4,992Shows
249,891Spins
Tuesday, Oct 10 2017, 6AM
BRMC will be at the Showbox on February 20th. It's sooner than you think! Here is their live performance from the old KEXP studios circa 2013 bit.ly
Sting said of writing "Invisible Sun":
"I actually wrote the song in Ireland, where I was living at the time. It was during the hunger strikes in Belfast. I wanted to write about that but I wanted to show some light at the end of the tunnel. I do think there has to be an 'invisible sun'. You can't always see it, but there has to be something radiating light into our lives."
"On their fifth album, the Horrors retool their formula for retro-leaning, riff-laden arena rock in an attempt to reconnect with the “unsettling” spirit of their garage-rock roots." Check out Pitchfork's review here: bit.ly
KEXP’s resident Twin Peaks expert DJ Morgan had a series of chats with the show’s music director Dean Hurley. In episode 12, The Chromatics return to The Roadhouse with the track “Saturday.” Hurley explains that during the making of this season, Chromatics’ Johnny Jewel was submitting lots of different tracks, including demos and half-finished songs. The version of “Saturday” that appears on the show is instrumental; the album version with vocals is on Jewel’s latest album Windswept (credited to “Desire”), released on his own imprint Italians Do It Better. Hurley explains why the song was so perfect in the exclusive interview clip. bit.ly
"While the original had a sense of quiet restlessness, Alt-J drummer Thom Green’s remix is urgent and unnerving, caked with thick slabs of droning noise and proves that the percussionist knows a thing or two about manipulating the moods of songs." More ominous and dark, but it would be, it appeared on The Walking Dead Soundtrack. bit.ly
"I was faced with a personal seismic shift," Ioanna Gika writes in a press release. "Several of my immediate family members died, including my father and stepfather, and my long term relationship disintegrated. My remaining family moved from Southeast Asia back to Greece to find it in economic disrepair, while the U.S. slid towards political turmoil. I felt as though I was standing in the ocean in front of an inescapable wave. When there is no way out, no option, other than to brace yourself and let it hit and flow through you with its unstoppable tide. 'Harm' was written during this time, and reflects the emotions and clarity that can come from facing a destructive situation head on." Read more about this first single from the upcoming album: n.pr
"Teardrop" was first developed from a simple *harpsichord* riff picked out in the studio in April 1997. Vowles sent the demo to Madonna (as one does) as he wanted her to record the vocals for the song. The two other band members Robert Del Naja and Grantley Marshall wanted Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins to record the vocals, feeling her ethereal style suited the mournful melody and feel of the piece. Madonna was very keen to record the vocals, and was disappointed when the two-to-one vote went in Fraser's favour.
Daughter is out on tour supporting The National for October and then for November they are off for their first South American tour.
The band experienced some hardships leading up to the recording of 'Blind,' their second album. In 1991 Rough Trade Records went bankrupt, which caused the band to sign with Parlophone Records in the UK. Their debut went out of print in the UK and would stay that way until 1996. Constant touring coupled with their decision to manage themselves hampered the group's creative output, which was already slow due to Gavurin and Wheeler, the main songwriters, "being chained by pokiness and perfectionism when it [came] to writing and recording music."
"How It Gets In" is part of the ‘Recorded Songs’ EP. You can hear all three tracks here: bit.ly
Another track from Revelation, "Vad Hände Med Dem?" was KEXP song of the day. Revelation was the first album nnotorious frontman Anton Newcombe ever created sober. Newcombe explains, “In the past, my heavy drug and alcohol use were parts of the recording process. I’d make music that sounded good on drugs or booze, or whatever. Since I don’t use drugs anymore, making Revelation was an interesting process — because I just made music for music’s sake.” bit.ly
After encountering difficulties during the recording of their debut album, the band decided to take a more focused approach to the recording of A Northern Soul, with bassist Simon Jones stating, "I was like, 'I'm not going through that again. We are writing these songs before we even step through the doors.'" Guitarist Nick McCabe took a positive view of the early stages of the recording sessions for the album, stating: "when we went in we had no preconceived notion of what it was going to sound like. We just went in and played...and that's when you know you're playing really well, when you don't have to think about it. There were three weeks during the making of that record which I'd have to say were the best I've ever had in my life." However, the sessions soon became infamous for several incidents, with vocalist Richard Ashcroft describing the experience as "insane in ways that only good music, bad drugs and mixed emotions can make." These incidents varied in nature, from Ashcroft disappearing for days to producer Owen Morris smashing a window after the recording of "History".Morris later recalled: "They did my head in, completely and utterly. There you go. That's life. It's a fantastic album at the end of the day, but it's not a process that I'd ever want to go through again".
