Cheryl Waters

Dehd will be LIVE on KEXP on Thursday, May 5 at 2:00 PM. This session is NOT open to the public, so be sure to tune in or re-listen from the two-week streaming archive. bit.ly They play that night at Neumos. bit.ly ---- Dehd shared songs recorded live in their studio, exclusively for KEXP, and chatted with DJ Morgan for a Live on KEXP at Home session in 2020. youtu.be dehdforever.bandcamp.com

Wet Leg is in Seattle tomorrow night playing a sold out show at The Crocodile! Are you all as excited as we are? ---- "'Wet Dream' is a breakup song; it came about when one of my exes went through a stage of texting me after we’d broken up telling me that ‘he had a dream about me.'" - Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg. bit.ly Watch the lobster-filled video for "Wet Dream": youtu.be wetleg.bandcamp.com

"Sitting Still" was one of the first songs written by R.E.M., in late 1980, along with "Radio Free Europe" and "Shaking Through." It was released as a single in 1981 and on their 1983 debut album, 'Murmur.' bit.ly R.E.M. - "Sitting Still" - Recorded live at the Palace - Los Angeles, CA - 1984: youtu.be

Portugal. The Man will perform at the WaMu Theater with alt-J on Tuesday, March 29. bit.ly While recording this album and hanging in LA, we got into a conversation with Jeff Bhasker and Ryan Tedder about how much we missed laughter," frontman John Gourley said in a statement. "The last few years it’s been so easy to forget the fun in what we do. We talked about childhood memories of laughing at the world and ourselves while flipping through Mad Magazine. We missed those days and remembered that we all make music. So we took that afternoon to make a song about it." bit.ly

Andrew Bird is playing a sold out show at the Woodland Park Zoo for Zootunes concert on Sunday, June 19 with Iron & Wine. bit.ly ---- Andrew Bird is an internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, whistler and songwriter who picked up his first violin at the age of four and spent his formative years soaking up classical repertoire completely by ear. As a teen Bird became interested in a variety of styles including early jazz, country blues and folk music, synthesizing them into his unique brand of pop. andrewbird.bandcamp.com

Sister Psychic was launched in 1991 by Andy Davenhall. In 1990, Davenhall auditioned for the open drum chair in the pre-"Teen Spirit” Nirvana. Dave Grohl got the job, and Davenhall got the notion that maybe it was time to start a band of his own. lat.ms

Fontaines D.C. will be LIVE on KEXP on Saturday, May 14 at 12:30 PM. This session is NOT open to the public, so be sure to tune in or re-listen from the 2-week streaming archive. kexp.org They play that night at Showbox SoDo with Just Mustard. bit.ly ---- The title of Fontaines D.C.'s forthcoming album, 'Skinty Fia,' draws its name from an old Irish cuss word that translates to “the damnation of the deer”. The album is scheduled to released on April 22. bit.ly youtu.be fontainesdc.bandcamp.com fontainesdc.com

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performed live in the KEXP studio in 2013. They started their set with "Let the Day Begin". Watch the full session here: youtu.be www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

Happy Birthday to Aretha Franklin! - born on this day in 1942. Otis Redding wrote this song and originally recorded it in 1965, with his version hitting #35 in the US. Redding said of the song shortly before his death in 1967: "That's one of my favorite songs because it has a better groove than any of my records. It says something, too: 'What you want, baby, you got it; what you need, baby, you got it; all I'm asking for is a little respect when I come home.' Aretha and Otis collaborated on the arrangement, and she added the "sock it to me" lines, while also playing piano on the track. Her sister Carolyn, who sang backup on the album, also helped work up the song. bit.ly

Fronted by the husband-and-wife team of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the Arcade Fire's emotional debut -- rendered even more poignant by the dedications to recently departed family members contained in its liner notes -- is brave, empowering, and dusted with something that many of the indie rock genre's more contrived acts desperately lack: an element of real danger. ""Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),"" the first of four metaphorical forays into the geography of the soul, follows a pair of young lovers who meet in the middle of the town through tunnels that connect to their bedrooms. Over a soaring piano lead that's effectively doubled by distorted guitar, they reach a Lord of the Flies-tinged utopia where they can't even remember their names or the faces of their weeping parents. Butler sings like a lion-tamer whose whip grows shorter with each and every lash. He can barely contain himself, and when he lets loose it's both melodic and primal, like Berlin-era Bowie. bit.ly youtu.be

