John Richards

Good morning, good morning! Kicking it off with Tone of Arc covering Q Lazzarus! Tone of Arc is Derrick Boyd (aka Dead Seal) and Zoe Presnick. ra.co

Sigue Sigue Sputnik was a British New Wave band founded in 1982 in London by former Generation X bassist Tony James. The name is a supposed reference to a Russian street gang, meaning, in rough translation "burn, burn satellite" ("sigue" coming from a form of the Russian verb сжигать, meaning burn, and Sputnik referencing the first man-made satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957). -- The inspiration for the music video was the 1962 sci-fi featurette La Jetée. Watch it here: www.youtube.com

Debby Friday is playing in Seattle at Barboza on Thursday, April 13th, 2023! -- The new debut album 'Good Luck,' out on March 24th! debbyfriday.bandcamp.com

Boy was written by band member Theodore “Ted” Ottaviano. The song describes the frustrations of a girl with feelings for a boy who likes boys. In a 2016 Village Voice interview, Ted added that the song was “written about Boy Bar, which was a very exclusive gay club in the East Village.”

Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark wrote the bulk of Organisation in June and July 1980. The backing tracks were recorded at the band's Gramophone Suite in Liverpool, before they later moved on to Ridge Farm in Rusper, England, one of the earliest residential studios in the United Kingdom.

Yazoo (known as Yaz in North America) consisted of former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet. Clarke wrote it while with Depeche Mode but recorded it in 1982 after forming Yazoo. It was the duo's first single.

Oh L'Amour was written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell and laments someone experiencing unrequited love.

Everything but the Girl's first release in 24 years. Fuse is out on April 21st! Fuse is described as "a modern take on the lustrous electronic soul the band first pioneered in the mid-90s." ebtg.com

Smalltown Boy tells the tale of a young gay man who packs up and heads for London after experiencing homophobic violence in his home town. It’s supposedly based on the experiences of lead singer Jimmy Somerville, who quit the Scottish city of Glasgow in search of a better (and safer) life down South. bit.ly

The Golden Dregs from London will be playing the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho which will take place from March 22-26! "On Grace & Dignity" came to be in winter 2020 when he lost his job in lockdown and moved back to his parents’ house. The only work he found find was as a worker at a building site outside of Truro. From Woods: “It was such a bleak winter – waist-deep in mud digging holes and rolling out turf on top of building waste, really grim stuff, which became the backdrop to the stories I was trying to write." He cited Raymond Carver, Lydia Davis and Richard Hugo as influences for the album. thegoldendregs.bandcamp.com

This is Los Angeles band Poolside's remix of Billy Idol's classic. “I’m flattered that Poolside chose to remix ‘Eyes Without a Face,'” Idol said in a statement. “Steve Stevens and Keith Forsey helped me take the original recording somewhere special back in 1983. Poolside’s new remix guides the song in another direction with its chill vibe, ethereal beats, and melodies.” Added Poolside’s Jeffrey Paradise: “Truly such an honor to remix ‘Eyes Without a Face’ by the legend Billy Idol. I’ve been a fan of Billy’s since my youth, and this is one of my favorite songs ever. I’m so grateful to Billy for giving me the opportunity to work on such a historically significant piece of music.” www.poolsidemusic.com

DJ Mehdi's remix of Miike Snow! Here is Miike Snow performing Burial on Live on KEXP: www.youtube.com

"Remixes 2: 81–11" is a remix compilation album by Depeche Mode, released in 2011. It spanned the band's entire career up that point. It included classic mixes from M83, UNKLE, Trentemøller, François Kervorkian and Dan The Automator, alongside all-new mixes from Stargate, Eric Prydz, Karlsson & Winnberg (from Miike Snow) and Röyksopp.

Noble Rot is the side project of Alex Edkins from the group METZ and Graham Walsh of Holy F*ck. The new album, Casting No Light, will be released March 24. The pair, Alex Edkins and Graham Walsh, have known each other for more than a decade; Walsh contributed to the first METZ album in 2011. www.stereogum.com

Written by guitarist Andy Farriss and lead singer Michael Hutchence, this was the first song by this Australian group to make an impact in the United States, setting the groundwork for their international success in the mid-1980s. -- Regarding the video, INXS bass player Tim Farriss said in the book "I Want My MTV": "We fed Valium to a few cats and had them running around a table while we had a feast with sexy models and Playboy centerfolds, ripping apart a turkey. Next thing we knew, we had a Top 40 hit in America.": www.youtube.com

Happy birthday to Jen in Lake Stevens -- This is (probably) the most popular song featuring a marimba as a lead instrument. "Love My Way" was the first Psychedelic Furs song to chart in America. Released in 1982, Forever Now is the third studio album by the Psychedelic Furs. - thepsychedelicfurs.com

Frankie Rose — formerly of bands like Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls — will release Love As Projection, her first solo LP in six years, out March 10th! frankierose.bandcamp.com

‘Shadowboxing’ is the first single from Lost Under Heaven’s forthcoming album “Something is Announced by your Life.” Of the song, the band says it is "...a call to find unity in diversity throughout these increasingly polarized times." lostunderheaven.bandcamp.com Watch the video here: www.youtube.com

The magical M83 are playing in Seattle at Showbox SoDo Wednesday, May 10th! M83 has announced the details of his new forthcoming full-length album, FANTASY, that will see release on March 17th. For Anthony Gonzalez, Fantasy‘s direction and aesthetic was immediately clear. “I wanted this record to be very impactful live,” he says. “The idea was to come back with something closer to the energy of Before The Dawn Heals Us. The combination of guitars and synths is always in my music, but it’s maybe more present on this new record than on the previous ones.” Reserved in nature, Gonzalez also sought to continue a trend that has become more prominent in his recent albums. “I wanted to be more present lyrically and vocally even if that was daunting at first,” he states. “I thought if I could achieve that, this album will be more personal than those that came before.” ilovem83.com

Gilbert Gabriel, a member of the Dream Academy and co-writer of "Life in a Northern Town,” said that the inspiration for the tune came from his experience at Dartington College of Arts.

