Listen Now

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a musician at the start of her career talking with a songwriter whose 35-year-old song she recently covered—after just discovering it. It’s Dan Littleton and Helen Ballentine, aka. Skullcrusher. Don’t let that name fool you. Skullcrusher’s music taps into elements of ambient electronic and traditional folk to create a mesmerizing stew: In other words, if it crushes your skull, it will do so gently. On her debut album under the name, last year’s Quiet the Room, Ballentine deftly explores some complicated emotions via gorgeous songs and words; the two artists she’s been most frequently compared to are Phoebe Bridgers and Grouper, and I think if you smush those together, it makes some sense.  The other half of today’s conversation is Dan Littleton, whose indie-folk outfit Ida made some incredible records in the ‘90s and the aughts. But the focus of this conversation is actually Littleton’s hardcore band from the 1980s, the Hated. The Hated was part of what emo scholars—does such a thing exist?—consider the genre’s first wave, which was led most notably by Rites of Spring. They were adjacent to the so-called “Revolution Summer” in 1985, though the Hated faded into history more quickly than some of their counterparts. But the scholars at the venerated Numero Group label recently launched a reissue series that takes a deep dive into the Hated’s discography, starting with a compilation called Best Piece of Shit Vol. 4. Now what does an ‘80s hardcore band have to do with an ambient folk artist currently bubbling? Well, the Numero folks had the brilliant idea of asking Skullcrusher to cover a Hated song, and once she heard “Words Come Back,” she was all in. Check out the original below; the cover is available on your favorite streaming service starting today. In this conversation, Ballentine and Littleton—who are chatting for the first time—talk about how this unusual cover version actually makes complete sense, and how sometimes radically different sounds can actually come from very similar places. Dan describes the emotional teenage years that inspired the original, and Helen talks about how she layered the unusual sounds on her version. It’s an inspiring lovefest of sincerity and creativity, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Helen Ballentine and Dan Littleton for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all we’ve got to offer on Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

Artist-on-artist conversations about life, the creative process, and more. Subscribe today.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of songwriters separated by thousands of miles who came together recently for a killer single: Remi Wolf and Benny Sings. Wolf has been writing songs since her early teens, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that her neon pop jams starting getting some social media attention. A major label came calling, and Wolf spent a good chunk of the early pandemic making her full-length debut album Juno, which she named after her recently adopted dog. It’s one of those deceptively sunny records that hides some bigger emotions inside huge hooks, and it led to a bunch of amazing singles like “Anthony Kiedis”—that’s the name of the song— and tours: Wolf will play Coachella next month. As you’ll hear in this chat, Wolf met Dutch singer-songwriter Benny Sings when both were playing a Spanish festival that had some kind of Medieval theme. Wolf was already a fan of Benny’s work, both as a performer and a producer: Not only has he released a ton of great music on his own, but he also co-wrote a hit with Rex Orange County and has worked with the likes of Mac Demarco. Benny’s music has a sort of classic soft-pop vibe; he playfully mixes in hip-hop and island vibes on occasion, too, making the sort of breezy songs that easily get stuck in your head. When it came time to record his brand new album Young Hearts, which comes out next week, he reached out to Remi for some vocal assistance. The result is a delightful little nugget called “Pyjamas.” Check out that song right here. In this chat, Remi and Benny talk about collaborating on the video for “Pyjamas”—she directed it, adding some of the visual flair she’s known for. They also chat about songwriting in general—whether it’s craft or divination, and they get into whether technology is good or evil—and whether these two would survive a tech-pocalypse. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Remi Wolf and Benny Sings for chatting. If you like what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the goodness at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of fantastic musicians who’ve been intimately involved with each other’s lives and work for the past decade and a half: Cate Le Bon and Huw Evans. Le Bon and Evans each have their own incredible discographies that wouldn’t have been the same without the other: They’re not in a band together, but each has been a key component of the other’s work over the years, starting when they were young and romantically involved. Though they’re no longer in a relationship, they’re still a huge part of each other’s lives. And as you’ll hear in this conversation, they like to give each other shit—to the point where while recording I wasn’t sure if there was some real hostility happening. (There