Tag Archives: KEXP Seattle

Under the Milky Way

Sometime in the recent past, I heard a song on KEXP Seattle’s The Morning Show with John Richards. And like I do when I don’t know the song, I capture it with the Shazam app. (I swear, sometimes it seems to take only a fraction of a second… how do they do that!) Anyway, onContinue reading “Under the Milky Way”

Lips Like Sugar

Hanging back in the 1980s for a bit, here… I’ve mentioned before that a school friend of mine was in a local avant-garde/art-rock/new wave band, A New Man Celebration, in the early ’80s. I remember one of his favourite bands at the time was Echo & the Bunnymen, and I’m sure he put one ofContinue reading “Lips Like Sugar”

Charlie Darwin

I’m not sure where I first heard the song “Charlie Darwin” by the band The Low Anthem, though it may have been on KEXP Seattle during The Morning Show with John Richards. Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky formed the band, which is currently a foursome, in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, in 2006. They self-releasedContinue reading “Charlie Darwin”

Suddenly Last Summer

Today I made a quick stop into our local Safeway grocery store, and while in line to check out, a familiar old song came on the store’s canned music channel. The song was “Suddenly Last Summer,” one I remember well from a sometimes solitary period in my music enjoyment as I branched out from theContinue reading “Suddenly Last Summer”

Guttersnipe

So, what’s a guttersnipe? That’s what I wondered the first time I heard this song on KEXP Seattle some time ago, before listening closely to the lyrics. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it (concisely) as a “street urchin,” and Merriam-Webster says it means “1: a homeless vagabond and especially an outcast boy or girl inContinue reading “Guttersnipe”

Long in the Tooth

Today I decided to cruise around the KEXP Seattle website, and looked through their Song of the Day feature. I clicked on October 1, 2020; I suppose drawn in by the name “Long in the Tooth,” a song chosen by DJ John Richards, host of The Morning Show with John Richards. The track title wasContinue reading “Long in the Tooth”

New Amsterdam

Recently I wrote, in a post on Fleetwood Mac’s “Second Hand News,” about my record-playing parties at my parents’ home where I’d often play only one song from a record, take it off, put on another, and so on. A more modern take on that practice is to buy only one track from an album,Continue reading “New Amsterdam”

Kiss Them for Me

I can’t say I followed the punk rock scene of the mid-1970s, though I suppose I observed from a distance what was going on due to my constant fascination with music. But English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer Susan Ballion, better known as Siouxsie Sioux, sure did. She first saw the English punk rock bandContinue reading “Kiss Them for Me”

Big Jet Plane

So, hands up, everyone who’s yearning to get away on holiday! It’s now over a year since the first COVID-19 cases developed worldwide, and most of us have spent ten or more months in some form of restricted lifestyle. Like the character in the video for today’s song, many are trapped in unrewarding routines (orContinue reading “Big Jet Plane”

Goose Snow Cone

Content warning: this post contains discussion of mental health. I first heard Aimee Mann’s music in the film, I Am Sam, which starred American actor Sean Penn as a single father with an intellectual disability, at risk of losing custody of his daughter. The soundtrack is made up entirely of covers of Beatles songs; MannContinue reading “Goose Snow Cone”

Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed on Freedom)

On my trip down an internet rabbit hole yesterday, I randomly came across a few spiritual-type songs and other tunes. Among these songs was a video of a performance of “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed on Freedom)” by the Resistance Revival Chorus at TEDxAsburyPark in New Jersey, USA, in 2019. However, theContinue reading “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed on Freedom)”

Colors

A week and a half ago, I was listening to The Morning Show with John Richards on KEXP Seattle. That morning, Richards played “Colors” by Black Pumas, a psychedelic soul band from Austin, Texas, USA. It is a song I don’t think I had ever heard before. The duo of singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producerContinue reading “Colors”

Alive and Kicking

It’s Friday! (And, to begin, my apologies… I planned to post much earlier in the day, then an appointment, groceries and other obligations got in the way. But here we are now. Let’s settle in and enjoy, shall we?) Back when I was working, Friday was a day that arrived with much celebration of planningContinue reading “Alive and Kicking”

Belong

This morning, I listened to part of the archive of Friday’s episode of KEXP’s The Morning Show with John Richards, as I’d missed the start of the program that day. In Richards’ opening set, he played “Belong,” an R.E.M. song covered by the Hobart, Australia band, Quivers. I Shazamed the piece, but the app couldn’tContinue reading “Belong”

