4,992Shows
249,891Spins
Thursday, Oct 28 2021, 7AM
Happy 52nd birthday to Ben Harper! He performed live in the KEXP studio in 2016: www.youtube.com
"My songs were being 'synced' to things like the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro. I started to learn more about Baldwin's life and artistry, and also really got into the work of Gordon Parks - his movies but also his photography around the Civil Rights Movement, his portraits of poor black families in the south. And when I started reading up on Fred Hampton of the Black Panthers, it helped unlock the lyrics to 'Hero,' which I'd be done a year earlier but couldn't get any further than the chorus. But thinking about Fred and the movement, the lyrics just poured out of me." - Michael Kiwanuka in an interview to Mojo magazine
Jimi wrote the song quietly in his apartment and didn't show it to anybody. After recording "Fire", he had 20 minutes to spare in the recording studio, so he showed it to the band. They managed to record it in the 20 minute period they had. The band later recorded several more takes of the song, but they all seemed very sterile and they decided to go with the original recording.
Prince admitted the success of the film and its music was overwhelming. "In some ways Purple Rain scared me," he noted in The Observer. "It's my albatross and it'll be hanging around my neck as long as I'm making music."
"Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" tells the story of Mother Love Bone frontman Andrew Wood, his heroin addiction, and his fiancé, Xana La Fuente. La Fuente danced in a strip club to support the pair as Wood tried to break through in the music industry, hence the "dancer" in the title. She only lasted one hour before deciding it wasn't for her.
---
Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, who later formed Pearl Jam, were in Mother Love Bone along with Wood, Bruce Fairweather and Greg Gilmore. The entire band is credited as writers on this track. Pearl Jam has played this song live many times over their career.
---
See a hand-held film of a live performance at Bumbershoot in 1989: www.youtube.com
Thank you for starting off with Shawn smith. I was making breakfast for my kids and crying the entire time. His music and voice meant so much to me, all of us. I meet him Xmas morning in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Ballard a few years ago. I was hoping to get some last minute ingredients but it was closed. The parking lot completely empty except for a single car. It was Shawn sitting on the hood shouting at his young son to go faster on his new go cart. I went up to him and thanked him for his art and told him what he meant to me. He then asked if his son could chase my car around the parking lot to see how fast he could go. That was one of the best Christmas's I can remember. A chance encounter with a beautiful soul who seemed so alone but at the same time loved by so many. Thank you for honoring him and life would not be as meaningful or bright without KEXP! You are adored by our family and our three young kids listen to you every morning! Stay strong and you are not alone
-Johnny in Ballard
Remy Zero vocalist August Cinjun Tate spoke about his cancer treatment, recovery, and never being the same again in this exclusive KEXP "Music Heals" interview: www.kexp.org
When Travis started to perform this song at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, after being sunny for several hours, it began to rain exactly when the first line was sung.
--
The band's manager tried to deter them from releasing this as a single, saying, "Nobody wants to listen to a pop star moaning about the bloody weather."
---
Here's the video, in which Fran Healy's bandmates lock him in the trunk of a '70s Vauxhaul Viva: www.youtube.com
Any way y'all could play Rise by Eddie Vedder? It just sounds better when you play it.
Becca
-----
After viewing a rough cut of 'Into the Wild', Eddie Vedder quickly went to work writing songs for the film, Into the Wild. After three days, he gave director Sean Penn a range of material to work with. Vedder said that Penn "gave [him] a lot of freedom," and added that "the biggest thing was trust, which was just kind of unspoken." He also said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things." He said, "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there."
bit.ly
Christine and the Queens covered George Michael's hit "Freedom 90" on their new EP, 'Joseph'.
Chris performed this at Global Citizen Live in Paris last month.
'Global Citizen Live calls for action to halt climate change and for wealthy countries to deliver on the $100B climate pledge, $6B for famine relief, and COVID-19 vaccine justice for all. On Sept. 25, 2021, over 60M COVID-19 vaccines, 157M trees, and more than US$1.1B in commitments to climate, famine, and COVID-19 response efforts were announced as part of the partner-led campaign. The Global Citizen Live campaign continues in the lead-up to the G20 Summit and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) later this year.'
www.globalcitizen.org
Cat Power's forthcoming album release will be an entire album of... Covers! This is her take on the Frank Ocean track, "Bad Religion".
Produced by Chan Marshall (Cat Power), "Covers" also features covers of tracks by The Pogues, Bob Seger, Lana Del Rey, Jackson Browne, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, the Replacements, and more.
bit.ly
"Covers" will be released on January 14, 2022.
Watch Cat Power perform “Bad Religion” on 'The Late Late Show with James Corden':
youtu.be
Deep Sea Diver covering the Alanis Morissette classic! Damien Jurado guest stars on backing vocals for this track. Catch Deep Sea Diver at the Showbox on Friday, November 12th! bit.ly
8:09 AM
17th spin
Tiny Changes features contributions from Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches, Aaron Dessner of The National, Josh Ritter, this track from Julien Baker, and more, and shares a name with the mental health organization launched by the family of Scott Hutchison, Frightened Rabbit's late lead singer who died in May 2018 at the age of 36.
maketinychanges.co.uk
For Jeff in New Jersey
--
Found on the third album from the Scottish group, released in 2010. See our tribute to Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit, which includes several videos of live KEXP performances, here: www.kexp.org
Arcade Fire recorded a new version of this song for the soundtrack of the 2009 children's movie Where The Wild Things Are. The film's director Spike Jonze told Digital Spy: "I met Arcade Fire on their first record, Funeral. I loved that record and it was a record I was listening to while I wrote Where the Wild Things Are. Those songs - especially 'Wake Up' and 'Neighborhood' - there's a lot of that record that's about childhood."
UK band Yard Act have just shared a new single, "Land of the Blind", from their upcoming debut album, The Overload.
"'Land Of The Blind' is a song about the art of illusion, and how self-confidence can really inspire conviction in a trick," says frontman James Smith. "Confidence is such a powerful tool and we are so often willing to believe what we are told by the most confident people in the room because the alternative of doubting them is to exhaust ourselves labouring the point by trying to talk louder than them. Nobody wants that. Most people just want to get on with enjoying their short lives with as little stress as they possibly can. So, exhausting as it still is, closing your eyes whilst you let the mad bastards do their stupid tricks often seems the most reasonable price to pay.”
They're playing the Crocodile on April 18th, 2022! Find all their shows and more: yardactors.com
Brooklyn band Geese will release their debut album "Projector" digitally tomorrow!
Geese wrote and recorded "Projector" while they were still in high school, originally planning to release the album as a final "teenage recording project" before heading off to college. But when labels started calling, the rest became history...
bit.ly
See the official music video for "Low Era": www.youtube.com
geesebandnyc.bandcamp.com
Austin's Spoon are set to release their 10th full-length studio album via Matador in February. It’s called Lucifer On The Sofa. Singer/songwriter Britt Daniel says it’s “the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton," adding “I spent a lot of 2018 and 2019 listening to ZZ Top."
"Steam Engine" is the latest release from EELS' forthcoming 14th studio album, Extreme Witchcraft, which will be out on January 28, 2022. Extreme Witchcraft was produced by John Parish, who is back after first working with the group on 2001’s Souljacker.
John! Would you please try to slip in birthday by the sugarcubes? It's my daughter's birthday today. Her name is Sloane. She just turned five. Hopefully sooner than later as I am on our way to drop her off at daycare! We are from right across the water on beautiful Bainbridge Island
Travis
=========
Did you miss Nation of Language's live performance on the Morning Show October 13th? Well, head over to the KEXP YouTube channel to watch that amazing show: bit.ly
New Order will be playing Climate Pledge Arena with Pet Shop Boys and Paul Oakenfold on October 14, 2022. bit.ly
School of Seven Bells performed Half Asleep Live on KEXP
back in 2009:
bit.ly
Today's KEXP song of the day!
www.kexp.org
'För Allting' translates to "For Everything" in English; it's the latest from the Swedish dream pop/post-punk group, recorded with HOLY’s Hannes Ferm.
'“When we started the songwriting process for this album, I think we all were pretty determined to take the music in a new direction,” guitarist Hugo Randulv says in a press release. “Not necessarily that we would sound ‘different,’ but to work on the songs using somewhat different methods than before. For our previous albums we have written the songs in our rehearsal space and pretty much recorded them the way they were. For this album we intended the songs to be finalized in the studio in a different and left some more room to work with.”
bit.ly
makthaverskan.bandcamp.com
"Metropolis" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The Church stopped by the KEXP studio in 2017. Watch their live performance here: www.youtube.com
The solo project of Malmö songwriter Katja Nielsen, of acclaimed punk combo Arre! Arre!, is finally ready to unleash her debut LP “Violent Tendencies”, a ten-track deep dive into the stories of female murderers.
Can you get it on pink marble vinyl I hear you ask? Yes, of course you can: shebeast040.bandcamp.com
Happy birthday to William Reid, Scottish guitarist, composer and singer in The Jesus and Mary Chain. 63 today!
