Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Today we have Aoife O’Donovan on the show who was nominated for two Grammy awards this year: Best Folk Album for her latest release, All My Friends, as well as Best American Roots Song for the album’s title track. Aoife is a wonderfully prolific singer and songwriter from the Americana tradition—who also has an academic background, having studied improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her latest album is a gorgeous set of songs inspired by the life and work of suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, and it celebrates the 100 year anniversary of women securing the right to vote in the United States. In Aoife’s conversation with Bruce Headlam on today’s episode you’ll hear her perform some songs live and hear her talk about how this project crystallized for her, and some of the challenges it posed. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Aoife O’Donovan songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Deal is an indie-rock icon. In the mid-80s, she joined The Pixies as the band’s original bassist and co-vocalist. After the release of their debut album Come On Pilgrim in 1987, followed by the alt-rock classics Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, Kim took a break from The Pixies to form her own band, The Breeders. With the help of Kim’s twin sister Kelley on lead guitar, The Breeders released a couple EPs and four studio albums, including the platinum-selling ‘90s hit, Last Splash. This year after a run with The Breeders opening up for Olivia Rodrigo's worldwide Guts tour, Kim Deal is once again heading out on her own with the release of her first solo album, Nobody Loves You More. The album was recorded by the late Steve Albini, a close friend and longtime collaborator of Kim’s, and it features a slew of her other old friends and collaborators, including Slint’s Britt Walford on drums, and The Breeders Josephine Wiggs, Jim Macphearson, and of course Kelley Deal. On today’s episode Leah Rose talks to Kim Deal about working with Steve Albini on The Pixies Surfer Rosa, and why he always regretted a specific contribution to that album. Kim also recalls recording The Breeders’ first two albums, and she remembers how a group of surfers on a druggy trip to Nantucket helped inspire her new lead single, Coast. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Kim Deal songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Soccer Mommy is one of the stand-out singer/songwriters to emerge over the last half decade. She was born Sophia Allison and raised in Nashville, Tennessee where she started playing guitar at six years-old. Sophia started posting her songs on Bandcamp in 2015 under the name Soccer Mommy the summer before moving to New York to study the music business at NYU. Two years later she dropped out after signing her first record deal with Fat Possum. Since then she has released four albums and toured with artists like Vampire Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers and Mitski. Soccer Mommy’s latest album Evergreen is a reflection on grief and loneliness, and was described recently by Pitchfork as the, “most laid back and pastoral music of her career.” You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Soccer Mommy songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Billy Bragg came up in East London—Barking, Essex to be exact. It's fitting given the characteristic howl of his vocals. Listening to him these days, it’s hard not to recall the late-great Joe Strummer or the modern brilliance of Archy Marshall, a.k.a. King Krule. In the mid-80s, a musical era driven by production, Billy Bragg was all about songs. He was one of the great standard bearers of political music carried on from both the folk and punk traditions. On today's episode Bruce Headlam talks to Billy Bragg about using music as a political tool, and whether it can truly affect change. Billy also reminisces about his first trip to the U.S. in ‘84 opening for Echo & the Bunnymen, and his collaboration with Wilco to bring unpublished Woody Guthrie songs to life. You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Billy Bragg songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.