Kreative Kontrol
Thoughtful, funny, heartfelt interviews and in-depth documentaries about musicians, authors, comedians, and other cultural creators. Hosted by Vish Khanna, the show features conversations with a wide range of artists and thinkers. It is produced by Entertainment One (eOne) and distributed via Acast.
Episodes
Ep. #1110: G̱a̱mksimoon
Jeremy Pahl from G̱a̱mksimoon is here to discuss their debut album Gyiin Naxnox (Feeding the Supernatural), the Hartley Bay region of British Columbia where he and his community reside, his personal linguistic journey and keen interest in cultural and language perpetuation, entering death metal and folk music realms but finding both to be problematic or stifling in some way, getting into metal as
Ep. #1109: Converge
Jacob Bannon from Converge is here to discuss the band’s 2026 albums released to date, Love Is Not Enough and Hum of Hurt, the penchant for DIY workers to multi-task and take on various kinds of projects every day, the increasing demand for artists to execute all manner of album release-related and promotional tasks, his thoughts on the impact of artificial intelligence on visual art and design as
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Ep. #1108: Bellbird
Claire Devlin and Eli Davidovici from Bellbird are here for a springtime talk about their new album The Call, the McGill University music program, why so many musicians from British Columbia wind up in Montreal, their respective early interests in top 40 pop radio, mainstream and classic rock, and eventually jazz and free music, how improvisation can feel like freedom but also be quite frightening
Ep. #1107: Potions
Aidan McConnell, Ben Rositsan, Josh Sparks, and Steven Noronha from Potions are here to discuss the potions95 EP and their new album, Beebo, Make a Wish, being Toronto musicians, the Edmonton/Calgary rivalry, the good, the bad, and the fortuitous aspects of studying music at the University of Toronto, the Liverpool, England rock combo the Beatles and a band Potions is associated with called Ben Mi
Ep. #1106: Shabason & Krgovich
Nicholas Krgovich and Joseph Shabason are here to discuss the wonderful new Shabason & Krgovich record, Four Days in June, scary but also somehow fortuitous car trouble, their working and social history, how Dan Bejar and John Collins from Destroyer connected them, everyone loving Nick’s record On Sunset, writing observational lyrics about other people’s lives and how it’s harder to make frien
Ep. #1105: Hamilton Leithauser
Hamilton Leithauser returns to discuss growing up in D.C. and being influenced by bands on Dischord Records, working as recording engineer Don Zientara’s assistant at his Inner Ear studio while Fugazi was recording Red Medicine, recalling how Roy Orbison helped him find his singing voice, getting into home recording, having restraint and foresight as a one-man studio band, pondering the tenth anni
Ep. #1104: SUNN O)))
Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley from SUNN O))) are here to discuss their new self-titled album, American artists moving to Porto in Portugal, why they relate to author Robert Macfarlane’s vivid liner notes and his essay about being overwhelmed by a standing wave, reflecting upon our experiences at a memorial gathering for Steve Albini and what we learned about him, how this album’s producer Bra
Ep. #1103: Jon Spencer
Jon Spencer returns to discuss his new album Songs of Personal Loss and Protest, making the trek to play shows in Canadian cities like Edmonton, the uncertain status of Jon Spencer and the HITmakers, how his new trio featuring Kendall Wind and Macky Bowman came to be and whether or not this band will have a name, the comprehensive Jon Spencer fan site, Pop Catastrophe, what it’s like playing in a
Ep. #1102: Cola
Evan Cartwright, Tim Darcy, and Ben Stidworthy from Cola are here to discuss their new album Cost of Living Adjustment, the first Ought interview ever, why Ought ended when it did, group dynamic stressors and Buddhism, the way Cola work together, cool beats and whether or not Ben could be a music producer, delving particularly deeply into the songs “Hedgesitting” and “Much of a Muchness,” the band
Ep. #1101: Gina Gershon
