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June 5, 2019

This Song: Strand of Oaks on “Lazarus” by David Bowie

By: Elizabeth McQueen

“This is the sound that quasars make when they’re being born or the resonant frequency of the big bang.”

Timothy Showalter, who leads the folk-rock band Strand of Oaks, chronicles his journey through depression on the band’s new record, Eraserland. Listen as he describes how hearing David Bowie’s “Lazarus” at the end of the recording process helped him see how powerful documenting dark times could be. Then hear how the process of making Eraserland helped bring Showalter to the other side of his own dark times. “(The record) exists in this wonderful place where it did start in a pretty dark place personally, but where it ended up turned out to be the brightest most love filled moment.”

Listen to this episode of This Song

Listen to Strand of Oaks new album Eraserland

Check out Strand of Oaks Tour Dates

Check out Strand of Oaks Studio 1A Session

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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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