RADIO WAVES ARE LIGHT. WHILE WE BUILD ANTENNAS, TELEVISIONS, AND CELL PHONES TO ENCODE AND DECODE INTO SOUND THE SUBTLE ENERGY THEY EMIT, THEY ARE A FORM OF LIGHT FAR BEYOND WHAT THE HUMAN EYE CAN SEE. COSMOLOGISTS USE THEM TO GLIMPSE BILLIONS OF YEARS INTO THE PAST AT SUPERNOVAE, GALAXIES, AND THE VERY PIN-POINT OF OUR ORIGINS. YOU AND I USE THEM TO CONNECT AND COMMUNICATE, TO LISTEN, TO VIBE, TO CALL HOME, AN ELEMENTARY PARTICLE RADIATION THAT MOVES THE SOUL.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR RADIO.

YOU & I RADIO: TRAVIS KELLER’S FAVORITE LOS ANGELES ARTISTS

Los Angeles gets a lot of hate from people who’ve either never been here or have only seen the parts they were supposed to see. You know the lines: fake lips, fake tits, fake dreams, fake people. Which is funny, because sure, we have all that. We also have everything else you can think of.

And that’s because Los Angeles isn’t one city. It’s literally 88 cities smashed together into one giant beautiful mess that makes up the greatest city in this country. It’s got every culture, every kind of food, every subculture, every weird obsession. Every movie eventually plays here, every band eventually comes through, and every ambitious kid with a dream eventually jumps off the porch and ends up sleeping on somebody’s couch here. We’ve got the ocean, the desert, and the mountains all within a few hours’ drive. It never really gets cold. More importantly, LA has produced some of the greatest artists and records ever made.

This playlist isn’t a history lesson, and it’s definitely not a definitive “Best of Los Angeles” list. It’s just a collection of artists that, to me, represent what makes this city special. The only rule was that they had to be from Los Angeles and they had to be great. Some of these songs were the soundtrack to my teenage years. Some are records I discovered later and now consider essential listening.

Turn it on, tune in, drop out, get stuck in traffic, watch the sun disappear behind a row of palm trees, and lock in because I love LA.

YOU & I Radio: JON WARREN’S LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET

YOU&I RADIO: JON WARREN’S NOSTALGIC, MODERN PLAYLIST THAT YOU CAN GROOVE TO.

