John Richards

Nation of Language was LIVE on KEXP last Wednesday, October 13th, at 9:30 a.m. You can listen to that performance on KEXP's streaming archive for two weeks: www.kexp.org --- You can pre-order "A Way Forward," due out on November 3rd, 2021: nationoflanguage.bandcamp.com

At first, this was a ballad played on an organ. Alan Wilder got the idea to speed up the song. The other members didn't like the idea, but after some time became convinced. Songwriter Martin Gore recalled: "The original demo of Enjoy the Silence was very slow and minimal, just me and a harmonium, and Alan (Wilder) had this idea of putting a beat to it. We added the choir chords and (producer) Flood and Alan said, 'Why don't you play some guitar over the top?' That's when I came up with the riff. I think that's the only time in our history when we all looked at each other and said, 'I think this might be a hit.'"

Happy birthday to Barry McGuire, born on October 15th, 1935. (He's 86 years old, John.) He began his career with The New Christy Minstrels in the early 60's and co-wrote their hit "Green, Green.": www.allmusic.com

Tiny Changes, the charity set up in memory of Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison, has launched a new mental health fund. The charity aims to improve the mental health of children and young people, with Hutchison’s family explaining that they hoped to continue “the positive impact that his art and music had on so many people”.: bit.ly -- Watch Frightened Rabbit's KEXP in studio from April, 2016: youtu.be

"And here lies my green eyes Rolled back in my head, but they're alive And all these words can all get spoken Well I know we tried and you're forgiven You're forgiven...." This extraordinary song was written by Billy McCarthy about his brother who took his own life while in solitary confinement.: www.youtube.com

The Districts will be at Neumos on Monday, March 21st, 2022. -- Vocalist and guitarist Rob Grote says of this single from their fifth album: "I Want To Feel It All" is about feeling everything possible all at once, and emotional fireworks and loving the universe and everyone in it. But it also saves room for being about death and the darkness underlying all existence, and forgiveness and pain and acceptance." : bit.ly

Brisbane, Australia's Hatchie (aka Harriet Pilbeam) is covering the Jennifer Paige 1998 hit "Crush." Secretly Canadian has been dropping standalone singles celebrating the label's 25th anniversary, which provides housing and other services to families experiencing homelessness in Secretly Canadian’s hometown of Bloomington, Indian hatchie.bandcamp.com

Of course you heard the prologue to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: shakespeare.mit.edu --- British producer and remixer Nellee Hooper has produced music for Soul II Soul, Massive Attack, Smashing Pumpkins, U2, and Sinéad O'Connor. He co-wrote the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo + Juliet' with Craig Armstrong and Marius De Vries -- including this remix.

John is crushing it in this set. --- Never released as a single in the US, this track still made it to #1 on both the Mainstream and Modern Rock charts This anti-war song refers to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War; the chemical contained pollutants including dioxin, making millions of people sick and damaging the environment throughout Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Michael Stipe's father served in Vietnam.

"One more in the 'crush' genre...." -- Billy Corgan wrote this song about his then future wife, Christine Fabian. He wrote it in the middle of the night in her apartment while she was sleeping. Here's a live version: www.youtube.com

This is Fruit Bats' cover of Smashing Pumpkins. Eric. D. Johnson said about listening to "Siamese Dream" in 1993: “Somehow, Smashing Pumpkins spoke to all sides of me – angsty on the surface but really filled with a kind of Midwest mysticism that spoke directly to my 17-year-old-kid-from-Illinois brain. It’s also the first tape I ever listened to while driving a long distance alone.” --- Fruit Bats will be at the Showbox at the Market on March 19, 2022.

Is there anything Krissy Vanderwoude can't do? Nope.: www.saintmarierecords.com -- Shoegaze/Dream Pop band from Indiana, covering Smashing Pumpkins. whimsical1.bandcamp.com

Whew! Thanks, Henry! Ahhh.....the Friday song. Thanks to all those who donated to KEXP's Fall Drive. If you din't have the opportunity to give, it's not too late.: www.kexp.org

Smile—the side project from Joakim Åhlund and Peter Bjorn and John’s Björn Yttling—have shared the visualizer for their new single with Robyn, “Call My Name.” It’s the latest offering from Smile’s forthcoming LP "Phantom Island," which is due out November 19. Yttling said: “‘Call My Name’ is a quite simple song about unconditional love, and the will to try and protect the one you love from a chaotic and threatening outside world.”: bit.ly

"‘Please’ is full of optimism and ready to be played in a place where we can all be together and flirt, dance, touch, and kiss,” Jessie Ware said. --- "We can make it mutual..." Watch the video for this banger, which features a pregnant Ware singing the song as projected on a curtain in a club while various dancers move to the track.: youtu.be

That's Char Johnson on vocals. Is this "the sickest video ever"? The Guardian investigates: www.theguardian.com

Good morning!! If you can squeeze in a shout out for a very happy 13th birthday to Sutton this morning before 8:30, that would be amazing! He’d love to hear Clint Eastwood or anything by Gorillaz if you can swing it. Thanks for all you do! Carol --- Happy birthday, teenager Sutton!! -- Gorillaz were inspired by the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood movie "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."

