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Friday, Aug 18 2023, 7AM
KEXP is a station like no other, and I have been supporting public radio for 35 years. You play the best of all time, and turn me on to stuff like Otokobe Beaver. How can I NOT be an amplifier. I know you said you don't have enough time for all the requests, but if you have time for one more, Biko by Peter Gabriel would be rad. Back to my days protesting apartheid at UCLA. This station keeps me alive. If it ain't public, it ain't radio.
Jim on Bainbridge.
"When Spirit of Eden slid from its chrysalis in 1988 it took the collective breath away from critics worldwide, and drew down the ire of Talk Talk’s label. The highly non-commercial nature of the album resulted the band’s dismissal from EMI...Notwithstanding, Talk Talk floated away with what is arguably one of greatest achievements in popular recorded music. Mark Hollis made an album for the ages and, unlike many of his classical predecessors, has lived to see it appreciated."
www.popmatters.com
Requested by Jeff in Folsom - thanks for listening!
Written and recorded in a small room on the outskirts of Joshua Tree, CA by Greg Bertens, Justin Labo, Nyles Lannon, Jason Ruck. Drums on many songs by Adam Wade.
filmschoolmusic.bandcamp.com
This one goes out to Amplifier John in Kenmore!
"To John and the whole amazing crew at KEXP -
I don't recall the exact moment I became an Amplifier, but I'm pretty sure my friend Cary in Bothell - himself an Amplifier - had a lot to do with it, as he turned me onto the station when we first moved here over 20 years ago.
I can tell you that I am proud and humbled to be an Amplifier every single time it's time to re-up and help fund KEXP. KEXP has brought so much new music and new musical perspectives to me and my family - shout out to "Rock the Casbah" with Ranking Roger, MC Solaar "Nouveau Western", the Jeff Buckley/Elizabeth Fraser "All Flowers in Time...", Japanese Breakfast, and everything Bowie - that everyday I learn something new about the vast musical landscape KEXP continues to map out. And don't even get me started on the quality tee-shirts that my son and I wear everywhere...
The community that you have cultivated over the years is really amazing. I'd even say singular. I've lived all over the country and visited dozen of countries and can say nothing else like KEXP exists. As a focal point for both physical and virtual coming together, you have created something truly unique. Anybody who listens to KEXP has to be struck with the sense of connection; I mean, where else can you find a global community of perfect strangers that all come together and feel connected so easily, and so persistently over the years?
And can I just say how happy it makes me when I see an email from KEXP with all the great things that KEXP is doing? It makes me realize what a privilege it is to be an Amplifier, and how much my contribution, coupled with thousands of others, can move the dial to make the world a little better every day.
Thanks, KEXP, for being a voice for all of us and bringing new voices into the fold. Truly, we are not alone.
Thanks, KEXP, for being a voice for all of us and bringing new voices into the fold. Truly, we are not alone."
-- John in Kenmore
This request goes out to Amplifiers Grady, Erika and Annie!
"We are driving from Boise to Portland to take my daughter Annie to her first year in college. It’s a bitter sweet time as we reflect on the last 18 years of pure bliss together and on all the exciting things to come. My wife and I are in awe of the amazing person Annie has become. She’s smart, creative, funny, and cares deeply about all humans. We are obsessive KEXP listeners (and supporters) and are happy to report that this has paid off in many ways. In particular, Annie has developed her own incredible taste in music that is wonderful. One band she introduced us to early on was BoyGenius. I’m hoping you can play one of their songs for us as we wipe away tears of joy and sadness.
Thanks for all you do to keep us going."
--Grady and Erika
Watch Melbourne-by-way-of Tasmania band Quivers perform this song Live in the KEXP studio with John as their host): www.youtube.com -- John selected this wonderful song as a KEXP Song of the Day: www.kexp.org
Shout out for this request from Amplifier Ford from Gabriola!
"I am so happy to be an amplifier because KEXP has shaped my musical tastes. You guys will play songs from artists I am familiar with, but never heard that particular song. Some of these songs have become my absolute favorites, like Lovely Day by Bill Withers or Making Friends for Nigel by XTC.
Anyway, my request for today is "In a Big Country" by Big Country. It is one of my all time favorites that I discovered from KEXP."
--Ford from Gabriola
Request for Amplifier Rob!
"Good morning John, glad to be an amplifier...all the program is wonderful and can't wait to hear what's next...how about Radio Free Europe from REM this morning. Thank you all for amazing music."
-- Rob
Thank you, Liz in West Seattle, for this request! The album comes out today!
