Singer-songwriter Caitlin Cannon shares a knack for quotable lyrics with her album of choice, and lyrics are quoted liberally through this celebration of Jason Isbell's seminal 'Southeastern', as Caitlin discusses how the album's closing song 'Relatively Easy' hit her for six and led her to the record, an early encounter with the Drive By Truckers, the excitement of loving a contemporary artist like a classic music hero, how Isbell's singing voice has evolved over the years, the difference between poetry and song lyrics, and much more.

Singer, producer and the songwriter behind iconic songs of Carrie Underwood, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, Faith Hill and many many more, Gordie Sampson joins me this week to talk about the 1985 Dire Straits classic 'Money for Nothing', how Mark Knopfler and co chased the edges of new digital music recording technology, the stories behind 'Money for Nothing' and that signature guitar sound, the personnel changes in the band during recording, how Gordie connected with the album as a Canadian teenager, how 'Brothers in Arms' has found a second life in some of TV's greatest moments and more.

With a new Paul McCartney album on the horizon, I'm joined once again by Steven Cockcroft of the great Nothing is Real podcast to delve into the 21st century albums of a 20th century icon. We look back on McCartney's underdiscussed and to varying degrees underappreciated output from Driving Rain to McCartney III and everything in between, looking at the music, the critical narrative around these albums, what they say about McCartney and what McCartney is trying to say about himself and what we're hoping for from The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

My guest today is Texas country artist Angel White, who joins me to discuss the debut studio album by Ray LaMontagne, 'Trouble'. We chat about how the album went on to shape the kinds of music Angel still listens to and is inspired by today, the way a great album reveals more of itself the more you grow with it, the tone of LaMontagne's voice and how it makes you hang on every lyric, the ways in which the artist's voice has influenced Angel's own singing style, and the album's original intention as a collection of songwriter demos to pitch to other artists.

My first guest to kick off our 2026 season is Zach Williams, frontman and founder of Americana band The Lone Bellow, to discuss D'Angelo's 2000 neo-soul classic album 'Voodoo'. We chat about Zach's origin story with this album, how growing up in Georgia he would offset his love of listening to country music with a secret passion for R&B, the incredibly moving 2026 Grammys in-memoriam tribute to D'Angelo led by Lauryn Hill, the unusually long process of making 'Voodoo' at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the artist's reluctance to be branded as a sex symbol despite the record label's insistence, D'Angelo's collaboration with Quest Love and Pino Palladino, and the way the fearless spirit of 'Voodoo' inspired Zach to be at his bravest and most honest when creating his own music.

In what we can all agree is the greatest of all holiday traditions, filmmaker Charles Hood and The Wrap's Drew Taylor join me to celebrate / argue about our picks for the ten best films of 2025. Our shortest one yet!

My guest today is Wisconsin-born, LA-based singer/songwriter Hillary Reynolds, who is one of the rare guests to bring a live album to this podcast in the form of Fleetwood Mac's 1997 live record 'The Dance'. Having discovered the album as a child in the backseat of her parents' car, Hillary shares her thoughts on the record, including how the passage of time between when the songs were written and when they were performed at this live concert creates a different perspective on certain songs, how the appeal of Fleetwood Mac is largely informed by the story of the band members' interpersonal relationships, the way the band members' vocal tones are so versatile and greatly contrast with one another, how Fleetwood Mac's melodic style has heavily influenced Hillary's own songwriting, how her relationship to their music has evolved over time, and much more.

This week's guest is Swedish singer/songwriter Peter Morén, known for his work as guitarist and vocalist of indie rock trio Peter Bjorn and John and his solo project SunYears. Peter joins me to discuss the 1994 sophomore album by alternative Swedish artist Stina Nordenstam, 'And She Closed Her Eyes'. Peter and I chat about how this record represents a transitionary period for Nordenstam, how the album was recorded with drums but then stripped of them in the final mix, the elusive nature of Nordenstam as an artist and the ambiguity surrounding whether she will ever record another album, the artist's underground cult following which extends beyond her native Sweden, how the fragility and intimacy of the vocal recordings give the album a timeless feel, and much more.

This week's guest is Nashville singer/songwriter Dillon Warnek, who joins me to discuss 'The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1', featuring revisited, stripped back versions of songs spanning 33 years of the musician's legendary catalogue. We discuss Newman's wry humor and use of sarcasm in his writing and how that stylistic approach has influenced Dillon's own work, the layers of meaning to be discovered within a Randy Newman song and how they don't always reveal themselves on first listen, how the style of Newman's voice plays a huge role in how the song is interpreted versus the interpretations of his songs when sung by other artists, Newman's iconic work on film scores, which of Dillon's songs he'd like to hear covered by Tom Jones, and much more.

Today, I finally get to talk about the Electric Light Orchestra as author, actor and iconic supermodel Paulina Porizkova joins me to talk about the classic ELO album 'Out of the Blue'.

Paulina takes us back to moving to Paris as a 15 year old at the beginning of her career, and how this album soundtracked this chapter of her life, coming to the record as a lover of classical music, why ELO aren't thought of as an albums artist, why the album's theme of stepping out on your own resonated with her, their experiences seeing Jeff Lynne and ELO live in recent years and more.