Courtney Barnett Plays In Brooklyn

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Courtney Barnett Plays In Brooklyn"

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Date: May 8, 2026
Guest: Courtney Barnett
Main Theme:
This episode features acclaimed Australian musician Courtney Barnett in a candid, reflective conversation with Alison Stewart to mark her upcoming Brooklyn concert and discuss her latest album, Creature of Habit. The discussion explores Courtney’s recent relocation to the United States, the impact of place on her creativity, inspirations behind her new record, artistic evolution, and her experience running—and closing—her independent label.

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Episode Overview

• Focus: The transformative journey behind Barnett's new album Creature of Habit, her move to America (and specifically, Joshua Tree), creative influences (notably Georgia O’Keeffe), and changes in her career.
• Tone: Warm, introspective, grounded, gently humorous.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Courtney Barnett’s Move to the US and Creative Renewal

• Motivation for Moving ([01:54]):
  • Barnett describes her relocation as motivated by a desire for change and personal evolution:

    "I think I just wanted a change in my life." (Courtney Barnett, 01:54)

  • The transition has been significant and she’s still processing its impact:

    "Sometimes you don't fully realize what you're going through until you look back at the work you've done… so I think I'm probably still processing it, but it's been nice and just a big life change." (02:04)

2. The Influence of Joshua Tree & Nature

• Why Joshua Tree? ([02:39]):
  • Barnett shares her deep affinity with Joshua Tree, describing it as a creative sanctuary she first visited in 2013 and always dreamed of living in:

    "When I first came to America in 2013... I really loved it and I went back often and had these little creative trips... Otherwise you're forever going to be thinking about the thing that you wanted to do but you never did, so. So I did it." (02:39)

• Making Noise & Creative Space ([03:39]):
  • Asked about making “a lot of noise” in Joshua Tree, Barnett contrasts this with the quiet, confined process of her previous album recorded during lockdown:

    "It was in the desert. It was loud... just like a wider kind of feeling and sound." (03:39)

• Catharsis Through Sound ([04:27]):
  • She finds a release in the physical act of making noise:

    "It can feel quite cathartic and like a release, you know... like a kind of shedding in some way." (04:27)

3. Songwriting and Serendipity: The Story Behind “Mantis”

• Encounter with Inspiration ([05:04]):
  • Struggling with writer’s block, Barnett is inspired by a chance encounter with a praying mantis:

    "I looked up and saw this little praying mantis on my door frame... it felt a little bit like a sign from the universe... I stood there and spoke to the praying mantis for a while and... then I finished the song." (05:04)

• Personal Rituals ([05:58]):
  • Lightheartedly, she recounts her conversation with the insect:

    “Just kind of welcoming it into the house and telling it that it was safe and I wasn't gonna hurt it. And... I just kind of asked for guidance.” (05:58)

4. Georgia O’Keeffe: An Artistic North Star

• Artist as Inspiration ([08:23]):
  • In the desert, Barnett became fascinated by O’Keeffe, collecting her books and drawing inspiration from the artist’s life:

    "I read a biography about her... I just felt really inspired by her as an artist, the way she kind of lived her life as an artist. It was kind of the backdrop in a way." (08:23)

• Visiting O’Keeffe’s House ([09:13]):
  • Sharing her experience at Ghost Ranch, Barnett is struck by the simplicity and beauty of O’Keeffe’s home:

    "Everything was really simple and had a place. But every, you know, everything... was just beautiful." (09:44)

5. Collaboration: Featuring Waxahatchee on "Sight Unseen"

• Choice of Collaborator ([10:15]):
  • Barnett highlights her admiration for Waxahatchee, who features on the track:

    "This features Waxahachie, who's a songwriter that I really love." (10:15)

6. From Milk Records to Creative Freedom

• End of an Era ([11:24 – 13:37]):
  • Barnett reflects on winding down her independent label, Milk Records, after 13 years:

    "It was a really hard and sad process to kind of make the decision to close it down, but I feel like I learned so many lessons." (12:18)

  • Closing the label freed her to focus on creation, rather than business:

    “I was giving half of myself to each part of my life... I kind of wanted to give my full self.” (12:27)

  • She reminisces about its humble beginnings:

    "It started just me releasing my first EP in my bedroom... then I would get it off the shelf and walk it to the post office. That was how the label began." (12:27)
    "...it grew into a bigger community of other artists, other musicians... started working for us. And yeah, it grew into something bigger, which is obviously great, but also really kind of terrifying.” (13:19)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On cathartic songwriting:

  "When you sing really loudly or make a lot of noise... it can feel quite cathartic and like a release." — Courtney Barnett (04:27)

• On creative magic in nature:

  “I was making coffee, and I looked up and saw this little praying mantis on my door frame. And I just had this really beautiful moment. It felt a little bit like a sign from the universe...” — Courtney Barnett (05:04)