See Talking Heads perform "Burning Down the House" at the 2002 Rock Hall of Fame Ceremony: www.youtube.com

Explains frontman Paul Janeway of the hypnotic new single, “The Last Dance”: “The juxtaposition of dancing while facing certain doom is what ‘Last Dance’ is all about. Like dancing through a Mad Max scene." -- The band's new 11-track album will be released on January 28th. -- See the music video for this new single: www.youtube.com

IDLES will be LIVE on KEXP on Tuesday, November 9th, at noon. That performance is broadcast only. --- Good morning, John. I wanted to say thank you for introducing me to Idles. I remember watching their live performance at the kexp studio in 2018. I was hooked ever since. On Tuesday my husband Chris and I went to see them at The House of Blues in Boston. It was our first concert since the pandemic started which is a huge deal since we typically see a show every couple of months. It was almost two years to the day since the last time we saw Idles... and only three months since my mom passed away from cancer. I wasn't expecting the wave of emotion that washed over me when they took the stage. I've missed the energy of a room full of people sharing their love of music together. With goose bumps on my arms and tears in my eyes as I felt the music pound in my chest, it was the best therapy for my grief after losing my mom. Music truly does heal. I also wanted to thank you for sharing your own story of losing your parents. I didn't fully understand the gravity of that pain until now. My father died six years ago, now my mom, and I never thought I would living life without parents at age 43. The only comfort I feel is knowing that I'm not alone and navigating my grief through music, and your show on kexp is so special because of that. Thanks, John. Can you play Grounds by Idles? Their performance of that song on Tuesday was so incredibly powerful. Thanks, Anna (Bristol, RI) -- Frontman Joe Talbot said of "Grounds": "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." -- Here they are performing "Grounds" live on KEXP: www.youtube.com

Happy birthday to Ride's debut album, released on this date in 1990. Rolling Stone called the album "a masterpiece", and online magazine Pitchfork called it "one of shoegazing's enduring moments". -- Hi John, Owen, and team morning show denizens, I’ve been swamped with work all week and only today get to listen to your show live, which is something that consistently fills my heart and gets me jumping. (Jumping is my packed-concert genX dance style.) I’m going to be running my very first half marathon this Sunday in autumnal Northampton, Massachusetts. Your shows are excellent running fuel. If it fits with your song narrative today, I’d love to hear your favorite shoegaze running song to inspire me on. Thanks so much! ~Shannon (Northampton, MA) -- Read a glowing tribute to the album: www.pastemagazine.com

Wet Leg, the duo — Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, have released their second song. Teasdale says, “Wet Dream is a breakup song; it came about when one of my exes went through a stage of texting me after we’d broken up telling me that ‘he had a dream about me’.” -- In the video, the duo and their band belatedly realizing that they have lobster claws for hands as they’re about to eat lobster. The highlight is when Teasdale holds up her claws and exclaims (clearly to those who read lips), “I’m a fucking lawbsta!”: www.youtube.com

Cyndi 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 motorcycle 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

This Dublin 5-piece was originally the project of brothers Daniel and Killian O’Kelly. The pair met bassist / vocalist Emma Hanlon and guitarist Peadar Kearney in college. Daniel said, “But we needed a drummer and then I bumped into Gary [Wickham]. He saw me at a Wilco concert and came up and was like, ‘Oh, I’m your new drummer now apparently.’ The whole [band] thing was very convenient because we were all friends first - well, except Gary. We pretend to be his friend. It’s just hard to find a drummer, y’know?”

This one's for Shannon, running that half-marathon down those Massachusetts roads! -- This American rock band consisted of founder Jonathan Richman, bassist Ernie Brooks, drummer David Robinson (who found later fame with The Cars) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (who went on to join Talking Heads). Learn more here: www.allmusic.com -- The video is a travelogue of those streets: www.youtube.com

Parquet Courts plays The Showbox on Friday, April 22, 2022. -- Their new album arrives next Friday, October 22nd. "Sympathy for Life" evolved from a series of improvised jam sessions and was inspired by New York Clubs, Primal Scream, and Pink Floyd.: bit.ly

TV Priest will be at Neumos (with A Place To Bury Strangers) on Friday, February 11th, 2022. -- They say, "Lifesize’ is about the worship of the ‘strong man’ image often present in our political and cultural discourse. One where the patriarchal underpinnings of our society and political structure goes unchallenged. After a particularly gruelling year, when people have looked to leaders for strength, we’ve found instead empty gestures and contempt. (“Talk like a salesman, walks like the Pope.”) We don’t need more macho bravado; society needs empathy and compassion.": tvpriest.bandcamp.com

