Talkhouse Podcast

I’m gonna call this week’s Talkhouse Podcast a very special episode, since it’s focused on a specific topic and also offers a call to action and hopefully some inspiration for you, the listener. It certainly did that for me, the host guy.Our guests today are frequent Talkhousers Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath, better known as Sylvan Esso, along with fellow North Carolina musician Libby Rodenbough, who’s played with a bunch of bands, most notably Mipso. These three share a home state, North Carolina, which as you know was hit hard by Hurricane Helene just a couple of weeks ago. The devastation that hit the western part of the state didn’t seem to get a ton of national media attention, perhaps because Helene was followed so quickly by Hurricane Milton. But as you’ll hear at the beginning of this conversation, parts of North Carolina have been affected in ways that will take years to bounce back from.Just days after the storm, Rodenbough—along with David Walker and Grayson Haver Currin and lots of others—conceived of a fundraising effort to feature musician friends, many of whom have deep ties to the area. The idea quickly ballooned into a 135-song compilation called Cardinals at the Window, available on Bandcamp and featuring previously unreleased music from huge names like R.E.M., Phish, Jason Isbell, and Sylvan Esso along with tons of other folks, both native to the area and from well beyond. In just over a week, the compilation has raised over $300,000 to provide direct relief to people whose lives have been turned upside-down by the storm. The area will need lots more than that, of course, to get back on its feet, but it’s a heartening reminder that when given the chance to help, people still do, even when folks seem hopelessly divided.That’s part of the focus of this chat: Meath, Sanborn, and Rodenbough have been out there helping people over the past couple of weeks, and while they’re crushed by the indescribable devastation that towns like Marshall, North Carolina have seen, they’re also heartened by the notion that its people have been quick to lend a hand to their neighbors. I found their actions and this conversation inspiring, and I hope you do, too. You can buy the compilation on Bandcamp or check out cardinalsatthewindow.org and lend a hand that way if you can.0:00 – Intro2:17 – Start of the chat4:21 – For all you listeners out there, here's a summary of what's up.10:23 – How being a touring musician inspires empathy20:38 – "I've got a generator, and I've got room."26:24 – Anarchy, anthropology, and helping each otherThanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Libby Rodenbough, Amelia Meath, and Nick Sanborn for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and definitely search Cardinals at the Window to see how you can help the people of North Carolina. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

We’ve had legends on the Talkhouse Podcast before, but perhaps none quite as legendary as Pete Townshend, who’s in conversation on today’s episode with a younger band he recently worked with, The Wild Things.It seems a bit silly to offer a short bio of Townshend—after all, you have chosen to listen to a podcast about music, so you’re probably familiar—but here goes: Pete Townshend is the guitarist and primary songwriter of The Who, a band that cracked open the world of rock and roll in the early 1960s and inarguably changed the direction of popular music forever. He’s often credited as the first guitarist to treat feedback as an essential part of his sound, influencing the likes of Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, among many others. And that was all 50 years ago: Townshend has built on the legacy of The Who since, continuing to make music with the only other surviving member, Roger Daltrey, as well as writing books, musicals, and opera. He also keeps his eyes and ears out for new music, even at age 79, which is where the other half of today’s chat comes in.Two members of the UK band The Wild Things, Sydney Rae White and Rob Kendrick, met Townshend when they were cast in the musical stage production of The Who’s rock opera Quadrophenia. Though she’s spent much of her career acting—you may have seen her in the Netflix series Uncle or the Michael Keaton movie American Assassin—White’s passion seems to be focused at the moment on the band, which also includes her brother Cameron White and drummer Pete Wheeler. When it came time to record new Wild Things music, Townshend offered his help both as a musical ear and a man with a studio, which resulted in the new album Afterglow. Fittingly for a man with Townshend’s history, Afterglow is something of a concept album, which is a big topic of discussion here. Check out “My Heart is in New York” from Afterglow, which features a guest vocal from Townshend.Townshend and the Wild Things talk about telling stories through your music, about concept albums, about working together to make Afterglow, about trying to connect with people in an overwhelming media world, and much, much more. Enjoy.0:00 – Intro2:32 – Start of the chat/the concept behind Afterglow6:55 – Why Pete wanted to work with The Wild Things16:06 – "You know, this is a real fucking Rick Rubin conversation!"21:58 – The advantages to being able to experiment in the studio29:15 – "The thing about Sid is that she can do fucking anything."Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Pete Townshend and all of the Wild Things for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting service, and check out all the great stuff 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!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

