The Charlatans' front man and all around legend Tim Burgess joins me to talk about his spark (and our mutual obsession), David Lynch's groundbreaking TV series Twin Peaks.
It's always a joy when my guests pick an inspirational work that's also inspired me and this chat is no exception! Tim and I talk about the unique style that Twin Peaks injected into the television landscape, it's lasting impact on the broader cultural landscape and our shared love of all things Lynch.
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Seether drummer Johnny Humphrey joins me to talk about his spark, KISS' legendary live album Alive!
How can the experience of going to a rock concert be conveyed without visuals? KISS found the answer with a live album that salvaged their careers and put them on the path towards astronomical success.
In addition to our KISS deep dive, Johnny and I chatted about the unmatched feeling of browsing through a record store and the thrill of hearing your favorite band for the first time.
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I’m joined by Grammy nominated singer and Broadway star Mykal Kilgore who spoke to me about his spark, the Logo TV series Noah’s Arc. Mykal is warm and funny and smart and just an all around joy to chat with.
Noah's Arc was the first and only scripted series to focus on a group of black gay men and Mykal talks about the incredible experience of seeing his lived reality portrayed on TV for the first time.
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This week, New Zealand born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ladyhawke (aka Pip Brown) joins me to talk about her spark, The Last Of Us game series.
Pip and I talk about the joys of immersive world building and queer representation in gaming. We also ponder the existence of internet trolls and try our best to figure out their motives.
Ladyhawke's new album Time Flies is released on Friday, November 19th.
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This week, I'm joined by Australian rapper, singer and songwriter Allday to talk about his spark, the movie Home Alone!
We chatted about Home Alone's tremendous cultural impact and reminisced about the old days when you had to rent movies from movie store.
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This week I'm joined by Ambrose Kenny-Smith of The Warlocs and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard to talk about his spark Emitt Rhodes' self-titled second album
Although it never got the recognition it deserved, this album was an enormous influence for artists like Aimee Mann and Mac DeMarco. Rhodes wrote the album, played every instrument and produced it; all from his parents' garage.
The album's backstory is incredible and so is Ambrose's relationship to it.
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Another spectacular live show!
The Spark Parade partnered with Fotografiska NY for a live recording in celebration of more than 100 episodes of the podcast and the museums Andy Warhol: Photo Factory exhibition.
Three incredible guests joined me to talk about their New York-centric sparks: Catherine Cohen on Brigid Berlin's Polaroids, Melissa Lozada-Oliva on Because The Night by Patti Smith and Lachi on New York, New York by Frank Sinatra.
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Ghanaian-Australian musician Genesis Owusu joins me to talk about his spark, Kanye West’s album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
I’ve talked to a few people about Kanye and those conversations have, for the most part, focused entirely on his music and avoided talking too much about the chaos and controversy that followed him everywhere throughout his career. This conversation leans into a more holistic approach and we didn’t shy away from talking about Kanye’s complicated legacy.
Genesis and I spoke about the luxury and excess behind the scenes during the album's recording process, marvel at the collaborative nature of this musical benchmark and talk about the difficulty we both have with reconciling our love for Kanye's music with his often toxic public persona.
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My guest is Grammy award winning keyboard virtuoso Cory Henry who spoke to me about his spark, Stevie Wonder’s album Journey Through “The Secret Life Of Plants”.
It's one of the strangest and least known albums in Stevie Wonder's back catalogue. Part film score, part concept album, it's full of beautiful melodies and unexpected changes of direction.
Cory's appreciation for this album has grown throughout his life and he loves helping his friends to discover it. We talk about the strange history of its creation and the impact it had on Wonder's career.
Plus, you'll get to hear my exclusive preview of Fantastic Fest!
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Singer/songwriter and actor Katelyn Tarver joins me to chat about her spark, an episode of Brené Brown's Unlocking Us podcast.
In her interview with Dax Shepard and Tim Ferriss, Brown talks about the power of relinquishing control. That interview inspired Katelyn to write the first single off of her upcoming album Subject To Change.
Katelyn and I talk about learning to accept the random nature of the universe, the perils of actors' auditions and drawing artistic inspiration from unlikely places.
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This week, I'm joined by Grammy nominated roots rock duo Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe along with Sam Hyken of pioneering hybrid orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble to talk about their collective spark of inspiration Led Zeppelin’s 4th untitled album, commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin 4.
How do the biggest albums of all time sound to you? Do you hear them in a different way to anyone else in the world? How would you reinterpret that music if you wanted to make it your own?
Rebecca, Megan and Sam talk through the process of collaborating on their new album Paint The Roses: Live In Concert through the lens of Led Zeppelin's globe dominating magnum opus. We also get into the Zeppelin's unparalleled musicianship and the profound impact their music has had on modern rock and pop.
Paint The Roses: Live In Concert is out now!!
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I'm joined by the absolutely lovely musician James Felice of the Felice Brothers who spoke to me about his spark, Randy Newman’s classic album Sail Away.
For an entire generation, Newman's voice is inextricably linked to the Toy Story movies and other cinematic classics. But those recent career highlights can be a gateway into Newman's prolific career.
In addition to our chat about Sail Away, James and I speak about learning to appreciate music through older siblings and the lost joys of buying CD's blindly without ever hearing a note from them.
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Psychologist, life coach, heavy metal vocalist and podcaster Dr. Mike about his spark, Steven Blush’s book American Hardcore: A Tribal History.
Dr. Mike's discovery of hardcore punk had a profound effect on his life and the way his sees the world. We dig into Blush's detailed recount of hardcore's history. The scene only lasted a decade, but it's influence has been felt by everyone from Dave Grohl to Flea.
Dr. Mike and I explore hardcore's chaotic energy and the vast network of hardcore micro-scenes in towns and cities across North America.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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