Cheryl Waters

Songwriter Ric Ocasek was The Cars' frontman, but he had bass player Ben Orr sing lead on this one. -- This was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, an Englishman best known for his work with Queen. The Cars were an American group, but they sought out a British producer because they tended to be more adventurous and didn't strive for hit singles. With Baker, the man who produced "Bohemian Rhapsody," they knew they could experiment in the studio. -- Go back to 1985 to see The Cars perform "Just What I Needed" at Live Aid in Philadelphia: www.youtube.com

"Real Deal" is the sophomore release from South London trio Honeyglaze. The band consists of Anouska Sokolow on lead vocals and guitar, Tim Curtis on bass, and Yuri Shibuichi on drums. -- Go here to purchase "Real Deal": honeyglazehoneyglaze.bandcamp.com

Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym for violin virtuoso Kauro Ishibashi. -- "Sonderlust" is a name derived from the invented word "sonder," created to encapsulate an awareness that everyone around you is living a life as complex and meaningful as your own. -- Kishi Bashi performed a powerful and intimate set LIVE on KEXP at Home in May 2020, hosted by Cheryl Waters. Watch the full performance here: bit.ly.

Theodore Francis Leo (who is a Virgo) and the Pharmacists will perform at SF's Fillmore on Friday, November 15th. -- "Shake the Sheets" is twenty years old this month! Earlier this year, Ted Leo shared the previously unreleased demos that he recorded for every "Shake The Sheets" track.: tedleo.bandcamp.com

This 2012 release was Bob Mould's tenth solo album. He was joined on bass by Jason Narducy and on drums by Superchunk's Jon Wurster. -- Bob Mould graciously performed live for KEXP for our New Home opening in 2016: www.youtube.com

This theological reflection says that "'Soul Meets Body' soars as an achingly beautiful secular song with echoes of the original plan of God for humanity.": tobinstitute.org -- Guiotarist Chris Walla said, "I think it's a beautiful articulation of love, friendships and relationships and everything you do over the course of the day."

Brooklyn band Momma said this just-released song (today!) was written about “a summer when we were on tour, and it felt like everything in our lives changed within a one-month span.” They said, “We wanted the video to capture that youthful feeling, like the world is brand new and everything is ahead of you. We went upstate to our friend’s house near Hudson to film, and just spent the whole day goofing off and running around.”: www.youtube.com

Cheryl was the host when The New Pornographers performed this Carl Newman- penned song live in our studio last year: www.youtube.com

Soccer Mommy's new album, "Evergreen," is out this Friday.: sopharela.bandcamp.com -- They will perform at SF's The Fillmore on February 28th, 2025, and in Seattle at The Showbox on March 3rd, 2025.

"Sleep" sampled Paul Mauriat's 1972 "C'est Les Chansons De Mon Amour" and Stetasonic's 1986 "4 Ever My Beat." -- Watch the supergroup Deltron 3030 (composed of Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, and DJ Kid Koala) perform for KEXP listeners at Seattle's Triple Door in 2013: www.youtube.com

For dog walker Sebi, who bought this album at Original Vinyls today!! -- The original version of "Can I Kick It?" contains samples from Lou Reed’s 1972 classic “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Spinning Wheel” by Dr. Lonnie Smith and “Sunshower" by ‘70s pop group Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. -- Bassist Herbie Flowers, who composed that "Walk on the Wild Side" bass line, died last month at the age of 86: www.nytimes.com

Here's a biography of this great Oakland revolutionary collective: www.allmusic.com -- This powerful song was written by Black Thought, Talib Kweli, and producer Boots Riley. Those piano chords are being played by Mike Tiger.

"I was in college when I started listening to 'Astral Weeks.' At that time my thoughts were about as mystical and vague as Van’s seemed to be: I liked to think that the record could show me how to live, how to be in the world." Read one person's tribute to this classic album: electricliterature.com -- This album came out in November, 1968. Ten years later, critic Lester Bangs called it “a mystical document” and “a beacon, a light on the far shores of the murk.” Bruce Springsteen said that it gave him “a sense of the divine.”: www.newyorker.com

Nilüfer Yanya is performing TONIGHT, Tuesday, October 22nd, at August Hall in San Francisco. She is performing Live on KEXP in a free and public session on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 3 PM. -- Get ready by watching her perform "Ready for Sun (touch)" live in Philadelphia last month: www.youtube.com

Toro y Moi will be at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley this Friday, October 25th. --- See the official video for this very appropriate song for today: www.youtube.com

Oh, my! Watch a live performance by Ride in the KEXP studio last May: www.youtube.com

Watch Zambian musician Sampa the Great (Sampa Tembo) perform "Final Form" live in the KEXP studio in 2022: www.youtube.com

Watch a live performance of this banger in Los Angeles in August: www.youtube.com -- Amyl and the Sniffers performed live in the KEXP studio in 2022: www.youtube.com

Sweeping Promises are fixtures of the Boston DIY scene, Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug. Multi-instrumentalist Spenser Gralla has toured as their live drummer since 2019.

