reznor, one of Bowie's touring mates, also starred in the music video as Jonny, stalking a terrified Bowie around New York City.: www.youtube.com

The drums on this song (performed by Dave Grohl) are quite similar to the drum track to "My Hero", also performed by Grohl. --- Check out John's exclusive KEXP interview with Trent Reznor: www.kexp.org

IDLES are playing two sold-out shows in Seattle Tuesday November 9 at The Showbox and Wednesday November 10 at Showbox SoDo. -- Frontman Joe Talbot explained in a press release: "We wanted to write a song that embodied self-belief, and gave us self-belief — a counter-punch to all the doubt we build up from all the noise we so easily let in. We wanted to make the sound of our own hearts’ marching band, armed with a jack hammer and a smile. We wanted to make the sound of our engine starting. So we did. Thank you." bit.ly

“‘Gum’ is about shrugging the weight of the world off your shoulders — being stuck, knowing it, and choosing not to care,” Millie Duthie of Brighton band Thyla said. “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 -- Stereogum called them a "band to watch" in 2018: www.stereogum.com

Good morning John! How about some Stone Roses to get this morning going? How about playing I wanna be adored? Don't we all? Andy in West Seattle --- Frontman Ian Brown told Clash Magazine in a 2009 interview that he, "didn't actually want people to adore me. I was trying to say then, if you want to be adored, it's like a sin, like lust or gluttony or something like that." -- Someone commented on the video: "In my 20s I too wanted to be adored. In my 30s I settled for being tolerated. Now in my 40s I just wish I was hated less.": www.youtube.com

Breeze is the project of Toronto-based producer Josh Korody. He enlisted members of Broken Social Scene, TOPS, and Orville Peck's band as collaborators for his second album, "Only Up.": pitchfork.com

This 1992 song started with a tiny sample of a bass drum beat and snare beat from Jimmy "Bo" Horne's 1978 tune "Let Me (Let Me Be Your Lover)." Vocalist Rob Birch looped the sample and created the bass groove that holds "Connected" together. -- "We are conscious of putting over something in our music," Nick Hallam said. "We fancy the idea of spreading good vibes the way that Bob Marley did. He reached millions in an even-handed, gentle way. You can't always knock people in the head. It's more subversive, in a way, to let positive vibes seep into people's brains, and perhaps change their way of thinking."

From the Bandcamp page for "Memory Device: "Tracing his Nigerian heritage, an adolescence absorbing No Wave and the hip hop on NYC’s Hot 97, time immersed in the techno scene in Berlin, and the experimental punk spirit of his current base in London, Memory Device is an enthralling introduction to a musician who resolutely defies pigeonholing.": babaali.bandcamp.com

Hi John, Not sure if there’s still time to weave this one in… Would love to hear People are People (DM). Staying connected to my Bro through music today. Warm regards, Beth (Chico,Ca) == This 1984 track was Depeche Mode's first hit single in the US. The percussion on this song incorporates various culinary implements. Lead singer Dave Gahan explained: "We used to go into studios, and the first thing we'd do, we'd ask where the kitchen was - literally for pots and pans and things that we could throw down the stairs, and record the rhythms they would make crashing around, and then make it into loops."

Ahhh....the Friday song. Join KEXP for Aqui y Ahora (Here and Now): Without Borders, September 13 through October 15, a month dedicated to amplifying the voices, stories, and music of the communities of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Latin and Latinx diaspora around the world.: www.kexp.org

"Kylie Minogue is the most charming and unassuming pop superstar of all....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 -- See the interstellar backdrop for Kylie on a horse statue in the video for "Say Something": www.youtube.com

There have been numerous requests for rain songs. Welcome, rain! -- This was recorded in an old church that was converted into a studio - except the studio wasn't finished yet and they brought in the orchestra anyway. About 30 string players had to improvise by playing in corridors and even the toilet. The song was mixed blending the orchestra on top of electronic sounds created by a sequencer and drum machine. -- Here's the official video for the remastered version of this classic song: www.youtube.com

It doesn't look like it will be raining in Auburn, WA on Monday, September 27th, when Garbage plays at the White River Amphitheatre with Alanis Morissette and Liz Phair. -- “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. Watch "Only Happy When It Rains" live: youtu.be