  1. STRANGERS, THE KINKS (1970)
THIS SONG IS FROM MY CHILDHOOD, AND IT WAS ALSO FEATURED IN THE DARJEELING LIMITED. THAT MOVIE, PAIRED WITH THIS SONG, MAKES ME MISS BEING YOUNG AND THE SENSE OF ADVENTURE WE HAD BEFORE CELL PHONES AND JOBS.
  2. HUMAN BEHAVIOUR, BJÖRK (1993)
I WAS A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN THIS DROPPED. WHILE MY FRIENDS WERE STILL STUCK ON PUNK, I WAS EXPLORING DIFFERENT KINDS OF MUSIC. LISTENING TO BJÖRK BACK THEN FELT LIKE HEARING MUSIC FROM A DIFFERENT DIMENSION. I WAS DIFFERENT, AND AT THAT TIME I NEVER PLAYED MUSIC FOR ANYONE. I WAS IN LOVE WITH HER AND HER MUSIC.
  3. THE OOOGUM BOOGUM SONG, BRENTON WOOD (1967)
NORTHERN SOUL AT ITS BEST. I REALLY FELL IN LOVE WITH SOUL MUSIC FROM THIS ERA, CURTIS MAYFIELD, JACKIE WILSON, THE CHI-LITES, GENE CHANDLER. THIS SONG REMINDS ME OF SUMMER, GOOD TIMES, AND ALWAYS MAKES ME WANT TO DANCE.
  4. VITAMIN C, CAN (1972)
THIS SONG IS A VIBE. IT HAS ALWAYS FELT LIKE THE SOUNDTRACK TO A COOL SPY MOVIE. I ORIGINALLY HEARD IT THROUGH A U.N.K.L.E. REMIX IN 1997. BOTH THE ORIGINAL AND THE REMIX ARE GREAT.
  5. SUNNY, BONEY M. (1976)
THE ECHO ON THIS SONG HITS HARD, AND THE DISCO BEAT JUST JAMS. I AM REALLY OBSESSED WITH DISCO. MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER ALSO CALL ME “DADDY COOL,” WHICH COMES FROM ANOTHER BONEY M. SONG.
  6. SENTIMENTALE, STELLA ZEBRA (2022)
I FOUND STELLA ON SOUNDCLOUD. THE SONG GROOVES AND HAS A REAL SEXINESS TO IT. THIS ONE IS A GEM.
  7. FREAK SCENE, DINOSAUR JR. (1988)
IF YOU WERE AN OUTCAST, THIS WAS YOUR BAND. DINOSAUR JR. WAS AND STILL IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS. THE 1989 SPEED FREAKS SANTA CRUZ VIDEO SEALED IT. J. MASCIS IS A FORCE.
  8. PASSIONFRUIT, YAEJI (2017)
I ONLY REALIZED A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT THIS SONG IS A COVER. I LOVE HOW DREAMY IT FEELS AND HOW EASILY IT MOVES. I DO NOT LIKE DRAKE, SO IT WAS A SURPRISE TO FIND OUT THIS WAS ORIGINALLY HIS SONG.
  9. TOO HOT, KOOL & THE GANG (1979)
THIS SONG IS SO SMOOTH, AND THEN THE HORN COMES IN OVER THAT BASS LINE. I HAVE SEEN THEM PLAY THREE TIMES NOW. KOOL AND THE GANG IS A MUST.
  10. AQUÍ EN MI NUBE, SONIA (1966)
THERE IS A WEALTH OF INCREDIBLE MUSIC OUT THERE IF YOU DIG HARD ENOUGH. THIS IS A COVER OF THE ROLLING STONES’ “GET OFF OF MY CLOUD.” I LOVE FINDING GEMS LIKE THIS.
  11. THE RIP, PORTISHEAD (2008)
DUMMY DROPPED IN 1994 AND WAS PART OF MY INTRODUCTION TO MASSIVE ATTACK, TRICKY, AND ESPECIALLY DJ SHADOW. I LOVE HOW THIS SONG STARTS LIKE A CLASSIC PORTISHEAD TRACK AND HALFWAY THROUGH BECOMES ELECTRO.
  12. CECI N’EST PAS UN CLICHE, CHARLOTTE ADIGERY (2022)
THIS IS A CATCHY BANGER. THE BASS LINE JUST DRIVES. I LOVE DISCOVERING FRENCH ARTISTS, AND THIS SONG REALLY DID IT FOR ME.
  13. NEED YOUR LOVE, CURTIS HARDING (2017)
I LIKE HOW THIS SONG HAS A GOSPEL FEEL BUT LEANS INTO SOUL. I LOVE WHEN A SONG FEELS LIKE IT COULD HAVE EXISTED DECADES AGO BUT STILL HAS A MODERN TWIST.
  14. HIT EM WHERE IT HURTS, PAWPAW ROD (2021)
I LOVE FINDING NEW ARTISTS, AND THIS TRACK FEELS BOTH OLD AND NEW. HE ALSO HAS GREAT STYLE. I LOVE HOW MUSIC CONTINUES TO FIND NEW PLACES TO GO.
  15. SOBER, SEBASTIAN (2019)
I LOVE HOW THIS MIXES ELECTRO HOUSE WITH BAKAR’S VOCALS. IT HITS LIKE A CLUB SONG BUT FEELS OTHERWORLDLY. SPACESHIP MUSIC.
  16. COHESION, MINUTEMEN (1984)
DOUBLE NICKELS ON THE DIME WAS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO ME. IT WAS A PUNK ALBUM THAT COMPLETELY FLIPPED THE MIDDLE FINGER TO NORMS. IT BOUNCED BETWEEN PUNK, BLUES, FOLK, AND THIS TRACK WITH ITS FLAMENCO GUITAR. IT WAS A REJECTION OF BEING PUT IN A BOX, AND I HAVE LIVED MY LIFE THAT WAY.
  17. KEEP THE CHANGE, MATTIEL (2019)
THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT JUST MOVES AND THE LYRICS WORK. HER VOICE REMINDS ME OF A NICO.
  18. ME AND JULIO DOWN BY THE SCHOOLYARD, PAUL SIMON (1972)
THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR THIS STARTS WITH A FREESTYLE WITH BIZ MARKIE & BIG DADDY KANE. PAUL SIMON HAS A BOOM BOX THAT’S LARGER THAN HE IS. SONG MAKES ME FUCKING HAPPY, AND IT’S AN ENDER SONG TO THIS PLAYLIST.