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
See Deserta at the Loveless Festival at the Central Saloon on November 5th! The new festival is in in honor of the 30th Anniversary of My Bloody Valentine’s Seminal “Loveless” album and features Deserta, Fotoform, New Age Healers, Black Nite Crash, Blue Lotus, and more!
www.strangertickets.com
Tremolo, a musical event collective composed of members of several Seattle bands and Neon Sigh Records, announces its first music festival in Seattle this November to celebrate the impact of My Bloody Valentine’s groundbreaking “Loveless” album on the 30th anniversary of its release. The evening will feature national and local shoegaze, dream pop, darkwave, and like-minded bands playing their own material AND sharing covers of their favorite My Bloody Valentine songs.
"My Bloody Valentine's Loveless album means so much to so many people, and the music we create and appreciate wouldn't be the same without it. This is a good opportunity for us all to celebrate dreamy, fuzzy rock music while recognizing a great record that influenced all of us." - Chris Bendix (Neon Sigh)
Tickets and info: www.strangertickets.com
Lead singer Karen O wrote this song about her boyfriend Angus Andrew when he left her to accept a job offer. Andrew is lead singer of the band Liars. "It's a love song, rooted in the emotion of missing someone," she said.
bit.ly
--
In the July 11, 2007 issue of NME, she revealed that the tears she shed in the video were real, as Andrew was supposed to show up for the shoot, but was late.
bit.ly
--
Check out the video for "Maps":
youtu.be
Casey Niccoli, aka the classic girl, dated Perry Farrell from 1982 to '93, and through those years witnessed first-hand the evolution of Jane's Addiction as both girlfriend and creative muse.
"I was 18, and I really wanted to move," she recalled. "L.A. was so exciting to me. I had $250 to my name, packed up my car and moved to L.A. I felt like I belonged here. I got into the punk scene, and three or four years later I met Perry. My boyfriend's band played a benefit show with Psi Com (Farrell's former band). I just showed up, and I was immediately just mesmerized, fell in love, I wanted to have his babies, and I just couldn't stop talking about him. I was obsessed at that point."
Nicolli and Farrell began dating a year later.
www.bakersfield.com
This is my first time listening to your show and just wanted to share thanks for a truly amazing morning! I live in the DC area but love KEXP and have been listening regularly online the past few weeks. Love the variety of so many genres! But your show today has truly touched my soul - playing so many old and new favorites! Wanted to reach out to say thank you. You are truly making my day!
Also, if you are willing and have time, wanted to request "A New England" by Billy Bragg to continue the retro vibe.
Thanks again! Will definitely tune in for your show again. You rock!
Alice in Takoma Park, MD
===========
Welcome to the Morning Show Alice!
Elvis Costello & the Imposters have dropped the new song “Magnificent Hurt.” It’s the first single from their upcoming The Boy Named If, which arrives on January 14th.
“The full title of this record is The Boy Named If (And Other Children’s Stories),” Costello said in a statement. “‘IF,’ is a nickname for your imaginary friend; your secret self, the one who knows everything you deny, the one you blame for the shattered crockery and the hearts you break, even your own. You can hear more about this ‘Boy’ in a song of the same name.”
"She Bop" hit # 3 on the Top 100 list in 1984. Although this song isn't without controversy as it ended up on the "Filthy Fifteen" list, due to its explicit content which led to the creation of the Parental Advisory sticker that landed other artists such as Madonna, Prince and AC/DC and many others throughout the years.
bit.ly
Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers latest single, released last month! Teasdale says “Wet Dream,” the new song: “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’.”
Watch the quite interesting lobster-filled video for "Wet Dream":
youtu.be
wetlegband.com
Speaking to the Rock 'n' Roll Alternative Show in 1983, frontman Robert Smith said that he didn't want this sarcastic reflection on sexual imagery in pop music ever to be released. "It wasn't as dumb as I wanted it to be," he explained. "It was really me reacting against The Cure's image, the states we've gone through. So I wanted to do something that was really, really dumb and pop. The words mean nothing. Once I recorded it I thought maybe this isn't quite right. And it was taken over and taken to its logical conclusion and released... Looking back maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. But at the time I was really, really angry 'cause I didn't want it released."
"The pieces on the album certainly do resemble one another -- Pela has a formula, a vision, and they stick to it -- but instead of making 'Anytown Graffiti' seem predictable or derivative, this consistency gives an element of depth and wholeness to it, like it's a complete piece, a fully explained thought, instead of just a collection of separate ideas. The songs, while not overtly catchy in their own right, work together to make something that lasts, something that sticks, something you want to hear again and again."
bit.ly
Check out a few tracks from Pela's 2009 session live in the KEXP studio:
www.youtube.com