Song of the Day

By KEXP

Music

What's Song of the Day about?

KEXP's Song of the Day podcast features exclusive in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent musicians that KEXP thinks listeners should hear along with songs from more well-known artists.

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Listen: Black Lives Matter

06.05.2020

A message from Kevin Cole, Afternoon Show host and Chief Content Officer, on behalf of KEXP. We urge anyone who is looking to learn more about and support ongoing racial justice to visit our page with Anti-Racist and Social Justice ...

Song of the Day episodes:

06.05.2020 Listen: Black Lives Matter A message from Kevin Cole, Afternoon Show host and Chief Content Officer, on behalf of KEXP. We urge anyone who is looking to learn more about and support ongoing racial justice to visit our page with Anti-Racist and Social Justice ...
06.01.2020 Chicano Batman - I Know It Chicano Batman - "I know It" from the 2020 album Invisible People on ATO. On their fourth LP Invisible People, Los Angeles-based band Chicano Batman return with their unique fusion of funk, psych-pop, R&B, and more, fine-tuned by GRAMMY-award winning ...
05.29.2020 Hollis - Heavy Hands Hollis - "Heavy Hands" from the 2020 half-life EP on Hollis. Throughout the month of May, KEXP has been celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We’re putting an extra spotlight this week on API artists with this week’s Song of ...
05.28.2020 K!MMORTAL - Breathe K!MMORTAL - "Breathe," a 2020 self-released single. Throughout the month of May, KEXP has been celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We’re putting an extra spotlight this week on API artists with this week’s Song of the Day picks, continuing ...
05.27.2020 Lightning Bug - The Onely Ones Lightning Bug - "The Onely Ones," a 2020 single on Fat Possum. Throughout the month of May, KEXP has been celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We’re putting an extra spotlight this week on API artists with this week’s Song ...
05.26.2020 MYXA - Carrion MYXA - "Carrion" from the 2019 self-released album Mosca 蠅. Throughout the month of May, KEXP has been celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We’re putting an extra spotlight this week on API artists with this week’s Song of the ...
05.25.2020 MAITA - Someone's Lost Their Wallet MAITA - "Someone's Lost Their Wallet" from the 2020 album Best Wishes on Kill Rock Stars. Throughout the month of May, KEXP has been celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We’re putting an extra spotlight this week on API artists ...
05.22.2020 Minimal Violence - Ravebomb (Fire Mix) We’ve finally reached World Goth Day and DJ Abbie is going out with a bang – or rather a “Ravebomb.” This alternate mix from the Vancouver B.C. techno outfit lives up to its name. It’s a haunted eruption of sound, ...
05.21.2020 Houses of Heaven - A Place Between Oakland’s Houses of Heaven takes us into the homestretch of DJ Abbie’s Song of the Day pics leading into World Goth Day on May 22. The center piece of the group’s debut LP, “A Place Between” is quintessential goth with ...
05.20.2020 FEE LION - Blood Sisters Continuing with her week of goth song of the day picks, DJ Abbie brings us the industrial banger that is Fee Lion’s “Blood Sisters.” The moniker of Justina Kairyte, she’s described the EP and titular song as themed around self-love. ...
05.19.2020 The Ninth Wave - Happy Days! We’re continuing DJ Abbie’s week of songs leading up to World Goth Day on May 22. Despite what the name may imply, Glasgow band The Ninth Wave’s “Happy Days!” is not a happy affair. This is ‘Goth Day,’ we’re talking ...
05.18.2020 Rowland S. Howard - Autoluminescent Leading up to World Goth Day, DJ Abbie is giving you a dose of variations of goth every day this week. She’s kicking things off with an essential cut from The Birthday Party’s own Rowland S. Howard. While often associated ...
05.15.2020 Smokey Brights - I Love You But Damn Smokey Brights - "I Love You But Damn" from the 2020 album I Love You But Damn on Freakout Records. Seattle's own Smokey Brights — led by husband and wife duo Kim West and Ryan Devlin — return this summer ...
05.14.2020 Coriky - Clean Kill Coriky - "Clean Kill" from the 2020 album Coriky on Dischord Records. Combine the melodic energy of the Evens and the gruff bark of Fugazi and you've got Coriky, not surprisingly, 'cause they feature members of both those bands. The ...
05.13.2020 DJ Python - ADMSDP (feat. LA Warman) DJ Python - "ADMSDP (feat. LA Warman)" from the 2020 album Mas Amable on Incienso. New York-based producer Brian Piñeyro records under many names: Deejay Xanax, DJ Wey, Luis; but, it's under the moniker DJ Python that he takes things ...
05.12.2020 Holy Esque - Reverence Falls Holy Esque - "Reverence Falls" from the 2020 CPH EP on Beyond the Frequency. Scottish post-punk band Holy Esque are projecting a third album will be out in 2021, but until then, they've released their third EP, CPH, a collection ...
