Talkhouse Podcast

For this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a special two-part episode featuring both members of one of my favorite bands, Wye Oak, in conversation with some other fantastic musicians, so be sure to stick around for both halves!First up it’s Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner and singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels, both of whom have new music coming out, coincidentally, on June 23. Samuels has been making beautiful, deeply personal music for the last decade or so, and her new one is a doozy. The album is called Bystander, and it was recorded with Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman—he’s the Josh you’ll hear referenced in this chat. Check out “Ugly on the Inside” from Bystander right here.Samuels is joined here by Talkhouse pal Jenn Wasner, who’s probably best known as half of Wye Oak, but has also recorded music recently under the name Flock of Dimes. It’s no wonder that Wasner and Samuels get along, as both are incredibly thoughtful and sincere in their musical pursuits: They’re looking for something much bigger than a hooky song to sing, they’re out to connect on a deeper level. Wye Oak has sort of morphed into a different kind of band in recent years, choosing to stay away from the make-an-album-then-tour-forever cycle and instead release singles and one-off songs as Wasner and Andy Stack are able. A bunch of those songs have just been compiled on an album called Every Day Like the Last. They sound as good as anything the duo has done, which is to say they sound great. Check out “I Learned it From You” right here.In this conversation, Wasner and Samuels talk about the magic of the Newport Folk Festival, how great it is to work with Josh Kaufman, and how to express heavy thoughts within joyful music. You’ll find out whether these are women of mystery, and you’ll hear Wasner refer to herself as “a big golden retriever of a person.” Enjoy.In the second half of this epic Talkhouse two-parter, we’ve actually got three speakers: Andy Stack, who’s best known as half of Wye Oak, but who’s also made some solo records under the name Joyero. Along with him is Jay Hammond, with whom Stack recently made a great instrumental record, and Joe Westerlund.I’ll start with Westerlund, and I’ll try to do his bio justice: He started out in the Wisconsin band Deyarmond Edison, which has a massive retrospective box set coming out this year, and which is best known as the band that started Justin Vernon of Bon Iver down his musical path. Westerlund has also contributed to lots of other song-based music over the years, drumming for the likes of Califone and his project Megafaun. But it definitely feels like Westerlund has found his true calling in his solo instrumental work, including the recent Elegies for the Drift, whose compositions were largely inspired by important people in his life who’d passed away recently. It’s a gorgeous, emotional ride. Check out “The Circle,” which is dedicated to Akron/Family’s Miles Cooper Seaton, a friend of Westerlund’s who tragically died in a car crash in 2021.It makes sense that Westerlund got together for a chat with Andy Stack and Jay Hammond, because they all have North Carolina in common: It’s become something of a refuge for a bunch of bands over the past few years, with their friends in Sylvan Esso building a studio there, and lots of folks—including both members of Wye Oak—taking up residence there. Stack and Hammond got together recently and struck gold with a series of electro-acoustic improvisations that they winnowed down to album length and titled Inter Personal—a nod to the connection that they deepened by making this music together. Check out “Life on a Ship” right here. Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Johanna Samuels, Jenn Wasner, Andy Stack, Jay Hammond, and Joe Westerlund for chatting. 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 the ringleader of the year’s weirdest experimental hip-hop album, who also happens to be a well known comedian, along with two guys who helped him make it: James Acaster along with NNAMDÏ and Quelle Chris.Now Acaster isn’t a household name in the States just yet, but he’s definitely a known quantity in the UK, where he’s from. He’s a stand-up comedian, a TV presenter, and an author—he wrote a great memoir a few years back called Perfect Sound Whatever, which uses music as a starting point for telling his own story. Which sort of bring us to his musical project, which he calls Temps. Before his comedy career took off, Acaster was an aspiring musician, and he jumped back into that pursuit during the pandemic, creating a collective of over 40 contributors to make an album called Party Gator Purgatory. It’s a wild mix of experimental hip-hop with rock and jazz elements, and it’s chaotic in all the right ways.For this conversation, we put Acaster together with two of the guests he brought on to help out with Party Gator. NNAMDÏ seemed like a natural choice for a multiple-personality record like this one, since he’s one of the most restlessly engaging musicians working right now. The Chicagoan’s latest album, Please Have a Seat, was his first for Secretly Canadian, and it’s a blistering mix of hip-hop, electronic music, trap, and lots more—all tied together by his voice and outlook. Also in this chat is Detroit’s Quelle Chris, who’s been making records as a rapper, producer, and writer for the past decade plus. His latest album, Deathfame, also came out last year, and it’s a smart, politically pointed collection of songs that showcases both his incredible flow and sense of humor—again, it makes perfect sense that Acaster would’ve called on him to bring something special to Party Gator. Let’s check out one of the album’s tracks that features all three of these guys; here’s “no, no.” In this fun and insightful conversation, these three guys talk about collaborating long-distance, how whoever’s mixing an album is incredibly important, whether or not one should order cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory, and how Macklemore ruined thrift stores. Allegedly. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to James Acaster, NNAMDÏ, and Quelle Chris for chatting. The record is credited to Temps, and it’s called Party Gator Purgatory. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite platform, and check out all the goodness 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 a pair of women who were prominent in the ‘90s alternative rock scene, and whose bands followed similar paths: Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo and Louise Post of Veruca Salt. Our producer Myron Kaplan has been pushing to have Hanley as a guest for ages, and of course singing the praises of both Letters to Cleo and Hanley’s solo work—plus letting me know that Hanley has had an incredible second musical career writing for children’s TV shows, including popular shows like Doc McStuffins, for which she won a Peabody Award. Hanley also won a songwriting Emmy for her work on last year’s animated series We The People. She’s still rocking in Letters to Cleo, too, though the band was broken up for a good long while there—now they get together on occasion to make some noise and play a few shows every November. Sounds nice to me. Check out the song “Back to Nebraska“ right here.The other half of today’s conversation is Louise Post, who was the co-frontperson of another ‘90s alt-rock titan, Veruca Salt. Together with her songwriting partner Nina Gordon, Post caused a huge stir back then, coming out of the gate (the gate being Chicago) with a ton of buzz and an incredible single called “Seether.” As you’ll hear in this conversation, the machinations of the music biz caused some real strife, and Gordon left the band. Post soldiered on with some great Veruca Salt music before things fizzled, but there’s a happy ending: Gordon returned in 2015 with the rest of the original lineup. And even better: Post has just released a firecracker of a solo album called Sleepwalker, which sounds grown up but still rocking in all the right ways. Check out “What About.”In this chat, Post and Hanley talk about the early days and seeing each other play; Hanley gushes over Post’s new record, and they talk about living through that moment in the ‘90s alt-rock world when women were undeniably in the driver’s seat. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Kay Hanley and Louise Post for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the written goodness on this very website. This episode was produced by this week’s special guest host 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 the singer and songwriter from a legendary ‘90s (and beyond) band alongside a relative newcomer whose songs he deeply influenced: Adam Duritz and Sean Barna.If you don’t know his name, you certainly know Duritz’s band, Counting Crows. Active since 1991, the group has sold 20 million albums, enjoyed a bunch of big hits, and been a powerhouse touring act for that entire run. To his great credit, Duritz—as you’ll hear in this chat—has never stopped engaging with new music, both as a songwriter and a sort of talent scout. He started two different festivals that you’ll hear about, the Outlaw Roadshow and Underwater Sunshine, which are built like jam sessions for both established and up-and-coming songwriters. Counting Crows continues to release new music, too, including a lengthy EP called Butter Miracle, Suite One, which was recorded during pandemic times and showcases a slightly glammier side of the band. Check out “Elevator Boots” right here, and check out Counting Crows on tour this summer with Dashboard Confessional.Today’s other guest, Sean Barna, was a drummer who was directly inspired to start writing songs after hearing Counting Crows. In some sort of amazing bit of serendipity, Barna found himself in Duritz’s orbit, and the two became fast friends and, eventually, guests on each other’s music. Barna recently signed to the venerated indie label Kill Rock Stars, which just released his second album, An Evening at Macri Park, which is a sort of concept album about modern-day queer life in Brooklyn. It’s emotional and catchy in all the right ways. Check out the song “Be a Man,” which features Duritz on guest vocals. In this fun and wide-ranging conversation, Duritz and Barna talk about playing shows together, the perfection that is a BLT, a bit of hazing that happened when Barna opened for Counting Crows, and lots more. There’s even a lengthy story from Duritz that starts with badly injuring his leg and ends with him looking for his underwear. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Adam Duritz and Sean Barna for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the goodness 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 a pair of musicians who are both part of a brand new Sun Ra tribute album that’s part of the long-running Red Hot series, Angel Bat Dawid and Georgia Anne Muldrow. We’ve also got a special guest in the podcast intro: former Talkhouse host and co-producer of the tribute album Elia Einhorn.Muldrow and Dawid hadn’t met before this call, but as you’ll hear, they’re definitely on the same wavelength both musically and personally—and they both have a deep connection to Sun Ra, the cosmic-jazz master who made incredible, out-there records starting back in the 1930s all the way through to his final journey off this planet in 1993.Dawid was born in Georgia but she’s most closely associated with Chicago, where she’s part of an incredible jazz scene. Not only is she a musician—an ace clarinetist, in fact—but also an activist and a teacher with plans to open a music school.Muldrow boasts an incredible—and incredibly diverse— catalog of music, which she’s been working on for the past couple of decades. Sometimes she records under her own name, but also under the name Jyoti—those records, Elia Einhorn notes, are a pretty good place to start with her catalog. There are elements of jazz, to be sure, but also hip-hop, funk, and blues in the mix.These two become fast friends on the podcast, talking about Sun Ra visiting them in dreams, how Ra came into their lives, and their definitions of living spiritually. Again, check out the first installment of Red Hot And Ra, which is out now, and then dive into these incredible catalogs.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Angel Bat Dawid and Georgia Anne Muldrow for chatting—and thanks to Elia Einhorn for co-hosting. 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 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 Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a pair of guys who worked on an incredible record together, which just came out last week: Will Westerman and James Krivchenia.Krivchenia is best known as the drummer of Big Thief, the Brooklyn indie band that has blown up pretty big over the past few years, up to and including last year’s fantastic album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. When he’s not busy with Big Thief, Krivchenia also plays in Mega Bog, among other bands, and he even played some drums on Taylor Swift’s re-recorded version of her Red album. He’s also made some really interesting music as a solo artist, including last year’s Blood Karaoke, which samples dozens of YouTube videos that had zero views and synthesizes them into an intense collage that will either get your toes tapping or your brain frying. Check out “Null States” right here.Will Westerman, who releases music under his last name, happened to meet Krivchenia in the UK a few years back, and for the second Westerman album, the two worked together. An Inbuilt Fault is a more textured beast than the first Westerman record, gaining space and a bit of groove courtesy of both Krivchenia and some other ace players, like Luke Temple. Recording the album was a weird experience that involved a lonely apartment and a couple of guys with Covid, and lyrically it deals with a pretty dark time. Check out the song “Take” here, which they talk about in this chat.In addition to their own recording experience, Krivchenia and Westerman talk about an incredible guitar that James’ uncle built, figuring out how you’re going to play studio-built compositions on the road, and a bunch of upcoming projects, including another Westerman record and a mythology-heavy, “metal as fuck” children’s album. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Will Westerman and James Krivchenia for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all of the other great podcasts in our network via 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 a pair of songwriters who come from different scenes but whose convergence sparked a longtime friendship and even some collaboration: David Wax and Will Oldham.David Wax is half the core of the band that bears his name, David Wax Museum—the other half is his wife and longtime musical partner Suz Slezak. The duo has been making records and touring the world for the past 15 years or so, largely independently and definitely marching to the beat of their own drummer. Their blend of Mexican-flavored folk and other traditional-sounding influences has been called “Mexo-Americana,” but that’s really just a starting place. It’s charming, engaging, and always searching. David Wax Museum’s latest album is called You Must Change Your Life, and it was inspired by both a health scare that Wax had recently and by their choice of producer, Dan Molad, who’s a member of Lucius, among other major accomplishments. Check out the title track from You Must Change Your Life right here.Perhaps you can hear how Wax might get along with today’s other guest, Will Oldham. Oldham is of course known as the songwriting genius behind Palace Music and Bonnie Prince Billy, and he’s been making timeless music since the early 1990s; his latest album is a collaboration with Bill Callahan called Blind Date Party. Oldham is also an actor, which is touched on in this conversation; you may have seen him in one of Kelly Reichardt’s movies, or in A Ghost Story which, if you haven’t seen it, please do, it’s amazing. In this conversation, Wax and Oldham talk about how they were able to connect at a folk festival. They talk about how Oldham exists sort of outside the machinery of the music business, and how that’s helped and occasionally hurt (but mostly helped). They touch on the rare songs that Oldham has licensed for film and TV, and David asks Will to come to he and Suz’s barn to play for a blindfolded audience. It’ll make sense when you hear it.