Goo Goo Dolls ' John Rzeznik discusses the music that inspired him as a kid (The Cars, Springsteen, Petty, the Kinks) and how it taught him the importance of melody and each song telling its own story. We also talk about Goo Goo Dolls' early days, touring in a van and crashing on couches (he always brought along blank cassettes so he could copy some of his host's music); what it felt like to have a huge mainstream moment that also alienated some of their original fans; and why he's taking his ap...
Sep 17, 2021•38 min•Season 4Ep. 12
On the heels of her fantastic new album, Home Video , singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus describes the path that led to it -- growing up in Richmond, Virginia, finding a passion for creative writing early on, discovering musical favorites like Yo La Tengo and Broken Social Scene, playing her first gigs at house shows, developing her songwriting practice, and beyond.
Aug 27, 2021•30 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Manchester Orchestra 's Andy Hull talks about early influences (Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, the Beatles, the classical music his mother played around the house); his evolving approach to songwriting; how his band's sound has grown to cinematic new heights; what advice he gives young artists who come to him for wisdom about surviving the music business; and more! Manchester Orchestra 's new album, The Million Masks of God , is out now, and they are on tour in the U.S. this fall, as well as...
Aug 06, 2021•44 min•Season 4Ep. 10
As a producer, writer, recording artist and entrepreneur, Poo Bear is always searching for collaborators who bring out the best in him, and vice versa. "Do you believe in me?," he'll ask an artist who wants to record one of his songs, because for him, the best work arises when there is that mutual passion for each other's work. He's definitely found that zone with Justin Bieber, his most extensive song partner over the past several years. But his prolific work includes hundreds of tunes, for art...
Jul 12, 2021•44 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Tegan and Sara Quinn rejoin the podcast for a fun, roundtable-style conversation with Lili Trifilio from the up-and-coming Chicago indie band Beach Bunny, on the heels of their recent collaboration on a new version of Beach Bunny's viral hit "Cloud 9." We talk about how the collaboration - where each chorus features alternate pronouns -- came to exist, Lili's early musical experiences, and Tegan & Sara's next book (on twins), and Lili gets some big sisterly advice from T&S about how to d...
Jun 18, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker delves into his earliest musical endeavors -- learning to play his brother's drums, writing songs on one guitar string, playing with his first band at the high school talent show -- and how his attitudes toward songwriting and creativity have evolved since then. He also talks about plans to get back into collaborating with other artists, now that social distancing has relaxed. Tame Impala will also be getting back on the road in the coming months, playing fest...
May 24, 2021•42 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Flaming Lips ’ Wayne Coyne on the profound influence of punk rock in his life: “Previous to that, you didn’t know that art was fucked up. To be a musician meant, ‘You’ve gotta know music. If you don’t know music, you don’t belong here.’ When really, some of the greatest musicians would say just the opposite — ‘Don’t worry about that, fuckin’ do your thing.’ But in this world, when you’re young and surrounded by a bunch of know-it-alls, everybody wants to tell you, ‘This is how it works and you d...
Apr 23, 2021•38 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Experimental electronic composer and producer Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never delves into key influences from Chick Corea to Rush to My Bloody Valentine to Nirvana to DJ Premier, in a conversation about his evolving creative process. He talks about growing up as the child of Russian immigrants, recollecting the “beautiful red velvet walls” of the Russian restaurant where his father’s rock band played weekly covers gigs; his early adventures in sampling while working as a video store cler...
Apr 05, 2021•33 min•Season 4Ep. 5
The three members of Houston, TX trio Khruangbin — bassist Laura Lee, drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, guitarist Mark Speer — share insights into their individual and collective creative journeys. “LL,” as her bandmates call her, talks about learning to read by studying Beatles liner notes, her teenage obsession with Radiohead, and how her approach to art has evolved since she joined Khruangbin. DJ shares memories of being three years-old, playing Barry White songs on his little kids' drum kit, how ...
Mar 15, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 4
“I didn’t like curse words when I was real young, so my dad would read Spin and get black ink and blot out the curse words for me,” says Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio , explaining how his father helped shape his early interest in music. “He would bring home records he was interested in and it always ran a wide gamut. His favorite musician is Jimi Hendrix and we would listen to so much Jimi Hendrix, but at the same time, I would have been ten years old when he bought his first Guided By Voic...
Feb 18, 2021•47 min•Season 4Ep. 3
“I’d write terrible songs constantly, and I just loved it so much,” Fleet Foxes ’ Robin Pecknold says of his early years exploring songwriting — a process he began by elaborating on Joni Mitchell and Elliott Smith tunings he’d learned on the internet. “I felt so passionately about it as a teenager that I think every other possibility started to seem unlikely. I just felt like that was what I was going to do.” Episode 56 features a conversation about Pecknold’s creative journey, favorite artists ...
Jan 29, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Victoria Legrand, on writing music for Beach House: “It’s like something magical happening. And I believe in that, there’s love, but it’s not just love between us, it’s the whole universe around us and all the things we’ve been reading about the stars and the movies we’ve seen and the pain I’ve felt from talking to people about their loss. It all sucks down into this one moment of pure reaction. I’ve always said music is very personal to [bandmate] Alex [Scally] and I, but it’s not just that I g...
Jan 12, 2021•53 min•Season 4Ep. 1
The dude behind the King Tuff moniker, Kyle Thomas, talks about the punk music he discovered as a kid, growing up in Brattleboro, Vermont; learning to shred by studying Jimi Hendrix; playing in the band Witch with one of his heroes, Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis; how his songwriting has developed since he started King Tuff; the ways that learning a new instrument inspires new song ideas, and more! Support the LSQ podcast at anchor.fm/jennylsq...