Love this song? it's yours, for free, as a KEXP Song of the Day: www.kexp.org -- Did you know that this song has had over 58 million listens on Spotify?

This beloved Seattle trio is playing The Crocodile on Thursday, November 7th. -- Naked Giants consists of Grant Mullen as the vocalist / guitarist, Gianni Aiello as bassist / vocalist, and Henry LaVallee on drums. Here's a review of their third album, "Shine Away": clunkmag.com

Mdou Moctar is performing: --in Seattle at The Crocodile TONIGHT, Tuesday, October 22nd --in San Francisco at The Regency Ballroom on Friday, November 25th -- ‘Funeral For Justice’ is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2021 breakout ‘Afrique Victime,’ it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form.: mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com

Born & raised in the deep outskirts of Mexico City, the Gama brothers are keeping alive the legacy of marimba music running through their family with their latest project, Son Rompe Pera.: sonrompepera.bandcamp.com -- Brothers Kacho, Mongo, and Kilos Gama grew up just outside Mexico City in a city called Naucalpan de Juárez, in a neighborhood full of traditional marimberos. Their father, José "Batuco" Gama, a percussionist originally from Veracruz, learned to play the marimba on Calle Ramos Millán, once Naucalpan’s center of marimba culture. Gama taught his oldest sons Kacho and Mongo to play, and formed the original Son Rompe Pera— "son" for the Cuban son music he loved, "rompe" meaning "she breaks" in honor of his wife Esperanza’s heavy-handed reputation, and "Pera" for her nickname.

The song was written by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, who was going through a very difficult time. The Kinks were in the midst of a sudden rise to stardom, but group tensions, lawsuits, an unrealistic workload and craven management made them miserable. Davies was also dealing with fatherhood, and left the band for a while. While he was recovering, Davies wrote "Sunny Afternoon," putting the music together first and then creating an alter ego to voice his feelings. "The only way I could interpret how I felt was through a dusty, fallen aristocrat who had come from old money as opposed to the wealth I had created for myself," he said.

Vocalist Aliou Touré told KEXP: "We need hope. We need to come together. And when we get worried, there's no way to think positive. So we don't have to be worried, we don't need that bad energy around us. Otherwise, we're not going to be able to go through this situation we are in. So that's why we wrote this song. Who can talk to everybody to keep their self-control. To not get worried and then we can be optimists together." -- This song was selected as a KEXP Song of the Day: www.kexp.org

Lyrics Born is playing Seattle's Nectar lounge this Thursday, October 24th. Next year, he's performing at San Francisco's The Independent on Saturday, February 1st, 2025. -- Tsutomu "Tom" Shimura, better known by his stage name Lyrics Born, is a Japanese-American rapper, singer, and producer. www.lyricsborn.com

The opening track of "Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future" finds Karl Hyde performing a torrent of spoken words over gnarled synths. Hyde's Underworld partner Rick Smith explained how the pair navigated the need to alter music to suit lyrics and vice versa on the record: "There are pieces there like 'I Exhale' that are flows where it was extremely difficult to try and interrupt that flow," he said. "Because it just felt so unnatural, and it was an interesting challenge… if you really feel you need to disrupt this because of a musical idea, how are you going to do this?" The result, Smith added, was "a very vocal album." --- "(Stare, stare like a bear, call your mother Ginger Hair)" Here's (maybe) what Hyde is saying: www.azlyrics.com

Disclosure's most direct album 'Energy.' A global spectrum of talented artists grace the record – and for the first time this includes rappers. Appearances from Mick Jenkins, Channel Tres, Aminé and slowthai sit comfortably alongside the legend that is Common. Other features include the inimitable Kelis who opens the album and Fatoumata Diawara who the boys have also linked up with previously. Cameroon’s Blick Bassy brings his own flow to the table while a powerhouse team of Kehlani and Syd ease the pace with their contribution. bit.ly Check out the video for "ENERGY": youtu.be www.disclosureofficial.com

DJ, edit entrepreneur Record Mission Records & record dealer Nick The Record has added another tab to his busy calendar with the launch of a label Natural House for showcasing new material & remixes. I Appreciate by Nick & Jaime Read has become an underground hit with support from Antal, Mr. Scruff, MCDE, Francois K, Palms Trax, Colleen Cosmo Murphy, John Gomez, Tom Of England and Gilles Peterson – who licensed it for the Paul Smith show at Paris Fashion week. --- naturalhouse.uk nicktherecord.bandcamp.com