Last month Black Rebel Motorcycle Club announced their forthcoming album Wrong Creatures, and released the first single “Little Thing Gone Wild” – Listen to the track here: smarturl.it
Coming on November 17th Sharon Van Etten’s debut album "because i was in love" will be reissued on vinyl and digitally. www.sharonvanetten.com
Julien Baker performed on the October 7th episode of the Minnesota Public Radio program “A Prairie Home Companion.” She debuted a new song called “Hurt Less” off her forthcoming album Turn Out the Lights. Baker also played the track “Appointments” from the record and performed a rendition of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.” Listen to the full episode—which also included appearances by Chris Stapleton, Emily King, and comedian Laurie Kilmartin here: bit.ly. Baker’s performances take place at 18:00, 23:15, and 1:53:50.
This nostalgic song revisits an idyllic childhood memory of the band when they would go skinny dipping in Athens, Georgia. R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck explained: "We used to sneak on this guy's property in Athens and go swimming in this water hole. It'd be great: 30 of us all running around naked. It was before AIDS, and whatever happened happened."
Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy told The Guardian in 2015'Music has saved me in a lot of ways.’ Speaking about the album The Hour of Bewilderbeast he said, “More than any other, it’s the record people mention when they stop me in the street or come up to me in a bar. It still means a lot to a lot of people,” says Damon Gough. “They tell me how it got them through some difficult times, or soundtracked their best times.” Find the article here: bit.ly
Nada Surf performed "Always Love" live on KEXP from The Triple Door. Recorded 2/2/2012 See it here: bit.ly
Kirsty MacColl was born on this date back in 1959. She died in a tragic powerboat accident in 2000 . Since MacColl's death, Billy Bragg has always included her extra verses when performing "A New England"
Langhorne Slim on his new album "Lost at Last (Vol. 1)" on his website: "From its inception, the only goal was to create an album based in love. Music for the people who love and cherish other people. For those that wish to live in a world of possibilities and to be who we are, not who we’re taught to be. I hope we’ve succeeded. I hope it will offer a small flame to dance by when it feels cold and dark."
Courtney & Kurt are playing two sold out shows at The Moore October 21st & 22nd. Looks like there might still be tickets for the Portland show Friday, October 20th. You'll also hear them Live on KEXP Sunday, October 22 at 1:00 PM
First Aid Kit will be at The Moore on January 28th! Find all the dates on their site: www.firstaidkitband.com
Back with their first new album in decades, The Breeders are playing Showbox at the Market November 9th. Here, they reflect on the 90s alt-rock scene and the cocktail of drugs, disappointments and bust-ups that saw them break up: bit.ly
"Lingua Franca" is from thier upcoming LP "Mercy Works" out 11/03 on Buzz Records. You can pre-order here: smarturl.it
The Helio Sequence performed "Hallelujah" live on KEXP from the Bumbershoot Music Lounge. Recorded September 2, 2012. bit.ly
You can hear a stripped down version of "Help I'm Alive" performed live on KEXP in 2009 bit.ly
Wolf Alice will be at Easy Street Records for a free in-store performance THIS THURSDAY at 5:30pm!!! Hear their KEXP in-studio Monday the 16th at noon.
