Friday on My Mind: KEXP Is Breaking Ground!

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.

The time has finally come. It’s time to start building KEXP’s new home. This is a good thing since we need to be out of our current digs within less than a year. We’re going to get this construction party officially started next week, and we’d love for you all to be there to mark the occasion. To celebrate the beginning of new home construction, we’ll kick things off at 10:00 AM next Wednesday, January 28, with a ground breaking ceremony right at the courthouse of our new location at the Seattle Center’s Northwest Rooms. The KEXP family will be there, as well as other members of the Seattle’s music community, and local elected officials. After the official ceremony, hang out and spend the afternoon with us. We’ll be offering public tours of the space so everyone will have a chance to see our future home up close and personal. KEXP DJs will provide a soundtrack for the afternoon, but there will also be games, prizes, and if you get hungry, there will be food trucks near by for you to grab a bite. And if you wear your favorite KEXP T-shirt, something special may happen. Let everyone know you're going by joining our Facebook event. Now, here are a few songs to get us all ready to begin building:Peter Gabriel - Digging In the Dirt

From his 1992 release, Us, our first choice is “Digging in the Dirt” by Peter Gabriel. It had been a while since the world had heard new material from Peter Gabriel. So, his previous album from 1986, was Gabriel’s most commercially accessible and successful release to date. Us did not necessarily contain blockbuster songs like So and contained a darker sound, but by this time, Gabriel had already gained attention for his innovative music videos for his songs,“Shock the Monkey” and “Sledgehammer”, so it was no surprise that the video for “Digging in the Dirt” was another memorable video experience, and even went on the snag a Grammy. So check out the video here and let it serve as inspiration as we begin digging in the dirt to make KEXP’s new home possible….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0C3DHp36zc

Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home

Cinematic Orchestra was started by visual artist, Jason Swinscoe during the late 90’s. Since then, the project has expanded in number of contributors, as well as musically. When Cinematic Orchestra’s third studio album Ma Fleur was released, the group had gained much critical acclaim for living up to their name. “To Build a Home” is probably one of the most recognizable songs from the Cinematic Orchestra’s catalog. Swinscoe wrote this beautiful song along with Canadian singer, Patrick Watson, who provides vocals to this tune. Seems a fitting song for us as KEXP begins to build a home...

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

Starship - We Built This City

This gem dates back to a magical year called 1985. That year people were blessed with new Coke, we went Beyond Thunderdome, and then there was Starship. Starship weren’t a new group, but an 80’s incarnation of Jefferson Airplane. This was the same Jefferson Airplane known for being a driving force in the 1960’s San Francisco counterculture and psychedelic music scene. While it’s a far cry from “White Rabbit”, “We Built This City” went to number one on the billboard charts, making the tune one that the band is most (in)famously known. Re-live the magic of the official video, featuring Grace Slick’s shoulder pads and Mickey Thomas’ feathered mullet. They rock so hard, even Abraham Lincoln had to get up from his seat at the Lincoln Memorial to sing along. If Lincoln’s down, then we have to use this one to motivate all of us who are building the new KEXP...

http://youtu.be/K1b8AhIsSYQ

Honorable Mentions:

Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys - I’m Working On a Building

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBDZ3G4RCHc

Iggy Pop - Home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A9binTPMKU

Pete Seeger - If I Had a Hammer

http://youtu.be/Rl-yszPdRTk