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Tuesday, May 10 2022, 7AM
The first song John ever played on KCMU/KEXP.
luna.bandcamp.com
On this day 50-years ago, May 10th, 1972, KEXP, then KCMU debuted on the Seattle airwaves at exactly 6pm. The frequency, 90.5 FM. Launched by four University of Washington journalism students in hopes of getting on-air experience, those first days were, according to the staton’s first program director Cliff Noonan “Chaotic...where it is now, outstanding!”
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Hear the full story of the launch of KCMU Saturday on Sound And Vision AND make sure to checkout kexp.org later today for photos from the early days.
Beatles "Blue Jay Way"
Promo for JJ's Wednesday Show
Brent Wilcox edited newscast
Banter between Bob Branom and Brent Wilcox regarding Brent saying "...snow flowers" instead of "snow showers."
NOTE: Bob Branom became a reporter/ProducerReporter/Producer for KIRO TV, KOMO TV, KTUU TV, KSKA FM (NPR) and more.
Paul Westerberg has noted the irony of the ‘Mats, four guys who never graduated high school, becoming college radio stars. But, they were destined for those low-watt stations whose signals come and go like friendships in the drunken underground rock world romanticized in this track. bit.ly
'Left of the Dial" is actually a love song. Not only to college radio (the low-wattage, non-commercial stations found at the lower end of the FM spectrum), but to a specific person. Westerberg has revealed in interviews that the song was directed towards Angie Carlson, guitarist in Let's Active, whom Westerberg met and became smitten with on tour. bit.ly
Happy 50th birthday KEXP, our favorite radio, radio!
Costello and the Attractions famously performed the song live on the American television show Saturday Night Live in 1977; originally scheduled to perform Costello's debut single "Less Than Zero", Costello abruptly switched songs live against the wishes of his record company and SNL, resulting in a temporary ban from the show.
Peter Hook & The Light will be here in Seattle at The Showbox on Tuesday, September 13th, 2022, presenting "Joy Division: A Celebration."
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Transmission has been considered as Joy Division’s first great song. The track was released as a single on 7 October 1979 following the release of the band’s legendary debut album "Unknown Pleasures" that summer, but it had been written some time earlier. -- Bassist Peter Hook said that the song was a milestone in the band's career. “The first time I noticed anything different was when we’d written a song that weekend. And we had a gig on the Thursday, so we thought we’d play that song at the gig, “We played the new song, which was Transmission - and everyone in the whole place stopped literally what they were doing to listen and to turn round and watch us. It was an absolutely bizarre moment. It really made the hair on your arms stand up and shivers down your spine.”
On Your Radio... on your radio!
"On Your Radio" is a song written and performed by new wave musician Joe Jackson for his 1979 album I'm the Man. Written by Jackson as a put-down of his past enemies, "On Your Radio" was written by Jackson as an "honest yet cutting kiss-off to all those who ever doubted him." bit.ly
Joe Strummer admitted in an interview with Melody Maker in 1988 that he had nicked the bassline from the Queen hit "Another One Bites The Dust" (which in itself shares many similarities with another disco classic, Chic's "Good Times").
Duran Duran released their second studio album Rio on this day in 1982.
The first songs recorded for Rio were demo recordings of "Last Chance on the Stairway", "My Own Way", "New Religion", "Hungry Like the Wolf", and "Like an Angel", all recorded at EMI's Manchester Square studio in August 1981, along with demos of "The Chauffeur", "Save a Prayer", and "Lonely in Your Nightmare" recorded by engineer Bob Lamb at his home studio.
Poliça will be performing in Spokane at the Lucky You Lounge on July 6, and at Seattle's Neptune Theatre on Thursday, July 7th.
Of the new song, Channy Leaneagh said in a statement, “Bad things happen, the fire goes out; even with the best flammables it stays dark until nothing matters becomes the fire itself.” Read more at Pitchfork: tinyurl.com
polica.bandcamp.com
Debut single from Porridge Radio's upcoming new album, out May 20, 2022.
Singer and songwriter Dana Margolin said, "I wrote it at the end of 2019 when we were gearing up for the release of Every Bad and I felt like a lot of things were coming that I wasn’t sure I knew how to handle. The song grew out of a feeling of intense loneliness and being unprepared for what everybody was promising me was about to happen – and a strong desire to escape without knowing what I wanted to escape to. To me there’s a huge feeling of catharsis in this song, of letting go and letting it sweep you away.” bit.ly youtu.be porridgeradio.bandcamp.com
"People Have the Power" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Fred "Sonic" Smith, and released as a lead single from Patti Smith's 1988 album Dream of Life.
The song was ranked number 22 on NME magazine's list of the "Singles of the Year" in 1988.
Sending a shoutout to KEXP's own DJ Morgan! This was the very first song Morgan played on air at KEXP for the overnight show!
The latest from Fontaines D.C.!
Skinty Fia is an Irish phrase that means "damnation of the dear", and typically is used to convey annoyance or disapointment.
fontainesdc.com
Happy birthday to Bono, born "Paul David Hewson" on this day in 1960!
U2's manager Paul McGuinness recounted that The Joshua Tree originated from the band's "great romance" with the United States, as the group had toured the country for up to five months per year in the first half of the 1980s. Leading up to the album sessions, Bono read the works of American writers such as Norman Mailer, Flannery O'Connor, and Raymond Carver so as to understand, in the words of Hot Press editor Niall Stokes, "those on the fringes of the promised land, cut off from the American dream".
