Talkhouse Podcast

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got an episode for the drummers and those who like a great story: Jon Wurster and Stewart Copeland. Copeland is of course the drummer for the legendary, gazillion-selling Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Police, who were called “the biggest band in the world” during their mid-'80s heyday. Their hits have endured over the decades, too, and that’s in no small part due to the special chemistry the trio enjoyed—and that chemistry, as you’ll hear, often manifested itself in fights between Copeland and his old bandmate Sting. Copeland has made a fascinating career for himself since; he directed a documentary about his old band that made interesting use of their music, and he’s got a new album and tour called Police Deranged for Orchestra, which features those classic songs redone in wild new ways. As you’ll hear in this chat, Copeland also found a side career as a film composer, working on everything from Oliver Stone’s Wall Street to the classic Francis Ford Coppola movie Rumble Fish. Check out a little bit of “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic“ from Police Deranged for Orchestra right here. Now the other half of this conversation is a drummer from a later era and, as you’ll hear, a huge fan of Copeland’s work. Jon Wurster is a renaissance man who’s played most regularly with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould, but whose list of credits goes way beyond those amazing acts. He’s also a comedy writer and half of the duo Scharpling and Wurster, which gave birth to some of the funniest characters in radio comedy ever. This summer, Wurster will tour with both Mountain Goats and Bob Mould, so chances are good that he’ll be in a city near you. In this conversation, Wurster—as I had hoped he would—gets deep into specifics with Copeland, asking him right off the bat about a gig from the early 1980s. They also chat about how Copeland’s orchestral tours actually work and about his forays into the soundtrack world—I had never heard the term “shit chord” before. They get into the fights that Copeland had with Police frontman Sting, and about how band therapy helped sort that all out. Wurster also gets a chance to ask about the lyrics to a deep cut called “On Any Other Day.” Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Jon Wurster and Stewart Copeland 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!

On this week’s episode we’ve got two guests who might know each other better than any two prior guests of this podcast ever have: brothers Ben Nichols and Jeff Nichols. Ben Nichols is the singer, guitarist, and chief lyricist for the long-running Memphis band Lucero, and when I say long-running, I mean it: Assuming you’re listening to this podcast the day we release it, the band played its first show exactly 25 years ago today, on April 13 of 1998. In that time, they’ve released an even dozen albums, making the journey from punk-influenced country—or maybe that’s country-influenced punk—to soul to straight-up rock and roll. I’ve always felt like Lucero was the Southern version of The Hold Steady, purveyors of great story-songs and always an incredibly good time live. The newest Lucero album came out in February, and it’s a very intentional back-to-basics rock record called Should’ve Learned By Now. Check out “Macon If We Make It” from that record. Ben’s younger brother Jeff followed a similar independently creative path, but down a different road: He’s a successful—and incredible—film director whose credits include Mud starring Matthew McConaughey, a drama about the real life battle over interracial marriage called Loving, and my personal favorite, Take Shelter, in which Nichols’ frequent collaborator Michael Shannon plays a family man who may or may not be coming unglued. Each is very different from the next, and each is excellent. Jeff Nichols next film is called The Bikeriders, and it will star Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, and Jodi Comer, among others. It’s very loosely based on a book of the same name that Jeff was introduced to by Ben. As you’ll hear in this conversation, it’s not the only time the two have influenced each other. They talk about how Lucero songs have found their way into Jeff’s movies, about how the brothers came upon the same exact story in different ways, and about Jeff’s potential future as the man who may attempt the impossible: adapting some of Cormac McCarthy’s more complicated books, including Blood Meridian, for the big screen. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Ben Nichols and Jeff Nichols for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great written stuff 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 TalkhousePodcast we’ve got a pair of New Zealanders who’ve forged incredible careers in music and comedy and comedic music: Jemaine Clement and Ruban Nielson. I’m guessing Clement is best known to our listeners as half of Flight of the Conchords, his musical and acting duo with Bret McKenzie. They haven’t put out a record or toured much in the last decade or so, but their albums and HBO series definitely endure with their subtle hilarity. Clement has of course been plenty busy post-Conchords as both an actor and director. His 2014 mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, co-directed with his old friend Taika Watiti, spun off into one of the funniest shows on TV, and you’ve also heard or seen him in everything from Despicable Me to the latest Avatar movie. In the awful event that you’re not familiar with Flight of the Conchords, here’s their David Bowie tribute, simply called “Bowie,” which is discussed a bit in this episode. Clement seemed excited—and well prepared!—to speak with Ruban Nielson, the singer-guitarist behind Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Though both of these guys are, as I said, from New Zealand and fans of each other’s work, they had never met before. UMO, as Nielson’s band is known for short, has been making a sort of uncategorizable music since 2010; they most often get pegged as psychedelic rock, which isn’t wrong, but also doesn’t tell the whole story. There are also elements of lo-fi indie rock, a bit of funk, and some garage rock. But the fact that it’s tough to name is part of what makes UMO’s music so appealing. Check out a little their song “The Garden,” which opens the latest UMO album, V. These guys have a fantastic conversation that spans everything from the history of New Zealand and their shared Maori heritage to an in-depth examination of the Jagstang, a guitar designed by Kurt Cobain and favored by Nielson. They talk about bombing on stage—and getting bombed before getting on stage—and they share stories about coming up in a shared place. Also, you’ll hear the phrase “sad funky ghost,” perhaps for the first and last time in your life. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Jemaine Clement and Ruban Nielson for chatting. If you like what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and be sure to check out all the goodies 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 TalkhousePodcast we’ve got a rare but not totally unprecedented pairing of a couple—by which I mean boyfriend and girlfriend, for lack of better words—in conversation, both fantastic songwriters: Briston Maroney and Samia. Briston Maroney is an earnest, powerful songwriter who first caught attention via American Idol, but perhaps lucky for him and us he didn’t ride that appearance into the pop world. Instead, over the past decade Maroney has built a solid catalog of personal songs that include folk and indie-rock influences, but that could really play anywhere people like a good tune. His latest album is called Ultrapure, a word he uses to describe those incredible moments in life that you might not even know you’re experiencing until they’re gone. Check out “Body” from Ultrapure right here. The other half of today’s conversation is Maroney’s partner of the past few years, the singer and songwriter Samia. She’s a bit more interested in the darker sides of life than Maroney, as you’ll hear them laugh about in this conversation. Her latest album, Honey, features bitter breakup songs that will strike right at your heart: It’s no wonder she’s been compared to the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. But Samia has her own thing going, and for my money, Honey is one of 2023’s best albums. Check out the intensely fantastic “KIll Her Freak Out” right here. Though they live together, this conversation took place on different continents, as Samia was at their now former home in Nashville—they just moved to L.A., as you’ll hear—while Maroney was on tour in Europe. They joke at the outset that they hadn’t spoken in two years, but really they’re in constant contact, and know each other super well. They chat about horror movies, their dog camera, and how writing in the same physical space might lead to accidental song theft. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Samia and Briston Maroney 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!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got two guys from very different musical worlds who’ve collided over the years in really interesting and fruitful ways, Vic Mensa and Johan Lenox. Mensa is a Chicago-bred rapper who first found notice with the group Kids These Days, but who quickly established himself as a solo artist around 2013. He’s collaborated with an amazing array of artists, from Kanye West to Weezer and all points in between. Mensa’s second proper album—there are lots of mix tapes and guest appearances out there, too—came out last year, and it’s called Victor. Once again, Mensa displays an incredible agility, bouncing from fun to deep and back again; he’s an incredible lyricist equally adept at party starters and deep thoughts, both of which are on display here. Contributors to the album include Jay Electronica, Chance the Rapper, Thundercat, Ty Dolla Sign, and may others, including today’s other guest, Johan Lenox. Now Lenox did not come up through the hip-hop world, but rather the world of classical music. Hearing Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy pushed Lenox out of that bubble, though, and led to a cultural mash-up called Yeethoven, which utilized a live orchestra to mash up Kanye West and, yes, Beethoven. Lenox has since worked as a producer for West, Lil Nas X, and many others, and worked with the likes of No I.D. and Big Sean. He also put out a solo record of R&B-ish jams called What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up (technically titledWDYWTBWYGU, but that's hard to pronounce) and another record, also in 2022, credited to Isomonstrosity, a trio he formed that treats classical music like hip-hop, chopping and mixing it into something new and bold. Earlier this year, he released a string album called Johan’s Childhood Chamber Nostalgia Album. But let’s check out a track from the Isomonstrosity record that features Vic Mensa. This is called “Wake Up.” In this conversation, Lenox and Mensa talk about being inspired by everyone from Kanye to Kurt Cobain, about how Mensa wants to inject his sense of humor into more of his music, about artificial intelligence and the future of music, and a songwriting trick they recently learned. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Vic Mensa and Johan Lenox for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and 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!

On this week’sTalkhousePodcast we’ve got a pair of talented songwriter/performers who’ve known each other for years, and who’ve both had busy years: Margaret Glaspy and Bridget Kearney. Margaret Glaspy has quietly built an impressive catalog of songs over the past decade, putting her sharp lyrics front and center. Her third album,Echo The Diamond, came out earlier this year, and it takes a turn back toward more organic sounds after 2020’sDevotion. You may have seen Glaspy on tour over the years with the likes of the Lumineers and Neko Case, and she just finished her first post-pandemic solo run throughout the U.S.—she’s an amazing live performer. Chicagoans will have a chance to see her this December when Glaspy opens Andrew Bird’s yearly holiday concerts there. In the meantime, check out the bluesy, scrappy “Act Natural” fromEcho the Diamond. The other half of today’s conversation, Bridget Kearney, is best known as a member of the band Lake Street Dive, the soulful indie-pop outfit that’s been kicking around for the past 20 or so years—and probably playing a big theater in your town sometime soon. In addition to holding down the low end for that band, Kearney makes slightly more somber music as a solo artist and more groove-oriented songs in a trio called BB Wisely. In other words, she’s not that into sitting still, musically or physically, it seems. Check out the great “I Bet UR,” from Kearney’s 2023 solo albumSnakes of Paradise. In this lively chat, Glaspy and Kearney talk about their long friendship, which leads to… powerful microscopes. They talk about Kearney’s three musical lanes, and how you should trust your gut when the recording vibe is off. And then they get into some powerful advice about exactly how many fucks one should give in a day—it seems like a great system to me, so check it out. Thanks for listening to theTalkhousePodcast, and thanks to Margaret Glaspy and Bridget Kearney for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please followTalkhouseon your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the goodness at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and theTalkhousetheme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got everyone’s favorite Canadian twin-sister duo Tegan and Sara in conversation with powerhouse songwriter and artist LP. Now LP has had a fascinating, winding career in the music business, starting out in the late ‘90s as a performer whose incredible voice attracted lots of attention in the industry—you’ll hear about that in this chat—but who ended up kind of going through the wringer of that system. But LP turned their attention to writing songs for other people, which had an immediate and far-reaching effect: LP’s compositions have been hits for the likes of Rihanna and Celine Dion, and for a while it seemed like that’s where LP’s career would stay. But a return to performing about ten years ago has born some incredible fruit, and with a big personality like LP’s, it’s not surprising that TikTok and other social media has embraced them. LP’s latest album is the powerful Love Lines, check out “Dayglow” from that album, and catch LP on tour in the US right now through the end of the month; dates are at iamLP.com. The other half of today’s conversation, Tegan and Sara, started making music as teenagers and were flung into the spotlight very quickly, being signed to Neil Young’s record label and opening for him when they were basically still kids. But they got some good advice—you’ll hear about that here—that helped the twin sisters navigate the ups and downs of fame. Over the course of 25 years they’ve released ten albums, a memoir that was turned into a TV series, a graphic novel, and much more. They are creative lifers, and the world is a better place because of it. Check out the song “Yellow” from Tegan and Sara’s latest album Crybaby. In this lively conversation, you’ll hear about two incredible, uncompromising careers. These three talk about how their music has not only inspired joy in other people, but also understanding: LP talks about visiting other countries where many people in the audience perhaps hadn’t met a gay person—at least not knowingly. They get into all things Canada, the vital importance of a good monitor mix, and the primal wound that inspires creativity. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse podcast, and thanks to Tegan and Sara and LP for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and 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!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got an award-winning multi-hyphenate that you may have seen on TV, a Broadway stage, or packing out a big theater near you in conversation with a guy whose equally riveting work has mostly been behind the scenes: Sara Bareilles and Rob Moose. I’m not sure where to begin with Sara Bareilles’ resume: She found fame with her music, with songs like “Brave” and “Love Song” topping the charts. But in addition to making huge records, she’s been a judge on NBC’s The Sing-Off, she wrote the music and lyrics for—then eventually starred in—the Broadway production of Waitress, and she co-created the Apple TV series Little Voice and acted in the Peacock series Girls5Eva. And honestly, this is all just the tip of the iceberg. You will be surprised by how remarkably down to earth she seems in this conversation—I was. Rob Moose met Bareilles when he was asked to do some string arrangements for her at a Lincoln Center event organized by Ben Folds. For the past 20 years, that’s the kind of work Moose has mostly done: His expert strings have added color and wonder to music by everyone from Sufjan Stevens and The Decemberists to Taylor Swift. He’s been a member of Bon Iver and performed live with Jay-Z. Chances are very good that you’ve heard him without