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Hi friends,
How do you process depression? Or, as Ed O’Brien muses at the opening of his short film Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play, your “dark night of the soul?” The film serves as more than a companion piece to his second solo album, Blue Morpho. It’s an impressionistic visualization of the deep feeling that stirred within me when I first listened to it, and a likely coda for him.
But let me back up for a moment. In 2020, weeks before COVID threw a hand grenade into all of our lives, Ed O’Brien, legendary guitarist for Radiohead, joined me at Capitol Studio A to perform a few songs from his debut solo album, Earth. That day, he told me about having taken a break from his work with Radiohead in 2012 to have an adventure with his family. They moved to the edge of a rainforest in Brazil and lived there for almost a year, absorbing the music, nature, language, and life, which became the inspiration for Earth. His gentle love of nature and that special place are still big parts of his soul.
Ed is quite open about a seriously deep depressive hole he fell into during the COVID years — and, gratefully, how he climbed out of it. Last week, he stopped by KCRW and told Novena (and all of us) about it on the air. This climb, an ascension back to his spiritual “Sweet Spot,” is at the core of what has become his second solo album. And Ed is brimming with gratitude — the closing piece on Blue Morpho is “Obrigado” or “Thank You” in Portuguese. A blue morpho is a type of butterfly.
The film’s soundtrack is, of course, his album, and the songs seem to run through the film in almost the same sequence as they appear on the record. The journey I took listening to Blue Morpho made even more sense when I watched the film. It’s a pleasure to experience two pieces of art in such harmony.
The natural world is where Ed is happiest. And that very world full of peace and gratitude seems to have pulled him back out. He also told Novena about a piece of advice Thom Yorke gave him: “You have to be a good librarian,” to keep snippets of songs in your brain. Ed said he followed this wisdom, and the album began to take shape.
Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play is an exquisite gem that adds a deeper layer of meaning to a breathtaking album that stands strong on its own.
Novena straight up told Ed that Blue Morpho would be in her Top 10 of 2026… and we’re not even halfway through the year. It's in mine too.
Be well, be in nature. xx, Anne
Now Spinning On My Turntable Nariman – "u up?" Feat. rhys from the sticks & charmy
Every week, KCRW Music publishes its Top 30 songs of the week, and MBE producer, Nass, puts together a nifty newsletter full of context about the songs that are moving us. I highly recommend you subscribe (and there are a bunch of other newsletters you can check out as well).
For me, it is a great way to get inside the heads of my DJ brothers and sisters. Just this week, I discovered British Iranian producer, Nariman, with what could be the song of the summer! And don’t sleep on LA’s own Josh Conway. He’s not only a producer and drummer, but he’s also co-founder of The Marias. His new song “Crumble” is a glorious symphony of synth from start to finish.
Now that, friends, is a real Music Insider pro tip!
More Music Moments
You might already recognize Jack Antonoff’s name from the liner notes of many defining pop records of the 2010s and 2020s. In 2026 alone, he earned four Grammy nominations for his work on releases by Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. During a recent live session at KCRW, Antonoff offered an intimate showcase of his songwriting at its core. Leaning over KCRW’s grand piano and strumming a classical guitar, Antonoff performed three selections from across his catalog: “I Wanna Get Better,” “i can’t believe you’re gone,” and “you and forever.”
Andy Butler (aka Hercules & Love Affair) has spent nearly two decades exploring queer identity through house and disco. Butler is also a sought-after remixer with music including tracks for Lady Gaga, Blondie, Yazoo, Sylvan Esso, Goldfrapp, and more. This Pride month, he joins KCRW as Resident DJ on Thursdays beginning tonight at midnight.
José González has long mastered the art of making profound questions sound deceptively gentle. Armed with little more than a guitar and his unmistakable voice, the Swedish-Argentinian singer-songwriter delivered an intimate, hypnotic performance in the KCRW Annenberg Performance Studio, weaving together intricate fingerpicked guitar lines and lyrics sung in English, Spanish, and Swedish.
Last year, the artist Doug Aitken collaborated with some of LA's most forward-thinking musicians to create live soundtracks for his multimedia project, Lightscape. On Monday nights at midnight throughout June, KCRW is bringing those once-in-a-lifetime performances to the airwaves. This week, you'll hear from the legendary electronic pioneer Suzanne Ciani.
And finally... Senior Music Producer Myke Dodge Weiskopf knows where LA's queer music heads go in the wee hours. As Pride season warms up, here are his picks for the week's best parties and happenings.
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