Talkhouse Podcast

Subscribe to ⁠Fela Kuti: Fear No Man⁠. In a world that’s on fire, what is the role of art? What can music actually…do? Can a song save a life? Change a law? Topple a president? Get you killed? In Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, Jad Abumrad—creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton's America—tells the story of one of the great political awakenings in music: how a classically trained 'colonial boy' traveled to America, in search of Africa, only to return to Nigeria and transform his sound into a battering ram against the state—creating a new musical language of resistance called Afrobeat. For years, the world’s biggest stars made pilgrimages to Nigeria to experience Fela’s Shrine, the epicenter of his musical revolution. But when the mix of art and activism got too hot, the state pulled out its guns, and literally opened fire. Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is an uncategorizable mix of oral history, musicology, deep dive journalism, and cutting edge sound design that takes listeners deep inside Fela’s life, music, and legacy. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got two British gentlemen who made big waves in the past couple of decades and who’ve collided just recently for a celebratory remix: It’s Tom Vek and Gus Unger-Hamilton. Tom Vek released his instant-classic debut We Have Sound back in 2005, putting his own spin on post-punk and dance and riding the wave of so-called “indietronica” with catchy tracks like “Nothing But Green Lights.” He hasn’t exactly been prolific since then, releasing quality albums every few years while also working hard in other areas of the industry: Check out both supercollector.com and his upcoming music player, Sleevenote. But in celebration of We Have Sound’s 20th anniversary, Vek asked a bunch of friends and fellow musicians to remix each of the album’s tracks, including folks like Baths, Glass Animals, and the other half of today’s conversation, Gus Unger-Hamilton of the band Alt-J. Check Unger-Hamilton’s remix of Vek’s song “Cover” right here. It’s unsurprising that Unger-Hamilton put his own spin on Vek’s song: Alt-J has been scribbling in the bombastic, weirder corners of indie-rock and art-rock for since 2007, though they didn’t release their big debut, An Awesome Wave, until 2012. They’ve since embraced their oddness on a string of records, with the latest being 2022’s The Dream, which was hailed at the time as a return to the power of their debut. New music is likely on the horizon, though as you’ll hear in this chat, Alt-J is currently without a label home. Label homes are one of many things these two chat about in this lively conversation: They’re both into the logos of their favorite record companies, they’re both really into fancy watches, and they’re both back into the lost art of reading a good book. Though Gus admits he hasn’t read a particular novel that his band famously borrowed a title from. Listen and find out which one. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Tom Vek and Gus Unger-Hamilton 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got two old friends who’ve worked together on such culture-crushing songs as “Dick in a Box”—one of whom is known more for the music, and the other for the funny. It’s Andy Samberg and Asa Taccone. Samberg you surely know for his years on Saturday Night Live and Brooklyn Nine-Nine and tons of big movies. Before all that he was part of the trio The Lonely Island, which blew up on SNL with “Dick in a Box,” among other hilarious jams. The Lonely Island also features Jorma Taccone, and when Samberg and Taccone needed some musical help for their SNL shorts, they would often call Jorma’s brother Asa, who helped them shape “Dick in a Box,” “Motherlover” and plenty of other songs. But Asa’s less inclined toward the funny stuff that his childhood friends are known for; he’s been making his own decidedly less silly music since 2011 in collaboration with Matthew “Cornbread” Compton under the name Electric Guest. The duo just released their first album since 2019, and it’s called 10K—you’ll hear the meaning behind the name in this chat. As you’ll hear, there’s no jokey rap to be found, just a compelling mix of soulful pop: You might not be surprised to learn that in recent years Taccone has also collaborated with the likes of The Weeknd and Carly Rae Jepsen. Check out “Play Your Guitar” from 10K right here. As you’ll hear, Samberg and Taccone are pretty comfortable with each other, because their friendship goes way back. They talk about Samberg’s decision to take a swing at the big time, Lonely Island deep cuts, and the alternate name that Electric Guest briefly considered. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Andy Samberg and Asa Taccone 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. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast’s spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with actor turned writer-director Crispin Hellion Glover, who is currently starring in both the Kafka-esque drama Mr. K and his third directorial feature, No! YOU'RE WRONG. or: Spooky Action at a Distance, which also stars his father, Bruce Glover, who passed away earlier this year. In a wide-ranging conversation, Glover talks about the acting job he’s still mad he missed out on at 13, supernatural goings on at the chateau he bought in the Czech Republic, his very imaginative alternative to traveling by car, plus his hopes for the future of AI (which is not what you’d think) and his understandable reservations about self-cloning. 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 the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast’s spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with actor, writer-director, playwright and novelist Tim Blake Nelson, who can currently be seen in the boxing drama Bang Bang and whose new play And Then We Were No More is now at La MaMa in New York City. In a personal, profound and often surprising conversation, Nelson opens up about everything from his morning routine to his recurring dreams, from his earliest childhood memories – some of which are truly remarkable – to a pivot point in his life that was transformative. 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. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of singers who both look to classic sounds for inspiration—and one of whom happens to also be the creator of one of the biggest animated shows ever. It’s Liz Gillies and Seth MacFarlane. Now even if you don’t know his name, you almost certainly know Seth MacFarlane’s work and voice. He’s the creator of the animated comedy Family Guy, which will enter its 24th season next year. He also co-created American Dad and The Cleveland Show, plus directed the movie Ted, among many other TV and film accomplishments. If that weren’t enough, MacFarlane has a second career as a musician, a pursuit born out of his love for big band music of days gone by: It’s not a lark or a joke, either. MacFarlane is a serious student of classic songwriters, which led to his tenth and latest album, Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements. As that title suggests, MacFarlane was given access to a massive number of songs that had been arranged—often by big names—for Frank Sinatra to sing, but that had never actually been recorded. MacFarlane recruited an A-team to get them in shape, and he sang the hell out of them. Check out “I Never Felt This Way Before” right here. The other half of today’s conversation is MacFarlane’s friend and sometime musical collaborator Liz Gillies, who’s also a multi-hyphenate. You may have seen her on TV—going all the way back to Nickelodeon—in movies or on Broadway. She even provided voices on a couple of MacFarlane’s shows. But the two really found their working spark during the pandemic with Songs From Home, and that collaboration continued in 2023 with a holiday album called We Wish You The Merriest. As you’ll see from this conversation, Gillies and MacFarlane have a friendly rapport. In this lively conversation, Gillies grills MacFarlane on the origins of Lush Life, a fascinating story in which MacFarlane is deeply invested. They also talk about how Liz likes to go out when they’re on tour but Seth prefers the comfort of a hotel room, how to pronounce Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and more. Stick around for the end, when they get a little silly coming up with podcast names. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by The Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of singer-songwriters who came up in the social media age, and who, as you’ll hear, have leaned on each other for support as their careers have taken off. It’s Girl in Red and Gigi Perez. Girl in Red is the name under which Norwegian singer Marie Ullven started making intimate, sometimes sad bedroom recordings back in 2016 or so. Some of those songs, like 2018’s “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend” really connected with people, and she became something of an icon, especially to young gay women. Her sound has grown over the years and Ulven has embraced bigger opportunities, including opening shows for Taylor Swift—it doesn’t get a lot bigger than that. Her last album, the hilariously titled I’m Doing it Again, Baby! was released last year, and as you’ll hear in this conversation, Ulven is stepping into acting as well: She’ll star in a film called Low Expectations, which she filmed earlier this year. Check out Girl in Red’s “Hemingway” right here. Gigi Perez is another fantastic songwriter and performer whose “Sailor Song” was everywhere last summer, and for good reason: It’s simple and gorgeous and undeniably catchy. Perez first started writing songs a few years ago in the wake of her sister’s passing, and she’s both created some incredible music and played big shows—including opening for Coldplay—in the past few years. Perez’s debut album At the Beach, in Every Life came out earlier this year, and it’s a thoughtful, sometimes uplifting, sometimes heartbreaking set of really personal songs. Check out “Sailor Song” right here. In this conversation, these two resilient ladies get into some real talk, touching on Girl in Red’s recent stint in rehab and her upcoming movie role, the inevitable comedown after a big tour, songwriting camps, and Perez’s favorite movie of all time. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Girl in Red and Gigi Perez 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

Today’s Talkhouse Podcast features a pair of guys who’ve been making records for a long time and still manage to keep things not just interesting, but awesome: Mac McCaughan and Eric Johnson. Mac is the co-founder of legendary indie label Merge Records as well as the singer and guitarist for the band Superchunk, which has been making great, great records for about 35 years now, though they did take a bit of a break in the early aughts, which Mac mentions in this chat. Since reigniting around 2010, Superchunk has released five solid records that both reflect their maturity and bring the punk-rock energy. The latest just came out, and it’s called Songs in the Key of Yikes. It’s their first with new drummer Laura King, and you can catch Superchunk this weekend at Riot Fest in Chicago and then on a West Coast tour that starts October 9 at Pappy & Harriet’s in the California desert. Check out “Is It Making You Feel Something” from Songs in the Key of Yikes right here. The other half of today’s chat is Eric D. Johnson, who’s both one-third of Bonny Light Horseman and the only constant member of Fruit Bats, the name under which he’s been recording his smart, often gentle songs since around 2001. The newest Fruit Bats record, Baby Man, just came out on Merge, and it’s an absolutely stripped-to-the-bone affair, with Johnson’s voice even more front and center than usual. He lays it all out there and it’s easy to get sucked in by his words and lovely melodies. He’ll be touring all over in October, doing it “an evening with Fruit Bats” style. Check out “Let You People Down,” a song that comes up in this conversation, right here. In this easygoing chat, Eric and Mac talk about their long histories, from Eric’s time in the Shins and I, Rowboat to Superchunk’s not-that-fun stint opening for Teenage Fanclub. They also use some baseball analogies to talk about sequencing an album, and they commiserate about being dudes with unusually high singing voices. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Mac McCaughan and Eric D. Johnson for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff in 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

Subscribe to States of Independence. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Beggars Banquet. The story starts in 1974 with three mates, a little bit of cash, and the dream of opening a record shop. But when punk happens, it changes everything – and suddenly there’s a new fantasy to chase. Label founder Martin Mills drops us into the chaotic formative years of Beggars Banquet and introduces us to their very first signing, The Lurkers. Then, we meet their first star, Gary Numan, who details his meteoric rise from just another punk rock pretender to one of the definitive voices of the new wave. In the process, the legend of Beggars is born. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a repeat customer along with his well-known photographer friend-slash-collaborator who’s done some record covers you’re definitely familiar with. It’s Ruban Nielson and Neil Krug. Nielson is the frontman of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the band he started in his native New Zealand before relocating to Portland, Oregon, where he still lives. UMO, as the band is affectionately known, has often been categorized as psych-rock, but I’m not sure that label is accurate or complete. There’s definitely some oil-lamp vibes going on, but there’s something more personal and direct happening underneath the swirling guitars and hooks. That’s maybe never been more true than on this year’s Curse EP, which was Nielson’s way of writing and creating through the grief of his younger sister’s untimely death from cancer. He channeled that energy into songs that were also inspired by ‘70s Italian horror movies and gloomy metal records, but somehow it’s not a bummer at all. Check out “DEATH COMES FROM THE SKY” right here. As you know if you’re a regular listener of this podcast, we mostly feature musicians, occasionally actors, every once in a while a producer or writer. But I’m not sure if in all of these years we’ve ever welcomed someone chiefly known as a photographer. That changes today, with Neil Krug, whose photographs you’ve likely seen even if you don’t know his name. Krug is maybe best known for his shots of Lana Del Ray, and he also did the iconic cover of Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush. He and Ruban go way back, having worked on artwork and photos for Unknown Mortal Orchestra over the years—and maybe in the future? In this great conversation, these two chat about the making of Curse, working together on UMO’s Sex and Food record as well as other UMO stuff, the ridiculously over-the-top reaction of Ruban’s fans to his dabbling in AI artwork, and the joys of David Lynch. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Ruban Nielson and Neil Krug 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s episode of the Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got the leader of a killer Chicago band and the co-director of one of the biggest movie franchises in history in a fantastic conversation: It’s Alicia Gaines of Ganser and Lilly Wachowski, best known for The Matrix. The Matrix you surely know, but Ganser perhaps you don’t. They’re a Chicago band that’s been around for the last decade or so, but really seemed to snap into focus about five years ago with a startling stew of post-punk and art-rock sounds that snarl like some of my favorite elder statesbands—Gang of Four, Siouxsie—but updated. Their third and latest album, Animal Hospital, was produced by Angus Andrew of Liars, which makes sense. Oh, and they’re fierce live: I saw them last year opening for Mclusky and was blown away. Check out “Stripe” from Animal Hospital right here. Lilly Wachowski cut a winding path through Hollywood; along with her sister Lana, she made the 1996 thriller Bound—it comes up in this conversation—but took the film world by surprise with 1999’s The Matrix and of course its sequels. The Wachowskis, as they’re known professionally, took their films to weirder places after that rather than trying to go mainstream, with the unfairly maligned Speed Racer—an anti-capitalist blockbuster—and Cloud Atlas, a strange, moving epic. Both Wachowskis also came out as trans in the years after The Matrix, and Lilly, as you’ll hear, has a serious interest in getting that aspect of her life onto the silver screen. In this deep and friendly chat, Lily and Alicia talk about their shared experience at Chicago’s School of the Art Institute—aka SAIC—as well as Animal Hospital, using original music versus well-known pop songs in movies, finding yourself through art, a painting of a suicidal duck, and Lilly’s next project, which is “wall to wall trans people and trans rage.” I hope she can get it made. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Alicia Gaines and Lilly Wachowski for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all the great stuff in 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

One of the pleasures of putting the Talkhouse Podcast together is that the guests often leave their promotional hats at home and just dig into conversations about life, and that’s definitely what happened this week with Matty Matheson and Jennifer Castle. Matty Matheson you’ll surely recognize either as a superstar chef and restaurateur who appeared on a bunch of VICE shows way back when—or if not that then as a star and consultant on the hit TV show The Bear, where he plays the sublimely ridiculous Neil Fak. Matheson has lived several lifetimes, building a reputation as a wild partier in his youth, which eventually led to a heart attack at just 29—that’s touched on briefly in this conversation. He’s also authored a bunch of super down-to-earth cookbooks, including the great new Soups, Salads, Sandwiches—you can guess what that one covers. Matheson’s connection to singer-songwriter Jennifer Castle goes way, way back. They met working in Toronto restaurants and became good friends over the years: Castle sang at Matty’s wedding and she was a doula at the birth of his first child, a topic that comes up in this chat. Castle has been making music for the past 20 or so years, first under the name Castlemusic but more recently under her own name. Don’t let the gentleness of her indie-folk fool you; there’s a lot that cuts deep in her songs. Speaking of those songs, one of the songs from her latest album Camelot was featured in season three of The Bear—a great way for Matheson to help get the word out on the person he calls the greatest Canadian singer-songwriter ever. Check out “Blowing Kisses” ⁠right here⁠. In this lovely conversation, Castle and Matheson talk about how music and food can both bring people together, but they get really excited talking about two other natural pursuits: childbirth and farming. (Matheson co-owns a farm called Blue Goose that you’ll hear a bit about.) Matheson talks a bit about his family and his current book tour, and Castle shows off a touching gift that Matheson gave her many years ago. Enjoy. 0:00 – Intro 2:35 – Conversation starts 3:25 – Matty’s airport adventures 6:38 – “Eat little shrimps!” 8:36 – Matty loves Jennifer’s music, as you’ll see 12:36 – Matty gets melancholy about their shared Toronto past 21:51 – The birth of children and the birth of Blue Goose 37:24 – Living the creative life Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Matty Matheson and Jennifer Castle 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠. Visit ⁠talkhouse.com⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Twitter (X)⁠, ⁠Threads⁠, and ⁠Facebook⁠. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

Karly Hartzman of Wednesday from Asheville, North Carolina. Wednesday’s new album, BLEEDS, is out September 19, 2025. Karly and Dylan discuss being an introverted observer writer girl type, the merits of staying in your local scene, complicated feelings about Los Angeles, and Karly’s breakup with partner and bandmate MJ Lenderman. + Karly answers a listener advice question. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a guy from that band you like in conversation with Saturday Night Live's Donald Trump specialist. It's Hamilton Leithauser and James Austin Johnson. Leithauser was-slash-is the voice behind the Walkmen, the indie-rock band that burned bright from 2000 until 2013, at which point they splintered and Leithauser embarked on a solo career and some excellent soundtrack work. Last time he was on this show he was in conversation with Ethan Hawke, with whom he worked on Hawke's Paul Newman documentary; this time around, he's got a long-in-the-works solo album to promote. This Side of the Island came out earlier this year, though it probably would have come out sooner if Leithauser didn't take a break to reunite with the Walkmen for some big shows. It’s typically excellent, and a bit more slinky than his past couple. It was produced by The National's Aaron Dessner and he’s just finishing up a tour with Father John Misty. For Leithauser's latest video, he roped in comedian James Austin Johnson to play his sorta-stalker / impersonator at the legendary Carlyle Hotel in New York. Check out the video right here, it’s called "What do I Think?" If you don't recognize James Austin Johnson's name, you'll recognize his incredible impression of Donald Trump, which he's been doing on Saturday Night Live for the past couple of seasons. Now there have been many Trump impressions over the years, but nobody has quite captured the manic free-association in the way that Johnson has. With SNL off for the summer, Johnson is out doing comedy on the road, where you can catch him over the next few weeks before he returns to his main gig. In this fun chat, Johnson and Leithauser talk about SNL's schedule, about drinking wine on stage, about recording fake sounds versus real ones, and about a guy they're both a little obsessed with: Bob Dylan. Oh, and Trump, but just a little bit. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to James Austin Johnson and Hamilton Leithauser for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and make sure you check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’re giving a nod to the heavier end of things with a conversation between George Clarke of Deafheaven and Jae Matthews of Boy Harsher. Deafheaven is the impossible to pin down metal band that has pushed genre boundaries since breaking out with 2013’s epic Sunbather. They’ve been the subject of much debate in the heavy music community over the years, since they’ve wiggled elements of shoegaze and even Brit rock into the world of black metal. It’s been a fascinating journey to watch, as the band navigates its own muse, seemingly without regard to any genre lines that might exist. 2021’s Infinite Granite took a pretty huge leap toward a more accessible sound, while this year’s Lonely People With Power heads back into the darkness—even as it’s produced by the pop-leaning Justin Meldal-Johnson, whose name comes up in this chat. The other half of today’s conversation is Jae Matthews, who’s also half of the darkwave-slash-coldwave band Boy Harsher. Deeply influenced by film, the duo’s most recent album, The Runner, serves as a sort-of soundtrack to a world they continue to imagine—one full of synths, beats, and lots of mood. As you’ll hear in this chat, Boy Harsher has been busy writing new material in a way they haven’t before. But in the meantime, Matthews contributed some striking vocals to a truly striking song on the new Deafheaven record. Check out “Incidental II” right here—you’ll need to listen to the entire thing to really get where it’s coming from. In this conversation, Clarke and Matthews talk about DJing versus performing, about finding inspiration in solitude, about whether being sober hurts or helps a performance, and of course, about Matthews’ contribution to Deafheaven’s Lonely People With Power. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Jae Matthews and George Clarke for chatting. If you like 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 was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got an absolute legend of the punk and indie-rock worlds in conversation with a relatively newer voice who’s making some great music, too: Bob Mould and Will Anderson. Bob Mould got his start in the late 1970s with the Minneapolis-born punk / post-punk band Husker Du, a trio that was at the tip of the spear of incredible new sounds. After that band ran out of jet fuel in the late 1980s, Mould embarked on a solo career and also created the band Sugar, itself a touchstone outfit. Mould has released a total of 15 solo albums over the years, and there’s not a dud in the bunch. His latest is a tuneful, melodic set of ragers called Here We Go Crazy, which he once again made with his ace rhythm section, Jon Wurster and Jason Narducy. He’s toured a bunch in support of the record with those guys, but his next set of dates—in August and September, check bobmould.com for details—will find him playing solo-electric, which is also a powerful way to experience these songs. Check out the title track of Here We Go Crazy right here. The other half of today’s conversation is Will Anderson, who’s been making music for the past few years under the name Hotline TNT—sometimes by himself, sometimes with a rotating band of players. His first album under the name, Nineteen in Love, was recorded by himself during COVID, all in GarageBand. His third—and second for Jack White’s Third Man Records—feels much more like a full-band affair: It’s more fleshed out and expansive. Hotline TNT has frequently been called a shoegaze band, but it’s a tag that Anderson is quick to refute, at least a little bit: In this conversation, he says that his shoegaze knowledge pretty much begins and ends with My Bloody Valentine. Whatever you call it, its swirls and layers feel pretty damn good right now. Check out a little bit of “Julia’s War” from the latest Hotline TNT album, Raspberry Moon. In this great chat, Bob and Will talk about Bob’s recent commencement speech at his alma mater and they also chat about the proper construction of an album, playing overseas for the first time, Bob’s Super Bowl appearance and much more. Enjoy! Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Will Anderson and Bob Mould 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got one of our favorite repeat Talkhouse guests alongside an artist who just released her debut album—on which they collaborated. It’s Ben Gibbard and Natalie Lew. Gibbard is of course the frontman and primary songwriter behind both Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, and he’s been writing heartfelt, incredible songs for the past, oh, 30 years or so. The latest Death Cab album, called Asphalt Meadows, came out back in 2022, but he’s kept busy with an anniversary Postal Service tour and, coming later this summer, some shows celebrating the 20th anniversary of Death Cab’s Plans album. I’m a fan—the guy has written some of my favorite songs of all time, and he hasn’t lost a step over the years. He’s also been super supportive of other musicians over the years, including today’s other guest. Natalie Lew who, like Gibbard, calls Seattle home, records under the name Sea Lemon. Like a lot of younger artists, she started out by releasing singles and EPs, but in May she graduated to what some folks think it’s a lost artform: the full-length album. It’s called Diving for a Prize, and it’s full of shoegazy indie-pop goodness, hiding catchy melodies under swirling layers. Gibbard was already a fan of Sea Lemon’s music, so it seemed like a no-brainer that she’d ask him to duet on a song from the album. Check out “Crystals” right here. In this lively chat, these two talk about their shared city and how they’ll never live anywhere else, the sanctity of the album as an artistic statement, and whether they’d like to venture into creative pursuits beyond music. One of them is a yes, the other not so much. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Natalie Lew and Ben Gibbard 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! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

