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Tuesday, Jul 18 2017, 6AM
The new album, 'Communicating' comes out September 14th. They'll be on tour in Sep/Oct but nothing in Seattle.
"Elena Tonra’s dusty voice hits you in all the right places." Check out two of Daughter's past in-studios: blog.kexp.org & blog.kexp.org
The band wrote "If You Leave" after John Hughes decided to change the ending to Pretty in Pink after poor test audience reactions. Hughes had asked the band for a song for the new ending two days before they were due to begin a tour, and "If You Leave" was written and recorded in under 24 hours as a result.The song was deliberately written at a tempo of 120 BPM, to match the speed of "Don't You (Forget About Me)", which the dancers in the scene had initially danced to.
You can preorder the new album as a double LP on clear vinyl.
When recording this track with Hope Sandoval, they did it all remotely. The band didn't meet Hope.
Dead Can Dance’s sixth album, Into The Labyrinth was released in 1993 and reissued in 2016. The reissue is a double LP like the original release, but came with brand new cover artwork and an altered track sequence.
The Cactus Blossoms are a Minneapolis-based group fronted by brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum. "Mississippi", from their 2016 album You're Dreaming closed out episode 3 of the new season of Twin Peaks
At the Neptune November 17th. The new album, 'White Noise' is out September 22nd and you can preorder it on white vinyl or even a test pressing with signed, handwritten lyrics. Find all the tour dates here: noahgundersenmusic.com
Wolf Alice is at the Sunset Tavern on July 21st! That's Friday!
Siouxsie Sioux explained in an MTV interview that this song is about "the way that women are portrayed in our Fascist media." She stated that "Peekaboo" is a reaction against the conformist images that the media puts on women and equates it to The Stepford Wives film.
Beth Ditto is in Portland on Monday and then will be at Marymoor Park on August 12th. The songs on Fake Sugar were originally intended for another Gossip album, until Ditto’s bandmate Nathan Howdeshell moved back to Arkansas, to her surprise, and she decided to go it alone. Find out more on Pitchfork: pitchfork.com
Next door at Key Arena on October 15th. So many versions of the album available for pre-order that I can't even begin. Just look: store.everythingnow.com
Gorillaz will also be next door at Key Arena, September 30th. Damon Albarn has said that he has 40 to 45 tracks leftover from the initial Humanz recording sessions and 14 of those are set to be part of the album’s deluxe vinyl box set release on August 25th.
Just another 70-minute, 18-track epic comprising two suites, each beginning with an overture, telling a futuristic story starring a messianic android. If I had a nickel for each one of those! Read up on this album: pitchfork.com
No Seattle dates on their tour but you can preorder the new album 'V' out September 22nd along with a signed print.
This is Joy Division's second and final studio album It was released on this day back in 1980 (37 YEARS?!) following Ian Curtis' death in May 1980.
The new EP, 'Add Violence' is available digitally on July 21st. CD September 1st, no date on the vinyl yet
They'll be a Woodland Park Zoo for a sold out show on August 2nd. Find all the dates here: www.bunnymen.com
Go see Broken Social Scene Monday October 23rd at the Neptune. Hear 'Halfway Home' again with the song of the day podcast: blog.kexp.org
According to Rolling Stone magazine, this was cut at a vineyard in the South of France, and is Robert Smith's favorite Cure song. The band's girlfriends hung out at the sessions, which influenced the music: "The girls would sit on the sofa in the back of the control room and give the songs marks out often," Smith said. "So there was a really big female input."
Preorder the new album, 'The Echo of Pleasure' on gold vinyl and then go see them on September 23rd at the Tractor
Pearl Jam covered Timeless Melody in their Binaural Tour on 6/4/2000 when they played at The Manchester Evening News Arena
You just missed The Drums in Seattle last night. You can hear an exclusive interview with them here though: blog.kexp.org Tonight they're in Vancouver BC and tomorrow night in Portland
Ted Leo will be at the Crocodile on November 8th in support of the new album, 'The Hanged Man'
“King of a One Horse Town” comes on like Neil Young’s “Down by the River” played on acoustic guitar and produced by John Barry. Check out Pitchfork's review of Waiting On A Song here: pitchfork.com
Portugal. The Man are playing The Paramount on Thursday! Hope you already have tickets - the show is sold out.