05.11.2020 William McCarthy - Ballad for the Unemployed William McCarthy - "Ballad for the Unemployed," a 2020 self-released single. As the frontman for Pela and Augustines, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter William McCarthy has never shied away from difficult topics. (Augustine's 2011 album Rise Ye Sunken Ships was influenced by the ...
05.08.2020 DJ Houseplants - Just Don't Know DJ Houseplants - "Just Don't Know," a 2020 self-released single. Seattle's own DJ Houseplants (aka DJ, producer, designer, and aspiring botanist Justin Av) says he's "driven by the vibrancy of the community there is at house & techno shows and ...
05.07.2020 Black Flowers Cafe - Who Black Flowers Cafe - "Who" from the 2020 album Flow on La Lumaca Dischi. Keen-eared listeners of the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole may recognize this song from when it had its global debut on the KEXP airwaves in late ...
05.06.2020 ALTA - Figured Out ALTA - "Figured Out" from the 2019 album Reasons on Soothsayer. On their debut album Reasons, Melbourne-based duo ALTA strived to create what they call "emotional dance music." Vocalist Hannah Lesser and producer Julius Dowson spent ten months at home ...
05.05.2020 Daníel Hjálmtýsson - Birds Daníel Hjálmtýsson - "Birds," a 2020 self-released single. Icelandic singer/songwriter Daníel Hjálmtýsson kicked off 2020 in a big way: by releasing his debut solo single "Birds" back on January 3rd. Hjálmtýsson may be better known as half of the experimental ...
05.04.2020 Lee Fields & The Expressions - Don't Give Up Lee Fields & The Expressions - "Don't Give Up," a 2019 single on Big Crown Records. Plainfield, NJ-based artist Lee Fields just celebrated his 70th birthday last week, and he's spent 50 of those years performing old-school soul, funk, and ...
05.01.2020 STRFKR - Never the Same STRFKR - “Never The Same” from the 2020 album Future Past Life on Polyvinyl. STRFKR returned this month with their sixth full-length, Future Past Life, which finds the long-running Portland-based band evolving from their psych-synth dance-heavy pop to something more ...
04.30.2020 Washed Out - Too Late Washed Out - “Too Late," a 2020 single on Sub Pop. What started out as a hindrance due to the coronavirus pandemic, ended up becoming a beautiful expression of support and community. For his latest digital single “Too Late”, Ernest ...
04.29.2020 Hazel English - Off My Mind Hazel English - “Off My Mind” from the 2020 album Wake UP! on Polyvinyl / Marathon Artists. Don't let her sweet voice and the swingin' '60s vibe of today's Song of the Day fool you. Australian-born, LA-based artist Hazel English ...
04.28.2020 Chemtrails - Frightful in the Sunlight Chemtrails - “Frightful in the Sunlight” from the 2020 album The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable on PNKSLM. "Like riding into hell on a unicorn." That's how a friend of Manchester-via-London band Chemtrails described their latest single. (They clarify on ...
04.27.2020 Woods - Where Do You Go When You Dream? Woods - “Where Do You Go When You Dream?” from the 2020 album Strange to Explain on Woodsist. New York psych-folk band Woods return this Spring with their first new album in three years, titled Strange To Explain. The album ...
04.24.2020 Shane Tutmarc - A Brave New World Shane Tutmarc - "A Brave New World," a 2020 self-released single. “We’re all together / We’re not alone / Through the window through the phone / Where it stops nobody knows” Former Seattle-ite/current Nashvillian Shane Tutmarc shared the quarantine-inspired track ...
04.23.2020 Catholic Action - There Will Always Be a Light Catholic Action - "There Will Always Be a Light" from the 2020 album Celebrated by Strangers on Palo Santo Records. Glasgow garage-rockers Catholic Action returned with their second album Celebrated by Strangers last month, their first new LP since 2017 ...
04.22.2020 Iceage - Lockdown Blues Iceage - "Lockdown Blues," a 2020 single on Escho. Gibbard's not the only one releasing quarantine-inspired songs to benefit charity. Danish post-punk band Iceage have shared a new single inspired by feelings that have been brought up during lockdown. “The ...
04.21.2020 Benjamin Gibbard - Life in Quarantine Benjamin Gibbard - "Life in Quarantine," a 2020 single on Barsuk Records. Since the start of the statewide stay-at-home mandates, Death Cab for Cutie frontman Benjamin Gibbard has been there for us, streaming live performances from his home studio almost ...
04.20.2020 Ellis - Fall Apart Ellis - "Fall Apart" from the 2020 album Born Again on Fat Possum Records. Hamilton, Ontario dream pop artist Ellis (real name: Linnea Siggelkow) had hearts aflutter with her 2018 EP The Fuzz. Earlier this month, she re-emerged with her ...
04.17.2020 Sólveig Matthildur - Dystopian Boy Sólveig Matthildur - "Dystopian Boy" from the 2019 album Constantly In Love on Artoffact Records. As a member of Icelandic trio Kælan Mikla, vocalist/keyboardist Sólveig Matthildur knows her way around atmospheric synth-pop. When she relocated from her hometown of Reykjavík ...
