John Richards

As John (and The Dandy Warhols) says, "Good Morning." It's Friday and you're tuned in to The Morning Show with John Richards. Thanks so much for being here. -- Perhaps The Dandy Warhols will play this song when they perform (with Hoodoo Gurus) at Belvoir Amphitheater on Friday, September 23rd, 2022. -- "In my good, good morning... I'm up before what the sun can bring... Early morning, and Everyone like a shiny thing ...." Here are the lyrics: genius.com

Greetings, friends. I need to hear “Drive That Fast” by Kitchens of Distinction this morning. Thanks for all you do to bring music to the world! All best, Jonathan in Western Georgia -- Formed in London, England in 1986 by singer and bassist Patrick Fitzgerald, guitarist Julian Swales, and drummer Daniel Goodwin, they named themselves after an advertisement that caught Swales' eye. Here's a biography of the band: www.allmusic.com

The original UK release of the 1990 debut album "Nowhere" had eight songs, ending with “Vapour Trail”. When the US version was released a couple of months later, it included three more songs from the "Fall EP." Rolling Stone called the album "a masterpiece", and online magazine Pitchfork called it "one of shoegazing's enduring moments". : thisisthatsong.wordpress.com -- Ride came to the KEXP studio in 2017 for a great live performance that included "Vapour Trail": www.youtube.com --- Did you know that Ride was the final band to play live in the old KEXP Dexter & Denny studio? Check out that historic event: www.kexp.org

Camp Cope will be at The Crocodile on Saturday, July 30th, 2022. -- NPR says that, on their third album, this wonderful Melbourne band replaces "rage with quiet confidence": www.npr.org -- "The only way out is up..." See them perform this song live: www.youtube.com

This song was written somewhat spur-of-the-moment when the band was sitting around playing acoustic guitars. It started with the line, “I’m only happy when it rains,” and was built around the opening lyric. Lyrically, it’s a tongue-in-cheek take on the gloomy lyrics of earlier 90s rock songs. Butch Vig said: “'Only Happy When It Rains' was about what happened with grunge and the angst-filled thing which has dominated the American alternative rock scene. With us there’s self-deprecation, we have to poke fun at ourselves because we’re so incredibly obsessive about the songs and the lyrics, which makes us filled with self-loathing, hurhur." -- Watch Garbage performing "Only Happy When It Rains" live: youtu.be

NPR's American Anthem asked listeners to send in their stories about this song: "There were the DJs who spin it at wedding receptions, knowing it will get everyone on the floor. People who have played it for hours in one sitting, or kept it on repeat for a road trip hundreds of miles long, or made it the last dance at every house party they've ever thrown. People who insist it can be a queer anthem: "Is she singing 'I'm not the GIRL you're taking home' or 'I'm not the GUY you're taking home'? Who knows! Maybe she MEANT it that way? ROBYN IS A GENIUS," they said, more or less. The ones who have used it to get through not just breakups, but cancer, or death, or a lot more, who love that decadent drum fill toward the end more than life. All stories of juxtaposition. People finding community in a song all about being solo." n.pr

Good morning John. We'd love to hear Stand for Myself by Yola. From Teplin, age 10 -- The British "queen of country soul," Yola, born Yolanda Quartey, released her sophomore album, "Stand For Myself," in July of last year. It was produced by Dan Auerbach. John Richards selected the title song as a KEXP Song of the Day: www.kexp.org

Wet Leg is playing the THING Festival August 26-28, 2022 at historic Fort Worden in Port Townsend, WA. They'll also be at Climate Pledge Arena on October 6th (with Florence +the Machine). -- Here's the video for "Too Late Now": youtu.be

The band was formed in Seattle in 2001 and was named after The Smiths song of the same name (which itself was named after a quote from Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums). Band members Andrea Zollo and Derek Fudesco had played together previously in The Hookers, as well as The Death Wish Kids and Area 51 along with Dann Gallucci, with whom Derek had formed Murder City Devils. Check out the music video for "Speakers Push Air" here: www.youtube.com

Catherine Wheel formed in 1990, comprising singer-guitarist Rob Dickinson, guitarist Brian Futter, bassist Dave Hawes, and drummer Neil Sims. They took their name from the medieval torture device, since Rob Dickinson's cousin Bruce was in the "torture device-named" Iron Maiden. -- Here's the video for "Show Me Mary": vimeo.com