• On the reality of running a label:

  “I was giving half of myself to each part of my life and not... I kind of wanted to give my full self.” — Courtney Barnett (12:27)

• On Georgia O’Keeffe’s house:

  "Everything was really simple and had a place... everything was just beautiful." — Courtney Barnett (09:44)

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Essential Listening Timestamps

• 00:29: Alison Stewart introduces the concert and plays the lead single “Stay in youn la”
• 01:26: Courtney’s move to the US and album origins
• 03:39: The impact of Joshua Tree and creative freedom (“making noise”)
• 05:04: The story and inspiration behind “Mantis”
• 06:22: “Mantis” (song excerpt)
• 08:23: Georgia O’Keeffe’s influence and Ghost Ranch experience
• 10:15: Collaborating with Waxahatchee (“Sight Unseen” intro)
• 11:24: Reflections on Milk Records and choosing creative focus

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Summary Takeaway

This episode offers a rich, textured portrait of an artist in transition. Courtney Barnett discusses embracing change—from country and surroundings to creative process and professional balance. Listeners gain insight into the emotional and artistic forces shaping Creature of Habit, including the solitude and symbolism of the desert, artistic idols like Georgia O’Keeffe, and the bittersweet necessity of letting go of old ventures to make space for new creativity. The conversation is thoughtful and natural, peppered with gentle humor and moments of genuine wonder.

For fans and newcomers alike, the episode provides an intimate view of the interplay between life’s changes and creative work, underscored by the music itself.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart and to close out our show, we're going to spotlight a local concert from one of our recent guests, Australian musician Courtney Barnett. She's playing King's Theatre in Brooklyn tomorrow night following the release of her latest album, Creature of Habit. Here's the lead single, Stay in youn la.

[Courtney Barnett (singing)]

I know you're trying to help me I know you're trying to help me I know you're trying to help me Feels like I'm going backwards each day I preach my practice and still it seems I wasn't ready for this.

[Alison Stewart]

Since the release of her last album in 2021, Courtney Barnett has moved to the United States. She's now resident. She created her new album during A year in Joshua Tree and she was tapping into nature. The album is titled Creature of Habit. Courtney Barnett will be playing at King's Theater in Brooklyn tomorrow, May 9th. And when Courtney joined me in studio for an all of it listening party, I started by asking her what prompted her recent move to the States.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

I think I get asked that a lot and I don't really know. I think I just wanted a change in my life and.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, what's the transition been like?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

I mean, I guess, you know, I wrote this album and I spent nearly three years or something writing it and recording it and working on it. And I think, you know, sometimes you don't fully realize what you're going through until you look back at the work you've done or whatever it is. So I think I'm probably still processing it, but it's been nice and just a big life change.

[Interviewer]

You know, everybody keeps saying, oh, she recorded this in Joshua Tree. What does that mean to you when you, when someone says, oh, she recorded it in Joshua Tree, and how do you feel in that sentence?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Well, I was, I was living out there for about a year and I wrote a lot of the album out there and, and Joshua Tree was just one of those places. When I first came to America in 2013, I, I, the first time I went out there, I really loved it and I, and I went back often and had these little kind of nice, little kind of creative, creative trips where I would write or make Music, and I always loved it. And in the back of my head, I was always thinking, I'd love to live here at some point. So I think, you know, just after Covid, I was kind of just like, just do it. Just give it a go. And otherwise you're forever going to be thinking about, you know, the thing that you wanted to do, but you never did, so. So I did it.

[Interviewer]

So you went out to Joshua Tree and you told the Guardian that you make a lot of noise when you're out there. Did you mean that literally?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Yeah, yeah. Because there was a little studio in the house, and I was maybe talking about it in comparison to my last album, Things Take Time, which I wrote in COVID lockdown in Melbourne in a very small apartment. And it was. You know, I always did. It felt. And quiet and. And this album feels kind of like the exact opposite. It was in the desert. It was loud. It was, you know, arms open, just. Just like a wider kind of feeling and sound. And so I might have been referring to that. But, yes, I did make actual noise.

[Interviewer]

How did that help your songwriting to be able to make that kind of noise?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

I mean, there's something in that. There's something in that feeling kind of physically or energetically when you. When you sing really loudly or make a lot of noise. I feel like it's a. It can. It can feel quite cathartic and like a release, you know, in a way and. Yeah, like a kind of shedding in some way.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, it's like when you scream, you feel better after.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Let's listen to another track from the album. We're going to listen to Mantis. Could you set this up for us?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Yeah. This song. Well, I remember finishing it in the desert. I was. I was. I'd written half the song, and I. I was it. I was kind of having some writer's block, and I was feeling a bit lost in the song, but also in life. There's a lot of that on this album. And I was about to start writing for the day. I was making coffee, and I looked up and saw this little praying mantis on my door frame. And I just had this really beautiful moment. It felt a little bit like a sign from the universe or from someone. And it felt really important to me in that moment. So I kind of stood there and spoke to the praying mantis for a while and. And just. Yeah, it felt. It felt really important. And then I. And then I finished the song.

