Amidst massive popularity, U2 has always been a misunderstood band. From theatrical bombast to musical pivots, the band has often followed its own muse as opposed to succumbing to critical constraints, but their artistry may get lost amidst the theatrics. Even now, one may wonder why 30-years later…
"I feel like all 4,000 people in this room should hug right now," the mid-30s woman beside me says to me as the house lights go on after The xx show last Monday night. I nod my head in approval. I understand what she means - not hugs of comfort but hugs of recognition of community and of the beauti…
A band is like a marriage; the divorce rate for groups started two decades ago is high. Add in more members, each with significant side projects, and the odds of a split only climb higher. By all estimates then, The New Pornographers, formed twenty years ago in Vancouver, B.C., by players from a ha…
It is a truly beautiful sight to see a swarm of of black t-shirts filling up the halls of an 89-year old theater. A strikingly atypical one, considering the venue's usual programming, but a beautiful one nonetheless. Mastodon's return to Seattle coincided not just with the Georgia outfit's most foc…
The Maldives have been through it all. Since 2005, they've traversed the Seattle music scene as its continued to evolve, change, and contort itself in new directions. Their steadiness as contemplative folk rockers does not equate to a resistance to change. They still have acoustic guitars, steel gu…
People travel great distances for love, and perhaps even further for their favorite band. Little else could explain the extreme travel itineraries of visitors to Radiohead's sold-out show at KeyArena in Seattle on Saturday, April 8th. After the doors opened at 6PM, I spoke to brothers who split a 1…
"How much do you think we're gonna cry tonight?" I ask my friend as we enter the Neptune for another legendary Little Big Show, this one featuring the incomparable Mitski. The 18th iteration of KEXP, Starbucks, and STG's Little Big Show series, which donates 100% of the ticket sales a local non-pro…
It's morbid, but you're probably thinking it, too: after losing so many musical icons in 2016 (see here and here), I felt it was important to see Brian Wilson in concert. Now 74 years old, the brilliant but troubled songwriter celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys' landmark album Pet So…
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.