"...where 2019's 'Dark Thoughts' was about confronting your demons with fearless self-examination, much of 'Feels So Good // Feels So Bad' is about what happens once you find that peace and how being honest with yourself, changes your relationships and priorities. "I do think it's about acceptance," says drummer/singer Kristin Leonard. "There's a weird relaxation that comes with being at peace with things you can't control or have regrets about." -- The Shivas will be playing at Tractor Tavern on Thursday, November 11th for Freakout Fest. www.theshivas.org theshivas.bandcamp.com

The gentle "Guided by Angels" is the new single from this Australian band's sophomore album, "Comfort to Me," released on September 10th. It was released to very positive reviews: bit.ly -- In the video, Amy Taylor dances around and belts the song in various locales — a field, a storage unit, the ocean — as her bandmates stand cooly by.: www.youtube.com

Bikini Kill are Olympia, Washington punk rock feminist heroes and part of the riot-grrl of the 90’s! bikinikill.bandcamp.com -- The song is an American Anthem. Enjoy this interview with Kathleen Hanna about "fascination, friendship, and desire": www.npr.org

The Mary Veils are a Philadelphia, PA-based garage rock act. The Mary Veils starting out as the solo project of songwriter Brian von Uff and have since evolved into a full band with Justin Mansor, Andrew Mann, and Evan Wall. --- Purchase their "Somewhere Over the Rowhome" EP here: themaryveils.bandcamp.com

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

David Bowie's "Fashion' was a scathing indictment of the fashion world: faroutmagazine.co.uk -- 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."

The Guardian called this Manchester trio "ones to watch": www.theguardian.com -- Enjoy the video for "Showstopper": www.youtube.com

David Bowie praised U2 for "Zooropa." -- “They might be all shamrocks and deutsche marks to some,” Bowie said of U2 to The Irish Times in 1993, “but I feel that they are one of the few rock bands even attempting to hint at a world which will continue past the next great wall – the year 2000.” Bowie wasn’t always friendly towards U2’s music – he visited the band after they finished recording “The Fly” and told them to redo it – but he praised the band for how both Achtung Baby and Zooropa picked up where his own Berlin trilogy left off.: www.rollingstone.com

This song is, according to the band, "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.": www.stereogum.com

OMD will certainly play "Enola Gay" when they come to The Moore Theatre on Saturday, May 21, 2022. -- Was gonna ask if I was too late for Wounds of Love/NoL request because that is one I put on repeat and dance around the house to also and they are just so damn GOOD! It’s so fun to be in love with a fairly new band again! And i am so glad/lucky/thankful I could be there on Wednesday for the session- and last night was my 1st inside show - and I just might drive to Portland to do it one more time tonight! We had so much fun at Life on Mars too - thank you for doing that! ANYways I see that I’m way too late (and *might* have still been asleep when you played that very thing :) sooooo maybe some OMD, please? Which I really wish they’d cover. Or Operators? Man oh man any combo of those three would be a dream tour. Have a great weekend, John! Stacy -- "Enola Gay" is an anti-war song by the British synth-pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and the only single from the band's 1980 album "Organisation." The track addresses the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the aircraft Enola Gay on 6 August 1945, toward the conclusion of World War II. -- Read how Andy McCluskey created this memorable song: www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk

Hamilton Leithauser & Kevin Morby are playing at The Moore Theatre on Wednesday, November 3. bit.ly New collaboration by Hamilton Leithauser & Kevin Morby! Here’s Leithauser take on “Virginia Beach” and collaborating with Morby: "I wanted to do a modern take on a dark country song which would transform into more of a dark dance groove. I also wrote an entire vocal track over it but just didn’t think my voice was taking it anywhere new, so I sent the track to Kevin Morby. His voice sounds nothing like my own, and his songs usually have a very different structure than mine. I thought maybe he could take it in a new direction. He told me he wanted to write a traveling song, maybe mentioning some places people don’t sing about that much, and he sent me some lyrics. I loved it and wrote my “Virginia Beach” lines right then and there, and sent them back to him." Morby added: "Maybe it was being in one place for almost two years, or maybe it was the mysterious and kinetic energy of the composition, but I found myself compelled to write of all the bizarre yet beautiful corners of America one often overlooks that a touring musician inevitably finds themselves in while out on the road. The Paris Idahos and the Texarkanas. It was my attempt at evoking Cash and Dylan’s “Wanted Man” or Barbara Keith’s “Detroit or Buffalo,” or any of those other lost country and rock n roll songs that shout out cities off the beaten path. Cities that down-and-out characters race towards in an attempt to outrun themselves. Though of course – as the saying goes, no matter where you go, there you are." bit.ly