[Interviewer]

What did you say to the praying mantis?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Like, hello, how are You. What's up? Yeah, yeah, I remember saying. Just kind of welcoming it into the house and telling it that it was safe and I wasn't gonna hurt it. And then. And then we just. I think I just kind of asked for guidance. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Let's listen to Mantis.

[Courtney Barnett (singing)]

Just got back today and I'm searching around the place Looking for you know who but there's no sign yet Singing autopilot day Shining ultraviolet rays on this dusty skeleton I feel akin on a cosmic level I can see right through you yeah I can read your bones Just like a telephone book maybe I should give it up again Again I am exercising how good it feels to be alive and no soon surprises up my sleeve Everything is temporary. Praying mantis on my door Looking for meaning or just any sign at all

[Interviewer]

that's Mantis by Courtney Barnett from her album Creature of Habit. I understand that Georgia o' Keeffe was a big inspiration for you. When did you discover Georgia o' Keeffe was going to be a part of this record?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Well, I think when I was in the desert, I realized. I started just accumulating all of these books about her and suddenly, Suddenly I had 10, 10 kind of Georgia O' Keeffe books on my coffee table. And. And I read a biography about her and I think I just. That one of them was a cookbook. And. And yeah, I just felt really inspired by her as a. As an artist, the way she kind of lived her life as an artist. And, yeah, it was kind of the. The backdrop in a way. I don't know, I just. It felt like such a visual. A visual reminder of the album.

[Interviewer]

You should go up to the Met and see some of her work.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's pretty great. I went. I did this festival at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico where she lived and worked, and we luckily at the last minute, got a tour of her house because there's a museum there as well. So if you're ever there, I really recommend it. It was really beautiful. They kept. They kept it exactly how she. How she had it. Her house.

[Alison Stewart]

How would you describe how she kept her house?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Was just the really aesthetically beautiful, like the design. It was really simple. Everything was really simple and had a place. But every, you know, everything. Everything was just beautiful. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

I've seen pictures of her studio, but I don't know if I've ever seen

[Interviewer]

them of her house. That's amazing. Okay, put that on my to do list.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's play another track. This is Sight Unseen. Who else does this feature A musician.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Yeah. This features Waxahachie, who's a songwriter that I really love.

[Interviewer]

Let's list.

[Courtney Barnett (singing)]

Always getting in my own way. Is it too late for making any changes? Letting go of everything that might have been? I know it seems a lot.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

It's only for.

[Courtney Barnett (singing)]

Sight unseen.

[Interviewer]

My guest is Courtney Barnett. Her new album is called Creature of Habit. This is going to be released on mom and Pop Records, right?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Correct.

[Interviewer]

And your last album was released on your independent label, Milk Records. You since decided to wind that down. What did you learn from Run? From having your own label?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Yeah, yeah, that label, I think it was running for about 13 years. And mom and Pop always released my records in America, but. But, yeah, in Australia, New Zealand. Milk Records was releasing them and I mean, I. Wow. It was such a big. A really big part of my life and it was a really hard and sad process to kind of make the decision to close it down, but I don't know, I feel like I learned so many lessons, but right now in this moment, how to verbalize them, I do not know.

[Interviewer]

Did it leave you more room to be creative because you don't have to think about the bottom line?

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

In some ways, yeah. I mean, yeah, I think that's what I would.

[Interviewer]

That's what I would think.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Yeah, that was one of the main. You know, I realized I was kind of splitting my. Yeah, my. My time and my thoughts and I wanted to kind of. I felt like I was giving half of myself to each part of my life and not. I kind of wanted to give my full self and my. And everything had. So that was definitely part of it. And I think, you know, it started as such a small thing. It started just me releasing my first EP in my bedroom and. And I would get an order through on the. On the. On the computer, and then I would get it off the shelf and walk it to the post office. And that was how the label began. So it was very, you know, it was very, very simple and small. And then, yeah, over the years it grew into something really beautiful. Grew into a bigger community of other artists, other. Other musicians and, you know, people started working for us. And yeah, just. It grew into something bigger, which is obviously great, but also really, really kind of terrifying at the same time when you're figuring out what you're doing as you're going.

[Alison Stewart]

Courtney Barnett's new album is Creature of Habit. She'll be at Brooklyn's King Theater tomorrow night.

[Interviewer]

And that's all of it for this week. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you. I will meet you back here next time.

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[Interviewer]

Hey, everyone.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Check out this guy and his bird.

[Interviewer]

What is this, your first date?

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[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Announcer]

Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.

[Courtney Barnett (speaking)]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.