My name is Jesse Hawken and welcome to episode one of Junk Filter, a new podcast about film, music, politics and jokes.

For our debut episode, Toronto musician Marker Starling joins me to celebrate the music of actor Richard Harris. His notorious 1967 pop smash MacArthur Park is his most famous song, but is only the tip of the iceberg: Harris recorded several epic concept albums in partnership with the great American songwriter Jimmy Webb, that are by turns beautiful, powerful and completely insane.

We also talk about Mr. Starling’s new LP High January (Tin Angel Records) and working with Laetitia Sadler (Stereolab) and producer Sean O’Hagan (The High Llamas), and I ask him what music has been getting him through All This.

Follow Marker Starling on Twitter.

Richard Harris - Interim

Richard Harris - Blue Canadian Rocky Dream

Jesse Hawken has directed two music videos for Marker Starling

Husbands

Hue and Cry

Purple Mountains - Nights That Won’t Happen