275. Charlie Collins on The War on Drugs 'A Deeper Understanding' (2017)
On the eve of her debut solo album release, I talk to singer-songwriter Charlie Collins about The War on Drugs’ Grammy-winning fourth album ‘A Deeper Understanding’. Charlie opens up about how the album influenced the sound and construction of her own record, even as they were recorded in total opposite ways. We talk about the blurred lines between bands and solo artists in the modern era, The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel’s egoless performance style, why Charlie decided to release ‘Snowpine’ under her own name, the future of albums in the streaming age (and whether services like Spotify help or hinder them), how the meaning of an album changes as you evolve through life and the alternate band name that could’ve ruined the War on Drugs career...
23 Apr 201939min
Julia Jacklin on Fiona Apple 'Extraordinary Machine' (repost)
16 Apr 201931min
Alex Lahey on The Killers 'Hot Fuss' (repost)
10 Apr 201928min
Nick Allbrook (Pond) on Outkast 'The Love Below' (repost)
2 Apr 201927min
Natalie Prass on Dionne Warwick 'Presenting Dionne Warwick' (repost)
26 Mar 201936min
274. Christian Lee Hutson on Elliott Smith 'XO' (1998)
LA singer/songwriter Christian Lee Hutson joins me to talk about Elliott Smith's classic 1998 album XO. We chat about how XO was Elliott's first album produced with a major label, retrospective listening and how many fans have hunted for hidden messages in the album's lyrics post Elliott's suicide and how a collision of musical worlds helped Christian bond with his Dad. Christian tells me about an Elliott Smith tribute show he recently contributed to, how XO gave Christian courage to get into solo songwriting, plagiarism predicaments and we pledge to produce an Elliott Smith tribute record performed entirely by Hank Williams Jr.
21 Mar 201940min
273. Leslie Stevens on Neutral Milk Hotel 'In The Aeroplane Over the Sea' (1998)
LA Singer/songwriter Leslie Stevens joins me to chat about Neutral Milk Hotel's classic 1998 album 'In The Aeroplane Over the Sea'. We talk about The Diary of Anne Frank and it's influence on the album, authenticity in music and innocence lost. We unpack our teenage superiority complexes and debate whether genre labels are essential in the music world. Leslie plays us an impromptu rendition of Norwegian Wood on her saw and we discuss vulnerability in song writing, whether 'Aeroplane Over the Sea' has dated and the album's hipster following.
5 Mar 201947min
272. Hrishikesh Hirway on Björk 'Homogenic' (1997)
Podcasts collide as musician (The One AM Radio) and creator of my two favorite podcasts (Song Exploder, The West Wing Weekly) Hrishikesh Hirway joins me to delve into the sonic world Björk created on her classic 1997 album ‘Homogenic’ and how it inspired Hrishi to develop his own unique musical identity. From the beats to the string arrangements and beyond, we unpack the incredible craft and attention to detail that went into the album, and then Hrishi tells the story of Bjork’s appearance on Song Exploder, from how he landed his dream guest, behind the scenes on how the show is put together and the chance encounter he had with Bjork afterwards.
27 Feb 201947min
