What I’m Listening To
KEXP, a Seattle station, via the miracle of Holiday Inn Express’ free WiFi connection. KEXP started as a college station at the University of Washington. They played a delightful collection of indie, world music and just plain weird stuff. It was always the poor stepchild to the NPR station, KUOW, and was getting strangled in the bathtub (one of the more colorful Republicanisms) until Paul Allen offered it space and funding through his Experience Music Project (that piece of melted crayon you see next to the Space Needle when you fly into Seattle on a bad-weather approach from the north).
We were all afraid he might make it an all-Hendrix, all-the-time tribute to his idol, but as far as we can tell, there has been no influence over the programming. This is a good thing, since his other ventures into the entertainment field, the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers, have not flourished under his touch. The station plays a healthy portion of local bands, and sponsors some of the most interesting live events in the city. John Richards, the morning DJ, has become something of a local personality. His show starts in few short minutes at 6am PDT.
Check them out at http://www.kexp.org/ It’s commercial-free!
