Every year, KEXP champions hundreds of bands but there are only a handful that become very intimate and have a certain resonance with the station’s staff and listeners. Minneapolis collective Cloud Cult is one of those groups that have gathered a loyal listenership and fervent fanbase in Seattle and have been extremely generous with their time for KEXP over the years, having performed at many our live events like our Ballard Day broadcast and a KEXP BBQ.
You call yourself a Pixies fan? Bought tickets to their reunited Doolittle tour, yeah? For multiple shows even? Well, you’re not a real Pixies fan until you’ve plunked down two hundred and something bucks on the Minotaur box set, collecting 5 remastered CDs of their studio albums, also contained on 6 Blu-ray and 6 DVDs in 5.1 surround, plus a 54 page book set, all packaged by Vaughan Oliver, the designer of all of the Pixies album artwork. Come on, pilgrim — show your love.
Under the shadow of that monster, the rest of the week’s releases are fairly low key… but certainly not to be ignored. British brat rockers The Cribs let loose their fourth studio album, while Snow Patrol continues on their path with Up to Now, their sixth, and a new band fronted by a seasoned veteran, Bad Lieutenant, with New Order’s Bernard Sumner, releases in CD form their debut. Local (and former local) acts Big Spider’s Back, Loch Lomond, and deVries have new ones out today, as do Ola Podrida and Pants Yell!. Iceland rings in with two new releases, both quite different but equally excellent (what else would you expect?): the ambient experimental By the Throat by Ben Frost from the Bedroom Community, and Ólafur Arnalds’s Found Songs, which collects 7 songs of chamber strings and piano recorded in as many days, out on Erased Tapes — both well worth checking out!
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. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Midday host Cheryl Waters, is “Hanuman” by Rodrigo y Gabriela from their 2009 album 11:11 on ATO Records.
Between full capacity shows at Showbox SoDo this weekend, KEXP favorites Ghostland Observatory performed an exclusive set for our VIP Club Concert series at The Triple Door. Never ones to go half way, the Austin duo of electronic wizard Thomas Turner and electrifying guitarist/singer Aaron Behrens brought the full Ghostland package with thick fog and cornea-searing lasers. Check out the photos by Christopher Nelson now!
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. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Midday Show host Cheryl Waters, is “The True & Living (feat. Raekwon and I Self Devine)” by BK-One from the 2009 album Rádio Do Canibal on Rhymesayers Entertainment.
BK-One - The True & Living (feat. Raekwon and I Self Devine) (MP3)
We are currently experiencing difficulties with our Streaming Archive. You may have noticed that the problem coincided with Daylight Savings, but unfortunately the solution isn’t as easy as turning the clocks back.
This means that if you listen to any of our shows on demand, you might find that you’re listening to another show or at least to another hour. But you also might find in some cases that there is no audio at all.
Right now, our expert team of engineers is working diligently around the clock to fix the error.
As a temporary solution in some cases, you may be able to select a time one hour ahead of the time you would like to hear. Otherwise, we expect to have this problem solved very soon.
The year before the Year of Pavement just keeps getting bigger. This time the news of an added performance directly affects Washington, as the group has been announced as a participant of the 2010 edition of the state’s Memorial Day pastime, Sasquatch!, which falls on the weekend of May 29-31st. Those too lazy or too cranky to camp for a weekend hold out hope the reunited group hits the city limits as well sometime next year. But those eager to attend Sasquatch again next year can pick up a special discounted 3-day festival pass right now!
In sad news from last night, drummer Jerry Fuchs, who’s played with LCD Soundsystem, !!!, The Juan MacLean, and most recently Maserati, died after a five-story fall in an elevator shaft. While attending a fund-raiser in Williamsburg, he and a friend tried to jump after they got stuck between floors. The friend landed safely, but Fuchs’ clothing apparently caught inside the elevator. More here.
These days, laptop musicians are big: they’re in rock bands, pop bands, R&B groups, behind rappers, and even DJ’s. Mashups have gone from a fun and rare adventure into sampling done by skilled DJ’s to a common and pedestrian event performed by countless computer kids. And then there’s Greg Gillis aka Girl Talk; say mashup, think laptop musician, and envision a packed grindfest for an audience, and he’s probably first in your mind. Although he admits he wasn’t the first, Girl Talk brought in a new age where sweaty yet intelligent dance parties are possible, where watching a dude press stuff on his laptop can make you go crazy, and where you can hear Ben and Jerry like concoctions of samples and grooves and still freak the night away. I caught up with Greg when he stopped by Charlottesville, VA for a quick chat about his recent Asia tour, the different effects of each sample across the globe, his creative process, his admittedly nerdy and academic background (he said it, I didn’t!), and more.
Headlining the Sunset Tavern in Ballard this Sunday, with Anni Rossi, and Pomegranates, Headlights, quite possibly one of the most underrated bands of recent times, are back to woo Seattle once again. The Champaign, Illinois, trio have been making consistently solid and genuine indie pop albums since their debut in 2005. Headlining at the Nectar Lounge this past April brought only a thin crowd, but just a month later in May, they opened for Loney, Dear at The Crocodile and dazzled with the witty dynamic of a group of hard-working old friends who have been touring nonstop, and having a great time doing it.
It’s raining when I walk out the door this morning. I get into my car and put the faceplate on my radio and put in my copy of The Pixies album Doolittle.
The first song is “Debaser”:
The simple bass leads me to some kind of window in my mind. And as the guitars hit and Black Francis starts to scream his smart, primal poetry — the window opens. I am singing and screaming along. Getting out. Letting out all the frustrations dropped on me by life, my family, the rain.
The people at the bus stop stare at me. I smile. Turn up the volume. Lean back in my seat.
Kim Deal’s feminine, sparse backups are like an angel on my shoulder. Reminding me of grace in all this confusion.
The next song on Doolittle is “Tame”:
How does he do that? He’s whispering, he’s yelling, yet somehow it’s all melodic. The part where he breathes is echoed by Kim’s counter-harmony. What is happening?
The third song is “Wave of Mutilation”:
Why does this rock band top all others in modern rock to me? Is it the space they leave in between (instead of filling every song up with noise)? Is it that the melodies are so different for every song? The way the songs on this record are so memorable I find myself humming them all day?
Maybe this is why Seattle is such a music hub. We NEED the music. Its light, expression, energy…
In my car with The Pixies, I’m as happy as I’ve ever been. And I can’t believe next Friday at the Paramount I’ll see this band perform Doolittle in its entirety. My friend Tiffany and I will be there, singing along to every melody line, every word. Until then it’s just me and the Pixies.
Michele Myers spins on KEXP Saturday afternoons from 3-6. Every week she chooses a favorite artist to spotlight and plays 3 songs in a row (the legal limit) from the artist. She also produces KEXP Documentaries and this week will run a feature on Kraftwerk on her Saturday afternoon show at 4pm, in honor of the release of their new 8-CD box set.
Exclusive live tracks from The Moondoggies, The Hold Steady, Andrew
Bird, The Kills, Of Montreal, Devotchka, Vivian Girls, MGMT and more.
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iTunes and KEXP
You can now find KEXP under "Eclectic" in iTunes after the demise of the "Public" category, to better represent the diversity of our daytime variety shows and numerous specialty programs.
