Songs that make their way into the public domain are curious objects. For the few that make their way into pop culture, like "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" or "Jingle Bells," there are thousands of others that just collect dust and remain out of the public conscious. They're songs from bygone eras.…
Damon Albarn, of Blur and the Gorillaz, is bringing Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland into the tech world in his new musical Wonder.land. The story follows a girl named Aly looking for solace in an online game called Alice after being bullied at school. Albarn wrote the music, with lyric…
Red Wedding (and my selection of this album for this particular week may or may not be related to the start of the new season of Game of Thrones) was a pretty obscure band even by Review Revue standards. It sounds like they had quite the reputation as a live band around L.A., but they only released…
Don't think Pond a lesser Tame Impala. Though they drink from the same cosmic pool as their fellow Perthians (and share members, past and current), the Australian five-piece ride a heavier wavelength. Friends Nick Allbrook, Jay Watson and Joseph Ryan formed the band originally to play whatever the …
Chaz Bundick has made some pretty grand music under his Toro y Moi monicker. His bedroom electronica evolved through 2010 and 2011 to incorporate more R&B textures and hip-hop cool, but in the last six months he's upped his game. From a songwriting standpoint, Bundick has dialed in to pop/R&am…
"How is it," longtime readers of this series might wonder," that you've covered two David Sylvian solo albums, but not a single Japan album? Or even Rain Tree Crow!" You know, I have no good answer to that beyond the fact that this pulling-records-off-the-shelves game is a fickle one. Maybe I spent…
Fresh off releasing their new album, Rituals,Trances & Ecstasies For Humans in Face of The Collapse, and their recent energized performance at Sasquatch Music Festival, Kithkin are continuing their reign as the Cascadian Princes of Forest Rock. The first single off their new record, "Altered Be…
I can't think of many one-hit wonders who have careers with the length and breadth of Chris Isaak. If you were alive in the late '80s, the song (and video!) "Wicked Game" is probably what comes to mind when you hear Isaak's name. That song was on his third album, though (a testament to Warner Broth…
Mychal Cohen, lead singer for Seattle band Campfire OK, seems to always be singing behind a wry smile. In fact, each of the band members seem to share this sense of playing through a wink. From keyboard player, to vocals to banjos, bass and drums, the band imbues an aura of comfort and happiness – …
Beck continues to surprise us as he slowly unveils tracks from his new album, the long-awaited follow-up to 2014's Morning Phase. In addition to the groove of "Wow," today we get the radio-friendly pop song "Up All Night." The track also appears in the new FIFA ’17 video game, hence the YouTube im…
When a band self-titles an album midway through their career, it's usually for one of two reasons: they've either run out of ideas or they've taken a significantly new tact. For Portland duo The Helio Sequence, the reason is obvious. Rather than mull over songs in their usual slow-going and contemp…
DJ NHK Guy is the alias of Seattle-via-Fukuoka electronic producer Jesse Lopez, creator of some of the finest juke/footwork rhythms to emerge locally as well as internationally in the last few years. Fusing a love for disco, J-pop, vaporwave, R&B, and video game soundtracks through frenetic and…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Cheryl Waters, host of The Midday Show on KEXP, is "Video Game" by Sufjan Stevens, from the 2020 album The Ascension on Asthmatic Kitty.
Seattle is hot with football fever as the Seattle Seahawks head to Super Bowl XLVIII this Sunday, February 2nd! To show our hometown pride, DJs John Richards, Cheryl Waters, and Kevin Cole will be playing nothing but local music on Friday from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PT. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll re…
If he weren't so dead-set on making music that could be deemed as capital "A" art, Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox could be a very good rock star. He's outspoken, audacious, practically writes his own headlines, and is absolutely impossible to look away from when he brings his A-game (and, occasio…
Greg Vandy explores that summer feeling on this two-hour mix and nod to Barna Howard's new album, plus 18 other road trip worthy songs from up-and-comers like Banditos, Leyla McCalla, The Deslondes, Benjamin Booker, Saun & Starr, Steve Gunn, and Spirit Family Reunion, to name a few. 1. Benja…
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. Anyone who follows football or has been to The Clink for a Hawks game knows that hands down it is the loudest stadium in…
Earlier this week, UK trio alt-J released the single "3WW" as a video game; today, we get an actual video. Directed by Young Replicant (aka L.A.-based artist Alex Takacs), the band describe it as "a beautifully shot story of love and loss in Mexico." The new album Relaxer is out June 2nd via Canva…
Just keep reminding yourself: it's for charity. Mac DeMarco is selling a decrepit pair of Vans on eBay — the same ones he wore at our 2014 Bumbershoot Music Lounge — with proceeds going to the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. With six days left to bid, the auction has already exceeded $10,000. Chec…
