Talkhouse Podcast

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got two guys who might seem miles apart musically, but who are fans of each other’s work nonetheless. It’s Sondre Lerche and William Basinski.

Lerche is the Norwegian pop master who’s released a ton of amazing records over the past couple of decades. He’s flirted with jazzy sounds and more straightforward chamber pop, and he’s also spent time doing soundtrack work. His career took an interesting turn recently with a starring role in the stage musical Moulin Rouge!, which kept him away from his own music-making for a while. But he returns now with Acrobats, a gorgeously rendered album on which he tries to reconcile falling in love with life in what feels like a cruel world. (Don’t worry, you can still sing along.) Check out the song “Little Kids” from Acrobats right here.

You know what you probably won’t be singing along to? William Basinski’s breakthrough ambient masterpiece The Disintegration Loops. If you’re not familiar, The Disintegration Loops came about when Basinski began recording the sound of some of his older works, which were on magnetic tape, decaying. Looped over the course of about five hours, the sounds are mesmerizing and occasionally scary. They were finished on September 11, 2001, and became inextricably linked with the terror attacks of that day. They’ve since been reissued several times, and now the loops are even being performed live by symphony orchestras, a topic that’s touched on here. There’s a lot more to Basinski’s career than I can touch on in one paragraph, but check out The Disintegration Loops if you never have—it’s an experience.

So why are these two guys chatting, one a pop maker and the other making floating soundscapes? Well it turns out that Lerche is a fan of Basinski's, and he even referenced The Disintegration Loops in a 2022 song called “Avatars of Love.” The two have since met and become friends, as you’ll hear in this chat. They talk about Lerche’s time in the musical, about Basinski’s music being performed by actual humans, and of course about how the world is a fucked-up place. It is! Enjoy.

0:00 - Intro

02:39 - Start of conversation

02:53 - On visiting a NY film & music art exhibition at the Hudson Yards

04:04 - On William’s unreleased music archives, and the Williamsburg music scene

07:01 - On Sondre’s lead role in the Moulin Rouge musical, his new album, and how theater compares to creating music

11:04 - On Sondre’s tour schedule, performing his new record live, staying healthy, and connecting with fans

15:02 - On William’s shows in churches, and his new projects

18:31 - On finding new things through the Instagram algorithm, past life regressions, and how that inspired William

20:03 - On releasing Sondre’s new album, Acrobats, its themes, and embracing connection and being present

22:23 - On Sondre referencing William’s work in a new song, “Avatars of Love,” and other artists who have references William

24:55 - On Sondre’s process while writing “Avatars of Love”

27:33 - On The Disintegration Loops’ cultural impact

30:29 - On the movie “Ed Wood,” and thinking about how their work will be remembered artistically

32:19 - On feeling excited by their own work, and how The Disintegration Loop changed William’s career, and the most important performances of his career

34:54 - On the process of performing the loops live

36:28 - On how Sondre runs marathons to William’s work

Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Sondre Lerche and William Basinski for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff over at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠.
Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more.
Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of powerful songwriters—one you surely know, one you may not yet—who recently toured together, and who both have great new albums out. It’s Melissa Etheridge and Maggie Rose.

I’ll try and fail to do justice to Melissa Etheridge’s incredible life and career in one short paragraph: She’s sold millions of records, written and performed massive hit songs, won Grammys and an Oscar, beat cancer, written books, done a one-woman show about her life, been a loud and strong advocate for gay rights since well before that was a mainstream thing to do, and now she’s started a foundation to investigate alternate therapies for drug addiction after losing a son to opioids in 2020. She also managed to write and release her seventeenth studio album over the past couple of years: Rise was co-produced with Shooter Jennings and it’s a bit more rock-leaning than usual. Etheridge is doing a big co-headline tour with Wynonna Judd, and the other half of today’s conversation, Maggie Rose, is opening those shows—and as you’ll hear in this chat, having a ball.

Though she started her career in Nashville, Rose has always pushed at the boundaries of what might be called country music, and her last few albums don’t fit the tag at all. Her brand new album, Half Moon, is out this week, and it’s a big, bright pop record—smart and sophisticated and thoughtful and fun. She’s been through the industry wringer and come out the other side with a stronger sense of self than ever. Half Moon and its accompanying EP Cocoon are influenced by motherhood, which you’ll hear about it in this lively chat. Check out “Red Shoes” from Half Moon right here.

In this sweet, mutually admiring conversation, Etheridge and Rose talk about the importance of following your own path, about being mothers in a crazy business, and about the Etheridge Foundation, among other things. You’ll also hear them talk about joining each other on stage on tour—you can catch them both on the road the rest of this summer, too. Enjoy.

