Meet Our Makers

In this episode, we get to meet Jake Xerxes Fussell. Jake is a folk singer in a true sense: his catalog of albums consists of his interpretations - some faithful, some radical - of classic folk music. He takes songs from various canons, myriad strains of folk touchstones, but focuses most often on the American Southeast, where he was born and where he came to love traditional folk music. In this chat, Jake and I talk a lot about his brand new album, The Old Beloved Path, including what leads him to select the songs he does, how he chooses to go about tackling them, and how themes arise without him even noticing. We also talk about folk music at large, the metaphysical act of listening to and creating it, the greats that inspire him, and more. Thanks for listening.

In this chat, we get to meet Peter Moren and Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John. Unfortunately, John could not join us for this conversation, but we soldiered on! The trio's 2006 album Writer's Block turns 20 years old this year - in fact, its 20th birthday is the very day of this episode's publication! And so in this talk, Peter and Bjorn and I dive into the album that made them an international indie pop sensation. Yes, we get into their ubiquitous smash "Young Folks" (co-starring the great Victoria Bergsman), but we also talk about so much else related to this record. Its history, its conception, its style; how the collaborative nature of the process changed the band; how they relate to these songs (and its biggest hit) years later - because as you may know they've been doing 20th anniversary live shows, playing the record in full! It was great to talk with them about a record that was so important to my early adolescence (and many people's adolescences). Thanks for listening.

In this chat, we get to meet Joan as Police Woman, the musical project of singer, songwriter, violinist, composer Joan Wasser. Joan came up in the New York music scene of the 90s, but it wasn't until 2006 when she put out her debut solo LP as Joan as Police Woman, Real Life. Well now, exactly 20 years later (to the day!) Joan as put out Real Life Evolution, a total wall-to-wall reimagining and rerecording of that debut record. The sequence is different, the vibes are different, some songs are radically changed, and it's such a fun ride for those of us who have come to love that first record. Joan and I talk at length about this new recording, including what compelled her to go this route and how some of the new renditions came about, as well as the original '06 version and its arrival in her life. We touch on live performance, ANOHNI, Iggy Pop, improv, the love of music, and more. Thanks for listening.

In this chat, we get to meet The Fiery Furnaces. The band first rose to prominence in the 2000s, but after a sort of garage-y debut album, they released a slew of highly experimental, avant-garde, quirky abstract pop and rock epics, putting out numerous records in a short time span. Then they stopped. And while they both have had robust solo careers, the duo - made of brother and sister Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger - have never made another FF record. And while they did give me at least some hope for another one down the line, this conversation focuses mostly on two of their most acclaimed and beloved LPs: Blueberry Boat and Bitter Tea, which celebrates its 20th birthday this year. We talk all about these two records, as well as what was going on before and around them, and also touch on live shows, songwriting, alter egos, and more. It's a good chat with two people whose work I've been a dear fan of for many, many years. Thank you for listening.

In this chat, we get to meet aja monet. aja is a poet and songwriter and composer, who has just released her 2nd album of jazzy, inviting, varied, potent spoken word music, entitled the color of rain. And in this conversation, she and I talk a lot about this record. We get into what led to its inception, what some of the songs touch on specifically, as well as the musicality inherent in poetry itself. We talk about the people who worked with her on this record, what inspires her, and more. We also touch on poetry as an art form, and reading and writing moreover, which was especially intriguing for me as an English educator myself. It's a wide-ranging, warm, intellectual conversation that I'm so happy I got to have, with such a poetic force as aja. Thank you for listening.