wasn't.) Evans records under the name H. Hawkline, and this week he’ll release his fifth album, Milk For Flowers. It’s his most personal and intense yet, though strong emotions remain shrouded in what he once called “strange pop.” Hawkline first found a bit of fame in his and Le Bon’s native Wales as a TV presenter, but found his musical voice with a unique blend of classic-sounding songwriting flecked with psychedelic and folk influences. He’s worked with Tim Presley of White Fence a bunch; as you’ll hear, Presley even played a pivotal non-musical role in the creation of Milk For Flowers. Le Bon produced it, helping to shepherd some intense feelings onto tape. Here’s the title track. Evans was there right at the start of Le Bon’s career, as you’ll hear in this chat: They were living together, and he convinced her to start playing her otherworldly songs outside of their house. He even had to come up with her stage name in order to create a flyer: What may or may not have been a reference to Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon stuck. The two eventually moved to Los Angeles together and continued making music: Le Bon has amassed an unforgettable discography—you know immediately when you hear her music. (Jeff Tweedy once said he could always tell when it was Le Bon playing guitar, which sounds like a compliment to me.) Le Bon’s latest album is last year’s Pompeii, a grand, height-of-the-pandemic record that feels like an amazing high-wire act, with saxophone, clarinet, and synthesizers all complementing her voice, guitar, and bass. And it’s a matter of some debate, as you’ll hear, whether Evans contributed any bass as well. Check out “Remembering Me” from Pompeii. In addition to giving each other grief about song titles and bass parts, the two talk about their history together, about how Le Bon narrowly avoided recording a song that sounded like Jane’s Addiction, their different writing styles, and about how the story of Le Bon’s first gig was like “a shit indie film.” Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Huw Evans and Cate Le Bon for letting us in on their chat. If you liked what you heard, please followTalkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and be sure to check out all the other podcasts in our network, including Jokermen, Craig Finn’s That’s How I Remember It, and more. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse episode, we’ve got a couple of old friends who’ve made some great music both together and separately, and who record under interesting names: Chaz Bear and Hannah van Loon. Those aren’t even the interesting names I was talking about. Chaz Bear is better known as Toro Y Moi, a pioneer in the chillwave genre who started releasing records about a dozen years ago. But that microgenre never quite captured what Toro Y Moi is all about, because nothing really can. Chaz Bear loves to jump around sonically, dipping his toes into indie rock, hip-hop, and even some jazzy influences. He’s got enough excess energy that Toro Y Moi isn’t even his only musical outlet, and he also moonlights as a graphic designer. This spring and summer he’ll open shows for Caroline Polachek, and he’s also part of the new ReSet touring festival that’s hitting bit cities this year. Oh, and he’s still got time to collaborate with today’s other guest. Hannah van Loon has been making music as Tanukichan since 2016 or so, and Chaz Bear has been involved in quite a lot of it. In addition to releasing it via his own imprint, Company, Bear has produced quite a bit of van Loon’s music and collaborated with her on it, including the brand new Gizmo, which is out March 3. It’s a slightly more uplifting experience than her lovely but kinda dark debut, 2018’s Sundays. Her publicist describes one song on the new record, “Don’t Give Up,” as nu-metal meets Cocteau Twins, which is sort of simultaneously wrong and exactly right. Check out a different song, ”Take Care,” right here. Van Loon and Bear are both a little bit introverted, as you’ll hear, but they chat a bit about her woodworking, his studio, and… TikTok. They talk a bunch about TikTok—whether it’s a force for good or evil, what kinds of weird corners you can find on it, and how it’s actually a really great tool for learning about new music. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Chaz Bear and Hannah van Loon for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great written content we’ve got at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of women who came up together during one of the most exciting musical eras ever, and who’ve got the stories to prove it: Gina Birch and Vivien Goldman. Birch started the Raincoats with friends from a London art college in 1977, stepping right into the burgeoning punk scene with records that were notoriously challenging in a scene not known for being particularly welcoming to women to begin with. The Raincoats were never poppy enough to flirt with the mainstream, but thanks to Kurt Cobain, the band had a bit of a resurrection in the mid-1990s. At Cobain’s behest, Nirvana’s American label re-released the Raincoats catalog, complete with liner notes by Cobain, and the band subsequently made its first album in over a decade. They were even set to tour with Nirvana in Europe, but Cobain’s death scuppered that plan. But Birch didn’t slow down; she set out on