John Richards

gillianwelch.bandcamp.com Gillian Welch co-produced the O Brother Where Art Thou sound track. Here is her cover of Radiohead.

New solo stuff from the lead singer of Big Thief. adriannelenker.bandcamp.com She's playing Kings Theatre in Brooklyn Nov 18 and 19. Big Thief on KEXP (2019): youtu.be

*Request* Owen! John! Our family is on a road trip heading to a wedding , taking in some beautiful scenery and, as usual,using KEXP as the soundtrack. Could we please hear either From the Morning by Nick Drake or Pale Shelter by Tears for Fears, whatever fits the vibe best? Thank you! Derek, Lynne and Jacob- Ottawa,, Canada

Folk Bitch Trio are a band from Melbourne, Australia Check them out here: folkbitchtrio.bandcamp.com

New album from Merce Lemon releasing September 27th! Merce Lemon is a songwriter born, raised, and currently living in Pittsburgh, PA. **Upcoming Show** Oct 5th- Brooklyn, NY - Baby's All Right ----- mercelemon.bandcamp.com The song’s climax deftly uncovers the formidable heartbeat hidden underneath the floorboards of her creative expulsion: loss. “So many of my songs are touched by and explore death, specifically in relation to the loss I experienced of my best friend when I was fifteen years old” says Merce. “That loss has forever changed me and who I am in my relationships to lovers, friends, family." In reconciling the quiet conflict of a desire for closeness and a solitude cultivated by distrust, there is a fierceness, a persistence in her vulnerability, matched in droves by the wildness of her band. (Bandcamp)

**Upcoming Show** Sept 11 & 12 - San Francisco - The Chapel ----- thejayhawks.bandcamp.com Recorded in late 2019 in Minnesota, for the first time, all four members- Louris (guitars/vocals), Marc Perlman (bass/vocals), Karen Grotberg (keyboards/vocals) and Tim O’Reagan (drums/vocals), contribute writing and lead vocal duties (Bandcamp) ---- Watch The Jayhawks (from Minneapolis) performing live in the KEXP studio in 2016: www.youtube.com

From the one and only album of this PNW supergroup formed in late 1994, consisting of guitarist Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, lead singer Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, drummer Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and bassist John Baker Saunders. ------- Live performance from the Moore in Seattle (1995) www.youtube.com

Eddie Vedder covering Tom Petty's "Room at the top"- appears on soundtrack to the Apple show "Bad Monkey". “Room at the Top” is the first track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ album “Echo” (1999). ------ Over the years, Eddie Vedder has performed the song live several times- here's a link to his performance from 2018 Academy Awards. www.youtube.com

The song tells the story of a guy named Eddie (Johnny Depp stars in the video) who moves to Los Angeles, meets a girl and becomes a rock star. While the future is wide open, Petty, who knows a thing or two about record company machinations, leaves it to the listener to decide what happens next. There's a good chance it doesn't go so well. - bit.ly

Wild Pink from New York City Releasing Oct 4th ------ **Upcoming Show** Nov 22 & 23 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool ------ wildpink.bandcamp.com

Robert Levon Been- the lead singer and guitarist was born on this day in 1978 (Happy 46th!) AND they released their album Howl on this day in 2005! Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was formed in San Francisco in 1998.

Pitchfork says about "No Name," the just-released new album, "The old Jack White suddenly steps out from behind the curtain with 42 minutes of amp-busting blues punk.": pitchfork.com ----- officialjackwhite.bandcamp.com

**Upcoming Show** Sept 24 - Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theatre ---- The Hives played in the KEXP gathering space in 2023- www.youtube.com ---- "The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons" is the Swedish band's first studio release in over a decade.: pitchfork.com ---- www.youtube.com

Rancid released the album ...And Out Come the Wolves on this day in 1995! This song was written in a ska/dub style similar to that of Operation Ivy, the band Rancid lead singer Tim Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman played with in the late '80s. The lyrics in the first verse were taken from another Rancid song called "Motorcycle Ride" from their 1994 album Let's Go. The song is a classic case of lyrical dissonance, describing a kid who lives a life of crime (probably a drug runner) and is killed by a rival in the end. - www.songfacts.com