ever hearing his name, because it wasn’t until this year that he decided to release music under his own name: It was while on tour with Paul Simon that Moose had the idea to collaborate with some amazing singers, setting their voices to his strings—and nothing more. The result is an EP called Inflorescence, which features Emily King, Brittany Howard, Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and—perhaps you guessed by now—Sara Bareilles. It’s a fantastic, unexpected set of songs that brings out the best in both the strings and the voices. Check out a little bit of Moose and Bareilles on the song “Extract.” In this conversation, these two chat about how a Craigslist ad changed Moose’s life, about how Bareilles was a bit gunshy about collaborating early in her career, and about how you’ve got to really want to live in New York City—which they both seem to want to do. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Rob Moose and Sara Bareilles for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and 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!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we have the pleasure of reuniting two intensely creative individuals who first worked together decades ago: Emily Haines and Olivier Assayas. Haines is, of course, the singer and primary songwriter for the band Metric, which she’s been fronting for the past 20-plus years, and which sprang from the same fertile Canadian scene that gave the world Broken Social Scene and Stars, among many others—in fact, it’s Haines’ voice that you hear on Broken Social Scene’s biggest (and I would argue best) song, “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl.” But her primary focus over the years has of course been Metric, which just released their ninth album of thought-provoking indie-rock anthems, Formentera II. It’s a sequel to the excellent album they released exactly a year prior, and another collection of danceable, fantastic songs. Check out“Just the Once,” from Formentera II, which Haines describes as “regret disco.” So what does a catchy Canadian indie band have to do with a fearless French filmmaker like Olivier Assayas? A lot, as it turns out. Back when Assayas was prepping his 2004 film Clean, he needed a band to perform in a scene, and when he saw Metric, everything clicked: You can see the band perform their early hit “Dead Disco” in the movie, and Haines and Assayas hit it off after working together. Like Metric, Assayas has created an incredible body of work over the years, and done it—again like Metric—by following his own muse. His best-known films include Irma Vep, Clouds of Sils Maria, and 2016’s Personal Shopper, for which he was proclaimed Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. In a strange twist, he was asked to re-created Irma Vep as a TV series for HBO, which he did under the condition that he have total artistic freedom. That came out last year, and it’s definitely worth checking out. These two get right into a great discussion about how they approach creating their art: Both rely on instinct rather than any desire for commercial success. They talk about the real Formentera—it’s an island in Spain—versus the one Haines created for these albums. They touch on Haines’ father, a well-known poet, and how that might have figured into her creative growth. Also, you’ll learn from this chat that every piano has one great song in it. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Emily Haines and Olivier Assayas 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!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got two women who lead fierce, fantastic rock bands: Karly Hartzman and Marisa Dabice. Hartzman is the driving force behind the band Wednesday, which started as a solo-ish vehicle for her songs back in 2017 but has blossomed into a full band with an already-sizable catalog. Everything they’ve done is worth checking out, but it sure feels like Wednesday hit exactly what they’d always been striving for on the album Rat Saw God, which came out earlier this year. Hartzman’s lyrics are both pointed and poetic—amazing in their specificity and delivered with some serious passion, whether in a country-ish moment, or one that feels almost metal. Today’s other guest, Marisa Dabice, thinks Wednesday sounds like Black Sabbath meets Sparklehorse, which is both accurate and something that’s probably never been said about any band before. Check out “Bull Believer” from Rat Saw God. Marisa Dabice is the voice behind Mannequin Pussy, a band that’s been releasing blistering music since 2010. Just this week, Mannequin Pussy announced the release of their long-awaited fourth album, I Got Heaven, which will come out in March of 2024. Hartzman, as you’ll hear in this conversation, has already gotten a listen to the record—which was produced with John Congleton—and she loves it. The title track is already getting rave reviews for taking Mannequin Pussy’s intense punk energy and adding a bit of sweetness with some synths and a sugary chorus, but those aspects almost make it sound even more confrontational in a way. In any case, it’s awesome: Check out “I Got Heaven” right here. In this chat, these two friends talk about touring, and specifically about how unusual it can feel to perform—and how that can lead to actual tears on stage, not the most fun experience. They chat about the difference between Mannequin Pussy and Wednesday fans, and about the pressure to enjoy your success while it’s happening. Oh, and about saunas. You’ve gotta love a sauna. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Maria Dabice and Karly Hartzman for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting service, and check out all the goodness elsewhere on this site. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!