Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters
Music:Music Interviews
SUMMARY:
Celebrated songwriter Natalie Merchant chats about her songwriting, from her days fronting 10,000 Maniacs up to her most recent album, Keep Your Courage.
PART ONE:
Were the Lilith Fair-era 1990s the best time for women in music? Scott and Paul discuss.
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with the legendary Natalie Merchant
ABOUT:
Natalie Merchant launched her career as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band 10,000 Maniacs, which broke through with the double Platinum album In My Tribe in 1987. Subsequent albums Blind Man’s Zoo and Our Time in Eden spawned the Merchant-penned singles “Trouble Me” and “These Are Days,” respectively. Following an appearance on MTV Unplugged and a hit single covering Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith’s “Because the Night,” Natalie departed the band to launch a solo career. Her debut album, Tigerlily, featured the Top 10 singles “Carnival,” “Wonder,” and “Jealousy,” and was certified five times Platinum. She has gone on to release nine solo studio albums, including the Platinum-selling Ophelia, which spawned the single “Kind & Generous”; Leave Your Sleep, which topped the US folk charts; and a 2014 self-titled release that reached the Top 5 on Billboard’s rock chart. Recent years have found Natalie rearranging her songs for string quintet and acoustic instruments for the documentary Paradise Is There, directing Shelter, a documentary on domestic violence, curating the 10-disc box The Natalie Merchant Collection, and spending four days a week working with children as an artist-in-residence at a non-profit pre-school. In November 2022, Natalie was appointed to a six-year term on the board of trustees for the American Folklife Center at The Library of Congress. Her ninth studio album, and first album of all new, original material in nine years, is the self-produced Keep Your Courage on Nonesuch Records.
Ep. 232 - RACHEL PLATTEN ("Fight Song")
Ep. 231 - JUDAH AKERS of Judah & the Lion ("Take it All Back")
Ep. 230 - CAROLYN DAWN JOHNSON ("The Day I Die")
Ep. 229 - DREW HOLCOMB ("American Beauty")
Ep. 228 - NICKEL CREEK ("Celebrants")
Ep. 227 - ALAN BERGMAN ("The Way We Were")
Ep. 226 - NORAH JONES ("Come Away with Me") + profile on Tish Melton
Ep. 225 - CHARLIE STARR of Blackberry Smoke ("Dig a Hole")
Ep. 224 - BOBBY RUSH ("Chicken Heads")
Ep. 223 - DUFF McKAGAN of Guns N' Roses ("Civil War")
Ep. 222 - AUDLEY FREED ("Peace Pipe")
Ep. 221 - JD SOUTHER ("The Best of My Love")
Ep. 220 - STAX CHRISTMAS with Deanie Parker, William Bell, and Carla Thomas
Ep. 219 - PETER CASE ("A Million Miles Away")
Ep. 218 - GAVIN ROSSDALE of Bush ("Glycerine")
Ep. 217 - DAVE BARNES ("God Gave Me You")
Ep. 215 - JOSH RITTER ("Getting Ready to Get Down")
Ep. 214 - PAUL STANLEY of KISS ("Rock and Roll All Nite")
Ep. 213 - DEANIE PARKER ("Ain't That a Lot of Love")
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