By KUT & KUTX Studios, Elizabeth McQueen
Elizabeth McQueen dives into what makes ‘This Song’ worth talking about.
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...
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.
John Prine explains how Bob Dylan's "The Lonsesome Death of Hattie Carroll" changed his life and goes in depth about his own songwriting process for his album "The Tree of Forgiveness."
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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,...
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...
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.
Indie electronic duo Matt and Kim talk about how "The Mullet Burden" by The Dillinger Escape Plan showed them how intense music could be.
La Marisoul, lead singer and songwriter for the band La Santa Cecilia explains how Mercedes Sosa's version of "Yo vengo a ofrecer mi corazon" by Fito Páez helped her understand what a powerful tool music could be for connection and...
British singer, songwriter and producer Shura explains why My Bloody Valentine terrified her and intrigued her she she heard it for the first time, what it's like to write an entire album of love songs and why she felt like...
This Song host Elizabeth McQueen has been helping produce a new podcast called The Breaks. Every Saturday from 10pm-1am, Confucius and Fresh host a hip-hop show on KUTX called The Breaks. And now every Monday at 2pm the world can hear...
Singer, songwriter and producer Finneas O'Connell not only writes and produces music with his sister Billie Eilish, but also makes his own music under the name FINNEAS. Listen as he explains why he loved "Holy Sh*t" by Father John Misty...
Carrie Brownstein explains how "Stay" by Rhianna inspired her to write the last track on Sleater-Kinney's latest record,"Broken."
Ezra Koenig, lead singer and songwriter for the band Vampire Weekend, explains why he recently became obsessed with "I Don't Think Much About Her No More" by country singer and songwriter Mickey Newbury and explores what it was like to...
On the last episode of This Song until the fall, Krissy Teegerstrom, a self-made artist, creative consultant, podcaster, and designer at Featherweight Studio talks about how listening to "Mojo Pin" by Jeff Buckley transported her to a place beyond the...
On this episode of This Song, Elizabeth McQueen sits down with Eric Burton, the lead singer of Black Pumas to talk about what he learned about honesty an connection from Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" and...
Austin based sisters Tori, Tiffany and Sofia Baltierra have been playing as the Tiarra Girls since they were in elementary and middle school. Listen as they describe how seeing the video for No Doubt's "Just a Girl" influenced them all...
Musician, writer, and frontman for Old 97’s Rhett Miller launched his own podcast “Wheel’s Off With Rhett Miller” earlier this year. In it, he talks to artists about what it’s really like to live a creative life. In this 2017...
Timothy Showalter, who leads the folk-rock band Strand of Oaks describes how hearing David Bowie's "Lazarus" at the end of the recording process helped him see how powerful documenting dark times could be.
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.
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...
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Patty Griffin latest record "Patty Griffin" is a gorgeous acoustic exercise in vulnerability. Listen as she explores all the ways that Peter Gabriel's "Secret World" impacted her life and her music.
Jenny Lewis' describes the effect that hearing "Govinda Jai Jai" by Alice Coltrane while on a road trip across California with Jim James and Gary Burden had on her spirit and on her approach to her new record "On the...
Warren Hood describes how hearing the song "High Hill" gave him a deep appreciation for the music of Uncle Walt's band while helping him process his grief around the loss of his father.
Amanda Palmer explores how seeing Nick Cave's performance of "Magneto" in the documentary "On More Time With Feeling" showed her how powerful inviting an audience into deeply personal experiences could be. "The ability too walk into the...
Cara Tillman, vocalist and instrumentalist from Moving Panoramas, describes the joy that Elton John's "Burn Down the Mission" brings her, followed by guitarist Rosie Castoe exploring her life long love of Peter Gabriel's "Steam." And lead singer and songwriter...
Allison Moorer 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.
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...
On this episode, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland of British electronic pop outfit Jungle, tell us about the Jai Paul's "Jasmine," and how it helped their band get comfortable with sonic experimentation.
Bayonne, KUTX's Artist of the Month, explains how "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys taught him the power of vulnerability and openness and how to embrace it in his own music.
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.
Sahana Srinivasan, host of the popular Netflix science show for kids Brainchild explains how listening to "Where Will I Go" by Sweet Valley helped her find her voice a young artist. She also tells us about the artistic journey that...
Dana Falconberry talks about the profound impact being in the band "Peter and the Wolf" when she first moved to Austin. It's two Austin musicians, talking how Austin Music changed their lives. Enjoy!
Shy Beast front woman Mariclaire Glaeser describes how the music of the Cardigans helped her navigate a difficult childhood, bond with her older brother and find her musical way.
Sharon Van Etten explores how how listening to Neil Young's "Harvest" as a kid helped her connect with her father. She also shares how her own experiences with parenthood pushed her to pursue her own music again after a long...
Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall tells us how seeing Beck's Loser on MTV as a kid pushed her to pursue her own music and how his willingness to experiment with styles and genres continues to inspire her.
Hrishikesh Hirway describes how hearing Asha Bhosle’s “Yeh Hai Reshmi Zulfon Ka Andhera,” at the age of 6 helped him understand a feeling that he would be able to draw inspiration from for his entire life. Then Thao Nguyen explains...
Nik Ewing, leader of the band Chewing and bass player and vocalist for Local Natives, explains why he chose to cover Dennis Wilson's solo album "Pacific Ocean Blue" in it's entirety. This project is part of Turntable Kitchen's Sounds Delicious...
Austin based singer and songwriter Charlie Faye describes how her childhood love of "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes helped her find her musical way and how it inspired the band's new single "I Don't Need No Baby."
Andrew Savage from Parquet Courts loves karaoke. Hear from whence that love springs, how that love led him to Roxy Music and why he love that band's song "Re-Make / Re-Model."