"I used to dance alone of my own volition" "'That’s all gone,' Murphy proclaims in one chorus, before singing 'I’m still trying to wake up' at the song’s conclusion; it’s not anxiety about growing older, but rather the exhaustion of dreams and visions of the past as unwanted anchors." bit.ly lcdsoundsystem.com

We Were Promised Jetpacks are playing The Crocodile on Tuesday, March 29. bit.ly ---- We Were Promised Jetpacks performing live at Triple Door for a KEXP VIP session in 2019. They opened up the monster show with this track. youtu.be wewerepromisedjetpacks.bandcamp.com

The Wedding Present performs live on KEXP from Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop during SXSW 2012. They opened up their set with "Brassneck." youtu.be

This stunningly beautiful, haunting song has a slightly petty origin story. Warning - you cannot unread this! bit.ly www.simonandgarfunkel.com

Happy Birthday to Elton John! - born on this day in 1947. 'Madman Across the Water' was Elton John's 4th studio album, released right as he was beginning to rise to prominence. “Tiny Dancer” with lyrics by Bernie Taupin and music by Elton John. Taupin in an interview with Rolling Stone clarified the meaning of the song. “We came to California in the fall of 1970 and it seemed like sunshine just radiated from the populace,” Taupin says. “I guess I was trying to capture the spirit of that time, encapsulated by the women we met, especially at the clothes stores and restaurants and bars all up and down the Sunset Strip. They were these free spirits, sexy, all hip-huggers and lacy blouses, very ethereal the way they moved.” Read the full story here: bit.ly Building on Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s Californian inspiration, Max Weiland filmed a video for “Tiny Dancer” that reflects on life in Los Angeles from a dozen different perspectives. youtu.be

'Madman Across the Water' was Elton John's 4th studio album, released right as he was beginning to rise to prominence. “Tiny Dancer” with lyrics by Bernie Taupin and music by Elton John. Taupin in an interview with Rolling Stone clarified the meaning of the song. “We came to California in the fall of 1970 and it seemed like sunshine just radiated from the populace,” Taupin says. “I guess I was trying to capture the spirit of that time, encapsulated by the women we met, especially at the clothes stores and restaurants and bars all up and down the Sunset Strip. They were these free spirits, sexy, all hip-huggers and lacy blouses, very ethereal the way they moved.” Read the full story here: bit.ly Building on Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s Californian inspiration, Max Weiland filmed a video for “Tiny Dancer” that reflects on life in Los Angeles from a dozen different perspectives. youtu.be

Prince discussed the meaning of 'Around the World in a Day' with Rolling Stone in 1985: "I was trying to say something about looking inside oneself to find perfection. Perfection is in everyone. Nobody's perfect, but they can be. We may never reach that, but it's better to strive than not." bit.ly

Happy new music Friday! Jamaican reggae singer Koffee released her debut album today. She'll be live at Showbox SoDo on Monday, April 11

Denzel Curry will be LIVE on KEXP Wednesday, April 6 at 2PM. He plays Showbox SoDo on Monday, April 4. More new music this Friday - Denzel's latest album 'Melt My Eyez See Your Future" is out today via Loma Vista

Ibibio Sound Machine have released their 4th studio album today. A blend of Afrobeat, funk, disco, electro-pop and other styles, the record was produced by Hot Chip.

Hamilton Leithauser performed from his home for KEXP Live at Home in May 2020. www.youtube.com Black Hours is a tribute to a diverse range of musical progenitors. But more deeply, it’s a testament to Leithauser’s inexhaustible stylistic ambition, and his ability to conquer expectations by throwing one curveball after another. pitchfork.com

When this song came out in 2018, Colin Meloy said, “When you’ve been a band for 17 years, inevitably there are habits you fall into. So our ambition this time was really just to get out of our comfort zone.”: diymag.com -- Turn up the volume and watch the video for "Severed" on repeat: youtu.be

Slothrust are live at Madame Lou's in Seattle tomorrow, March 26! Doors open at 5:30 PM

