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Monday, Jun 12 2023, 7AM
Good morning and welcome to the Monday edition of the Morning Show with John!
"Jeff Buckley and Cocteau Twins singer, Liz Fraser’s relationship was a whirlwind. They got together sometime in the mid-1990s and were drawn together like magnets. Their dual talent, tortured upbringings and childhood trauma made them seem like kindred spirits on paper. Both were enigmatic and mysterious, and this created an intense romance that imploded as quickly as it was concocted.
Fraser had previously been in a long relationship with Cocteau Twins songwriting partner Robin Guthrie which ended in 1993. However, due to contractual obligations, the band were continuing to produce music and tour, something that had a huge effect on Fraser, and she struggled with the bad blood. She met Buckley at the right time, and said that meeting him was like “being given a set of paints, do you know what I mean? It was just like I had all this colour in my life again'"
Read about their whirlwind romance: bit.ly
7:07 AM
17th spin
Tiny Changes features contributions from Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches, Aaron Dessner of The National, Josh Ritter, this track from Julien Baker, and more, and shares a name with the mental health organization launched by the family of Scott Hutchison, Frightened Rabbit's late lead singer who died in May 2018 at the age of 36.
maketinychanges.co.uk
Ty Segall cover. From Shannon Lay's digital album of covers entitled Covers Vol. 1. She shares “I absolutely love doing covers. It’s such a joy to offer my perspective on songs I admire and spread the word about amazing artists. Covers Vol. 1 is the first in a series of cover records celebrating my obsession with shannonizing songs.”
www.subpop.com
shannonlay.bandcamp.com
www.shannonlay.com
This is the third album from the New Zealand artist. See this song and others live at KEXP in 2019: youtu.be ; official video for this song: youtu.be ; aldousharding.com
aldousharding.bandcamp.com
The song is inspired by Lenker's childhood memories growing up in Minnesota. According to Lenker, the “Violet” in the song is a reference to her great-grandmother, who played music throughout her life and picked up electric bass when she was in her 80s. bigthief.bandcamp.com
"Hi John,
Listener and supporter since 2001 when I discovered the station during a college summer. I’ve never felt compelled to request a song, but today is the one year since my best friend died. Steven was a musician, surfer, athlete, but I knew him through writing. He was a professor of creative writing, was incredibly generous and encouraging of his students, but we met back in grad school and had an instantaneous connection. It seems too much to bear to lose someone so talented, devastating that he passed before his novel could be published.
The last week of his life all of his friends - I discovered we all thought of ourselves as his best friend - gathered on his stoop along Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway and played his favorite music so he could hear it through his window. We had bonded over Nirvana, but he was also a huge Tom Petty fan, and the last thing he ever told me, when he was very weak and very medicated, the day before he passed, was about when Dave Grohl sat in to play drums with Tom on SNL after Kurt died. In interviews it’s when Dave said he remembered that he loved music.
These last months I’ve felt Steven’s presence so close, but also his absence so acutely. And today I just feel so lost without him. I wonder if you could play Wildflowers by Tom Petty for Steven and those who loved him.
With love,
—
Ryan"
On this day in 1971, The Rolling Stones single "Wild Horses" is released from their album Sticky Fingers. Interestingly it was first released in 1970 by The Flying Burrito Brothers (with Graham Parsons) on Burrito Deluxe as the Stones didn't think the demo was worth recording fully.
-The song was later covered by The Sundays as the b-side to their 1993 single "Goodbye."
-Labelle also released in INSANELY GREAT version 3-months later in September of 1971.
-On First Aid Kit's "Wild Horses II" they sing "We played Wild Horses on the car stereo. You prefer the Rolling Stones' and I like Gram's."
-Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings released an amazing version in 2011.
This was first released by Gram Parsons' Flying Burrito Brothers in 1970. The Stones' version was written in 1969.
This is also the prom song from Buffy the Vampire Slayer! After receiving the “Class Protector” award from her class, Angel surprises Buffy at prom, and we get a slow dance: youtu.be
Happy birthday to Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger, The Long Winters, and formerly KEXP's very own DJ, born on this day in 1973.
Watch an intimate live version of this gorgeous song, with KEXP's own Sean Nelson on vocals.: www.youtube.com
The gem of Canada! Jealous of everyone who went to the Gorge this weekend!
Mitchell's earliest public performances of "A Case of You" contain six lines that had changed by the time Blue was recorded. The line "I am as constant as a northern star" is an allusion to Caesar's "I am constant as the Northern Star" from the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, while the quoted line "Love is touching souls" is inspired by the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke.
"You’re Not Alone," is a folk tune that drives home the message that there is community out there for everyone, whether that be ancestral ties or chosen family. Says Russell:
"We are not what we have lost. We are more than the sum of our scars. We are the dust of the stars, the bones of the Earth, the breath of the void, the expanse of our imagination, the arc of art, the love in our hearts."
