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Friday, Apr 21 2023, 7AM
Good morning, happy
Friday, and welcome to The Morning Show with the handsome John Richards. You are not alone..
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Today, April 21st, is the anniversary of Prince's death in 2016. It's known as "Prince Holy Day."
This song, "Sometimes It Snows in April," was recorded exactly 31 years before, on April 21, 1985. The recording features only Prince, Lisa Coleman (on piano) and Wendy Melvoin (on guitar).
On this date in 1990, Sinead O'Connor started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with her version of the Prince song 'Nothing Compares To You'.
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O'Connor said that the tears in the gorgeous video were real. She didn't expect to cry, but then thought, "I should let this happen." She explained that the tears came after thinking about her mother, who died in a car accident in 1985.: www.youtube.com
R.I.P., beloved Nina Simone, who died on this date in 2003 at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France, near Marseille. She was 70 years old.: www.nytimes.com
Flying Colors (Casey McPherson, Steve Morse, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue) are pleased to announce the Flying Colors Backstage Summit, a 4-day online interactive music experience set to take place May 5th through May 8th. The event will feature all 5 members of the band taking part in songwriting instructions and tips, Q&A sessions, and even a chance to submit your own music and have it critiqued by the band.
Prepare for an in depth up close and personal time where the band covers everything from how to write songs to what happened in 1973! You can ask questions, respond, and participate on an unprecedented level.
For more information and to register visit
www.flyingcolorsbackstagesummit.com
Lost Under Heaven are releasing a new album, Something is Announced by your Life, on June 6 via their own LUH*international label. This is its second single, “Dark Days.”
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Ebony Hoorn had this to say about the song in a press release: “The status quo cannot hold. It is our understanding that these times will get so hard that people will be shaken out of their patterns, distortions, and delusions. To face dark times we hold an unshakable faith that out of the wounds of civilization we will collectively begin to build a regenerative system that is in harmony with the earth and serves the evolutionary journey of every soul-sovereign individual, so Remain Optimystic and cherish everyone”
Watch Lost Under Heaven's live performance in the KEXP studio in 2018: www.youtube.com
"Cities in Dust" was the lead single from the seventh studio album, "Tinderbox." This track 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," 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."
Temple of Angels debut album comes out in July.
Lead single “Tangled In Joy” is swirling and sweeping, with singer Bre Morell (also one-half of the duo Crushed) singing about a feeling that makes her soar: “Here you are/ And you make me feel alright with the world/ Can you see how the sun shines brighter/ When you’re tangled up in joy.”
Laveda will be at Barboza on Thursday, May 18th.
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Laveda calls themselves a "dream rock band from New York." They were founded by duo Ali Genevich (vocals/guitar) and Jake Brooks (vocals/guitar/synths),: lavedamusic.bandcamp.com
Watch the official video for "the baby Friday song," which is also the New Radicals' signature song: www.youtube.com
"The heart is a bloom
It shoots up through the stony ground...
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Musician Nichole Nordeman, who covered this song, said: "'Beautiful Day' just cries out for what's ahead. What's next. The light peering over the hill. The dawn. The crack in the heavy drapes. Don't let it get away."
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See U2 playing "Beautiful Day" Live From The FleetCenter, Boston, MA in 2001: youtu.be
Beastie Boys released "Check Your Head" on April 21, 1992!
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The song has been described as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix by Beastie Boys member MCA, and contains samples from several Hendrix songs including "Foxy Lady", "Happy Birthday", and "Still Raining, Still Dreaming".
Many, many people enjoyed The Chemical Brothers at WaMu Theater last Tuesday night!
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The song is the first taste of new music from the duo since their two-track 2021 EP, "The Darkness That You Fear." The single, a highlight of the band’s recent live shows and DJ sets, was mastered in Dolby ATMOS by Beatles producer Giles Martin at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.
It's true. James Brown is dead (since 2006): www.theguardian.com
"James Brown Is Dead" is a song by Dutch electronic dance music duo L.A. Style, produced by Wessel van Diepen and Denzil Slemming.