04.16.2020 Sinead O'Brien - Taking On Time Sinead O’Brien - "Taking On Time" from the 2019 album Speedy Wunderground - Year 4 on Speedy Wunderground. Esteemed London-based label Speedy Wunderground celebrated their 30th release with a new track by Irish poet Sinead O’Brien. O’Brien's work has been ...
04.15.2020 L'Eclair - Suite No. 2 L’éclair - "Suite No. 2" from the 2019 album Sauropoda on Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records. It's not surprising to learn that L’Eclair recorded their latest LP Sauropoda from an undisclosed location in the Alps: their music displays an array ...
04.14.2020 Balkan Taksim - Zalina Balkan Taksim - "Zalina," a 2019 self-released single. True to their name, Balkan Taksim take the traditional folk music of their homeland and combine it with psychedelic electronic beats that their Romanian ancestors never could've imagined. Formed by multi-instrumentalist Sașa-Liviu ...
04.13.2020 Jesse Markin - Run Jesse Markin - “Run” from the 2019 album FOLK on VILD Music. Finnish rapper Jesse Markin got his start with the group The Megaphone State, building up a cult following with their soulful samples and smooth, versatile rhymes. While you ...
04.10.2020 Tomo Nakayama - Get To Know You Tomo Nakayama - "Get To Know You" from the 2020 self-released album Melonday. This week, Tomo Nakayama, master of cinematic indie-folk and former leader of local band Grand Hallway, flipped the script by releasing his very first dancefloor-ready record, Melonday. ...
04.09.2020 Sharon Van Etten - Beaten Down Sharon Van Etten - "Beaten Down," a 2020 single on Jagjaguwar. Sharon Van Etten is on a roll. Following last year’s masterful studio album Remind Me Tomorrow, the singer-songwriter and actress returned in February with the smoldering single “Beaten Down.” ...
04.08.2020 RINSE - Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me RINSE - "Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me," a 2020 self-released single. Last month, Brisbane artist Joe Agius, member and co-writer of Hatchie, debuted his first material under the name RINSE. Titled “Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me,” the song ...
04.07.2020 Andy Shauf - Try Again Andy Shauf - "Try Again" from the 2020 album The Neon Skyline on ANTI- Records. With his latest album, The Neon Skyline, Andy Shauf has crafted his most realized and engrossing work yet. You needn’t look much further than single ...
04.06.2020 Other Lives - Lost Day Other Lives - “Lost Day” from the 2020 album For Their Love on ATO Records. In January, Oklahoma-bred indie folk outfit Other Lives announced their first album in nearly five years, following 2015’s Rituals. Titled For Their Love, the new ...
04.03.2020 Tres Leches - Nieve Tres Leches - “Nieve,” a 2020 self-released single. The latest track from Seattle's Tres Leches is a beautiful example of community, featuring guest appearances from fellow Northwest artists Terror/Cactus, Rachael's Children, and Medejín. The band describe the song as an ...
04.02.2020 Lucinda Williams - Man Without a Soul Lucinda Williams - “Man Without a Soul” from the 2020 album Good Souls Better Angels on Highway 20/Thirty Tigers. "All the money in the world / Will never fill that hole / You're a man bought and sold / You're ...
04.01.2020 Archers of Loaf - Raleigh Days Archers of Loaf - “Raleigh Days,” a 2020 single on Merge Records. It's been over 20 years, but indie rock kings Archers of Loaf have returned with the single "Raleigh Days," their first new music since 1998's LP White Trash ...
03.31.2020 Steve Earle & The Dukes - Devil Put the Coal in the Ground Steve Earle & The Dukes - “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground” from the 2020 album Ghosts of West Virginia on New West Records. In 2010, the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia exploded, killing ...
03.30.2020 Throwing Muses - Dark Blue Throwing Muses - “Dark Blue” from the 2020 album Sun Racket on Fire Records. Alt-rock icons Throwing Muses return with their first new album in seven years, the fiery tenth full-length Sun Racket, out September 4 via Fire Records. The ...
03.27.2020 The B-Band - Kavire Del B-Band - "Kavire Del” from the 2013 self-released album Napichideh (Uncomplicated) B-band formed in Tehran, Iran in 2009, combining alt-rock with Persian folklore. Dr. Nasim Niknafs, Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Toronto, points out in an ...
03.26.2020 Liraz - Zan Bezan Liraz - “Zan Bezan” from the 2020 album Zan on Dead Sea Recordings Liraz Charhi's family emigrated to Israel during the '70s at the brink of the Iranian Revolution. Nearly 50 years later, it's still a major influence in the ...
03.25.2020 Bahram - Goosht Bahram - “گوشت (Goosht)," a 2019 single on Peeleh Records The Huffington Post declared him one of the "50 people shaping the culture of the Middle East." Bahram Nouraei — who records simply as Bahram — uses hip-hop to call ...

