Talkhouse Podcast

Ben Watt and Bernard Butler may have made their names with Everything But the Girl and Suede (respectively), but these two musicians have always reinvented their careers in fascinating — and successful — ways. The guys sat down to discuss their artistic transformations, following the Smiths on tour, concert bootlegging, and skillful, speedy collaboration. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to sta...

Earlier this year, Wyclef Jean sat down with the Arcade Fire’s Will Butler at Samsung 837 in New York City to discuss the twentieth anniversary of the Fugees’ seminal record, The Score. There's a great story about how they stole a beat originally meant for Fat Joe to make "Fu-gee-la." Oh, and they break into song. A lot. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future Talkhouse P...

Analog synthesizer music pioneers Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure) and Jean-Michel Jarre sat down for the Talkhouse Music Podcast and went deep on all things synth, gear, their music…and the one question Jean’s always wanted to ask Vince about Depeche Mode. Gavin Russom of LCD Soundsystem begins the episode with a synthesizertutorial. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loo...

For the first time ever on the Talkhouse Film podcast, we have two brothers in conversation as Jason Schwartzman chats with his brother Robert Schwartzman (best known as the frontman of indie band Rooney), whose first film as a writer-director, Dreamland, is out now. In between bouts of fraternal bickering, the two talk about making the jump from music to movies, working with actors, MIDI files an...

On Halloween, Soul Clap’s Eli Goldstein and Charles Levine sat down with their friend and collaborator George Clinton for a catchup on the Talkhouse Music Podcast. Inspired by the holiday, they talked about Clinton’s everyday costumes, and also covered their past and future collaborations: Parliament and Funkadelic, and Clinton’s upcoming record with Flying Lotus. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitch...

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Film podcast, Perfect Pussy frontwoman talks with actress, director, singer and activist Rose McGowan. Their wide-ranging and compelling conversation touches on McGowan's troubled time in Hollywood; her move into directing; systemic misogyny, gender hypocrisy and violence against women; the no-holds-barred book she's currently writing, and much more – includi...

Tori Amos and Garbage’s Shirley Manson ruled the ‘90s alternative music charts with hits like “Cornflake Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains" (respectively), and they continue to make vital music today. On the eve of Amos’ Boys for Pele twentieth anniversary deluxe reissue release, the old friends sat down to talk revisiting their younger selves and early work, the constraints society puts on agin...

Matt Berninger (the National) and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos) are two of rock’s heaviest-hitting lyricists. Turns out, they’re also huge fans of each other’s songs. The guys recently sat down to discuss all things songwriting (lyrics, finding melody, influences, “dick references," embarrassment and so much more) for the Talkhouse Music Podcast. They break down songs from across their...

DJ Premier and Prince Paul are two of the most influential DJs and producers in hip-hop history. The legends recently sat down at Sonos’ flagship store in New York City to talk staying dope while aging, the gear they’re currently using, stylistic changes in hip-hop through the years, how Premier was too afraid to dress like Prince (but did wear a full Devo suit), and Prince Paul and Ladybug Mecca’...

Earlier this year, Alan Palomo of Neon Indian and Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek sat down at Samsung 837 in New York City for a live Talkhouse Music Podcast recording. As Alan played ambient self-generated sounds and Caroline spun an unreleased composition for atmosphere, the friends and mutual admirers discussed what can and can’t be co-opted in the arts, experimental and pop music, the music and...

Two generations of feminist punk icons, Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, the Julie Ruin) and Meredith Graves (Perfect Pussy, MTV News), sat down at the flagship SONOS store in New York for an in-depth episode of the Talkhouse Music Podcast. They’re big fans of each other’s music, and this fantastic talk covers capitalism, rocking gunnysacks, trolls, today’s definition of punk, feminism, chro...

Eric Slick (Dr. Dog, Lithuania) and Dominic Angelella (Lithuania) are hardcore “Danatics” — that is, Steely Dan fanatics. This summer, the guys stopped by Samsung 837 in New York City for a live Talkhouse Music Podcast. They nerded out and got very deep in explaining their “DanVinci Code” theory, which Slick expounded upon in his previous Talkhouse piece.  Oh! And fellow Danatics take note: Slick...

