Laura Veirs calls her latest album, 'My Echo,' her “my songs knew I was getting divorced before I did" album. Her now ex-husband, Tucker Martine, was her producer of 20 years and produced the record. Veirs talks about how artist couples handle parenting, going through a divorce, her renewed sense of self and juggling music and motherhood during a pandemic. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 29, 2020•19 min•Ep 108•Transcript available on Metacast Backxwash was announced the winner of Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize last week. Backxwash describes her music as industrial hip hop and horrorcore. She talks about how issues of mental health and her identity as a Black trans woman come up on her latest album, 'God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It,' and how she finds comfort in addressing these issues within the genre of horrorcore. Check out the recent episode of The Weekly Mix featuring Backxwash's "Spells" Suppo...
Oct 27, 2020•10 min•Ep 107•Transcript available on Metacast Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco fame) set a goal for himself during the pandemic—to write one song a day. The resulting work makes up his latest album, ‘Love Is The King.’ He also just released a new book, ‘How To Write One Song,' sharing tips around his creative process. Tweedy discusses the habits that helped him develop this prolific writing style, sometimes writing a song in just 15 minutes. He also shares the word games he uses to help conjure lyrics when he’s feeling un...
Oct 23, 2020•7 min•Ep 106•Transcript available on Metacast Kevin Morby feels a sense of melancholy when the sun goes down. That feeling inspired his latest album, ‘Sundowner.’ The album was written after Morby moved from LA to his hometown of Kansas City. He says this record was his “attempt to put the Middle American twilight—its beauty profound, though not always immediate— into sound.” Many of the songs paint a picture of campfires, stars, dead deer on an open road and storms. And while the sunsets mark a darkening...
Oct 22, 2020•9 min•Ep 105•Transcript available on Metacast It’s now been seven months since music venues have been able to hold shows. Steven Severin of the Seattle venue, Neumos, talks about the efforts to rally for federal and state aid as well as the recent #KeepMusicLiveWA fundraising campaign to save independent music venues. “If we don't get some type of funding, and soon, the venues are going to go away and they're not coming back,” Severin says. Sound & Vision also hears from folks who worked in live music before...
Oct 20, 2020•16 min•Ep 104•Transcript available on Metacast Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver is out with their third album, 'Impossible Weight.' The album was written after frontwoman Jessica Dobson's experience with depression. “I just hit this crazy wall where everything turned black and I couldn’t see a foot in front of me,” Dobson says. On the journey to heal and overcome that sadness, Dobson started volunteering with a non-profit that works with unhoused, drug dependent Seattle-area residents. Conversations with folks there in...
Oct 16, 2020•8 min•Ep 103•Transcript available on Metacast Bob Mould has been making music for more than 40 years. His career started when he played in the punk band, Hüsker Dü, which was prominent in the 80s. Mould is now out with his 14th solo record, 'Blue Hearts.' Mould discusses some prominent themes from the new album, as well as parallels he sees in politics of the 80s and today, and the importance of music as protest. He also talks about the role of musicians to use their platforms to speak out on issues like climate change. In th...
Oct 15, 2020•16 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast The Cheater’s Guide to Spotify is a series on Medium by OneZero author, Peter Slattery. In the series, Slattery lays out various ways people game the Spotify system to rack up streams. In this episode, he talks about some of those methods, like creating playlists of popular soundtracks and adding in music that wasn’t part of the soundtrack to give a song more streams, faking a big name featured artist on a track, and increasing search optimization by using an artist name like “...
Oct 13, 2020•20 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Fleet Foxes recently released a surprise album at the exact moment of the fall equinox, 6:31am PT on September 22. Frontman Robin Pecknold discusses the significance of the equinox on the record, tells stories behind some of the songs, and shares how he found a renewed appreciation for music during the pandemic. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive! Support the show: https://www.k...
Oct 08, 2020•16 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast Pitchfork published an article last week titled, “What it’s Like to Be Black in Indie Music.” Its author, Matthew James-Wilson, talks about his personal experience in the scene as well as what he gathered from various musicians he interviewed for the story. He says the artists he spoke with were “playing to largely white crowds and feeling like their music was subject to a predominantly white gaze because of the audiences they were playing to or the ways their music...