“No Angels,” according to Robbie Furze, is “a track reflecting that moment when you understand that all you’ve set your sights on has led to a place far away from where you should be and everything you truly love.
He adds:
It took sacrificing everything I’d built in London and moving to Los Angeles, a place I thought I needed to be in order to achieve my dreams, for me to realise that it was about much more than just myself. I had a moment of clarity when I understood what’s truly important and what I needed to do to get back to everything and everyone that I loved. That’s what this song is about."
www.stereogum.com
That's Where I Am is Maggie Rogers' first single from her sophomore album, Surrender. The new record will be out July 29th.
“For a long time I fought it. Resisted. Held up my fists, wanted it on my terms, in my way,” Rogers says in the album's trailer. “This is the story of what happened when I finally gave in. When I felt it all. When I finally let go… I found peace in distortion. A chaos I could control.”
www.maggierogers.com
This song features guitar work from Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, with percussion by Lauren Brown.
Folk Implosion hadn’t released any new music since their 2003 album, The New Folk Implosion. Their latest EP, Feel It If You Feel It, is their first time releasing new music in 19 years!
bit.ly
thefolkimplosion.bandcamp.com
Blur release their second album Modern Life is Rubbish on this day in 1993!
Recently, The Pipettes' Rose Elinor Dougall and Blur’s Graham Coxon announced a new collaborative project called The WAEVE.
The duo performed their first live show last week at The Lexington in London.
“We are greatly looking forward to unleashing our new sound live at the Lexington,” the band said prior to their debut performance. “We've been locked away, busy translating the varied sounds of our songs into a dynamic live show, with the help of some great musician friends. We invite you to surrender to the world of The WAEVE.”
bit.ly
G. Love & Special Sauce released their self-titled debut album on this day in 1994!
According to my research, the special sauce formula is a chemical mix of mayo, ketchup, love, and sweet pickle relish.
Sonic Youth released "Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star" on this day in 1994!
Filmed in Los Angeles, the music video to this song features Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna dancing and occasionally interacting with the band members, particularly guitarist Thurston Moore; she accidentally gave Moore a bloody lip during filming.
Music video here:
youtu.be
Weezer released their self-titled debut album, also known as "The Blue Album" on this day in 1994.
Sunny Day Real Estate released their debut album Diary on this day in 1994!
Sunny Day Real Estate formed in Seattle in 1992. “It was literally like watching U2 in 1980 and was one of the five best shows I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Sub Pop publicist Nils Bernstein said of Sunny Day’s May 1993 gig at Seattle’s Crocodile Cafe.
bit.ly
That song was Internal/External by Stepping Up To The Mic (feat. Kathleen Hanna)
Shout out to KEXP DJ, Lisa LeClair!
This was the first song Lisa ever played on-air at KEXP.
"That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood /
I got news for you.... SHE IS!"
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More from Kathleen Hanna..
Bikini Kill hails from Olympia, Washington and was part of the riot-grrrl movement of the 90s.
bikinikill.bandcamp.com
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Our mothership, KEXP, turns 50 today! Thanks for hanging out with us this morning.
"We Got the Beat" evolved in part out of the group covering the Smokey Robinson song that served as the group's namesake: the Miracles' "Going to a Go Go" (1965). Taking inspiration from that, and from the opening theme of The Twilight Zone, lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey wrote "We Got the Beat" and offered it to the band with hesitation, afraid that it would not be punk enough for the other members' tastes. When rest of the Go-Go's heard the song, they loved it, and its incorporation into their set marked a stylistic change for the group as they moved away from punk rock and toward a more pop sensibility that would put the Go-Go's in with what was being termed "new wave."
New music from LA-based riot grrrl band.
thelindalindas.bandcamp.com
When the release of Matt & Kim’s 2009 single “Daylight” broke the duo into the mainstream, it gained the attention of Los Angeles-based DJ Troublemaker and legendary rap trio De La Soul, who then spun their own rendition of the track.
The expanded, remixed version of the second single from Depeche Mode's sixth studio album, Music for the Masses.
Most shows during Depeche Mode's 1988 tour were often concluded with this song. At one show, Dave Gahan begun waving his arms in the air toward the end of the song, and the sold-out crowd of 60,000 began to mimic Gahan's movements. It is now customary at Depeche Mode shows for fans to wave their arms in the air during the coda section of "Never Let Me Down Again."
bit.ly
Ministry released their debut album With Sympathy on this day in 1983!
“This is a track I made with one of my dearest friends Jon Hopkins," said HAAi regarding 'Baby, We're Ascending.' "I’d been working on this particular track alone for a while and got stuck with it – I posted a clip on my Instagram one morning and Jon messaged me asking what it was and could we work on it together.”
bit.ly
HAAi will release her first studio album on May 27th.
haai.bandcamp.com
New Order released the stand alone single "Temptation" and it's "8:45 of pure goodness" on this day in 1982.
Basically, all good music is released on May 10th.
Thanks for celebrating 50 years of KEXP with us today!
NEW MUSIC from Hot Chip!
The new record is due out August 19th!
www.hot-chip.co.uk
Shoutout to KEXP DJ Sharlese!
This is the first song Sharlese played on air at KEXP!