Ted Leo will be LIVE on KEXP Wednesday, November 08th at 12:00 PM. This one is open to the public so make plans and get down here! That night he's at the Crocodile. Check out another track from his new album, features as the song of the day: blog.kexp.org
Recently Charlotte was interviewed about being a "style icon". Charlotte: "Consistency and simplicity help me navigate all the things I do, from being on a film set to working on this makeup collection to spending time on the album I'm trying to finish. I can be the same person – and yet, not really. I'm not the same with a film crew as a fashion crew, not the same with my children. "It's always different. But at least the jeans are the same." Find the article here: bit.ly
For two nights in December Suzanne Vega will be playing Solitude Standing & 99.9F ... in Boston.
"The rebirth of LCD Soundsystem is marked by an extraordinary album obsessed with endings: of friendships, of love, of heroes, of a certain type of geeky fandom, and of the American dream itself." Find the Pitchfork review here: bit.ly
Talking about the new album: Recorded in Los Angeles over the past few years, the band has taken many unlikely twists and turns, yet always remaining focused on the music and returning again to edge of the stage. “It’s a crazy making machine, it can chew you up as fast as it spits you out. A few years back we literally toured till the wheels came off and Leah’s brain literally started leaking out of her head” say’s Been. “It catches up with you, i know i’ve battled on and off with my own depression, and Pete’s head never came with any proper instructions. So you just gotta keep pushing buttons to see what happens.”
Karen O and Nick Zinner originally formed a folky acoustic duo called "Unitard." During this time they also shared a loft with future members of the band Metric.
"Volcano Choir is Bon Iver's Justin Vernon with Wisconsin experimental post-rock outfits Collections of Colonies of Bees and All Tiny Creatures. On their second LP Repave, the sextet have created a grandiose record featuring arena-rock ambitions and ostentatious beauty." The full Pitchfork review here: bit.ly
Modest Mouse's latest album, "No One's First, And You're Next" was released September 25th. You can find it here: bit.ly
"We never really thought we would or could release an album," the band says of the self-titled LP, which was recorded in Costa Mesa's Hurley Studios. "We were really just finding each other and finding our sound." Here is the "Official Video" for Kill My Baby: bit.ly
"Listening to L.A. Witch is like willingly being put under a spell. One that transports you to California in the late ’60s, when the air was ripe with magick and the music was felt, not just heard. Los Angeles has always been a home for misplaced souls, and L.A Witch has the sound to go with it, dripping with nostalgia, heavy reverb, and glamour." Read the Nylon article from the "Baby In Blue Jeans" premier: nylon.cm
From their website "In the dimly lit interior of a small nightclub, where the stale smell of a thousand extinguished cigarettes drowns out the smell of spilt beer and broken dreams, a band plays against a backdrop of cheap golden tinsel. Outside, palm trees line the night’s horizon. In the years to come, the streets will swell into highways and interstates, but for now Los Angeles is still a young city growing daily with transplants from across the United States, all looking for a new life. It’s still a city largely cut off from the rest of the country, and in the years before the Manson family forever tarnishes the infinite hope of the Western enclave and before the Hell’s Angels of Altamont interrupt rock n’ roll’s peaceful trajectory with unprecedented violence, there is still a dreamy California sound for those dark rooms suffused with neon light. The three women of L.A. Witch wouldn’t be born for several decades, but their sound transports you back to those warm Californian nights in smoky rooms."
Rattle and Hum was released on this date in 1988. Bob Dylan played the Hammond organ on this track. The band connected with Dylan during their Joshua Tree tour when he joined them on stage at a show in Los Angeles. Dylan also co-wrote a song with the band called "Love Rescue Me," which also appears on Rattle And Hum.
The National will be live on KEXP Wednesday, November 29th at 9:30 AM. Sorry, this one is for broadcast only. You can see them at the Paramount for two nights, the 28th and 29th.
Wolf Parade are at the Showbox January 13th and in Portland at the Crystal Ballroom on the 14th
We Were Promised Jetpacks perform "Quiet Little Voices" live at the Doug Fir in Portland during KEXP's broadcast during Musicfest NW. bit.ly
Versing's "Nirvana" was the recent subject of an essay on the KEXP blog: blog.kexp.org