John Richards

Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to The Morning Show with John Richards! You are not alone. Thanks so much for being here! --- Hey John! My request this morning is ‘All My Friends’ by LCD Soundsystem. This was the last song they played in Boston at their recent residency, on Wednesday, April 6. It was so great to be back in the crowd and dance all night. Yesterday was such an incredible day of programming and I cried many times and shared the hurt and love feelings all DJs gave us. I wanted to leave space for Music Heals and send my request this morning as we celebrate life today. Thank you for all you do. Much love. Amy in New Hampshire -- Watch the excitement when LCD Soundsystem performed "All My Friends" live at Madison Square Garden in 2011: youtu.be

Bernard Sumner told Mojo in a 2015 interview that this is probably his favorite New Order song. He said: "It's got a spirituality to it. It's really uplifting without actually getting a specific message across. It was interesting to see that you could do that while, at the time, being fairly abstract. I struggled with the literalness of my lyrics in the early days. I didn't want to expose my inner feelings to the general public ." -- See the official music video for "Temptation": www.youtube.com

As part of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund's recent 'For The Crew' fundraising event, Peter Hook'sson Jack teamed up with the late and beloved Mark Lanegan, Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder and drummer Shane Graham for a special live version of the Joy Division classic 'Disorder'. All funds raised by this event went towards supporting out of work touring crews who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.: www.youtube.com

When Radiohead played a session for the BBC in 2003, singer Thom Yorke was asked by an audience member if there were any songs he wished he had written. He replied that he wished he'd written this song. -- Go back in time to 1994 and check out the music video for this song: www.youtube.com

Bloc Party have released “The Girls are Fighting,” the second single off the band’s upcoming album, "Alpha Games,"Tout on April 29th.: www.rollingstone.com The video for the rollicking song, directed by Cameron Ward and produced by Luke Filz, is set in London’s iconic Repton Boxing Club:www.youtube.com

Ghostland Observatory (formed in 2004) is the American indie-rock and electronic duo of Aaron Behrens and Thomas Ross Turner, hailing from Austin, Texas. Don't miss this duo performing "Shoot 'Em Down" live in Austin: www.youtube.com

Florence + the Machine's fifth studio album, "Dance Fever," will be out on May 13th. -- This latest single was first written as an acoustic “sad little poem” in the singer-songwriter’s kitchen before being transformed into a floor-filling anthem reminiscent of “Nick Cave at the club”. Welch explained: “Sometimes the biggest dance songs, I think, have a really sad core to them.”

Frontman Yannis Philippakis says, "Musically '2am' is one of the poppiest songs we’ve ever written. It’s about repetitive cycles of destructive behaviour, which I think lots of people can relate to, and certainly it’s an expression of something that I struggle with. There’s something cathartic about expressing that feeling to this upbeat music that’s got a sense of release and the hope of resolution." -- The video for "2am" was filmed in Kyiv with a Ukrainian crew. The band wished “love & courage” to their friends in the country.: www.youtube.com -- Foals' new album, "Life Is Yours," will be out on June 17th.

"A Girl Like You," which is an Iggy Pop tribute, was Edwyn Collins' biggest solo hit. It was reported that Pop intended to record his own rendition of “A Girl Like You” but opted not to due to Collins’ own version blowing up. -- The song samples the drum track of Len Barry's single "1-2-3" (1965), and features The Sex Pistols' drummer Paul Cook on vibraphone.

This is Pat from Richland WA. My son, Paul from Seattle, is a long time listener and now has me listening to the morning show. He and I have both struggled with addiction and have gratefully been clean over 12 years. We were so very sorry to hear of your sister's recent passing and our thoughts and prayers are with you. I know what is like to lose a sibling; I lost my brother to cancer 6 years ago. Addiction and cancer are both horrible adversaries and I thank you for making a difference in countless people's lives through compassion, empathy, love, humor, and of course, music! Today is my son's 46th birthday and I would love for you to play Shad, your choice, to Paul from Mom. --- Shad is a Juno Award-winning rapper from London, Ontario. You can go right here to purchase "Hang On": shadk.bandcamp.com

Good morning John and crew! Hoping to request a dedication this Friday: Lizzo‘s good as hell and a shout out for our newest Supreme Court Justice, KBJ! Thanks for considering! --Tamara in Bend OR -- "The empowerment of women is at the heart of this particular anthem..." - www.npr.org

Ahhh....the Friday song! You can stream yesterday's "Music Heals: Addiction and Recovery" programming (Thursday, April 7th, from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) for two weeks on KEXP's streaming archive: www.kexp.org

Les McKeown of the Bay City Rollers died last year at age 65. The Scottish pop band garnered a fanatical teen following after he joined them in 1973.: www.nytimes.com

