Matt Berninger (the National) and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos) are two of rock’s heaviest-hitting lyricists. Turns out, they’re also huge fans of each other’s songs.

The guys recently sat down to discuss all things songwriting (lyrics, finding melody, influences, “dick references," embarrassment and so much more) for the Talkhouse Music Podcast. They break down songs from across their catalogues, such as the National’s "All the Wine," "Fake Empire" and "Lemonworld," and Conor’s "Lua," "You Are Your Mother’s Child" and "Artifact #1." They also discuss their favorite songwriters, giving a lot of love to Leonard Cohen. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future Talkhouse Podcasts.

— Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast producer and engineer