Ahhh....the Friday song. Hear a killer transition/mix/segue on KEXP? Let us know about your favorite segue of the week by voting here: www.kexp.org
Madonna will be at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday, July 18th.
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Did you know that the title track from "Ray of Light' was based on an obscure folk oldie, the song "Sepheryn" from English singer Christine Leach?
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Did you know that the video for "Ray of Light" was nominated for a Grammy?: www.youtube.com
"We're a million miles apart
In a thousand ways
Baby, you could light up the dark
Like a solar scape..."
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Kylie said, "This song is about all of our eternal quest for love and the searching and knowing that there's something or someone out there that you can relate to and makes you a better person."
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See the interstellar backdrop for Kylie on a horse statue in the video for "Say Something": www.youtube.com
At the end of the month, Ware is releasing a new album with the emphatic title That! Feels Good!, her follow-up to 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure?
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Jessie Ware said, “Dreaming of human touch, escapes to Brazil, beach bodies, holiday romances, all of it! I absolutely adore this song and I’m so excited for you to hear it, to hear the beautiful production by producer James Ford and horns by Kokoroko, it’s the song that I knew I wanted to make..."
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See the terrific video for this song: www.youtube.com
Released in 1990, the classic euphoric dance track, Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart". The trio includes member Towa Tei, a prominent Korean/Japanese producer, and DJ. "Groove Is In The Heart" includes vocals from Q-Tip and Bootsy Collins and contains uncredited samples of Herbie Hancock's "Bring Down The Birds", Vernon Burch's "Get Up", and "Hateful Head Helen" performed by Sweet Pussy Pauline.
Read how this infectious song captured the energy of 90's New York club culture:
djmag.com
Don't miss your opportunity to get this song. John selected it as a free KEXP Song of the Day: www.kexp.org
Black Market Brass is a Minneapolis-based group performing their own brand of originally composed Afrobeat/Afrofunk music, as well as completing authentic renditions of the classic 1970's West African sound.
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This is new music from the group.
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Here is the official video:
www.youtube.com
Sudan Archives will perform (with Caroline Polachek) at Showbox SoDo on Thursday, May 4th, and Friday, May 5th.
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ODESZA laced their haunting sound design through Archives' signature violin patterns in the new remix, the duo's first in eight years. Their visceral production is the perfect fit for the contemplative lyricism of "Selfish Soul," which uses women's hair as a motif to express their search for identity in a world that distorts conceptions of beauty.
See Odesza performing "A Moment Apart" live in Toronto: www.youtube.com
'In this God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters ‘making of’ i talk about how the song was written and recorded, but also about the meaning of the song, and it’s more esoteric and spiritual components. It makes sense to me, not sure if it makes sense to anyone else...' - moby: www.youtube.com
Recent DNA evidence has unlocked secrets about Beethoven. Read all about it here.: www.nytimes.com
On April 21, 1967, The Beatles put the finishing touches on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at Abbey Road studios in London. The final recordings were a short section of gibberish which followed 'A Day in the Life'. They recorded assorted noises and voices, which engineer Geoff Emerick then cut-up and randomly re-assembled and edits backwards. At John Lennon's suggestion, they also added a high-pitch 15 kilocycle whistle audible only by dogs. (These were omitted from the American version of the album),
Happy birthday to The Cure's Robert Smith, born on April 21, 1959
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"Every record that leaves profound traces behind is a positive experience, even if it gives you a deep feeling of despair. At least you feel something again, you’re not blunted, no matter how paradoxical that may sound.” --Robert Smith
Keyboardist Roger O'Donnell shared:
I remember the day we recorded “Plainsong”. It was all done in the control room and Robert (Smith) showed me what to play and for some reason that day he wasn’t talking. I think he was massively hung over so we did it all with him writing notes, hahah, it was hilarious. He played the big chords. They were very Robert, just sort of playing every note you could at the same time. The song is in C, so its all the white notes and just about every one of them was played in that song.