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to David Wax and Will Oldham for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great written pieces we’ve got on 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 a pairing that’s a little bit outside our normal wheelhouse, but that touches on topics that we love to hit: Qveen Herby and Bunny Michael.Usually it’s easy to classify our guests by the main thing they do: musician, filmmaker, author. But both Qveen Herby and Bunny Michael do more than I can even reasonably tell you about in this intro: Each hosts a podcast, each has earned huge followings on social media, and each makes music. Herby started her career as part of the duo Karmin, as you’ll hear: Instant YouTube fame greeted their fun cover songs, and they ended up on Ellen and Saturday Night Live—and in what turned out to be a not-that-fun major-label deal. But Herby reinvented herself as a very 21st-century content creator, offering life advice on Instagram and via the House of Herby podcast, selling jewelry, and making funny, pointed hip-hop-indebted pop. Check out “Just Found Out” from Qveen Herby’s latest EP, The Muse.As you’ll hear, Qveen Herby and today’s other guest, Bunny Michael, didn’t know each other personally before this conversation, but their paths have been incredibly similar. Michael found their biggest boost of fame via earnest self-help memes as well as a popular podcast called XO Higher Self. They’re also a visual artist and activist, and they’ve got a book coming out next year via Little Brown called Hello Higher Self. And yes, Bunny Michael is also a musician. Check out the song “Oracle” right here.Like I said, these two didn’t know each other before this chat, but you can tell they’re going to be friends, as the old song goes. They talk about how to maintain boundaries with your own creativity, they talk about how your biggest song might be the one you’re most embarrassed by, and they talk about—horror—trying to put down your phone for a whole day. I don’t know if I could do it. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Qveen Herby and Bunny Michael for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the sweet goodness 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 the songwriters behind some of the most tuneful tunes in indie-rock, one with a couple of decades under his belt, the other two relatively newer to the game: A.C. Newman along with Liz Stokes and Jonathan Pearce.Stokes and Pearce are the core of the New Zealand band The Beths; she sings and plays guitar, he plays guitar and engineers their fabulous records. Their third and latest, Expert in a Dying Field, was one of 2022’s best—and you don’t have to take my word for it, it made tons of those best-of-the-year lists. Stokes is a fabulous lyricist and expressive singer; she’s one of those people whose semi-deadpan actually says quite a lot. The songs are melancholy and spunky, and sort of in the tradition of some great late-90s/early aughts indie-rock, like Superchunk or Rilo Kiley. Maybe it’s no surprise that some big bands that broke out in that era, like Death Cab for Cutie and The National, have taken the Beths out on tour. Check out the title track from Expert in a Dying Field right here, and catch the Beths on tour all over the world this summer.Another Beths admirer who got his start in the early aughts is A.C. Newman, who’s best known as the singer and chief songwriter for the New Pornographers. That Canadian band started out as a sort of supergroup consisting of Newman and Neko Case alongside Dan Bejar and John Collins of Destroyer, but over the years it has really become a vehicle for Newman’s incredibly melodic songs. The band is on tour now behind their ninth album, the slightly mellower though no less engaging Continue As A Guest, and yes, both the current live lineup and the record still feature Neko Case—in the past she’s had to split time with her vibrant solo career. Check out “Really Really Light,” from Continue as a Guest.In this conversation, Newman, Stokes, and Pearce—who were only admirers beforehand, not yet acquaintances—talk about the early days of these things called websites, blowing your life savings to go on tour, government arts grants that help bands do bigger things, and when doing it yourself just becomes too tough. Also, Newman gives some solid life and career advice: “Just do what you think is cool.” Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to A.C. Newman, Liz Stokes, and Jonathan Pearce for chatting. If you like what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and don’t forget to check out the other podcasts in our network, including Craig Finn’s That’s How I Remember It, How Long Gone, and Bjork’s Sonic Symbolism. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!