In late September, grunge icons Mudhoney released their 10th studio album and first in five years, Digital Garbage. The politically charged record is cutting in its lyricism, tackling the 2017 Charlottesville protests (“Next Mass Extinction”), the pitfalls of social media (“Kill Yourself Live”) and the near-constant shootings in America (“Please Mr. Gunman”). Our Song of the Day, “Paranoid Core,” is aimed square at the right-wing politicians currently running the country who spew out lies to inject fear. “Robots and aliens stealing jobs/ They’re bringing in drugs they’ll rape your mom,” read the lyrics. “Beware the city’s dazzling lights where dykes are waiting to steal your wife!/ I stoked a fire in your paranoid core/ I stoked a fire in your paranoid core/ I feed your fear!”
Below, watch Mudhoney’s iconic 2013 performance from the Space Needle for KEXP during the Sub Pop Silver Jubilee Broadcast.
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Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
