Hi Summer Insiders, 

The recent news out of Washington is rough for public media. Last Thursday, Congress voted for a budget rescission which will defund the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. Funds from the CPB—which are dispersed across the public radio and television system—are vital and KCRW is very much affected. 

One of the biggest losses to us will be the organization that negotiates music licensing fees for non commercial stations; money that goes to artists for the privilege of playing their music for you. Calling this a speedbump would be the understatement of the year, but rest assured that we will be working overtime the next few months with our sister stations, NPR, and others to work on a new structure for licensing. Good thing we public media lifers excel at creative problem solving (with a big thanks to the support we get from Insiders like you).

I know this is a little in the weeds, and I know you’ve heard plenty about this rescission and its fallout all over our airwaves and other newsletters, but the ripple effects are well worth digging into. I found this piece on Monday’s Press Play especially informative about how these cuts will affect both large and small stations.

I’m coming to you because you are my humans and my heart. If you are able, please support KCRW. Or go to adoptastation.org to find one of the small, rural stations who are suffering and need you urgently. We’re all in this together.

Now, are you as ready as I am to lighten the mood a little? As we are more than halfway through the year, it’s time to talk Best Of 2025… so far (big thanks to Marion for stepping in and offering her two cents last week). I’ve been combing through so many excellent songs, all of which came out within this calendar year(!). Listed below are my top 10, plus 10 honorable mentions. Feel free to reply to this email if you want even more. I have a Serato crate loaded with 64 (and counting) of the best songs of the year… so far.

ALA.NI  – “This Is Why”

ALA.NI’s “This Is Why” is late breaking, but that’s because we are at the apex of summer, and I’ve spent the past two months endlessly searching for a definitive summer song. Suddenly, this breezy, bossa-meets-Caribbean-meets-Great-American-Songbook gem sailed into my life. ALA.NI wrote it during a cold Paris winter in anticipation of warmer days ahead, which makes it sound even sweeter now.

Black Country, New Road – “Besties”

Every BCNR song is an EPIC tale. “Besties” is no exception, winding from Queen-esque theatrics to wispy chamber pop to side two of Abbey Road. And it’s a sweet ode to — wait for it —best friends everywhere! Sometimes it really is as simple as that.

Horsegirl – “Frontrunner”

Keeping up the theme of “besties” and simplicity, enter Chicago trio Horsegirl. This throwback indie rock group is at their absolute best when producing straightforward songs like “Frontrunner.” It’s the feeling of lying awake (maybe reading a book) beside the one you love. You just can’t wait for them to wake up with you because you’re so excited to just be with them again.

John Tejada – “Until the End of the World”

I will immediately spin any new John Tejada track the moment it finds me. John isn’t just a highly regarded LA composer and producer, he’s a literal music machine. See: Wajatta, his ever fruitful collab with Reggie Watts and Optometry, his duo with March Adstrum. Plus, he’s constantly writing and releasing his own music — his 16th(!) solo album The Watchline is due on Friday, September 5th. “Until the End of the World” has all the hallmarks of my favorite electronic tracks. It’s slow, reflective, and precise… until it isn’t anymore. Suddenly, urgently it has somewhere to go, perhaps propelled by an unexpected dream? And then (of course) the quiet comes and I wake up gently.

Madison McFerrin – “I Don’t”

Passionately independent producer, singer, and songwriter Madison McFerrin is known for channeling life’s challenges into creative brilliance. Listening to her sophomore album SCORPIO is like going to breakup-album church. Madison recently told KCRW, “I realized I was supposed to create a piece of art that would change my life.” “I Don’t” is the centerpiece of this life-changing album, AND it features a video in which she wears the dress she was supposed to wear on her wedding day (plus a wedding bouquet in flames).

The Marías – “Back To Me”

And just like that, there’s another heartbreak song in line to devastate me. Not sure what this says about me. Los Angeles’ The Marias wrote a perfect coda to their 2024 album, Submarine, about what happens when the ex moves on. Sigh. Fwiw, there’s fire in this video too.

Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory – “Live Forever”

(Pictured above + moi) You’ve known me long enough to know that I love a song that builds to a mountaintop moment. This one does it and then some. It gives us synths, drum machines, electronics, and (because it’s SVE) GUITARS. This album is a complete listen and it's a debut of a sort because she wrote and recorded the whole thing, jam session style, with her entire band.

