John Richards

Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to The Morning Show with John Richards! Thanks so much for listening! -- Did you know that Ian Devaney and Aidan Noel asked their loved ones to fund their first album, "Introduction, Presence," as a wedding present? Thank goodness! Here's a review of "A Way Forward":www.pastemagazine.com Nation of Language was the first band to perform in the KEXP Live Room since the pandemic started. Check out this amazing performance! youtu.be

In a 2012 interview, singer Jim Kerr recalled the production of this fifth studio album as a wonderful time during the late spring and early summer of 1982 in which "everything we tried worked", adding: "There were no arguments. We were in love with what we were doing, playing it, listening to it. You don't get many periods in your life when it all goes your way." --- This reviewer says, "'New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)' is not only Simple Minds best album, but, in my opinion, one of the best albums of the ‘80s. The band had perfected their sound with the guitars and keyboards finally living harmoniously, creating a huge, warm, textured sound described by Kerr as “ambient dance music.": bit.ly

Here's what Yannis Philippakis says about Foals' "party-ready" new (seventh) album: "This new music comes out, it’s just solid good times – an explosion of energy and emotion. Come with your friends, lose your mind, f**king get down." -- "Wake Me Up" is the new single.

The Parrots are a Madrid duo made up of Diego García and Alex de Lucas. "You Work All Day And Then You Die" is the opening song from their first album in five years, "Dos. " -- Here's the video for this single: www.youtube.com

Hmmm...is there a theme here? -- "Great rock’n’roll is like drinking two hundred espressos in two minutes, whether it’s 'God Save The Queen' or 'Motor City Is Burning' or 'Street Fighting Man.' That’s what you’ve got to reach for." - The Godfathers describing what rock and roll is to them in a 2017 interview. -- They certainly reached for it in this live performance from 1988: www.youtube.com

This is James' sixteenth studio album in an illustrious 35-year career. It's the first with new label Caroline International. The pandemic coupled with Tim Booth living in California provided some logistical challenges in the usual recording process, resulting the rest of the band sending in their parts remotely. northern-exposure.co

Teenage Sequence is the London-born son of Indo-Mauritian immigrants, Dewan-Dean Soomary, This new song was "written on a jog in the Hackney Wick neighborhood of London." -- Look for a feature on this amazing artist in an upcoming episode of KEXP's Sound and Vision.

"Tribulations" is the seventh single from LCD Soundsystem's debut album. -- Read more about LCD Soundsystem lead synther Rayna Russom and her journey transitioning. pitchfork.com

OK, fine....thanks, Henry! Ahhh....the Friday song. New census data show that Seattle is the most anxious major metro area in the U.S.: bit.ly Remember that you are not alone. Here's a guide to some resources that may be helpful: www.kexp.org

Kathleen writes: Love it when you play these songs back to back!🎉 The Friday song was our wedding send off song, and Alive was the recessional for our ceremony. Troy was our DJ.😊Happy Friday, and thanks for all you do! Have a good weekend! #youarenotalone == "Loving every minute, 'cause you make me feel so alive...." Directed by Alex Theurer and Charles Scott, the video for this track features science fiction costumes and was filmed in Bryce Canyon National Park and the redwoods of California. Check it out here: bit.ly

My buddy Jay Rose is a long time John in the morning listener. It's his bday today and he's dj'ing vinyl in the cold tonight outside! Could you please play Chemical Brothers - Go, since he never stops going. Haha Jason in Philly --- Read a second-by-second analysis of this hit, which features the pitched up guest vocals from Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, AKA Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest fame. bit.ly

"Chastity Belt is a real band formed in Walla Walla, WA by Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar), Annie Truscott (bass), and Gretchen Grimm (drums), now residing in Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA." -- In director Eleanor Petry‘s “Fear” video, the members of Chastity Belt play fantastical character-types, knights and elves and whatnot. They frolic with horses in sun-dappled fields.: www.youtube.com

wych elm is a quartet from Bristol, England. Go here to purchase the "Rabbit Wench" EP: wychelm666.bandcamp.com -- Speaking about the inspiration for the track, vocalist Caitlin said “I wrote ‘Executioner’ about a relationship I had where I was constantly berated and insulted. It got to a point where I fed off it, I wanted to be hurt because it was the only attention I got. At the time I thought it was better than nothing, though it made me greatly depressed. I wanted to be the one who was executed.”

