KEXP
When I moved to Seattle years ago one thing gnawed at me for a looong time. I felt disconnected from pop culture. I missed hearing decent music and discovering the good upcoming groups. To be fair I didn’t have cable TV at home nor did I immediately appreciate the musical tastes of my new friends. It took a while before I settled into a groove. My first discoveries were KUOW and KPLU. One’s mostly talk radio while the other is a Jazz station. I couldn’t live without either nowadays. Then through a heated argument with W about Tori Amos came the British invasion which from Kate Bush went to Shakespeare’s Sister and Elvis Costello. There was also a bit of South-African music and a wiff of american groups (whose style did match my interest: Depeche Mode, Linking Park and Moxy Fruvous). But I was still without a decent everyday music station.
For sure there are many radio stations in Seattle besides the NPR ones. For example the C89.5 dance station is great (plus its run by students). But the others seemed very narrow. How much 80s rock can you play? Do I really want a country music station? Clear Channel must own stations in Seattle. I remember once approaching Vancouver and noting to myself how great the music was. Are Canadian radio stations, like Montreal’s Mix96, better? Not sure but everytime I go back I ask a good friend for samples of the new stuff. Diversity, it turns out, is the spice of my musical life.
Tonight at 4:34 PM a Seattle radio station played Malajube’s Montreal -40C.
Yup…
Long live KEXP, 90.3 in Seattle; my new love. Thx E for introducing me.
Since they are member sponsored they have very few ads (kinda like NPR). Their live feed, which I encourage you to listen to, gives them an international audience. Their focus is also obviously multi-national: this Monday evening’s programming included music from Congo. Finally all of their playlists and charts are online.
Judge them yourself. I need to go listen to more of the Tokyo Police Club and of The Decemberists.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:40 am
Depeche Mode are a British Band, contemporaries of Tears for Fears
November 16th, 2006 at 7:55 am
I stand corrected.
It’s all about context. UK friend introduces you to some music, music is from the UK. American friend, american music.
Not a valid excuse on my part though.
November 16th, 2006 at 11:44 am
Cool - I head heard of KEXP but for some reason I’ve never listened to it much. KMTT (103.7 “The Mountian”) sometimes has decent music, although they tend towards more pop (yes, I like pop!) A few years back they had Neil Finn come perform live in their studio, which was cool.
KUOW also has surprisingly good music, including current stuff, even though they are mainly a talk station. I first heard “Band of Horses” on KUOW’s The Beat - again, playing live in the studio.
Hearing live studio performances is really nice - does KEXP do that?
PS: I’m glad to see you like The Decemberists - they’re one of my current faves. Ironically, I tried to get a bunch of us to go see their ZooTunes concert this summer, and Wendy was the only one to take me up on the offer!
November 17th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Pah, I just heard that the Decemberists are playing tonight at the Paramount Theatre.