“The debut full-length from this British singer-songwriter compiles songs from his three earlier EPs and adds a few new ones. It’s a charming album combining sunny, ‘60s-influenced psych-pop with indie electro-pop textures.” - Don Yates

Tower of Love will be released in the U.S. on August 8. Until then, you can stream some songs from his MySpace page, watch the video for Eanie Meaniy (WMV), and download a song from the new record…

Key of C - (MP3)

Get info on tour dates, check out MP3 samples and watch video from the forthcoming record at Jim Noir…

On October 3, The Decemberists are set to release their fourth LP, The Crane Wife! Apparently, they’ve been locked away, working feverishly to complete the record. We thought it’d be a good time to dive into the archives and bring you a live in-studio performance.

Listen to an exclusive in-studio performance from The Decemberists, recorded live on KEXP from NYC on 10/13/04 - (WMA, Real)

Visit the KEXP Live Performances Archive to listen to hundreds of performances.

Anyone who knows me knows about my love for Kristin Hersh. If it wasn’t for her music, I wouldn’t have met the man who ended up being my husband, so needless to say, the woman has my heart for life!

Last night, we were lucky enough to catch her opening for Grant Lee Phillips at the Crocodile. She’s not really on tour, and she’s not promoting any new album or anything, but now that she lives in Portland, the short three hour drive brought her back to Seattle (where she really should be living again, but I digress!).

I loved how she came out on stage carrying her acoustic guitar, with a tiny smile on her face, and she just sat down and started playing. No introduction, no words to the audience…heck, she didn’t even wait for the in-house music to stop playing overhead! She just sat down and began the fierce acoustic strum to “Hook in Her Head” and damned if I didn’t feel like I was 16-years-old all over again, with my Walkman and my The Real Ramona cassette, sitting in art class working on my projects. Just friggin’ amazing.

She followed it with “Your Dirty Answer”, and then “Gazebo Tree”, introducing that track with a funny anecdote about a strange woman she met on the bus who kind-of inspired the song. I love seeing Kristin perform solo, ’cause she really does tell the funniest stories. She followed with a song her Dad wrote (explaining, “My Dad did a lot of acid and you can tell by these lyrics…”) and then her own song “Clay Feet” from Sky Motel.

After that, she played “Spain” from Sunny Border Blue, following it with “Sundrops” which is quite possibly my favorite song to watch her play live. And I love how the audience knew the song well enough to not applaud during the fake-ending before she comes back with the powerhouse strumming and belting out of the title.

She performed what I think was an old hymnal-type song, describing it as “so old, I think God wrote it”. Next was “37 Hours”, and then for her amazing almost-finale, she brought Grant Lee out to accompany her on the classic “Your Ghost”…it was so, so, very amazing, I think my face hurt from smiling so much. Grant was trying to tune his guitar to Kristin’s, and he shook his head and said, “That’s right, you use that weird ‘Portland tuning’” — HA! Kristin retorted that she has to tune her guitar down because her voice is so deep. She added that when she calls to order pizza, the pizza guy always calls her “Sir” — HA again! Teasingly, Kristin asked, “What about when you call to order a pizza?” and Grant got all mock-indignant, insisting “I don’t order pizza.”

Their rendention of “Your Ghost” was so incredible that even though she intended it to be her encore, the audience wasn’t about to let her off that easily! I love it when opening acts get called back for encores. So, Kristin came back to the stage after minutes of roaring applause, and played “William’s Cut” jokingly warning, “This song has profanity…” (never mind that about 2 or 3 of her earlier songs did too!). And then Grant Lee came back out on stage, and they were both just beaming! Grant and Kristin joked about how their next song was in honor of their friend John Doe who they didn’t invite to join them tonight. Laughing, Kristin added, “Well, we did call him to say how much fun we were having without him…” HA! They closed with what I’m assuming was an X song, with Grant hamming it up on lead vocals and guitar, and Kristin sitting quietly beside him, looking up at him with the biggest smile on her face and then piping in with backing vocals during the chorus. It was so, so, ridiculously cute. The whole set was amazing. I overheard one guy turn to his friend and say, “Well, I’m sold!”

Sadly, we had to leave before Grant came out for his solo set, sans Kristin, but we’re sure he was every bit as charismatic and vibrant as he was on stage with her…so, um, have I mentioned how much I love Kristin Hersh already?

TIG makes their picks: a very Capitol Hill Block Party sort of weekend…

The modern music festival ranks as one of our favorite contemporary inventions. Surely today’s versions of bringing together music artists from far and near to a centralized locale for the masses to enjoy evolved from an ancient Roman tradition in something B.C. As far as we’re concerned, climatic points on the music festival timeline like Woodstock and Live-Aid have merely served as natural stepping stones to this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party.

Move over Romans ENDfests, and Folklifes, now there’s something indie-er: the Capitol Hill gang has once again organized itself into a multi-stage, craft-infused music festival! (And might we say, they’ve outdone themselves with this year’s lineup.) This year they’ve coerced Seattle’s glitterati into performing (insert your 100th reminder that the Murder City Devils have reunited just for their Saturday night slot) as well as seasoning the tattoo’d stew with newbies.