Gina Gershon is here to discuss her new memoir, AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, creating the perfect breakfast cereal, how this new book came to fruition, similarities shared between cats and men, why some younger artists see a toughness in her they feel they can’t harness themselves, writing a reflective book about being an independent, somewhat unparented chil
Ep. #1100: The Creem
Mike Stroud and Nick Thorburn from the Creem are here to discuss their new album A Taste of Cherry, why Los Angeles may in fact be hell, standard items available at most Connecticut shopping complexes, their social and working history, Mike’s gifts as a producer of instrumentals and how that inspired Nick to write clever lyrics and vocal melodies very quickly, expressing joy and humour in your art
Ep. #1099: Glissandro 70
Craig Dunsmuir and Sandro Perri return to discuss Glissandro 70 and their new album G70 2: Bones Of Dundasa, getting emotionally attached to your neighbours who are cows, a table reading of this album’s promotional one-sheet, embracing your own creations after periods of self-doubt and reflection, Andy Magoffin’s playful humour and underrated songwriting genius in the Two-Minute Miracles, the key
Ep. #1098: Zoh Amba
Zoh Amba is here to discuss their astonishing new album Eyes Full, making their podcast debut and a recent hang with folk bitch trio, how they got into guitar, songwriting, and rock music, recurring lyrics about God, eyes, searching, and observational behaviour, why “Southern Soil” is such a key song for them in their Tennessee trajectory, the story behind their collaboration with Jim White and Gu
Ep. #1097: American Football
Steve Holmes and Steve Lamos from American Football are here to discuss American Football (LP4), the joys of marking final papers by the college students you teach, the story behind the alluring, unsettling drum part in “Man Overboard” and an appreciation for James Bond soundtrack songs, why Lamos left and returned to American Football in recent years, the factual aspects of LP4’s lyrical themes a
Ep. #1096: Marisa Anderson
Marisa Anderson returns to discuss her compelling new album, The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music Vol. 1, the joys of touring, responding to a Patreon subscriber’s inquiry about her new band Ruminants, exploring the Bob Dylan Center and immersing herself in the private record collection of the late, famed cultural collector/curator, Harry Smith, how she landed on recording her own three-album se
Ep. #1095: Holy Fuck
Brian Borcherdt, Matt Schulz, and Graham Walsh from Holy Fuck are here to discuss their new album Event Beat, moving back to Toronto and leaving New York City for Ohio, receiving noise complaints from studio neighbours because of the band Slayer, the growing trend of musicians not having access to isolated practice spaces, whether a hiatus ever placed the band’s future in doubt, making music for f
Ep. #1094: Jeff Miller
Jeff Miller is here to discuss his captivating debut novel, Temporary Palaces, living all over Canada and seeing an Edmonton Oilers hockey game in their championship heyday, our unexpected comedy connections, being inspired by bands like Shotmaker, Kepler, and Fugazi among others, hardcore punk rock lore and mythology, how Ottawa's punk community inspired him to participate generally and start wri
Ep. #1093: Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug returns to discuss his excellent new album, Same Fangs, local pigs under duress and songs inspired by animals, sharing early and in-progress versions of his new songs with his Patreon subscribers, philosophical notions of what songs actually are, parasocial interaction and the increased intimacy between creators and fans via crowdfunding sites, the ups and downs of Sunset Rubdown and
Ep. #1092: Weird Nightmare
Alex Edkins returns to discuss the new Weird Nightmare album Hoopla, leaving Toronto to live in his childhood hometown of Ottawa, how touring and work travel can be difficult for a husband and a father, why the Buzzcocks and the Replacements inspired this latest batch of songs, the time a broken up METZ played Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney at the host’s request and interacting with him and Co
Ep. #1091: Ray Bull
Tucker Elkins and Aaron Graham from Ray Bull are here to discuss their new album, Please Stop Laughing, loving New York, being reunited with your old furniture and coffee mugs after your roommate moves out, art school, high art, academia, and folk art, their efforts to create viral segments to draw people to their music, having eclectic musical interests and learning how to play music on some of t