Raconte-moi Une Histoire

I woke up feeling optimistic this morning. Then, my consciousness was flooded by various conflicts or challenges and the general feeling of missing being free to be near all those I care about deeply. ‘Tis the season… or year. Fortunately, John Richards was back at the helm this morning for KEXP Seattle’s The Morning ShowContinue reading “Raconte-moi Une Histoire”

Love & Hate

Love & Hate. Right & Wrong. Us & Them. Black & White (or any colour contrast…). Today as I observe the ongoing coverage of the United States election, I try to wade through the biases of two extremes that have expanded to take up so much space in our consciousness. I just want to knowContinue reading “Love & Hate”

Space Oddity

During my morning routine from around 7:00 to 9:00 (Central time in Canada), I like to have a random, unknown music mix playing. But among the radio stations I listen to online, mainly KEXP Seattle and BBC 6 Music, there isn’t usually anything on that appeals to me for that time of day. The MorningContinue reading “Space Oddity”

Coming to Get You Nowhere

The British band This Is the Kit is one I’ve heard from quite a lot on my favourite radio stations, BBC 6 Music and KEXP Seattle. Most of the BBC’s presenters have been playing their songs, and Guy Garvey is no exception: today’s selection aired on Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour this past weekend, as partContinue reading “Coming to Get You Nowhere”

Hold on When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It

Back on March 26, around the start of this whole lockdown life we’ve been stumbling through all these months, and all the while with the faint hope that tomorrow everything will be okay, I heard today’s selection, by the Montréal, Canada band, Stars. DJ John Richards played the track on The Morning Show with JohnContinue reading “Hold on When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It”

Friday

Happy Friday! Do you remember Show and Tell at school? I was always looking for cool things to bring to school to share. Not sure I ever came up with that many, or at least really good ones. Today’s selection takes that ritual to a new level. “Friday” is a song by the New YorkContinue reading “Friday”

Hot Thoughts

Spoon (not to be confused with the Canadian 80s avant-garde band Spoons) is another band I know very little about, though I believe the Austin, Texas group, formed in 1993, has a big following in the indie-rock world. I heard the song “Hot Thoughts” a while after the band released it on the album ofContinue reading “Hot Thoughts”

The Sunshine

I definitely would have first heard the band Manchester Orchestra on KEXP Seattle. The sound of the the indie-rock foursome from Atlanta, Georgia, USA is a natural fit for the broadcaster. The public radio station, affiliated with the University of Washington, held its annual fall fundraiser last week, raising over 1.1 million USD in justContinue reading “The Sunshine”

European

Happy Friday… let’s listen to some music! I probably first heard Lydia Loveless played on KEXP Seattle. I bought her third album, Real, in November 2017, just over a year after it was released. My two favourite songs from the album are “Heaven” (not to be confused with a song of the same title byContinue reading “European”

I Melt with You

Do you ever notice how, when you start your day off with an upbeat song, it has an influence on your mood for the rest of the day?  I think music can have that power, though I wouldn’t claim it will cure all ills. But I believe it does make a difference. Maybe that’s whyContinue reading “I Melt with You”

Fade into You

Mazzy Star, an alternative rock band from Santa Monica, California in the USA, is an act I keep stumbling across. Their single “Fade into You,” from the 1993 album So Tonight That I Might See plays often on KEXP Seattle, and it popped up in the YouTube suggestions when I was working on the postContinue reading “Fade into You”

The Trip

Sitting in the summer porch today, I’m thinking about past trips and trips we’d like to take. Family care and other responsibilities prevented us from travelling far away since the spring of 2017. We did take a short road trip to Calgary, Alberta in 2018 as a quick but not uninterrupted bit of respite. AndContinue reading “The Trip”

Space Age Love Song

An internet search for concert dates in the 1980s for the band A Flock of Seagulls didn’t help me find when they played in Winnipeg, Canada at the Centennial Concert Hall; I think it was in 1983 or 1984. I also don’t remember if there was an opening act!  All that said, I do rememberContinue reading “Space Age Love Song”

Sea Song

The Cheshire, England based band Doves released their debut album, Lost Souls, in 2000. Songs from that album get a fair amount of play on two of my go-to sources for music, Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music and The Morning Show with John Richards on KEXP Seattle. The three-piece band took aContinue reading “Sea Song”