The Icicle Works were named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. This was their first single from their debut album -- Arista wouldn't release it in the US until the opening spoken-word overdub was removed. This was their only hit in the US.

"I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965. The Strangeloves were a group of producers who'd had a big hit with “My Boyfriend’s Back” by The Angels. They were inspired to write "I Want Candy" in 1965 after they took a trip to the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing, Queens, New York. While at the World’s Fair the producers saw a performance by Candy Johnson, a dancer known as “Miss Perpetual Motion.”: groovyhistory.com --- Notice how this song samples Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley."

Peter Gabriel just announced a tour, and will be playing next door at Climate Pledge Arena on October 8th! - In case you didn't know, that's Kate Bush singing back up on this song.

From Stereogum, "The veteran Ontario indie-folk musician Hayden will soon release his first album in eight years, and he’s announcing it with a lot of star power. April’s Are We Good features drums by Big Thief’s James Krivchenia and two songs produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner. Its lead single, out today, is a Feist collaboration called “On A Beach.” The song arrives with a video featuring not just Leslie Feist but also Dessner’s National bandmate Matt Berninger and Hollywood legend Steve Buscemi. The latter connection goes back more than a quarter-century: Hayden did the music for Buscemi’s 1996 directorial debut Trees Lounge.". Watch the video here: www.youtube.com

From North Carolina-native Perry Wright, who named this project after a character from The Big Lebowski.

All is full of love. Björk shared how this song came to be: "I guess waking up after having been in Spain for six months in the mountains with few people. It was kind of solitary. And it was April, and I had to walk in the morning, around the mountains. And spring just kicked in. It was definitely nature-inspired. On a more personal level. It's about when you have been too stubborn about giving love to one particular direction... you expect it back, like it's a bank or something. And kind of realizing that it's up to you what you give, but it's not up to you what you are given and where from." bit.ly The music video was nominated for a Grammy and won several awards including Best Breakthrough Video and Special Effects at the 2000 MTV Video Awards.: vimeo.com

The latest and greatest from Daughter! New album Stereo Mind Game will be out on April 7th! ohdaughter.bandcamp.com

“The song is based around feelings of inner-city claustrophobia. Whether that’s at home, on your way to work, constantly socializing,” said Miss Tiny in a statement about the new song. “There’s a certain tone to it all that feels like noise, which I feel like you can either hate or decide to enjoy as a means of running away from your own thoughts.” bit.ly Find the official video here: www.youtube.com

Deep Down and Dirty was the first released single of the title album in 2001, and it was issued to modern rock and college radio stations. Club DJs were also issued remixes of the track.

Thom Yorke said in 2003 that the chorus of this song, "You can try the best you can. You can try the best you can. The best you can is good enough", came from the words of encouragement given to him by his then partner, Rachel Owen, as Yorke was concerned the album wouldn't be a success.

On this day in 1983 (40 years ago), Tears for Fears released their debut LP, The Hurting! In the album's liner notes, Roland Orzabal explained how this song came together: "Curt (Smith) went to see the Thompson Twins when they were a seven-piece, and as he was telling me about it, I was playing it on the guitar - 'What? Like this?' - and that's how it started. The lyric? Typical feeling sorry for oneself and typical identification with the victim that runs throughout the album!" bit.ly

The Tubs were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen 'O' Williams and George 'GN' Nicholls. In the winter of 2018, the two songwriters rented a caravan in rural North Wales with the view of expanding the dimensions of their songwriting and compositions. The later recruited Max ‘Wozza’ Warren (responsible for the Gob Nation punk label), Sam Ayres and Rachel Kenedy from the group Flowers.: bit.ly

Paul in Austin: Every time you play The La’s an angel gets its Hello Fresh order.

Built to Spill visited the KEXP studio last year - watch the performance here: www.youtube.com www.builttospill.com

New single from Bully features Sophia Allison of Soccer Mommy! Alicia Bognanno says, "When ‘Lose You’ came about it was the first time I've considered having someone else sing on a Bully song. I love Sophie's voice and have always admired everything she does so to me it was a no brainer. Watching Writing ‘Lose You’ was a way for me to work through the pain and reality of impermanence. It doesn't make it any easier but reflection is often followed by growth and to me that's what life is all about." bit.ly Check out Bully live on KEXP back in 2015: www.youtube.com. bullythemusic.bandcamp.com www.bullythemusic.com

London-based Jojo Orme's (aka Heartworms) debut album will be out on March 24th! -- “The Shins were the first band I found that got me into playing guitar,” Orme says. “My music and lyrics are inspired by how [lead vocalist] James Mercer sings. His lyrics really hit home, but they’re also very strange, and I like that. I find new meanings behind them all the time – they’re like puzzle pieces.” Enjoy an interview with this artist: bit.ly

Stigmata was witten by frontman Al Jourgensen. In his 2013 autobiography, Jourgensen wrote that although "Stigmata" is one of Ministry's most popular songs, he hates it for being "too simplistic" and for its use of sampled rather than actual guitars. He wrote "Stigmata" at the last minute after realising he needed another song to complete the album.

On this day in 1983, New Order released "Blue Monday," which became the biggest-selling 12-inch single of all time. Have a great day y'all! Thanks for listening!