Reggie Watts, a musician and comedian known for his improvisational performances, chats with multi-talented artist Delicate Steve, famed for his intricate, emotional guitar work. They delve into the joy of live performances, sharing the magic of improvisation and its connection to legendary artists like Jimi Hendrix. The duo also critiques the music industry, discussing the pressures of social media and corporate influences on creativity. Their conversation reflects on the transformative power of iconic figures in music, emphasizing authenticity and artistic integrity.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a couple of guys who are big parts of hardcore’s current wave: Julian Cashwan Pratt of Show Me The Body and Graham Sayle of High Vis.Show Me The Body was conceived when Pratt was still in high school in New York City, enamored of the town’s history of aggressive punk—and that music’s propensity for political lyrics. But Show Me The Body, like other current hardcore bands making waves in the past few years, doesn’t stick with the genre’s typical signifiers. For one, Pratt’s primary instrument is banjo, and it’s attached to sounds that draw not only from hardcore’s past, but also electronic blasts of noise and even some hip-hop. Show Me The Body’s latest album is called Trouble The Water, and it’s both tense and intense. It’s a hell of a listen, though the band needs to be seen live to fully experience it.The other half of today’s conversation is Graham Sayle, whose band High Vis formed in London around 2016, and whose version of hardcore dials in a healthy dose of British post-punk. They’ve been described as a mix of Factory Records and Cro-Mags—that’d be the legendary label that spawned Joy Division and New Order plus the legendary New York hardcore band—which is sort of perfect. There are elements of goth in there as well, but with a smart, sneering energy that’s tough to deny. Show Me The Body and High Vis just started a US tour together, and they collaborated on a song and accompanying video that was just released on an EP called Corpus II EP II. You can find tour dates at showmethebody.com, and check out a little bit of their collaborative track, called “Stomach,” right here.As hardcore dudes often do, these guys chatted about what hardcore means to them, including that sense of community you can’t get anywhere else. They also talk about how having a child has changed Pratt’s outlook a bit, but how he’s still fired up politically and ready to put it all out there on the stage. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Julian Cashwan Pratt and Graham Sayle for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please give the Talkhouse Podcast a review on your favorite platform, and don’t forget to check out all the good stuff 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!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of fantastic songwriters in a sweet conversation about craft and life in general: Sima Cunningham and Roberto Lange.Lange has been making fascinating, lovely music under the name Helado Negro since 2009, mixing breezy indie-rock with electronic sounds, frequently with more than a passing nod to his Ecuadorian roots. His sonic world is always inviting, even as it’s sort of otherworldly, and he often matches those sounds with cool visuals—which is no wonder considering his background in computer art. Earlier this year, Lange released the eighth Helado Negro album; it’s called Phasor, and it’s among his best, mixing tranquil sounds with his searching spirit. You might be lulled and puzzled at the same time, which is a great feeling. Check out the song “Colores del Mar” right here.The other half of today’s conversation, Sima Cunningham, is best known as half the core of Chicago band Finom, originally known as OHMME. Finom released its Not God earlier this year, and it’s full of unexpected pop turns tied together by the harmony between Cunningham and her longtime musical partner Macie Stewart. But the occasion for today’s conversation is actually Cunningham’s second solo album, just out on Ruination Records. It’s called High Roller, and it explores a more personal side to her songwriter. For example, there’s a great song written for Cunningham’s brother Liam Kazar, himself a musician and one-time Talkhouse Podcast guest as well. Check out “For Liam” right here.In addition to that song, which Lange points out as a favorite on High Roller, these two chat about Cunningham’s adventures in Ireland, what it’s like to create an on-stage persona and interact with your audience, and how Cunningham’s new album was a 10-year journey that was worth the wait. Enjoy.0:00 – Intro2:40 – Start of the chat5:56 – Sima’s mom is the most punk-rock person in their musical family14:58 – Roberto on getting to a certain age in music15:39 – Finding new ways to have a love affair with your audience22:39 – Sima on figuring out how to be honest and vulnerable with her solo material29:59 – Sima on playing new Finom songs and trying to figure out where to play soloThanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Sima Cunningham and Roberto Lange for chatting. If you like what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and be sure to check out all the great stuff 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!