Kesha is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. She put out her first song in 2009, and it was a huge #1 hit in the US and 13 other countries. She’s had 10 top-ten singles on the Billboard charts, and sold millions of albums. She got famous for songs that were about partying, and breaking the rules, and having fun. But this year, in May 2023, she put out the album Gag Order, which is a lot more raw and vulnerable. She made it with superstar producer Rick Rubin. And for this episode, I talked to Kesha about her song “Eat The Acid,” which she wrote early on in the pandemic. I was really interested in the intense, distorted vocal sound that I’d heard in the track; and as you’ll hear, it turns out most of that was a byproduct of the way she had to write and record when we were all in lockdown.

You can buy or stream “Eat The Acid” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Pebe Sebert – Kesha’s mom and co-writer
Stuart Crichton – Co-writer
Jason Lader – Engineer
Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You – Song written by Kesha’s mom in the 1970s
Rainbow – Kesha’s album from 2017

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Alvvays is from Toronto. Their first album came out in 2014, and they’ve put out two other albums since then. In Canada, they’ve won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year, and all three of their albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize.

Their first song was also one of their biggest hits. It’s called “Archie, Marry Me.” Rolling Stone and Stereogum named it one of the best songs of the last decade. So for this episode, I talked about it with Molly Rankin and Alec O’Hanley from the band. The two of them are pretty quiet about their relationship other than being bandmates, but they told me a lot about the song, which I would count nowadays as an indie rock classic.

You can buy or stream “Archie, Marry Me” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Chad VanGaalen – Producer
Jeff McMurrich – Engineer
Eric Hamelin – Drums
Brian Murphy – Bass
Tascam 388
Fender Duo Sonic
Fender Jazzmaster
Teenage Fanclub
RE20 mic

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Laufey is a singer and songwriter originally from Iceland. She studied piano and cello as a kid. When she was 15, she was a guest soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. She went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, and that’s when she started writing songs. While she was still a student, she had a number one hit on Icelandic radio. Her first album debuted at number one on Billboard’s Alternative New Artist chart. Her second album, Bewitched, came out in September 2023. And for this episode, I talked to Laufey about the breakout hit from that new album: a song called “From The Start.”  

You can buy or stream “From The Start” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Bossa nova
Spencer Stewart – Producer
Pentatonic scale
Jazz standard
George Gershwin
Irving Berlin
Cole Porter

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