John Richards

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Show with John! Hans Zimmer is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living Geniuses, published by The Daily Telegraph.

From Sigur Rós's latest record. Front person Jónsi described the latest record saying "Trans and queer and gay rights have been trampled on so much recently. It's scary to see. Around the world also, it feels like we're going backwards. We try to stay out of politics, just to make the music as neutral as possible, but we were talking about the state of the world we live in now: climate change and doomscrolling." sigurros.com

Gabriel wrote this 7-minute track about the difficulty he had communicating with his daughter Melanie, with whom relations had become strained after he moved out of the family home into a nearby cottage with Rosanna Arquette. The song is an invitation, asking her to "unlock this misery" and come talk to him. -- Sinéad O'Connor is the female voice on this track.

From the movie "In the Name of the Father," a 1993 biographical courtroom drama film. It is based on the true story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings, which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. Bono along with Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer wrote three songs for inclusion in the film.

Björk says: "Hyper-Ballad is about being in a relationship and three years on, you're not high anymore, so you wake up early in the morning and you sneak outside and you do something horrible and destructive, break whatever you can find, watch a horrible film, read a bit of William Burroughs, something really gross and come home and be like 'Hi honey, how are you?'" www.songfacts.com

"I am Brimheim. My given name is Helena and I’m a half Danish, half Faroese singer/songwriter currently residing in Malmö, Sweden." Read an interview with this rising star: nordicwatchlist.com -- Here's Brinheim performing live on KEXP at Dypång, in Aarhus, Denmark, during the SPOT Festival in May 2022. - www.youtube.com

"Nia Archives is making soft-hearted lo-fi jungle for introverted extroverts." This is from her debut full-length. niaarchives.bandcamp.com

"Time rolls by Again Today By and by The old, it waves And I don’t know why I come back each time, just a little more grey..." Here are the lyrics: genius.com See the official video for "A Precious Thing": www.youtube.com Head to the archive and check out this past Friday's Morning Show at 9:30am PST to listen to this beautiful in-studio!

Dark Matter is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on April 19, 2024, through Monkeywrench Records and Republic Records. darkmatter.pearljam.com

A wonderful song from the classic "Urban Hymns," released on September 29th, 1997. -- In a 2018 interview, Richard Ashcroft said he hasn't written his definitive song yet, but this one sure comes close. "The definitive Richard Ashcroft song will be when the cream of a particular emotion or a particular scenario in the human condition plays out, and that song mirrors it," He said. "So, if it happens to be 'Lucky Man' for that feeling of transcendence, of liberty within yourself, your body, your partner in life, you can actually fleetingly feel that moment and you want to put it in a bottle. And that's what music's about. It should be about capturing those moments for yourself and then the listener can put it on over and over again, if they want."

Brand new from Bnny. They will be playing live this August in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco. Watch the music video here: www.youtube.com www.bnnyband.com

Enjoy a KEXP "Review Revue" of The Breeders' album "Pod." See what the DJs had to say about way back then: www.kexp.org

Hana Vu is an American DIY singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She is of Vietnamese and Korean descent. Vu began writing songs as a child and started performing around L.A. by the age of 14, eventually opening for bands like Soccer Mommy and Wet. hanavu.com

For Kaleb in Bellingham! Read NPR's piece about how Indigo Girls hit "Closer to Fine" being featured prominently in the Barbie movie. www.npr.org

For Greg, formerly of Greenlake, now new and improved in Magnolia Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Go-Betweens and Jack Frost) died on this day in 2006, aged 48 years old.

Blushing is a shoegaze band from Austin, Texas. See them live Jul 3 at Chop Suey with New Age Healers and MOAA Jul 4 at The Sïx in Portland w/ with Helens and Shadowlands Jul 5 at the Kilowatt in San Francisco w/ Pink Breath of Heaven More tour dates here www.blushingmusic.com

New music from Swiss band Annie Taylor. annietaylor.bandcamp.com Watch their full Live on KEXP performance from the 2023 Trans Musicales Festival: www.youtube.com

"Never Said" was the lead single from Liz Phair's debut 1993 album, Exile in Guyville.