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You is a sprawling double-LP exploring the deepest elements and possibilities of Big Thief. To truly dig into all that the music of Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia desired in 2020, the band decided to write and record a rambling account of growth as individuals, musicians, and chosen family over 4 distinct recording sessions. In Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, and Tucson, Arizona, Big Thief spent 5 months in creation and came out with 45 completed songs. The most resonant of this material was edited down into the 20 tracks that make up DNWMIBIY, a fluid and adventurous listen. The album was produced by drummer James Krivchenia who initially pitched the recording concept for DNWMIBIY back in late 2019 with the goal of encapsulating the many different aspects of Adrianne’s songwriting and the band onto a single record. In an attempt to ease back into life as Big Thief after a long stretch of Covid-19 related isolation, the band met up for their first session in the woods of upstate New York. They started the process at Sam Evian’s Flying Cloud Recordings, recording on an 8-track tape machine with Evian at the knobs. Read the whole epic story of this album's recording sessions right here: bit.ly

Modest Mouse are on the lineup playing THING, a 3-day festival of music and arts taking place August 26-28, 2022 at historic Fort Worden in Port Townsend, WA. thingnw.org This album's title came from a scene in the film, 'Blade Runner,' where the main character can be seen reading a newspaper headlined "Farming the Oceans, the Moon and Antarctica". bit.ly modestmouse.bandcamp.com

Watch M. Ward perform this track LIVE on KEXP from a January 2016 session www.youtube.com

New Zealand songwriter Aldous Harding is back today with a new psychedelic folk record titled Warm Chris

A dance-inspired track about the desire for or illusion of fame and grandeur, this song depicts the suffering that comes along with it. Destroyer's new record LABYRINTHITIS is out today!

Upstate New York band Guerilla Toss released their 5th album today, a colorful blend of artsy psych pop. Out via Sub Pop records

Grandaddy's first new album since breaking up in 2006. Here's what Jason Lytle had to say about this track to NPR in 2017: "From an early age, way before I ever dreamt of writing a song, I became fascinated by the idea of making a tune that revolves around a constant sound. My first memory of this was being a kid and trying to watch cartoons or Sesame Street or whatever while my mom was vacuuming in the room. Ever the restless multi-tasker, I would hum songs and come up with melodies that revolved around the sound of the vacuum while impatiently waiting for her to finish her noisy chore. I continued doing this with other appliances, motors, or things that made noise throughout the years. Eventually it found its way into my own compositions. The repeating synth sequence here was a good excuse to try and build a song around repetition." www.stereogum.com

The songs on Good Morning Spider explore themes of various emotions that went alongside Mark Linkous' recovery from an overdose while on tour with Radiohead.

Glove are supporting Nation of Language TONIGHT at the Crocodile

You can see Nation of Language tonight at the Crocodile! Need a preview? Check out their Live on KEXP session here: www.youtube.com

The Danny Jelinek-directed video for this song stars Paul Reubens as an insane race car driver. The American comic actor is best known for his character Pee-Wee Herman. TVOTR frontman Tunde Adebimpe told Billboard magazine that it was his idea for Reubens to be in the clip. "I went to the people at Funny Or Die and I had this idea of Paul Reubens as a race car driver, sort of in a 1950's-ish Russ Meyer sort of situation," he recalled. "Then it didn't seem like it was gonna go for a while. I got an email literally a week before we started from my manager and some other people at the label who just said, 'Paul wants to talk to you, call him at this number right now.'" "Someone had been texting me and I didn't recognize the number so I was like, 'I'm not gonna deal with that,'" Adebimpe continued. "So I got this email and it said he wants to talk to you, so I called, left a message, he wasn't there and I was like, Okay, I f---ed that up, I guess.' And then the phone rings, I pick up and he goes, 'Hey, Tunde, it's Paul Reubens.' He was just the coolest, most down to earth person ever." bit.ly Watch the "Happy Idiot" video with this tidbit of info: youtu.be

Nigerian-born London singer Obongjayar will release his long-awaited debut album 'Some Nights I Dream Of Doors.' Obongjayar co-wrote album opener “Try” with producer Barney Lister. The song has a simple, direct melody and a beautifully bittersweet vocal from Obongjayar. It’s about staring down a hostile, uncertain future and doing your best to thrive anyway. Lister surrounds Obongjayar’s voice with horns and drums, but all of that sometimes drops away to let that voice dominate. Director Spencer Young‘s striking video is full of theatrical lighting and modern-dance poses, and it’s got an adorable little kid playing Obongjayar’s inner child. bit.ly youtu.be 'Some Nights I Dream of Doors' is out May 13. obongjayar.com

Congolese outfit Congotronics International release debut album, "Where's the One", on April 4th. 10 years in the making the coming together of members from Kasai Allstars, Deerhoof, Juana Molina Peacedrums, along with Skeletons’ Matt Mehlan. pan-african-music.com