Subscribe to All One Song: A Neil Young Podcast Welcome to the very first episode of All One Song: A Neil Young podcast, presented by Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions. Join liner notes author, musician, and Shakey historian Tyler Wilcox and an array of great musicians and writers discussing their favorite Neil Young song, diving deep into Shakey lore and getting personal about this amazing body of work. It’s a series for Neil heads by Neil heads. Our first guest on All One Song should need no introduction for long time Aquarium Drunkard readers. But let’s give him one anyway! For the past 15 years or so, ⁠Steve Gunn⁠ has built up one of the strongest, most wide-ranging catalogs in independent music. He’s released classic albums on such labels as Three Lobed, Paradise of Bachelors, Matador and more. Steve is a singer-songwriter-guitarist triple threat with a powerful sense of adventure and imagination that’s always worth paying attention to, whether he’s collaborating with drummer John Truscinski in the ⁠Gunn-Truscinski Duo⁠, creating beautiful soundscapes ⁠with David Moore⁠, or ⁠playing all on his own⁠. Steve’s latest album, ⁠Music For Writers⁠, falls into the latter category. Coming out on August 15 on Three Lobed, this is his first completely solo instrumental record — he played all the instruments, building luminous, hypnotic pieces that encourage the listener to slow down and really listen. The songs here aren’t just ambient background sounds. They’re sonic meditations that take you to some other place. The solo aspect of Music For Writers dovetails nicely with the Neil Young song that Steve chose for us to discuss: “Will To Love.” This is a unique one in Neil’s catalog and a song that’s prized by die-hard Shakey fans. Accompanied only by a crackling fire, Neil recorded the basic track at his ranch in the spring of 1976, somewhere in between his European tour with Crazy Horse and the ill-fated Stills-Young Band trip that summer. Then he put it aside, for a few months, only returning to it in December of 76, when he went into Indigo Studios in Malibu to overdub vocals, keyboards, guitars, drums, even vibes, aided and abetted by producer David Briggs. By the time it was released on American Stars n Bars in 1977, “Will To Love” was a ghostly, seven-minute piece of music that’s unlike almost anything else he’d done before or anything he’s done since. Let's dive in. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast’s spin-off series, host Nick Dawson sits down with writer, director, artist and musician Terence Nance, a longtime Talkhouse Film contributor best known for his debut feature, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, and his boundary-pushing HBO series Random Acts of Flyness. In this very wide-ranging conversation, the two touch on numerous topics, including: communing with the dead, St. Peter as a Pauline Kael archetype, Tyrese Haliburton’s Game 7 injury in the context of stoic masculinity, the Abrahamic idea of God as surveillance system, why humans are seemingly hastening the end of the world, a discussion of the two AIs — Allen Iverson and artificial intelligence, plus Terence being fired by Warner Bros. as the writer-director of Space Jam 2, and how he handled the aftermath of that. 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. Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of old friends who dive right in on some light-hearted topics like death and aging: Amy Millan and Kevin Drew. Both Amy and Kevin are deeply connected to the Canadian indie scene that took shape in the late 1990s around Broken Social Scene. That band was initially Kevin’s baby, but a whole constellation seemed to spring from it, including Metric, Feist, and the band that Amy is most closely associated with, Stars. The impetus for today’s conversation, though, is Millan’s gorgeous new solo album, I Went to Find You. It’s her first in 15 years, and as you’ll hear in this conversation, was inspired by stirred-up feelings about the death of her father when she was just a little kid. Millan created the album with a musician she only met recently, Jay McCarrol, after a chance encounter with him that stirred up some dormant emotions about her childhood. It’s a really beautiful and quietly triumphant record that’s worth some time and attention in your headphones. Check out “Kiss That Summer” right here. Kevin Drew directed that great video for that song, and he’s got bona fides when it comes to writing songs about difficult subjects, too: His latest solo album, Aging, came out in 2023, and you might be able to guess what it’s about from that title. It’s a topic that Kevin and Amy get into here as they get deep and sweet together—they were even a little worried they’d forget they were being recorded since they’re such close friends. They talk about Amy’s record but also, perhaps for the first time on Talkhouse, perimenopause. There’s also memories of Hal Willner, a great name for Amy’s tour that she didn’t end up using, and living in your “who gives a fuck” years. Enjoy. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Amy Millan and Kevin Drew for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all the great stuff in the Talkhouse Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time! Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.