Joe Casey of Protomartyr and Andrew Savage of Parquet Courts are two of modern rock’s most intelligent, biting lyricists. The two friends and mutual admirers sat down earlier this year to talk about writing highly personal lyrics about people they love, how Tyvek are “the Michigan Talking Heads," having ideas that are good in theory, and, in a followup to a piece Casey wrote for The Talkhouse, why...

The Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Interpol frontman Paul Banks (together Banks and Steelz) recently sat down for what may be the Talkhouse Podcast's most freewheeling conversation to date. Their talk includes: music production hardware versus software, RZA’s enthusiasm for a recent Donald Trump speech, the President of the Philippines, Banks’ feelings about Suicide Squad, why Bill Clinton was at a Chance...

Representing two generations of game-changing hip hop production technique, DJ Shadow and Clams Casino recently caught up in New York City to tape an episode of the Talkhouse Music Podcast. They discussed their new records, Shadow’s Endtroducing..... remake, the ways that recording and sampling have changed over the years, and how it’s sometimes worth giving a great MC (like A$AP Rocky) a beat you...

On this week’s episode of the Talkhouse Music Podcast, Andy Rourke of the Smiths and Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries sit down to discuss their new supergroup, D.A.R.K, and we give their song, "High Fashion," its world premiere. The new bandmates and old friends talk Dolores’ teenage Smiths fandom, Stephen Street (who helmed production duties on iconic records for both groups), initial reactio...

Songwriter/composer Julia Holter and Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew sat down backstage at Pitchfork Fest earlier this summer to discuss the difference between writing solo and with a group, how the next Broken Social Scene record needs some Bobby McFerrin-esque acapella… and a possible collaboration. Take a listen and subscribe now on iTunesor Stitcher to stay in the loop on future Talkhouse Pod...

Spencer Tweedy of the bands Tweedy and the Blisters sat down with Julian Ehrlich and Max Kakacek of Whitney backstage at Pitchfork Music Festival and talked about Chicago’s young rock scene, Wilco’s legendary studio, embarrassing moments with Wayne Coyne and Snoop Dogg, and, in an exciting twist, potentially collaborating. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop! — Elia Einhorn, Ta...

R&B singer BJ the Chicago Kid made his name guesting on tracks by Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre and more. Now, he's dropped his own excellent new album, In My Mind. Rapper Mick Jenkins, also from Chicago and also a Chance collaborator, draws on his poetry background to deliver lyrics that are breathtakingly constructed. BJ and Mick caught up backstage at Pitchfork Fest ear...

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Film podcast, standup comedian and Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani sits down with DANIELS (aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), the directors of one his recent favorite movies, Swiss Army Man. The trio talk about their latest projects – the aforementioned “farting corpse” movie, DANIELS' new interactive short Possibilia, and Nanjiani's upcoming feature...

Shamir and Porches’ Aaron Maine sat down backstage at Pitchfork Music Festival to talk Taylor Swift, songwriting, Taylor Swift again, and how both started with guitars but are known for their electronic sounds. We recorded even more podcasts backstage at Pitchfork Music Fest, including Julia Holter and Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, BJ the Chicago Kid and Mick Jenkins, Spencer Tweedy and Whitne...

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Film podcast, White Reindeer director and regular Talkhouse Film contributor Zach Clark sits down with one of his filmmaking idols, John Waters, whose second feature Multiple Maniacs is now on release in a beautifully restored new version. Clark and Waters' highly entertaining conversation touches on such topics as Waters' encounters with people as diverse as...

At Pitchfork Music Festival, we gave Carly Rae Jepsen the chance to ask head Beach Boy Brian Wilson any question she could dream of. Hear the "Call Me Maybe" singer kick off today's Talkhouse Music Podcast with her choice. Next, Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner and Kamasi Washington sat down to talk growing up playing music together, working with Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus, the last conversation T...

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Film Podcast, Zac Stuart-Pontier, the editor of Catfish, Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Jinx, chats with his former collaborators Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the directing team behind Catfish and the new thriller Nerve. In a wide-ranging conversation, the three old friends talk about the genesis of Catfish, favorite New York films, their movie tattoo tr...

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Film podcast, two legendary figures of the New York independent film scene, Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton and The Toxic Avenger director and Troma mastermind Lloyd Kaufman, sit down for a chat at Samsung 837. Their highly entertaining conversation touches on such subjects as how to survive as an indie filmmaker, their cinematic idols and influences,...