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. #1144: Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson returns to discuss Hippies, Thugs and Heroes, making things work with his current music collaborators, including his grandson, inheriting talent and genetic predispositions, being a creative conduit, the fulfillment he gets from teaching at his annual Frets and Refrains songwriting and guitar camp near Woodstock, NY, observations about how music students learn to play via the inte
Ep. #1143: Lex Walton
Lex Walton is here to discuss ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER, being displaced by an apartment fire and rescuing her damaged, beloved Matsumoku guitar, a cleansing post-disaster reset, figuring out her singing voice generally and after transitioning, why the vocal registers of singers like John Maus, Nico, and Ezra Furman resonate with her, pondering righteous violence in the U.S.A., how she got into music
Ep. #1142: Imperial Teen
Will Schwartz and Jone Stebbins from Imperial Teen are here to discuss All Over You, the difference between California and Nevada, Will’s time at Beverly Hills High School where he was friends with Monica Lewinsky and familiar with another student who’s still serving time for an infamous murder, Jone’s Fat Mike from NOFX connection, how Imperial Teen first became friends and are writing songs toge
Ep. #1141: Teenage Fanclub
Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub is here to discuss Do Not Dare to Dream, being back in Scotland after living in Canada where we first met backstage at a Neil Young with Crazy Horse show in Kitchener, Ontario, Teenage Fanclub’s rotating line-up and why he and Raymond McGinley are the sole remaining original members, how Don Fleming urged them to harmonize, the new record’s vaguely prog or psyched
Ep. #1140: BASIC
Chris Forsyth and Douglas McCombs from BASIC are here to discuss their new, self-titled album, how they first met and bonded over the iconic band Television, Chris receiving guitar lessons from Television’s Richard Lloyd and Doug interactions with the band’s Tom Verlaine, the social import of a good Chicago breakfast or brunch, the significance of the 1984 Robert Quine/Fred Maher album Basic, when
Ep. #1139: Giles Martin
Giles Martin is here to discuss his work with the Beatles and the new deluxe reissue of their 1965 album, Rubber Soul, challenges and surprises he encountered delving into the original session tapes and his unique temporal mindset to mixing a sixty-year-old album, how the emotional tenor of a song can influence his technical approach, his history remixing Beatles music including Revolver and Sgt,
Ep. #1138: Rick White and Julie Doiron
Rick White and Julie Doiron are here to discuss Together, Julie performing an Eric’s Trip song with Status/Non-Status at Sappyfest, how Rick works on songs for people like the Sadies and why he wrote an eclectic record for Julie and him to sing on together, his retirement from music and why he returned, how losing friends like Dallas Good and Gord Downie might prompt them to work with each other a
Ep. #1137: Protomartyr
Joe Casey from Protomartyr returns to discuss Hotel Usona, raising a family who enjoy visiting the zoo, how having a child can focus one’s once random anger at the world in hopes that things might improve in the future, the United States of North America and my perception of Joe’s obsession with Alberta, Canada, how transient hotels and 1950s exotica inform this new record, nostalgia for a phonier
Ep. #1136: Quicksand
Walter Schreifels from Quicksand returns to discuss ‘Bring on the Psychics,’ his recording studio in upstate New York, making a relatively short album and musical urgency, reflecting upon the foundational aspects of punk and hardcore in his life, a gorgeous new Quicksand song called “Days You Run To,” his dynamic and extremely powerful singing voice, timeless band names like Youth of Today and Min
Ep. #1135: Jake Xerxes Fussell
