Live on KEXP

This week, Live on KEXP is doing something a little different. In honor of Black History Month, we’re revisiting an incredible performance from all the way back in 2016, when KEXP moved to our new home at Seattle Center. We were fortunate enough to have Miss Sharon Jones perform mere months before passing from cancer so for this episode we’re skipping story-time and replaying as many songs from this iconic performance with the Dap-Kings as we can fit in 25 minutes.  Recorded 04/16/2016. 100 Days, 100 Nights People Don’t Get What They Deserve Slow Down, Love Natural Born Lover These Tears Stranger to My Happiness Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rapping is hard. To deliver lyrics clearly, with speed and cadence, with rhythm and syncopation and with meaning, with TRUTH, is really dang HARD. Blimes Brixton and Gifted Gab are two of those special humans with these exceptional capabilities. The self-described “cool aunties” have been separately killing the game in their respective regions of San Francisco and Seattle for years now but, after meeting on Facebook, decided to join forces for a collaborative release. That album, 'Talk About It,' was released last year under the apt name Blimes and Gab. For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson delves into the history of both rappers while speculating whether an ancient English stone has anything to do with the unique abilities of Blimes and Gab, who virtually perform five songs off 'Talk About It.' Recorded 09/22/2020. Shellys (It’s Chill) Un Deux Trois Sacred Baptism My Way Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a rarity and an honor when a band is able to not only stick around for 20 years but still make music that people love and connect to. Canadian indie rock band The New Pornographers are in this honorable position, having channeled the power of collaboration to make it the long haul. Last year, the AC Newman-fronted band dropped by KEXP mere weeks before the world shut down to play songs off their latest album, 'In the Morse Code of Brake Lights.’ For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson connects the strength of magnets and the technical difficulty of Morse code with the enduring legacy and prowess of The New Pornographers. Magnets are magic. The more someone tries to explain them scientifically the more magical they seem. Recorded 01/30/2020. Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile The Surprise Knock Higher Beams You Won’t Need Those Where You’re Going Dreamlike and on the Rush Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If there’s one thing that hit shows like ’Sopranos’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ have taught us, it’s that we love an anti-hero. On American musician Caroline Rose’s latest album ’Superstar,’ she crafts a story centered around a brazenly confident anti-hero that plays out like a film with a beginning, middle, and an open ending. For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson breaks down the thematic elements of the record, offering tidbits of background on the glamorous Chateau Marmont, the scene for which the album is initially set, as well as diving into Rose’s progression from folk/Americana to the poppier ’Superstar’ and how he ended up with a cardboard cutout of Rose in his basement. Recorded 10/08/2020. Do You Think We’ll Last Forever? Feel The Way I Want More of the Same To Die Today Soma Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The older they get, the cooler your parents are (or whoever plays that role in your life.) Mexico City-raised trio Son Rompe Pera know this well. The brothers may have initially shunned their parents’ push towards playing marimba as teenagers in favor of punk and cumbia, but eventually came back, putting their own unique and modern spin on the rich traditions of marimba. Troy Nelson delves into the brothers’ journey while also digging into some background education on the history of cumbia, rosewood’s unique status amongst other types of wood, what an idiophone is (spoiler alert: it’s not a phone that makes you do stupid stuff), and how all of these things play into the marimbas that Son Rompe Pera famously break. Recorded 10/09/2020. Proteus FOS Reina de Cumbias Ay David! El Palo Poste Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, way back when, in 2020, there were 262 “working days.” Whatever that means. Nevertheless, KEXP favorites IDLES spent one of those days joining Kevin Cole for a virtual live performance recorded at Abbey Road Studios. With cat meows censoring the FCC-unfriendly words, the British band barrels into four tracks off their latest album, ‘Ultra Mono.’ Ahead of the fiery performance, Troy Nelson dissects the diverse collaborators involved and the very deliberate four-part strategy behind making their acclaimed third studio album. Recorded 10/06/2020. Model Village Mr. Motivator War Grounds Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adia Victoria hails from Spartanburg, South Carolina, informally known as “The Upstate” just a few miles down Highway 9 from the trucks hurtling along Interstate 85 between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia to the south. This geographical background heavily informs her music, which is often referred to as “gothic blues” and takes inspiration from Black blues artists like Robert Johnson, Skip James, John Lee Hooker, Junior Kimbrough, and RL Burnside.For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson maps her physical journey from South Carolina to New York to Atlanta as well as her musical journey from early loves The Strokes and The Black Keys to ending up working with founding member of another well-known “The” band, Aaron Dessner, on her latest full-length, 2019’s ‘Silences.' Telling Dessner she wanted the record to sound like, “Billie Holiday got lost in a Radiohead song,” the album is a dense and expansive expression of the blues in the hands of a creatively independent woman of color unafraid to explore. Recorded 03/12/2019. Different Kind of Love Heathen Dope Queen Blues Cry Wolf Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In summer 2019, when the world looked vastly different, Hot Chip dropped their seventh full-length, ‘A Bath Full of Ecstasy.’ One of their strongest releases in years, the album marks the first time in their 19 years together that Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard brought in outside producers to help round out their sound. With Philippe Zdar and Rodaidh McDonald by their side, the album is a blissfully cathartic release. Last September, Hot Chip dropped by KEXP to play three songs from ‘A Bath Full of Ecstasy’ as well as a throwback 2008 track. Join Troy Nelson to listen to them here on Live on KEXP. Recorded 09/19/2019 Hungry Child Bath Full of Ecstasy Spell Made in the Dark Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the very first Francophone band signed to Sub Pop, Corridor prove that they’re worth their salt with their third studio album, ‘Junior.' Released in fall 2019, the album expertly mingles woozy shoegaze and ethereal French vocals with tightly-wound angular guitars for a completely hypnotizing effect. Troy Nelson explores the history of the Montreal band and the swift making of Junior while the band plays a selection of songs off the record. Recorded 12/12/2019.  Agent Double Junior Grand Cheval Domino Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a long, community-driven career in music, Courtney Marie Andrews’ Grammy nomination for her latest album, ‘Old Flowers,’ feels more than well earned. The eighth studio album from the Nashville-based, Phoenix-born (and at one point Washington-dwelling) singer-songwriter is nominated for Best Americana Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. A breakup record, through and through, the songs on the album convey the heartbreak and loneliness following the end of a relationship. For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson dives deep into Andrews’ rich musical biography, which traces back to when she was just 15 years old and playing in coffee shops. While the stages may have eventually grown bigger from there, Andrews’ focus on collaboration and community has remained strong. It’s a great reminder that music builds community and community builds musicians. Recorded 10/06/2020. Break the Spell If I Told It Must Be Someone Else’s Fault One of These Days Ships in the Night Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.