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Tuesday, Aug 4 2015, 6AM
Wikipedia would like to remind you that Cinematic Orchestra qualifies as "nu-jazz." "To Build a Home" features the vocals of Patrick Watson, and has been featured in everything from Homeland to One Tree Hill.
Badly Drawn Boy's gorgeous, gorgeous debut The Hour of Bewilderbeast won the 2000 Mercury Music Prize. The original cover art featured a pic of Woody Allen, but he got mad so they had to remove him. Which clearly ruined the album cover.
In 2014, Volcano Choir revealed that they're named after a vaporizer, which sorta takes away from the quality of their music. Justin Vernon will reportedly release a new Bon Iver album someday.
Oh, Rob Dickinson. The album cover had to be censored in order to be displayed in Wal Mart (picture that: a Catherine Wheel album in a Wal Mart). While touring behind the album, the band sometimes had nude models positioned in boxes onstage. Let's hope they had pillows.
Originally released on the Guerlito LP, in which artists remixed various tracks from Guero. Boards of Canada remixed "Broken Drum," Guero's eighth track. Presumably this was a tough experience, as they didn't release another record until 2013.
HOT new Chemical Brothers, featuring the vocal stylings of Beck. Other guests on Born in the Echoes include Annie Clark, Cate Le Bon & Q-Tip. Since their 2010 LP, Chemical Brothers wrote the soundtrack for the underrated Joe Wright joint Hanna.
Moby lives in Darien, Connecticut, which is typically named among the most wealthy US communities (#7 according to CNN Money). The lyrics from "In My Heart" are derived from the traditional hymn "Lord, I Want to Be a Christian."
Beach House's forthcoming LP Depression Cherry will be released on my first day of college (clearly the band's impetus for releasing the LP on 8/28). They have an extensive tour of the US planned, which eschews many large markets.
Dan Deacon will be at Decibel Fest. this year at The Showbox on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Also on the bill: Clark + Filastine. For more Dan Deacon (with a healthy dose of Troy Nelson), check out his in-studio from earlier this year: blog.kexp.org.
This is one of the Spencer Krug tracks, if you were wondering. According to the band, the album is named after the band was removed from the ocean liner Queen Mary for breaking down the door of a ballroom and staging a violence seance. This could be one of those classic Krug tall tales.
The sophomore Thermals LP Fuckin A (effin' a for the radio edit) was produced by Chris Walla (formerly of Death Cab fame). Not to be confused with the Anal Cunt album of the same name. "How We Know" was the lone single from the record.
Hail to the Thief was the fifth consecutive Radiohead LP to be nominated for the Best Alternative Music Album Grammy. A dubious honor if there ever was one. Thom Yorke said the lyrics were written about "frustration and powerlessness and anger," which sounds right.
Really solid debut release from London O'Connor, which is available for free download on his Soundcloud. Also, he gives an excellent interview- totally against the super-macho attitude omnipresent in rap: soundcloud.com.
German electronic group Ms. John Soda will release their first LP since 2006 in October- titled Loom. (Weirdly popular album name: see that Fear of Men LP from 2014?). First single- "Hero Whales"- out now.
RIP Benjamin Curtis. School of Seven Bells took their name from a mythical South African pickpocket training academy. This track comes from their 2008 debut album Alpinisms.
Young Fathers' most recent LP, White Men Are Black Men Too, came out back in April. Also, they did easily one of the best KEXP in-studios of the year back in May: blog.kexp.org.
Chapterhouse played their first shows with Spacemen 3, which is an amazing double bill. They were frequently lumped in with the shoegaze movement (your Lushes, your Rides, your Mooses), which feels a tad reductive. This track comes from their debut LP- Whirlpool.
As featured on the Welcome to Los Santos radio station in Grand Theft Auto V. This track is almost enough to make me want to play Grand Theft Auto. Phantogram are also busy hanging out in the Big Boi mansion.
Do you think Budgie made everyone in Siouxsie and The Banshees call Budgie, or did he go by his real name? Either way, he had great hair. They all had great hair. This track comes from their penultimate record, Superstition.
Apparently at Lollapalooza, Brittany Howard and Paul McCartney played "Get Back" together, which is amazing. A pre-extreme fame Alabama Shakes played a set on KEXP back in 2012: blog.kexp.org.
Tijuana Panthers describe themselves as "sexually frustrated soda jerks in a David Lynch film," because we totally know what that means. Rolling Stone said they were a band to watch back in 2013, which was pretty spot on. New album- Poster- out in late August.
Morrissey says "et cetera" with so much angst, it's pretty impressive. Louder Than Bombs was ranked Rolling Stone's 369th Greatest Album of All Time. The Eagles' self-titled album was ranked 368th. Come on, guys. Don't hurt me like that.
