Erykah Badu stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night to perform a medley of "On & On" from Baduizm and a cover of Fela Kuti's "Sorrow Tears and Blood." The beloved Baduizm turned 20 this year but Badu was there to promote the latest Fela Kuti box set that she curated: Fela K…
I have a personal mission statement in mind for Jazz Theater. That is, to really celebrate the fact that Jazz Is Alive and Thriving. Now! In recent years, jazz has been cast in an unfortunate historical context -- as something that already happened, and is now over. Or, individual "experts" are too…
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. Thank you again to each and every one of you who donated to help build our home and specifically a new in studio perform…
It's hard to think of another band that has not only lasted as long as but has also never lost their knack for sonic adventure like Yo La Tengo. After nearly 30 years, and through 13 studio albums and who knows how many singles and EPs, the Hoboken, NJ, trio still sounds like no one else, even with…
Johnny Jewel makes music that calls upon the venue of cinema so regularly, that when he actually creates something meant to go along with film, it almost seems more meta than the imaginary films he's themed in other projects. Likewise, the whole of the Italians Do It Better catalog exists in this s…
Halfway through the American Football show at Neptune Theatre, the band is tuning up guitars and getting ready to launch into another number, and there's a small, singular moment of silence. Then, from somewhere in the throng of voices, someone yells out, "I still can't believe this is even happeni…
"Seriously? Another song?" Kristin Hersh, frontwoman for Throwing Muses, teased KEXP's DJ El Toro (a.k.a. Kurt Reighley) in mock-exasperation during their in-studio session, "We are so old, Kurt -- why are you doing this?" The veteran alt-rock legends are doing it for their latest release, Purgator…
There are always one or two potentially great albums that get snuck in at the eleventh hour (or twelfth month), just as music critics and fans are putting together their year end lists. (Did you vote for yours yet, by the way?) Our Music Director, Don Yates, couldn't wait to hear the new Big Boi al…
Time heals all wounds: NBC is lifting a 30-year ban on The Replacements, allowing them to play The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night, Tuesday, September 9th. The band got banished from 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1987 after a particularly rambunctious performance on Saturday Night Live…
Swedish sibling duo The Knife have announced they'll be calling it quits after an abundantly creative 15 year career. Karin Dreijer told Dazed & Confused, "When we finish the tour now in November we will close down, it’s our last tour. We don’t have any obligations to continue, it should only …
Last night, singer-songwriter Beck, appeared at Santa Cruz's Rio Theatre to perform music from last year's sheet music album, Song Reader. These songs have not been recorded and this is the first time he has played "Sorry" and "Heaven's Ladder" live. Watch both performances below. [CoS]
The John Richards Music that Matters Goldfrapp-attack-percolator-banquet podcast of luxury podcast of redundancy features new tracks from Charly Bliss, Mark Eitzel, and Aye Nako. 1. Brenda Xu - Officer 2. Mark Eizel – The Last Ten Years 3. Tender – Oracle 4. Gold Connections – Faith In Anyone 5…
The Moscow-via-New York songwriter Regina Spektor has been writing songs to capture a wide spectrum of vivid anecdotes, observations, and narratives for more than 15 years now, but for her latest record, 2016's Remember Us to Life, she atypically anchored herself to one inspiration: her pregn…
"Voodoo in my blood is living" - that's how Young Fathers kick off the third track on Massive Attack's return to the scene after nearly six years away. And after all that time, Young Fathers aren't lying - the voodoo is still strong. Last time we saw them was 2010's fantastic Heligoland, their firs…
It’s time to blast off to 1992... in 2015! Cairo’s EXPO 92 mini-festival takes place this Thursday through Saturday at the Capitol Hill all-ages venue and vintage store, showcasing exciting and vital local talent. Now in its seventh year, EXPO’s three day lineup is as much an opportunity to let you…
Over the past few years, we've heard an R&B and soul music revival bubbling up from within everything from electronic to rock - and on the psychedelic end of that revival comes Unknown Mortal Orchestra. First grabbing attention in 2010 with an anonymously posted track “Ffunny Ffrends” as the pr…
Dream-pop duo Beach House are still stomping the pavement in support of last year's two-fer releases, Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars, but they took the time to create a video for the track "The Traveller" off the latter. It's an eerie clip from the Baltimore band, featuring a woman d…
Legendary blues musician B.B. King has passed away at age 89. Late last year, King has to cancel several tour dates due to dehydration, and was receiving hospice care for the condition at the time of his death. After serving in World War II, King started his music career as a Memphis disc jockey a…
Phantogram can't help but fire up your passion. The upstate New York electro pop duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter came on strong with their seductive self-titled EP back in 2009, which they followed with two increasingly alluring LPs quickly in the next two years, but then left us hot and bothe…