Ep. #1090: Crooked Fingers
Eric Bachmann returns to discuss the wonderful new Crooked Fingers album, Swet Deth, his recent heart attack and an update on his health, the eerie nature of the lyrical themes and his son’s cover art for Swet Deth, working with featured guests like Sharon Van Etten and The National’s Matt Berninger, sentimentality and self-loathing, why this new album was almost two separate but similar records,
Ep. #1089: Raymond Biesinger
Raymond Biesinger returns to discuss 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off – An Informal Self-Defence Guide for Independent Creatives, what inspired him to write this book, his personal experiences with intellectual property and wage theft, distinctions between patented inventions and homage and emulation in artistic realms, the role A.I. plays in creative plagiarism, the scourge of uncredited work,
Vic Chesnutt (2007)
The first of two interviews I conducted with the late Vic Chesnutt took place over the telephone on Tuesday, September 4, 2007, at 3:00 PM ET. The occasion was the impending release of the majestic North Star Deserter, which was his first album on Constellation Records. It was co-produced by Jem Cohen and features contributions from Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, alon
Ep. #1088: Cadence Weapon / Rollie Pemberton
Rollie Pemberton, a.k.a. Cadence Weapon returns to discuss his new album Forager and his new book of socio-cultural criticism essays, Ways of Listening: Building a Deeper Relationship with Music in the Streaming Era, the parallels between his writing on his album and his book, his renewed interest in crate digging for records and thrifting for great clothes, resisting passive cultural consumption
Ep. #1087: Friko
David Fuller, Niko Kapetan, Bailey Minzenberger, and Korgan Robb from Friko are here to discuss their new album, Something Worth Waiting For, the state of Illinois and dystopian literature, bonding in a high school music theory class, loving noise-infused pop bands like Pavement, the Breeders, and, from Liverpool, England, the Beatles, inspiration from local bands like Smut and the Felix Culpa, th
Ep. #1086: The Sadies & Billy Ray
Mike Belitsky and Travis Good from the Sadies and Dave ‘Billy Ray’ Koster are here to discuss Live at 6 O’Clock by Gord Downie, The Sadies, and the Conquering Sun, Billy’s long and all-encompassing tenure in the working lives of Downie and the Tragically Hip as a technical director and confidante, how the Sadies and Downie connected and why he was so fond of playing with them, a look back at Downi
Ep. #1085: Richard Reed Parry
Richard Reed Parry returns to discuss Were “The Watchtowers” by Dallas Good + Richard Reed Parry, his Skybarn recording studio, being a new dad and adjusting to life off the road, how he first got to know Dallas after they were randomly chosen to participate in a Dawson City Music Festival collaborative workshop, a shared love of the Everly Brothers and other key artists and records, instant frien
Ep. #1084: Janel Leppin
Janel Leppin returns to discuss her new solo album Slowly Melting and Pluto in Aquarius by Janel Leppin's Ensemble Volcanic Ash, her ability to compartmentalize her visual art impulses from her musical ones, why she frequently releases more than one album on the same day, how Susan Alcorn and David Lynch remain constant inspirations, an eye-opening Mdou Moctar tour, making protest jazz music in a
Ep. #1083: Rheostatics
Dave Bidini and Dave Clark from Rheostatics are here to discuss The Great Lakes Suite, politics and tensions between the U.S.A. and Canada, contemporary protest music, what prompted this album’s concept and improvisational approach, featured contributions by Alex Lifeson from Rush, Kevin Hearn, Hugh Marsh, Tanya Tagaq, Laurie Anderson, Chief Stacey LaForme, Anne Carson, Liz Howard, Kendel Carson,
Ep. #1082: Joe Pernice
Joe Pernice is here to discuss his excellent new album, Sunny, I Was Wrong, living in frigid Canada as a well-informed American, his obsession with bicycles and riding bikes, his close friendship with music writer Warren Zanes who penned lovely liner notes for this new record, being a dad and coaching baseball with some encouragement from Buck 65, writing music again after a substantial break and
