It's the end of the year, alright, but I don't know how fine you're feeling. R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe joined Stephen Colbert and actor James Franco for a spirited, updated rendition of the 1987 single "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" last night on CBS' The Late Show with S…
The owls may not be what they seem, but neither does David Lynch. As a director, writer, musician, actor, artist, even furniture designer, he truly does it all. It's no surprise that his surrealistic influence extends to the music world, so on today, his 69th birthday, KEXP pays tribute to Lynch wi…
I can't think of many one-hit wonders who have careers with the length and breadth of Chris Isaak. If you were alive in the late '80s, the song (and video!) "Wicked Game" is probably what comes to mind when you hear Isaak's name. That song was on his third album, though (a testament to Warner Broth…
It's difficult to imagine something Steve Earle hasn't done yet, but, believe it or not, until recently, the Texas-raised singer, songwriter, performer, actor, writer and teacher had yet to sing the blues. On his new LP, Earle pays overdue tribute to those who preceded and inspired him, and like th…
Comedian, writer, actor and director Mike Birbiglia and his also-multi-talented wife Jen Stein – whose cat is named Mazzy Star – curate and discuss some of their favorite songs and recording artists, including Tegan and Sara, Sharon Van Etten, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah featuring Matt Berninger, The…
KEXP was lucky to host an in-studio session with Okkervil River over the weekend. If you missed it, here's a consolation prize: a new video for the track "Judey on a Street" off their recently released eighth full-length, Away. Director Gabrielle Demeestere captures actor Steven Ogg, meandering th…
As we announced earlier this year, Sam Beam (better known as Iron & Wine) is digging through his archives and releasing the findings on his own Black Cricket Recording Company label. Archive Series Volume No. 1 is out now, featuring demos and unreleased material recorded around the same time a…
Cameron Crowe’s 1992 film Singles introduced the world to fictional supergroup Citizen Dick, but sadly omitted the band's classic single "Touch Me I’m Dick" from the double-platinum soundtrack. On Record Store Day, Saturday, April 18th, you can finally, well, "touch it" as the band will be releasi…
Simon Fisher Turner seems like a fascinating individual. He has been an actor on several BBC series; recorded music under his own name (both with and without his middle name) and as The King of Luxembourg and Deux Filles; and been a member of both the Portsmouth Sinfonia Orchestra and The The. Curr…
Love & Hate, the sophomore release from soulful UK artist Michael Kiwanuka was a fave for many KEXP DJs last year. (It was even a nominee for the prestigious Mercury Award in 2016.) Kiwanuka revisits the release with a video for the track "Cold Little Heart" -- watch below. The video was direc…
KEXP Song of the Day alumni "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" by The Mountain Goats receives the music video treatment today. The clip features none other than wrestling legend Chavo Guerrero himself alongside the band and actor Rob Corddry. Watch below. The Mountain Goats are playing a sold out show…
Musician, songwriter, author, actor, producer... in whatever he does, country rock living legend Steve Earle is uncompromisingly in his art and an outspoken critic of what's wrong in our country. On his many albums -- fourteen, not including his many collaborations, compilations and live releases -…
Run the Jewels have released a powerful new music video today for the track "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)." Director A.G. Rojas shows actors Shea Whigham ("Boardwalk Empire", "Agent Carter") as a cop and Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12, Snoop Dogg in the upcoming N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta…
John Grant shares a video from his third full-length, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure, out now via Partisan. Watch the clip for "Down Here" below, directed by Lisa Gunning. In a press release, Gunning says, "I'd been wanting to make a video for John for a long time so when he sent me 'Down Here' it s…
A while back, a producer, a DJ and an MC, each with solid careers of their own, formed a sort of hip hop supergroup to face against rising corporate interests in their fields. Like Gorillaz, Deltron 3030 was high-concept, semi-fictional, character driven project that blew the minds of music fans of…
All of the reviews of Diane Coffee's second album, Everybody's A Good Dog, touch on one unanimously agreed upon point: that Foxygen touring drummer Shaun Fleming has created a historically self-aware album that wears its influences loudly and proudly. The reference points cut through clearly: 70's …
Maybe its circumstantial that one well-attended set from a guitar-wielding songwriter was followed by another well-attended set from a guitar-wielding songwriter, but the Yeti Stage at Sasquatch was on fire on late Friday afternoon between Hozier and Austin's Shakey Graves. The musician (and former…
Listening to St. Vincent's new self-titled LP, I find it harder and harder to market Annie Clark's music to friends by method of comparison. On her past efforts, including 2011's excellent Strange Mercy and her breakthrough 2009 record Actor, Clark has stood out on the forefront of a brave, new wav…
Starbucks, KEXP & Friends Of Waterfront Seattle bring you SEAchanger, a waterfront concert to raise awareness around issues facing unsheltered families.
In March 2012, Girls mastermind Lena Dunham told NY Mag, that "[Millennial] lostness and that questioning — I wish I could say that it completely went away when you were getting to do the thing you wanted to do, but unfortunately, that’s not the truth." The most recent season of Girls featured a nu…