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got an absolute legend of a singer-songwriter in conversation with a guy who’s no slouch himself: Lucinda Williams and M. Ward.Williams has been writing and recording incredible songs since the late 1970s, though she didn’t really break through in a huge way until 1998’s stone classic Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, which garnered her the Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy—her second Grammy—but also some of the most well-deserved critical accolades of that year. She certainly didn’t rest on those laurels, having released close to a dozen more revered albums since, many of which found themselves also at the Grammy and Americana awards ceremonies—as well as in the hearts of listeners and other songwriters. Last year, Williams released a fantastic memoir about her journey from small-town Louisiana to the music business and beyond. It’s a lovely look at a life well lived called Don’t Tell Anyone the Secrets I Told You.The other half of today’s conversation is M. Ward, another literate singer-songwriter with a varied career whose music can’t be easily pinned down—he’s been called folk, Americana, and indie-rock, none of which quite do his songs justice. Ward has been making records for 25 years now, and his discography includes not only thoughtful, beautiful solo records, but an entire catalog of albums made with actress Zooey Deschanel under the name She & Him. Ward’s latest is last year’s Supernatural Thing, another set of songs that feel like they exist out of time. Check out “Too Young to Die” from that album right here.In this conversation, Ward and Williams talk about the time they worked together, when Williams contributed vocals to an M. Ward record back in 2009. Then they get into Williams’ memoir and just scratch the surface on her incredible life and career before the conversation turns to their literary influences and more. Enjoy.0:00 – Intro2:33 – Start of the chat4:30 – Williams on the hard part of writing a memoir8:13 – Ward reads his favorite passage from Williams' book12:58 – Williams recalls meeting famous writers as a child23:50 – "I want to be James Joyce!"Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Lucinda Williams and M. Ward for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all the great stuff 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!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got two women from different parts of the planet who share a common heritage and creative outlook: Serra Petale and Gaye Su Akyol.Petale is the guitarist for the multinational band Los Bitchos, which has been creating tough-to-pigeonhole instrumental music for the past seven years. The band’s membership and sound are both truly worldly: Petale is from Western Australia, and her bandmates are from Uruguay, Sweden, and the UK. As you’ll hear, they came together in London after Petale chased her musical dreams there, and they’ve made some incredibly fun music since, mixing sounds from Argentina, Turkey, and a sort of psychedelic surf-rock. Their first album, produced by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, came with the incredible title Let The Festivities Begin!, and they just followed it with another album, the fully delightful Talkie Talkie. Check out that album’s “La Bomba” right here.The other half of today’s conversation joins us from her home base in Turkey. Gaye Su Akyol has been making music—not to mention painting—for the past decade, gaining a worldwide following for records that take the flavors of her country and expand them in a dozen directions. She’s been politically and artistically outspoken throughout her time in the spotlight, and you can tell that won’t be changing anytime soon. The title of her latest album translates to Anatolian Dragon, and here’s a song whose title I won’t butcher, but that translates roughly to, “I want to, but there’s no hurry.” Even if you don’t understand the words, it’s easy to catch its groove.I mentioned that these two share a background: Gaye grew up in Turkey, as did Serra’s grandparents—as it turns out pretty close to each other. So they chat a bit about that, and occasionally drop in some Turkish words as well. They chat about how women need to go the extra mile to get their art into the world, and about manifesting your dreams rather than waiting around. If that sounds a little rah-rah, Gaye actually says, jokingly, that they sound like a Nike commercial at one point. I found it fun and inspiring, and I hope you do too. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Serra Petale and Gaye Su Akyol for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff 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!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a legend of ‘90s-era punk in deep conversation with a songwriter you might be hearing of for the first time: Kathleen Hanna and Jim Andralis.Hanna, of course, was a founding member of Bikini Kill, the band credited with starting the riot grrrl movement and inspiring an incredible number of young women to pick up guitars and claim their place in the rock universe. After Bikini Kill’s initial split, Hanna went on to perform in both The Julie Ruin and Le Tigre, though recent years have found her spitting fire with Bikini Kill yet again—they’re actually on tour now through September. Hanna also released an excellent memoir this year called Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk, which is absolutely worth a read or an audiobook listen—Hanna reads it herself, and it’s awesome.Hanna’s people approached us about having her chat with songwriter Jim Andralis because, as you’ll hear in this chat, she might be his biggest fan. Andralis is a New Yorker whose day job is as a trauma-focused psychotherapist, but who’s been writing songs for the past 