Portishead released their debut album Dummy today in 1994 (TURNS 30) ---- On this song, Portishead sampled "Elegant People" by Weather Report, a song written by Wayne Shorter. Shorter was born Aub. 25, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey. He studied music at New York University and went on to have a decades-long music career that included 12 Grammy wins. www.npr.org

**Upcoming Show** Oct 24 - Queens, NY - Forest Hills Stadium ---- This song features the vocals of Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, who wrote this song's lyrics inspired by the death of her one-time close friend, singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. The news that Buckley had drowned whilst swimming came while Fraser was recording this song. "That was so weird," she recalled to The Guardian in 2009. "I'd got letters out and I was thinking about him. That song's kind of about him - that's how it feels to me anyway." www.songfacts.com The song also samples Les McCann's "Sometimes I Cry."

*Request* Greetings from Iceland! Could you play some Odesza this morning! Thank you! Jen from Lexington KY ----- Watch ODESZA Live on KEXP in 2017: www.youtube.com

**Upcoming Show** Sept 20 - NYC - Bowery Ballroom From GIFT's debut full-length album-Illuminator They say the song is about "...the endless cycle of a relationship, the back and forth in both euphoria and doubt. The chorus “I never told you why’ is about never being able to say how you really feel, not having closure and the cycle continuing.” giftbandnyc.bandcamp.com

Today in 1988 Pixies released the single "Gigantic" written by original bassist and co-vocalist Kim Deal. In 1992, Kurt Cobain said: “I wish Kim [Deal] was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies, because 'Gigantic' is the best Pixies song and Kim wrote it.” (She also sang lead on this track.): faroutmagazine.co.uk

This 1984 track was Depeche Mode's first hit single in the US. The percussion on this song incorporates various culinary implements. Lead singer Dave Gahan explained: "We used to go into studios, and the first thing we'd do, we'd ask where the kitchen was - literally for pots and pans and things that we could throw down the stairs, and record the rhythms they would make crashing around, and then make it into loops.": tinyurl.com

**Upcoming Show** Nov 3 - Seattle - Seattle's Funhouse Dark Chisme is a Seattle-based dark wave band started by Chicago-raised Latina DJ and producer Christine Gutierrez (Vocals, Synths) and E (Bass, Synths). -- You can purchase their self-titled debut album here: darkchisme.bandcamp.com

Roland Orzabal, the English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer for Tears for Fears was born on this day in 1961 (Happy 63rd) "Mothers Talk" was originally performed during the band's late 1983 tour - Roland Orzabal has said this song was created in an attempt to mimic the sound of Talking Heads - it was one of their first songs to use sampling techniques, including snips from Barry Manilow and Simple Minds. Learn more in this 1985 article in Rolling Stone: tinyurl.com

Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. May 16, 2012 @ 75 years old) was born today in 1936. He was a bandleader and singer also known as "godfather of go-go." The song "Ashley's Roachclip" from the 1974 album Salt of the Earth by Brown's band The Soul Searchers contains a drum break, sampled countless times in various other tracks including... -Eric B. & Rakim "Paid In Full" on their album Paid In Full in 1987. -LL Cool J Jack The Ripper" -Run–D.M.C."Run's House" on their album Tougher Than Leather in 1988. -Public Enemy "Who Stole the Soul?" -2Pac sampled "Old School" on his album Me Against the World in 1995. (NEED EDIT unless its too many fucks) -Set Adrift on Memory Bliss by P.M. Dawn -Come Undone by Duran Duran

"Paid In Full" from Eric B. & Rakim's album by the same name that came out in 1987 samples the drum break from the song "Ashley's Roachclip" from the 1974 album Salt of the Earth by Chuck Brown's band The Soul Searchers. --- In a 2018 NPR interview, Rakim looked back on the golden years of hip hop, his early partnership with Eric B. and his influential approach to lyricism. www.npr.org

"Jack the Ripper" the b-side to LL Cool J's "Going back to Cali" that came out in 1988 samples the drum break from the song "Ashley's Roachclip" from the 1974 album Salt of the Earth by Chuck Brown's band The Soul Searchers. Again, A-side "Going Back to Cali," while the b-side was "Jack the Ripper." Dear GOD that is awesome.