a filmmaking career while still pursuing music; she even made music videos for the likes of New Order and The Libertines. Later this year, Birch’s paintings will accompany a hardbound volume of Sharon Van Etten’s lyrics. Just recently, Jack White’s Third Man Records came calling, and it reignited Birch’s musical endeavors: This week marks the release of her first proper solo album, called I Play My Bass Loud. Check out the title track right here. Vivien Goldman is known more as a writer than as a musician, but she’s done both of those things and much, much more. She worked in PR for Bob Marley and the Wailers way back when—and she lives part of the time in Jamaica nowadays, which is where she Zoomed in from. At the height of the punk boom, she released an influential single called “Launderette” before transitioning more into writer and journalist mode: She was the editor of influential UK music paper Sounds and co-wrote the Massive Attack song “Sly.” She was also roommates with Chrissie Hynde and, more important to this conversation, Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records, which is how she got to know Gina Birch. These days, Goldman has been teaching about the history of punk at NYU, and she dove back into music last year, releasing an album called Next is Now. I’ve only scratched the surface, too: Check out viviengoldman.com for a more complete picture. In this conversation, Birch and Goldman chat about the old days and the newer days, how roles and respect for women have changed over the decades, and about the famous musician and producer, Youth, who encouraged them both—and produced both of their new records. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Gina Birch and Vivien Goldman for this fantastic chat. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all we’ve got on offer at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of pioneering musical searchers who came together for a Grammy-nominated record last year: Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf. Now, trying to encapsulate Kidjo’s career into the little space I have here is an even more daunting task than usual—and we’ve had some really accomplished people on this podcast. Born in West Africa, Kidjo has ably explored various musics over the past 40 years or so, winning fans with an incredible range of styles and interests. She’s played on Lilith Fair, won Grammys, been a muse for Philip Glass, started a foundation to empower girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa, collaborated with everyone from Carlos Santana to Ezra Koenig to Dr. John to Josh Groban to Kronos Quartet—and that list goes on and on. The only real constant in her career—besides a sort of deep, inexplicable beauty—is a restlessness. Kidjo is always looking for the next thing to spark her interest, which led to a recent Grammy-nominated collaboration with today’s other guest, Ibrahim Maalouf. Maalouf is a French-Lebanese trumpeter who shares a musical outlook with Kidjo—both care deeply about always pushing the boundaries of what they do, and never repeating themselves. To that end, they collaborated on last year’s Queen of Sheba, which takes the oft-told Biblical story to new places. KIdjo wrote the lyrics in the Yoruba language, and Maalouf’s music builds a bridge between the sounds of the Middle East and Africa. Since that record came out, Maalouf has already released another, Capacity to Love, on which he examines American sounds—specifically hip-hop—gathering guests like Eric the Architect from Flatbush Zombies and Pos from De La Soul. Also, strangely, Sharon Stone. In this lovely and enlightening conversation, Kidjo and Maalouf trade stories about their inspiration behind making music, and each shares some really profound advice they got as children. Kidjo speaks about the recent loss of her mother, and what that’s meant to her spiritually—and how it might affect her next album, which sounds like it will be deeply personal. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff we’ve got going at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a couple of old friends who’ve both been trying new things lately: Hannibal Buress and Kristian Mercado.  Hannibal Buress just celebrated his 40th birthday, which means he’s spent more than half his life making people laugh for a living. He started out doing stand-up in his hometown of Chicago, winning audiences small and then eventually very large by telling pointed jokes with a sort of super laid-back style. He briefly wrote for Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, and you’ve almost certainly seen him on The Eric Andre Show or Broad City, or maybe one of his many stand-up specials. In the past few years, though, Buress has turned his attention to music, releasing a bunch of hip-hop tracks under the name Eshu Tune. Though rumors of his retirement from comedy seem to be exaggerated—he talks about that here—he is taking music seriously. Or maybe seriously isn’t exactly the right word, but it’s his focus. Check out the Eshu Tune song “Knee Brace” right here.  