Portland psych-rock band The Shivas will play The Tractor Tavern on Thursday, November 11th, as part of Freakout Fest. They have released their fifth full-length, Feels So Good // Feels So Bad, an album they say was inspired by self-acceptance. “I do think it’s about acceptance,” Drummer/vocalist Kristin Leonard says in a press release. “There’s a weird relaxation that comes with being at peace with things you can’t control or have regrets about.” -- Get this song as a free KEXP Song of the Day: www.kexp.org

The Dandy Warhols will play Revolution Hall in Portland on December 30th and 31st (New Year's Eve): www.songkick.com The Dandy Warhols performed live in the KEXP studio in 2016: www.youtube.com

Bassist John Deacon wrote this song about his wife. He enjoyed a rather quiet home life and, particularly in the early days of the group, he was very shy and quiet, unwilling to put his song suggestions forward. -- Watch Queen performing it live in 1979: www.youtube.com

Love the Liverpool chant at the end. Sporting my Mo Salah kit right now. Do me a favor and have a tremendous weekend, John. ~jeffery, Teacher Kentucky --------------- It's been 50 years since "Meddle" was released: faroutmagazine.co.uk

Good morning John! My husband Russell is celebrating his birthday today! We are on vacation enjoying some beauty and serenity to celebrate his big day. As we are big Liverpool supporters, could you please play “you will never walk alone” by Gerry and the Pacemakers? I know that will absolutely put a smile on his face. He will never walk alone as I will be there by his side as he is loved! From two morning faithfuls! --Christine -- "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel.": www.youtube.com

Would it be possible to play The Waterboys, This the sea? I hadn't heard this song in years, then heard it again this year on your show for mental health. It's been an emotional rollercoaster for me this year, most of the time just being numb, but music is always there for me, as are you guys. Love you guys! Anna -- Horns, piano and a small string section were used to create this song, evoking an oceanside. The Waterboys rarely performed it live, because it's very hard to replicate this atmosphere on stage. -- Lead singer Mike Scott wrote the song; he composed about 20 different verse lyrics, choosing the best five for the final product. Here are those lyrics: www.azlyrics.com

Ray Davies wrote this nostalgic song about his older sisters, who loved to dance. The song describes how guys would take them out dancing, only to be frustrated at the end of the night when all they would get for their efforts (and money) was a kiss on the cheek. One sister in particular, Rene, had the strongest influence on him and his musical life: she gave him his first guitar for his 13th birthday. And here’s the untold tragedy: that same night when she went out dancing, she had a fatal heart attack on the dance floor. She was only 31 years old, but contracting rheumatic fever as a child had left her susceptible. So “Come Dancing” is a tribute to her.: americansongwriter.com

Andrew in Santa Ana: Also, saw IDLES last night in LA. An amazing show. Dude in the crowd - "IDLES saved my life!" Joe Talbot - "No! You saved your life. We are the passengers and YOU are the engine. You brought us here today." -- This new single is about Joe Talbot’s real-life experience in a near-fatal car crash. He describes it as “the horrific, comedown hangover — waking up in the morning and realizing the smashes, like, what the f**k am I doing with my life?”: www.stereogum.com -- Watch the “Car Crash” video, which IDLES’ Lee Kiernan edited together from director’s Matthew Cusick’s “File On Motor Transgression, 2011.”: www.youtube.com

Request for the Media Giants single. It entranced me the first time I heard it!--Bjorn -- 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 its driving, danceable rhythm and relatable lyrical content.": bit.ly

Hi John, My birthday was this last Monday. Will you please play Lights and Music by Cut Copy? I’m 55 and I feel great today!! Long time listener wherever we’ve lived for the last 22 years!! In Denver now. Have a wonderful weekend!! Sincerely, --Karen -- Melbourne, Australia group Cut Copy rose to prominence on the wave of bands who mixed dance-friendly grooves with vintage new wave and synth pop sounds to create a hybrid that sounded good in a club and at home.: www.allmusic.com

Happy 50th to Jonny Greenwood!: www.allmusic.com -- Hello! Possible for some of the new / old Radiohead? Greetings from Chicago, -Paul -- The track arrives with a video starring Guy Pearce, bringing the lyrics “Nowadays I get panicked/I cease to exist” to reality, as Pearce frantically runs around his apartment to avoid the camera. www.youtube.com

This is the new single from Spiritualized's forthcoming ninth album. -- "Everything Was Beautiful" (out in February, 2022) is the first new Spiritualized record since 2018’s "And Nothing Hurt," which bandleader J Spaceman (aka Jason Pierce) had suggested would be his final album for his longtime project. Together, those titles form one of the most famous lines from Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five: “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.” -- They'll be at The Neptune Theatre on April 7th, 2022.

