In this rerun from 2018, Beth Ditto, former lead singer of the band Gossip, talks about how Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam” helped her grapple with complex feelings about her home state, Arkansas. She also talks about returning home after heartbreak and explores making her first record “Fake Sugar.” Every  Thursday at 7pm CT, KUTX hosts a weekly  Netflix Party featuring a different music documentary. Check it out here. Last week’s movie was What Happened, Miss Simone? and inspired the...

In this rerun from 2018, Beth Ditto, former lead singer of the band Gossip, talks about how Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddam" helped her grapple with complex feelings about her home state, Arkansas. She also talks about returning home after heartbreak and explores making her first record "Fake Sugar."

In this rerun from 2018, Liz Phair talks about hearing The Soft Boys "I Wanna Destroy You," revisiting her 1991 Girly-Sound Tapes and 1993 debut album, and parenting realities.

In this rerun from 2018, Liz Phair describes how the 1980s rock song “I Wanna Destroy You” by The Soft Boys put her in touch with her youthful desire to destroy something. We also hear Phair share what it was like to revisit her early 90’s songs on the recent Girly-Sound to Guyville tour. Plus, she shares a bit of parenting wisdom with host Elizabeth McQueen. Phair has a new record, Soberish, coming out this summer. Listen to this episode of This Song Listen on The...

Beloved American singer-songwriter John Prine is on many people’s minds right now. He is currently in stable condition on a ventilator due to symptoms from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to him and his family.  This episode, recorded live in 2018 at Waterloo records, is a testament to Prine’s creativity,  kindness and generosity of spirit. In it, he explains how Bob Dylan’s “The Lonsesome Death of Hattie Carroll” changed his life and goes in-depth on his own songwriting process for his album...

Thao Nguyen from Thao and the Get Down Stay Down talks to host Elizabeth McQueen about the inspiration behind her new song "Temple," and about what it was like to release music during a pandemic. She also shares how making the new album helped prepare her to address her sexuality publicly and to create a safe space in her life where she could exist as her full self.

On March 10th, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down released a new single called, “Temple” along with an accompanying video. 6 days later residents in the San Francisco Bay Area, where lead singer, songwriter and guitar plater Thao Nguyen lives, were ordered to shelter in place. In this episode, Thao talks to host Elizabeth McQueen about the inspiration behind the new song and what it was like to release music during a pandemic. She also shares how making her upcoming record, also called Temple,...

Kathy Valentine, bass player in the seminal 80s all-girl rock group the Go-Go's, recently wrote a memoir titled All I Ever Wanted. In this episode of, Kathy explains what "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream taught her about herself when she was 9 years old,  describes how she found her creative process as an author and details how music and storytelling intersected in her new book.

Kathy Valentine, bass player in the seminal 80s all-girl rock group the Go-Go’s, recently wrote a memoir titled All I Ever Wanted. In the book, Valentine explores her unconventional childhood, her time with the Go-Go’s, and her journey to sobriety. In this episode of, Kathy explains what “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream taught her about herself when she was 9 years old,  describes how she found her creative process as an author and details how music and storytelling intersected in her new...

In this episode, St. Vincent explores how music from early Disney films helped her lay the foundation for beauty and wonder in her life and work. She also explains why she approached the songs on Masseduction with a Disney-esque lack of irony.

Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw from  Metric talk about  hearing "Teardrop" by Massive Attack early in their musical partnership and how it inspired them, terrified them and helped them find a collaborative way of making music that still works for them today.

In this episode of This Song, originally published last February, Jackie Venson talks about how "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita changed the way she listened to music and thought about herself.

In this rerun of an episode originally recorded last February, Jackie Venson explains how seeing  “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” from the movie “Evita,” changed the way she listened to music and the way she saw herself. Then she describes her journey from classical pianist to blues guitarist. It’s a tale of soul expanding love, self crushing doubt, and musical perseverance. Listen to this episode of This Song Venson will be co-hosting the Austin Music Awards on March 11th at ACLive at...

In this episode, St. Vincent explores how music from early Disney films helped her lay the foundation for beauty and wonder in her own life and work. “All that stuff, it’s your first introduction to magic…You know I think like, every kid wishes they could be in a cartoon. Like you wish so deeply that your reality could transmutate into that world, and music is the closest you get to come to it.” She also explains why she approached the songs on Masseduction with a Disney-esque lack of...

Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw from  Metric talk about  hearing “Teardrop” by Massive Attack early in their musical partnership and how it inspired them, terrified them and helped them find a collaborative way of making music that still works for them today. “I remember listening to that song…and just feeling like..it was sort of a mix between feeling like anything was now sonically possible, and that I would never achieve anything. Because I felt like it had gone to the heights and depths of...

Allison Moorer just released a new book and record, both titled “Blood.” Both works explore the legacy of her childhood in an abusive, addicted household and examine the impact that her parent’s murder suicide had on her life. In this episode, Moorer describes how “Every Breath You Take”  by the Police gave her a window into an entire other world of music, and helped her define herself apart from her family. Listen on The Apple Podcasts App, iTunes Spotify or Stitcher...

This week we have a special treat for you! A full episode of the new Song Confessional Podcast! In  this episode you'll hear a tale of family, weed and secrets, the song it inspired written by Brooklyn based Vlad Holiday, and an interview with Holiday about his boozy creative process.

This week we have a special treat for you! A full episode of the new Song Confessional Podcast!  The Song Confessional project began when Austin artists Walker Lukens and Zac Cantanzaro outfitted a trailer like a Catholic confessional and asked people to come in, and tell anonymous “confessions.” Then they took their favorite stories and gave them to musicians, who wrote and recorded songs based on the tales.  In the podcast you hear it all, the confessional, the song, and an interview with...

Meredith Goldstein is host of the Love Letters podcast, the love advice columnist and entertainment writer for the Boston Globe and one of host Elizabeth McQueen’s oldest and dearest friends.  In this episode she explores all the reasons she loves the sexy, pleading desperation of “Father Figure” by George Michael. Listen to this episode of This Song Listen on The Apple Podcasts App, iTunes Spotify or Stitcher Read the Love Letters Column Listen to the Love Letters...

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

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...

King Princess describes how  listening to "Cosmic Dancer" by T. Rex as a kid made her feel seen, helped her understand her gender and  showed her how music could transport the listener to another place and time.

In this episode, Mikaela Mullaney Straus aka King Princess describes how  listening to “Cosmic Dancer” by T. Rex as a kid made her feel seen. And she explores how anthemic rock bands, along with artists like Prince and Tina Turner helped her understand her gender and showed her how music could transport the listener to another place and time. “It’s about throwing people into a world. It’s about putting people into something that’s like completely separate from reality.” 📸 Greg Noire Listen...