Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by John Richards, host of The Morning Show on KEXP, is "Head On" by José González, from the 2021 album Local Valley on Mute Records.
After six years, Swedish singer-songwriter José González will return with his new album Local Valley, recorded in his home studio outside Gothenburg during quarantine. On today's Song of the Day, González taps into his hardcore past from the '90s.
"I wrote 'Head On' as a combat song or a list of instructions…a manual," he explains in a press release. "I mean both 'straight ahead' and head ON — as in switching on your mind. It was inspired by Fela Kuti’s 'Zombie' and the way I used to write lyrics for my hardcore band. It’s also in the vein of my song “What Will” from 2015. That one and this one are both anti-dogma, pro-reason songs. Some of the terms I use, like 'rent seeker' or 'value extractor,' are from books on economics that I’ve been reading, like The Value Of Everything by Mariana Mazzucato."
Local Valley will be released 9/17 on Mute.