The other side of this chat, Kristian Mercado, is best known as a filmmaker; he’s made music videos and directed stand-up specials for Michael Che, Taylor Tomlinson, and Ilana Glazer—and of course Hannibal Buress, with whom he worked on the weird and wonderful Miami Nights. Mercado is about to take the biggest jump a director can: He just directed his first feature film, called If You Were The Last, which will have its world premiere at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin. I haven’t seen it, but it stars Anthony Mackie and it’s a sci-fi love story, so I’m in. Mercado has also started dabbling in stand-up comedy, inspired by the many comics he’s worked with over the years, including, of course Hannibal.  These two chat about how they work, and Buress drops the news that he’s working on a feature-length script of his own—Mercado can’t wait to see it. Buress also quizzes Mercado on the most important people on a film set, and Mercado talks about the joys of experiencing the Sundance Film Festival under the influence of psychedelics. Enjoy.  Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Hannibal Buress and Kris Mercado for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff we’ve got going at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve put together the drummers from two of the UK’s biggest bands in recent memory: Dave Rowntree and Philip Selway. Rowntree came to fame with Blur, one of the original Britpop bands of the early 1990s. I probably don’t need to give you much biography on Blur, but in the band’s couple of long hiatuses, Rowntree has lived about a dozen lives. He’s been an amateur pilot, a professional lawyer, an elected politician, and a social activist. On the music front, he found yet another career creating soundtracks for TV and film, starting with the Bros documentary After the Screaming Stops. Blur is back together for some massive shows in 2023, but during the pandemic Rowntree got together—virtually, of course—with producer Leo Abrahams to make his proper solo album. Freed from the constraints of both his bandmates and showrunners, Rowntree did his own thing, and the result is Radio Songs, a delightful 10-song album that flirts with Britpop here and there, but flirts with other interesting sounds as well. Here’s “London Bridge.” Philip Selway is best known as the drummer for another huge British band, Radiohead, with whom he’s been making music since 1985. Though he always had the itch to write his own songs, it wasn’t until 2010 that Selway actually took the leap and released his first solo album, the gentle Familial. In between Radiohead duties, he’s found the time to release another one—the more sonically expansive Weatherhouse in 2014—and work on some soundtracks as well. Selway is now gearing up for the release of his third and most ambitious album yet: Strange Dance comes out toward the end of February, and it features a bunch of Selway’s musical friends on a very cinematic-yet-personal-sounding set songs. You can preorder various formats here; in the meantime, check out “Check for Signs of Life."  In this conversation, these two drummers sound immediately chummy, though they were only passing acquaintances beforehand. They talk about stepping away from bigger bands to do your own thing, including the process of finding your own voice. “What if it’s rubbish?” laughs Rowntree at the top of the chat, proving that even the biggest stars can have doubts. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Dave Rowntree and Philip Selway for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all we’ve got to offer at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of multi-hyphenates who have recently joined music-world forces: Justin Tranter and Jake Wesley Rogers. Tranter first found music-biz fame with the band Semi-Precious Weapons, which had a decade-long run starting in 2004, and whose biggest claim to fame—besides their music itself—was opening for Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour. But Tranter pivoted after Semi-Precious Weapons split up, and started writing songs for and with other artists—but not just any artists. Tranter has written for and/or with Justin Bieber, Imagine Dragons, Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, and many, many more—chances are good you’ve heard a Justin Tranter composition on the radio, even if you didn’t know it. Tranter has also written a bunch of songs for the upcoming Grease prequel series, Rise of the Pink Ladies, and seven songs on the brand-new album by the massive Italian band Måneskin. Tranter has also been an incredible activist in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond, and their next move is becoming, as you’ll hear in this chat, a mogul.  That’s where the other half of today’s Talkhouse Podcast comes into the picture: Jake Wesley Rogers recently signed on with Tranter’s new record label, Facet, and the two have plans to conquer the world together—I wouldn’t bet against them. Rogers is from a younger generation, having grown up with the instant gratification of social media. He even appeared on America’s Got Talent at 15, and started writing songs even earlier than that. But Rogers really finds his voice with a couple of recent EPs, Pluto and Love. Tranter and Rogers also recently co-wrote a song called “Hindsight,” which plays over the end credits of Bros, the first gay rom-com ever released by a major studio—they talk about that here a bit as well. Check out that song below. In this conversation, Tranter and Rogers talk about their daily processes, including The Artists' Way, they talk about great pop songs, great middle school teachers, destroying the patriarchy, and the dangers and joys of social media. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Justin Tranter and Jake Wesley Rogers for chatting. If you like what you heard, please check out all the goodness on Talkhouse.com and subscribe to our weekly e-mail newsletter. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, our guests begin as strangers and end their conversation as family: It’s Pamela Adlon chatting with Tegan and Sara Quin. Adlon has had an incredible career over the past 40 or so years; no matter what your pop culture diet, she has probably sneaked into your consciousness one way or another. Maybe you have vague memories of her character on The Facts of Life from the early ‘80s, or perhaps her roles on Californication and Louie in more recent years. Adlon has also had an incredible shadow career doing voices in animated shows, where she’s best known as Bobby Hill on King of the Hill. But perhaps the culmination of all that fantastic work is Better Things, the show that Adlon created, executive-produced, starred in, and let’s face it, gave birth to. Better Things just concluded its fifth and final season, and it stuck the landing so well. It’s one of those shows that hits that rare mixture of funny and true—and it definitely struck a nerve with the other half of today’s Talkhouse talk: Tegan and Sara. Tegan and Sara started making music as teenagers, and given that they’re twin sisters, it’s no wonder that they were immediately in sync with each other. The duo were sort of flung into the big time immediately, being signed to Neil Young’s record label and opening for him when they were basically still kids. But some sage advice that you’ll hear about in this chat helped Tegan and Sara navigate what’s become a fruitful and varied career: They’ve made a ton of great music, stuck their heads into the mainstream here and there, and kept their vision intact. They’ve also written a memoir called High School, which was recently adapted into an Amazon TV show. They’re unabashed with their love and respect for Better Things, which may have seeped into their own show. Their latest album is called Crybaby, the memoir and TV show are both called High School, and they’ve got a new graphic memoir called Junior High coming out later this year. Check out “Yellow” from Crybaby. In this delightful conversation, Tegan and Sara gush a little bit about Better Things and Adlon in general, and in turn Adlon offers to join their family. They talk about their various creative endeavors, the niceness of Neil Young, Sara’s recent parenthood, the “hairy edge” that Better Things walked, and lots more. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Pamela Adlon, Tegan Quin, and Sara Quin for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff on our website and our podcast network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

For our first brand new Talkhouse episode of 2023, we’ve got a short but great chat with three guys from the rollicking Australian rock scene: Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Jack “Cool Breeze” Crowther, and Elliot “Dr. Love Wisdom” O’Reilly. Yes, they have excellent names, and so do their bands. Kenny-Smith is part of the super-prolific King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which since coming together in Melbourne in 2010 has released an incredible 23 albums—three of those in October of 2022 alone. The band has built up a manic following along the way, building up a whole universe—people call it the Gizzverse—of characters and sounds that range from extended rock jams to jazz to microtonal exploration. If you’re not already familiar, there’s no perfect place to start, though last year’s Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava is accessible in its own way. In addition to non-stop touring and recording with King Gizz, Kenny-Smith also leads another band, The Murlocs, which put out their sixth album, Rapscallion, just last year as well. To borrow a funny line from Pitchfork, being a King Gizzard fan can feel like a full-time job, but seems like a fun one to me. Check out “Iron Lung” from that album I mentioned above with the really long name. The other two gents in this conversation, Jack Crowther and Elliot O’Reilly, are part of Babe Rainbow, another hardworking Australian band. Though not quite as busy as King Gizzard, Babe Rainbow has managed to release five full lengths in just the last five or so years as well—including one produced by a member of King Gizzard. Theirs is a slightly more focused take on psychedelic rock—no less spacey but a bit more structured. Here’s “Inner Space” from their latest album, The Organic Band. In this conversation, these three friendly guys talk about recent flooding in Australia that involved some cat rescuing, as well as fashion, having babies, surfing, and lots more. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Jack Crowther, and Elliot O’Reilly for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out Talkhouse.com for tons of great written pieces and other podcasts in our network. This episode was recorded and produced by Keenan Kush, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! This episode was recorded live at Desert Daze 2022. Special thanks to Desert Daze and to Dad Grass for making this episode possible.