"Who Stole the Soul" from "Fear of a Black Planet" that talks about reparations, samples the drum break from the song "Ashley's Roachclip" from the 1974 album Salt of the Earth by Chuck Brown's band The Soul Searchers.

"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" by P.M. Dawn is built around samples of Spandau Ballet's "True", the Soul Searchers' "Ashley's Roachclip", and the Bob James version of Paul Simon's "Take Me to the Mardi Gras". Released in 1991, this song was P.M. Dawn's first and only number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Like the previous 4 tracks, this song also samples the drum break from the song "Ashley's Roachclip" from the 1974 album Salt of the Earth by Chuck Brown's band The Soul Searchers. Backup singer Tessa Niles provides vocals for “Can’t ever keep from falling apart at the seams/Cannot believe you’re taking my heart to pieces” lines - one of the most memorable elements of the tune. She also contributed to Notorious by Duran Duran.

Did you know that EMF stood for Epsom Mad Funkers? Read the "unbelievable" story behind the band: rockandrolltruestories.com -- Unbelievable samples the drum break from the song "Ashley's Roachclip" from the 1974 album Salt of the Earth by Chuck Brown's band The Soul Searchers like several other songs- Come Undone by Duran Duran, Set Adrift on Memory Bliss by P.M. Dawn, Jack the Ripper by LL Cool J and paid in Full by Erik B and Rakim.

The original version of this song was the most played track on college radio in 1991! Coming from the album "Doubt" British alternative dance band Jesus Jones released the track as a single. www.jesusjonesarchive.info

God Fodder is the debut studio album by English rock band Ned's Atomic Dustbin - www.nedsatomicdustbin.com

You will want to see the "groovy" video for this song, featuring the band (Guess what?) riding a train at Pleasureland Amusement Park: www.youtube.com

New band out of London, UK with a debut album set to be released next month. --- honeyglazehoneyglaze.bandcamp.com --- Official Video: www.youtube.com

*Request* Hey John, I'm 46 today and I've been listening to your show almost every day for twenty years. Thank you for all the beautiful music and for helping me feel less alone, again and again. Today is also Tori Amos' birthday--would you consider playing one of her songs for us this morning? With tremendous love and appreciation. Elizebeth --- Tori Amos had to fight for the whistling part that comes in over her piano at the beginning of the song. Everyone else - including her then-boyfriend/producer Eric Rosse - was in favor of a mandolin line their guitarist came up with. "Everybody really liked that," she told The Baltimore Sun in 1994. "And even in the mix studio, I was screaming at the top of my lungs that it had to be a whistle. I want the cowboys coming over the hill. Eric was laughing his head off, and the mixer, Kevin Killen, said to me, 'This whistle is naff, Tori.' And I said, 'Well, guess what, Kevin. When you make your own song, you can put your own mandolin on it. This is a whistle. F--king put it in. Put the sample in.' So I got my whistle, and I'm happy as a clam to this day." www.toriamos.com

New music from Cambodian-American local and trans (she/her) artist, Thavoran! Originally from Everett, WA, Thavoran now resides in Seattle and works to 'help pave the way for Southeast/Asian American and queer artists alike looking for a sense of creative community.' www.trailingtwelve.com

The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" hits #1 in the US on this day in 1964! The Motown songwriting team of Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland wrote this song, which was offered to another Motown group, The Marvelettes, who turned it down. Holland-Dozier-Holland had Marvelettes lead singer Gladys Horton in mind, but she sang in a lower key than The Supremes lead singer, Diana Ross. This forced Ross to sing in a lower, breathier style than she was used to. www.songfacts.com

Brand new music from San Francisco's Kelly Finnigan, releasing in October. kellyfinnigan.bandcamp.com --- Played in KEXP Studio in 2019 www.youtube.com

Oh my, here's Jackie Wilson, Mr. Excitement, singing this one live in 1974: www.youtube.com

**Upcoming Show** Oct 17- San Francisco- The Chapel Oct 19- Seattle - Madame Lou's -- From London's The Heavy Heavy- their album "One of a Kind" releases next month theheavyheavy.bandcamp.com