Ep. #1081: The New Pornographers
A.C. Newman returns to discuss The Former Site Of by the New Pornographers, life in New York State, playing more mandolin in his home recording studio, R.E.M. snobbery, not knowing about a nearby Dry Cleaning show, and understanding fans who come and go, songs about grieving and newfound flower expertise and songs people misunderstand, spirituality and social media, how the song “Calligraphy” refe
Bill Callahan (2011)
My first interview with Bill Callahan took place over the telephone on March 31, 2011, ahead of the April 19 release of his album, Apocalypse. The interview was conducted for and broadcast on the Mich Vish Interracial Morning Show! on May 4, 2011, and also for a print magazine profile. Bill and I bonded over our shared love of The Larry Sanders Show among other things, which you can hear now. As u
Ep. #1080: Charlotte Cornfield
Charlotte Cornfield returns to discuss her new album Hurts Like Hell, living in Toronto after stints in Montreal and New York, how becoming a mother has altered her sense of self and her artistic perspective, notions of connection, teaching, and learning, how Lucinda Williams’ memoir impacted her relationship to narrative realities, talking about Neil Young, Zuma, and Tonight’s the Night, who the
Ep. #1079: MEMORIALS
Verity Susman and Matthew Simms from MEMORIALS are here to discuss their new album All Clouds Bring Not Rain, the confusing measurement units different countries use to track distances, the roles their respective fathers played in inspiring them to explore music, telling me what a boffin is, working on film scores and soundtracks, a helpful boost from Stereolab, the significance of the Susan Sonta
Ep. #1078: Geologist
Brian Weitz is here to discuss the solo debut by Geologist, Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights?, his previous academic and vocational pursuits in environmental and ocean policy on Capitol Hill, how his interest in playing the hurdy gurdy led him to Ben Grossman, Guelph, Ontario, and my inbox a few years ago, why a Keiji Haino show at the New York City club Tonic made a huge impression on him as a un
Ep. #1077: Jason P. Woodbury
Jason P. Woodbury returns to discuss the new, self-titled album by Jason P. Woodbury & The Night Bird Singing Quartet, why he shifted from releasing records as JPW to his current band name and who’s part of the NBSQ, working to overcome self-consciousness about making music under his own name as an active music journalist, his fascination with birdsongs and rogue roosters, using your imaginati
Ep. #1076: Morgan Nagler
Morgan Nagler is here to discuss her long-awaited debut solo album, I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It, her connection to nature, compiling songs she wrote during a long relationship that she realized predicted the end of that relationship, fuelling up with grassoline, a deep bond she has formed with Kim Deal after Deal suggested they write songs together, her prolific child acting career
Ep. #1075: Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell is here to discuss his new sextet record, In My Dreams, the different American and European cities he has lived in over the years and how they might inform his musical practice, his 75th birthday and the March 2026 tour dates that mark the occasion, a dream about music and its possibilities that he had 30 years ago and is still processing, the lessons mistakes teach us, how film noir
Ep. #1074: Status/Non-Status
Adam Sturgeon returns to discuss the new Status/Non-Status album, Big Changes, living in London, Ontario as it struggles through volatile and difficult socio-political conditions under late-stage capitalism, being a homebody and making music that your neighbours aren’t always into, lyrical themes and the sound of this new album, loving Eric’s Trip and collaborating with Julie Doiron, other guest c
Ep. #1073: Gregory Uhlmann
Gregory Uhlmann is here to discuss his lovely solo debut album, Extra Stars, the lives he’s led in Los Angeles and Chicago, what it was like to be a student at CalArts, getting into blues and jazz music and music making thanks especially to his dad and his brother Evan, being a big Hanson and Backstreet Boys fan at one point, key venues from the past and present that fostered his musical communiti
Ep. #1072: Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco returns to discuss her new book, The Spirit of Ani: Reflections on Spirituality, Feminism, Music & Freedom, her involvement in establishing the Buffalo, New York arts hub known as Babeville, which is where I last saw Shellac play a show, why Buffalo was fertile ground for an aspiring musician, what prompted her to write this book with Lauren Coyle Rosen, the evolution of her posit
Ep. #1071: Buck 65
Buck 65 makes a rare reappearance to discuss his excellent new album, Do Not Bend, musical brevity, Joe Pernice inspiring him to start an insightful Substack, writing jokes and stories that wind up as rhymes, befriending the late great Biz Markie and hanging out backstage at a Beastie Boys show, meeting Lou Reed but being low key about their creative kinship, acquiring the four-track he once used
Ep. #1070: Buck Meek
Buck Meek is here for a talk about his charming, confessional new album, The Mirror, coming up in Wimberley, Texas and people’s misconceptions of the Lone Star State, the vibrancy of transient college towns, how his grandmother’s death and caring for his grandfather galvanized his family and inspired aspects of The Mirror, writing songs about communication, teaching, language, speech, parenting, a
Ep. #1069: The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
Brendan Canty, Joe Lally, James Brandon Lewis, and Anthony Pirog return for a Valentine’s Day discussion about Deface the Currency, the excellent new album by The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, what led them into a studio with engineer Don Godwin fresh off of some tour dates, the noisier, aggressive aspects of this record, social currency and community-building in music, the significance of
Ep. #1068: Sahan Jayasuriya on ‘Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen’
Sahan Jayasuriya is here to discuss his book, Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen, loving living in Milwaukee, benefitting from the reverence that artists like Beastie Boys and Nirvana exhibited for their own influences and favourite musicians, discovering that people like Neko Case, Matt Sweeney, Dave Grohl, and David Pajo all love Die Kreuzen as he was writing a book about them, wh
All Things Konsidered: The Beatles Anthology
During Family Day in Canada, my wife and kids and I gathered around our kitchen table to discuss our shared experience watching all nine episodes of The Beatles Anthology documentary series. Please enjoy two parents and their 14- and 11-year-old children reflecting upon what we learned and liked about the Beatles, including who loves John, Paul, George, and Ringo the most. One correction: contrary
Ep. #1067: The Paranoid Style
Elizabeth Nelson returns to discuss the Paranoid Style and their new album, Known Associates, life near Washington D.C., a recap of our recent discussion about the Replacements’ Let It Be reissue, a brief overview of American paranoia, her penchant for wordy lyrics and how that impacts her as a singer, some of her favourite sincerely humorous songwriters, Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” and Bob D
Ep. #1066: Michael Longfellow
Michael Longfellow is here to discuss life as a lazy student and his creative writing academic pursuits, how and why he got into comedy and music as a kid, growing up with different step-parents and step-siblings and what his kinfolk think about him making jokes about them specifically, why he’s uncomfortable being compared to Norm Macdonald but why he reminded me of Norm when he was on Saturday N
Ep. #1065: Brian Raftery on 'Hannibal Lecter: A Life'
Brian Raftery is here to discuss his excellent new book, Hannibal Lecter: A Life, the Burbank Burger King from Back to the Future, what exactly prompted him to explore the origin story and pervasiveness of Hannibal Lecter, his mysterious and seldom-interviewed creator, the best-selling author Thomas Harris, why people love fictitious and apparently also real-life antiheroes, a rundown of the histo
Ep. #1064: Aquakultre
Lance Sampson from Aquakultre returns to discuss his new album 1783, the time I saw him request and receive chicken wings while performing on-stage and why his friends and family often engage in their own version of Hot Ones, how his research about the history of African Nova Scotia or Black Nova Scotia led him to write songs, why he engaged in this research initially and what he learned about his
