Brandi Carlile is a singer and songwriter from Washington State. She’s released seven albums and won six Grammys. Her most recent album is In These Silent Days, which debuted at number one on Billboard’s folk and rock album charts. It was produced by her longtime collaborators Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings. In this episode, Brandi breaks down her song “You and Me on the Rock (feat. Lucius),” and how it was influenced by her wife, by the pandemic, and by Joni Mitchell.

You can buy or stream “You and Me On The Rock (feat. Lucius)” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Phil and Tim Hanseroth
Chris Powell, drummer
Dulcimer
Blue, by Joni Mitchell
Brandi Carlile’s Blue concerts
T-Bone Burnett

Twitter

Facebook

Email

The band Franz Ferdinand formed in 2002, in Glasgow, Scotland. They’ve won the Mercury Prize and two BRIT Awards, and have five Grammy nominations, and they’ve sold millions of albums. One of their first singles is this song, “Take Me Out,” and it’s also their biggest hit. In this episode, singer and guitarist Alex Kapranos tells the story of how he and his bandmates made the song, from the original home demo to the final studio recording.

You can buy or stream “Take Me Out” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Enemy at the Gates, film
Howlin’ Wolf, blues musician
Giorgio Miroder, composer
D.A.F. – “Als wär’s das letzte Mal”

Twitter

Facebook

Email

Joy Oladokun is a singer and songwriter from Arizona, now based in Nashville, who’s been releasing music since 2015. Last year, she was named an Artist to Watch by NPR, Spotify, and Amazon, and she was #1 on Vogue’s list of New LGBTQ Artists To Listen to Now. She put out her third album, In Defense of My Own Happiness, in June 2021. It includes the song “Look Up.” For that track, she worked with Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Dave Bassett, and while they were working and talking, they recorded a couple very long voice memos. Joy sent me those voice memos, and in this episode, in addition to the stems of the recording, and Joy’s story about how it was made, you’ll hear the actual moments when the song was first coming together. And Joy explains how the song was inspired by the different, and maybe opposite ways that she and her partner see the world.

You can buy or stream “Look Up” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Manchester Orchestra
“Blackbird” by The Beatles
Mellotron

Twitter

Facebook

Email