The new song, along with Russell’s entire collection of songs, reflects her positive outlook on life. As she told The New York Times in a profile, her music focuses on her strengths and power, not instances of victimization. bit.ly
Smith employs heroin as a metaphor here and on many songs on this album. As he told the zine Spongey Monkey (as quoted in the book "Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing"):
“Sometimes people are like, ‘Oh, the second [album] is all about drugs and stuff,’ and it’s not about drugs. It’s a different angle or topical way of talking about things. Like dependency and mixed feelings about your attachment.”
Playing at Woodland Park Zoo on August 20th with Japanese Breakfast!
www.zoo.org
Built to Spill visited the KEXP studio last year - watch the performance here: www.youtube.com
www.builttospill.com
Justin Robertson has plotted a successful career as a DJ, remixer, and producer (the latter under his own name as well as Lionrock).: www.justinrobertson.co.uk
This is his remix of The Sugarcubes' classic "Birthday."
"24 Hour Party People" deals with people that are on the dole, who would prefer to party instead of looking for job opportunities. Shaun Ryder felt that with the song, he had found his voice in songwriting, being able to write about his life instead of what people expected him to write about.
*During the air break*
Local group Polyrhythmics will play at the West Seattle Summer Fest on July 14 and the Bite of Seattle on July 21.
"Roller" comes from their forthcoming album, "Filter System" which comes out in September.
polyrhythmics.bandcamp.com
www.polyrhythmics.com
New music from Roosevelt!
Roosevelt says "Ordinary Love" was “written in LA last summer in an isolated cabin in Elysian Heights. I worked on a demo that I initially called 'Wall Of Sound,' putting a ton of synth layers together – I wanted to create some kind of urgency, that resembles the euphoria of a new love, with all its bliss, but also the uncertainty that comes with it. The idea of the sound of the sirens, that are played on a vintage Prophet 5, came when I wanted to create an underlying feeling of instability. It worked out as a great contrast to the melodic chords, as there's always a slight disharmony going on throughout the track.”
Read more at Brooklyn Vegan: www.brooklynvegan.com
Jungle will be at WaMu Theater playing an all-ages show on Friday, September 15th. Get tickets: www.axs.com
Jungle is a London-based electronic music project founded in 2013 by producers, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland. Jungle's fourth album, 'Volcano' is set for release on August 11.
Music video for their latest, "Dominoes" -
youtu.be
www.junglejunglejungle.com
Since I Left You is the debut studio album by Australian electronic music group the Avalanches, released on 27 November 2000 by Modular Recordings. It was produced by group members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann, and samples extensively from various genres.
This track samples of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Club Med, the Main Attraction, and more.
www.whosampled.com
www.theavalanches.com
Radio features nine (9) samples, including Mandrill, Laurie Anderson, Wayne and Shuster, The Main Attraction, Robert Morse-Bonnie Scott-Elliot Lawrence, Ralph Burns, Atlanta Rhythm Section, and two tracks by Audio Fidelity Records.
Explore the breakdown here:
www.whosampled.com
www.theavalanches.com
"Good morning! It's my son, Jackson's last day of 6th grade today - Could you please play 'the last goodbye' by Odesza?
Lissa (Liss-uh) Skagit valley"
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This song credits Bettye LaVette as a featured artist due to its prominent sampling of 1965’s “Let Me Down Easy.” Would you like to hear the original?: www.youtube.com
ODESZA is an electronic music duo originating from Bellingham, Washington. Formed in 2012, ODESZA consists of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, known individually as Catacombkid and BeachesBeaches.
odesza.com
Check out ODESZA's 2017 live performance at KEXP studios: www.youtube.com
SHOW ME SHOW ME SHOW ME HOW YOU WRITE A SONG THIS GOOD
According to Robert Smith, when he wrote this song, he told his bandmates, "I'll never write something this good again."
www.thecure.com
There's not a lot of information out there yet about brand-new Los Angeles-based duo Ooh La La, but sharp-eyed KEXP listeners might recognize the name Kii Arens from the liner notes of past Live at KEXP compilation albums! The long-time artist/director/graphic designer has previously created album covers for us. Now, relocated from his hometown of Minneapolis to Los Angeles, he and partner Jessy Greene (who has played violin for P!nk, Foo Fighters, and others) have launched this new musical project. The band reports on Facebook that today's Song of the Day will be released this summer as a double single via Killer Kern Records.
www.kexp.org
This was the debut UK hit for The Lightning Seeds, released on this day in 1989, and the band's only Top 40 hit in the US.
Released on this day in 1981!
"Ghost Town" was powered by despair and anger, both at the state of a country in which unemployment had risen by nearly a million in 12 months, and by 82% among ethnic minorities – "government leaving the youth on the shelf, no jobs to be found in this country" – and the state of the Specials ("Bands won’t play no more / too much fighting on the dancefloor").
Learn the history behind the dark power of this Specials' classic at The Guardian: bit.ly
Also released on this day in 1981! What a DAY!
"While [The Go Go's] hit singles -- 'We Got the Beat,' 'Our Lips Are Sealed,' 'Vacation,' 'Head Over Heels' -- were bright, energetic new wave pop, the group was an integral part of the California punk scene." tinyurl.com
And this one was released *checks notes* ALSO ON THIS DAY IN 1981? Was there something in the water???