Oct 06, 2020•14 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast Sylvan Esso is out with their third studio album, 'Free Love.' Sylvan Esso has said that this record is “about being increasingly terrified of the world around you and looking inward to remember all the times when loving other people seemed so easy, so that you can find your way back to that place.” Amelia Meath of the pop duo breaks down some of the stories behind the music, explains how dancing is a major theme on the record, and shares her love of radio DJs, as demonstrated ...
Oct 01, 2020•23 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast Aluna Francis started her career as one half of the electronic duo AlunaGeorge. But as a Black artist in dance music, Aluna always felt like an outsider. For her first solo record, 'Renaissance,' she wanted to create a record for Black folks and bring dance music to its roots. After all, techno was formed in the early 80s by Black artists in Detroit and House was created by Black DJs in Chicago around the same time. By the time electronic dance music was mainstream, however, the genre's origins ...
Sep 29, 2020•15 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Music journalist Jessica Hopper has been writing about misogyny, sexism and abuse in the music industry for more than two decades. When reacting to the fallout of Burger Records because of sexual abuse and misconduct, she says abuse in the music industry is nothing new. “Historically within music for male artists, women’s bodies, particularly young women’s bodies has been seen as their right. That it is a reward for playing a good show, etc. That it is part of what power can ge...
Sep 22, 2020•9 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast Burger Records was a garage rock record label in Orange County that built its brand on bringing rock and roll to teens and putting the spotlight on underground bands. It folded in July after a wave of sexual assault and misconduct allegations were posted on social media that involved members of more than a dozen bands on the label. Today’s story will dive into the rise and fall of Burger Records. We’ll hear from women who were abused by men on the label and from one of the former co-...
Sep 17, 2020•36 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast Shawna Potter is the singer of a hardcore, feminist punk band called War on Women. Last year she released a book called Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot Wherever You Work, Play, and Gather . She discusses what a safe music venue should look like, how staff should be trained, and how patrons can respond to harassment. We also hear from Sadie Dupuis of the bands Speedy Ortiz and Sad13 about putting Potter’s book into practice while on tour. She also talks abo...
Sep 15, 2020•14 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast Blimes and Gab, the rap duo consisting of Seattle MC Gabrielle “Gifted Gab” Kadushin and San Francisco’s Samantha “Blimes Brixton” McDonald, recently released their debut album, 'Talk About It.' They join KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros to discuss the new album, finding alternative income streams during the pandemic, and being authentically themselves in a music industry that wants them to be something else. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio....
Sep 10, 2020•12 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast Josiah Johnson released his first solo album on September 4th. This comes five years after he was kicked out of Head and the Heart for his struggles with addiction. They were in the middle of recording 'Signs of Light' and Johnson wasn’t showing up to the studio or answering his phone. “They were like, we love you. Go figure your stuff out. We need to focus. We can’t worry whether or not you are alive,” Johnson explains. After some soul searching, Johnson has found ...
Sep 08, 2020•16 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast One month ago, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of Beirut exploded, causing at least 181 deaths and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. Among those whose homes were destroyed were all members of the band Postcards. One band member was also injured from the impact of the explosion. KEXP's Owen Murphy catches up with Postcard's lead singer and co-songwriter Julia Sabra to discuss what happened that day. She also shares her perspective on the ongoing civil protests in...
Sep 03, 2020•14 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast Author Mark Ribowsky talks about the legacy of Little Richard, from the surprising story of his first hit single, "Tutti Frutti," to the many comebacks he had later in his career. Ribowsky also discusses the influential singer's struggles and frustrations with navigating a racist music industry, which he captures in his newly released biography, 'The Big Life of Little Richard.' "I call it rock & roll's original sin. The people who actually made rock & roll, [and were] pivotal to the gro...
