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November 21, 2019

This Song: Devendra Banhart

By: Elizabeth McQueen

Devendra Bahnart talks about how hearing “Just Another Diamond Day” by Vashti Bunyan while busking on the streets of Paris comforted him with a feeling of motherly love that he still turns to today. He also explains how themes of motherhood, love, fear and compassion show up on his latest record “Ma.”

“It’s like once you’re heartbroken, it’s not like ‘That’s it, never gonna be heartbroken again.’ Once you’re not lonely it’s not like ‘That’s it, okay I did it.’ Once you go through a day without making mistakes it’s not like ‘That’s it, end of mistakes.’ It’s this constant thing. I am constantly heartbroken and constantly anxious and lonely and so I have this thing, called art. It’s very beautiful. You have this immediately accessible comfort. This immediately accessible love.”

Listen to this episode of This Song

Listen to Devendra Banhart’s new record Ma

Check out Devendra Banhart’s Tour Dates

Check out the full session of Devendra Banhart Live in Studio 1A

Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song


Episodes

May 29, 2019

This Song: The Bishops on “Soundtrack to My Life” by Kid Cudi

Our May Artist of the Month- The Bishops explain that hearing “Soundtrack to My Life” by Kid Cudi for the first time as middle schoolers changed what they thought hip-hop music could be.

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May 22, 2019

This Song: Thea Wood on “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett

Writer and entrepreneur Thea Wood describes how hearing Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” while watching the documentary of the same name  reignited her passion for music and inspired her to create the “Backstage Chats With Women in Music” podcast as well as the the Backstage Chats Foundation.

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May 8, 2019

This Song: The Teeta on “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen

Austin rapper The Teeta breaks down all the reasons he loves “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and how it influenced the direction he took on “Rain” from his latest record  Teeta World. 

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May 1, 2019

This Song: Pocket Sounds

Austin’s Pocket Sounds is the solo project of singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and arranger Mike St Clair. Listen as he describes how hearing Dionne Warwick’s version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”  at a kiddie pool party inspired him to meld the classical, jazz, pop and rock parts of himself, and influenced his new song “Radio Song.”

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April 26, 2019

This Song: Citizen Cope

Citizen Cope details how his emotional connections to legends such as Randy Newman and Trouble Funk aided his understanding of the powerful energy that music can have. Cope then goes on to discusses how his experiences of the last seven years led him to the songs on his latest record “Heroin and Helicopters.”

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April 24, 2019

This Song: GRiZ on Disney’s “Fantasia”

Producer and multi-instrumentalist GRiZ explains how seeing Disney’s “Fanstasia”as a child helped him understand music’s ability to take the listener on an emotional journey and piqued his interest in making music on the computer. The listen as he explains why he wanted to explore his own complex emotional journey on his latest record “Ride Waves.”

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April 17, 2019

This Song: Ian Graham from The Well on “Ocean Size” by Jane’s Addiction

Ian Graham,  guitarist, songwriter and singer for the Austin psych metal band The Well, describes how hearing “Ocean Size” by Jane’s Addiction when he was a kid showed him how powerfully music could convey a feeling by  transporting him “to somebody else’s movie.”

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April 10, 2019

This Song: Cautious Clay On “B.O.B” by Outkast

Cautious Clay explains how the video for Outkast’s “B.O.B” blew his mind as a 7 year old and tells us how that experience continues to have a profound impact on his own work, especially on his new project “Table of Context.”

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