Happy Holidays. While we're on break, we'd love to share with you a recent addition to the Talkhouse Podcast Network, Noble Champions with Santigold. This episode originally aired on Nov. 7, 2022, and is titled "Questlove, Angela Yee and Tunde Adebimpe." Subscribe to Noble Champions with Santigold. In this episode, Santi rallies her longtime friends Questlove, Angela Yee, and Tunde Adebimpe, who are fellow artists, industry insiders, and cultural critics, to try to tackle the question, 'What exactly is Black Music?'. They discuss complex issues like what happens when you step out of the genre box - specifically when Black artists are making music that’s left outside the 'Black Music' box, who built the box, and what’s the bigger impact of caging in or boxing out music and the artists that make it? All this while geeking out about some of their favorite seminal recording artists like Bad Brains, Nina Simone, Fela Kuti, The Last Poets and more.

Happy Holidays. While we're on break, we'd love to share a preview of another podcast on the Talkhouse Podcast Network, Craig Finn's That's How I Remember It. This episode originally aired on Sept. 1, 2022, and is titled "Adam Duritz (Counting Crows)." Subscribe to That's How I Remember It. Adam Duritz is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It and I am quite psyched about it. Adam is obviously the singer and songwriter of platinum selling band Counting Crows, and has been making thoughtful and great music for decades now. I met Adam when Counting Crows took THS on tour in Europe/UK in 2009 and was so excited he agreed to do this. We talked about how the details matter so much in songs, each of our first trips to Asbury Park, loving Christmas music, that dog., last year's fantastic Counting Crows EP, bootlegs, and the way that light attaches to a girl. That’s a wrap on season one of That’s How I Remember It; we’ll be back with season two before long. Listen, subscribe, and keep your eye on this space for tour updates, etc. Stay Positive!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of guys who don’t know each other well, but who’ve crossed paths a few times over the years—most recently at the Desert Daze festival, Nick Allbrook and Josh Conway. Allbrook is the frontman of the Australian psychedelic rock band Pond, which is sort of inextricably linked with another Australian band, Tame Impala. Allbrook was actually a member of Tame for years while also playing with Pond—which includes some current members of Tame Impala. But Pond, which has been around about as long, has built a sound of its own, much more hard charging than that other band, and released a whopping nine albums of frenetic, fun, fuzzy rock. If you’ve never heard the band, their album titles give a hint as to what they’re all about, from Corridors of Blissterday to Man It Feels Like Space Again. Pond’s latest album has a much simpler title, it’s called 9, and among its fantastic tracks is this one, “Lights of Leeming.” Josh Conway is a huge fan of Pond, though his own band, The Marias, approaches music with a much gentler soul. Conway started the group with his significant other, the band’s namesake Maria Zardoya. Their beginnings are kind of funny: They tried to write songs for film and TV placements, none of which—as you’ll hear in this chat—were ever picked up. But, happy with what they’d written, Conway and Zardoya ended up releasing them anyway, and the Marias was born. Their alt-pop is miles from our other guest’s on today’s episode, with elements of jazz and even reggaeton sprinkled throughout a great debut album called Cinema. Check out “Hush” from that album right here. In this conversation, Allbrook and Conway talk about the work hours of Australians versus Catalonians, about how even a deliberate attempt to sell out can result in great creative work, and how taking a walk under the influence of molly and Outkast changed Conway’s outlook. Also, they declare, cheekily, that God is dead, and art is too. Enjoy. Thanks for checking out the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Nick Allbrook and Josh Conway for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcast platform. This episode was produced by Keenan Kush, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by The Range.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve paired the frontmen for two gruff-sounding, kinda scary noise-rock bands, but who as it turns out are a couple of sweethearts: David Yow and Andrew Falkous. David Yow began his music life in the Texas band Scratch Acid, which built its own legend before burning out in the mid-1980s, and then took his maniacal presence to The Jesus Lizard. That band built a following in the next dozen years both for its confrontational music and for Yow’s intensity in their live shows. You’d often find him drunk and half-naked, howling into the faces of stunned crowds. First you were scared, and then you loved it. The Jesus Lizard benefited from the grunge explosion in the mid-1990s, but they were always too weird and scary for the mainstream—even when they got an inexplicable