KEXP.ORG Rocks!

[Mateo]

Hey, just wanted to give everyone a heads up about KEXP.

Since this is the first time any of you have probably heard of it, KEXP is an indie radio station based out of Seattle/Tacoma.

Now what is a guy in Boston doing pimping a Seattle radio station? Well, Boston radio sucks, pure and simple. It's totally been "Clear Channeled', and is about as interesting as the Grammys.

What KEXP does, and does well, is mix indie rock, rap, blues, alt-country, and whatever else they grab into a heady gumbo of great music. And they stream it (in all major formats)!

The DJs program on the fly, the way it should be, so you never know what you are going to hear. Some of it will suck...as they acknowledged in a recent pledge drive... but they are never boring.

Drop by: http://www.kexp.org/home.asp?noflash=false

To pick up the feed.

And keep a pencil and paper nearby for artist/track names.

[Pokerface]

Originally Posted by TG_Mateo

And keep a pencil and paper nearby for artist/track names.

Alternatively: http://www.kexp.org/playlist/playlist.asp

[Mateo]

Originally Posted by Pokerface

Alternatively: http://www.kexp.org/playlist/playlist.asp

True, but from what I hear, alot of people still go the pen and paper route.

[Pokerface]

Originally Posted by TG_Mateo

True, but from what I hear, alot of people still go the pen and paper route.

I was meaning to ask: pa...per?

[Mateo]

Here is an example, the last three songs, for those of you that cannot stream it:

8:29 KMFDM Liebsled
8:25 M.I.A. Galang (live on kexp)
8:22 Rachid Taha Tékitoi? (Who Are You?)

That's an interesting set.

[_Ender_]

Boston radio is horrible lately. BCN is ok, but they dont have their faults also (I think the DJs on BCN are really really crappy).

Since this is an indie station, do they censor their music at all?

[Mateo]

Originally Posted by _Ender_

Boston radio is horrible lately. BCN is ok, but they dont have their faults also (I think the DJs on BCN are really really crappy).

Since this is an indie station, do they censor their music at all?

Nope. I was just listening this AM to Common and Kayne West doing something live, and all the n* and f* words were left intact. They try to keep it semi-clean during pledge drives, but that's about it.

Before Common, it was the Gorrillaz. After, John, the morning DJ, segued into some Portishead, Kimone, Satchel, French Kicks, APOF, and Smashing Pumpkins. An eclectic set that just kinda works.

As for BCN....well the DJs are very, very bad. They can't seem to decide if they want to play hair band metal, grunge, or something new. Sometimes, it's like a timewarp: Ozzy, some Black album Metallica, and then something that sounds like a cover band, then back to some old Foghat....ugh.

There is good rock out there, they just can't seem to play it.

[WhiskeySix]

wow - amazing find... been listening pretty much non-stop for the last few days...

the only time i turn on the radio around here is to listen to NPR... or if i'm close enough to boston 88.9 (WERS: Emerson College Radio), which has similarly good music... (although it's theme based, so you get 2 regae hours, then a blues hour, then hiphop, etc... KEXP has a SAWEET mix of everything)

+rep!!

[TychoCelchuuu]

Heh. Seattle has some good radio stations. Also worth a listen are KUOW, our NPR station and KING, our classical music station. Of course, I guess it depends on the quality of your local stations compared to what's available online.

That Pandora Internet radio thing is also supposed to be pretty neat as far as playing music you like, and GamingFM is an Internet radio station with all sorts of music from video games, including a PC games only station.

[Obi]

Mateo, I was about to listen to my own music but I think I'll listen to this instead.

Bookmarks/Bookmark This Page...

[Beatnik]

+reppage to Mateo

I think I mentioned KEXP in Bhack's One Song Thread, but yeah I listen to KEXP at home every day while job hunting and grading papers. Their DJs program their own sets and love their jobs, and that shows. My favorites are (weekdays) Cheryl Waters (10-2 PM PST), Kevin Cole (2PM-6PM PST), and John in the Morning (6-10 am PST). Also, their reggae show Positive Vibrations with Kid Hopps is always outstanding, and leans toward dub, which I like. What's great is that I can go to the DJ, click on 'Listen to Latest Show' and get 3 hours of killer reggae (or whatever) music blasting out my speakers. I live in Austin, which has OK radio, but I'm a paying member of KEXP - that's how @(*#^# good their music is. It's in my opinion the best radio station in the country. With KCRW in L.A. coming in a distant second.

Don't worry about writing down the playlists. Download this widget (note you may need to make a couple changes to the widget config - see the comments below the widget if it doesn't work). If you like a song that's playing, click 'Add' and it'll add it to a list of favorites right there. It rocks. I listen to kexp on my home theater pc's great speakers, and keep the widget open on my laptop to see what I'm hearing.

(If you can't get that one to work, the older version which doesn't let you "remember" songs, and doesn't show you the show/DJ, but still works great.)

EDIT: For the other KEXP geeks, I recommend signing up for Kevin Cole's email list. His last one had a youtube video of Kurt Cobain slugging it out with some Dallas,TX bouncer in it. Gold.

[Rincewind]

Don't forget, this is listener supported radio!

And damn, full CD quality streaming?? NICE!

Couldn't get the widget to work though....

[Beatnik]

Yeah if you download the converter widget and use that to edit the xml file, you change one value in it and the widget works fine. The comments section under the widget should tell you how to change it and what exactly to change.

[Rincewind]

OK I fixed it.

[WhiskeySix]

I just realized KEXP added an "uncompressed" stream @ 1.4mbps.... update ye olde bookmark: mms://media-wm.cac.washington.edu/KEXP-Uncompressed

(hm - for some reason my 8mbps cable connection isn't consistently keeping up w/ it at the moment - anyone else having the same problem?)