Sonny Rollins

16 years have passed since The Black Crowes released an album of new material. The world has changed a lot since then—and so have the Robinson brothers. Chris and Rich Robinson are, of course, the backbone of the band. They started playing together back in Georgia in 1984 as Mr. Crowe’s Garden before moving to NYC, signing to Def American, and changing their name to The Black Crowes. The band’s debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, set them up as the torchbearers of Southern rock for the '90s and beyond. As you’ll hear in today's conversation, the brothers Robinson have had a competitive relationship for a long time. Their ups and downs have meant hiatuses for the band over the years. But now they’re back united and seemingly in it for the long haul with their new album, Happiness Bastards. On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to Chris Robinson about his growing up in Georgia with Rich, their dad’s rockabilly career, and how his road habits have changed from indulging in champagne and other substances to reading Herman Melville. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Chris Robinson & The Black Crowes HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Famed drummer for the Police and composer Stewart Copeland has one of the more fascinating bios in modern music. His father was a founding member of the CIA and his mom worked in British Intelligence. After playing in the successful UK prog rock band Curved Air in the mid 70s, Stewart started a new band called the Police with bassist and lead singer, Sting—and eventually guitarist Andy Summers. Over the next decade the Police would go on to become one of the top-selling rock bands of all time, selling over 75 million records. Last year Stewart released the book, “Stewart Copeland’s Police Diaries,” which includes his personal notes dating back to the band’s formation in 1976 through 1978, when they started to take off. On today’s episode Bruce Headlam talks to Stewart Copeland about the first time he saw Sting play and how he was able to successfully lure him into his then non-existent band. Stewart also explains why he and Sting eventually had a musical falling out, and how the Arabic rhythms he heard growing up influenced his highly lauded drumming style. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Stewart Copeland and The Police HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justin Timberlake is one of the most high achieving pop phenomenons of the past three decades. In 1993 he helped relaunch the Mickey Mouse Club where he sang and danced alongside Rylan Gosling and other now luminaries. Then he broke records and sold over 70 million albums worldwide with *NSYNC. And if that weren’t enough, he launched an incredibly successful solo career in the early aughts where he found a musical soulmate in Timbaland who Justin's worked with in some capacity over the course of his six solo albums. So with all that hard earned success behind him, it’s been interesting to see the online drubbing JT's taken the last couple of years. Curious about how he might respond musically, it turns out, his new album Everything I Thought It Was, is everything you’d hope to hear from JT including a surprise *NSYNC reunion. On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks through Justin Timberlake’s new album with him as he dissects key tracks from it. JT also recalls how Micheal Jackson helped inspire his solo career, he breaks down the motivation behind each one of his solo albums, and he talks about why he felt now was the right time to reunite with his boy band brothers in ‘NSYNC. This episode was recorded at Amazon’s Studio126. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Justin Timberlake songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brandi Carlile’s knack for uplifting the musicians she loves is exemplary. After her own hard-earned ascent to fame over the course of seven studio albums, Brandi started to turn her sights to producing albums for artists she deeply admires, including Tanya Tucker who she’s been on Broken Record with in the past but also Brandy Clark. Then there’s Joni Mitchell—who, thanks to Brandi’s encouragement—has recently made a glorious return to performing live. Brandi’s passion for the projects she works on is infectious. The latest is an EP she produced for 18-year-old singer/songwriter Tish Melton called, When We’re Older. Over the course of the five-song collection, Tish pulls influence from artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Tish, whose mom is the New York Times bestselling author Glennon Doyle, is teeming with talent on her EP, which includes heartfelt songs that expertly capture a wise-beyond-her-years self assuredness. On today’s episode Leah Rose talks to Tish Melton and Brandi Carlile about their creative partnership and the impermeable sense of self Brandi has found in both Tish and Joni Mitchell. And Brandi teases her upcoming collaboration album that she calls “monumental,” plus she talks about why she thinks Beyonce might be country music’s saving grace. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Tish Melton and Brandi Carlile along with all the tracks mentioned in this episode HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Natalia Lafourcade is a force. As you’ll hear when she sings during our conversation today she has a gorgeous voice. But she’s also a deft songwriter who’s able to weave together traditions that feel both modern and old at once. And she’s also a beautiful interpreter of song—take for instance the phenomenon that was the song “Remember Me” from Pixar’s film Coco. Or take the many instances where she’s recorded some of the classic songs from across Latin America—performing on songs by greats like Violetta Parra from Chile and Agustín Lara from Natalia’s home state of Veracruz, Mexico. After spending the last seven years interpreting those masters, Natlia’s released De Todas Las Flores, her first album of originals since 2015. On today's episode Justin Richmond talks to Natalia Lafourcade about the evolution of her artistry over the last 25 years. She recalls the time a hummingbird inspired her to move past a creative rut, and how the logistical challenges of recording her latest album to tape wound up creating an urgency that ultimately fueled the creative process. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Natalia Lafourcade songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recognition of this month's World Happiness Day, we are presenting one of our favorite episodes from last year with Janelle Monàe and her longtime collaborator, Nate Wonder. Janelle's latest album, The Age Of Pleasure, was created in part as a celebration of black love and community. And as Nate Wonder shares in this interview with Justin Richmond, one of his guiding principles when making the album was to make Janelle smile. As part of Pushkin Industries' network-wide celebration of World Happiness Day, we will also be sharing an episode of The Happiness Lab from our brilliant colleague, Laurie Santos later this month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 70 years-old, Kim Gordon—the former bassist and founding member of Sonic Youth—is just now making the most abrasive music of her career. She just dropped her second solo album, The Collective, with producer Justin Raisen, who’s previously worked with artists like Drake, Lil Yachty, and Charli XCX. Kim’s spoken-word-like vocals on The Collective are the perfect accompaniment to Justin’s distorted trap-style beats. On today’s episode Leah Rose talks to Kim Gordon about her latest solo album, as well as her memoir, Girl In A Band, that detailed her split with ex-husband Thurston Moore. Kim also delves into why she always felt like an outsider in New York City’s thriving downtown art scene. And she recalls Sonic Youth’s storied tour in the early ‘90s opening up for Neil Young. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Kim Gordon songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To kick off our month-long celebration of Women's History Month, today we're featuring an interview with Polly Jean Harvey, a.k.a. PJ Harvey, who is without question one of the most gifted songwriters of our time. Her debut album, Dry, came out in 1992 and was what the LA Times called a near “instant classic.” The same with her sophomore release, Rid of Me—which became an inspiration for Nirvana’s last album: In Utero. Ten albums later and Polly continues to be not only a remarkable songwriter on her new album “I Inside the Old Year Dying” but...maybe more impressively...continues to find new musical territory and new voices to write from. Keeping her songs and artistry as interesting as it was when she first put music out 30 years ago. John Parish, who’s been a frequent collaborator of Polly’s since the 1980's produced the new album—along with Flood—and joins Justin Richmond in conversation with Polly to discuss their process of working together, the beauty of Polly’s last few albums and how they bonded long ago over Captain Beefheart. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite PJ Harvey & John Parish songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the last installment of our Thursday Black History Month drops, how could we not revisit our episode with the incomparable Sonny Rollins? Listening to Sonny is like history coming right off the page. He’s living, breathing black history and one of the greatest tenor players of all time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The last couple of years have been huge for Jason Isbell. The Alabama-born singer-songwriter’s latest album Weathervanes won the Grammy for Best Americana album this year. He also snagged a role in Martin Scorsese's film, Killers Of The Flower Moon, which is up for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars. There was also a critically acclaimed HBO documentary released last year about the making of Isbell’s previous album with the 400 Unit, Reunions, that put his personal life on full display. On today’s episode I talk to Jason Isbell about his exhilarating experience filming Killers of the Flower Moon and how he prepared to act in scenes opposite Leonardo DiCaprio (heads up—there are some major spoilers in this conversation). Jason also contemplates how he will write about the dissolution of his marriage, and why he struggles to write a balls-out rock song. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Jason Isbell songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.