Lead singer Richard Butler said "Pretty in Pink" is about two women he knew while living in Muswell Hill in north London. One was a friend of his ex-girlfriend, and the other went to a pub he frequented. However, the Caroline mentioned in the lyrics is a made-up name, and the girls are not high-school age, despite the film that was named after it causing some people to think so. "The song is about a girl who sleeps around a lot and thinks that she's popular because of it. It makes her feel empowered somehow and popular, and in fact, the people that she's sleeping with are laughing about her behind her back and talking about her," said Butler. Delightful.
thepsychedelicfurs.com
"Lewis from Leicester in the uk!!I’m enjoying your show today, I completed my second half marathon last Sunday and after listening to the runcast it inspired me to get a new PB of 1 hour 41 minutes 21 seconds. Thank you for the inspiration John. Would it be possible to play some Depeche mode at all?"
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Vocalist Dave Gahan explained that “Enjoy The Silence” began as a “very slow, ballad-y couple of verses” but bandmate Alan Wilder and producer Flood converted it into the danceable new wave hit it became. At first, songwriter Martin Gore was initially not on board with the uptempo rewrite.
"I thought the very nature of the song was, you know, enjoy the silence, so it ought to have a very serene atmosphere. It took me a while to get used to the idea, but as we took it further that way with the guitar riff, it really pulled together."
Romy has announced a new album, ‘Mid Air’, and shared the romantic single ‘Loveher’.
‘Mid Air’ marks the first solo album to be released by the singer-songwriter — who is most well known for her work in The xx. It also features production from Stuart Price and Fred Again.., as well as a guest appearance from fellow bandmate, Jamie xx.
www.nme.com
romyromyromy.com
New record from B-52's founding member Cindy Wilson out in August!
cindywilson.bandcamp.com
GHOST OF VROOM- the band comprised of Mike Doughty and his longtime collaborator Andrew "Scrap" Livingston have once again teamed up with legendary producer Mario Caldato Jr. to create "GHOST OF VROOM 3". A dozen tracks of hard hitting drums, hooks, flows and Doughty's signature brand of art pop. The single "Pay the Man" is out now and the full length drops this September on Mod y Vi Records.
www.ghostofvroom.com
This song was also released on this day in 1979. Has anyone looked into why this day is so awesome? Is it because it's not always on a Monday?
This was the first single from the group's second album, Candy-O, and like their first album, was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who did a lot of work with Queen. Yep, he was their handyman. Faucet leaking, call Roy Thomas. Build a fence, Roy! Shoe a horse? ROY!
LIVE on KEXP - Friday, Aug 18th at noon // Playing that night at the Neptune! - bullythemusic.bandcamp.com
The Linda Lindas will be at Climate Pledge Arena (with Paramore and Foals) on Monday, July 24th.
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This is their latest single, "Too Many Things.": thelindalindas.bandcamp.com
Closing track found on 1987's 'Come On Pilgrim'.
In the book “Fool the World”, John Murphy gives some insight on the process of recording the song, and on why this is one of the Pixies songs with the most songwriter credits on it:
On “Levitate Me,” the chorus at the end where is like, yelling – Charles was asleep, and they did their recording in seventy-two hours of rolling time, freezing cold, so while some people were sleeping they were still working. Somebody came up with the idea and Dave and Kim were the ones doing the vocals to that while Charles was sleeping, and then when he woke up they played it for him and he was like, “Oh, that’s cool, let’s keep it.” Charles gave credit to everybody in the world who wrote that song, too. His girlfriend Jean came up with a couple of words, he threw her in as a songwriter credit." (bit.ly)
"There She Goes" is a song by English rock band the La's, written by the band's frontman, Lee Mavers. In May 2007, NME magazine placed the song at number 45 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.
By request!
Songwriter Matthew Caws on "Always Love": "I still have strong feelings for this song. The words still resonate with me. I feel like most people can identify with wanting to feel part of a loving relationship, of a warm and mutually supportive partnership. I’ve never gotten tired of singing it."
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See Nada Surf performing live at The Triple Door as part of KEXP's VIP Club Concert series in January 2020. That session included "Always Love": youtu.be.
This record is 23 years old today. Excuse me while I WALK INTO THE SEA. - DJA Chelsea
Watch these Dandys perform "Godless' live in our studio back in 2013: www.youtube.com
When Loaded was originally released in 1970, the song's bridge was cut. The box set Peel Slowly and See and reissue Loaded: Fully Loaded Edition restored the missing section.
Cowboy Junkies released "The Trinity Sessions" in 1988. This song was originally written by Lou Reed, who was often quoted as saying that the Cowboy Junkies' version was his favorite.
Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alt-country band formed by three siblings from the Timmins entertainment family (Margo Timmins, vocals; Michael Timmins, songwriter & guitars; Peter Timmins, drums) plus Alan Anton on bass. The group formed in Toronto in 1986.
Nothing's Shocking is the debut studio album by Jane's Addiction, released in 1988.
janesaddiction.com