Older episodes

Song of the Day

What's Song of the Day about?

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Song of the Day episodes:

Listen: Black Lives Matter

Chicano Batman - I Know It

Hollis - Heavy Hands

K!MMORTAL - Breathe

Lightning Bug - The Onely Ones

MYXA - Carrion

MAITA - Someone's Lost Their Wallet

Minimal Violence - Ravebomb (Fire Mix)

Houses of Heaven - A Place Between

FEE LION - Blood Sisters

The Ninth Wave - Happy Days!

Rowland S. Howard - Autoluminescent

Smokey Brights - I Love You But Damn

Coriky - Clean Kill

DJ Python - ADMSDP (feat. LA Warman)

Holy Esque - Reverence Falls

William McCarthy - Ballad for the Unemployed

DJ Houseplants - Just Don't Know

Black Flowers Cafe - Who

ALTA - Figured Out

Daníel Hjálmtýsson - Birds

Lee Fields & The Expressions - Don't Give Up

STRFKR - Never the Same

Washed Out - Too Late

Hazel English - Off My Mind

Chemtrails - Frightful in the Sunlight

Woods - Where Do You Go When You Dream?

Shane Tutmarc - A Brave New World

Catholic Action - There Will Always Be a Light

Iceage - Lockdown Blues

Benjamin Gibbard - Life in Quarantine

Ellis - Fall Apart

Sólveig Matthildur - Dystopian Boy

Sinead O'Brien - Taking On Time

L'Eclair - Suite No. 2

Balkan Taksim - Zalina

Jesse Markin - Run

Tomo Nakayama - Get To Know You

Sharon Van Etten - Beaten Down

RINSE - Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me

Andy Shauf - Try Again

Other Lives - Lost Day

Tres Leches - Nieve

Lucinda Williams - Man Without a Soul

Archers of Loaf - Raleigh Days

Steve Earle & The Dukes - Devil Put the Coal in the Ground

Throwing Muses - Dark Blue

The B-Band - Kavire Del

Liraz - Zan Bezan

Bahram - Goosht

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