You can hear Gregory Alan Isakov on The Morning Show with John on Monday, August 21.
Gregory Alan Isakov performs at the Paramount Theatre TONIGHT @ 8pm and again TOMORROW NIGHT at Showbox Market in Seattle @ 8:30pm.
This one goes out to Matt in Port Orchard!
"Hi John, both angry and sad about the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that was passed by overturning a veto from the governor in North Carolina recently. Will you please play Nada Surf's Always Love for my sister M, niece K and all the others affected by this codified hate in NC and the rest of the country.
You Are Not Alone!"
--Matt (several years an amplifier!) Port Orchard
"Love starting my Friday's with the KEXP morning show. Any way you could give me a kick start to get out of bed with The Waterboys' 'This is the Sea'?"
-- Chris in NYC
John will be airing The Morning Show from NYC September 8-14!
Request for Amplifier James in Ontario!
"Hi Jon, I'm totally wearing my KEXP t-shirt today. I live in Ontario, but every so often I'll encounter someone who will totally meltdown that they encountered another KEXP lover in the wild. I had it happen in Brantford, Ontario last week at a shoe store 😂
I kinda missed Amplifier Love day yesterday, so I wanted to see if I could slide in a request for one of your Morning Show exclusives, the Double Secret Probation Mix of David Bowie's Heroes. Was talking about it to someone this morning about how great that edit is.
I'm happy that even though I was going through a rough spell last year I was able to maintain my Amplifier support for all the amazing music you broadcast out to the world."
--James
"...Compassion. If there’s nothing else I want to be remembered for, it’s compassion...That’s what life is about for me. It’s also what I feel is expressed by KEXP, the community, the DJ’s, and the music. It’s why you all are my Tribe.
I was occupied yesterday morning and didn’t get to request a song for amplifier love day, so I thought I’d throw a Hail Mary this morning. After listening to the Dust album last night, I discovered Kingdom of Rain with guest vocals Sinead O’Connor from the Mind Bomb album. What a combo! If you can squeeze it in today it will make me smile. And that’s a big deal."
-- Andrea from College Station, TX
"Please play 'Heavenward' by Wolf Alice for my dear cousin, Danna. It’s her time (as she is passing on)... I want the world to know how special she is. And this song’s lyrics say that so perfectly."
-- James in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Much love to you, James and Danna. <3
Shout out to Bob for this request! Slainte!
Bono's lyric was inspired by his mother, who died in 1974 when he was 14. Bono calls it "a song about unconditional love." For sound effects, bottles were thrown on the floor and bicycle wheels were spun and hit with bottles and knives. You can also hear a glockenspiel being played.
"Please make my work-day really hum by playing "Know Your Rights" by The Clash.
Long-time listener, but in my first year of Amplifying; which I consider a great investment since I listen to KEXP all day every day (unbeknownst to my boss). Rock on."
-- Scott in Calgary
"This was the first punk song to hit the pop charts. The name 'Sheena' came from Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, who was kind of a female Tarzan character. It was a popular comic book and TV series in the '40s and '50s...Tommy Ramone helped produce this track. He his credited on the album under his real name, Tommy Erdelyi." www.songfacts.com
"Good morning, John, My best friend and I got hooked on KEXP and the morning show last year when we heard the Six Degrees of Dolly show. Music is a big part of our lives and the way you use it to empower others and share your listeners' stories is why we stuck around and became amplifiers this year. Can you please play Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys?"
-- Alex from Ventura, CA
"Morning John - A while back you mentioned you loved the new Ryan Bingham track 'Where My Wild Things Are' and I can't stop listening to it. If you could give that record another spin that would kick this Friday off properly!"
-- Brent in Austin
“Where My Wild Things Are” is the lead single from Oscar and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and Yellowstone star Ryan Bingham's forthcoming record Watch Out for the Wolf, to be released on August 11, 2023. www.ryanbingham.com
Shout out to Dorri Kay for this request!
This is Orville Peck's cover of Lady Gaga's wonderful title song from her second album.
“Born This Way, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung, and wrote about being ‘Born This Way.’ Notably, his early work was in 1975, 11 years before I was born,” Gaga explained in a speech from West Hollywood. “Thank you for decades of relentless love, bravery, and a reason to sing. So we can all feel joy, because we deserve joy. Because we deserve the right to inspire tolerance, acceptance, and freedom for all.”
