Skip to Content
Talkhouse home
Talkhouse home
Music

Jim James Talks with M.C. Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger) for The Talkhouse Music Podcast

Two outstanding southern songwriters sit down and delve into the process of how music is created.

2:00 AM EDT on September 9, 2015

Hiss Golden Messenger's most recent album Lateness of Dancers came out in the autumn of 2014, and found frontman M.C. Taylor's songwriting process still evolving. He obviously thinks a lot about the craft and inspiration involved, so it's no surprise that the songwriting process was the main thing he talked about with My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James in this edition of the Talkhouse Music Podcast

My Morning Jacket brings in some disparate outside influences — prog-rock and disco, for instance — while Hiss Golden Messenger mostly keeps it local, with roots in country-rock, folk and Memphis r&b, but both musicians make their acclaimed music with a pronounced southern flavor. They have plenty in common, and they're fans of each other's work, which made for an interesting conversation. The two spoke via Skype while both were on tour — Taylor in Toronto and James in Niagara Falls, New York — and together they delved into the enduring mysteries of how songs are made.


Related Stories

GracieHorse and Chris Cohen Are a Little Superstitious

The collaborators talk spooky experiences, US Maple, and the making of Breaking and Entering.

November 10, 2026

Mood Board: Hour’s Ghost Bridge

Michael Cormier-O’Leary on how surprise parties, Margaret Millar, and more influenced the ensemble’s new record.

Eugene Mirman Talks with Robyn Hitchcock on the Talkhouse Podcast

The comedian/Bob's Burgers star chats spacemen, criminal animals and more with the legendary psychedelic popster

Horse Jumper of Love and Shallowater Invent a New Kind of Bass

Dimitri Giannopoulos and Tristan Kelly talk alt tunings, Alexander the Great, and the 10th anniversary of Horse Jumper of Love.

November 5, 2026

Lou Turner and Anne Malin Ringwalt Are Serious About Playfulness

The artists exchange missives on Fanny Howe, wordplay, fear, their grandparents, and more.

November 4, 2026

Fenne Lily and Whitmer Thomas Talk Showbiz

The friends catch up about putting their work out in the TikTok era, awkward stage banter, and much more.

November 3, 2026