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Tuesday, Mar 5 2019, 6AM
"In July 2014, Hannah Reid was supposed to catch a flight to Australia. She and the other members of chart-topping electropop trio London Grammar were due to headline a festival in New South Wales following a US tour, before heading straight to Japan the next day and then back to the US. “I just didn’t turn up at the airport,” the 27-year-old recalls, matter of factly." Read how London Grammar was "hanging by a thread": bit.ly
Back in 1967, Bobbie Gentry sang a haunting ode to young love and sad endings in the deep South called "Ode to Billie Joe." That song, about a mysterious occurrence on the Tallahatchie Bridge, was the No. 1 song in America for several weeks. A year later, Gentry released a country-rock opera, The Delta Sweete. It hardly sold at all — but has since become a favorite of collectors and musicians. Mercury Rev gave that cult classic a new tribute with some of today's great female singers, including this track with Rachel Goswell.
In addition to Time Rider, the first single from their upcoming fifth album, Dear Tommy, Chromatics have announced their first public performances in over five years. They'll be at The Showbox on June 7th! Tickets and info: bit.ly
Electric Youth frontman Austin Garrick, along with David Grellier, who performs as College, have cited separate inspirations for producing the song. Garrick was inspired to write the song by a quote from his grandfather, who spoke of airline captain Chesley Sullenberger after the US Airways Flight 1549 water landing incident. Garrick's grandfather referred to Sullenberger as "a real human being and a real hero", which became the song's refrain. " Grellier, on the other hand, took inspiration from cinema, in particular the character Max Rockatansky of the Mad Max franchise. Grellier has stated that he "wanted to give a homage to that lonely hero that we see in movies like Mad Max. People who make their own choice and try to save lives. I want to give an homage."
On the new album, Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss, out May 10th, Maps said: “I wanted to push everything to the limit with this record, and explore new territory for Maps. The orchestral instrumentation and addition of other musicians and singers played a huge part in finding the purer and more human emotion I was searching for. I learnt the violin as I was growing up, so I’m glad it finally came in useful!”
‘Both Sides’ was written and recorded in Maps’ studio with Brussels-based ensemble Echo Collective performing the string and brass arrangements, and Matt Kelly providing the driving drums. Drawing some influence from his love of the Italian composers of 60’s and 70’s soundtracks, Maps was interested in blending the use of electronic sounds with a range of live instruments. Maps: “The difference between appearance and reality can sometimes be complex, and I wanted to explore that relationship on ‘Both Sides’. It was one of the first tracks that I scored arrangements for while making the album. I wanted the song to build slowly throughout, and for the orchestral instrumentation to really shine in the second half of the song. It was a joy to make!”
"Kim & Jessie" ranked number five on Pitchfork Media's list of the top 100 songs of 2008. Pitchfork's Mark Pytlik said that "with its apocalyptic electric drum hits, keening synths, icily detached vocals, and volcanic chorus, 'Kim & Jessie' not only ranked as the album's best song, but also combined with the similarly convincing "Graveyard Girl" to make one of the year's most potent 1-2 punches."
This tale of anxiety and self-harm was very real to Sia. The very night she wrote it, she attempted suicide, something she didn't reveal until a series of interviews in 2018. In 2010, she again planned to commit suicide. A phone call from an old friend changed her mind and convinced her to get sober, which she did. You are not alone.
THOM YORKE: "“Karma Police” is for someone who has to work for a large company. This is a song against bosses. Fuck the middle management!"
Even though this was and is a fan favorite, it was only released as a single in the United States.
The Churchhill Garden are from Lucerne, Switzerland. Find "Noise" on their Bandcamp: bit.ly
Johnny Marr had this to say about “Armatopia”:
“‘Armatopia’ is the odd state we find the ecology and ourselves in today. Have those in control made people feel like there’s only one thing left they can do? ‘We’re smoking till we burn out’, so we dance and party. It’s Eco-Disco for 2019.” Check out Johnny Marr performing live in the KEXP studio, September 21, 2018: bit.ly
To the best of our knowledge, this is the most popular song featuring a marimba as a lead instrument.
Lead guitarist Bernard Sumner regarding Ian Curtis and "Love Will Tear Us Apart": "He'd got married very, very young. And by the time of that song, he'd come to a fork in the road, relationship-wise. His life had changed enormously, and he had to make a choice. We thought his headspace was OK. But Ian had two faces – the public face for the band and the private troubles he had at home and the way they came out through his lyrics. We didn't really listen to the lyrics. Joy Division was four people on pedestals, and we didn't communicate with each other about what the songs are about."
If you're heading to New Orleans this year, plan to see The Hot 8 Brass Band. They play there weekly: www.hot8brassband.com
The Love Language is playing tonight with Teenage Fanclub in Madison, Wisconsin
Aesop Rock" “Tobacco and I have thrown around the idea of doing a project together since we first toured over a decade ago. I find his production to be something special, and always wanted to see what I could bring to it. We recently found time to record some songs, and Malibu Ken was born. I brought a few stories to the table, but also did my best to let the production dictate the subject matter throughout. We hope you like the soup.”
Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without a Face) is the title to a chillingly horrific 1960 film from French director Georges Franju. In it, a gifted plastic surgeon is involved in a near fatal auto accident which horribly disfigures the once beautiful face of his beloved daughter. Along with his assistant, he abducts young women so that he may surgically remove their facial features and graft their beauty onto that of his daughter's grotesque countenance.