The 4 track Blood Bank EP was recorded in four different locations at varying times, from December 2006 through June 2008, in an assortment of apartments, roads, hunting lodges, and studios.
Fifty fans christened KEXP’s live room during an exclusive tear-soaked performance with José González, all to benefit KEXP’s New Home. And you can watch the performance here: blog.kexp.org
8:57 AM
6th spin
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on this day in 1918. Widely regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice, he received more than 250 honours—including the Nobel Peace Prize. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, and described as the "Father of the Nation".
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - Nelson Mandela. Paying our respects on his birthday. He would have been 99 today. The second time that Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island was in 1964, and he was the 466th prisoner that year. His prison number remained 466/64 until 1982
Artists United Against Apartheid was a 1985 protest group founded by activist and performer Steven Van Zandt.
This album and single raised more than a million U.S. dollars for anti-apartheid projects. There is an official video too: www.youtube.com Described by rock critic Dave Marsh as "the most diverse line up of popular musicians ever assembled for a single session." it included Kool DJ Herc, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Ruben Blades, Bob Dylan, Pat Benatar, Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr and his son Zak Starkey, Lou Reed, Run–D.M.C., Peter Gabriel, Bob Geldof, Clarence Clemons, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Darlene Love, Bobby Womack, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, Jackson Browne, Daryl Hannah, Peter Wolf, Bono, George Clinton, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates, Jimmy Cliff, Big Youth, Michael Monroe, Stiv Bators, Peter Garrett, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto, Gil Scott-Heron, Nona Hendryx, Kashif, Lotti Golden, Lakshminarayana Shankar and Joey Ramone.
You can see Ladysmith Black Mambazo's full KEXP in-studio here: blog.kexp.org In addition to Homeless, they performed 'Nomathemba', 'Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain', and 'Thalaza'
Huga Masekela is one of the greatest living musicians of our time, and he continues to release music. His newest is No Borders.
In a recent interview he spoke about being a proponent of Africa without borders.
“The music speaks for itself. You can feel geographically where we are most of the time. I’m very obsessed with cancelling the borders in people’s minds and let them get a sense of who they are. Cancelling borders in our heads and nationalism will help us to get rid of xenophobia, especially if we knew our history because most of us are makwerekwere (we are foreigners) historically. I tell people when I’m on stage that us, the Masekelas taught the Batlokwa how to till the land, but originally we are the Munyepawu and come from Zimbabwe." While he had to cancel his 2017 US tour due to a back injury, he expects to play here in 2018
This was written to protest the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela by the apartheid South African government. Unlike most protest songs, the track is upbeat and celebratory, drawing on musical influences from South Africa.
Saturday September 9th at the Neptune with The Helio Sequence. You do know what to text in for tickets don't you?
Lo Tom is made up of David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Trey Many (Velour 100, Starflyer 59), TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs), and Jason Martin (Starflyer 59), friends who started playing music together when they were still pretty much kids. You'll find them at the Tractor on August 19th
Ariel Pink will be playing Neumos on October 21st. "A modern day Frank Zappa," you can check out their last in-studio here: blog.kexp.org
Electric Avenue is a shopping area in the Brixton section of London, named because is was the first street in the area to get electric lights. Brixton was the setting for riots between police and protesters in 1981, which Grant refers to in the opening line, "Down in the street there is violence."
This song was cited by some critics in reviews of the Sandinista! album as the most Clash-sounding song on the album - with the irony being that it's a cover! "We used to play the Equals' version on the tour bus, Mick was the first one to play it to me" said bassist Paul Simonon. "We recorded it at the Power Station, just the three of us, me, Mick (Jones, guitarist) and Topper (Headon, drummer). Paul put his bit on later in Wessex," noted singer Joe Strummer.
There was a slight problem with recording in New York as no record store in NYC had a copy of the Equals' album, so Clash aide Kosmo Vinyl had to bring a copy of the LP over from London to help the band remember the lyrics.
Listen to the Joan Shelley live broadcast on KEXP tomorrow, Wednesday, July 19th, 2017, at 7:00 p.m.
Watch live video of Chaz Bundick, aka Toro y Moi, in the KEXP studio in 2015: blog.kexp.org