Perhaps M83 will perform this at the Showbox Sodo on Wednesday, May 10th, or Thursday, May 11th.
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"Outro" is the final track on the group's sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (2011). "Outro" is the final track on the group's sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (2011).
R.I.P., Prince Rogers Nelson.
Read "A tribute to Prince" by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole here: www.kexp.org
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Did you know that Stevie Nicks was initially asked to write the lyrics for this song?
They had a previous collaboration on her song "Stand Back." Prince followed up by sending her an early demo of “Purple Rain”, which at the time was just a ten minute, emotionally moving instrumental track. He had asked her to pen lyrics for the song, and she declined because of fear, she says:
It was so overwhelming, that 10-minute track, that I listened to it and I just got scared. I called him back and said, ‘I can’t do it. I wish I could. It’s too much for me.’ I’m so glad that I didn’t, because he wrote it, and it became ‘Purple Rain.’
R.I.P. extraordinarily talented Shawn Smith, who died in 2019 at age 53: www.thestranger.com
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Here's a live performance of "Purple Rain" from Neumos: www.youtube.com
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"Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" tells the story of Mother Love Bone frontman Andrew Wood, his heroin addiction, and his fiancé, Xana La Fuente. La Fuente danced in a strip club to support the pair as Wood tried to break through in the music industry, hence the "dancer" in the title. She only lasted one hour before deciding it wasn't for her. - bit.ly
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Watch Pearl Jam cover "Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns" at Madison Square Garden last year: www.youtube.com
As you know, tomorrow, April 22nd, is really Earth Day.
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"What Are We Gonna Do?" parodied late-period Beatles pop to cynically skewer the bumper-sticker mentality of all-too-many armchair environmentalists. "I still don't think people get it," notes John Easdale. "Environmental people listen to it and thing "Wow, this guy is really 'Green'!" It disturbs me to think that there are really people that believe that they're 'spokespersons for a generation.'"
Easdale recalls the song's genesis: "We played at the festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. Forget about the last 19 that nobody celebrated; 'It's the 20th anniversary let's have a party!" And they did, at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Linda Gray from Dallas is in our trailer smoking cigarettes and drinking beers, and there's a quarter of a fucking million people in front of us! When everyone left we looked at all the garbage left behind and wondered just what we were celebrating."
Happy birthday to Michael Franti, born on April 21, 1966.
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You could give very belated birthday greetings when he comes to The Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville on Friday, August 4th, 2023.
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Songwriter Andy Partridge was inspired by a series of books with the same title, which Partridge viewed as exploitative of children. Here are the lyrics: genius.com
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The opening verse is sung by a friend's eight-year-old daughter, Jasmine Veillette, but was later lip-synched in the video by a young boy.: www.youtube.com
"Some of the deeds committed in my name just made me wonder were I went wrong...." Here are the lyrics: www.azlyrics.com
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"Letter from God to Man" sampled Radiohead's "Planet Telex" from 1995's "The Bends.
Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip sampled this song heavily for the previous song.
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Rumor has it this is the only song written during The Bends recording session. It was recorded one night when the band returned to the studio after consuming a great amount of alcohol. Lead singer Thom Yorke did vocals lying down while intoxicated. He did only one take.
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Watch Radiohead performing this one live at Coachella in 2004 here: www.youtube.com
Happy birthday to The Cure's ninth studio album, "Wish," released on April 21, 1992.
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Last year, Pitchfork published a glowing retrospective on this "pivotal, fantastic, and often overlooked album in the band’s catalog": pitchfork.com
Robert Smith told Spin magazine: "'Friday I'm in Love' is a dumb pop song, but it's quite excellent actually, because it's so absurd. It's so out of character - very optimistic and really out there in happy land. It's nice to get that counterbalance. People think we're supposed to be leaders of some sort of 'gloom movement.' I could sit and write gloomy songs all day long, but I just don't see the point."
Don't miss the video: www.youtube.com
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Thanks for being here, everyone!!