In this episode of “This Song,” Taylor Wallace sits down with Holly Miranda to talk about how a song she heard as a teenager opened her up to being open. Elizabeth McQueen sits down with musician and “how did I get here”  host Johnny Goudie to hear about a song from his teens that made him long for […]

Thom Green from Alt-J discusses his musical influences from Nirvana to Yamaneko. And the members of the band Ume each talk about a musical experience that helped them figure out what they wanted to accomplish with their music.

Gary Clark Jr. explains how Tupac's "Krazy" inspired him musically and lyrically. Along the way he gives some insight into his own writing process. Tameca Jones explains how seeing Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" in the context of "Pretty in Pink" helped her set the tone for the way she wanted to approach music.

Wilco guitarist Nels Cline describes how John Coltrane's Africa opened a door to an entire world of music he never knew existed and Julian Lage explains his attraction to the authentic interaction between Bill Evans and Jim Hall on "Undercurrent."

Shawnee Kilgore and Joss Whedon explain how they're inspired by Ani DiFranco, the Grateful Dead and each other. And Daisy O'connor recalls how grudgingly going to see Gregory Alan Isakov perform in a friend's living room changed the entire course of her life.

Benjamin Booker explains how songs by Nigerian artist William Oneaybor and the Caribbean band The Beginning of the End are all helping him shape the sound of the music he's writing now. Then Laura Patiño of Holiday Mountain describes how a song by M.I.A. helped her find her power as a woman and her voice as a musician.

Jose Gonzalez talks about the many ways Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" inspired his musical style as does drummer Trevor Wiggins of Leopold and his Fiction. Then Daniel James, lead singer and guitar player for Leopold and his Fiction, talks about how the Motown sound helped him find his own sound.

Jonathan Meiburg explains how Vic Chesnutt's "Big Huge Valley" helped him realize there was a whole world of music bubbling beneath the mainstream. Plus, he makes the case that Nina Simone is the "best popular musician of the 20th century, and maybe the 21st century too." Then Emily Cross of Cross Record describes the effect Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" had on her while her partner Dan Duszynski explains how King Tubby expanded his ideas of what music could be.

What do John Aielli, David Bowie and Caracaras all have in common? Jonathan Meiburg from Shearwater has learned something from all of them. Hear about his many and varied interests in this first ever "This Song" extra!

Josh Ritter explains how delving into the catalogue of Roger Miller helped him let go of the rules and find his voice for his new record. Then John Carter Cash explains why the music of his grandmother, Mother Maybelle Carter, influenced his musical path even more than the work of his father, Johnny Cash.

White Denim's James Petralli explains how the Grateful Dead's "That's It For the Other One" helped him realize how he wanted to approach both the guitar and the recording studio. Then Bayonne explores how The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" showed him how powerful openness and vulnerability in music could be.

John Doe talks about how hearing Lead Belly gave him a glimpse of the weirdness and darkness that lay beyond the mainstream. Then Jeff Klein from My Jerusalem talks about how a song by The Replacements took him from Neil Diamond and hair bands into the world of music that he genuinely loved and that would eventually inspire him to make music of his own.

Robert Delong explains how hearing "Stardust" on a a cassette taped version of Orson Wells "War of the Worlds" got him interested in harmony and songwriting. Then John Chao explains how inadequate record store categorization lead him to his hearing the album “Kiko” by Los Lobos and inspired some his best work.

On this edition we talk with Austin's own Adrian Quesada about 90s hip hop and Django Django's Tommy Grace tells us about his first experience with Josh Wink's "Higher State of Consciousness".

We’ve taken two previously-aired interviews from Leon Bridges and Gary Clark Jr. and put them together to draw a direct line of influence from one artist to another. Leon Bridges explains how hearing a Gary Clark Jr. song inspired him to pursue music, and then Gary Clark Jr. describes the impact of Tupac's "Krazy." Expect an “epic flow chart of inspiration” sometime in the future.

Sean Bonnette from AJJ (formerly Andrew Jackson Jihad) talks Violent Femmes, naturally distorted acoustic guitars and literature as sources of his inspiration. Then Scott Taylor and Tripp Lamkins from Grifters have a little listening party starting with songs by Deep Purple and ranging through 80's alternative music from Skinny Puppy to Black Flag to the Cure.

The members of The Octopus Project explain the impact of how the Guns n Roses' Appetite for Destruction, the theme song from 2001: A Space Oddysey and a live show by The Jesus Lizard. Along the way, the they end up talking about abandoning the trumpet, the connection between music and emotion and the difference between going to a show in 90’s versus today. Then Jane Weaver shares her experience of seeing Kate Bush performing Wuthering Heights on Top of the Pops when she was just five years old, and how Bush's look, dance and singing style still influence her work today.

Lake Street Dive's Mark Olson found that Willie Nelson's version of "Song for You" helped him deal with these complexities of being a musician on the road and helped his art along the way. And Austin newcomer Jane Ellen Bryant describes how Shawn Colvin's "I Want It Back" is the perfect example of how to write, arrange and produce a song.

El-P and Killer Mike from Run the Jewels start out talking about early influences (Prince's "Beautiful Ones" and Ice-T's "6 In The Morning”) and end up expressing their love and respect for Southern Rock, The Clash, Outlaw Country and early hip hop and rap. Then Sarah Castro and Matt Parmenter of the Austin-based Belcurve explain how Kathleen Edwards, PJ Harvey and Tom Waits helped them create their shared musical vocabulary.

Jim James’ second solo record is his most lyrically direct and overtly political work to date.