You can hear Clinton Fearon at the Nectar Lounge on Saturday, June 4th, 2022. -- Go here to purchase Clinton Fearon's vinyl and CD's: www.clintonfearon.com

Paul Simon wrote this song about his partner Art Garfunkel going to Mexico to act in a movie called "Catch-22," which was directed by Mike Nichols, who gave Simon & Garfunkel a big boost when he featured their songs in his 1967 film "The Graduate." Simon was also going to be in the film, but Nichols cut his part, which separated the duo. Garfunkel spent months working on the film while Simon returned to New York, where he toiled away on the "Bridge Over Troubled Water album." He expresses his frustration in this song: "Here I am, the only living boy in New York." --- Simon sent letters to keep in touch with Garfunkel and update him on the album's progress. Up to that point, the pair had always partnered musically and shared a bond, which was now breaking. Simon & Garfunkel split up after the album was released; Paul recorded as a solo artist, and Art pursued his acting career.

The female backing vocals on this song are by Juliana Hatfield, who also played bass on the album. She released her first solo album, Hey Babe, earlier in 1992. At this point, The Lemonheads were essentially an Evan Dando solo project. On the "It's a Shame About Ray" album, David Ryan was the drummer.

This song was released as a stand-alone single by The Cure in 1979 and was the title song of the band's first compilation album, released in 1980. -- Watch The Cure perform this at their induction into The Rock Hall of Fame in 2019: www.youtube.com

"Nah, man...." Ahhhh.....the Friday song! Join KEXP for Pushing Boundaries this May! Throughout the month and far beyond, we’re celebrating Asian and Pasifika voices in music and the arts. This year’s Pushing Boundaries programming will continue exploring the impact of historical Asian and Pasifika pioneers and contemporary innovators, from around the world and within our local community. Stories of diaspora, resilience, music, and more will be highlighted through interviews and articles, podcasts and shows, and in-studio sessions.: www.kexp.org

Cut Copy will play The Showbox on Tuesday, May 17th, 2022. Prepare by watching video of a live performance of "Light and Music" in Sydney in 2009: www.youtube.com -- According to DJ Dan Whitford, the band's name was a random choice: "I was in the edit menu [of my computer] and I moved down in the document to the few words that didn't make sense together, and at that particular day and time the words 'cut' and 'copy' really stood out to me. At the time it felt like a fairly abstract choice but now it feels very tied in with what we do". bit.ly --

English Beat singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling said about this song: "I wrote it when I was a teenager. I wrote it before The Beat (outside of the US, the group is known as The Beat) started. And it was about turning from a teenager to someone in their 20s, and realizing that the effortless promise for your teenage years was not necessarily going to show that life was so simple as you started to grow up. So it was about being lost, about not really knowing your role in the world, trying to find your place in the world. So, you couldn't find your own way in the world, and you'd have all sorts of people telling you this, that, and the other, and advising you, and it didn't actually seem like they knew any better. So it was like keep your advice to yourself. Save it - for later." --- Don't you love this song? Here's an extended live version from World Cafe in Philadelphia in 2018: www.youtube.com

"Tonight we burn responsibility in the fire We'll watch the flames grow higher....": genius.com --- A few years its release, Paul Weller explained that The Jam had written "Funeral Pyre" as a reaction against the smooth sounding records that were currently flooding the market, "so we thought it would be good to do something rough." Read more about The Jam's "Funeral Pyre" here: bit.ly

As a woman and someone who works with survivors of Sexual Assault, it's been an overwhelming week. KEXP and music has been the only escape from this hellscape. I would love to hear Joy Division's "She's Lost Control." ❤️ Melissa --- The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673 --- Here's a link to "National Resources for Sexual Assault Survivors and their Loved Ones": www.rainn.org

The group recorded "Certainty" during a power outage while they were at Sam Evian’s Flying Cloud Studios in upstate New York. According to a statement, they rigged equipment to a cigarette lighter to lay the track. "On the third day of the outage, I found Adrianne [Lenker] on the porch writing a new song, so I sat with her and we finished it together, with the rain falling from the gutters splashing over our guitars,” guitarist Buck Meek revealed. bit.ly -- Watch the band play "Certainty" live on the Corden Show: pitchfork.com

The lyrics about friends refer to Stu Sutcliffe, an early Beatle and great friend of John Lennon's who died in 1962, and another friend named Pete Shotton. Lennon also thought of his Aunt Mimi and wife Cynthia, as well as other friends. One of the most beautiful Beatles songs, John called it "A little piece of art work." The Beatles left a hole for the instrumental break when they recorded this. Producer George Martin filled it in the next morning by playing a piano solo and speeding up the tape to make it sound like a harpsichord. Lennon had asked him to fill it with something "baroque."

