Difficult Artist

Singer songwriter KT Tunstall discusses everything from how her process has changed in over two decades of rock stardom to how she wrote some of her most beloved songs. She also gets into the sense of malaise that took over once the touring industry stopped due to Covid, and what she’s learned about the practice of making stuff from being forced to sit still for nearly two difficult, illuminating years. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michelle Zauner does a lot of things well: she fronts her band Japanese Breakfast, she directs music videos, and she writes. Zauner's first book, Crying in H Mart, which came out earlier this year, is a rare thing - it's a grief memoir that also manages to be a true celebration of life. The musician and writer talks to Lizzy about mental health, her pure love of pure pop and why she first picked music over writing. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laurie Anderson is a master at making her life her art. In a conversation as unconventional as the artist herself, Lizzy and Laurie discuss everything from the geological history of the planet to death and grief to the importance of fun as a frame for how to live and work. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a founding member of Radiohead, Ed O'Brien has been on the inside of one of the great rock and roll stories. He talks about growing up in the cloistered world of British boarding school life, recalling the wonder of first seeing a kid his age with a real guitar and the pain of feeling like the sensitive one in a world that equated emotional repression with strength. We get into the dizzying rise of Radiohead, the unique pleasure of being part of the "organism" that is a real band. And we talk about Ed's remarkable debut solo LP, Earth, a work eight years in the making that he released just as the pandemic booted the world out of rock clubs and relegated us all to our couches.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Olivia Nuzzi is the Washington Correspondent for New York Magazine. For four-plus years it was her job to think about Donald Trump and his cohort every day. She talks to Lizzy about the emotional cost of that work, the morality of journalism in general, and explains why some of her most significant influences are stand-up comedians and rappers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most resonant voices in music, Liz Phair is a true iconoclast with a sense of levity about the game of fame. Liz gets into her long history being both embraced and rejected by the indie rock community, touches on motherhood and creativity, and explains that yes, there are in fact voices in her head telling her what to write. Liz's first album of new material in eleven years, Soberish, is out June 4th. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The visual artist Shantell Martin has an unusual creative process: she draws live. As in, she walks up to a blank canvas, and, in front of an audience, waits for inspiration to strike. The results are mesmerizingly detailed, joyful, playful black and white line drawings that are also strangely soothing to look at and to watch the artist make. Shantell talks to Lizzy about growing up an outsider, finding herself at Central St. Martins art college in London, and learning that leaving where you’re from is sometimes the best way of finding out where you really feel at home.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Writer, director, comedian, and dog rescuer Whitney Cummings joins Lizzy to talk about how she comes up with her seemingly endless stream of red hot takes. Known for outrageous, incisive comedy exploring relationship dynamics, sexism, and the real hierarchy in Hollywood, Cummings's mind is a mile-a-minute marvel. In this episode she gets into the practices that allow her to create art out of chaos, her "love bombing" philosophy on stand-up, and the origin story behind her drive to do comedy in the first place.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trent Reznor says he’s never listened to a podcast before, but he makes a great guest. In this wide ranging interview, Lizzy and Trent cover everything from MSNBC addiction to Tom Ford’s quarantine insights to the particular challenge and pleasure of scoring for animated films. They also talk about how Trent’s approach to songwriting has changed over time, as he’s evolved from a guy screaming into the void in private, to a guy screaming into the void in public, to a married, sober father of five going to the office every day to make some of the coolest, weirdest, most beautiful music of his career. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Maggie Rogers became a Grammy-nominated, best-selling artist, she was Lizzy's intern. The pair reminisce about Maggie's role as head transcriber on Meet Me in the Bathroom, and discuss the conflict Maggie once felt about whether to pursue journalism or music. They also get into how Maggie's process has adapted to the age of Covid, as well as what types of pens, fabrics, and beverages are helping her conjure her new album. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices