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Tuesday, Mar 27 2018, 6AM
Damien will be playing St. Mark's Cathedral here in Seattle on June 2nd! His new album, The Horizon Just Laughed, is out May 13th via Secretly Canadian. Tickets & info: bit.ly
April 20th is a big day! Sera Cahoone's new EP, The Flora String Sessions is released and she is playing with the strings trio and special guest Zoe Muth at Benaroya's Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. Tickets here: bit.ly
Brandi Carlile is live on KEXP and streaming live on Facebook TODAY at 3:00 PM. This performance is for broadcast only so be sure to tune in.
This cover of The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" was the B-side to the single, "Goodbye". It also appeared in the movie Fear (1996), on the 1999 soundtrack album for the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and in an episode of Friends from College in 2017.
Amen Dunes is playing with Fleet Foxes in Eugene on April 10th. Recently he sat down with Spin Magazine to talk about the meaning of Freedom. Read the Q & A here: bit.ly
Strand of Oaks performed Shut In live on the Morning Show in August 2014. See it here: bit.ly
According to Corgan, the whistling sound heard in "Mayonaise" came from a cheap guitar he bought which created the whistling sound whenever he stopped playing it.
Despite having garnered considerable radio play and remaining a fan favorite, "Mayonaise" was never an officially released single. In 2012 it won a Rolling Stone readers poll for "The Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs" by "a significant margin".
No Seattle date on their tour page but they will be in Portland on August 10th and Vancouver B.C. on August 12th. The new album, "7" is available for preorder and will be released May 11th.
"Chromatics make perfect music for long, moonlit journeys"-Pitchfork Agreed. Find Pitchfork's review of "Cherry" here: bit.ly
“I see things like Against All Logic as a continuation of that,” Jaar said in a 2017 Crack interview, referencing his Wolf + Lamb singles. “I always find it funny when announcements say something is ‘the first Nicolas Jaar single in three years’, as I’ve put out work under many different names.”
Late last month, Jon Hopkins resurfaced with a teaser trailer for a new album. Now, he’s finally divulged all the details for his long-awaited sophomore LP. It’s called Singularity and slated to hit stores May 4th through Domino.
According to a press statement, Singularity was shaped by the UK producer’s “experiences with meditation and trance states” and boasts arrangements of choral music, techno, and even acoustic piano. There is a video for this track, the first single off the album: bit.ly
The "Barbara, Barbara We Face a Shining Future" album title was something that Rick Smith's late father said to his mother said not long before he passed away. Karl Hyde told Billboard magazine: "His father was a great man, very inspiring and as soon Rick said that, before we got halfway through writing this material, it was just instant, 'Yeah, that's the title.'"
This is a single from The Fool, the full-length debut by Los Angeles-based female quartet Warpaint. The song originally began life as a cover of Nirvana's "Polly," but mutated into their own song with the only similarity being that the words "hurt yourself" appear in both tunes.
Bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg told BBC 6music: "[Guitarist] Theresa [Wayman] and I were just working and I had a bassline. She just started singing the lyrics to 'Polly' over that song. But instead of making that a cover - even though it sounded really cool - we said: 'Well, write your own words to the song.'"
She continued: "There's definitely an homage to ['Polly'] in the chorus, the first line - [but] you listen to the songs back-to-back they sound nothing alike. Yeah, it is a bit of an homage to Kurt [Cobain] and Nirvana."
In a 1995 interview with Addicted to Noise, Steve Marker, the band's guitarist, said, "It's really just us poking fun of ourselves... We're poking fun at the alternate rock angst, wearing your heart on your sleeve thing and at ourselves for writing such dark songs."
This is a similar sentiment to the sarcasm behind The Smith's 1984 single "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now."
Phantogram has performed Live on KEXP several times, including in the Cutting Room Studios in NYS when they played "Let Me Go" bit.ly
Wye Oak will be at Neumo's on July 15th. "Wye Oak have never quite used guitars the way they do on “The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs,"" -Pitchfork bit.ly
"Here are some things we learn about Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan on "Let's Get Lost": She's cold, unable to control. She's wild as the wind blows. She's tumbling, tumbling. And over this song's rippling goth-fog, she's got a voice that feels like some spectral, out-of-reach promise of absolute happiness. And that voice has never been put to a song this melodically forceful and nakedly accessible.
Beck might be the bigger star on this song, but he's mostly here as ballast, his sturdy baritone offsetting Khan's silky wail without ever threatening to swipe the spotlight. In fact, Beck hasn't submitted to another artist's aesthetic this completely since he dropped that guest-verse on the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's "Flavor". The backing track wraps itself around Khan like a warm mist, its synths offering up gorgeous melody after gorgeous melody." bit.ly
This compilation has an impressive lineup, (Thom Yorke, The National, Michael Stipe) but the circumstances around it are heartbreaking: Almost a year after his wife Melissa died suddenly, 21 artists contributed exclusive tracks to Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy to help the former Miracle Legion front man continue making music while he raises his (then) three-year old twin daughters.
The Flaming Lips have managed to make a "Borderline" into a dreamy, otherworldly little opus, and Wayne Coyne sounds so earnest and desperate. Why do you keep on pushin' his love over the borderline? Why?
Come Clean was the third studio album to be released by the British band Curve following their temporary split in 1994 and reformation in 1996, and their third all-new studio album in all. In the fall of 1997 the bands American record company circulated a promo cassette titled Curve: Unmixed, Unmastered And Not Sequenced, which featured 12 of the songs from Come Clean. The tape had the tracks appearing in a different running order and some different versions.
"Horror Head" is the second single from Curve's debut studio album Doppelgänger. It reached #31 in the UK singles chart and is one of their most popular songs.
Wax Idols are at Barboza on June 7th. "Finding inspiration in one of my favorite poems, 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' by Dylan Thomas, I used this song as a vehicle to meditate on the concept of free will and how one could choose to exercise it even at the brink of death," Heather Fortune told NPR. "The protagonist is someone who is young, madly in love and desperately wants to live — though they know that they will not. They have chosen to use their final seconds, the only breath in their lungs, to scream out the name of the one that they love."
"That's exactly what works so well about What a Time to Be Alive. Yes, it's a full-throated, unapologetic response to a united state of turmoil during the last year, but it's one of the most fun and contagious records Superchunk has ever made, too." 'First Listen' via NPR: n.pr
Buffalo Tom posted on their website they're releasing a limited edition 7-inch of "The Only Living Boy in New York." with the b-side a cover of The Who's "The Seeker" for Record Store Day.
The Boston-based band Fiddlehead have one release to their name so far — 2014’s Out Of The Bloom EP — but next month they’ll put out their debut album, Springtime And Blind, via Run For Cover Records. “Lay Low” is the first single. The album was written as a way for frontman Patrick Flynn to process the death of his father, and “Lay Low” looks at how sometimes the immensity and brevity of life can often feel like the same thing, and how that’s absolutely overwhelming.
Purple suits and Elvis impersonators... check out the video for Wide Awake: bit.ly
"Jump in the Pool" is the second single by Friendly Fires taken from the band's self-titled debut album Friendly Fires. It was first made available as a single on iTunes on 1 September 2008, the same day the album was released, along with a promotional video. There was also a hand numbered, one sided white label 7" (limited to 250 copies).
This was written by Tears For Fears frontman Roland Orzabal and keyboard player Ian Stanley. In the liner notes to the single, Orzabal explained: "The song was written in my front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine. Initially I only had the chorus, which was very repetitive, like a mantra. I played it to Ian Stanley, our keyboardist, and Chris Hughes, the producer. I saw it as a good album track, but they were convinced it would be a hit around the world." In the US it reached #1 and stayed there for 3 weeks. It reached the top 10 in 25 countries.
Heaven 17 had little commercial success in the US, because of their reluctance to tour. Martyn Ware explained to us: "We'd never had any intention for touring with Heaven 17 because we lost quite a bit of money touring - un-recouped stuff. It was the start of MTV, and we figured that with the money that we would have spent on tour support, why don't we – in a very modern way - service all the world's markets simultaneously with spending that money on making good videos?"
"It worked, in terms of making us internationally popular," he added. " But America at that time was still wrapped up with the idea of touring bands. Because we didn't tour, we had a negative impact on the record company and the system in general taking us seriously. 'Who are these weird English dudes who refuse to tour? Who the hell do they think they are? So it generally had a negative effect on sales. Having said that, the hipsters liked us in New York and L.A. and San Francisco - on the coasts, really. But because we never really toured, we never 'broke' in America, in that sense."
Electronic was a collaboration of several different talents who came together through inadvertent circumstances. Bernard Sumner, the front man for New Order, was planning to do a solo project. Instead, he teamed up with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who had also been planning a solo career after the breakup of his acclaimed band. They were joined by Pet Shop Boys vocalist Neil Tennant for some of their early songs, including this one. The group performed off and on for about a decade, but was never the sole focus of anyone in the band. This song was their biggest hit. The lyrics were written mostly by Marr to ridicule the image of his former band mate Morrissey.
Alexis is coming to Seattle June 12th. His website says he's playing Barbazo. We'll assume that's Barboza and not a new string of venues he's fronting. Barbazo, Neomu's, The Parumaont...
James Murphy played a Supro Dual Tone guitar on "Emotional Haircut." The LCD Soundsystem leader had worked with David Bowie on his Blackstar album and it was because of the Thin White Duke's advice that he picked up the instrument.
"Bowie said you should get a Supro Dual Tone, it's what Link Wray played," Murphy explained to Uncut. "He had two Supro Dual Tone guitars and he was very proud of them. So I bought one and played it on Emotional Haircut on the new album and love it."
Gang of Four enjoyed little commercial success but their blend of punk with funk has been influential on a number of 21st century bands including Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand. This song was the lead track on their debut EP. They later included it on their first album, Entertainment! on the EMI record label. Gang Of Four singer Jon King told Clash Magazine: "The song was on our debut Fast Product EP, which became a big indie hit. But we weren't paid a cent for our work, majorly ripped off, so we re-recorded it for Entertainment!. I regret not punching out the bloke who ran the label. (Note to self: do this before you die) We're often asked "why did you sign to a major label if you're so alternative?" One answer: EMI at least paid us for the records it sold."
The day has arrived! I'll Be Your Girl, the 8th and newest long player by yours and everyones favorite Portland band starting with a D and featuring a former Cavemanish Boys member is out! However, you can preorder the entire album as a box set of 7"s along with a pop-up book. Yep. bit.ly
More Bad Times was KEXP's Song of the Day on May 12th, 2008. blog.kexp.org
Speedy Ortiz are playing next door at the Vera Project on June 13th. Their third record, Twerp Verse, is out 4/27 on Carpark Records
Unrest was one of Mark Robinson's projects for what would eventually become the TeenBeat label, also created by Mark while in high school. Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed to be influenced by everything from punk to funk to Ennio Morricone.
The Three O'Clock is an American rock group associated with the Los Angeles 1980s Paisley Underground scene. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term "Paisley Underground" to describe a subset of the 1980s L.A. music scene which included bands such as Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green on Red, and the Bangles.
This is a follow-up to David Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity," and continues the story of Major Tom, an astronaut who cuts off communication with Earth and floats into space. Bowie released his own sequel to "Space Oddity" in 1980 - "Ashes To Ashes," where Major Tom reestablishes communication with Earth.
In a 2003 interview with Performing Songwriter magazine, Bowie explained: "In England, it was always presumed that it was written about the space landing, because it kind of came to prominence around the same time. But it actually wasn't. It was written because of going to see the film 2001, which I found amazing. I was out of my gourd anyway, I was very stoned when I went to see it, several times, and it was really a revelation to me. It got the song flowing. It was picked up by the British television, and used as the background music for the landing itself. I'm sure they really weren't listening to the lyric at all (laughs). It wasn't a pleasant thing to juxtapose against a moon landing. Of course, I was overjoyed that they did. Obviously, some BBC official said, 'Oh, right then, that space song, Major Tom, blah blah blah, that'll be great.' 'Um, but he gets stranded in space, sir.' Nobody had the heart to tell the producer that."