Ep. #1063: Ratboys
Julia Steiner from Ratboys returns to discuss their new album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, processing the death of comedy legend Catherine O’Hara, writing songs inspired by her first experiences in therapy, working with producer Chris Walla and songs that combine session work at a rented cabin with those recorded at Electrical Audio, Steve Albini’s drum sound, anxiety, dogs, and Indiana Jones, our
Ep. #1062: ER Jurken
ER Jurken returns to discuss his wonderful new album, To Be Continued, topical and timeless songwriting, political satire and comedy on late night tv talk shows, the band Wilco playing Ed’s song “Let Go the Coat” through the P.A. at their shows after they’ve left the stage, getting over a prolonged bout of writers’ block, why several of his new songs invoke travelling, key inspirations like Neil Y
Ep. #1061: Pelican
Trevor Shelley de Brauw from Pelican is here to discuss the band’s album, Flickering Resonance, our history of working together because of his role in music publicity, the city of Chicago’s music dynamism, a brief foray into North Carolina farming, how guitar teachers underestimate Ramones songs, seeing significant shows at Fireside Bowl as a teenager, the antagonistic antics of Tusk, where Pelica
Ep. #1060: Motherhood
Brydon Crain, Adam Sipkema, and Penelope Stevens from Motherhood are here to discuss their January 2026 shows in the Canadian Prairies, their latest album Thunder Perfect Mind, university courses, music school, and religious studies, spiritual and musical communities, Penny’s time in Vietnam and observations about communism, the story of Motherhood, how I think my son is trying to be better at lif
Ep. #1059: Hiss Golden Messenger
MC Taylor from Hiss Golden Messenger is here to discuss life in Durham, North Carolina and the time he spent in San Francisco, California, the Grateful Dead and Dead Kennedys, why he was so fascinated by the American South, he decided to move there 20 years ago, his love for the Band and the motifs in their music, if his academic background in American studies, folklore, and history offers him muc
Ep. #1058: Paul Myers on ‘John Candy: A Life in Comedy’
Paul Myers is here to discuss his new book, John Candy: A Life in Comedy, how the actor and producer Ryan Reynolds helped him get from a Boston event about the documentary, John Candy: I Like Me, to an Edmonton book event within 24 hours and in style, the fortuitous connection between the documentary and the book, which were made independent of one another but released around the same time, a Myer
Ep. #1057: cub
Lisa G and Lisa Marr from cub are here to discuss the 30th anniversary vinyl edition of Come Out Come Out, the significant year in culture that was 1995, being pegged as “cuddlecore” in a time where labels and preconceptions were being shaken off on the regular, not identifying as men in a predominantly male underground music community and how some fans treated cub, vinyl records and the pros and
Ep. #1056: ‘Plenty for All: The Art of Rick Fröberg’ with Sohrab Habibion & Johnny Temple
Sohrab Habibion and Johnny Temple are here to discuss the book, Plenty for All: The Art of Rick Fröberg, how they each met and got to know Rick and how this book came to be, the role the late Rich Jacobs played in this project, how this book and the zine that’s part of the deluxe edition might surprise Rick’s fans, the story of Akashic Books and why Sohrab thought it was the perfect home for Rick’
Ep. #1055: Pullman
Chris Brokaw, Ken “Bundy K.” Brown, Curtis Harvey, and Doug McCombs are here to discuss III, the first album by Pullman in 25 years, what inspired Pullman to explore acoustic guitar sounds in the late 1990s, the positive but also harsh critical reception their first two albums, 1998’s Turnstyles & Junkpiles and 2001’s Viewfinder received, how Tim Barnes joined Pullman and also his ro
Ep. #1054: Mark Medley
Mark Medley is here to discuss his remarkable new book, Live to See the Day - Impossible Goals, Unimaginable Futures, and the Pursuit of Things That May Never Be, our experiences at writers’ festivals, questions I have about how book publicity works and whether or not some publishers promote their authors and books, what inspired him to write this 10-chapter book of case studies about people who k
