By Annette Barlow
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. Today’s song, featured on The Morning Show with John Richards, is "There Go The Nightmericans" by Elvis Perkins, a 2017 self-released single to benefit the Emergent Fund.
Elvis Perkins - There Go The Nightmericans (MP3)
Folk-rocker Elvis Perkins isn’t your average musician. While others are busy imbibing their body weight in Jack Daniels, corralling groupies, and trashing hotel rooms, Perkins (son of Psycho actor Anthony Perkins and famed photographer Berry Berenson) is furiously riffing on the state of politics with his “There Go the Nightmericans.” Proceeds for the resulting benefit single will go directly to the Emergent Fund, which was established after the 2016 election and works to aid American communities under attack by federal policy, including people of color, Muslim-American communities, LGBTQ people, and women.
Created with Brooklyn-based songwriter Sam Cohen and written in direct response to the social injustices doled out by the Trump administration, “There Go The Nightmericans,” is a deceptively sweet-sounding track: a gentle, lilting, lo-fi exploration of corrupt power, varnished with searing lyrics and ruminating anger.
Keep up with news and live dates from Elvis Perkins via his Bandcamp, and check out his KEXP in-studio performance from two years ago below.
Finding good new music can be a full time job, so let KEXP help! In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery.
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.
