photo by Jeremy Farmer

Hello, Michele Myers here. I produce a KEXP Documentary, a short radio story on a musical subject ,every week. Our current series is called Psychedelics. So far we’ve profiled The Flaming Lips, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Pink Floyd, Sly and The Family Stone, The Beatles, The Orb and The Velvet Underground. And in our most recent episode we put the spotlight on the somewhat shy UK band Spiritualized.

Influenced by The Velvet Underground, Spiritualized’s lyrics, written by founding member Jason Pierce, are intensely personal. They’re also sung with a deadpan delivery, much like Lou Reed’s. So it’s ironic that their stage show seems to try to take the focus away from the band. Flashing lights are aimed toward the audience and the waves of volume are so loud they effect you physically.

Join KEXP Docs for our final episode of Psychedelics this week on Kevin Cole’s show Thursday at 3pm (and rebroadcast Saturday at 2pm on Stevie Zoom’s show) . We’re finishing the series with one of the trippiest bands around today: Animal Collective!

KEXP Documentaries are produced by Michele Myers with John Felthouse and Zeek Earl. You can hear all our KEXP Docs series, including Masters of Turntablism, Punk Evolution and Pop Goes Electronica in the On Demand section at kexp.org.

Pela at JITMAN 5/29/09
photo by Alex Crick

• Many KEXP listeners will be disheartened to learn that Pela, a particular favorite of the Morning Show’s John Richards, has called it quits. The Brooklyn band announced the end of their journey on their website this past Friday, citing “tremendous obstacles” including legal battles, band member injuries, and management and label troubles, including the loss of a potentially lucrative deal. No word yet on the fate of the band’s twice-recorded album, Arise Ye Sunken Ships, but you can listen to the songs in acoustic form as one of our recent Live Performances podcasts:

• Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space, the be all, end all album by Spiritualized, is being reissued in a collector’s and special edition — yes, those are two different editions of the album. The collector’s edition will include the original album on mini CD along with two discs of demos and alternate mixes. The special edition will house the original album and just one bonus disc, in other words special is inferior to collector (and don’t you forget it!). The new and improved discs are due November 16th.

• Athens, Georgia, has had an up and down history with music. R.E.M. and the wacky minds of the Elephant 6 collective will always light the way for bands in the college town to follow, but perhaps the birth of Supercluster will find its own mark in the town’s musical mythos. Comprised of members of Pylon, The Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System, and Deerhunter, the super band will release their debut, Waves, October 6th on Cloud Recordings.

• When you think of John Lennon, is the first thing that comes to mind, Goldfrapp? Perhaps it will be when you see Nowhere Boy, the upcoming film documenting Lennon’s childhood. The dance-pop group provides the score to the film, which is based on the book by Lennon’s half-sister, Julia Baird.

• J. Mascis is joining bandmaster Lou Barlow in the ‘hands in everything’ department. Mascis produces and performs on the upcoming Hush Arbors album, Yankee Reality, due October 6th via Ecstatic Peace. If you haven’t listened to the brainchild of Keith Wood by now, hopefully the involvement of Mascis will force you to.

• Grunge is coming back! Of course, by the emphasis you realize by now that I’m not talking about J. Crew and Banana Republic stocking easy fit flannel button-ups but about a book. Grunge is the new book from former Sub Pop photographer Michael Levine and features words from Thurston Moore and pictures of Seattle’s affected youth along with black and whites of Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, and that little known spec of popular culture, Nirvana.

• The Pavement reunion tour rumors were confirmed this week, and now the one New York City show has already quadrupled into a four night stint at Central Park’s Summerstage. The group has now confirmed performances for September 21st-24th with word making the rounds that the boys will tour the world throughout 2010 before boxing back up the Pavement name and songs and stuffing them in the attic.

• Skynyrd! The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will be on Conan tonight. There are some other great bands hitting the talkshows this week, including Arctic Monkeys, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Phoenix, Black Joe Lewis, Monsters of Folk, the collective featuring M. Ward, Jim James, and Conor Oberst. Here are the rest of the highlights:
  Monday, September 21

  Conan O’Brien: Lynyrd Skynyrd
  Late Late Show: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
  Last Call: Franz Ferdinand (R)
  Colbert Report: The Flaming Lips (R)
  Jimmy Kimmel: Matt & Kim (R)

  Tuesday, September 22

  Conan O’Brien: Monsters of Folk
  Jimmy Kimmel: Kid Cudi

  Wednesday, September 23

  Late Late Show: Arctic Monkeys

  Thursday, September 24

  David Letterman: Snow Patrol
  Jay Leno: Smokey Robinson with Joss Stone
  Jimmy Fallon: Phoenix

  Friday, September 25

  Conan O’Brien: Rodrigo y Gabriela
  Last Call: Ladyhawke