JR JR  has been making catchy indie pop music for the better part of the decade.  But where did this hook-laden infectious music come from? Listen in as the band members recount how their experiences with live shows by The Grateful Dead, a mysterious glow at a Tonic concert, a case of Led Zeppelin misidentification, the love […]

In this This Song rerun from 2016, you’ll hear Benjamin Booker in the time between his first self titled record  and his new album Witness.  The artists explains the profound influence William Onyeabor’s “Why Go to War” had on him, and why he’s  ready to weave politics into his work. Photo: Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon/KUTX Subscribe via the Podcasts […]

Composer and Conductor Benjamin Wallfisch has scored music for over 60 feature films including Hidden Figures and the remake of Steven King’s IT. He also collaborated with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for Blade Runner 2049.  Listen as he describes how hearing John William’s score for E.T.  as a young boy set him on the path of making music […]

KUTX presents John Prine “This Song” Live Interview and In-Store Appearance Monday, June 4th at 2pm. Come celebrate the release of John Prine‘s brand new album, Tree of Forgiveness with this special event. The interview and performance will be from 2pm-3pm. John Prine will be signing records from 3-4pm Purchase a copy of Tree of […]

John Cusack how listening to The Clash's "Armagideon Time" as a teenager opened him up both politically and musically and how he knew which songs to put in the movie "High Fidelity."

John Prine describes what Bob Dylan's "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," taught him about songwriting and empathy, and explains why he had to sequester himself in a hotel to write for the new record, "The Tree of Forgiveness."

Austin Artist Jake Lloyd describes how hearing Tony! Toni! Tone!'s "Let's Get Down" as a kid made him realize that he wanted to be a musician and describes what it's like to be working as an artist in Austin's burgeoning hip-hop and R&B scene.

Jamila Woods describes how Stevie Wonder's "Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" affected her deeply as a child, and how it influenced the music she made on "HEAVN."

Janelle Monáe talks to host Elizabeth McQueen after her performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival about music, love and voting.

Meggan Carney and Matt Sheffer of Austin's Zettajoule tell us how Kate Bush's "Running Up that Hill (A Deal With God)" and Rufus Wainwright's "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" helped them expand their ideas about the possibilities of pop music and explain what inspired them to record their new low-fi electronic EP, Always Looking Up, on an iPhone.

Jackie Venson explains how seeing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," from the movie Evita, changed the way she listened to music and the way she saw herself.

On this episode, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland of British electronic pop outfit Jungle, tell us about the Jai Paul's "Jasmine," and how it helped their band get comfortable with sonic experimentation.

Jenny Lewis' describes the effect that hearing  "Govinda Jai Jai" by Alice Coltrane while on a road trip across California with Jim James and Gary Burden had on her spirit and on her approach to her new record "On the Line."

Ian Graham,  guitarist, songwriter and singer for the Austin psych metal band The Well, describes how hearing "Ocean Size" by Jane's Addiction when he was a kid showed him how powerfully music could convey a feeling by  transporting him "to somebody else's movie."

Writer and entrepreneur Thea Wood describes how hearing Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" while watching the documentary of the same name  reignited her passion for music and inspired her to create the "Backstage Chats With Women in Music" podcast as well as the the Backstage Chats Foundation.

Austin based sisters Tori, Tiffany and Sofia Baltierra have been playing as the Tiarra Girls since they were in elementary and middle school. Listen as they describe how seeing the video for No Doubt's "Just a Girl" influenced them all stylistically and helped them find their voices as young women in music.

On the last episode of This Song until the fall, Krissy Teegerstrom, a self-made artist, creative consultant, podcaster, and designer at Featherweight Studio talks about how listening to "Mojo Pin" by Jeff Buckley transported her to a place beyond the real and showed her how to follow her creative intuition.

In this episode of This Song, originally published last February, Jackie Venson talks about how "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita changed the way she listened to music and thought about herself.

John Prine explains how Bob Dylan's "The Lonsesome Death of Hattie Carroll" changed his life and goes in depth about his own songwriting process for his album "The Tree of Forgiveness."

On this week’s In Black America program, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a conversation with Valerie Jarrett, former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, moderated by Brittany Packett this past spring at the Summit on Race in America: Liberty and Justice for All.

On this week’s In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Austin, Texas Fire Chief Joel G. Baker, Austin’s first African American Fire Department Chief, whose career includes more than 30 years in Atlanta, including 3 years as fire chief there

This week on In Black America, producer and host Joh L. Hanson, Jr. presents a tribute to the late Federal Judge Damon J. Keith, with Peter J. Hammer, Wayne State University Law professor and author of Crusader for Justice: Federal Judge Damon J. Keith.

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents excerpts from an address at this year’s Summit On Race In America: Liberty And Justice For All by Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., civil rights icon, former CEO of the National Urban League and former Executive Director fo the United Negro College...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a conversation with Jarrett Bell, an NFL columnist with USA Today Sports, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee who has covered the National Football League for more than three and a half decades.

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes his conversation with Jarrett Bell, a veteran NFL columnist with USA Today Sports, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee who has covered the National Football League for more than three and a half decades.

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Jasmine Allen, owner and Director of Events at Destination Birmingham, an event and meeting liaison agency specializing in event production, meeting management, and tours showcasing Birmingham, Alabama.

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a tribute to the late Martin Luther King, Jr, on the 90th anniversary of his birth, featuring Dr. King, and the Honorable Andrew Young and former U.S. President Barack Obama.

On this week’s program, In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. discusses the high rates of maternal mortality among African American women with Juan Pablo Segura, co-founder of Washington, DC.-based mobile app Babyscripts.

Across the country, rank-and-file prosecutors cringed at another extraordinary intervention by Attorney General William P. Barr.

The Trump administration is imposing 90-day limits on work visas for Chinese journalists, raising the threat of further retaliation by the Chinese government.