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Monday, Jun 27 2022, 7AM
"The Lion and The Cobra" was Sinéad O'Connor's debut album. The title of the album is from Psalm 91:13 "you will tread upon the lion and cobra." Interestingly, and not that surprising, the cover art of the United States and Canada albums differed from the European release, as it was decided a more subdued pose would present a "softer" image of O'Connor. How dumb is that? Checkout the other cover here" en.wikipedia.org
Win Butler describes the overall sound of The Suburbs as "a mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young", stating that he wanted the album to sound like "the bands that I heard when I was very young, and wondered what those crazy noises were".
This year marked the 50th "anniversary" of Bloody Sunday (also known as the Bogside Massacre). On January 30, 1972, British troops fired on unarmed protestors in Bogside, Derry, in Northern Ireland. Twenty-six people were shot and fourteen died, thirteen on that day.
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"Sunday Bloody Sunday" grew from a guitar riff and lyric written by the Edge in 1982. Following an argument with his girlfriend, and a period of doubt in his own song-writing abilities, the Edge—"feeling depressed... channelled [his] fear and frustration and self-loathing into a piece of music."
John Lydon says, "I think it's one of my best pop songs. The content of what it was about got me into hot water. It was that time when everyone was talking about how great Nelson Mandela was; but my history lessons went back further... people died. My message is there's no political cause worthy enough that people should die for it. Once you start murdering your fellow human beings it's over. 'Rise' is about the stop of that. I related it to my own background. I've got Protestant and Catholic relatives in the north of Ireland, why were they killing each other." bit.ly
Sharon Van Etten performs at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA on Wednesday, August 3rd alongside Angel Olsen and Julien Baker: bit.ly
Just Mustard are a 5 piece band from Dundalk, Ireland. Support this amazing band via bandcamp!
Heart Under is their second album. justmustard.bandcamp.com
This song describes the fate of the city of Pompeii, buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
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"That was really inspired by a visit to Pompeii," frontwoman Siouxsie Sioux said. "There's quite a lot of tourism there, but the place itself transcends all that. You can think you're the only person there. It's quite immense, and at the end of the day, seeing the petrified bodies, it had a strong effect on me. The song was written, the music was written, when we got back from Italy, I wrote the lyrics. It was dedicated to one of the petrified bodies. It almost looked as if there was someone underneath this kind of plaster cover. I almost expected it to get up and move."
In a recent New York Times interview about Chris’ collaboration with Caroline Polachek on Charli XCX’s single “New Shapes,” Chris spoke about the importance of addressing gender fluidity. “My journey with gender has always been tumultuous,” Chris said. “It’s raging right now, as I’m just exploring what is beyond this. A way to express it could be switching between they and she. I kind of want to tear down that system that made us label genders in such a strict way. … I don’t want to rush that conversation, and I might never answer again. But in my work I’m finding ways to make that journey joyful."
www.rollingstone.com
Covering "Freedom 90" by George Michael! Chris performed this at Global Citizen Live in Paris! 'Global Citizen Live calls for action to halt climate change and for wealthy countries to deliver on the $100B climate pledge..." www.globalcitizen.org
The art-pop visionary that is Santigold has announced a new album, Spirituals, out Sept. 9. Primarily recorded during the 2020 lockdown, Spirituals features virtual collaborations with a cast of THOUSANDS including Rostam, Boys Noize, Dre Skull, P2J, Nick Zinner, SBTRKT, JakeOne, Illangelo, Doc McKinney, Psymun, Ricky Blaze, Lido, Ray Brady, Moe, Curly, Larry, Sneezy, Drunky, Darth Vader, Stefan from SNL and more that I just made up. santigold.com
In addition to Joey Bada$$, Russ & Dylan Cartlidge the new project - due out August 12 - will feature the late MF Doom, A$AP Rocky, Raekwon, Conway The Machine, Run The Jewels, and more. www.okayplayer.com
The 1993 debut album from Seattle's Ishmael Butler and his Digable Planets project was reissued in 2018. On this song, they sampled Fred Wesley and The J.B.'s 1974 "Blow Your Head" and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' 1978 "Stretching."
In 2016, the trio performed live for KEXP from the Kex Hostel in Iceland:
youtu.be
We be the chocolates taps on my raps
She innovates at the sweeter cat naps
He at the funk club with the vibrate
Them they be crazy down with the five Nat'
As founders of the legendary Tribe Records, Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison led a Jazz underground renaissance in Detroit, forming a model for creative independence that is still followed today. “It was great working with Phil and Wendell, they definitely set the blueprint”, says Muhammad.