Reviewer Nicholas Dawidoff wrote, "On the Sgt. Pepper album, however, is “A Day in the Life,” which is my idea of a perfect song. It is the epitome of The Beatles’ master building, of fitting stone upon stone, each section troweled together with such ingenuity and care that upon completion the whole thing feels seamless, a structure not built at all, but a whole that simply was.": www.theatlantic.com

Chuck D told Melody Maker in 1991: “’Can’t Truss It’ is about how the corporate world of today is just a different kind of slavery. We don’t control what we create. And because of the media, we don’t control the way we think or run our lives. We’ve got to limit working for a situation that’s other than ours. We have no ownership of anything. If you don’t own business, then you don’t have jobs. White people have jobs because they have business. They have institutions that teach them how to live in America. Black people don’t have institutions that teach them how to deal with s–t. The Number One institution that teaches you how to deal is the family, but slavery f–ked that up. So the song is about the ongoing cost of the holocaust. There was a Jewish holocaust, but there’s a black holocaust that people still choose to ignore.”

Had to leave my laptop to go find deodorant to sing into... Wendy -- This chant may have taught millions to spell.... -- "Saturday Night" inspired the Ramones chant "Hey, Ho... Let's Go" on their song "Blitzkrieg Bop." -- Scottish band Bay City Rollers made their US TV debut performing the song on "Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, which was an Ed Sullivan-style variety show that lasted just a few months, but had a huge viewership since there wasn't much else to watch.: www.youtube.com

Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley was the lead guitarist of KISS. In September, he said that he is up for a reunion of the original band, but only if the price is right.: metaladdicts.com -- This song was written by Russ Ballard and originally released by the English band Hello in 1975. In 1978, each member of KISS released a solo album, and this was the highest-charting single of any of the songs released from those albums. bit.ly

Join KEXP on Thursday, November 18th as we celebrate the music of The Native Tongues collective: Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, A Tribe Called Quest and more! == De La Soul brought in vocalist Vinia Mojica from Queens, NY, to sing that "Saturdaaaaay-eyaay-eyaaaaaaaaaaaay." Here's some more about this talented singer/songwriter: www.theroot.com

Did you know that vocalist Shay Jones co-wrote this hit with Al Jourgensen?: bit.ly

Good morning! The kids at ORCA K-8 school are doing their Movathon Fundraiser today and have KEXP blasting as they run around the track. Wyatt, my 8 year old, would love to hear Nation of Language , Rush And Fever. He’ll be out there at 9:45! Thanks ! Brian -- If you want to put this song on your "movathon" playlist, it's yours for free. John selected it as a KEXP song of the Day: www.kexp.org

This is the opening song of the band's self-titled album, which is a concept piece about an alien invasion of Earth. The song itself describes a person seeing an attractive female - he becomes anxious and wants to run away from his feelings but he can't forget her. Then they are both abducted by the aliens. -- The video shows lead singer Mike Score in a room covered from floor to ceiling with aluminum foil and also floor mirrors in which you can see the reflection of the cameras.: www.youtube.com

John, happy Friday to you! For no other reason other than it’s a day can we hear something from the one and only Dolly Parton, who for the record just might be queen of the known world. Thanks. --Josh -- Dolly Parton sent social media into a frenzy when she dedicated her latest post to her longtime love, Carl Dean, who she has famously kept very private. "Find you a partner who will support you like my Carl Dean does," the 75-year-old wrote.: www.yahoo.com

“Tiny Dancer,” words by Bernie Taupin and music by Elton John, was the opening track on John’s 1971 album "Madman Across The Water, released fifty years ago today!! -- American Songwriter discussed this wonderful song in an essay: americansongwriter.com -- "The words she knows the tune she hums..." Perhaps you'll want to know the words as you sing along: www.azlyrics.com