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Necktie Optional

Necktie Optional

di Cody

Necktie Optional episode 21 (9/10/2026)

Most of the night sat in upbeat, guitar-forward indie and power-pop territory: mypilotis, Indigo Elephant, Starter Car, The Big Moon, Westside Cowboy, The Vaccines, Carver Commodore, Courtney Barnett, and The Braymores all worked that lane. Slow Coast, Minus the Bear, Twen, Dehd, Pleasure Systems, Frightened Rabbit, and Dismemberment Plan pulled things into moodier, more atmospheric territory, while Zimmer Grandioso, yeemz, swell foop, and Kacie Jewel Hill added stranger, more idiosyncratic textures throughout. Kings of Convenience, Liana Flores, Linus Hablot, and Dana and Alden brought the quieter, acoustic-leaning moments, and Kashus Culpepper added a soulful, country-tinged voice into the mix. A few tracks stood out for more than just sound. The Beths' "Uptown Girl" shares its title with the Billy Joel classic but is an entirely different, much darker song about a friendship curdling into resentment. Ron Gallo's "Truth" comes from the same batch of pointed political songs as his earlier "Peter Thiel" track, part of an ongoing series of satirical, topical releases. And John Roseboro & Mei Semones' "Johnny" is a duet built on a warm, samba-inflected groove, with Semones' guitar work weaving through Roseboro's nylon-string lines. Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional. setlist: mypilotis | fence sitter Indigo Elephant | (Nothing) Matters Starter Car | Kicking The Big Moon | Three Things The Beths | Uptown Girl Westside Cowboy | Paperchains The Vaccines | Lunar Eclipse Carver Commodore | Drown Me In Emotions Slow Coast | Double Vision Minus the Bear | Invisible Zimmer Grandioso | neighbourhood watch Ron Gallo | Truth Kashus Culpepper | Let Me Show You Love Kacie Jewel Hill | Wide Eyed yeemz | Beta Paradox swell foop | Time Dana and Alden | Summer Nights Kings of Convenience | Rule My World Liana Flores | So it goes John Roseboro & Mei Semones | Johnny Linus Hablot | Say Yes Courtney Barnett | Great Advice Dismemberment Plan | Following Through Twen | Fate Euphoric Dehd | Light On Pleasure Systems | When It's Leaving The Braymores | August Frightened Rabbit | Holy

Necktie Optional episode 20 (9/3/2026)

A heavy dose of guitar-driven indie and alt-rock tonight: Michigander, Westside Cowboy, Sterling Gavinski, Improvement Movement, Hovvdy, Twin Bloom, Fruited Planes, Other Girls, Good Flying Birds, The Big Moon, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah all worked that lane. The Velvet Teen, Minus the Bear, Pinback, The Ninth Wave, and Editors brought a moodier, more angular edge, while Waxahatchee, Ratboys, and The Buoys leaned into scrappier, more rootsy territory. Gang of Youths and Brian Fallon (of The Gaslight Anthem) both went for big, heartland-rock catharsis in different registers. A few tracks came with real stories attached. Fantastic Cat's "Donnie Takes the Bus" comes from a New York indie-folk supergroup whose name was picked on the spot by a bartender the four members asked, half-joking, what they should call themselves. Jamie T's "3310" — named for the old Nokia brick phone — is the lead single off his upcoming sixth album, a nostalgic look back at youth and everything left behind. Ron Gallo's "Peter Thiel" is a scathing, satirical protest song, part of an ongoing series of topical tracks he's been releasing skewering powerful political and tech figures. Zimmer Grandioso's "beach house" added a stranger, more idiosyncratic texture to the set, and Cake closed things out with "Mr. Mastodon Farm," a deep cut off their 1994 debut record. Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional. Setlist: Fantastic Cat | Donnie Takes the Bus The Brook & The Bluff | It Can't Be Eels | What's A Fella Gotta Do Michigander | Good Things The Buoys | Welcome to my Brain The Velvet Teen | Pecos Minus the Bear | Spritz!!!Spritz!!! Jamie T | 3310 Westside Cowboy | Worried Age Sterling Gavinski | Dogfight Zimmer Grandioso | beach house Improvement Movement | I Do Ron Gallo | Peter Thiel Hovvdy | JJ Gang of Youths | Things Take Time Waxahatchee | Can't Do Much Pinback | Fortress Twin Bloom | Magazine Dreams Fruited Planes | So You Say Other Girls | Hey Fella, Ya Fell Good Flying Birds | Fall Away Brian Fallon | Better Before The Ninth Wave | Bitumen Editors | Bullets Ratboys | It's Alive! The Big Moon | Gravity Clap Your Hands Say Yeah | Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away Cake | Mr. Mastodon Farm

Necktie Optional episode 19 (8/20/2026)

Most of the night worked from a hooky, guitar-driven indie-rock palette: Swapmeet, We Are Scientists, Dayton Barry, Juliet the Band, The Brook & The Bluff, Carver Commodore, Good Flying Birds, The Beths, SWEET LEW, Ducks Ltd., The Gnomes, Brennan Wedl, and Dark Sided all sat comfortably in that lane. Kacie Jewel Hill, cup cup, E.G. Phillips, and Yeemz pushed into more eclectic corners, while Kings of Convenience's "Cayman Islands" gave the night its one genuinely quiet moment — acoustic guitar, hushed harmonies. Two tracks carried real backstory worth knowing. Yard Act's "New Beginnings" is the second single off their forthcoming third album, written as a deliberately lighter counterpoint to the darker lead single "Redeemer" — sunny and Britpop-flecked where that one was bleak. Mei Semones' "Kabutomushi" takes its name from a rhinoceros beetle she used to catch in the park as a kid, visiting her grandmother in Japan; the song became a bittersweet ode to her after she passed. The grittiest stretch belonged to Girl and Girl's "It's Dead" — Queensland garage-rock and post-punk, recorded inside a producer's converted meat-fridge studio in Ocean Grove — alongside Minus the Bear and Dismemberment Plan holding down the heavier end of the set. Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional. Setlist: Swapmeet | I Know! We Are Scientists | Break It Up Dayton Barry | Late Night Carino Juliet the Band | Red Hot American Summer The Brook & The Bluff | Super Bowl Sunday Carver Commodore | Misty Eyes Good Flying Birds | Eric's Eyes The Beths | Dying to Believe Kacie Jewel Hill | Patterns cup cup | Lamps Plus E.G. Phillips | The Speed of Causality Kings of Convenience | Cayman Islands The Red Thread | In Return Twin Bloom | Summer's Gone Francis of Delirium | Modern Madonna Yard Act | New Beginnings Mei Semones | Kabutomushi SWEET LEW | fancy home Yeemz | Brace for Impact Ducks Ltd. | Cathedral City Girl and Girl | It's Dead The Gnomes | Matter of Time Brennan Wedl | Pretty Little Fantasy Dark Sided | Still Here Minus the Bear | Hooray Dismemberment Plan | Time Bomb

Necktie Optional episode 18 (8/13/2026)

Twenty-eight tracks tonight, opening with The Weakerthans, Built to Spill, and Girl Scout setting a literate, guitar-driven tone. Dinosaur Jr. roughed up the edges before Embrace slotted in with "Road to Nowhere" — the band's first new material in four years, released ahead of their 30th-anniversary UK headline tour — and Ratboys brought things back to scrappier footing. Michigander, Twin Fin, Circle Change, and Great Grandpa kept the momentum going. Twin Fin's "South of San Francisco" came out via Ineffable Records, Billboard's top independent reggae label, giving the track a looser, island-tinged pull against the rest of the set. Mei Semones' "Dangomushi" is named for a small pill bug she made friends with in the park, alongside a bird and a mouse — a tiny, specific little world set to pizzicato guitar and strings. FIGHTMASTER's "Cowboy Tumbleweed" carried the run forward alongside The Brook & The Bluff, Annie DiRusso, and Carver Commodore. FIGHTMASTER is the music project of actor E.R. Fightmaster, known for playing Dr. Kai Bartley on Grey's Anatomy. Minus the Bear, Twen, Eastern Souvenirs, and Sjowgren pushed into heavier, more atmospheric territory before Lights, DMA'S, The Tubs, and Slow Coast lightened things back up with synth-pop and jangle. Closed out with The Beths, The Velvet Teen, KennyHoopla, Citizen, and Dismemberment Plan, whose scrappy, angular sound helped define the late-'90s DC post-punk scene long before "Pay for the Piano." Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional. Setlist: The Weakerthans | Plea from a Cat Named Virtue Built to Spill | Carry the Zero Girl Scout | Simple Life Dinosaur Jr. | Several Got Away Embrace | Road to Nowhere Ratboys | Anywhere Michigander | Starting a Band Twin Fin | South of San Francisco Circle Change | California Great Grandpa | Task Mei Semones | Dangomushi FIGHTMASTER | Cowboy Tumbleweed The Brook & The Bluff | I'll Have It Down Annie DiRusso | Ovid Carver Commodore | Black Plastic Minus the Bear | The Fix Twen | SeaStar Eastern Souvenirs | Colors Sjowgren | High Beam Lights | COME GET YOUR GIRL DMA'S | Killing Time The Tubs | Who's Gonna Love You Now? Slow Coast | Where I'm Supposed to Be The Beths | Knees Deep The Velvet Teen | Pavlovian Bell KennyHoopla | OBSTACLE 1// Citizen | Is It In My Brain? Dismemberment Plan | Pay for the Piano

Necktie Optional episode 17 (8/6/2026)