In his 2003 interview with Performing Songwriter magazine, Bowie explains that the song "Inchworm," which was sung by Danny Kaye in the 1952 movie Hans Christian Andersen, was a big influence on "Ashes To Ashes." Said Bowie: "I loved it as a kid and it's stayed with me forever. I keep going back to it. You wouldn't believe the amount of my songs that have sort of spun off that one song. Not that you'd really recognize it. Something like 'Ashes to Ashes' wouldn't have happened if it hadn't have been for 'Inchworm.' There's a child's nursery rhyme element in it, and there's something so sad and mournful and poignant about it. It kept bringing me back to the feelings of those pure thoughts of sadness that you have as a child, and how they're so identifiable even when you're an adult. There's a connection that can be made between being a somewhat lost five-year old and feeling a little abandoned and having the same feeling when you're in your twenties. And it was that song that did that for me."
Bad Religion was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979 by high school students Greg Graffin (vocals) and Brett Gurewitz (guitar). The band considers their first show to be a gig in 1980 when they opened for Social Distortion in an empty warehouse.
Degrees backed with Sour Honey will be a limited release 7" for Record Store Day. “Degrees" and "Sour Honey" were both songs cut from Messes , but revived when Stef crossed paths with Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest and a collaboration was born. We’ll let Stef tell the story of these songs and the meeting with Will that led to this 7-inch:
"I met Will Toledo in 2016 when we did some touring together with Car Seat Headrest. We chatted at the Empty Bottle in Chicago at our first show and he told me that he found my music on Tumblr via a Pitchfork article that compared us to each other. He invited us on a couple of tours that year before Messes was out and before we had a label or booking agent or release plans or any “stuff.” In May of 2017 we ran into each other again at the Empty Bottle. Will was mixing Twin Fantasy and came out to our gig there with the engineer he’d been working with. He invited us to the studio to check out the record the next day. When we stopped by Will had finished mixing early and asked us if we had anything going on recording-wise. I said I have a couple of songs that got cut from Messes I want to record for a 7-inch and he was like "Cool, wanna record them right now? I'll play bass.”
"Gloria" is inspired by none other than Fargo’s Gloria Burgle. Here’s more from Wussy's Lisa Walker:
Yeah, in a weird way Fargo rings very true for me. I grew up in Muncie and went to school in a one-stoplight town called Gaston.. but I also spent some time living in Eagan, Minnesota. So I appreciate the Coens’ and Hawley’s sympathetic and often-realistic portrayals of Midwestern characters. Both the heroes and the villains. There are moments of shining valor, but it’s not all flyover sweetness. There are certain skills you hone to survive, we all do… and so the people you meet here (I live in Cincinnati – but referring to the Midwest in general) are a pretty interesting lot. A lotta grit, cunning and wisdom. Despair too, but hope often comes out on top. Either way, it’s pretty raw out here.
I wrote the song in pieces between binge-watching portions. I had to take a big break in the middle, because I got too damn depressed. I was still reeling from the whole election thing, and it was mirroring real life a little too much. So the early versions of the lyrics got really dark for a while. But then I finally jumped back in… (I think an episode of Broad City might have inspired me to just move on)… and that episode with the Stranger in the bowling alley… Good god.. It brought me to tears. Like sobbing uncontrollably. It was this cathartic moment that I needed. i can’t even explain why, but it was this sort of healing moment. Anyhow… I digress. Gloria became this very hallowed character for me. The invisible woman who rises up. She’s the goddam hero we need right now.
This was the last song ever performed by Joy Division, as it was the final song of the last gig recorded on 2nd May 1980 at Birmingham University.
