Friday on My Mind: Bumbershoot 2013

It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News.

Tomorrow, the 2013 edition of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival will be taking place through Monday at the Seattle Center. Bumbershoot is a Seattle institution and a long loved Labor Day weekend tradition. It doesn’t get any more Seattle than seeing live and vibrant music with the Space Needle as a backdrop. For the eighth year in a row, KEXP has teamed up with the Bumbershoot camp to bring performances from some of the Bumbershoot artists in a smaller setting at our Music Lounge. Here are a few artists we think you should check out this weekend if you are Bumbershooting:Gary Numan - Cars

Considered to be one of the forefathers of electronic music, Gary Numan is one of the many amazing artists slated for Bumbershoot this year. Numan’s use of synthesizers, specifically by running them through guitar effects pedals, was highly influential and later artists such as Trent Reznor have sung the praises of Numan’s influence on their music. Gary will be releasing his 20th album, Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind), on October 15th. His Bumbershoot performance will take place tomorrow at 8PM on the TuneIn Stage. If you aren’t making the trek to Bumbershoot on Saturday, then you won’t miss out. Make sure to listen to KEXP earlier in the day on Saturday at 3:45 to hear him give an intimate performance from our Bumbershoot Music Lounge. Here is the video for "Cars", Numan's biggest hit off of his 1979 album The Pleasure Principle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldyx3KHOFXw

The Breeders - Cannonball

It’s been 20 years since The Breeders released Last Splash. Let that sink in... 20 years. In fact, the exact release date was August 31st, 1993, hot off the heels of the breakup of Kim Deal’s other band, Pixies. Kim Deal initially started The Breeders as a Pixies side project with Throwing Muses’ Tanya Donelly, who later went on to form Belly. The Breeders have gone through many lineup changes and while they never officially broke up, they remained dormant for a good amount of time. The most recent incarnation of The Breeders will be performing The Last Splash in it’s entirety on Monday at 8pm on the TuneIn Stage. And now, here is the video for “Cannonball”, which also happened to be directed by Kim Gordon and Spike Jonze:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AsId-qVIb4

Death Cab for Cutie - The Sound of Settling

Well, it may not be 20 years, but 10 years is nothing to sneeze at either. Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism is celebrating the ten year anniversary of its release. Other albums celebrating a 10 year anniversary include The Long Winters’ When I Pretend to Fall and Nada Surf’s Let Go. What else do these records have in common? They were all released by Seattle’s own, Barsuk Records, who also happen to be celebrating an anniversary, their 15th. Barsuk is kicking off its anniversary commemorations with a day of Barsuk programming during Bumbershoot on Sunday which will include performances Barsuk artists Ra Ra Riot, Ramona Falls, David Bazan, Mates of State, and will culminate with Death Cab performing Transatlanticism in its entirety at Key Arena at 9:45pm. And if you make it to Bumbershoot earlier that day, head over to the Words & Ideas Stage at noon to catch the 15 Years of Barsuk Records panel and discussion moderated by Sean Nelson and featuring John Roderick, David Bazan, and Barsuk co-founder Josh Rosenfeld.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pphrk6wE5aw

Honorable Mentions:

Bob Mould - See a Little Light

Don’t miss your chance to see former Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman Bob Mould this weekend. He recently gave an in studio performance from the Cutting Room Studios in NYC, where he played songs off of his most recent solo album, The Descent, as well as older favorites from his vast catalog of music. Bob Mould will play the TuneIn stage on Sunday at 6:15PM, but tune into KEXP and hear him from our Music Lounge earlier in the day at 2:30pm. Now here is the official video for “See a Little Light” from Bob’s 1988 solo debut, Workbook:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnNr6lNxvc

Alt-J - Taro (Live on KEXP)

While you'll be able to catch of your tried and true artists throughout this weekend, don't forget that Bumbershoot is a great chance to see new up and coming artists as well. You're not going to want to miss 2012 British Mercury Prize winners Alt-J. To motivate you, here is the band performing the song "Taro" during a Triple Door performance they gave for KEXP donors back in September 2012:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W3YQu00kXY