major-label deal with Capitol. (You know, home of the Beatles.) The Jesus Lizard split in 1999, but have reunited a few times since then, with demand for Yow’s insanity peaking every few years. There hasn’t been a Jesus Lizard show in a few years, though—or a “reenactment” as he calls their reunion shows—but Yow has been out recently singing for the early noise-punk band Flipper. You may also have seen him in bit parts in a few movies; the guy has led a varied, full life so far. Andrew Falkous unfortunately just had to postpone his own US tour-slash-reenactment with his band Mclusky, which was originally active from the mid-90s until 2006. An illness has affected his Falkous’ ability to sing, but he’s planning to reschedule very soon. In the years after Mclusky, Falkous made similarly brutish-but-incredible records both as the frontman of a band called Future of the Left and as a sort-of-solo artist under the name Christian Fitness. But as the legend of Mclusky snowballed and the 20th anniversary of their absolute classic of a second album Mclusky Do Dallas approached, he was coaxed to relaunch the name and to play those old songs again. Here’s hoping for a quick recovery and new dates soon. Here’s a little taste of what was certainly Mclusky’s biggest song, the charmingly titled “Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues.” In this spirited conversation, Yow and Falkous start by talking about Falkous’ recent battles with his own voice. They get into the nervousness of playing your first-ever show as a singer: Yow dealt with the jitters by handing out tabs of acid to the crowd, while Falkous wore a yellow T-shirt. They talk about beer and whether Australian children should be forced to live in wells. Yow casually slaughters some sacred cows of the alterna-rock world. And lest you think they’re too tough for their own good, you should know that I edited out 15 minutes where they talked about how much they love their cats. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Andrew Falkous and David Yow for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting service and check out all the goodness at this very site. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a lively conversation between two guys from different generations and geographical backgrounds, but some similar stories and experiences: Titus and Angelo Moore. Angelo Moore is the legendary frontman of the legendary punk-funk-ska-soul-etc. band Fishbone, which has been a frequently mutating unit since 1979. Fishbone were peers and friends with a who’s-who of that era’s Los Angeles scene, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, and plenty of others, and they’ve been a huge influence on innumerable bands over the years. It hasn’t been the straightest journey, and there’s a pretty great documentary about the band that came out about 10 years ago called Everyday Sunshine. In addition to fronting the band, which still plays shows worldwide, Moore has embarked on tons of other projects over the years, releasing music as both Dr. Madd Vibe and with a group he calls the Brand New Step. Beyond that, he’s been touring as a vocalist with a David Bowie tribute tour that’s led by Todd Rundgren and Adrian Belew. Titus, aka Randolph Newman, was a fan of Fishbone’s—no surprise for a guy who loves to blend genres, and who’s a person of color in a scene that isn’t known for a ton of diversity. Though they’re from different generations, they share some life experience, having grown up Black in largely white areas—and having ended up playing Warped Tour, though years apart. Titus’ music is less a stew than Fishbone’s: His two most prominent ingredients are pop-punk and hip-hop, with nods to titans of those genres like Taking Back Sunday and Lil’ Wayne. His latest release is an EP called Damned if I Do, and he also recently released a cover of Kate Bush’s Stranger Things-bolstered track “Running Up That Hill,” which is covered in this chat. Check out “Saddest Song” from Damned If I Do right here. Moore and Titus talk about their experiences on Warped Tour, their experiences growing up as outsiders, and drugs. Titus talks about the recent loss of his mother, which has understandably had a profound impact on him, and Moore talks about his days trying to kick some ass in the mosh pit. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Angelo Moore and Titus for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all we’ve got on offer at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, the creator-star of Hulu’s Ramy, comedian Ramy Youssef, talks with Dina Amer, whose debut feature as writer-director, You Resemble Me, is in theaters now. The film is a lightly fictionalized, emotionally resonant portrait of Hasna Aït Boulahcen, a radicalized Muslim who Amer covered as a journalist in 2015 when Boulahcen was implicated in the Paris terrorist attacks. In an engaging, wide-ranging conversation, Youssef and Amer – fellow Egyptian-Americans who have been friends for years – talk about the personal nature of You Resemble Me, the major deal Dina turned down, Spike Lee’s take on her doing the film her way, casting a “hot” actor as a terrorist, and much more. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got the Scottish singer and songwriter behind some of the catchiest songs of the past two decades along with the super producer who helped bring those songs into the world: Fran Healy and Nigel Godrich. Healy is the singer, guitarist, and chief songwriter of the band Travis, which really broke big with 1999’s The Man Who, scoring mainstream hits with songs like “Why Does it Always Rain on Me” and “Turn.” They’ve since created a deep catalog that numbers nine albums. But for today’s purposes we’re going to concentrate on 2001’s The Invisible Band, which Travis is giving a belated 20th birthday celebration for at the moment, including a US tour that starts this week. It can be difficult to follow up a massive success like The Man Who, and Travis turned once again to Godrich to help them chart the proper course. It wasn’t the beginning, but rather the continuation of a long and fruitful relationship. Check out “Sing” from The Invisible Band. Godrich, by the time Invisible Band came around, had found massive success as the producer of Radiohead’s OK Computer, and of course he would go on to be the sort of unofficial sixth member of that band—recording all of their albums and even playing music with Thom Yorke in Atoms for Peace. As you’ll hear in this conversation, Godrich had some solid advice for Healy heading into The Invisible Band, though it’s not necessarily advice he would give anymore. Beyond his work with Radiohead and Travis, Godrich has also produced classics by Beck—including Mutations and Sea Change—and Air and Arcade Fire and Roger Waters. The list goes on. In this conversation, the two old friends talk about their state of mind and state of life back when they commenced recording The Invisible Band in Los Angeles. They talk about Godrich’s recent revelatory experience seeing the Pavement reunion tour—he also produced that band’s swan song, Terror Twilight. There’s even a story about a baby goat peeing in a very expensive guitar case. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Fran Healy and Nigel Godrich for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting and social media platforms. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of singer-songwriters who don’t sound much alike, but who’ve traveled similar paths and have similar outlooks on life—oh, and who did a duet earlier this year—Frank Turner and KT Tunstall. Turner is a sort of folk-punk troubadour who’s built an incredible catalog and following over the past couple of decades from his home base in England. Like his hero Tim Barry of Avail or even Billy Bragg before him, Turner infuses truly catchy songs with a punk spirit, and he’s made a career buoyed by the fact that he never stops moving: He’s always on tour—including a recent “50 States in 50 Days” run—and always making new music. Not even the pandemic could stop him, though obviously it slowed down the live performance. During lockdown, Turner recorded his ninth album, a sort of back-to-basics affair called FTHC, which of course stands for Frank Turner Hardcore. Check out “A Wave Across a Bay” from that album, which was written as a tribute to Turner’s late friend, Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit. Also on that album is a song called “Little Life,” which Turner decided after the fact that he’d like to invite someone else to sing on. Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall perhaps wasn’t the most obvious choice, but then again, neither of these folks ever seems to make the obvious choice—and that’s definitely to their credit. Tunstall’s career, which stretches back to indie bands in the early 2000s, definitely started with a more mainstream-leaning trajectory, with BRIT awards and a Grammy nomination, even. But like Turner, Tunstall has a restless spirit, and some big life events not too long ago led her to sell everything she owns, move to Los Angeles, and dive into the world of musicals—where she has also, unsurprisingly, found success. And just last month, she released the final chapter in a trilogy of albums that were meant to convey the themes of “soul, body, and mind.” This one, called Nut—that’d be your mind—is great. Check out “Private Eyes” from that album right here. Turner and Tunstall have a really fun chat here, covering everything from The Clash and Bruce Springsteen to the weirdness of recording a song before you’ve ever played it live. The talk about the touring life a lot, and how that tribe of people have plenty in common, even when it seems like they don’t. They come up with a slogan for Tunstall’s career, and get into the reality of using a tour bus bathroom. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to KT Tunstall and Frank Turner for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow us on your favorite platform, and don’t forget to check out all the other great podcasts in our network and written pieces on this very website. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!