This Song

March 1, 2017

This Song: Rhett Miller of Old 97s

Rhett Miller, lead singer and songwriter of Old 97’s, explains how seeing a jewish lesbian folk singer named Phranc sing Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” helped him realize how music connects and saves us all.

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February 22, 2017

This Song: Molly Burch

Molly Burch always knew she wanted to sing, but she just needed to find the right song. Hear how Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child” has helped her find her way as a singer from the first time she heard it in middle school.

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February 15, 2017

This Song: Local Natives

Local Natives Kelcey Ayer and Nik Ewing have been thinking a lot about how to balance darkness and light, art and activism.

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February 1, 2017

This Song: Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird knew “For The Sake Of The Song” by Townes Van Zandt already, but when he re- listened to it recently he realized how much he related to the lyrics on a personal level. His conversation with Elizabeth touches on how much the song affected him, how it inspired him to write in a less encrypted manner and some of the downfalls of exposing his most intimate experiences in his work.

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January 25, 2017

This Song: Raury

Ray describes how “My World” by Kid Cudi saved his life as a young teenager. The young artist then sends his own message of support and love to his hero, who has recently experienced some dark days.

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January 18, 2017

This Song: Tomar and the FCs

Singer T0mar Williams from the Austin soul band Tomar and the FC’s talk about how singing Michael Jackson’s “Ben”as a kid started him on a lifelong musical path. The the FC’s drummer Paul Kresowik explains how Al Jackson Jr’s drumming on Sam and Dave’s “Soul Man,” helped him understand what soul drumming was all about.

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January 11, 2017

This Song: Jim James

Jim James’ second solo record is his most lyrically direct and overtly political work to date.

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January 4, 2017

This Song: The Shelters

Chase Simpson and Josh Jove from the L.A. based rockers The Shelters describe how the simple yet dangerous feel of Link Wray’s “Rumble,” the live version of Tom Petty’s “Learing to Fly” and the music of the Yardbirds shaped their sound.

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