There are very few bands that find a way to capture the absolute euphoria of endless, boundless love and affection. Plenty manage to navigate the confusing space between love and infatuation, the infinite battle of reconciling affection and compassion, and find countless new ways to spell the woes …
Today's Song of the Day, featured as part of our Music Heals: Mental Health programming, is "Darkness In Mind" by Kassa Overall, from the 2020 album I THINK I'M GOOD on Brownswood Recordings.
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Cheryl Waters, host of the Midday Show on KEXP, is "On My Mind" by Kylie V, from the 2021 self-released album Big Blue.
Despite the many, many hours in the late '80s and early '90s I spent immersing myself in the sounds of Manchester (both contemporary and historical), for some reason the Happy Mondays never really clicked with me. Maybe they were just a bit too fun and dancey for my mopey teenaged self, who knows. …
You know, it's bad enough when there's a band that I'm vaguely familiar with, that I know I should really check out, but have never quite gotten around to (we see a lot of those in this column). But when there's a band that I totally think "yeah, I know that band! I like them," only to realize that…
Metric frontwoman and Broken Social Scene collaborator Emily Haines is releasing the first Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton album in over a decade on September 15 via Last Gang/eOne. Entitled Choir of the Mind, it follows 2006's Knives Don't Have Your Back, which reached number 28 on the Canadi…
Sometimes, even when you're an ever-so-independently-minded DJ at a fancy college radio station in the '80s, you just want some AC/DC. I like to think that whoever brought this little gem - the band's first live album, and the sixth album they released between 1975 and 1978 - into the station grinn…
It all started with four lads from London with a brash attitude and a bone to pick with the system... oh wait, that's what got us started on International Clash Day, a theme show based on a whim that became an annual event for KEXP DJs. As we thought about ongoing impact of The Clash and how their …
Take one DJ, one producer and one MC, mix with an eclectic lineup of guests and wrap it in a post-apocalyptic narrative, and you get one of the most unique groups to come about in the past decade, In the year 2000, Kid Koala, Dan The Automator and Del The Funky Homosapien joined forces as Deltron 3…
I don't know how much needs to be said about Hasil "Haze" Adkins that wouldn't be better communicated by merely listening to any of the approximately one million songs he recorded to various fidelities of tape over his fifty-ish year career. The first song I ever heard by Mr. Adkins (thanks to a ca…
Tomorrow, not only will iconic rocker David Bowie celebrate his 69th birthday, but he releases his 25th studio album ★ (pronounced "Blackstar") via Columbia Records. Today, he shares the video for the track "Lazarus," which features the influential artist, well, hallucinating in a mental hospital.…
Simic is the alias of Ben Block, a Seattle-based DJ, electronic producer, and core member of the local secondnature collective. With musical interests weaving from classic house and techno to krautrock and 80’s sonic experiments, his sets reflect an immersive and dynamic quality that comes from a s…
It's mind-boggling how a place so small can create so much terrific music. This year, as I was compiling my list of top Icelandic releases, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd find as many great albums as last year and the year before. Would I find ten? Twenty? Actually, as it turns out, a lot more! …
Chilly collects some electronic, hip-hop and modern traditional Latin favorites that he's been spinning on El Sonido lately. It's a non-stop mix designed to move your mind, body and soul. Gozandolo, así es que vivo yo. 1. Systema Solar - Yo Voy Ganao 2. Rafi-eL - Suspiro 3. Boogat - Úni…
"Sweep" - that's the command that Parquet Courts give us over and over again on their new single "Dust". In the context of the tune, it's about the dust that accumulates, sitting on everything that doesn't move, marking the time we've spent without motion, watching the wheels go round. The irony of…
“Change of coast, change of heart”. Last time we heard from Neon Indian, he was changing time zones on the Grand Theft Auto soundtrack. Turns out, now two years later, he wasn’t kidding. The only thing I can think of to make Alan Palomo’s bizzare, eclectic electronic productions any more mind-bendi…
How often do you drive your car to a show? When we're always on the go, it can be easy to settle for convenience without considering the consequences — like the fact that each gallon of gasoline used puts 20 pounts of CO2 in the air. It's a harsh reality that's easy to displace from your mind but t…
Another light summer week of new releases, but there's a handful hitting shelves today that you'll definitely want to check out. Portland singer-songwriter Alela Diane tops the list with her fourth album of heartbreaking (and broken) folk-pop, highlighting her rich voice and often personal lyrics. …
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. So there is this band that is going to be stopping by my show next Tuesday. Maybe you’ve heard of them - Pixies? Yeah. T…