Jake Xerxes Fussell returns to discuss his new album, The Old Beloved Path, us meeting up at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival just moments before I took my daughter to see AC/DC, Jake’s limited experiences at big shows beyond Bob Dylan’s and a band he’d love to see one day, a lengthy discussion about “Rock Island Line” and The Compleat Beatles, contemplating aging and transience, the historical im
Ep. #1134: Michael Cloud Duguay and Andrew MacKelvie
Michael Cloud Duguay and Andrew MacKelvie are here to discuss Kingdom Come, Kingdom Go, the many Canadian provinces and territories involved in them meeting and connecting musically, driving Jake Nicoll’s solar powered mobile recording studio all around Newfoundland to capture the sounds of seven church organs, improvising and composing on woodwinds and other instrumentation at the same church ses
Ep. #1133: CG Tears
Morgan Greenwood, Clinton St. John, and Chad VanGaalen are here to discuss their new self-titled album as CG Tears, a Nina Nastasia and Silkworm show I should’ve attended, the story behind the band’s name and its formation, the time Chad misunderstood the assignment, Clint’s improvisational approach to writing lyrics and singing them and Morgan’s unique ability to organize songs, musical loops and
Ep. #1132: Jon Mckiel and Jay Crocker
Jon Mckiel and Jay Crocker are here to discuss Gold Horatio, how living in the same town has impacted their musical collaboration, why someone like Jon may possess the “Amherst strut,” how Jay is managing without regular "beach time," why the Shakespearean character Horatio is invoked here, exactly how Jon and Jay work together and who did what on this album, pondering existentialism, theology, re
Ep. #1131: The Tubs
Owen Williams from the Tubs returns to discuss Hard Life, university vs. college and miles vs. kilometres, ideal recording situations, why this new album contains three narrators who all might be him, intriguing instrumental ideas, great songwriting in Ramones and the Magnetic Fields, heaven and hell, suicide, and survivor’s guilt, raising a family, writing even newer songs, touring a lot, other f
Ep. #1130: Chat Pile
Ray B. from Chat Pile is here to discuss their raging new album Who Loves the Sun, climate change denial and the links between socio-political apathy and fear, despondency about falling literacy rates and our addictive dependence on our telephones, missing cultural community hubs like video stores and libraries, how artificial intelligence is hunting down our humanity, pondering Pantera and John F
Ep. #1129: Larry Hardy and Henry Rollins on The Cramps
Larry Hardy and Henry Rollins are here to discuss their work on Gravest Gravy by the Cramps, how they first heard of and met each other, Larry seeing Henry’s first show with Black Flag and Henry being impressed that Larry released Kim Salmon’s music on In the Red, how they each first encountered the Cramps, the band’s stylistic and cultural impact, how Larry came upon a mixed but unreleased Cramps
Ep. #1128: Michael Balazo
Michael Balazo is here to discuss Pizza Pals, living in Toronto’s ascendant Danny neighbourhood, Croatia and when the World Cup descended upon his city, how he encountered and fell in love with comedian Sooz Kempner, the Rolling Stones playing in Oshawa, SNL vs. SNL UK, the state of standup and how some of its most popular figures haven fallen off, his work on the Evil Men and Long Distance, Bit W
Ep. #1127: Black Duck and Elena Setién
Elena Setién and Black Duck’s Bill MacKay and Douglas McCombs are here to discuss their self-titled debut album, their history as collaborators, Douglas’ recent travels with Tortoise, BASIC, and Yr Knives, the role improvisation and composition plays in their respective and collaborative work, the significance of musical intuition and listening, why Elena was keen to learn more about Native Americ
Ep. #1126: James Hartnett
James Hartnett is here to discuss It’s Not Looking Good, making it on Broadway (Orangeville), his funny family, his hilarious podcasts, including Evil Men, being shy but playing the character of James Hartnett, voice acting and how philosophy studies may bolster a comedian’s work, how fractured cultural consumption can impact a stand-up set, comedy malaise, a celebration of Chris Locke, World Cup
Ep. #1125: Kiwi Jr.