Alvvays played "Archie, Marry Me" live in the KEXP studio in 2014. Check out the full session here: youtu.be "Archie, Marry Me" tackles themes of modern romance vs. traditional marriage. The track was written by the band's Molly Rankin and Alec O' Hanley who were romantically linked. alvvays.bandcamp.com Playing Aug 16 at the Fox theater in Oakland Aug 18 at the Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland Aug 19 at the Woodland Park Zoo in ye ol' Seattle All dates with the Beths!

New Zealand band The Beths were Live on KEXP last February, performing "Expert in A Dying Field," among other great songs: www.youtube.com thebethsnz.bandcamp.com Playing Aug 16 at the Fox theater in Oakland Aug 18 at the Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland Aug 19 at the Woodland Park Zoo in ye ol' Seattle All dates opening for Alvvays!

For Brian in Phoenix! Seattle musician Star Anna was here recently in April. She debuted a new band and played all new songs, in anticipation of her new album, set to be released in full in July! staranna.bandcamp.com

'Electric Version' was released on this day in 2003! Not familiar with the New Pornographers? Maybe you're familiar with some of their members... Carl "A.C." Newman, Neko Case, and Dan Bejar (Destroyer) just to name a few.

In 2017, The Long Winters' John Roderick performed "Cinnamon" live for KEXP listeners at Little London Plane during Upstream Music Fest. Roderick was joined by Sean Nelson (KEXP, Harvey Danger), former Long Winters drummer (and 4AD head) Nabil Ayers, and musician, engineer, and longtime Long Winters member Eric Corson (Perfume Genius, Los Campesinos).: www.youtube.com “‘Cinnamon’ is a love story set in a Red Brigade, Baader Meinhof gang, 70s or 80s-era Europe, where the two protagonists of the story are these revolutionary anarchists. Their gang hideout is being closed in upon by Interpol. There’s an explosion and the girl gets away. The guy is captured and they’re pressing him for information about her, but he won’t give her up all he’ll say is that her skin is like cinnamon.”

"Morning John & team! Love to hear some Death Cab and/or Postal Service if you can fit it in. Please send it out to everyone who was at the Toronto show on Saturday. Thanks John (Amplifier, Toronto)" Ben Gibbard describes "Roman Candles" as a concentrated effort to create something "succinct, loud and strikingly direct," sharing that "the lyrics were cobbled from a couple of different songs dealing with my general sense of anxiety; the feeling that the fabric that weaves a functioning society together was crumbling during the pandemic." "Roman Candles is about the crippling, existential dread that goes hand in hand with living in a nervous city on a dying planet. And that the only way to be in the moment is to let it all go."

The French electronic music duo just released their first new album in eight years, Hyperdrama, in April. etjusticepourtous.bandcamp.com Justice will be playing the Brooklyn Navy Yard in, you guessed it, Brooklyn, on July 25 & 26. Tickets: get-in.com

Jamie xx is gearing up to release his long-awaited sophomore album, the follow-up to "In Colour." During an interview on BBC, he revealed that he’s putting the finishing touches on his new LP and promised that it will come out later this year. jamiexx.bandcamp.com

New York peeps! Catch Angélica Garcia at Elsewhere in Brooklyn Tuesday, July 9th. angelicagarcia.bandcamp.com

Released in 1993. Martin Gore reveals, "The whole Songs Of Faith And Devotion project started off with the basic principle that we wanted to become more live, spontaneous and have a lot more performances involved. So that whole album turned out to be the rockiest that we've ever wanted to achieve. "'I Feel You' is probably the pinnacle of that and it's about the closest we're going to come to sounding like a real authentic rock band." Dave Gahan confides that during the recording process: " 'I Feel You' came on [while listening to Martin's demo tape]. That was the moment when I looked into the mirror with the broomstick and started miming air guitar. I was ready to do something with some purpose, and suddenly things started to fall into place." tinyurl.com

Brand new music from Fontaines D.C.! Their upcoming LP drops on August 23 fontainesdc.bandcamp.com DJ Morgan hosted the group - Live in the KEXP Studio - on May 14, 2022: youtu.be At the Warsaw in Brooklyn this Wednesday, but sold out!

"What a righteous time we had Friday with IDLES. It was the type of visceral, uplifting punk rock energy that Joe Strummer would have been proud of -- we gave the middle finger to the King, screamed "Viva Palestina", saluted immigrants, and celebrated love as the "fing". Joe Talbot had the crowd in the palm of his hand the entire night -- getting the mosh pit to separate and collide; dance in circles for "The Wheel"; and even get low to the ground as we sang Joe's new British national anthem (see above). They sang his songs back to him in full voice all night as they returned the band's energy tenfold. It was a night of intense emotions and full-throttle energy, all underpinned by love. What a gift you gave us when you played those tracks from Joy as an Act of Resistance again and again, and then had IDLES join you for Clash Day in London town. Joe reminded us at the end that, "You are not alone", bringing us full circle back to your mantra and the reason why we listen to music in the first place, for the sense of community it creates. Thanks, John, for the "gift horse" that keeps on giving. Long live, IDLES, and long live your Morning Show. Amplifier Mike G in BC" IDLES will bring their World Tour 2024 to Seattle's Paramount Theatre on Tuesday/Wednesday, May 7th/8th! They'll be at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Friday May 10th, and in San Francisco at The Warfield on Saturday May 11th! Here's the official video for "Dancer": www.youtube.com. www.idlesband.com

Rooted in the Punk aesthetic, the Pyramid Lake Paiute tribe lead Dead Pioneers are not afraid to tackle hard political and social issues. From original songs to spoken word with punk riffs, Dead Pioneers was created with a love of music, a love of art and the DIY disposition of just figuring it out and seeing what happens. Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers talked with KEXP's Dusty Henry about growing up as the only native family in his Utah school, and more on this Sound & Vision podcast: www.kexp.org Watch the official music video for "Bad Indian": www.youtube.com Here are the lyrics: deadpioneers.bandcamp.com

Happy birthday to John Flansburgh, American singer-songwriter and guitarist of They Might Be Giants, born on this day in 1960! Istanbul (Not Constantinople) was covered by They Might Be Giants. Written in 1953, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon.

Leicester punk sextet Jools just released ‘97%’, a provocative track spotlighting the ubiquity of sexual harassment in the lives of women. Inspiration from the punk/post-punk of The Smiths or Fontaines D.C., through to MBV and Slowdive. (via RoughTrade) Support Jools here joolsbandjools.bandcamp.com Jools is a British noise rock band from Leicester, UK.

First Aid Kit released this song on International Women's Day in 2017. ‘You Are the Problem Here’ isn’t a typical First Aid Kit-song,” Klara and Johanna Söderberg said in a statement. “It’s angry and direct. It’s a song written out of despair...." -- Here's a live performance: www.youtube.com

New Music from St. Vincent! --- Flea is a single from 'All Born Screaming' a new album from St. Vincent that dropped April 26th! --- Watch St Vincent perform "Flea" on John Mulaney's Netflix show "Everybody's In LA" here: www.stereogum.com St. Vincent will be on tour soon, here are some tour dates: May 25th: San Francisco (The Masonic) August 9th: Carnation, WA (Thing Festival) ilovestvincent.com

From the fourth album by Suzanne Vega - www.suzannevega.com 99.9F° was the first of two of Vega's albums to be produced by Mitchell Froom, whom she later married.

Released on this day in 1987 - Sinéad O’Connor told Record Mirror the song is "simply about shagging." In 1988, this track was used in "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" and in the Miami Vice episode "Borrasca."

Indie-pop renegades Gossip have released their first album in over a decade, Real Power, alongside new single, "Give It Up For Love". gossip.lnk.to

Salt Cathedral will be in Seattle tonight, May 6th at Madame Lou's! Then tomorrow they will LIVE on The Midday Show at noon. -- Salt Cathedral is New York-based Colombians Juliana Ronderos & Nicolas Losada. See the official lyric video for "Strong Emotions": www.youtube.com