Dec 04, 2020•36 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Tim Burgess, frontman for The Charlatans, talks about how his lifelong music fandom fuels his popular "Tim’s Twitter Listening Party," and more.
Nov 17, 2020•33 min
On the occasion of releasing his debut solo album, "Serpentine Prison," The National's Matt Berninger talks about key moments in his creative journey.
Oct 27, 2020•54 min
The awesomely uncategorizable singer-songwriter Shamir talks about key moments in his creative trajectory, with nods to influences including The Who, Taylor Swift, Nina Simone, Björk, Tegan & Sara, Vivian Girls, and more.
Oct 07, 2020•30 min
A revealing deep-dive with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Michelle Branch about her life in music — from her childhood obsession with the Beatles and Frankie Valli to early songwriting explorations inspired by artists like the Gin Blossoms and Lisa Loeb, through her tenacious teenage pursuit of a record deal, the making of her multiplatinum 2001 album The Spirit Room when she was only 16, the battles she fought for creative control, and how she approaches her music today.
Sep 18, 2020•1 hr
Chances are you already love Justin Tranter’s songs, even if you’ve never heard their name before. During the past several years , Justin has written massive pop songs by artists including Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Imagine Dragons, Halsey and many more. In 2020 alone, Justin has written songs for The Chicks’ Gaslighter, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Selena Gomez’s Rare, and Gaga’s Chromatica, among others. We talk about childhood obsessions that inform their creativ...
Aug 31, 2020•37 min
M. Ward talks about his new album, Migration Stories, and early influences from The Beatles and Bach to Firehose and Sonic Youth. Plus, an excerpt from a recent conversation with Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck, about folk music and the magic of songs.
Aug 10, 2020•27 min
A look back on key moments of creative discovery for Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, including a discussion of the new music he's working on for the band.
Jul 10, 2020•27 min
Empress Of's Lorely Rodriguez talks about her new album, I'm Your Empress Of, and the creative journey that led her there. Plus, the debut of a new LSQ theme song, composed and recorded by Houses' Dexter Tortoriello!
Jun 22, 2020•23 min
Chances are you’re already aware of the genius of Tim Heidecker as a comedian, actor, writer and director. But if you haven’t been paying close attention to his career the past decade, you might have missed that he has also devoted quite a bit of time and passion to making music, as well. And he’s quite good at it. Heidecker talks with Jenny about some of his lifelong musical favorites (Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, the Beatles, the Band), discusses how writing music differs from writing comedy, and ...
May 22, 2020•49 min
tUnE-yArDs co-founder Merrill Garbus chats with Jenny about her life in music, discussing early musical influences (Ani DiFranco, Johnny Clegg, Ali Farka Touré, to name a few), how her focus shifted from theater and puppeteering (!) to making music in a band, and how she hopes tUnE-yArDs can contribute to positive change in the world.
May 06, 2020•53 min
“The biggest artistic change for me in the last ten years is that I finally view my inconsistencies not as my Achilles’ heel, but as my superpower," says Alex Ebert. "I can score a movie, I can work on political stuff, I can write, I can do all these things, I can be happy, I can be sad, I can be a punk, I can be a hippie, because to quote Walt Whitman, I do contain multitudes. And so do you. I think we all do.”
Apr 06, 2020•35 min
Hannah Hooper went through a lot in the months leading up to making Grouplove's new LP, Healer: emergency brain surgery, the death of a close friend, recording an album down the road from one of the most notorious U.S./Mexico border detention camps, and the cathartic experience of painting her first solo exhibition. We delve into all of it in episode 42, as well as discussing her evolving songwriting practice and how she’s learned to overcome stage fright by embracing a superhero version of hers...
Mar 17, 2020•29 min
Episode 41 traces the creative journey of Cursive and The Good Life’s Tim Kasher, who helped his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska build its own cottage record industry, in partnership with bands such as Bright Eyes and The Faint. The conversation also finds Kasher reflecting on the ebbs and flows of songwriting, his relationship with his singing voice, his screenwriting hobby, and more. Plus, some important Kasher news: The Good Life are touring again this spring! Dates below.
Mar 04, 2020•46 min
Natasha Khan, the U.K.-born artist who records under the moniker Bat for Lashes, talks about major musical moments in her life (the Michael Jackson concert her mom took her to, the feeling of laying on her patio in a green mohair sweater, dreaming of Kurt Cobain, her earliest attempts at making her own art, etc.) and how they have shaped her creative approach. She also explains how she came to the 80s-tinged sound on her new album, Lost Girls. Plus, in honor of a new LP by Best Coast, the episod...
Feb 10, 2020•43 min
Hop Along's Frances Quinlan, on her creative evolution and her new solo album, Likewise. Plus, an excerpt from a 2011 chat with Lana Del Rey.
Jan 24, 2020•35 min
An in-depth interview with singer-songwriter Hamilton Leithauser (erstwhile frontman for The Walkmen), where he shares the first details about his upcoming new solo album. He also discusses early influences (Springsteen, The Cramps, soundtracks to Fred Astaire films), his initial songwriting endeavors (using the mathematical side of composition to sketch out his ideas) and why he chose to build a home studio to record the new LP.
Jan 07, 2020•37 min
“The problem with good vs evil: Evil has a better publicist,” says Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, describing the difficulty of cutting through digital noise in an algorithm-driven world. It’s part of a fascinating interview that touches on early creative influences (Morricone’s The Mission soundtrack , trips to Rod Stewart concerts with his mom), the pros and cons of leading a band with more than a dozen people in it, and what it was like to sit court-side during the Toronto Raptors epic NBA ...
Nov 22, 2019•39 min