Hey John, Can we get some rain celebration songs going please? "Happy When It Rains" by the Jesus and Mary Chain would obviously be a great place to start. Thanks! --- Goth club kids needed a love anthem of their own, and this song provided it, with this hooky depiction of the main relationship: “And we tried so hard / And we looked so good / And we lived our lives in black.” But..." the besotted is still going to need a little bleakness to balance out all of this unnerving joy: “Looking at me enjoying something / That feels like feels like pain.” Read a tribute to this great rain song: bit.ly

According to songwriter Mike Peters, the key lines in this song are: "If I run fast enough I can leave all the pain and the sadness behind.." "That's really what that song is trying to communicate," he says. --- Watch the hair in the video for "Rain in the Summertime": www.youtube.com

dvr is Dillon van Rensburg, a seventeen-year-old songwriter and producer from North Berwick, Scotland. --- On "lowlife," he enlisted revered producer and songwriter. Kenny Beats. Of the song, Dillon cheekily says “Made this like a year ago was originally gonna release it with just me but this young producer called Kenny hmu asking to work on it. I was hesitant but agreed, always good to give smaller producers some exposure 🙏🙏.”

London band Media Giant have shared their debut single, "Afraid of the Dark." They say (tongue-in-cheek): "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.": bit.ly

Brooklyn band Geese will release their debut album on October 29. They wrote and recorded this album when they were still in high school, and were originally just going to drop it last year and head off to college, effectively ending what had been a teenage recording project. Instead, labels started calling, and they finished their album before having Dan Carey mix it. bit.ly geesebandnyc.bandcamp.com

Yard Act are a Leeds-based band that describe themselves as a minimalist rock group. This is the title track from their upcoming debut album: www.yardactors.com

EERA, the project of Berlin-based Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist Anna Lena Bruland, has announced her sophomore album. "Speak," the follow-up to 2017’s "Reflection of Youth," comes out December 3. It’s led by the single ‘Ladder’, which arrives with an accompanying video directed by Sigurlaug Gísladóttir.: www.youtube.com

I just made an appointment to donate red cells and platelets this weekend (there is availability in Bellevue today for those on the Eastside!) I would like to request something “vampire-y” and I guess Sunday Bloody Sunday is also appropriate – HA! Thanks for all that you do KEXP team! Wendy -- “Bloody Sunday” was a term given to an incident to an incident, which took place on 30th January 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland where British Soldiers shot 28 unarmed civilians who were peacefully protesting against the mass arrests and internments of Britain's Operation Demetrius. Read the story behind this overtly political song: bit.ly

Hi John, Hello and happy Friday to you and all the crew. The only difference between summer and winter in Ireland is that during the summer the rain is slightly warmer. If you had any Arcade Fire in your record bag this evening I'd be much obliged, Cheers! --Joe -- That's Patrick Bebey playing the pan flute. His part is based on the flute in "The Coffee Cola Song" by his father, the late Cameroonian artist Francis Bebey. -- The song was produced by Arcade Fire along with Steve Mackey, who is best known for playing bass guitar in the band Pulp and Thomas Bangalter, whose day job is one half of the French house music duo Daft Punk. Bangalter also played synthesizer on the track.

"Aries" is the third episode of Gorillaz' Song Machine video series. Released on April 9, 2020, the song features a bass guitar and vocal contribution from former Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook, and drums from singer-songwriter Georgia. -- The video, directed by Jamie Hewlett, features the cartoon group driving vehicles across a highway landscape. Near the end of the clip, bassist Murdoc injects singer and longtime rival 2D with an unknown substance and smiles sinisterly.: www.youtube.com

Listen to Thurston Moore's 2019 haunting cover of New Order's "Leave Me Alone." Moore explained that he chose “Leave Me Alone” because he was amazed that New Order released such a “life-affirming song” after dealing with the suicide of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.: www.youtube.com

When a mysterious masked collective called Goat first emerged in 2012, armed with an incendiary debut single ‘Goatman’ and a backstory for the ages – the band’s anonymous members claimed to hail from the remote and cursed village of Korpilombo in northern Sweden, where inhabitants had for centuries been devoted to a form of voodoo introduced by a travelling witch doctor – there was no one else on earth quite like them. goat.bandcamp.com