0:00 Introduction

02:22 Start of conversation

02:32 On “The Four Agreements” and the importance of expression

04:24 On finding connection with yourself as an artist, and on touring together

06:56 On “Poison in My Well, Maggie’s latest releases, and Melissa’s influences on her music

12:47 On how Maggie writes with her husband, and the stories behind “The Other Woman” and “Davina”

15:50 On Melissa’s foundation researching and developing alternative treatments for addiction

19:10 On supporting each other, raising kids while touring, and teaching kids life lessons

23:13 On showing kids that doing what you love matters, and Melissa’s creative journey after her son’s passing

26:22 On recording Melissa’s album “Rise,” and engaging with fans in a new way during the pandemic

29:22 On Maggie’s new album “Half Moon,” why Melissa loves her as an artist, and working outside of genre confines

32:26 On being a live performer, feeling “undiscovered” by the wider music industry, and finding success on your own timeline

35:54 On longevity versus “flash in the pan” success, and learning from Bruce Springsteen about what matters as a musician

38:27 On the rest of their tour, and on Melissa’s 12-string guitar

Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Melissa Etheridge and Maggie Rose for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff 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!

Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more. Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On the latest episode of Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That, Nick Dawson sits down with writer-director and actor Avalon Fast, a queer auteur whose excellent second feature, the lulling, fairytale-like Camp, hit theaters earlier this summer. In a fun and often surprising conversation, Fast opened up about ego death, musical imposter syndrome, exploring and mapping the dream world version of their childhood home of Vancouver Island, growing up in the shadow of an impending fatal mega-earthquake tsunami, coolness, drinking to die, and much more.

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That now has a Substack, so head there to check out all of our past episodes, plus subscribe to get access to exclusive audio and video content!

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a Talkhouse favorite in conversation with a guy who’s spent a lot of time behind the scenes on some incredible records. It’s M.C. Taylor and Josh Kaufman.

Taylor has been making music under the curious name Hiss Golden Messenger for two decades now, and he’s amassed an incredible—and incredibly varied—catalog of music that’s never easy to pin down. There are elements of rock, folk, even elements of what was called alt-country for a while there. But what ties it all together is a true vision: Taylor has a singular voice and passion that runs through all of his records. The latest is called I’m People and it’s concerned with nothing less than community, music-making, heartbreak, and the world at large. He does not aim low, in other words. It’s his most ambitious and maybe accessible in a while, and as usually features a motley crew of guests and regulars, including Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, Bruce Hornsby, and Sara Watkins, among others. Check out the song “Shaky Eyes” right here.

Now in addition to all of those day players on I’m People there was a guy there for most of the process, writing and playing along with Taylor: Josh Kaufman. Now Kaufman might be best known as part of the trio Bonny Light Horseman along with Anaïs Mitchell and Eric D. Johnson, but he’s done amazing work slightly behind the scenes, too. He was one of the driving forces behind the massive Day of the Dead Grateful Dead tribute a few years back; he was a key part of some records by the National; he played on a few Taylor Swift records—yes, that Taylor Swift—and he was integral to the solo albums by our old pal Craig Finn. He’s also, as you’ll hear in this chat, a guy who just loves to talk about and play music. One of us, in other words.

In this chat, Taylor and Kaufman talk about making I’m People as well as the other Hiss Golden Messenger records they worked on together. They talk about how they first met, which was sort of a magical moment, plus a Bruce Hornsby show with a few too many guest players, lots of bass players, and not enough inputs. Enjoy.

0:00 - Introduction

02:39 - Start of conversation

03:08 - On how they met, and how their friendship helped them collaborate on I’m People

06:26 - On learning to maintain adult friendships, and connecting as musicians

09:25 - On the different studios they’ve worked in together, playing with Bruce Hornsby, and recording experiences

13:30 - On chasing perfection in the studio, spontaneity, and whether taking too long on albums makes them worse

16:41 - On recording past collaborations together

18:17 - On recording I’m People at Dreamland, and the music scene upstate in the 90s

20:39 - On being inspired by the physical drama of upstate NY and North Carolina, and unique studios

23:10 - On drawing fresh inspiration and references from records from the past while maintaining their own sound

27:14 - On how the musicians they’ve worked with have evolved and changed, and meeting their favorite collaborators

33:04 - On how the vibe of Dreamland influences the music, and the pros of recording portions at home

35:09 - On the records and types of music that inspired them

Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to M.C. Taylor and Josh Kaufman for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform and check out all the great stuff 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!

Find more illuminating podcasts on the ⁠⁠⁠Talkhouse Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠.
Visit ⁠⁠⁠talkhouse.com⁠⁠⁠ to read essays, reviews, and more.
Follow @talkhouse on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter (X)⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠.

On the latest episode of Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That, Nick Dawson sits down with writer-director Nicolas Winding Refn, the cinematic iconoclast behind such movies as Drive and The Neon Demon, whose latest release, Her Private Hell, is in theaters now. In a fascinating and unique conversation, he touches on turning his dyslexia, color-blindness and other “untreated diagnoses” into creative advantages, his addiction to Legos, his fantasy of living in a world of only women, meeting Andy Warhol as a teenager, the importance of telling your kids that they’re geniuses, and much more.

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That now has a Substack, so head there to check out all of our past episodes, plus subscribe to get access to exclusive audio and video content!