In Our Headphones

"Ricardo Autobahn - Christmas Isn't Halloween": Ricardo Autobahn, musician known for previous Christmas hits, talks about rejecting traditional Christmas activities and embracing the darker elements of Halloween for a more unconventional celebration.

Longboat - "Christmas Socking" from the 2018 self-released album Come and Get Your Christmas This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed Songs of the Day, selected by Brian Foss, one of the hosts of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 20th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 23rd from 9 PM to midnight PT, and then tune in on Monday, December 25th from 7 AM - 4 PM PT, for No Standards Christmas. You won't hear a single "holiday standard," but instead get a mix of soul, rock, blues, hip-hop, and more! Self-proclaimed "Seattle's least favorite band" Longboat have been releasing music for over a decade now, with three new albums this year alone, and, as they write on their website, "just as many to be released in 2024. Just try and stop us. You can’t. So don’t try, OK?" A project of Belltown-based musician Igor Keller, Longboat released an entire Christmas album back in 2018 titled Come and Get Your Christmas. So, if you like this track, check out 11 more here. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SQUISH! - "SNIFF MY PISS FOR CHRISTMAS," a 2023 self-released single This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed Songs of the Day, selected by Brian Foss, one of the hosts of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 20th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 23rd from 9 PM to midnight PT, and then tune in on Monday, December 25th from 7 AM - 4 PM PT, for No Standards Christmas. You won't hear a single "holiday standard," but instead get a mix of soul, rock, blues, hip-hop, and more! After 20 years of the Punk Rock Xmess on KEXP, we have a Song of the Day written exclusively for the occasion by Seattle's own SQUISH!, a supergroup of sorts featuring former members of Dumps, Sir Coyler, Gold Fronts, and many others.  As they write on Instagram: "We recorded this with @rickrubin at Abbey Road over the course of 9 months with several guest musicians like @daveghrol and @icespice. We hope you like it." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zaid Kreshan - "Shadeed" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records Cairo-based Jordanian artist Zaid Kreshan can often be found doing production for Arabic Pop artist Zaid Khaled (and as a content creator for SceneNoise), but he steps to the forefront for today's dreamy, yet frenetic Song of the Day.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oun Jweinat - "Love We Battle" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records DJ/producer Oun Jweinat divides his time between Liverpool, England, and Amman, Jordan, where he's part of the music-collective-turned-record-label House of Afandi, who've released this week's Songs of the Day.  Jweinat began mixing and DJing at the age of 11, inspired by his older brother. His captivating compositions make him a stand out in the Middle-Eastern electronic music scene.   Read the full story at KEXP.org  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arabian Panther - "Gaza’s Tears" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records French/Lebanese DJ/producer Arabian Panther has long used his music as a platform for social justice. He performs on stage obscured behind a black keffiyeh, as a sign of support to the Palestinian cause and to his roots. To him, the "Arabian Panther" is a fictional character, a warrior atop a feline, inspired by Alamut and the Ashashins.  He has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, and his first recording was released on the first Palestinian electronic music label, Harara. He's currently working on his third EP and his debut album.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moktar, an Egyptian-Australian artist, talks about infusing his Middle-Eastern heritage into his techno, house, and electro compositions. He discusses witnessing talented musicians in Palestine and Europe face challenges and being pushed into silence. He expresses his determination to occupy space with their voices.

ODESZA - "In the Rain," a 2023 single on Foreign Family Collective Beloved Bellingham-based boys ODESZA share a new single, both as a stand-alone track and available on volume two of the Rave.wavs compilation series released via their own Foreign Family Collective label.  The duo of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight state simply, "'In the Rain' was written on the road while performing our The Last Goodbye Tour. We wanted to make something fun and high energy that would particularly work well in a live environment.”  Read the full story at KEXP.org  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Golden Features - "Flesh" from the 2023 album Sisyphus on Foreign Family Collective With today's techno-tinged Song of the Day, Australian DJ/producer Golden Features (real name: Thomas Stell) celebrates a city he discovered on tour: Berlin.  "'Flesh' was one of the earlier demos from the album's writing process," he shared in a press statement. "It was a direct response to my time in Berlin and a song that encapsulated everything I fell in love with on my journeys. I wrote it trying to express feelings of being under the weight of an eight-hour session in the rave. Overstimulated, anxious, and completely terrified of facing the real world outside. Finally gathering the courage to call it a night experiencing the surreal shift that is walking out of a windowless dungeon into a beautiful sunrise." The track can be found on his second, and most recent, LP Sisyphus, which was released via ODESZA's Foreign Family Collective label. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.