Sep 01, 2020•20 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Portland-raised rapper Aminé talks about how the racial tensions he felt in his hometown are reflected in his latest album, 'Limbo.' “Growing up as a Black kid in Portland, Oregon, there just isn’t a lot of us there so we never felt like we were welcomed in with open arms or felt comfortable walking around in my own city, which I love dearly to my heart,” Aminé says. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 27, 2020•13 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast “The Postal Service is the last lifeline for us musicians," says Jessica Dobson of Deep Sea Diver. On this episode, labels and musicians weigh in on changes to the USPS. The Postmaster general has been testifying before Congress about changes at the Postal Service, including reducing overtime hours and the removal of mail sorting machines. The changes have led to accusations of slowing down mail delivery ahead of November’s presidential election. But slowdowns at the U.S. Postal Serv...
Aug 25, 2020•8 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast Unity Arena, a socially-distanced outdoor concert space with a 2,500-person capacity, has opened up in northern England. (Here’s what it looks like.) It’s hosted four massive shows so far with over 20 more planned or in the works. Steve Davis, Director and Promoter at SSD Concerts, which is operating Unity Arena, talks about what the arena looks like and how it functions while keeping people safe amid a pandemic. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listen...
Aug 20, 2020•8 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Indoor theaters and music venues opened back up in England on August 15th with social distance rules in place. Founder of Music Venues Trust, Mark Davyd, talks about what these reopenings will look like. “Venues are operating at roughly 30% capacity. Everybody has to be seated. Drinks are only brought to the table. There are massive additional costs in meeting the health and safety demands of managing the virus. And frankly the kind of music you can program is also very limited. We&r...
Aug 18, 2020•12 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast Anacortes, WA native, Phil Elverum talks about how he tried to break nostalgia by creating a one-track, 45-minute album under his old stage name, The Microphones. "I wanted to get at what The Microphones was,” Elverum says. Elverum also talks about maintaining his DIY and indie approach to music-making and defying the streaming era model of money-making by releasing such a long song and avoiding streaming services altogether. “It’s maybe an act of protest in...
Aug 13, 2020•13 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast Seattle electronic duo, ODESZA has teamed up with Australian EDM artist, Golden Features on a project called BRONSON. ODESZA talks about BRONSON’s new album, creating songs on opposite sides of the globe, and how COVID has impacted them as artists and the music industry as a whole. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 11, 2020•9 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast The Irish band, Fontaines D.C. just released a new album, 'A Hero’s Death.' Frontman Grian Chatten shares the stories behind the title of the album and the final track, “No," and explains how the sea inspires his music. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and today we’re asking for your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now to help reach our Summer Fundraising Drive goal! Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
Aug 06, 2020•13 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Taylor Swift has now achieved her seventh No. 1 Album on the Billboard 200 chart for her latest record, ‘folklore.' At the end of April, Swift reached out to Aaron Dessner of the National to make an album. Three months later, ‘folklore' was released. The album is being dubbed Taylor Swift’s first indie-folk record, and has now been placed into heavy rotation at KEXP. KEXP’s Music Director Don Yates explains why he put Taylor Swift into rotation for the very fir...
Aug 04, 2020•17 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast Carla Sariñana is a Mexico-based musician. Her solo project is called Silver Rose, she plays bass in Ruido Rosa and is also label manager at Devil in the Woods. She says she wasn’t surprised when she heard that California’s Burger Records folded after members of more than a dozen bands on the label were accused of predatory behavior, sexual misconduct and assault, especially towards fans who were minors. She’s familiar with the sexist culture of the music industry, sayin...
Jul 30, 2020•14 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast Total F*cking Godhead: The Biography of Chris Cornell is out today. Author Corbin Reiff discusses the stories behind the music of the vocalist of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog. “Jeff Ament [of Pearl Jam] has once said that [Chris Cornell] is the best songwriter to come out of Seattle since Jimi Hendrix and that’s probably what I would go with his legacy as,” Reiff says. “He was just an immense talent. He had a lot of god given ability with his voic...
Jul 28, 2020•27 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast The book, “ Got to Be Something Here: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound ” by Andrea Swensson explores Minneapolis’ segregated music scenes and the systemic racism historically at play in the city. Swensson speaks with KEXP DJ Kevin Cole about the overlooked bands and artists who shaped the city’s sound, the Highway Act that split largely-Black neighborhoods in Minneapolis and how Black artists, bands and venues were scrutinized by police and the local music ind...
Jul 23, 2020•27 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast 