Sea Pipes – “Miss Your Audio”

Sea Pipes, a group of unassuming LA high schoolers, stormed onto the scene and into my heart last fall. It was in the form of a perfectly devastating two minutes and fifty-two seconds of pain channeled through music. It was (and still is) called “Unnamable Loss.” A year later, Sea Pipes are on the verge of releasing their debut album. It brings with it a generationally revived interest in guitars, longing, and beauty.

Turnstile – “Never Enough”

I repeat, guitars are BACK, my friends. I can’t stop listening to this Category 5 hurricane of a song from Baltimore’s Turnstile, a band that’s been shredding since 2010. Think hardcore punk, Nirvana, the ‘90s, and a splash of funk to really keep us on our toes.

Wet Leg – “pokemon”

It’s hard to choose a favorite song from moisturizer because, like its predecessor Wet Leg, moisturizer is a “no skips” masterpiece. That said, “pokemon” is just enough of a sonic departure from the group’s trademark snotty, post-punk swagger to really stand out. The song’s Japanese City Pop-leanings make me feel like I’m in a whirlwind episode of Jet Lag — all the way from the Isle of Wight to Tokyo.

Honorable mentions:

Bad Bunny – “NUEVAYoL”

Chloethegod – “I Feel Different Everyday”

Drugdealer & Weyes Blood – “Real Thing”

Jacob Alon – “Fairy In A Bottle”

Little Simz – "Free"

Miramar – “En mis Suenos”

Natalia Lafourcade – “Cancionera”

Pearl Charles – “Step Too Far”

Pulp – “Got To Have Love”

Saya Gray – “PUDDLE OF (ME)”

Shit Robot: KCRW Guest mix

DFA Records mainstay Marcus Lambkin (Shit Robot) shares a “Robot Wave” DJ mix that’ll have your synapses working overtime. But don't take our word for it...

“This mix comes from my sets warming up for LCD Soundsystem. When on tour, I might do four to eight shows in a run. I like to try to make each show different and not play the same set every night. Sometimes I play to the crowd, sometimes I play for myself, but oftentimes the band will have the audio piped into the dressing rooms. This set comes from specifically playing to them. I’ve played a few different versions of this set, but anytime I played a synth/coldwave set, I always got a great response from the band, so I wanted to record something to remember before I moved on.

It’s not specifically coldwave or synthwave or whatever-wave, so I just tongue-in-cheekily titled the mix Robot Wave.”

Cory Henry: KCRW Guest DJ Set

Newly minted Grammy-winner Cory Henry achieved that milestone by returning to his roots. Namely, his church roots. The artist — best known for teaming with big bands like the serious jazz cats of Snarky Puppy and big names like Rosalía, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen — nabbed the prestigious statue for his 2024 Roots Gospel album Church.

Leaning into Gospel has proven so creatively fulfilling for Henry that he's made a monthly event of it. Cory Henry Presents: Church is a soulful live music experience celebrating his Grammy-winning album of the same name and the music that inspired it, with a 30-person community choir. The next event in the series is this Sunday, July 27th at The Miracle Theater in Inglewood. We’re told that there will be soul food (in addition to all of the soul-stirring tunes). 

Wanna get away?

Remember that time when Robert Glasper was our first in-studio guest after the days of peak-COVID/shelter in place? We sure do. And now you have the chance to encounter his specialness firsthand. Donate by midnight Friday, July 25th to be automatically entered to win KCRW’s The Black Radio Experience Sweepstakes. The winner will receive a pair of VIP tickets, four nights at a hotel, and round-trip airfare for Black Radio Experience 2025 in Napa, CA. In addition to watching Glasper do his thing, you'll get to check out sets from Questlove, Jazmine Sullivan, and more. Additional details are available here. 

Attention Musicians!

New Music Inc is a regional incubator program that helps small-budget, artist-led new music groups and organizations generate new ideas, strategies, and collaborations at pivotal stages in the group or collective’s development. The program provides each participating organization with financial support coupled with hands-on skill-building in a cohort environment intended to foster collective learning and collaboration. For the 2025 cycle, we are accepting applications from eligible organizations in Los Angeles County. The window to apply closes on July 31st (one week from today). Get on in there.