!!!'s third album, Myth Takes, was released on this date in 2007! A whole 12 years old.
Shifting Gears is the debut studio album by DJ Z-Trip. In addition to this track featuring Jurassic 5's Soup, it includes guest appearances from Whipper Whip, Lyrics Born, Busdriver, Supernatural, Luke Sick, Murs, Aceyalone, Mystic, Chester Bennington, and Chuck D.
A sample from jazz musician Jimmy Smith's "Root Down (And Get It)", from his seminal album Root Down, serves as the basis for "Root Down". A small vocal sample from "Root Down" was later sampled on The Prodigy's 1997 track "Funky Shit".
‘I Am Easy To Find’, is the new album out May 17th and this, the album's first single ‘You Had Your Soul With You’ features vocals by the amazing Gail Ann Dorsey.
Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne has called this "a very personal love song," and said this was the first love song he ever wrote. "I didn't try to compromise this time and say 'love is nice'"
Check out this version of the song performed for the "Guitar Center Sessions" in 2010: bit.ly
Here is Depeche Mode performing "Everything Counts" on the Amsterdam stop of the 2017 Spirit Tour: tinyurl.com
Spoon has stopped by the Midday show with DJ Cheryl Waters a couple times for in-studio sets. September, 2017: tinyurl.com and July 2014: tinyurl.com
Strand of Oaks will be live on KEXP on April 26th. This one is for broadcast only so hurry and get tickets for the show at Neumos that night! tinyurl.com
Frontman Guy Garvey explained to the Manchester Evening News that the character on this track is the same Count Arthur Strong-like person who "Starlings" was about, only a "little bit younger and more metrosexual." He added: "The character is buzzing through St. Ann's Square, phone stuck to his ear, briefcase in hand. He's a young, modern, go-getter and a song comes out of a shop or a café doorway and transports him back five years and 3,000 miles away, and he's in the arms of a woman he lost because of his ambition. It's a recurring theme of the record, balancing what you want with what you need."
Garvey concluded that again like "Starlings," this song is once again, autobiographical. He admitted: "It's feelings I was having for somebody. Obviously, I've never been a businessman, but it's about thinking that work and your career is the only thing that's of any importance."
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are back in Seattle at The Crocodile on June 6th! Tickets & info: bit.ly Check out their live KEXP in-studio from April, 2018: tinyurl.com
Broken Social Scene are playing TWO nights at The Neptune, Monday, July 29th and Tuesday, July 30th! See all their tour dates here: brokensocialscene.ca
The Muppets performing Dance Yrself Clean on a rooftop: tinyurl.com
Snapped Ankles took to the Studio 9294 stage on Tuesday, February 5 to perform live for the International Clash Day sessions. Look for our amazing video team to have those sessions up on the KEXP youtube page: bit.ly
According to Gerald Casale from the audio commentary for their film, The Complete Truth About De-Evolution, "Peek-a Boo! was a song about Devo's circus-like look and the dark side of human nature, the side we try to keep secret, the side we try to deny, in this Christian world where we're only supposed to have happy endings and only supposed to be good, and instead Devo is dealing with what evil is here in a very light-hearted manner."
Remembering Mark E Smith on what would have been his 62nd birthday! During their 42-year existence, the Fall's line-up included some 60 musicians with whom Smith released 32 studio albums and many singles and EPs.
This song was a hit, topping the UK Singles Chart in June 1982 and later repeating the feat in Australia, where it topped the Kent Music Report. Despite the success, this was his third and final number one single. In the United States, the song was his first and biggest hit, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"No Cars Go" was used by Fox Sports in a post-halftime montage that aired during its coverage of Super Bowl XLII, and for similar segments in other NFL on Fox broadcasts throughout the 2007 season. Following the Super Bowl broadcast, the band said it would consider legal action against Fox, claiming that the network did not seek permission to use the song.
Lead singer Wayne Coyne says the inspiration for the song came from a woman named Yoshimi who played with The Boredoms. He had a recording of her screaming that he thought sounded like a fight.
The Boredoms were a Japanese noise-rock group from the early Nineties.
The Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack is so good that this track got bumped to volume 2!
The Chemical Brothers have a new single 'Got To Keep On’ taken from the forthcoming album 'No Geography' - Out April 12th. Hear the track here: tinyurl.com
R.I.P. Keith Flint of The Prodigy. Read about him and his music on the KEXP blog: bit.ly
TV On The Radio are playing a show next Tuesday at Madison Square Garden with Weezer and Pixies: bit.ly
Young Fathers performing "Nest" live on The Morning Show, May 4th, 2015: bit.ly
IDLES are live at Neumos with Fontaines DC on May 28th! Hear Colossus again either the album version via the Song of the Day Podcast: bit.ly or alive version from their KEXP in-studio October 4th: www.youtube.com
The song "In the Meantime" was recorded by Steve Albini and later remixed by Andy Wallace. Wallace would make additional changes to the album and the contrast between his style of mixing, which involves (among other things) triggered samples and a cleaner more polished sound (leading to the album's distinctive half wood, half metal snare drum sound), irritated Albini. Later, when in negotiations to record Nirvana's In Utero, he stipulated a clause be added to his contract stating that Wallace would not be allowed to remix the album, after he had mixed Nevermind, which was released nine months before Meantime.