Even though we don’t “pitch” during the late night music shows during pledge drive time, I always try to include some songs that will hopefully remind people why we come to them asking for support.
In the past, I’ve done favorite MBE performances, and/or songs that are big station wide favorites at the time. This year though, I decided to get a little personal and …

When RR approached me to put together a list of my favorite local albums, I was really excited. Then when I began working on it, I was surprised by how much I had to rack my brain to come up with local albums that really made an impact on me.
That’s when I realized that my relationship to local music has changed so much in …

GRMLN is the alias of 19-year-old UC Santa Cruz student Yoodoo Park, who splits his time between his university, his native Japan and where he grew up, right here in Southern California.
All three locations feel present in the songs of his debut EP “Explore”.
Melancholic references to beaches, a couple fighting on their wedding day, “Depressions“, and “Summer Nights“, are all delivered with the dreamy …

New Orleans-based duo Generationals really knocked me out with the punchy, Wall of Sound indebted single “When They Fight, They Fight” from their 2009 debut “Con Law”.
Since then, they’ve shown up at least once a year with a new album or EP that manages to shake up their sound just enough to keep things interesting without compromising the excellent knack for song craft that …

My day was meant to start with a couple of hours of work on my new website, continue with the usual routine of dog walks and errands, then end around 8 P.M. in an entirely unspectacular fashion.
Instead, I’m still sitting in my office, writing this.
I saw first saw the tweet from Stereogum: “Bill Doss of the Olivia Tremor Control Has Passed Away.”
I’m still having …

From KCRW DJ Marion Hodges:
When I realized that the Glen Campbell farewell tour show I’d been so anticipating was falling on the same night as the Part Time Punks Shoegaze Festival I’d been so anticipating, my heart sank.
I spent the better part of an evening agonizing over which to attend until it occurred to me that it was actually kind of perfect that both …

LA’s own White Arrows are set to release their very first full length record, “Dry Land is Not a Myth”, on Tuesday July 19.
To tide you over until then, check out a brand new track “I Can Go.” Stream it below and DOWNLOAD it here
I love the maturity I’m hearing in this newest single; the rocking and bittersweet melody takes the charming psychedelic electro-pop …

From KCRW DJ Marion Hodges:
Creating an atmosphere of genuine emotion with little to no sentimentality would seem to be an impossible task. Yet this is exactly what the classically trained, Echo Park-based artist Julia Holter has done with her latest album “Ekstasis”.
Venturing into “Ekstasis” is venturing into an icy sonic landscape, but one that is also populated with great warmth. The parts of herself …

Violently pretty. It’s a jarring oxymoron that calls to mind a beauty so fierce and fully realized that it’s a bit frightening.
The music of Chromatics is violently pretty.
This was not always the case. When Chromatics formed initially in the early 2000’s their music could probably be better described as pretty violent.  Jarring guitar sounds clashed against abrasive vocals, and any percussion tended to be …

By KCRW DJ Marion Hodges
The soul/garage revival sound is everywhere these days so when you come across an artist that is doing it as well as Nick Waterhouse, you have to take notice.
Waterhouse takes classic benchmarks from his chosen genre – sassy back up singers, killer saxophone parts, sharp looking clothes, etc. – and uses them wisely.
Being an avid student of the greats (Motown, …