See the video here youtu.be
Watch a Live on KEXP Full Performance with host DJ Cheryl Waters from November 2021. youtu.be
"Hi John - My wife and I are amplifiers and huge fans of the station. We have discovered so many wonderful new bands over the years since discovering KEXP when we moved to Seattle in 2004. Today is her, Emily, 42nd birthday. Any way you could play Al Green’s Love and Happiness for her? Thanks for all you do, John!"
-- Drew
Happy Birthday, Emily! <3
"Stand!" is one of the greatest albums ever released and features "Sing a Simple Song", "I Want to Take You Higher", "Stand!", "Everyday People", and "You Can Make It If You Try". This song has been sampled more than 450 times. Want to watch something great? Of course you do. Sly on the Ed Sullivan show. www.youtube.com
Ahhh....the Friday song. (Thanks, Henry!)
"Hey, can you please play the Mint Royale Friday song for me for my birthday??? Thanks!! Love your show!!!! From my coast to yours......"
-- Angie in Myrtle Beach
Happy Birthday Angie!
"Don't give up You've got a reason to live Can't forget We only get what we give..." -- Watch the official video for "the baby Friday song," which is also the New Radicals' signature song: www.youtube.com
"Loving every minute 'cause you make me feel so alive" Nick Littlemore of Empire of the Sun said, "We [communicate through] the nature of song... I think there was a large part of what we were writing about was distance and longing, and I guess some way of kind of sending out a message to the wider world, like that there is a force field that protects all of us and no matter where you are, if you feel for someone and they're in your heart, then you're always with them in some sense." bit.ly
Thanks for listening along with us today!
"Good morning everyone. As usual, you're killing it! I was wondering if I could request a song to accompany my long drive along several lakes in Northern California where in life is really good! That song is Public Service Broadcasting 'Let's Dance'."
-- Jeffrey, Willits, CA Amplifier
DANCE! 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
"Bright starlight blessings on this overly bright day! Could you play "Kirby" by Aesop Rock?"
-- Dorri Kay
See the original video here youtu.be
"You’d think after one hundred years, 'Man Of Constant Sorrow' would eventually get old. But the American folk standard, which has been covered by everyone from a young Bob Dylan to Norwegian girl-group Katzenjammer, and helped launch the modern Americana movement with its canny placement in the film 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?', has been on music lovers’ collective minds since at least 1913. Through many different melodies, rewrites, and iterations (“girl,” “soul,” etc.) 'Man Of Constant Sorrow' has refused to die." americansongwriter.com
"In my senior year of high school (1988!!) I wrote a paper called, You Have The Right Not To Express Yourself, that heavily referenced that Clash song! The paper, not surprisingly, was about the 1st Amendment. Thanks for the memory flashback. This is why I've been an KEXP Amplifier for nearly a decade. Keep it up, John! You're the reason I became a contributor and also the reason I continue to be (Cheryl too!). How about some T Rex this morning??"
--Sundar (Campbell, CA)
Wet Leg is a British indie rock group from the Isle of Wight, founded in 2019 by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. They debuted with the single "Chaise Longue" in 2021.
Watch Wet Leg perform "Chaise Longue" at the Brit Awards: www.youtube.com
"Hola John! Rocking out to your show just north of the border in smokey BC interior. Any chance you could play 'Just like Heaven by Dinosaur Jr' please??? Didn't hear it during the six degrees week...damn fine cover if you ask me."
-- Chris
Covering the Cure's "Just like Heaven" Dinosaur Jr. performed this song live at KEXP 8 years ago - Check it out here! www.youtube.com
Thanks for this request, Joel in Kirkland!
Whale was a Swedish alternative rock group active from 1992 to 1999. “Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe” was the group's first song and only commercial success.
"I’ve been a proud Amplifier for a couple years now, but have been listening since the cubicle army days. If you’d like to put 'Cubicle' by Rinocerose in the mix, that’d be cool. A huge thank you to everyone that makes KEXP happen!"
-- Travis- Oklahoma City
This goes out to Jeff from Denver!
“Bad Mother” sounds like the name of a song therapists would love. It is, in fact, a mash-up from Bill McClintock, a combination of Glenn Danzig’s “Mother” and Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls.”: loudwire.com
"Hello! Sustaining member Shell Shock Shelly from Minneapolis (rock on Kevin Cole!). I toured the country in an all-female Riot Grrls-band playing CBGB'S and rockin the rim of the Grand Canyon's employee only bar. I'd like to request Motörhead. Long live Lemmy."
See The Wrens perform "This Boy Is Exhausted' live in 2009: www.youtube.com