Commodores member Lionel Richie wrote "Easy" to continue the group's crossover success, with the famous line "easy like Sunday morning" inspired by the way "small Southern towns...die at 11:30pm on a Saturday night" Read the interview with Lionel Richie at Spin: tinyurl.com

Hmmm... will there be a Tuesday song next? -- This is about a 16-year-old high school student who lived across the street from Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California. On Monday, January 29, 1979, she opened fire on the school with a rifle her father had given her for Christmas, killing two adults (including the principal) and injuring nine children before going back to her home. Police surrounded her home and waited for seven hours until she gave herself up. In that time, she spoke with a reporter on the phone. When asked why she did it, she replied, "I just started shooting, that's it. I just did it for the fun of it. I just don't like Mondays. I just did it because it's a way to cheer the day up. Nobody likes Mondays."

No....another Tuesday song! -- The Pogues performed this beautiful song live in Paris in 2012: www.youtube.com

"But Wednesday....we make sweet weekly love....." --- Watch Flight of the Conchords perform "Business Time" here: bit.ly.

"We used to meet every Thursday Thursday Thursday in the afternoon For a couple of beers and a game of pool We used to go to a motel a motel..." -- Watch this live video of Morphine performing "Thursday" at Westbeth Theater, NY in 1996: youtu.be

"It's Friday on KEXP!!!" -- Robert Smith told Spin magazine: "'Friday I'm in Love' is a dumb pop song, but it's quite excellent actually, because it's so absurd. It's so out of character - very optimistic and really out there in happy land. It's nice to get that counterbalance. People think we're supposed to be leaders of some sort of 'gloom movement.' I could sit and write gloomy songs all day long, but I just don't see the point." youtu.be

John, The Brak song makes me laugh. When you played it two years ago (!!!) when the pandemic was in full madness, my wife and I started using blursday as an actual concept when trying to remember what day it is. Blursday has entered our vernacular. I also got some street cred from a skydiving youngster when I referenced Brak and Space Ghost. Score!! Thanks - have a great weekend!!--Vint "What Day Is It?" is a song by Brak. It is track #15 from the album Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que that was released in 1997.

Been running Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday... -- The Clash cover The Equals. In the late ’60s, the London quintet The Equals were one of the first music groups to embody the idea that multiracial groups belonged together. Learn more about the band and their legacy here: pitchfork.com

Hey John! Tomorrow is my dad's 70th birthday, and I was wondering if you would play Burning Down the House by Talking Heads. I have a vivid memory of being a kid riding in the car with him and him blasting this song on the radio. Music has always been a huge part of our family, but this was a particularly cool moment with my dad. Thanks so much, you guys are awesome. Yesterday's broadcast in particular was just so moving, and so important. Meghan --Atlanta, GA -- Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth went to see Parliament in 1979. Frantz said, "Before Parliament came on that night, the audience chanted things like, “Goddamn, get off your ass and jam” and “Burn down the house! Burn down the house!” That last one stuck with me." Read about the origins of this classic song: on.wsj.com

Hmmm...are we beginning a "House" theme here? -- The song's video features the band as a cloth-cap wearing family squashed into a terraced house. Drummer Dan "Woody" Woodgate recalled: "The knocking-on-the-door bit where somebody comes out, goes, 'Where are they?' and the others sneak in and close the door... That's The Flintstones. We stole lots of ideas from the Keystone Kops and Benny Hill.": www.youtube.com

"Everybody's coming.....where?!" --- David Byrne recruited students from the Detroit School of Arts, for the singer’s celebratory “Everybody’s Coming to My House” video, a track off Byrne’s LP 'American Utopia'. Speaking about the video, Byrne said: “When I saw what the DSA students did with my song, it completely changed the way I thought of the song. In fact, it changed the meaning of the song — I realized it was about inclusion, welcoming and not being alone.' The students directed the video as well: youtu.be

"Daft Punk is playing....where?!" --- Back in May 2020, DJ Abbie compiled 132 clips of KEXP listeners dancing together at home during isolation to this one! Watch it here: youtu.be -- Then, see LCD Soundsystem performing "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" live Madison Square Garden in 2014: www.youtube.com

Speaking of Daft Punk... -- Here's the official video for this great song, featuring Pharrell Williams and guitarist Niles Rodgers.: www.youtube.com

Speaking of "lucky"... --- In an interview with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, he said: "'You Got Lucky' was written to a drum loop. I had made a drum loop in my studio and put the music together. We went into the studio and actually recreated another drum loop. The drummer would go out and play, then we'd cut the tape and tape the loop together. We ran it around the room over some mic stands and through the tape heads, and then printed that for 3 or 4 minutes and then recorded the song over that drum loop."

Lucky: "having or marked by good luck; fortunate..." --- "Lucky Man" was the third single from The Verve's 1997 album Urban Hymns. In a 2006 interview, U2's Bono listed "Lucky Man" as one of six songs released between 1986 and 2006 that he wished he had written himself. : faroutmagazine.co.uk

John says, "Maybe get some sleep...." --- You don't want to miss Arcade Fire's live performance of "Wake Up" at Coachella in 2011: www.youtube.com -- "Arcade Fire in concert is probably the closest to a religious experience as I have ever had.": 25yearslatersite.com

Jose Gonzalez will be at the THING Festival in Port Townsend, Washington on Sunday, August 28th.

This reflects the mood of lead singer Billy Corgan, who was very depressed when he wrote it. Corgan was in therapy, suffering from writer's block, and struggling with expectations that Smashing Pumpkins would be the next Nirvana. With the lyric, "today is the greatest day," some listeners misinterpreted this as a hopeful song, when it was just the opposite. Billy Corgan said: "I was really suicidal. I just thought it was funny to write a song that said today is the greatest day of your life because it can't get any worse."

Go back to 2015 and watch Fidlar perform live in our studio: www.youtube.com -- Then , watch this real live concert footage in the official video for "West Coast": www.youtube.com

Driving around this morning, and after the last song I said “man, I would love to hear the Japandroids. I’ve got goosebumps and a big smile. You all are the best. --Steve -- This was chosen as the Best Song of 2012 by the editors of Spinner and AOL Music. They said it contains, "every necessary ingredient for a great rock 'n' roll song: Loud guitars, a shout-along hook and a 'screw it all, we're gonna be all right' attitude."

These last several songs would work well on your running playlist.... -- Frontman Craig Finn said of the album that he was "influenced a lot about getting old. There's less party talk. I don't think anything is a radical departure, but there are things that I wanted to talk about. I was influenced a lot [by] getting old, and attempting to age gracefully. The idea is to not wake up washed up. You want to keep progressing, intellectually."

Speaking of running.... -- One of the most emotional performances of this song came at The Spectrum in Philadelphia on December 9, 1980, the night after John Lennon was shot and killed. Springsteen opened the show by saying, "If it wasn't for John Lennon, a lot of us would be some place much different tonight. It's a hard world that asks you to live with a lot of things that are unlivable. And it's hard to come out here and play tonight, but there's nothing else to do." The band then launched into "Born To Run" in a kind of catharsis: Steve Van Zandt had tears in his eyes and Danny Federici hit his keyboard so hard he broke a key. Thirty-three songs later, Springsteen closed the concert with "Twist And Shout" in tribute to Lennon.

"Dig Me Out," Sleater-Kinney's third album, came out on this date in 1997. That's twenty-five years ago! -- A reviewer says of this song, "What Sleater-Kinney can accomplish in two minutes is frankly staggering." -- Watch live "Words and Guitar" from their penultimate show at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR, 2006: youtu.be

"That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood I got news for you, she is!" -- 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

7 Year Bitch was an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington that was active between 1990 and 1997. Their career yielded three albums, and was impacted by the deaths of their guitarist Stefanie Sargent and close-friend Mia Zapata of fellow Seattle punks The Gits.

"Well I need a second skin Something to hold me tough Can't do it on my own Sometimes I need just a little more help I got that chance to give every drop that's left in me...": genius.com Oh, don't miss this hand-held video of "Second Skin" live: www.youtube.com

"Numb" is the second and final studio album by Hammerbox, released in 1993. Led by fiery vocalist Carrie Akre, Hammerbox was one of the few Seattle grunge bands fronted by a woman in the early '90s. Today she is also a life coach - www.carrieakrecreative.com

Death of The High Street said this on their Facebook page: "Massive thanks to @djjohnrichards at @kexp for playing SYNERGY on The Morning Show on Tuesday! You can listen back in the archives now! KEXP has introduced us to so many great bands music over the years so it means loads to have our track played on the station and John’s show! 🙌": www.facebook.com

Taking their name from a phrase coined by French artist Jean Dubuffet comes the painfully hip(-ish) Art Brut and their debut single, 'Formed A Band'. Allegedly written five minutes after the band first came together, 'Formed A Band' is unapologetically tongue-in-cheek - welding dissonant, punk-fired guitars with hilariously honest lyrics detailing the band's most-definite and imminent rise to fame. It's all the things every newly-formed band waffles on about after their first post-rehearsal pint, but Art Brut turns what usually becomes deeply boring, self-important liability into a cheeky music-industry anthem.: bit.ly

The show yesterday was so good and made me cry many times ….but today is the pure joy we all needed. Anytime you start with All My Friends I am happy and dancing…. Thanks for all you do. –Stacey -- Interpol will be at The Paramount Theatre on Friday, September 16th, 2022.