"Nine Inch Numan" -- it was a comment left on the KEXP Facebook page, and echoed among the audience from our Bumbershoot Music Lounge session. Who knew synthpop pioneer Gary Numan had taken such a darker, more industrial turn in his later career! Even his 1979 new wave hit "Cars" took on a harder tone in this new incarnation.
Anyone who's been following his career over the decades didn't share my surprise, of course: Trent Reznor has been very vocal about how Numan influenced his career, and he even invited him on stage at the Hollywood Palladium back in 2009. The two are even reportedly working on new music together.
I'd wanted to ask Numan about his relationship with UK TV show "The Mighty Boosh," but got too scared off by his sinister on-stage appearance. This was clearly my loss, and he was reportedly a big sweetie off stage. Watch the Bumbershoot performance that blew all of our minds below:
Full Performance:
Given the number of groups to perform at the Bumbershoot music festival and to pass through the KEXP halls, you’d think we’d seen everything. Well, it still comes as a surprise to see a band featuring a belly dancer balancing a jug on her bejeweled brunette head while doing the splits. And that is …
It was one of the most highly-anticipated sessions of our Musicfest NW broadcast: Scottish electropop group CHVRCHES had been blowing up the music blogs for months, yet their debut album, The Bones of What You Believe hadn't hit stores at the time. From the packed audience of the Doug Fir Lounge t…
Nearly 35 years in music and Bob Mould shows no signs of slowing down! From his early punk roots with Hüsker Dü in the 1980s through his alternative pop years with Sugar in the 1990s, and in the years between and afterwards with his ten solo albums, the veteran songwriter has explored a variety of …
