Small Black's Josh Kolenik's Spark Is The Last Picture Show: Youth Is Wasted On The Young

Small Black front man Josh Kolenik joins me to geek out about one of our mutual favorites, Peter Bogdanovich's era defining classic film The Last Picture Show.

It's a film that perfectly encapsulates the angst and anxiety of growing up and first love, while simultaneously nailing nostalgia for the past and the longing of regret.

Josh and I focus on the incredible performances (particularly those of Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman), the beautifully sparse scenery and our changing connection to the film as we grow older.

Links:

Small Black

The Last Picture Show

Kevin Drew's Spark Is You, You're A History In Rust: Getting By With A Little Help From Your Friends

Broken Social Scene's bandleader Kevin Drew joins me to talk about his spark of Inspiration, Do Make Say Think's fifth album You, You're A History In Rust. Kevin is friends with the band (a couple of DMST's members are also in BSS), but he talks about being able to separate his personal relationships with the musicians from the music he loves so much.  

Our conversation covers learning to live with grief, the beauty of film soundtracks, our mutual love for Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual and we also propose a collaboration between Do Make Say Think and Rihanna.

Kevin's brilliant new instrumental album Influences (under the K.D.A.P moniker) is out now on Arts And Crafts.

Links:

Kevin Drew

You, You're A History In Rust

Mary J Blige: My Life

Laura Stevenson Is Sparked By Claudia Bernardi's Pasa Un Angel: Finding Hope In A Sea Of Despair

Singer/songwriter Laura Stevenson spoke to me about a cultural spark that is really remarkable.  I don’t think that any other topic that I’ve discussed on this show has affected me as much as this one. Laura’s spark is Pasa Un Angel, a mixed media monotype fresco by fine artist and activist Claudia Bernardi, but we talked about Bernardi's entire body of work. She has lived an absolutely incredible life and survived through and witnessed unimaginable trauma.  

 

This conversation is going to be a source of inspiration for you, but it also features discussion of some incredibly upsetting and horrifying human rights abuses that are the driving force behind Bernardi’s work. It's a moving and, for me, truly life changing discussion.  

You’ll finish this episode wanting to know much more about Claudia Bernardi’s work and you’ll also be really excited to listen to Laura’s music.  

Laura's fantastic self-titled album will be released on August 6th.

 

Links:

Pasa Un Angel

Laura Stevenson

24 Hours

mxmtoon Is Sparked By Life Is Strange: Let's Make The Tough Decisions As A Group

This week, I'm chatting with singer, songwriter, producer, gamer and podcaster mxmtoon (aka Maia) about her spark of inspiration, the Life Is Strange video game series. We talk about the world building and freedom of expression created in these games, streaming game play on Twitch, using your audience as scapegoats for tough decisions and Maia's very personal connection to the next game in the Life Is Strange saga.  

Links:

mxmtoon

Life Is Strange

Rebecca Black

Chris Gethard Is Sparked By Grosse Pointe Blank: Finding The Humanity In Comedy

This week, I had an incredible conversation with comedian Chris Gethard about his spark of inspiration, the John Cusack starring comedy Grosse Pointe Blank.  

But it’s also so much more than that. We talked about Chris’ relationship with Judd Apatow as well as Judd Apatow’s movies. We talked about Andy Kaufman. We talked about Cameron Crowe. We talked about comedy in general.  

It’s a wide ranging and very exciting and super fun conversation. Seriously. I really, really loved this one and I can’t wait for you to hear it.

Links:

Chris Gethard

Grosse Pointe Blank

Fin

Johnny Flynn's Spark Is The Song Of Wandering Aengus: Ancient Threads In Modern Cloth

Actor and musician Johnny Flynn (Stardust, Netflix' Lovesick) joins me to talk about his spark, William Butler Yeates’ poem The Song Of Wandering Aengus.  

 

We dive into Johnny’s personal connection to the poem, which stems from a variety of sources, including seeing his friend Jez Butterworth’s play The River which opens with this poem and his childhood wanderings through the natural world. But we also dig into broader concepts, like the influence of ancient folklore on modern art and the notion that there are no new ideas.

Links:

Johnny Flynn

The Song Of Wandering Aengus

Evelyn "Champagne" King

Sharleen Spiteri's Spark Is Paris, Texas: A Rock Band's Origin Story

Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri joins me to talk about her spark of inspiration (and the spark that started her band), Wim Wenders' southwestern road movie Paris, Texas. Sharleen shares never before heard details of the profound influence this film has had on her life and career. You'll hear her band's origin story and some incredible anecdotes about Sharleen's encounters with the director and star of Paris, Texas.  

Links:

Sharleen Spiteri

Paris, Texas

Hacks

Comedian Max Silvestri's Spark Is Moonstruck: Romance And Ridiculousness In Perfect Harmony

Comedian and writer Max Silvestri joins me to geek out over the classic Oscar winning romantic comedy Moonstruck. We talked about the tremendous performances from Cher and the late, great Olympia Dukakis and also discussed the film's perfect balance between sweetly sincere drama and broad comedy. As an added bonus, we contrasted our Moonstruck chat with a little discussion on another of Max's favorites, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tennenbaums.

Links:

Max Silvestri

Moonstruck

The Royal Tennenbaums

Tales Of The City

 

This episode is supported by Before The Chorus and Factual America

Roosevelt's Spark Is The Whitest Boy Alive's Rules: The Magic Of The Dancefloor, The Thrill Of The Crowd

Singer/songwriter/producer Roosevelt joins me to talk about his spark of inspiration, Norwegian/German band The Whitest Boy Alive's second album Rules. We talk about the thrill of making dance music with live instruments, the intense bond between musicians and the crowds they perform to and our mutual excitement about the hope of returning to live events.

