Two fine authors who also happen to be great musicians talk about writing books about your bandmates and also how not to seem like a knobhead.

Stuart David (Belle and Sebastian, Looper) and James Fearnley (the Pogues) for The Talkhouse Music Podcast

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Nick Dawson talks with filmmakers, musicians and comedians whose work he loves, avoiding the mundane, predictable questions they&#8217;ve heard numerous times and instead asking substantive, thoughtful questions that get to the heart of who they are.

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That

Podcast

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Stephin Merritt

Joshua Bailey is a documentary filmmaker whose latest film, Stolen Kingdom, delves into the history of mischief, scandal, and theft at Walt Disney World

Joshua Bailey

Brendan Canty is a musician and filmmaker.  He was originally a member of Fugazi and his current band Deathfix can be found <a href="http://www.deathfix.com/">here</a>.  His film production company Trixie can be found <a href="http://www.trixiefilm.com/">here</a>.

Brendan Canty

Music

Joshua Bailey and Brendan Canty on the Punk Origins of Stolen Kingdom

Actor and singer-songwriter’s Alicia Witt’s forthcoming album <a href="https://30tgrs.ffm.to/betweenheavenandearth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Between Heaven and Earth</a>, is out August 28 via Thirty Tigers. Produced by Joe Henry, the album was inspired by filmmaker David Lynch, whose four-decade friendship and creative relationship with Witt shaped its exploration of love, intuition, fate, grief and the unseen connections that bind people across time. The second single from the album, &#8220;Freeze Frame,&#8221; is out now. Witt has been acting since the age of seven, when she made her film debut in David Lynch’s sci fi classic Dune. Her many screen credits include Showtime’s third season of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and films such as Two Weeks’ Notice, Last Holiday, The Upside of Anger, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Urban Legend, Four Rooms, 88 Minutes, Urban Legend and Vanilla Sky. Long celebrated for her work as both an actor and musician, Witt has released multiple acclaimed albums, performed around the world – including at Nashville&#8217;s Grand Ole Opry – and opened for Ben Folds Five, Rachel Platten, Bob Schneider, Jimmy Webb, and John Fulbright. A classically trained pianist, her music has been described as “sharply personal, boldly melodic pop originals” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, while Broadway World praised her “rangy, honeyed voice, clear as crystal, pretty as a stained-glass window,” calling her “a voice to treasure.” Witt also spent five weeks on Billboard&#8217;s Top 30 Adult Contemporary chart with the 2021 piano power ballad &#8220;Chasing Shadows,&#8221; from her self-co-produced album The Conduit. (Photo by David McClister.)

Alicia Witt

Film

On Being Fired

For 15 years, Matthew S led Illegal Art while shrouded in secrecy. During its run from 1998 to 2012, Illegal Art was more than just a record label — it dismantled preconceived notions of originality in music, what was “allowed” in the industry. Then, we only knew Matthew through a series of pseudonyms, most commonly Philo T. Farnsworth. Now, with the reboot of Illegal Art, Matthew is pulling back the curtain, kickstarting a new chapter for the label while launching a deeply personal project of his own, Myth Math. 
Myth Math’s Tongues is out now on Illegal Art. 
(Photo Credit: Valentin Son)

Myth Math

Talkhouse Weekend Playlist: A Sampling of the Illegal Art Archive

Slowspin is the moniker of Pakistan-raised, New York-based sound artist Zeerak Ahmed. Her work is grounded in North Indian classical and matrilineal vocal traditions, expanded through dream-folk, ambient, experimental, electronic, devotional song, and psychedelic sound practices. Poetry and melodies in her mother tongues — Urdu, Purbi and English — form new textural soundscapes for love, loss, and longing. 
Her upcoming album, Afterimage, will be out August 7, 2026.

Slowspin

Introducing: Slowspin’s “Phantom Weight”

Born At Midnite is the Montreal-based duo of Amery Sandford and David Carriere (TOPS, Marci). Their record Eternal BAM Nation is out now on Arbutus Records. 
(Photo Credit: Sasha Khalimonova)

Born At Midnite

Mood Board: Born At Midnite’s Eternal BAM Nation

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Talkhouse

806: Lydia Pang Argues “Stinky” Is a Great Thing

*Q&A and 7th Season Announcement*

969. – Chris & Jason

Stuart David is a Scottish musician, songwriter and novelist. He co-founded the band Belle &amp; Sebastian (1996&ndash;2000) and then went on to front Looper (1998&ndash;present). He is the author of the novels Nalda Said and The Peacock Manifesto, published by I.M.P.Fiction in 1999 and 2001 respectively. His third novel, A Peacock&rsquo;s&nbsp;Tale, was published by Barcelona Review in 2011. His latest book,&nbsp;In the All-Night Caf&eacute;: A Memoir of Belle and Sebastian&rsquo;s Formative Year, is&nbsp;published by Little, Brown. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/looperama" target="_blank">here</a> and Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/looperama" target="_blank">here</a>. &nbsp;

Stuart David

post

Everything is coming together in Julie Doiron&#8216;s world, from embracing her electric past, to embarking on a new and energetic phase of her solo career with some of the most upbeat and inspiring songs of her recording career. Her latest record, I Thought of You, is out now.

Julie Doiron

Ava Mirzadegan is a singer-songwriter based in Philly. Her latest record, For the Light, is out now on Vital Recordings. 
(Photo Credit: Michael Ward-Rosenbaum)