That's How I Remember It

Emily Haines is my guest on this week’s That's How I Remember It. Emily is the lead singer and a songwriter in Canadian rock band Metric who have a 20 year career and recently released their powerful new record Formentera. She’s also released solo music as Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton. We talked about writing love songs to friends, searching for a past version of NYC, working out your problems in a song, the '90s, the very many ways you can have your heart broken in modern times, being in a band for two decades, and her performance with Broken Social Scene at Lollapalooza 2006. Huge thanks to Emily for joining, it was a lot of fun and I hope you’ll listen and subscribe.

Allison Moorer is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It, and it’s a great one. Allison is a wildly accomplished singer, songwriter, producer, and author. Beginning her recording career in 1997, she has released 10 albums. In 2019, she published her first memoir, Blood, about her early years and family. Earlier this year, she released her second book, I Dream He Talks to Me, as well as an EP of music she recorded with her son John Henry. We talked about all of this, as well as: memory as a defense mechanism, hiding from life in art, the honesty that shows up in details, and her desire to learn the cello. Huge thanks to Allison for joining us. Please listen and subscribe — we’ve got more great guests ahead on That’s How I Remember It.

John Darnielle is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It. John has been making brilliant music as The Mountain Goats since 1991. Originally a solo lo-fi bedroom project, TMG has grown into a lush rock & roll juggernaut. John has also written four great novels, the most recent being Devil House, which we talked about here. We also talked about activated charcoal, local crime obsession, consciousness of sin, and whether the amazing new Mountain Goats record Bleed Out is their Age of Quarrel. Huge thanks to John for bringing a great conversation here. Listen, subscribe, and stay tuned for more awesome guests on That’s How I Remember It.

Nick Lowe is my guest on this week's That’s How I Remember It. I am thrilled to have one of the all-time great rock & roll songwriters and performers on the show. We talked about the lasting power of “Peace, Love & Understanding,” the way Brinsley Schwarz’s letdown at the Fillmore East may have eventually led to punk rock, touring with Thin Lizzy, “The Bloke” that visits him with songwriting ideas, and the sublime elegance of his later records. It was an incredible honor and joy to spend this time with Nick. Tune in, listen, and subscribe. There are a lot of great guests coming up on That’s How I Remember It.

My guest on this week's That's How I Remember It is Edward “Eddy” Kitsis, who has had a fantastic career as a writer and producer of TV and film. Alongside his partner Adam Horowitz, he has written for television shows like Lost, Popular, Felicity, and more. Eddy and Adam also created and produced Once Upon a Time, which ran for seven successful seasons on ABC, and wrote the screenplay for Tron: Legacy. More recently, Eddy and Adam worked with Steven Spielberg on Amazing Stories for Apple TV. But here’s the twist: Eddy has also been my best friend since 8th grade. We get into the way his memories show up in scripts, how his experience seeing the first Tron in the theater affected the writing on the sequel, Easter candy writing metaphors, the influence of older siblings, '80s concerts, and the mystery of our differing recollections of a Thelonious Monster show from 1994. A huge thanks to Eddy for joining us, this was a really fun episode. Please listen and subscribe, as we have more amazing guests coming up in the next few weeks.

Fred Armisen is this week’s guest on That’s How I Remember It. Fred has accomplished a ton in comedy, TV, and film as a cast member of SNL and creator of shows like Portlandia, Los Espookys, and more. But the story seems to start back when he was the drummer in the band Trenchmouth. We talked here about touring in the '90s, and how that banked a world of memories that he mined to help create his amazing TV series Portlandia. We also spoke about sense memories, early MTV, Tito Puente, the period of his life between Trenchmouth and joining the cast of SNL, and discovering new things about his family history as an adult. Then we tried to figure out why the audience nervously laughs at whatever a lead singer says at a rock show. Such a joy to spend this time with Fred. Please listen and subscribe, and stay tuned for more amazing guests on That’s How I Remember It. 

On the second episode of That’s How I Remember It, I talked with Brian Koppelman. Alongside his partner David Levien, Brian has created the television shows Billions and Super Pumped, as well as written movies like Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen, Solitary Man, and more. We talked about his great memory for dialogue, the films that made him feel like he could be a writer, the way the language in poker rooms inspired his writing, how misheard lyrics can persevere, albums we both listened to on the day they came out, his take on legacy, and much much more. A huge thanks to Brian for joining me and being so great at this. Look for more episodes of That’s How I Remember It in the coming weeks, and don’t forget to subscribe. 

For the first episode of That’s How I Remember It, I spoke to Patterson Hood, one of my all-time favorite songwriters. Patterson’s work with the Drive-By Truckers has examined life in the Southern USA and beyond, lyrically tearing down old monuments while constructing new ones to more worthy recipients. We talked about turning memories into mythology, honoring deceased friends, and how his classic song "18 Wheels of Love" might be built on a shaky foundation. We also reminisce a bit on the Drive-By Truckers/The Hold Steady “Rock and Roll Means Well” Tour from 2008. Huge thanks to Patterson for being my first guest. I’ll be talking to Brian Koppelman, Fred Armisen, and other great guests in weeks to come, so please subscribe and keep listening to That’s How I Remember It. 

Hosted by Craig Finn, That’s How I Remember It is a podcast that examines the connection between memory and creativity.