Willie's 72nd album, with great covers of this song and Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song," , was released on April 29th, his 89th birthday.: www.savingcountrymusic.com

"My baby ran up blazing Forty laps around the sun She is hungry, she is thirsty But she don't wanna stop for lunch No time to spare so I'm gonna bring her some...." -- Speaking about this song, Torres' Mackenzie Scott explained, "The title emerged from a dream I had. The song’s theme is that truth is eternal, and it’s also about never stopping." "To bring it back down to earth, the song’s also about being ready to drop everything to do something essential for someone you love. In this instance, it’s bringing my girlfriend lunch so she can keep painting." bit.ly -- See the "prehistoric" video: youtu.be

If you have a chance, please play Metric's excellent new song "All Comes Crashing," a dark pulsing emotion-packed blast which I think is as good as anything they've ever released. Thank you, as always, for ALL that you do to help everyone remember that we're not alone, especially teachers like me who start our morning routine by listening to your show. --Mike -- Metric will perform this brand new song when they play The Moore Theatre on Wednesday, October 12th, 2022. Their upcoming eighth studio album, "Formentera," is set for release on July 8th.

Want to know more about this Georgia band?: www.allmusic.com

This song by David Lowery became the signature song for Camper Van Beethoven. Lowery said, "I never thought that Take the Skinheads Bowling would become a Hit. If someone had traveled from the future and told me we would have a hit on our first album I would not have picked this song as being the hit....Why? We regarded Take The Skinheads Bowling as just a weird non-sensical song. The lyrics were purposely structured so that it would be devoid of meaning. Each subsequent line would undermine any sort of meaning established by the last line. It was the early 80′s and all our peers were writing songs that were full of meaning. It was our way of rebelling. BTW this is the most important fact about this song. We wanted the words to lack any coherent meaning. There is no story or deeper insight that I can give you about this song.."

"I see the light at the end of the tunnel now (I see the light) Someone please tell me it's not a train..." See Cracker perform "I See the Light" live in Denver in 2009: www.youtube.com

Today is the 10-year anniversary of my best friend Jeme's death. She and I loved Prince and Howard Jones was a fave to sing along to as we cruised Riverside so many times. Something by either artist would be greatly appreciated. ---Leslie -- In an interview, Howard Jones, said he decided to write this positive song for the audience he had garnered following the success of his debut album, Human's Lib: "We're talking about the second album, now, and I'd had great success with the first one. I thought, People are listening to me, so what can I give them that is really going to help? And everyone goes through s--t. Everyone goes through bad times. Every single person on the planet goes through bad times. And it's great sometimes to have somebody say to you, 'Come on, even if it gets so you lose everything and everything goes horribly wrong, you can still pick yourself up and go forward, and you can make it right, you can make things get better.'" -- See Howard Jones perform it live (with Ringo Starr): www.youtube.com

Tim Booth talked about the trouble with recording "Frustration": .... I did walk into that dumb thing on "Born Of Frustration" where I did those "la-la-las." And I hadn’t heard Simple Minds. We recorded it, and Mark and Saul from James took me into a room before we mixed it and played me Simple Minds, and I went, 'Oh, f---.' They said 'Do you want to change it?' And I said, 'Well, I honestly came on this unconsciously.' And Iggy Pop did la-la-las, which I’m much more likely to have been influenced by. So I left it in, because I figured, James had a rule – no conscious influences are allowed, but you’re allowed unconscious ones.": dontforgetthesongs365.wordpress.com

Hmmmm...... Fontaines D.C. will be LIVE on KEXP on Saturday, May 14 at 12:30 PM, and they'll play Showbox SoDo later that evening! -- Frontman Grian Chatten breaks down each song on the band's fine new album (their third), "Skinty Fia": www.rollingstone.com

My name is Matt. I'm a garbage truck driver in Bellevue and my route is dragging today. Could I hear some Possum Dixon, please? Thanks!! -- Formed around 1990 and named after a suspected murderer mentioned on America’s Most Wanted, this Los Angeles quartet chronicled slacker life in its hometown. They featured singer/songwriter/standup bassist Rob Zabrecky’s offbeat, literate lyrics.: trouserpress.com -- After several years of touring, singer Rob Zabrecky had an epiphany. He stumbled into a magic store in Baltimore, and got set on the path for a career change. For the last 20 years, Rob has been a world-class magician, storyteller and now author, after publishing his 2019 memoir, Strange Cures. Hear more in this 2020 NPR interview: www.npr.org

Yo, John. its my 48th bday my daughter louisa and driving up to discovery park and then going to have bloody marys in the market. any way you can play beastie boys sure shot for our drive from west seattle in next 30 minutes leaving now thx we luv u ben... --- The track features a sample from jazz flautist Jeremy Steig's "Howlin' For Judy," which provides the main instrumental part of the song. They also sampled Run-DMC's "Rock the House," Spoonie Gee's "Spoonin' Rap," and even the comedian Moms Mabley.

Hi John. I work at a school for children with special needs in Philadelphia. It’s the end of Teacher Appreciation Week but on this day we are not feeling so appreciated. Except for the first months of 2020, our staff has worked face to face with students throughout the pandemic, trying to support the children for whom virtual programming was not a suitable option. Morale is low and stress is high. As we move toward the end of the school year, we are digging deep to try and keep smiles on our faces and positivity in our hearts, but it is a daily struggle when you don't feel the support from above. It's the love for our work and our students that sustains us. Could you play "Tread Water" by De La Soul to remind all teachers that our hard work is worth it and that things will get better. I hope. 😊 ---Kelli -- This surreal children's story set to a Hip-Hop beat features a crocodile sporting a daisy in his hat, a monkey that can't peel his bananas because of a bandaged hand, and a fish swimming in the bathroom sink. Despite its nursery rhyme lyrics, Posdnous told Melody Maker that the track has a serious side to it. "It's saying that when you're feeling down, when you feel like you're drowning, just keep going," he explained. "That's how it was for us, we had to keep striving towards a goal which always seemed to be shifting around. It's a push song and even if it sounds like we're talking to little kids, we're really talking to everybody."

Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Kiss. -- 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

SAULT is an enigmatic UK collective—which, despite their aversion to the media, is agreed by most to be helmed by producer and songwriter Inflo, whose real name is Dean Josiah Cover. They have just released their sixth album in three years, the gorgeous and uplifting "Air": pitchfork.com

Sharon Van Etten (with Angel Olsen and Julien Baker) will be at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA on Wenesday, August 3rd. -- Her brand new album, "We've Been Going About This All Wrong," which reflects on compassion and nurture, is out today: www.npr.org

Nicks explained: "I got married the day I wrote this song. We were driving to Santa Barbara and a new song by Prince came on, so we pulled over somewhere and got the tape. It just gave me an incredible idea, so I spent many hours that night writing a song about some kind of a crazy argument, and it was to become one of the most important of my songs. I've been doing this song for years, Fleetwood Mac does it also, and I never get tired of it. 'Stand Back' has always been my favorite song onstage because when it starts, it has an energy that comes from somewhere unknown and it seems to have no timespace. I've never quite understood this sound, but I have NEVER questioned it.": www.youtube.com -- The Prince song that inspired this tune was "Little Red Corvette."

“You Get What You Give” became the signature song of the New Radicals, released as the lead single from their only album "Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too." The song received critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone calling it one of the greatest One Hit Wonder songs and later calling it one of the best songs of the 90s. -- In a September, 2006 edition of Time magazine, U2 guitarist The Edge said that this is the song he is most jealous of. -- See the official music video: www.youtube.com

Brandon Summers joined John in the KEXP studio for a live performance in 2018: www.youtube.com

The Mountain Goats will play The Showbox this Sunday, May 8th, 2022. -- We know you know all the words! Sing along as you watch the rather bizarre video: www.youtube.com --

The Weeknd will perform at Lumen Field (capacity 67,000) on Thursday, August 25th, 2022.

All Evie today on The Midday Show! All covers today on The Midday Show! LCD Soundsystem covering Larry Nilsson's 1972 single from 'Nilsson Schmilsson'; LCDS regularly performed it for their live encore. Watch them play the song live in the documentary “Shut Up and Play the Hits:” youtu.be