Dear friends, 

On October 30th, 1999, I went to Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit concert. It was a yearly happening at Shoreline Amphitheater up in Mountain View, California. This particular year (pretty much the entire reason I went) was to see Brian Wilson play. Prior to this moment, I’d never seen any iteration of The Beach Boys. On this night in ‘99, Brian played “God Only Knows,” “Good Vibrations,” and closed with “Love and Mercy.” It was really special.

But the best part of the day was at the San Jose airport. Since it was pre-9/11, plane boarding was pretty loose. As I boarded near the end, Brian Wilson was seated in the second row. On the left, on the aisle. In a split second, my head exploded. I steadied myself and gathered my brain enough to tell Mr. Wilson how much I loved his set. He took my hand, looked me in the eye, and asked me what I loved the most. As my face turned red, I told him about the moments that moved me. He smiled, and I thanked him.

It was one tiny moment in his life that he never thought of again, but that one tiny moment has been with me ever since. In that instant, his humility, his interest, and his smile were magic.

And Brian Wilson was no stranger to KCRW. In 1988, he spoke to KCRW’s Diedre O’Donaghue for her legendary show SNAP. It’s an interview that continues to resonate as deeply as it did at the time, happening right around the release of Brian’s self-titled debut solo album. In 1998, he spoke with then MBE host Nic Harcourt. And just yesterday, Press Play’s Madeleine Brand talked to Brian’s biographer (and dear friend) David Leaf. When they initially scheduled the interview for yesterday, it was to discuss his new book, SMiLE: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Brian Wilson. Coincidentally, it was Leaf who broke the news to Press Play on Wednesday morning, informing many of us at the K that Brian Wilson had passed at 82. Needless to say, the interview took a turn from its original course and was brilliant. Quintessential driveway moment fodder.

It’s been a week. Our loss of the collective genius of Sly Stone and Brian Wilson in such quick succession hits hard. But what hits home, and what we have forever, are the staggering gifts they’ve left us — their compositions.

Sly Stone: The KCRW interview

As Anne alluded to above, there's something very cosmically curious to the fact that we lost Brian Wilson and Sly Stone within days of each other. Both were 82 years old, and both remade popular music in their own image... in ways that made being a music fan infinitely better for generations to come. Rest in power, Sly. 

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory

Sharon Van Etten takes a "sonic trust fall" and returns to KCRW with her new band The Attachment Theory. Click in for an extended and invigorating performance of songs from their self-titled LP. Plus, Sharon catches up with Anne Litt about getting the band together, and how calling it “The Attachment Theory” speaks to her dual fascinations with psychology and wordplay.

Michael Govan: KCRW Guest DJ Set

In 2017, native Angeleno and de facto leader of the West Coast jazz cohort, Kamasi Washington, released the EP Harmony of Difference. And for three nights at the end of June — 26, 27, and 28 — Washington will bring a 100+ piece jazz band to fill The LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) with that record’s signature sounds. It’s all part of a very special sneak peek into LACMA’s newest addition — David Geffen Galleries. This is a space that is over 20 years in the making(!). Here to give us the scoop and share some favorite tunes is CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director at LACMA since 2006, Michael Govan.

Capes: KCRW Guest DJ Mix

Capes is an alias for Ray Barragan, one half of Club Tularosa and cofounder of Sensory Signal, a collective that curates some of the best parties in LA. In addition to staying busy in the late hours of the city's underground scene, he's been known to keep the crowds moving at HARD Fest and Skyline festival (also here in LA).

Dig into Capes’ FREAKS ONLY guest mix for an invigorating blend of crisp beats, sonic ephemera, and hidden gems that’ll have you feeling all kinds of nocturnal.