Ep. #1053: Mint Mile
Tim Midyett from Mint Mile returns to discuss andwhichstray, what recent Silkworm reunion shows have been like, the throughlines between songs he wrote in that band about mortality, connection, and community and his most recent Mint Mile material, how fortune enabled him to make one more record with his late friend Steve Albini, who engineered andwhichstray in France during the second last recordi
All Things Konsidered: The Best Albums of 2025
My son, who is 14, and I discuss our top 10 albums of 2025, along with several honourable mentions. Each of us mostly highlighted records the other wasn’t all that familiar with, and other members of our family make background or brief appearances on this episode as well. All in all, these are some eclectic lists, so we hope our music recommendations help you in some way!Featuring music produced b
Ep. #1052: Sleepytime Trio
Dave NeSmith and Drew Ringo from Sleepytime Trio are here to discuss Memory Minus Plus Minus, their current music community involvement, the Guelph house show they played and the ice cream tricycle Drew rode around on that day, the significance of bands like Hoover, Shotmaker, Fugazi, Slint, and Drive Like Jehu, making hip-hop music and getting into shoegaze, why kids can’t be blamed for the techn
Ep. #1051: Friendly Rich
Friendly Rich returns to discuss his latest album, The Birds of Marsville, his Brampton, Ontario pride, completing his PhD in music education and becoming a doctor, what having a giant beard might mean, playing the artistic and comedic long game, learning more about Marsville, the eighteenth-century researcher C. Smalloochi, and the orchestrion’s capabilities as a musical instrument, getting into
Ep. #1050: Jimmie Kilpatrick
Jimmie Kilpatrick returns to discuss his excellent album Jimmie, the heartening experience of living in Manitoba, Canada these days and concentrating on his community, why he retired his Shotgun Jimmie name, bringing his sound sculpture work into his indie-rock aesthetic, collaborating with Ladyhawk’s Ryan Peters and messing around with tape loops, making subversive pop music, numerous lyrical ref
Ep. #1049: Rebecca Foon and Aliayta Foon-Dancoes
Rebecca Foon and Aliayta Foon-Dancoes are here to discuss their debut album, Reverie, studying at Princeton, their family dynamic and their respective early forays in classical music, how much formal music education can inform improvisation and punk rock, Rebecca’s work on the Lost River Music Festival and the Pathway to Paris initiative, how their feelings about the ecological inspiration behind
Nomeansno (2011)
On a recent Kreative Kontrol episode, Mark Molnar mentioned his fondness for a radio interview I once conducted with Tom Holliston, John Wright, and Rob Wright from Canada’s greatest band, Nomeansno. And so, here’s that interview, which occurred over breakfast at the By the Way Café in Toronto, Ontario on April 5, 2011. It’s one of my most cherished work life experiences, so thank you again to Nom
Ep. #1048: Mark Molnar
Mark Molnar is here to discuss his new album EXO, being made to take classical music lessons at three years old over pursuing sports, key figures in his life who exposed him to music, musicians, and ways to approach your musical instrument, the death of arts funding and risk aversion in the cultural sector, his engagement with my music journalism and a breakfast interview I once did with Nomeansno
Ep. #1047: Lonnie Holley
Lonnie Holley is here to discuss his 2025 album Tonky, his view of and appreciation for Canada, the role the country played for African-American slaves and the evolution of terms ascribed to Black people in America, growing up in juke joints, whiskey houses, and slave camps in Alabama in the 1950s, his interest in salvaging objects to make art, his observations about historical cycles, his song “P
Buck 65 on Bike For Three! (2009)
Sometime this past November, a Patreon subscriber named Brian asked me if I might have any older interviews with Buck 65 in my archives. So, I took a look and sure enough, I do, including a 2009 talk about his Bike For Three! collaboration with Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê. Then, on December 4, 2025, Mr. 65 released a Deluxe Edition of More Heart Than Brains, which was the debut record by Bike For Three!