Jazz is Dead Series 2 begins with 'Jazz Is Dead 11'. For Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, collaborating with music icons and personal heroes is a dream come true. As Younge notes,
"A lot of the luminaries have been forgotten, and we want to get people excited again. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than that.”
jazzisdead.co jazzisdead.bandcamp.com
This one came in at #64 on our Summer Jams Countdown. George Clinton says the enduring nature of 'Maggot Brain' was all part of his plan; passing up pop singles to focus on creating a song and album that fans might return to decades later.
n.pr
This song samples, “Can You Get To That,” by Funkadelic...which we just played. So, you know.
Watch their full 2021 in-studio here: www.youtube.com
New Beths out in September! Playing Cap Hill Block Party on July 22nd. thebethsnz.bandcamp.com
thebeths.com
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Expert In A Dying Field will be out on September 16. "Silence Is Golden is about stress and anxiety manifesting as an intolerance to noise,” the band’s Elizabeth Stokes said. “Where each new sound makes you more and more stressed.” - bit.ly
Released in September of 1977, Oh Bondage Up Yours is regarded by critics as a prototypic example of British punk, though it was not a chart hit.
Formed in 2016 from the ashes of some of the UK’s best hardcore bands, High Vis are a London 5-piece punk band. Frontman Graham Sayle says the song is “”a sobering reflection on endless conversations without resolution. Temporary chemical optimism and subsequent hopeless introspection. A song born out of late nights waiting your turn to shout your struggle that no one will listen to.”
highvis.bandcamp.com
“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 the new song, "Spitting Off The Edge Of The World," featuring Mike Hadreas (Perfume Genius). “It’s galvanizing, and there’s hope there.”
www.youtube.com
Ryan in Cali: Sometimes Monday mornings are Fridays. #Underworld
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Hey y'all, this is Lisa from San Francisco. You met me at one of the coffee with John Richards mornings. Quick note to say, I love Underworld. I am so happy to be hearing this first thing in the morning while I'm getting ready for a big interview. Dancing around to this before I leave the house is definitely giving a boost of badassery. Thanks y'all!
Reminding everyone to take some time to breathe today
2001 request from Kathleen! "Breathe" was the debut single from the French dance music group Télépopmusik. The track features vocals from Angela McCluskey of Wild Colonials
This tale of anxiety and self-harm was very real to Sia. The very night she wrote it, she attempted suicide by taking 22 Valium and downing a bottle of vodka, something she didn't reveal until a series of interviews in 2018. After, a phone call from an old friend convinced her to get sober. You are not alone.
There are great people who want to help. Reach out if you need it. www.kexp.org
Moby said at the time of the release of this album, 'I took a step back and said, "The common denominator to everything that's wrong is us, as a species." The subtext of the 20th century, and into the 21st century, is making egregiously terrible choices when we know better. The record itself is – rather than looking at systems and rather than looking at politics – looking at who we are as a species.'
Kae Tempest performed "Perfect Coffee" live in the KEXP studio in 2017 and it's about one of the best things you will ever see/hear. Watch the full session here: youtu.be
In the years leading up to the album, Tricky had grown frustrated with his role in Massive Attack and wanted to pursue an independent project. On the way to the studio one day, he and producer Mark Saunders saw Martina Topley-Bird waiting at a bus stop, and asked her if she could sing... beginning a partnership that included this cover of Public Enemy tinyurl.com
Brand new music out of Brighton, United Kingdom.
porridgeradio.bandcamp.com
Porridge Radio will be playing in Seattle at Barboza on September 13th!
Dance Fever was recorded in London over the course of the pandemic. The songs evoke what singer Florence Welch “missed most during lockdown — clubs, dancing at festivals, being in the whirl of movement, and togetherness,” according to a release. On Instagram, the singer described the album as “a fairytale in 14 songs.”
Oct. 6 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
Leon Bridges will be at Marymoor Park on August 30 and 31 with Little Dragon.
Khruangbin will be at Marymoor Park on July 10.
www.marymoorconcerts.com
Bartees Strange performed live in the KEXP studio in December 2021. Watch it here:
youtu.be
Bartees Strange is a producer and songwriter in Washington, D.C. His mother is an opera singer. His dad served in the military for decades. He traveled widely for his parents jobs — born in Ipswich, England 1989, his family did stints in Germany, Greenland, and a number of states across america before he hit his 12th birthday when they settled down in Mustang, Oklahoma.
barteesstrange.bandcamp.com
James Rado, the co-creator of the era-defining rock musical “Hair,” died in New York City last week. He was 90.
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The Age of Aquarius—made popular by the 1967 rock musical Hair—is a period of about 2,160 years that is characterized by the passage of the vernal equinox through the air sign Aquarius. Opinions differ about the exact timing of this passage, but it is undisputed that we are now in a transition phase from Pisces to Aquarius.
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The song, recorded by The 5th Dimension, was a medley of two songs written in 1967 by James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot for the 1967 musical, "Hair."
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Their performance at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival was captured for the soundtrack of the documentary "Summer of Soul": pitchfork.com
"That's Where I Am" is Maggie Rogers' first single from her sophomore album, Surrender, which 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." bit.ly