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Wednesday, Aug 16 2017, 6AM
‘Disintegration’ was initially dismissed by The Cure's US label Elektra as commercial suicide. Robert Smith recalls: “They thought I was being ‘willfully obscure’, which was an actual quote from the letter.” The album went on to sell 2.7 million copies, making The Cure a stadium band in the US.
With songs like "The Killing Moon", "Silver" and "Seven Seas" on it, it's no wonder that 'Ocean Rain' is considered one of their best albums. Here's a look back on it thequietus.com
Depeche Mode plays KeyArena on Saturday, October 21st. Opening band is Warpaint.
Cocktail trivia time - the title, 'Seven', was a direct result of the band increasing to 7 members. now go forth and amaze your friends. you're welcome!
So how's your morning going so far? Let's make it a great together - send in your requests to dj@kexp.org
If you're lucky enuff to be in the NYC (9/23) area or LA (9/30) Deerhunter is playing with Interpol and Battles! hot damn! here's the deets www.bandsintown.com
This track is off of Eno's debut solo album after he left Roxy Music. In developing the album's words and music, Eno used unusual methods such as dancing for his band members and having them play accordingly, and singing nonsense words to himself that would form the basis of subsequent lyrics. still holds up. guy's a genius.
Interviewed in 1980, Bowie described the song as "very much a 1980s nursery rhyme. I think 1980s nursery rhymes will have a lot to do with the 1880s/1890s nursery rhymes which are all rather horrid and had little boys with their ears being cut off and stuff like that." Years later, Bowie said that with "Ashes to Ashes" he was "wrapping up the seventies really" for himself, which "seemed a good enough epitaph for it."
Empress Of has a new single out called "Go To Hell". you can listen to it here empressof.com
Here's The Joy Formidable performing live in the KEXP studio from last summer www.youtube.com
They're playing The Tractor Tavern on Saturday, September 23rd. www.thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com
Is today TBVW (Throw Back Video Wednesday)? No matter, here's the video! www.youtube.com
Great Grandpa will be LIVE on The Morning Show next Wednesday (8/23) @ 9:30 AM. This session is open to the public and you can sign up starting at 8 AM!
Although this is one of Placebo's biggest hits, "Pure Morning" was a last minute addition to the album 'Without You I'm Nothing', and was recorded as the band prepared B sides for the album. After playing with a guitar loop, they decided to develop it into a full song. Singer-guitarist Brian Molko said the lyrics were written "off the top of my head", and he only noticed their significance after recording. genius!
Do you remember that time when Operators performed live at Kex Hostel in Reykjavik during Iceland Airwaves 2015? It was awesome! www.youtube.com
Here's the story behind "Fool's Gold" and, yes, that is James Brown's 'Funky Drummer" you're hearing www.independent.co.uk
Happy 9th anniversary to Mary Zoe and Trevor! #thehoneymoonisnotover!
Kermit and Debbie Harry sang "Rainbow Connection" as a duet when she visited the The Muppet Show in 1980. www.youtube.com
The little girl on this song is band member Justin Meldal-Johnsen's daughter who was 5 at the time. According to Anthony Gonzalez "The first time I met her, she talked to me for 30 minutes non-stop: "Anthony, I had this dream." I didn't know her, and she was talking to me like I was a friend.
Peter Wolf, frontman for J. Geils Band, had this to say about FNX's demise “When something has such an important history in the community, it’s always sad to see it go,” Wolf adds. “The great thing about ’FNX was that it clearly knew what it was and what it wasn’t. Its aim was true, and that’s unusual.”
On April 11, 1983, WFNX's first Program/ Operations Director and morning drive DJ, Judith Brackley, signed the new station on the air and WLYN-FM became WFNX. The first song on WFNX was "Let's Go to Bed" by The Cure. It was also the last song when they stopped broadcasting on the FM dial on July 20, 2012.
FNX had a long history of breaking new bands, and being the first in the country to play artists such as Nirvana (well, after KEXP 'natch!), The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Florence and the Machine, Foster the People, Mumford and Sons, and many more
During our tribute, you'll be hearing from FNX's Kurt St. Thomas who worked at the station from 1987 to 1995 as a production director, music director, and ultimately as program director. Thanks for your help Kurt!
For many people in Boston, WFNX provided their first exposure to Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Garbage and, of course, Morphine.
and, of course, FNX championed local Boston bands like Pixies...perhaps you've heard of them?
When WFNX launched in 1983, only about a dozen stations in large markets across the nation dared to test the waters of radio beyond the mainstream. WFNX was one of the stations that helped craft the foundation of the alternative format that would soar in the 90s.