20 or so years. Considering Hanna’s fandom, it might surprise you to learn that Andralis doesn’t come out of the punk tradition at all: He’s a songwriter in the classic sense, meaning it’s tough to pin him into a genre box—Kathleen tries a little bit here, but doesn’t come to any conclusions. Andralis recently released his fifth album, Ghosts, check out a song they chat about toward the end of this episode, it’s called “Carnival.”Hanna and Andralis jump right into their chat here, and you can tell they’re old friends. As you’ll hear at the top, Hanna and her band were recently honored by Olympia, Washington with Bikini Kill Day, celebrating a lifetime of achievements. After that, Hanna gets straight to picking Andralis’ brain about his lyrics and songwriting. She interprets one song in particular that turns out to be… not quite right, but also exactly right? You’ll see. Enjoy.0:00 – Intro2:48 – Happy Bikini Kill Day!9:26 – Kathleen tries to figure out what genre Jim's songs belong in21:07 – Jim's song about political depression32:48 – An appreciation of Jamey Johnson39:05 – "What a dick, if I had written the song that way!"Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Kathleen Hanna and Jim Andralis for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all the great stuff 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!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a reunion of sorts, in celebration of a new release of old music: It’s David Pajo, Cassie Berman, and Tim Furnish.These three met in the fertile Louisville scene of the early 1990s. Pajo played guitar in the wildly influential band Slint and went on to play with Tortoise, Royal Trux, Stereolab, and Interpol at various times over the years—he’s currently a member of Gang Of Four. But the subject of this conversation is Pajo’s sorta-solo career, which went through various M-names, from just M to Papa M and Aerial M. As Aerial M, Pajo brought on some friends for a brief time to tour Europe, where they recorded a Peel Session—more on that in a minute.The friends that Pajo recruited to play in the Aerial M live band were Tim Furnish, whose legendary Louisville band Crain had broken up recently—and who has since recorded experimental rock with the band Parlour—as well as Cassie Berman and Tony Bailey. Berman had been kicking around in Louisville bands, too, and she would go on to join Silver Jews, the band fronted by her husband, David Berman. Drummer Tony Bailey, as you’ll hear, played in about a million bands in the area—he died, sadly, in 2009.The reason for today’s reunion of the lineup that burned bright but quick is the release of Aerial M’s new Peel Sessions album. In case you’re unfamiliar, BBC DJ John Peel used to invite the coolest bands of his day—from the ‘70s into the 2000s—to record a few songs specifically for his show, many of which were later released with the same striking artwork. In 1998, Aerial M stopped by and recorded three songs that would turn out quite different to the versions Pajo crafted in the studio, and would really be the only evidence that this lineup left of its existence. Pajo was recently reminded of this session, so he set about tracking down the tapes, sprucing them up, and handing them over to Drag City for a proper release—including an amazing replica of those original John Peel Sessions sleeves. Check out the song “Vivea” right here.I don’t think these three had sat down for a chat in a while, so it’s like sitting in on a reunion with three people who have a lot of fond memories. They talk about their '98 tour, including the recording of this record, plus they get into fond remembrances of Tony Bailey, racing Stereolab to the record store, and even what they’re up to now: Just a few days before this recording, Cassie Berman participated in a tribute to David Berman on the anniversary of his untimely passing, and Furnish has been working on some cool-sounding visual art for other bands. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to David Pajo, Cassie Berman, and Tim Furnish for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and be sure to check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com and in our wider podcasting network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

Hello Talkhouse listeners! Instead of new episode this week, we've revisiting a great chat from several years back between artist/musician/many other things Laurie Anderson and filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Black Swan, The Whale, etc.). The reason? Anderson has a new album out in a couple of weeks called Amelia, and it's all about famed aviator Amelia Earhart. If that sounds odd, it probably is, and in the best ways: Anything Anderson touches is worth your time. We'll be back next week with a new episode. Enjoy!Note: This episode originally aired on January 26, 2016.On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Film podcast, in a special conversation recorded after a screening of Laurie Anderson's documentary Heart of a Dog, the acclaimed musician, artist, and filmmaker talks onstage with fellow New York director Darren Aronofsky, best known for his films Pi, Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. The pair discuss Anderson's new film, which ponders questions of love, death, and language, and touch on such other diverse subjects as Herman Melville's discussions with his editor about Moby Dick and the problems that can come from putting batteries in one's mouth.Episode engineered and edited by Elia Einhorn. Additional editing by Myron Kaplan.This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse