Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is on a hunger strike, protesting an atmosphere of “slave labor” in her Russian prison. Today, she writes in a letter proliferated by her husband, “I am going on hunger strike and refusing to participate in colony slave labor. I will do this until the administrat…
“We’ve always wanted to play here”, Bryce Dessner said, looking up at the Paramount’s marvelous ceilings, “and every time, there’s been a musical, or another show. We’re glad we finally get to play here”. It is quite surprising that this Thursday night was indeed the first time The National appeare…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we're featuring songs b…
"Be quick dear, times are uncertain, one month crawling, next year blurring, decades in the drain, and monograms on the brain. Decide what's working and what's moved on to the last phase - the floodgate alien days. I love those alien days." And so, Andrew VanWynGarden opens the third MGMT record wh…
Ben Bloom is a talented Seattle guitarist with his hands in a number of funky bands, from the Polyrhythmics to Rippin Chicken to the Unsinkable Heavies (and he's even starting a new project!). KEXP had a chance to chat with Mr. Bloom about his music, his influences, his favorite Seattle venues and …
Though they'd been playing reunion shows for the past six years, no one expected the first Redd Kross album in 15 years to be so mind-blowing. The Hawthorne, CA, band, started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, played their first gig opening for Black Flag in 1980, and went on to perform with co…
Canadian electric duo Purity Ring have taken on the challenge of remixing Lady Gaga's underwhelming single "Applause." Their version's pounding chorus is sure to take dance clubs by storm, which is Gaga's perfect niche. This remix really deserves the applause. [SPIN]
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.
Every Saturday evening, I look forward to playing you some of my favorite songs. I remember discovering our Northwest music scene: I was lucky enough to stumble on a host opening on the local show at my college station, KGRG FM. I trained with the original hosts of the show a couple of times, and t…

In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.