From 1983 to 1990 Bruce McDonald was APD/MD at WFNX and when asked how they added new music to their playlist he said "Our criteria for adding music was pretty clear cut. Do we like it? Does it fit in terms of tempo and texture? Sometimes we'd add something that didn't fit precisely 'cuz it didn't fit and it had to be damn good though. stuff like the artists' market history, national sales story & chart numbers weren't that important to us. If they didn't have a story and they had the goods, the rest would soon follow."
Bruce McDonald had this to say about freedom on the airwaves - "Freedom was, often slowly, sacrificed for consistency and to maintain some semblance of order. Jocks always had a fair amount of leeway in constructing their sets. We had the luxury of having a stubborn, committed owner in The Boston Phoenix's Stephen Mindich. Never once censored us. In '87 he did corner then-PD Michael Bright on the annual corporate booze cruise to ask, "What's that song we have in heavy rotation that uses the F-word?" Without missing a beat, Michael fired back, "Which one?" To his credit Stephen didn't ask us to pull either track (The Replacements "I Don't Know" & The Cure's "The Kiss" were the songs in question)."
One of the important things to WFNX was being able to work with record labels. After a particularly egregious incident [with a label] McDonald "pulled one major label's entire catalog out of the air studio for over three months. Since this included major WFNX core artists, they didn't believe we'd do it. Then they didn't believe we'd stick to our guns. Sales of said label's artists supported exclusively by 'FNX plummeted. Panicked artist managers' calls to the label soared. Having proved they needed us just as we needed them, the music was returned to our airwaves. But not before we had every label's attention."
WFNX was also famous for pushing boundaries and played beautiful industrial ballads like Ministry's "Stigmata".
Like a lot of the independently owned stations we've been paying tribute to this week, WFNX ran into cash flow problems (after the 2008 financial crisis) and it became more and more difficult to pay the bills. At the time, employees told Boston Magazine that an electric-company rep once appeared at the station’s headquarters in Lynn’s old Arts Building to collect payment, and that a staff member had to write a personal check to keep the lights on.
Ownership sold the license to broadcast on 101.7 to Clear Channel for $14.5M in 2012. They kept the intellectual property and call letters and attempted an on-line streaming model, but this didn't last long. They've since sold the WFNX letters to a station in Athol, MA which is spinning everything from Tears For Fears to Disturbed with some Bowie and Justine Timberlake thrown in because...so the letters aren't dead, but the station didn't rise from the ashes.
WFNX was a pioneer in a lot of areas besides music - in 1992 they put the first program on commercial radio dedicated to the gay-lesbian -transgender community in the country called One in Ten, and it was on the air until 2010.
Some of the Boston bands WFNX championed were The Breeders, Pixies, Buffalo Tom, O Positive, Tribe, and Heretix.
Lots of requests from the FNX faithful for this one!
Interested in learning more about the music WFNX played? Here's a fan's Top 100 playlist playlists.net
And here's WFNX's Top 50 Grunge Songs of all time rocklists.com
Scottish band Teenage Fanclub's 1991 debut, Bandwagonesque, gloriously evoked the raggedly radiant pop manna of Big Star, the famed '70s cult band led by ex-Box Tops frontman Alex Chilton and his singing/songwriting partner, Chris Bell.
The L.A. band’s album Apocalipstick is dang good. Watch their fantastic in-studio perfrmance from earlier this year blog.kexp.org
This 2009 KEXP Documentary gives you an inside look at Beth Ditto. Michelle Myers favorite part is when she answers the question “Who’s the baddest bitch in rock-n-roll?” Her answer is “Freddy Mercury”. Listen to the documentary by visiting blog.kexp.org
Enjoy a live performance by Toro y Moi from their 2013 session in the KEXP studio www.youtube.com
Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in 1933. In 1954, she adopted a stage name, Nina Simone -- Nina from a pet name her boyfriend used, and Simone from the French film star Simone Signoret.
Ms. Lauryn Hill will be playing at the WaMu Theatre Tuesday, October 10th!
Three live in-studios from Temples at KEXP! 1st: www.youtube.com 2nd:www.youtube.com 3rd: www.youtube.com
Maxinquaye is the 1995 debut album by English rapper and producer Tricky. By the time he recorded the album, Tricky had grown frustrated with his limited role in the group Massive Attack and discovered vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, who he felt would offer another dimension to his lyrics.
See Through Dresses will be playing Thursday, September 14th at the Sunset Tavern!
Ty Segall always puts on a fabulous show. Watch the bands more recent performance www.youtube.com and then a KEXP favorite www.youtube.com
Enjoy a live performance by Waxahatchee from 2015 blog.kexp.org
And The Kids’ Hannah Mohan Talks Album Friends Share Lovers www.stereogum.com
KEXP's Song of the Gay from this years Pride week is “Heart Basel” by The Drums, from the 2017 album Abysmal Thoughts. Download "Heart Basel" for FREE by visiting blog.kexp.org
All this week in celebration of National Radio Day on Sunday, KEXP is paying tribute to influential stations both here and gone that, along with KEXP, provided a place for it's community to discover and fall in love with music. Today, with the help of one of their most famous DJs, Josh Venable, we take back the airwaves for a sadly defunct yet important radio station The Edge 102.1 FM Dallas.
