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Tuesday, Oct 30 2018, 6AM
Cornell’s moving, understated solo contribution to the Singles soundtrack grew out of a piece of fiction: a solo cassette made by Matt Dillon’s Cliff Poncier after parting with his band, Citizen Dick. Cornell took it upon himself to actually write songs for the tape, one of which was this reflective folk ballad. “Holy shit, this is Chris Cornell, as Cliff Poncier, recording all of these songs, with lyrics, and total creative vision, and he has recorded the entire fake, solo cassette,” director Cameron Crowe recalled of first hearing the EP that would come to be known simply as Poncier. “And it’s fantastic. And ‘Seasons’ comes on. And you just can’t help but go, ‘Wow.’ This is a guy who we’ve only known in Soundgarden. And of course he’s incredibly creative, but who’s heard him like this?”
After viewing a rough cut of Into the Wild, Vedder quickly went to work writing songs for the film. Vedder said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things." "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there. I'd just sit in the chair, and they'd hand me a fretless bass, and they'd hand me a mandolin, and they'd take a second to do the rough mix, and then I'd write the vocal, and it was just quick. It was like I kinda went into some weird space for a week or two, and then I woke up out of this daze, and it was done. I don't really remember it."
"The River Rise" was featured on the Hype! soundtrack. Hype! incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the steps of grunge, from its subversive inception in neighborhood basements, to its explosion as a pop culture phenomenon. Hype! shows grunge from the point of view of people within the grunge scene, and attempts to dispel some of the myths of the genre promulgated by media hype, hence the title.
“I’ll Be a Sunbeam” is the title of a children’s hymn from the early twentieth century, but the Vaselines’ “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,” from their 1988 Dying For It EP, owes no more than its first line to it. When Nirvana covered the Vaselines song (with its title slightly altered) on MTV Unplugged, Kurt called it “a rendition of an old Christian song,” and it was generally mistaken for a gospel number, which it couldn’t be less like. In fact, it had been a staple of Nirvana’s live repertoire for years already: They first played it on stage the day Nevermind came out in America.
Li spent six months writing the album in the Echo Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles, while visiting the desert, rewatching Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film The Holy Mountain and listening to Alan Lomax field recordings, eventually coming up with songs she calls "hypnotic, psychotic and more primal".
Deerhunter have a new album coming out called Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?, January 18 (via 4AD). This is the first single.
No dates on the west coast yet but there are Midwest then East Coast shows announced for February and March. Find all their tour dates here.
In his book The Stranglers Song By Song (2001), Hugh Cornwell states "'Golden Brown' works on two levels. It's about heroin and also about a girl." Essentially the lyrics describe how "both provided me with pleasurable times."
Steve Gunn is coming to The Tractor on February 13th with Meg Baird. Tickets & info here.
Film School will be at Barboza with The Purrs on November 17th! We may or may not have some tickets to give away...
Ride closed out the live room at the old Dexter & Denny studio. See that final old home performance here.
According to Chameleons frontman Mark Burgess: "The album was recorded at Jacob's Studio in Surrey, south of London over a period of five weeks. Again the material was only loosely sketched and we didn't really have any idea how the album would turn out. We'd spent a month or so getting the ideas together living in a small house in the Lake District of England and rehearsing the ideas in a school hall, specially hired, just outside the village of Hawkshead".
The powers that be at Elektra Records thought this record was way too much of a downer, and accused Robert Smith of being "willfully obscure." It's a good thing they went ahead and released it anyway, since it ended up being the band's most successful release.
"Leeni" is another project from Seattle and Los Angeles based Celene Ramadan (who you may know as local fav' Prom Queen). As "Leeni," she has just released a digitally produced EP, covering beloved songs from the 1996movie Romeo & Juliet soundtrack starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Read more about this project and an interview with Celene here.
This cover is from the album Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran, curated by Manimal Vinyl. It was released as a benefit for Amnesty International. In addition to this one from Warpaint, Making Patterns Rhyme contains Duran Duran covers from Moby, Little Dragon, Soko, and Austra, among others.
Snail Mail will be at The Neptune on Monday, January 28th. Tickets here.
Scrawl's first show, in the summer of 1985, was a 20-minute opening spot for the Meat Puppets.
“Almost four years ago, I made plans for an extended break,” Mould said in a statement. “I started spending time in Berlin in 2015, found an apartment in 2016, and became a resident in 2017. My time in Berlin has been a life changing experience. The winter days are long and dark, but when the sun comes back, all spirits lift.”
The sun is a reoccurring theme on Sunshine Rock, due out February 8th via Merge Records and available to preorder now; the word “sun” appears in Mould’s lyrics 27 times over the album’s 37-minute runtime, including in the LP’s first single and title track “Sunshine Rock.” He's coming to Neumos on April 6th. More info & tickets here.
“When I was young, the artists that I really admired were the ones who always found a way to keep making music and expressing themselves,” Matthew Sweet said on the occasion of the release of his 13th solo album Tomorrow’s Daughter earlier this year. “To me, those guys were the real artists, and I’ve tried to hold on to that attitude in my own work.”
Jungle describes the song as a "wake-up" call for their generation. They said, "'Happy Man' essentially engages with the idea that our generation isn't coping with the expectations that have been placed upon them by society. People are waking up to what the system is now, and how we feel trapped within it and often very isolated from each other in our quest for 'The Dream.' I guess the song is really a wake-up call, to yourself, mostly to stop chasing this mythical 'end-goal' to life, and enjoy the ride a little more."
Robyn said the album represents "this sweet place, like a very soft ecstasy. [...] I danced a lot when I was making it. I found a sensuality and a softness that I don't think I was able to use in the same way before. Everything just became softer."
