Since the fall I’ve been interning as a researcher for the KEXP Documentaries series. The documentaries, which are produced by Michele Myers, are snapshots of music history “in the time it takes to play just one song.” They air on Thursdays at 3 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m., and you can also find them on the KEXP website.
There are more than 160 documentaries in the series. I think they are are all worth a listen, but if forced to choose, I’d say my favorite series would be Portraits of Post Punk and Masters of Turntablism. I have a soft spot for post-punk bands, that being “my era.” As for the other series — how can you forget the story of Grandwizzard Theodore accidentally inventing the “scratch”? The latest series is on Grunge, a genre “invented” by that band from Aberdeen — Nirvana.
One of the cool parts of the job is stumbling across old video on YouTube of artists or bands while they were still early in their careers — before they became iconic. Like this 1976 footage of Patti Smith singing “Gloria” on Saturday Night Live. She’s so tough — and un-self-conscious.
And then there’s Soundgarden at a 1986 show at the Rainbow Tavern, a tiny bar in the University District in Seattle. This is around the time the band got signed to Sub Pop, and way before they started packing in arenas.