Friday night’s Vera stage looks like the place to be. They packed it with our favorite freshmen (Tall Birds, BOAT, Sea Navy and The Pharmacy), folks we’re excited to learn more about (Panther, Macklemore), and topped it off with a Big Business after party performance is sure to be one worth staying late for.

As for Saturday, while all three stages have their highlights, we put our imaginary hearing loss on the main stage, which will not only feature performances from local favorites – like Smoosh, Schoolyard Heroes, Minus the Bear, and Common Market – but also some out-of-town bands we love as if they’re our own, Silversun Pickups (from LA) and the Black Angels (from Austin).

Bring your sunblock, earplugs, and fanny packs for a two-day extravaganza of beautiful indie-rock musical debauchery.

And also don’t forget, Three Imaginary Girls will make a guest appearance on KEXP’s Audioasis on Saturday at 7p, where we’ll spin a few of our favorite local tunes. Take a break from the heat and have a listen, won’t you?

And if big-bad tattooed crowds aren’t your cup of iced tea (or if you didn’t get tickets for the Capitol Hill Block Party), here are some other shows that look tasty and refreshing to us;

Saturday, 7/29: The Buzzcocks/The Adored/The Strays, El Corazon (all-ages)
Saturday, 7/29: The Invisible Eyes/New Fangs/Martian Memo To God, High Dive
Thursday, 8/3: Carrie Akre/Llama/The Small Change, Crocodile
Thursday, 8/3: Kiss Her For The Kid/The Diets, Comet

stay cool and frothy,
dana, liz, char
*three imaginary girls*

In high i-pod rotation:
Umeko Songs
The Zero Points
Heather Duby

(Three Imaginary Girls is a Seattle-based website that showcases the great music of the Northwest to music lovers worldwide. We post a Seattle live show calendar to help you fill your day-planner with loads of great shows. We just launched our debut podcast, which features some of our favorite Northwest bands of the moment, including BOAT, Patience Please, and You Say Party! We Say Die!)

“Comprised of songs from their first two French albums, this French band’s self-titled US debut, is a fun outing of New Wave-influenced, angular electro-rock combining dance-friendly rhythms with spunky vocals from Isabel Le Doussal (aka Bubble Star) on ultra-catchy songs that also reference everything from ‘60s garage-rock and bubblegum to punk and hip hop.” - Don Yates

Stream some songs from their MySpace page and check out this video (WMA).

Prototypes recently finished their U.S. tour, but be on the lookout for additional dates and enjoy the record!.

I’m still a buzzin’ from July 14th. The Rakes made their first (and long-anticipated) appearance in Seattle playing at El Corazon.

Flashback to my first exposure of The Rakes: Brighton , England . Concorde 2 in May 2005. Playing the NME Tour. They were one of the top bands I really wanted to see no matter where they played and I tracked them down. Some would say I stalk bands early in their careers (well, then later as well). Haha! There was a big buzz brewin’ over the London quartet. At the time I was living in England , and went to Brighton to visit my friend Erica, an American and fellow KEXP listener who had recently married a Brit.

I was in awe. It happens sometimes. Very impressive performance and after their set ended I was disappointed the night was over. “More songs, more songs! Please!” I expected good things in the future.

Next gig, they played at Northsix in Brooklyn during CMJ last September. I converted yet a few more people into Rakes fans at this show and wondered if I’d have to fly to England again to get my next “fix.” But that gets a bit expensive.

KEXP was lucky enough to have them perform live at Austin City Limits on our first day of the live broadcasts (Editors and Tapes ‘n’ Tapes rounded off an incredible day). Pretty much a day you can die a happy music lover. But it got better. The week ended with such an energetic performance that I danced harder and crazier than I have in my entire life. No exaggeration here. I exemplified the saying “Dance as if no one is watching.” I tried to re-enact the jerking motions of lead singer Alan Donohoe but I didn’t take the professional rock-the-mic-while-jerk-dancin’ class. He’s by far the expert and makes it look so real and easy.

Finally, the Rakes stopped in Seattle for a proper gig. They had only 3 US cities to go on their tour. Their April tour was cancelled so the wait was over.

They performed in-studio earlier in the day, but recorded a demo of a new song as well as belting out their rendition of the “Tony the Tiger” advert before going live on the air. I was one of the privileged few to witness this G-R-R-R-E-A-T version and will share the experience with future generations. Haha!

They took the stage after Every Move a Picture (a band from San Francisco who also played in-studio on KEXP earlier in the day) finished up a great set. From beginning to end, the all-ages crowd were entranced and danced to every Rakes’ short-but-sweet song – as if jolted out of sound sleep and thinking they’re late for work — or school in this case. Eyes closed, empty fists clenched. No drinks in hand. It was all music. Dancing. Serious business.

