455. Dillon Warnek on Randy Newman 'The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1' (2003)
This week's guest is Nashville singer/songwriter Dillon Warnek, who joins me to discuss 'The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1', featuring revisited, stripped back versions of songs spanning 33 years of the musician's legendary catalogue. We discuss Newman's wry humor and use of sarcasm in his writing and how that stylistic approach has influenced Dillon's own work, the layers of meaning to be discovered within a Randy Newman song and how they don't always reveal themselves on first listen, how the style of Newman's voice plays a huge role in how the song is interpreted versus the interpretations of his songs when sung by other artists, Newman's iconic work on film scores, which of Dillon's songs he'd like to hear covered by Tom Jones, and much more.
--------
34:01
--------
34:01
454. Paulina Porizkova on ELO 'Out of the Blue' (1977)
Today, I finally get to talk about the Electric Light Orchestra as author, actor and iconic supermodel Paulina Porizkova joins me to talk about the classic ELO album 'Out of the Blue'. Paulina takes us back to moving to Paris as a 15 year old at the beginning of her career, and how this album soundtracked this chapter of her life, coming to the record as a lover of classical music, why ELO aren't thought of as an albums artist, why the album's theme of stepping out on your own resonated with her, their experiences seeing Jeff Lynne and ELO live in recent years and more.
--------
41:11
--------
41:11
453. Marshall Crenshaw on Bo Diddley '16 All-Time Greatest Hits' (1964)
The legendary singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw joins me to talk about an artist whose influence changed the sound of music forever. Marshall talks discovering the classic Diddley Greatest Hits record as a teenager growing up in suburban Michigan, the deceptive drone quality to some of the tracks, the origin of the Bo Diddley name, the other players who were an important part of the Bo Diddley sound, the gear Diddley used, how Marshall has injected elements of the soundscape from this record into his own music through the years, the magic of a group of players performing together live in the studio, how technology and budgets has influenced how records are made and more.
--------
28:53
--------
28:53
452. Peter Ames Carlin on Bruce Springsteen 'Born to Run' (1975)
Author and journalist Peter Ames Carlin specialises in puncturing rock'n'roll myths while enriching the legends. His biographies of iconic musicians and bands from Springsteen to REM are often definitive and his latest is no exception, a high stakes page turning exploration of how Bruce Springsteen transformed himself, his career and fulfilled his destiny as rock'n'roll future with his 1975 iconic album 'Born to Run'. We talk about the breakneck writing of the book and his conversations with Bruce himself, Springsteen's self-mythologising, being Superman and Clark Kent, how Springsteen's treatment by his parents and grandparents shaped his personality, getting out vs sticking around, how Thunder Road evolved into the legendary song we all know with some help from John Landau, how audiences behave at Springsteen shows vs other artists and why 'Born to Run' still means something to Bruce in the way that some of his other records don't.
--------
49:26
--------
49:26
451. Brian Dunne on Bruce Springsteen 'The River' (1980)
Rock'n'roll singer-songwriter Brian Dunne joins me to make a case for 'The River' as the ultimate Bruce Springsteen album. We talk about how it is rarely chosen as the best of Bruce's classic period, how the album was a response thematically and musically to 'Darkness on the Edge of Town', capturing the epic E Street Band live show in an album, the benefits of a double album, class consciousness in songwriting and Brian's experiences seeing Springsteen live and then meeting him when they shared the bill at a benefit concert, and much more.
Musicians, writers, actors and more talk about the music they love and how it's influenced and inspired them. Guests include Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Isbell, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Bob Odenkirk, Benmont Tench, Neil Finn and more.
New Zealand