For today's episode we welcomed in Matthew Swinnerton and Natalie Sweeting of Events Santa Cruz! They came on air today to hype us up about their 100th Santa Cruz Midtown Friday Block Party tomorrow night (8/7), where local favorite Trestles will play a free show! We heard something from Trestles' latest album AND a star-studded lineup including them and Lol Tolhurst (of The Cure fame) covering Boys Don't Cry. Matthew and Natalie also did a little bit of guest DJing and told us about their musical loves and influences! The rest of the set returned to the show's usual footing: Michigander, Carver Commodore, and The Menzingers brought driving, guitar-forward rock. Mallory Hawk followed with thrashy, propulsive garage-punk energy off her newly released debut album, Chinook. Chloe Slater's "Mother Nature's Killing Spree" is a preview of her forthcoming debut album Riot Youth, built around a love story set against climate collapse, and Hannah Jadagu's dreamy 2022 Sub Pop debut single "Say It Now" brought things back to melodic footing. Liana Flores, Kings of Convenience, and the bird and the bee brought a folk-pop turn, while Ale Vanzella, Trails and Ways, and ISTA added bossa nova-ish and dance-leaning texture. Common People, Minus the Bear, and The Velvet Teen closed the show out with heavier, atmospheric rock. Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional.

Necktie Optional episode 16 (7/30/2026)

A very special DOUBLE episode of Necktie Optional today to close out July's Keep Radio Weird pledge drive strong! A wide-ranging set that stretched well past typical indie-rock borders. Girl Scout and Kiwi Jr. opened with breezy, hook-driven guitar pop, while The Afghan Whigs and Cold War Kids brought grittier, soul-inflected rock. The Beths and Francis of Delirium kept things in familiar jangly indie-rock territory, and David Knudson and Jake Snider carried that same Minus the Bear lineage forward. Feeble Little Horse brought lo-fi guitar crunch, followed by a run of blues and soul: John Roseboro and Mei Semones' genre-crossing cover, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, and Tedeschi Trucks Band brought real blues-rock heft to the middle of the set. Sports and Twin Fan returned to jangly indie footing, and Cat Power's "Like a Rolling Stone" cover added a folk-rock standard. Minus the Bear and Little Green Cars brought driving, atmospheric rock energy, Genesis Owusu and Ladyhawke injected a jolt of dance-inflected genre-bending, and Surfer Blood kept the guitars sharp. The show closed out gently with Iron & Wine, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Skeletons with Flesh On Them — folk-leaning, intimate, and reflective.

Necktie Optional episode 15 (7/23/2026)

Fourteen tracks today, running the full spectrum of guitar-based indie. Erlend Øye opened with a breezy, continental warmth on "La Prima Estate," setting a relaxed tone before Snail Mail and diet lemon brought sharper-edged, confessional indie rock. Maggie Gently, The Beths, and Pacifica kept the melodic momentum going with hooky, guitar-forward pop-rock. Twen and acloudyskye leaned into dreamier, more textured territory, while Mei Semones and mypilotis added jazz-inflected and softly experimental touches. The Blurry Stars and Minus the Bear brought a heavier, more driving rock energy, and the set closed out with Editors and We Were Promised Jetpacks delivering moodier, atmospheric post-punk-leaning closers. Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional.

Necktie Optional episode 14 (7/16/2026)

Twelve tracks of guitar-forward indie rock this week, bookended by wistfulness and wit. Opened with Ben Folds Five's "Underground - Shelved First Attempt," a rarity-flavored curveball before settling into the show's usual melodic terrain. California Wives and Yumi Zouma brought the dream-pop shimmer, while Stolen Gin and Cold War Kids leaned into moodier, hookier rock. The Brook & The Bluff and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart closed things out with jangly, sun-faded melancholy. Antarctigo Vespucci and Kareem Rahma & Tiny Gun added a couple of oddball, genre-blurring detours to round out the hour. Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional.

Necktie Optional episode 13 (7/9/2026)

Episode 12 brings new music from The Mountain Goats, Dogwood Tales, Slow Runner, and Hovvdy alongside Iron & Wine, Frou Frou, Penny and Sparrow, and Wippy Bonstack. Handpicked, as always. Neckties remain optional. It's pledge drive week — keep radio weird at kpcr.org/join.

Necktie Optional 4th of July Special (7/4/2026)

A very special episode of Necktie Optional to celebrate and reflect on 250 years of American independence, and reflecting upon the good, bad, and ugly - and embracing protest music as a desire for positive change. Setlist: The Menzingers | America (You're Freaking Me Out) Greta Van Fleet | A Change Is Gonna Come Conner Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band | Roosevelt Room Descendents | 'Merican John Prine | Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore Bright Eyes | When The President Talks to God Carsie Blanton & The Burning Hell | Private Equity Mon Rovia | Heavy Foot Jesse Welles | Masks Off David Dondero | Pre-invasion Jitters Forest Sun | America, I Love You Micah Schnabel | Nuclear War KennyHoopla | NEW AMERICA// Ozomatli | Pa Lante Edwin Starr | War Brendan Hines | Guillotine Carsie Blanton & The Burning Hell | Hoist the Guillotine Bad Religion | Let Them Eat War Rage Against The Machine | Testify Dead Pioneers | Tired Pearl Jam | Fortunate Son Bruce Springsteen | Born in the U.S.A.

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