Nina Simone was a famous African-American jazz singer when horrifying civil rights struggles were happening on June 11, 1963, when President Kennedy made a speech to the nation. That same day he had sent national troops to Alabama so that two African-American college students could enter the University of Alabama without being killed by angry [...]
Hello, KEXP friends, Michele Myers here. Each week I bring you a musical subject in the time it takes to play just one song. These stories are called KEXP Documentaries. And this year we’ve done 4 series: Pop Goes Electronic, The New World, Psychedelics and our current series, Civil Rights Songs.
This past week [...]
Greetings KEXPeeps. It’s that time of year… after weeks of agonizing over thousands of choices, each KEXP DJ is supposed to come up with their favorite albums of the year. Which presents the question… Do I choose the ones I think are the most accomplished musically? Or do I choose the ones that [...]
Following a folk tradition started by artists like Woody Guthrie in the 1940’s, Bob Dylan started writing political songs in the 60’s. His compositions like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A Changin’” were some of the most powerful written during the Civil Rights era. And his music helped empower people [...]
Tom Waits is perhaps our greatest living artist. Go ahead, debate me, my e-mail is michele@kexp.org.
Somehow, after 14 years of DJing I manage to keep only about 200 albums at home. Just my favorites. Whole releases that can be listened to all the way through without a bad song ruining the experience. [...]
Hello KEXP friends, Michele Myers here. Every week I create a short story out of music and talking. We call these stories KEXP Documentaries. Our current series is Civil Rights Songs. And although it was one of the most difficult to research (because the crimes committed against African-Americans before and during the [...]
Our current series for KEXP Documentaries is Civil Rights Songs.
Pete Seeger was a leading activist in the fight for unions in the 1940’s. In the 50’s his folk band The Weavers were blacklisted — forbidden to play any commercial gigs — for being part of the communist party. The Weavers broke up in [...]
Every week KEXP brings you a musical subject in the time it takes to play just one song.
We call these stories KEXP Documentaries. They’re a mix of interviews, storytelling and music.
The current series “Civil Rights Songs” is by far the most difficult subject I’ve ever researched. The crimes done to African-Americans during [...]
The XX are a brand new young band from South London. It’s definitely rock music, but with lots of male-female vocal turns. I hear a little Velvet Underground (the melodic stuff) in there, and also some Cure. But they’re distinct, delivering the songs in intimate voices and adding electronics. Their new self-titled [...]
It’s that time again. When your friendly neighborhood KEXP DJ starts to think about her Top 10 Albums of the year. It’s been a good year! So far my list looks like this:
1. Thunderheist - Thunderheist (Warm dance beats and sexy vocals from the new Canadian duo)
2. Brother Ali - Us [...]
