John Richards

The music for "Where the Streets Have No Name" originated from a demo that guitarist The Edge composed the night before the group resumed The Joshua Tree sessions. Although the band liked the demo, it was difficult for them to record the song. Bassist Adam Clayton said, "At the time it sounded like a foreign language". The arrangement, with two time signature shifts and frequent chord changes, was rehearsed many times, but the group struggled to get a performance they liked. According to co-producer Daniel Lanois, "that was the science project song. I remember having this massive schoolhouse blackboard, as we call them. I was holding a pointer, like a college professor, walking the band through the chord changes like a (bleeping) nerd. It was ridiculous."

'A Coventry woman who won a legal battle to erect a gravestone with an inscription in Irish, to honour her late mother, has described Fontaines DC's new song inspired by the case as "a fitting end to the journey that we went on as a family". Bernadette Martin, daughter of Margaret Keane, and her family, last year successfully fought for the right to have a Celtic cross bearing the words "In ár gCroíthe go deo" - which translates into English as "In our hearts forever" - on her grave at St Giles Church in Exhall.': www.bbc.com

This song is about a girl that as time passes, the singer doesn't really care about anymore. Noel Gallagher explained to Select magazine: "The lyrics are just saying, 'Well, it's not about, be the same for us anymore, I suppose.'" "It was written just towards the end of the Definitely Maybe sessions," he added. If Definitely Maybe was about dreaming about being in a band, this one is actually about being in a band. So it's like,'Hello, it's good to be back' - back making records."

Join New Age Healers, Kinski and Floored Faces on Friday, June 17th at Clock-Out Lounge. Faces shall melted whilst beer is drunken, and fun is fundeded. fb.me newagehealers.bandcamp.com

Good morning, Hoping to share the song Hope by Bauhaus with all the people out there who could use it, as a birthday song request. As always, you all are amazing and inspire others to help in their own way. Thank you, Christian

Frontman John Ross said of "Q.Degraw": "This song is about my experiences with some health problems and how an extremely stressful situation can sharpen your focus on what’s important in life. It’s also about how that stress can sometimes cause you to dissociate from yourself." --

Mark writes: Good morning, Team Sparkle Motion! Our older son, Kola, is graduating from high school this evening and his mom and I would like to dedicate 'The House That Heaven Built' by Japandroids to him. Just a great song and positive mssg!

Good morning!! It's already looking to be a tough week 😕 I always look forward to your show to help me get through ☺️❤️ Would love to hear something from Frightened Rabbit if you have a chance. Much love 💕 Erica in RI

After a 6-year wait following up his debut, Tom Vek released Leisure Seizure his second studio album on this day 11-years ago today.

New music from Sharon Van Etten's sixth album! Sharon Van Etten plays Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA on Wednesday, August 3rd - www.sharonvanetten.com ------ In a recent interview about the new album, Sharon spoke about the difficult times that influenced it: “Just like any kind of grief, I feel like it comes in waves. Sometimes, you can remember something fondly, and other days it just makes you feel really sad and you feel paralyzed. In other days, it’s inspiring when you look back at things that you have lost along the way.” nbhap.com

Glow was released on this day in 1995 and was recorded in both New Orleans AND Seattle at Bad Animals studio. Others who recorded there include Heart, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Mad Season, Foo Fighters, Aerosmith, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Radiohead, R.E.M., and Neil Young

This song finds Johanna and Klara Söderberg imagining a simpler life away from this "dark, twisted road." Klara told The Sun: "I think we had this almost romantic idea of what it's like to be a waitress in an American diner.

"Oh, Shadowless" appears as the final track on Neko Case's new retrospective 23-song compilation called, Wild Creatures. Neko Case will perform for ZooTunes at Woodland Park Zoo on June 16! www.zoo.org nekocase.substack.com

Kevin Morby is playing at The Showbox on Friday, November 11. bit.ly He says "It’s a song about the menacing nature of the sun rising during a dark time in one’s life only to further illuminate their pain and suffering — and how during these periods it is often the selfless acts of strangers that keeps a person going." kevinmorby.bandcamp.com www.kevinmorby.com

How Do You Burn? was given its title by the late Mark Lanegan, who contributed backing vocals to two tracks on the record before his death in February. Other guest contributors to the record include Susan Marshall (who previously sang on The Afghan Whigs’ 1998 album 1965), Van Hunt (a guest on 2014’s Do To The Beast) and Marcy Mays, who provided lead vocals on the Whigs’ "My Curse" off their 1993 album Gentleman. bit.ly

Released on this day 22-years ago. Mmm, so much yummy Revolver era Beatles inspired compression.

Like several other tracks on The Cars, "Just What I Needed" originated as a demo tape recorded by the band in 1977. Founding member Ric Ocasek originally wrote the song in the basement of the commune he lived in at the time. bit.ly

Released on this day 44-years ago, like several other tracks on The Cars, "Just What I Needed" originated as a demo tape recorded by the band in 1977. Founding member Ric Ocasek originally wrote the song in the basement of the commune he lived in at the time. bit.ly

Good morning from Enumclaw! I'm getting hype for Orville Peck this weekend and would love to hear him if you have time. Back in the before times, I bought tickets to his show in BC on a whim the day before and road tripped up to Canada. Slept on top of my car in a little park on the coast looking at the stars and had no idea I wouldn't be back for years. The last concert I saw before shutdown was an underground punk show for his openers, Woolworm, in Eugene. Weird how it all hangs together. Have a good one - Ellyse == Orville Peck will be at Showbox SoDo on Sunday, June 12. bit.ly -- "This is my most impassioned and authentic album to date,” says Peck. “I was inspired by country rock, 60s & 70s psychedelic, California and even bluegrass with everything being anchored in country. 'Bronco' is all about being unrestrained and the culmination of a year of touring, writing in isolation and going through and ultimately emerging from a challenging personal time." bit.ly www.orvillepeck.com

Making Movies plays the High Dive Wed, Jun 15! - www.makingmovies.world -- and yes, they shall attempt the famous "triple lindsey" that only Rodney Dangerfield has ever survived. Many, few, etc. #Dadjokedsfortheplaylst

"Tijoux was born in France to a French mother and a Chilean father in political exile during Pinochet's dictatorship. After the return to democracy, the family moved to Chile. She found a home in the emerging hip-hop scene of Santiago and first started rhyming in French, then later in Spanish." anatijoux.bandcamp.com Ana Tijoux featured Live on KEXP: bit.ly anatijoux.bandcamp.com

Santigold is back with her first new release since 2018! She collaborated with Berlin based producer DJ Boys Noize, Ray Brady, Psymun and Ryan Olson on this track. "I called this song "High Priestess" because this song was about my greatness," Santigold said in a press release. "I needed to be a witness to myself at that point, calling out my own power, my own fortitude, my own wisdom, because I felt like I had become disconnected from it, having been stripped out of the rhythm of life that I had cultivated for myself, and thrust into this smaller, one dimensional version of myself, grounded and isolated for too long. The lyrics are fun though, rap lyrics in general, boastful, cocky, but that’s what I was talking about underneath it all.” santigold.com

Released on this day 41 years ago. it's in the midst of a mid-life crisis...of being AWESOME. == "If somebody is going to cast a spell on you, it may as well by Siouxsie Sioux." Johnny Marr of the Smiths stated on BBC Radio 2 in February 2008 that he rated guitarist John McGeoch highly for his work on "Spellbound". Marr said:"It's so clever. He's got this really good picky thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll and this actual tune he's playing is really quite mysterious" Watch the late McGeoch with Siouxsie and the Banshees performing this track live in Cologne in 1981: youtu.be

The song was inspired by the Angola Three, Black revolutionaries who were held in solitary confinement for more than 40 years. "It’s a battle cry for dreamers who persist in spite of and because. This song moves us and it grooves us towards this end, may we go forward but not by ourselves.” bit.ly specialinterestno.bandcamp.com

This is about people, who party, 24 hours a day. Do they sleep? NO! Do they eat? NO! they party, 24 hours a day!

After completing a UK headline tour which included a triumphant four-night run at London's Olympia in front of a combined audience of 40,000 people, Foals are set to take the sun-kissed sounds of their 'Life Is Yours' album to an array of major festivals this summer. As the June 17th release of 'Life Is Yours' approaches, Foals today unveil their new single '2001'.

John, I have been on a vinyl-buying spree lately. So fun to return to a hobby that started in my teens and was the perfect distraction from my lonely island. your show has a direct relationship to my growing vinyl wantlist. So many must-haves in just the last 30 minutes of your set! Your sets have so much emotion, curation and creativity. The best antidote on a Monday morning. Thanks for the sonic lantern. If it aligns, please play The Smiths: There is a Light that Never Goes Out. Cheers, Troy

Cover of the Replacements classic. Check out a session with the band at KEXP last year. www.youtube.com

Released on this day in 1999, a space...nevermind.

The second single from the band's upcoming album Fear Fear, out July 15th of this year! workingmensclub.bandcamp.com --- Watch Working Men's Club performing live on KEXP At Home - www.youtube.com

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are officially back! After announcing some shows and signing to Secretly Canadian, the trio has announced a brand-new album, Cool It Down, which will be out in September. “I see the younger generations staring down this threat, and they’re standing on the edge of a precipice, confronting what’s coming with anger and defiance,” Karen O said of "Spitting Off The Edge Of The World" the title track. “It’s galvanizing, and there’s hope there.” bit.ly

ODESZA are playing three sold-out shows at Climate Pledge Arena, Friday-Sunday, July 29-31. -- This song includes the original vocal from Betty LaVette's 1965 track "Let Me Down Easy." Watch video of this great singer performing the song in 1990: www.youtube.com

Behind “Brimheim” is Copenhagen based musician and songwriter, Helena Heinesen Rebensdorff. Her stage name is an homage to her Faroese roots, translating to ‘home of the breaking waves’. - brimheim.bandcamp.com

Hi John! Ever notice just how much Karen Peris (of Innocence Mission) and Harriet Wheeler sound alike?? Hey, how about something by them? Thanks! Toby in Oklahoma

a perfect song? Yes. Perfect.

new from the Mountain Goats!!!!!!

Released on this day 44 years ago and as good today as it was on that day.

Horsegirl will be at Neumos on Saturday, July 16th! thisishorsegirl.bandcamp.com