Running Red Lights

I’m not one to advocate for excessive government intervention in most things, but when society shows a lack of will to control certain behaviours, I’m all in. Speeding and the running of red lights is one such area. I’ll apologize in advance for the rant, like “sorry-not-sorry.” In some cases, government regulation is essential, byContinue reading “Running Red Lights”

Young Folks

Ah, summer weather in spring! 23 C (73 F) here in Winnipeg, Canada today! Today’s song has been in my digital collection since February 2007. I think it may have been one of those free single-of-the-week cards that Starbucks used to give out in their stores. At any rate, I’ve heard it a lot overContinue reading “Young Folks”

Faster Than Light

Lately, since I discovered Neil Finn’s Fangradio blog via KEXP Seattle, I’ve added the blog to my listening routine (which led me to my posts on “Distant Sun” and “One Step Ahead”). From April 28 to May 11, while he was recording for Crowded House, Finn’s daily shows were compilations of highlights, returning to theContinue reading “Faster Than Light”

Otherwise

Morcheeba is a British electronic trio that came to my attention through our oldest son a long time ago. I once saw a copy of their 2002 CD, Charango in Music Trader, a store in Winnipeg, Canada that sells new and used records and CDs; I remembered our lad introducing us to their sound, andContinue reading “Otherwise”

Love Is the Drug

Roxy Music released “Love Is the Drug” as the first single from their 1976 record, Siren. It’s a classic, with a unique beginning under the bass line:  footsteps to a car, opening the door, the motor starting, then racing off. (For two other songs by Roxy Music, please visit my posts on “Oh Yeah” andContinue reading “Love Is the Drug”

Distant Sun

Today I was listening to The Morning Show with John Richards on KEXP Seattle, and cruising around the website. Like on so many artist and collective pages, there’s a list of live events there, to entertain and keep people connected to a sense of normalcy in terms of hearing musical performances, even though we can’tContinue reading “Distant Sun”

Wildflowers

I had been browsing through my vinyl collection to refresh my memory on which Pink Floyd records I own when posting the song, “Wish You Were Here” (as those details somehow seemed important at the time). When I had grabbed that bunch of records, the next LP sidled up to them was the 1979 albumContinue reading “Wildflowers”

The Rat

I heard the song “The Rat” on KEXP Seattle in July 2019. It’s a high-energy, post-punk indie piece, and I think it’s a great song though I haven’t been able to figure out a meaning for it. After the opening with its urgent guitar chords, drummer Matt Barrick does a smashing job on the kit,Continue reading “The Rat”

Denmark

I’ve mentioned my UK cousins before (please see my January 18, 2020 post on Elbow’s “This Blue World”). While visiting the families in 2011, we took a road trip of northern England and southern Scotland. One day, we took in the opening day of the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe (the largest arts festival in theContinue reading “Denmark”

The Joke

I didn’t start this blog to highlight news of the day; far from it. If anything, it’s about reflecting on memories that music evokes in me. But today’s song has been on my “to do” pile for since first purchasing it. It was one of the 25 songs I shopped for a few weeks ago,Continue reading “The Joke”

Age of Steam

From 1979 to 1999 (with a few years out of the paid workforce to stay at home full-time caring for my sons from 1993 to 1996), I worked at a railway. I was mostly in office work, then management, but in the late 90s when I returned, administrative positions were disappearing to cutbacks, and IContinue reading “Age of Steam”

Drive

A friend, with whom I’ve connected, disconnected and reconnected several times over our 42-or-so years of knowing each other, introduced me to R.E.M. when they were becoming big in North America, particularly on college radio, when we reconnected around 1981-82. He was in community college at the time, and I was working an office jobContinue reading “Drive”

Seventeen

I first heard the song “Seventeen” by Sharon Van Etten on KEXP Seattle, one of my go-to sources for music. The song is also the subject of an episode of the podcast, Song Exploder, where artists break down the recording of their songs. (I provide a link below… bookmark it; I highly recommend listening toContinue reading “Seventeen”

January 9, 2020 – Cedar Lane

I can’t recall exactly where I discovered First Aid Kit, but every time I hear another song by them I am immediately drawn in by the lush harmony of the Swedish folk duo’s voices. I may have heard them on KEXP Seattle as, other than Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour (BBC 6 Music), KEXP is whereContinue reading “January 9, 2020 – Cedar Lane”