Jeremy Gaudet and Brian Murphy from Kiwi Jr. return to discuss Blowin’ Up, wondering if your dog Angus is related to another dog you saw on the street, missing PEI occasionally and the time a lobster in PEI grabbed my foot, pondering partying and upping the lyrical danger and tension, the current hype around guitar bands like Geese and Angine de Poitrine, making albums differently than Kiwi usuall
Ep. #1124: Lambchop
Kurt Wagner from Lambchop is here to discuss Punching the Clown, not working from home, his close collaborators Ryan Olson and Andrew Broder and the inclusion of drops, producer tags, and dramatic, powerful choral singers, which might surprise some listeners and why surprises are a great thing, why he appreciates happenstance noises and thoughts making it onto his recordings, what prompted his rec
Ep. #1123: Dead Best
Adam Goren and Brian Sokel from Dead Best are back to discuss GOD: Out of Order, the recent episode I did with !franklin and that band’s status, how Dead Best have evolved as a recording and live music concern, playing music with your kids and why so many young people seem to be so darn good at their instruments now days, thinking about Public Image Ltd., Pailhead, and Lard, a good Nine Inch Nails
Ep. #1122: Squirrel Flower
Ella Williams from Squirrel Flower is here to discuss Say a Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going, not having a real home, living in many different cities, and the joys of transience, when relationships are complicated by the city of Cleveland, which can be depicted in song or on the comedic TV show 30 Rock, playing a show where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, when ghosts steal your CDs, finding mus
Ep. #1121: Born at Midnite
David Carriere and Amery Sandford from Born at Midnite are here to discuss Eternal BAM Nation, the illustration Amery drew as part of a live taping of my talk show in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the Montreal music industry event that TOPS was playing when David and I first met, the education and very good times that Amery had learning about letter press poster making at Hatch Show Print in Nashville
Ep. #1120: Mariel Buckley
Mariel Buckley is here to discuss her album Strange Trip Ahead, her busy summer festival circuit, what winning the 2026 Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in Canada has meant to her, how some folks miss the humour in her emotional, personal songwriting, her fondness for Calgary but also why she wound up night writing songs in Edmonton, her musical family, being a huge fan of Gord
Ep. #1119: CEREMONY
Anthony Anzaldo and Ross Farrar from CEREMONY are here to discuss Tell Me About Your Dream, moving around California, befriending each other in elementary school, hair restoration and people who suggest ideas to you about your hair, the Bay Area hip-hop, hardcore, and punk communities, how addressing politics in music might evolve as you do, logic, feelings, power, and entitlement in modern life,
Ep. #1118: Don Pyle
Don Pyle returns to discuss his lovely new memoir, Rough Description: Love Letters and Ghost Stories from a Life in Music, summers in Toronto, why he wrote this deeply personal book of reflections, recollections, and remembrances, what we learn about departed friends like Reid Diamond, Dallas Good, and Steve Albini, thriving in spite of a difficult childhood and a mother in emotional duress, kinsh
Ep. #1117: Horse Lords
Andrew Bernstein and Max Eilbacher from Horse Lords are here to discuss their new album Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!, excellent Indian food in Winnipeg, why all of Horse Lords now live in Germany, being tagged as “Krautrock” and residential coincidences, the socio-economic conditions that might spur artists to migrate around the world, whether or not the rise of Angine de Poitrine means inv
Ep. #1116: Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock is here to discuss his new memoir, Stranded in the Future, and his new album, The Confuser, surreal song and prose writing, being haunted by lifelong muses, a fear of being boring, pondering parenting and figuring yourself out, how attending an all-boys school impacts the empathy you have for people of other genders, why aliens gravitate towards other aliens like Bob Dylan and Syd
Ep. #1115: Dinner is Ruined
Dale Morningstar from the Dinner is Ruined is here to discuss the band’s first new album in 21 years, Like A Tree,Heroic, the first time I saw Dinner is Ruined in 1996 opening an intimate Toronto show for Beck, leaving Toronto for Hamilton, encountering inspiring trees and people, the story behind the making of Gord Downie’s Coke Machine Glow, startling Dave Clark/Don Kerr connections, writing son
Ep. #1114: Stuck
Greg Obis from Stuck is here to discuss their new album Optimizer, following Bob Weston in operating Chicago Mastering Service, his background in audio engineering and an internship he had at Electrical Audio, how Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life helped him re-assess punk rock, explaining what mixing and mastering is via a cooking analogy, where Stuck comes from, recording Optimizer a
Ep. #1113: !franklin
Roy Binnion and Brian Sokel from !franklin are here to discuss Go Kid Go [Remastered & Expanded], the Lower Swedish Cabin in Philadelphia, the band’s Canadian connections, the Random Children/!franklin link, Roy’s early entrepreneurship and association with Fred Armisen’s band Trenchmouth, !franklin before Roy joined, why !franklin songs rarely had set lyrics when performed live, the band’s un
Ep. #1112: Fiver
Simone Schmidt from Fiver returns to discuss Fiver Trois presents Cleaning House, seeing a psychic who encouraged them to re-organize their living space and rid themself of belongings, how stuff can memorialize people who are gone, hoarding and archiving, losing and then re-gaining artistic metaphor, how life being a joke morphed into “That’s a Joke,” the gamification of everything we do, importan
Ep. #1111: Sook-Yin Lee
Sook-Yin Lee returns to discuss her new album 72RHR, her home studio and a story about breaking her leg, the constant presence and enduring wisdom of her late partner and collaborator Adam Litovitz, an interest in the human resting heart rate and life and death, a dangerous MuchMusic assignment, a gift from Jennifer Castle, making dirt and bone music, when helpful things are also harmful, if thing
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
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