Last year's Six Degrees honoree Robyn Hitchcock releases his 21st album this Spring. Check out the first single below, titled "I Want To Tell You About What I Want." In an interview with NPR, Hitchcock explains, "The original title of the song was 'My Vision Of World Empathy.' Either we will event…
Earlier this year, Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National curated the compilation Day of the Dead, a whopping 59 song, 5 and a ½ hour long tribute to the Grateful Dead. Today, NW-via-NZ band Unknown Mortal Orchestra share a video to go with their rendition of the 1978 track "Shakedown Street." Di…
Swedish artist Lykke Li shares a video as dark and lonely as the track itself: watch the clip for "Never Gonna Love Again" below, from last year's I Never Learn. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she explains, "Loneliness and heartbreak follow you everywhere and they are loudest right after the …
Last month, we shared Moby's version of "Rio," and today, we've got Warpaint's stark, moody cover of Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur." These covers will be available on the tribute album Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran, out July 15th on Manimal Vinyl. All sales go to benefit Amnesty I…
Everything you hear, see, and experience on KEXP is powered by you and your fellow music lovers. The podcasts, free Concerts at the Mural, live streaming videos of Pixies and Lykke Li … listeners who become donors do all that! KEXP’s One Day Summer Fundraising Drive and Hood-to-Hood Challenge is go…
The compositions of the Iraqi oud composer and performer Rahim AlHaj do not have lyrics, but the tension, force, and vitality of his songs speak volumes about the power of music in the face of terrible strife. Backed by a string quartet and bassist on Wo' Pop, AlHaj speaks boldly about valuin…
Ryan Crowther is one of the co-foudners of the Fisherman's Village Music Festival, the weekend musical celebration in Everett, WA, on May 15-17. The festival is in its second year and this go-round boasts a stellar lineup, including many local favorites like The Helio Sequence, Telekinesis, Deep Se…
Boise isn't one of those places where you hop out of bed and say "I think we should go to Boise this weekend!" Actually, I don't think it would have ever been a destination on my list, but then low and behold Treefort Music Festival was born. So many people talked up this fledgling festival last y…
We've reached day three, the halfway point of Iceland Airwaves Music Festival and of the KEXP broadcast. Rather than winding down, things are just getting going, as festival-goers prepare for a weekend that invariably becomes a music supermarathon, catching great music all over Reykjavik from noon …
Electronic music’s second massive wave of popularity is in full swing. For the first time since disco, Top 40 music is far more influenced by modern dance trends than traditional R&B or rock elements. By and large, the highest paid DJs do better than the highest paid rappers. After being critic…
"Cheers to evolution, cheers to knowing where you are going, cheers to the future.” Those were Trevor Power's parting words as Boise and the U.S. said goodbye to Youth Lagoon on the final night of Treefort Music Fest. It was a moment Boise was surely dreading, but after a fun day with acts such as …
In the liner notes of her latest album, Ivy Tripp, Katie Crutchfield — better known by her recording alias Waxahatchee — has a photo of none other than Dolly Parton. She laughed when KEXP DJ Stevie Zoom asked her about it. "I have Dolly everywhere I go," she smiled. Like Parton, the Alabama-born Cr…
It's been four years since Owen Pallett stopped by KEXP for a live in-studio, four long years. Although he's grown a beard, Pallett's new music could be described as clean-shaven, bare in its autobiographical revelations. His latest material even includes his phone number! In between performances o…
It's only fitting that he's on a record label called Truth & Soul Records, because that's exactly the kind of music the legendary Lee Fields creates. The 63-year-old music veteran is still going strong after 43 years in the business, and his most recent release, Emma Jean, is just as vital as e…
Midday show host Cheryl Waters presents a sweet collection of songs just in time for the holiday of love. Because who doesn't love great music? 1. Strand of Oaks - Plymouth 2. Zammuto - Great Equator 3. Deerhoof - Paradise Girls 4. Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best 5. Gang of Four - Bro…
There's only one thing that's remained constant on the weird, mystical journey of Seattle experimental hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces: progressive thinking. Everything else is up for grabs. Where their debut EPs were bombastic and shocking in their odd use of sampling and jazz rhythms in a bass-heavy …
Indie veterans Yo La Tengo have announced a new album slated for release in March called There's a Riot Going On. In a press release written by writer and critic Luc Santé, the album title is an intentional nod to Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 album of the same name, as well as a remark on the cu…
Weezer take on the awkward world of online dating in their new video for Everything Will Be Alright in the End track "Go Away." Frontman Rivers Cuomo goes to extreme lengths to create the perfect picture to use on "Winder." Despite his best efforts, Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino continues to swip…
"With the challenges in our lives, sometimes you have to go in order to truly blossom." That's the theme behind Industrial Revelation's "No Way Out But In", but it could really apply to the musically adventurous Seattle jazz outfit's entire ethos. Their energetic, unpredictable…
KEXP's Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole pumps up the volume with a great mix of new music and live rarities in celebration and appreciation of KEXP's Amplifiers Club donors! Turn it up! 1. Sonic Avenues - In Your Head 2. Guided By Voices - Psychotic Crush 3. Thee Oh Sees - Drop 4. Sharon Van E…