Pulp's Different Class was released on this day in 1995. In the UK at least. The US had to wait until February 27th, 1996.
Frosting On The Beater was just re-released on Friday on 45rpm double LP. Info here.
Here is the Muppets version! Starring the Swedish Chef, Animal, and Beeker.
Check out FIDLAR performing 40oz. On Repeat live on The Midday Show frpm October 2015 here.
Massive Attack are taking 1998’s Mezzanine back on the road. The band will tour Europe and then the US in early 2019 with collaborators including Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser. Described by Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja as band’s “own personalised nostalgia nightmare head trip,” the forthcoming jaunt will consist of a one-off audiovisual production that has been “reconstructed from the original samples and influences.”
Specifics for the North American tour have not been released yet other than that it starts in March, and will include dates in all the big East Coast cities, Chicago, Saint Paul, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. No Seattle dates released as of yet.
Specifics for the North American tour have not been released yet other than that it starts in March, and will include dates in all the big East Coast cities, Chicago, Saint Paul, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. No Seattle dates released as of yet.
This cover of Massive Attack's Teardrop was used in the TV show House, just as the original was.
Fifty fans christened KEXP's live room during an exclusive tear-soaked performance with José González. Rarely does a hushed performance evoke so much emotive power, but José González, alone with an acoustic guitar, transported those lucky viewers to another world. Now you can join them for this hour-long journey through the soul here.
This song was listed at #15 on Pitchfork's top 500 songs of the 2000s and at #87 on Rolling Stone's top 100 songs of the 2000s. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 95 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Just announced, Phoenix, the first new album in 15 Years from David Bazan's beloved and influential group, Pedro The Lion. Available everywhere January 18th, 2019 on Polyvinyl Record Co.
PNW Shows
11/16 - Bellingham, WA @ The Wild Buffalo
11/17 - Yakima, WA @ Seasons Performance Hall
11/18 - Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
11/23 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
02/08 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
PNW Shows
11/16 - Bellingham, WA @ The Wild Buffalo
11/17 - Yakima, WA @ Seasons Performance Hall
11/18 - Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
11/23 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
02/08 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
This is from a trio of EPs, each featuring a slew of different artists covering a new, fiercely political song he wrote, “No Future In Our Frontman”. The hope is to encourage voter turnout, with proceeds from the project going to charities benefitting voter participation and registration.
Spirit Award performed live at KEXP on September 14th! Check it out here.
This was PIL's biggest commercial hit, peaking at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 3 on the Irish Singles Chart.
The Mighty Lemon Drops were originally called the Sherbet Monsters.
Some insightful comments from the KCMU DJs such as "Also on CD" The review review of Life here.
This track lifts lyrics from The Byrds' 1967 song "Everybody’s Been Burned,"and the organ riff is from the Deep Purple rendition of the song "Hush".
He's at the Nectar Lounge on November 11th with DJ Sharlese! Tickets & info. You can read the KEXP review of Bunny here.
The music video for "North American Scum" was directed by Ben Dickinson. It features James Murphy initially in a photo shoot, then entering space via a door, planting a DFA Records flag on the moon and engaging Pat Mahoney in a fight on the moon being cheered on by Tyler Pope and Nancy Whang, and finally leaving space through another door where he meets himself, Mahoney and Whang in a room filled with leaves. See for yourself.
From Neneh's Bandcamp:
"Broken Politics pointedly asks the question; how do we conduct ourselves in extraordinary times? In an era where the signal-to-noise ratio is more uneven than ever, what are the measures we must take to retain and remember our own personhood? It searches for answers, patiently and with great care, and with a fearlessness to acknowledge that sometimes the answers don't even exist. It’s a record that’s equal parts angry, thoughtful, melancholy, and emboldening, as Cherry and her collaborators continue to expand her ever-widening sonic palette to craft truly singular and potent music."
"Broken Politics pointedly asks the question; how do we conduct ourselves in extraordinary times? In an era where the signal-to-noise ratio is more uneven than ever, what are the measures we must take to retain and remember our own personhood? It searches for answers, patiently and with great care, and with a fearlessness to acknowledge that sometimes the answers don't even exist. It’s a record that’s equal parts angry, thoughtful, melancholy, and emboldening, as Cherry and her collaborators continue to expand her ever-widening sonic palette to craft truly singular and potent music."
Kate Tempest performed live at Kex Hostel in Reykjavik during Iceland Airwaves November 4, 2016. Watch her performance and get ready for this year's Iceland Airwaves November 6th-9th.
Last week, the first information about the long-awaited album from Damon Albarn and co was finally announced – with the new record, titled ‘Merrie Land’, set for a November 16 release. The supergroup – which is comprised of Albarn, The Clash’s Paul Simonon, The Verve’s Simon Tong and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen – are finally following up their self-titled debut album, which was released back in January 2007.
This was written by the band's guitarist, Graham Coxon, who also sang lead vocals. The lyrics describe Coxon's struggle with alcoholism and the song's video, featuring a sentient milk carton searching for Coxon, won several awards.
All the way from Brisbane, Australia, The Goon Sax are at Barboza on November 5th!
Five years ago, the London trio Big Joanie formed with purpose: Singer and guitarist Steph Phillips was tired of how her city’s DIY scene lacked in diversity or racial consciousness, so she posted on Facebook looking to start a black feminist punk band. The group, which now includes bassist Estella Adeyeri and drummer Chardine Taylor-Stone, have made their name with a few self-released EPs of fractured indie-punk.
This won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. The band's founder, Vernon Reid described the song as very special for the band not just for its commercial success but because it was essentially written in just one rehearsal session. The riff was stumbled upon while practicing something else and by the end of the session they had written what was to become Living Colour's best known song.
Choir! Choir! Choir! are at the Crocodile TONIGHT! Tickets here.