by Tiger Biskup

Episode 292: Tears for Fears

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World”

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Tears for Fears is a duo formed in 1981 in Bath, England by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. They’ve sold over 30 million albums, starting with their first, The Hurting, which went to number one in the UK. But it was their second album, Songs from the Big Chair, that made them international stars. It came out in 1985, and had huge singles like “Shout” and “Head Over Heels.” But their biggest hit is “Everybody Wants to Rule The World.” It won Best Single at the BRIT Awards in 1986, and it’s been streamed over 2 billion times. So I talked to the two of them about how they, along with their producer Chris Hughes and keyboard player Ian Stanley, made a song that would help define the sound of the 80s.

You can buy or stream “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Neil Taylor – guitar solo
Jimmy Page
“Then Came the Last Days of May” by Blue Öyster Cult
Peter Gabriel
Culture Club
“The Way You Are”
“Mothers Talk”
“Waterfront” by Simple Minds
Cabasa
LinnDrum
“Throw Away the Key” by Linx
David Bates
Phonogram Inc.
“The Primal Scream” by Arthur Janov
Union Studios in Munich
Massey Hall

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by Tiger Biskup

Episode 291: Lizzo

“Still Bad”

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Lizzo is a Grammy- and Emmy-winning singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. She’s been putting out music since 2013, and her last two albums both went platinum. Her fifth album, Love In Real Life, comes out this summer. For this episode, I talked to Lizzo, as well as her longtime collaborator, Grammy-winning producer Ricky Reed, about the making of one of her new songs, “Still Bad.” It wasn’t a straightforward process at all, and coming up, you’ll hear a few of the many, many demos they made on their way to the final song.

You can buy or stream “Still Bad” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Blake Slatkin – co-writer and co-producer
Sam Harris – co-writer
Cheche Alara – piano
Victor Indrizzo – drums
Britney Spears
Big Grrrl Small World
Aretha Franklin
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Lizzo is set to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the upcoming biopic

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by Mary Dolan

Key Change: Samin Nosrat

“Untouchable Face” by Ani DiFranco

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My guest today is my friend Samin Nosrat, the author of the bestselling, award-winning cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat, and the host and executive producer of the hit Netflix show that’s based on it. Her second cookbook comes out this fall, and it’s called Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share With People You Love.

Back in March 2020, Samin and I started a podcast together called Home Cooking, where we answered people’s anxious questions about cooking in the time of the pandemic and lockdown. And we’re bringing that podcast back later this year.

Samin is one of my closest friends. We’ve been there for each other for all of the most important moments of our lives over the years that we’ve known each other. But with a total lack of consideration to our friendship, it turns out Samin’s had important moments in her life from before we met. But we’re going to make up for lost time, and she’s going to talk to me about one of them today.

You can buy or stream “Untouchable Face” here.

footnotes:
Ani DiFranco
Felicity with Keri Russell
Louis Armstrong, Roberta Flack, and Ella Fitzgerald
Perry Farrell, Violent Femmes, and Phish

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