In their time on-air, The Edge in Dallas was more than just a radio station, creating 11 compilations titled “Tales from The Edge” featuring 15 to 20 local groups on each installment while also hosting an annual festival that featured the likes of The Sugarcubes, Muse, The Killers, Hole, Pearl Jam, Cake, Phoenix, and more
Suede stopped by KDGE the Edge Dallas studios and performed "My Insatiable One"
Jellyfish performing The King Is Half-Undressed from the album Bellybutton Live on KDGE The Edge in Dallas
James on The Adventure Club Session Live on KDGE The Edge in Dallas
You’re listening to KEXP special programming for National Radio Day...today we’re focusing on a station that listeners in Dallas loved for years - 102.1 the Edge - with longtime DJ and programmer Josh Venable who loved supporting non-main stream bands. DJ, then a full-time DJ, and finally the station’s program director until he exited the station in 2012. Venable is now a DJ and programmer in Tulsa, Oklahoma
This track is from the 6th album released by the Lemonheads in 1993 called 'Come On And Feel The Lemonheads'
One of the most famous shows on the station was a longtime specialty show called the Adventure Club, which aired on Sunday nights. Though he wasn't the original host, Josh Venable is the host most-often associated with the show and like KEXP DJs, championed the music he loved.
Sadly, after 27 years on the air, it was the sound of Semisonic's "Closing Time," that told listeners their beloved station KDGE was no more.
You’re listening to KEXP special programming for National Radio Day...today we’re focusing on a station that listeners in Dallas loved for years - 102.1 the Edge - with longtime DJ and programmer Josh Venanble who felt it was one of the best alternative radio stations in the country..
Josh Venable on Bills records, jeans, and other radio underwriting (promotional content for the station) spots
From 1993 The Adventure Club Sessions compilation. One of the most famous shows on the station was a longtime specialty show called the Adventure Club, which aired on Sunday nights. Though he wasn't the original host, Josh Venable is the host most-often associated with the show and like KEXP DJs, championed the music he loved.
Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Barclays Center in New York ealier this year. Learn more by visiting blog.kexp.org
Venable talking about how the station changed when Clear Channel took over and the station was no longer run by people who were passionate about music.
Watch Thurston Moore performing live on KEXP in 2014 www.youtube.com
Josh Venable started off at The Edge in Dallas as an intern and from there became a part-time DJ, then a full-time DJ, and finally the station’s program director until he exited the station in 2012. Now a DJ and programmer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Venable was best known for his show “The Adventure Club,” which aired on Sunday nights. Josh was kind enough to join us from his studios in Oklahoma.
You’re listening to KEXP special programming for National Radio Day...today we’re focusing on a station that listeners in Dallas loved for years - 102.1 the Edge - with longtime DJ and programmer Josh Venable who used to play The Get Up Kids
KDGE was one of the biggest and best alternative radio stations in the country in the ‘80s and ‘90s
French duo and cousins Guillaume and Jonathan Alric discuss the album name The Blaze: "means something warm, something that can destroy stereotypes. “The blaze” is something strong, generally. And in French, "blaze" is "name,” in slang... Like you can say, in French, "My blaze is Guillaume." But the principal meaning is warm and strong things — love, and hope".
The Seshen is playing Wednesday, October 20th at the Sunset Tavern! San Francisco Bay Area-based six-piece led by singer/lyricist Lalin St. Juste and bassist/producer Akiyoshi Ehara
Gorillaz are playing Saturday, September 30th at the Key Arena!
Washed Out will be LIVE on KEXP Saturday, August 19th @ 1:00 PM. This session is free, all ages, and open to the public!! Washed Out will also be playing at the Showbox that evening
EMA and I are from the same place! Where you ask? Why, South Dakota of course!
Live review of Echo & The Bunnymen performing at the Moore Theatre blog.kexp.org
Formed in 1976 by school friends Marion Elliot (Styrene) and Susan Whitby (saxophonist Lora Logic), X-Ray Spex exploded onto the punk scene in the 70's with one of the era's great singles, the feminist punk rallying cry "Oh Bondage, Up Yours."
Watch Peaking Lights perform live on KEXP back in 2015 www.youtube.com
OutKast rapper has dropped his new video for "Kill Jill," co-starring Killer Mike and Jeezy. Big Boi is definately dressed in some GOT garb, check it out
www.youtube.com