The Rakes kept the room flowin’ with dancers. After hitting the snooze button a couple times so the night (dream) would never end, it came to an abrupt halt. We were all invited to chat after the show. The Rakes are a very fun, fan-lovin’ band. We all wanted more but it would have to be in the form of friendly conversation and not another live song. Next time, I predict a bigger venue to accommodate more fans.

I left singing my two theme songs “Retreat” and “Work Work Work (Pub Club Sleep)” but felt solace knowing it was only the beginning of my weekend.

The Rakes returned home and will play some UK (and one French) festivals in August.

“Their delightful, pop-styled songs sounded tight but not rigid and got the crowd swaying along straightaway. With bell-toned guitars, bright keyboards, and a dash of shimmer round the edges, the Fleet Foxes craft deliciously melody-driven songs that are intensely charming. Lyrics reference textbooks, classrooms, and Romeos on bicycles, all without sounding twee or absurd. And Robin’s voice brings it all together - his vocals are sweet and yet solid, with a rich warmth that seals the deal.” - Imaginary Jessica, read more

We’ve been enjoying the Fleet Foxes demo quite a bit. Check out some songs…

Anyone Who’s Anyone - (MP3)
Icicle Tusk - (MP3)
She Got Dressed - (MP3)
In the Hot Hot Rays - (MP3)

We’re glad to offer ‘In the Hot Hot Rays’ as our Song of the Day podcast today. It’s totally free to subscribe!

KEXP is proud to present the Fleet Foxes at the Capitol Hill Block Party on Saturday, July 29. They’re playing the Neumo’s stage at 2:45 pm… Fleet Foxes are also performing live on Audioasis as part of this month’s live broadcast from High Dive.

After a few days off, it’s in-studio time again… In a big way! We have two great Brooklyn based bands in-studio Wednesday. Say Hi to Your Mom are performing at 9:30 on the Morning Show with Chilly and Dirty on Purpose are live at noon with Don Slack. It’s always a treat to hear Don spinning the variety mix!

Listen to a few songs from Impeccable Blahs, the new record by Say Hi to Your Mom…

Angels and Darlas - (MP3)
Sad, But Endearingly So - (MP3)
Snowcones and Puppies - (MP3)

And here’s one from the 2005 album, Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow by Dirty on Purpose. You should also check out their new record, Hallelujah Sirens.

Mind Blindness - (MP3)

Tune in for two killer in-studios and don’t miss Don spinning the Variety Mix from 10-2!.

“This 21-year-old British singer-songwriter blew off her record label’s advice to make a more conventional pop record and went her own way through myspace, posting songs and humorous blogs that gained her a ton of fans, forcing her label to put out her music the way she wanted it to be. And what music it is: sunny, beat-driven pop flavored with reggae, ska, calypso, New Orleans R&B and hip hop combined with colorful lyrics that range from cheeky to biting as she delights in sending up ex-boyfriends, would-be suitors and whoever else she sets her sights on.” - Don Yates

Check out these songs from Lily Allen’s debut Alright, Still, and stream a few more songs from her MySpace page…

LDN - (WMA, Real)
Smile - (WMA, Real)
Smile (video) - (WMV, Real)

There’s a lot of chances to see Lily Allen from now until the end of the year in the UK, but no U.S. dates are scheduled yet. Check back and enjoy the record!

Hey everyone, we’d like to once again recognize a couple of our hard working employees and volunteers at KEXP. While there are so many people we can (and will!) thank, we’d like to take a few minutes to point out two outstanding members of KEXP. Lisa Shimizu and Melissa Collett:

Lisa Shimizu is the kind of employee where you ask yourself, “what did we do BEFORE she was here?” Starting as a volunteer and working her way up to an invaluable member of the programming team, Lisa always goes above and beyond what is required and asked of her. She’s done outstanding work on the CD project, the Kids Dance Party, and many different tasks before, during, and after the pledge drive as well as making sure the Programming interns are taken care of–on top of a million other jobs that wouldn’t get done without her. Lisa does her work with a sense of humor, a sense of purpose and always with the station and its listeners and staff in mind first. She is a tireless champion of KEXP programming and always makes sure the programming team is healthy and happy.

Thank you Lisa for all you do.

Melissa Collett has been a tireless champion not of just the station but the community in which the station broadcasts. Melissa started as our volunteer coordinator almost a year ago, and had tirelessly worked toward improving our volunteer program and KEXP’s volunteer culture.

When she learned of the new Audioasis Community Outreach Program she offered up her services to help coordinate the non profit part of the idea. Once she got started there was no looking back and this program wouldn’t be even close to the success it is without her hard work. She meets with dozens of organizations around town, puts together schedules that work with them and KEXP, makes sure that both the non profits and the station are represented in the best light possible. Without her work, thousands of dollars wouldn’t have been raised and thousands of people never would have known about the different groups that KEXP has championed. We should all be very proud of her not only in the way she represents the station but how she represents the city of Seattle.

Thank you for all your hard work Melissa!