Ep. #1046: Jim White and Guy Picciotto
Jim White and Guy Picciotto return to discuss Jim’s new album Inner Day, the beginning of New York City’s Zohran Mamdani era, Jim’s recent shows with Ed Kuepper, Jim’s decision to write lyrics and sing them, his relationship with words and their power, Jim briefly singing on a Hard Quartet song, my favourite song of the year, “I Don’t Do / Grand Central” and how this collaboration with Zoh Amba ca
Ep. #1045: The Beths
Elizabeth Stokes and Jonathan Pearce from the Beths are back to discuss their new album, Straight Line Was a Lie, NBA basketball, cricket, and baseball, overcoming writer’s block by reading a book by Stephen King, Liz’s health challenges and her current state of mind, how Jonathan and his bandmates have supported and worked with her in recent years, a helpful typewriter, accepting that people chan
Ep. #1044: Steve Albini (2008)
On Saturday, November 29, 2025, the annual Letters to Santa Holiday Gala is taking place at the Chop Shop in Chicago. This year’s event is headlined by Fred Armisen and Jeff Tweedy and if you can’t make it to Chicago, you can learn how to livestream it and donate money to this remarkable and life-affirming and live-saving poverty alleviation initiative at letterscharity.org.People who are familiar
Ep. #1043: Hélène Barbier
Hélène Barbier is here to discuss her excellent new record Panorama, difficulties an untrained musician might have playing music publicly in France compared to Montreal, being drawn to the low notes, imposter syndrome and loving low-key rock stars, being something of a homebody, dealing with a health diagnosis with some measure of humour, avoiding pigeonholing yourself in the press, writing songs
Ep. #1042: Liam Kazar
Liam Kazar is here to discuss his lovely new album Pilot Light, parts of Canada, living in Brooklyn but missing Chicago, being in Jeff Tweedy’s solo band and working on his recent triple album, Twilight Override, performing on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert so soon after its impending cancellation announcement, constantly touring with Jeff, Waxahatchee, Sam Evian, Kevin Morby, and on his own,
All Things Konsidered: JID, Sloan, Julianna Riolino, Live shows
My son, who is 14, and I have been to a couple of shows together recently, including taking a trip to Vancouver to see JID and more recently, a drive to nearby Sherwood Park to see Sloan, just ahead of us heading to the Aviary in Edmonton to see Julianna Riolino on November 23. And so, we decided to record a pod about these experiences and people, and ponder what it means to see live music togethe
Ep. #1041: Ryan Davis
Ryan Davis is here to discuss the new Roadhouse Band double-album, New Threats From the Soul, Indiana/Kentucky cultural and college sport rivalries, his parents’ musical interests and what led him, as a boy, to write songs for Michael Jackson and mail them to him to sing, pondering songs as puzzle pieces on his albums, Will Oldham and musical multiverses, his penchant to reference pop culture in h
Patreon Subscriber Drive 2025! Target: 700 Subs!
We did something like this successfully last year, and we’re doing it again: it’s the 2025 Kreative Kontrol Patreon subscriber drive! From November 21 to 28, we’re aiming to reach 700 paid Patreon subscribers and we can do this! Also, a new gift will be announced daily and awarded via random draws among eligible paid subs!I will publicly announce each drive day’s prize pack in the morning on my Pa
Ep. #1040: The Replacements' 'Let It Be (Deluxe Edition)' with Peter Jesperson, Jason Jones & Elizabeth Nelson
Peter Jesperson, Jason Jones, and Elizabeth Nelson are here to discuss their work on Let It Be (Deluxe Edition) by the Replacements, Peter’s fondness for Elizabeth’s writing and her excellent liner notes for this edition, Bob Mehr’s decision to step away from the Replacements reissue campaign for now and its impact on this project, the ‘Mats’ penchant for cover songs, what this might signify, and
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