Friday on My Mind: Thank You!

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.

We’ve made it to the very last day of our Fall Fundraising Drive and I am always humbled and grateful to the amount of dedication displayed by the KEXP community of listeners far and wide. Many thank yous to each and every one of you who made a donation to ye olde mighty KEXP over this past week. We are truly listener powered and each of you who have donated are living proof of that. If you were waiting until the last minute, that is where we are now. Take a stand and make a donation here.

This 40-year-old experiment in community supported independent media known as KEXP is a reflection of YOU, the good people of Seattle and all over the world. Are you checking yourself out in that mirror? Cause damn, you look good! That’s right, we all look good because we came together to make a stand and help keep this noncommercial station on the air. We are truly greater than the sum of our parts. And not only do we look good, we SOUND good! It was so fun to hear from all of our members as they donated throughout the week and told us why you value KEXP. So now it’s time for me to start saying my million thank you's to everyone who stepped up and donated.Led Zeppelin - Thank You

From their 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II, our first song choice is “Thank You” from the almighty Led Zeppelin. “Thank You” was Robert Plant’s first stab at writing an entire song’s worth of lyrics and written for the woman he was married to at the time, which is pretty impressive. The two later divorced in 1983, proving that the early 80’s was more dark and destructive than the sun burning out and mountains crumbling. As you may already know, during this Fall Drive we’ve been counting down the top favorite artists of each of you. Thank you all for voting. On this final day of the drive and countdown, we’ve not yet seen Led Zeppelin. Hmmm...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88dQn_-5hIM

Beastie Boys - Gratitude

Another band we’ve yet to see during the countdown is the one and only Beastie Boys. For many it's still difficult to accept that Adam Yauch aka MCA is gone and that the Beastie Boys are no longer. While the world won't be the same, we are lucky that the seminal hip hop group left a pretty hefty catalog of music for generations to continue to enjoy. Here they are singing about exactly what we feel for each and every one of our listeners, “Gratitude”...

http://youtu.be/ZdJ5e70Q8mw

Sam and Dave - I Thank You

Samuel David Moore and Dave Prater, aka Sam and Dave, proved to be one of the top musical acts of the 1960’s. With memorable hits like “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and “Soul Man”, it’s easy to see how they were so popular. “I Thank You” was the last single that the duo released on the legendary Stax label. The two have not performed together since 1981, but here’s video footage from the 60's of the two performing “Thank You”. See first hand why many referred to them as "The Dynamic Duo"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxQM7GXA8Tc

Honorable Mentions

Big Star - Thank You Friends

Big Star should have been much more popular during their time. Although influential to many during the years after their demise, they were overlooked during their brief existence. Let it be known though that KEXP listeners have excellent taste and voted for this highly underrated band as one of their top artists placing Big Star at #131 during this countdown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC0Wa3P_dO0

ABBA - Thank You for the Music

And then there's ABBA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dcbw4IEY5w