Bobbing for hits. Though Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard was making light of the his band's songwriting process during his interview with KEXP's Stevie Zoom, the fact is, with all the songs he's written over nearly the past decade, he'd accumulated enough songs he's grown fond of but never developed with his bandmates for one reason or another. Eventually, he couldn't resist turing those apples to pie (his metaphor, not ours), and thus Former Lives, his solo debut, took shape. Elsewhere, he'd said: “These songs span eight years, three relationships, living in two different places, drinking then not drinking. They’re a side story, not a new chapter.” But surely, it's also an opportunity to stretch out, try a few different influences and styles, even invite a few friends, like guest vocalist Aimee Mann. Recently, Ben Gibbard stopped by KEXP to perform live versions of the first two singles from his debut, the Western remake "Something's Rattling (Cowpoke)" and "Teardrop Windows," a song dedicated to Seattle's historic Smith Tower. Watch the videos here:
New music from Courtney Barnett, Lykke Li, Yuno, and Hundred Waters plus Ben Gibbard performs live on Conan.
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week we have some special holida…
Their name spoofs the The Shangri-Las, their songs check the sounds of the 60's, from British Invasion to West Coast country rock -- the record store rats of Allah-Las have long been interested in contextualizing the history of rock with the music of today, both with their on-going, lost classics-u…
As Lord Huron, singer-songwriter Ben Schneider has always been influenced by the out-of-doors. Whether his inspiration comes from the rugged woods and Great Lakes of his origin state of Michigan or the dusty Mojave Desert closer to his adopted LA home, themes of exploration and adventure pervade hi…
The nation is catching on to the wealth of amazing music coming out of Seattle's experimental hip-hop scene. This year listeners have become entranced by Seattle's THEESatisfaction, and before that Shabazz Palaces -- expect the same kind of attention soon for OCnotes (Otis Calvin, III) and his gen…