Links:

Roosevelt

Rules

Hell Hath No Fury

Joshua Henry's Spark Is Brown Sugar: Gospel, Soul And The Making Of A Classic

This week, I'm joined by three time Tony nominee, singer and actor Joshua Henry to chat about our shared love for D'Angelo's genre bending classic debut album Brown Sugar. Joshua talks about Brown Sugar's impact on his life and career, and also deconstructs his favorite tracks. Best of all, he gave me a few quick tastes of his incredible singing voice.

Links:

Joshua Henry

Brown Sugar

Mare Of Easttown

FLYTE's Will Taylor Is Sparked By Kramer Vs Kramer: Divorce, Feminism And Drama Behind The Scenes

This week, I'm joined by FLYTE frontman Will Taylor to talk about his spark of inspiration, the Oscar winning Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman film Kramer Vs Kramer. Will speaks about how the film's events mirrored aspects of his own parents' divorce, we dive into some of the weighty issues covered in it (child custody battles, work life balance, feminism) and take a look at the real life drama that Dustin Hoffman created on set.  

Links:

FLYTE

Kramer Vs Kramer

All I Need

Skullcrusher's Spark Is Spirited Away: Fantasy, Empowerment And Hand Drawn Art

This week, I spoke with musician Skullcrusher (Helen Balentine) about the inspiration she's drawn from Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar winning animated feature Spirited Away. We talk about powerful female protagonists being underestimated in films, the wildly imaginative style of Studio Ghibli and we marvel at the intense emotional response evoked by hand drawn animation.

Links:

Skullcrusher

Spirited Away

Leave The World Behind

Musician Evan Stephens Hall Of Pinegrove Is Sparked By The Remains Of The Day: The Repression Olympics And The Spectre Of Fascism

Singer/songwriter and musician Evan Stephens Hall joins me to talk about the inspiration he's drawn from Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker Prize winning novel The Remains Of The Day. We touch on English repression, unrequited love and the pressures of duty and loyalty under the looming shadow of fascism.

Links:

Evan Stephens Hall/Pinegrove

The Remains Of The Day

In And Of Itself

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On Sparked Adrian Younge's Inspiration: The Personal, The Professional and The Political

Composer and producer Adrian Younge joins me to geek out about his spark of inspiration: Marvin Gaye's classic album What's Going On, which celebrates it's 50th anniversary this year. How does music reflect our personal history? How does it reflect the history of our nation? Adrian and I speak about the cultural context in which What's Going On was created, the lasting impact the album has had on his music and the history of Blackness in America.

Links:

Adrian Younge

What's Going On

Daft Punk

Philosophy, The Multiverse And Binge-worthy TV: Yassir Lester On Devs

This week, I'm doing a deep dive into the brain melting world of Alex Garland's limited TV series Devs with comedian, writer and actor Yassir Lester (Black Monday, Duncanville).  

We dig into the brilliance of Alex Garland's body of work, geek out over other genre fair (like Watchmen!) and wax poetic about the philosophical and existential themes in Devs.  

It's truly one of the best conversations I've had yet!  

Warning: if you haven't watched Devs yet, spoilers abound.  

 

Links:

Yassir Lester

Devs

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar

A Love Letter To Friendship In NYC: Claud on Broad City

Who needs a short, sharp blast of sunshine in their gloomy winter day?

*literally everyone raises their hand

Thought so! Here it comes! This week I had a frankly adorable conversation with super talented musician Claud about their love for one of my fave tv shows, Broad City.

We talked about all of the lols Broad City has brought us over the years, life in NYC and Claud remembers their chance encounter with Abbi Jacobson in LA. Sounds like the most fun you've ever had, doesn't it? It is!!

Ps Claud's BRILLIANT debut album Super Monster is out this Friday!!! 

Links:

Claud

Broad City

When Historical Drama And Contemporary Events Collide - Joyelle Johnson On Gone With The Wind

Congratulations on your new POTUS and VP, America! As a new president gift, here's my delightful chat with comedian Joyelle Johnson about her love for cinema classic Gone With The Wind. We cover flouncy dresses, unapologetically bratty rich people, portrayals of Black people in film and our current dizzying political climate. This one is a real hoot!

 

Links:

 

Joyelle Johnson

 

Gone With The Wind

 

Search Party

Musical Comedy, But Make It Filthy: Matt Buechele on South Park: Bigger, Longer And Uncut

What a week, right? Could anyone use a little reprieve from the chaos and insanity swirling around us? Well, I've got you covered, baby! I had a delightful conversation with comedian/composer Matt Buechele about his love for South Park: Bigger, Longer And Uncut, the notorious 1999 full length feature film version of Comedy Central's South Park. Matt and I show appreciation for the South Park team's reverence for musical theater conventions and laugh at the outrageous filthiness of the boundary pushing classic.  

 

Links:

Matt Buechele

South Park: Bigger Longer And Uncut

Kajillionaire

When The Cracks Begin To Show-Jake Luppen On The White Album

This week, I'm taking on one of the most famous and revered albums in history, The Beatles 1968 stone cold classic The White Album. But I'm not doing it alone! I had a little help from Jake Luppen (the singer/guitarist from Hippo Campus and newly minted solo artist as Lupin). We spoke about the impact The White Album has had on him as an artist, the benefits of band infighting in the studio and much, much more.  

Links:

Lupin

The White Album

Road Of The Lonely Ones