What has wrecked more lives: Nixon's War on Drugs or Philadelphia band War on Drugs? Ima go with Nixon, but just by a hair. War on Drugs recently signed with Atlantic Records for a two-album deal. Let's hope they make some money.
Eventually, KEXP's clearly gonna have an International Tom Petty Day, joining International Clash Day on the list of KEXP-affiliated holidays. So it's pretty much gonna be "American Girl" on repeat.
New INTENSE Wilco. There are only a small handful of tickets left for the Wilco New Home Benefit taking place this upcoming Monday at Columbia City Theater- buy tickets here: blog.kexp.org.
Apart from that REM thing, Michael Stipe also served as executive producer on Being John Malkovich, Velvet Goldmine & Man on the Moon, which is pretty cool. He also voiced Schnitzel the Reindeer in the 1999 movie Olive, The Other Reindeer. Interesting career move.
Wolf Alice will be playing an all-ages show at Neumos on August 12th, supported by Jenn Ghetto (S). Also, their set on KEXP from March is excellent. They are all quite beautiful: blog.kexp.org.
This song functions as a Win Butler ecotopia fantasy. Back in 2007, Fox Sports used "No Cars Go" in a post-halftime montage during the Super Bowl, and during various other segments during the season. Apparently, they didn't ask for permission & Win threatened a lawsuit. Will was pretty ok with it.
Girls Names' third LP- Arms Around a Vision- will be released in early October. (October 2nd on Tough Love Records, if we're being exact). Their band name has been subjected to countless puns disguised as article titles (see: Girls Names Are Pretty courtesy of Vice).
Previously known as something said by the elderly, Dilly Dally is now a band! The Toronto band will be at Neumos TONIGHT, in support of Big Ups + Metz. Their forthcoming release is titled Sore.
The music video for "100%" was largely shot by Spike Jonze as he skateboarded through LA. Also, in the video Kim Gordon plays a yellow Fender bass guitar which she borrowed from Keanu Reeves: www.youtube.com.
What's better- the cover art for In Colour or the actual music? Both are pretty gorgeous. Jamie recorded a DJ set for KEXP's Midnight In A Perfect World show, which will air sometime this fall. Let's hope he comes back.
Do you think Josh Homme was mean when he sang on UNKLE's second LP? No idea why I have that conception of him, but just wondering. This track samples dialogue from The Thin Red Line, The Prophecy, and tracks by James Asher & The Undisputed Truth.
Alice Glass left Crystal Castles earlier this year. Let's hope that means Robert Smith takes over as lead singer, because this track was the best thing he's done since Wish. Crystal Castles' second LP came out back in 2011.
Pure Bathing Culture will play Marymoor Park on August 9th, in support of Of Monsters and Men. They will also be at Barboza on Friday, September 18th. New album- Pray for Rain- comes out in October.
Naming your band Failure is just screwing yourself over- just sayin'. It's Yuck all over again. Except Failure has been around since 1990. Their first record since 1996 came out back in June- The Heart Is a Monster.
HEALTH will be heading out on tour this fall, touring select parts of Europe. Also, the music video for this track is a must-see for fans of vomiting & Alice Glass: www.youtube.com.
An article about HEALTH came out late last month in The New Yorker, which also discussed the extreme, persistent use of noise in pop music: www.newyorker.com.
So HEALTH-like, it's almost eerie. Similar influences. The Canadian group once featured Austra vocalist Maya Postepski, who departed in 2012. The very dark, claustrophobic Joyland LP came out in 2014.
Painted Palms will be at The Crocodile on October 28th, in support of their new record Horizons. It will be released in early September. They were LIVE on KEXP last year, playing tracks from their debut: blog.kexp.org.
Biggest take-away from TVOTR's headlining set at Capitol Hill Block Party: Tunde Adebimpe is a rock star. Like a capital "R" ROCK STAR. Also, Dave Sitek is clearly still riding the high from being part of Jane's Addiction for a minute.
Maximum Balloon would be the solo venture of Dave Sitek (TVOTR, JA). New single from a forthcoming record featuring Karen O (YYY) & Tunde (TVOTR). Also, the Instagram photo he used to announce the single is pretty gorgeous, by the way: instagram.com.
Ages and Ages will play this year's Doe Bay Festival in Olga, WA. They also played a set on KEXP back in August in 2014, if you're into that sort of thing: blog.kexp.org.
Just when you thought this set didn't have enough Rivers Cuomo, John Richards TO THE RESCUE. Rivers was originally gonna write a rock opera titled Songs from the Black Hole, but luckily he scrapped that to record Pinkerton (in between terms at Harvard).
You can get 40 Trick Candles for $3.50 or so. Also, Canada banned trick candles back in the late 70s. The local band will play the Columbia Winery in Woodinville, WA on August 23rd. New album is titled Hips In the Night.
