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Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk I'm Buzz Knight and welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Now.
Buzz Knight
He's one of Canada's great songwriters, the architect of some of the most hook laden, joyously complicated power pop of the last 25 years. As the founder and frontman of the New Pornographers, he built a super group out of the Vancouver indie scene that went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed bands of their generation. I am so thrilled to be talking to Carl Newman, better known as A.C. newman, on the Taking A Walk podcast. The New Pornographers have released nine full length albums since 2000 to all favorable reviews and Newman serves as the band's main songwriter and vocalist. Their 10th studio album via Merge Records, the former site of is on Now. The backstory on this album is significant. The band's drummer, Joseph Siders was arrested on child pornography charges and sentenced to three years in prison. Newman brought in legendary session drummer Charlie Drayton, who has played with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan to re record the drum parts. The New Pornographers are also heading out on a 2026 US tour starting soon. The former site of arrives under extraordinary circumstances. We will talk to A.C. newman, otherwise known as Carl Newman, next on Taking
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Superhuman Podcast Host
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the Enhanced Games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all embedded in the Games and with the athletes for a full year.
Superhuman Athlete
Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Superhuman Podcast Host
Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
David Eagleman
There are times when the mind becomes a difficult place to live. This is David Eagleman with the Inner Cosmos podcast and for Mental Health Awareness Month, we'll talk with singer songwriter Jewel
Superhuman Podcast Host
about an I started living in my
Jewel
car and then my car got stolen. I was having panic attacks. I was agoraphobic.
David Eagleman
This is a month of deeply personal and honest conversations about what happens when the brain goes off course. Listen to intercosmos on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Mental Health Advocate
Most people out here think that taking care of one another is important, and most people would step up for a neighbor going through a tough time. Most people around here help out friends and family when they need it. But the funny thing is, most of us won't look for help when we need it. Talk to someone if you're struggling with mental health, because most people out here really care. Find more information@loveyourmindtoday.org that's loveyourmindtoday.org brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council.
Podcast Interviewer
Walk.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Taking a Walk.
Podcast Interviewer
Carl Newman, welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast. An honor to have you on.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Hey, thank you for having me.
Podcast Interviewer
So the new project, the former site of it arrives under extraordinary circumstances. When you were in the middle of finishing the record, everything sort of fell apart.
Buzz Knight
What was the thing that made you
Podcast Interviewer
say, we are seeing this through?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Well, when it all started happening, I remember thinking like, well, we're screwed, aren't we? This is insane. What are we going to do? But I never thought of packing it in. It's just what I do. I mean, I've been thinking about that a lot in the last year, how, like, what drives us, even if we don't consciously know about it, we. We all have a drive towards something. I think about all the things I've tried in my life where it went badly and I said I would never do it again. Like, I went snowboarding once and it went badly. And I was like, I don't ever want to do that again. But yet. I picked up a guitar when I was 18, and with very little practice or training, I started, like, playing in bands and we weren't very good and the shows would go badly and there would be nobody there. And yet never for a moment did I think, well, you gotta stop doing that. I never felt that. Get back in your horse and ride. You know, Like, I never had to, like, seal yourself up. You can do this. I felt like, well, that sucked. But this is what you do. I think about that now. Like, I think, yeah, this is what I. This is what I do. And also, it didn't take me long to realize that, like, as much as we were unfortunately wrapped up in this horrible story that tapped into our name, because our name made it a very cute story. Our name made it a story that was going to go national, whereas it wouldn't have been much of a news story if it wasn't for Our band. And I think I just realized that, well, we're not the victims here, and we're also innocent. So I was. I felt kind of defiant. Like, I felt like if anybody's going to come after me and say, you should change the name, I'm going to say, well, why? Like, who is that for? Like, who am I pleasing? Is it you? Are you upset by our name? You know, are there any other things that upset you in the world? Like, let's. Let's talk about all the other things that upset you. So it didn't drag me down. I think some people, it really affected them a lot more. I think for me, it kind of brought a little bit of clarity because there was no worrying about the past. There was no anxiety about the future. I was just staring down this horrible thing in front of me, and I thought, well, if I can deal with this horrible thing in front of me, I guess I can deal with the past and the future. And that is a. That's a good place to be in, you know? And I think I've. I've carried that with me, you know, I think it makes me. I feel. I feel a little changed, you know, like, in a positive way. Like, I don't feel cynical about being in a band. I feel more wrapped up in being creative. I think I see the importance of being creative and working towards that a lot more than I did before. You know, I'm happy, just happy. That's a long answer, but, yeah. It just never. It never occurred to me to stop
Podcast Interviewer
bringing in Charlie Drayton to redrum the album. How did that collaboration sort of reshape the record, if at all? And did anything surprise you about what
Buzz Knight
Charlie brought to the party?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Sitting in the room with him, I realized I'd never. I played with good drummers, but I realized I'd never played with such a good drummer. Like, not only was he just absolutely, like, rock solid, like, the way he played just amazes me. Like. Like mixing drums. And every record I've ever done, it's always, oh, my God, the cymbals are so loud. You know, like, you're, like, turning the cymbal mic off. Oh, they're still too loud. Like. Like, he is so even, like, the way he plays. He plays with such an amazing touch that, like, it feels like everything is just perfectly mixed. The way he plays it. Like, he has such a light touch on the hi hat and the cymbals. And to take that into the mixing studio, it means you can turn the drums up. It means you can like, you can crank the drums pretty loud because there's nothing in there that's. There's nothing in there that's making too much noise. And Charlie's just an incredibly cool guy. I mean, he offered to drum. I never would have asked him because I thought he was too big of a deal. But his partner and my wife are really good friends. And when it was all going down, he said, hey, what are you doing? And my wife said, well, of course they need a new drummer. And he just said, tell Carl to call me up. And it was that simple. And I thought, like, oh, this is. You know, it felt like. You know, it felt like a. What do you. What do you call that? It was kind of a mixed blessing, you know, it's like.
Podcast Interviewer
Oh, almost like divine intervention.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Yeah. It's like this horrible thing happened with our drummer. And what did we get in return? We got a much better drummer. You know, not that, you know, not that, you know, he's going to come on tour with us, but, you know, I'm sure he would record with us again. And he's such a cool. He's such a cool person. He's like the other. I'm the only person in the band who's met him so far. And so he's coming to our show in New York and everybody in the band is so excited to meet him, you know, because he's, you know, he's such a legendary guy. And. Yeah, and he's just very. He's just got a really good energy.
Podcast Interviewer
Do you have a sense, from being around him what he has learned from his Bob Dylan experience?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
I don't know. I don't think he. I don't know if he learned anything. It sounds like it was a weird. I mean, I don't know much about it. It sounds like it was a weird band to be in because Bob Dylan is so protective of himself. Like, even the. I got the vibe that even the band members, like, didn't know what was going to happen next. Like. Like, they. They didn't. They didn't know what hotels they were going to be in until, like, that day or the day before. But I didn't really. I didn't really press him on it. It's weird to talk to somebody like that because usually when you talk about, like, classic artists, you don't expect the person to know them, you know, but, you know, like, he's played with, like, the Stones and Bob Dylan and Neil Young and, you know, he was. He was basically in the B52s for a while. It's a. It's interesting. I feel like I gotta. I feel like I gotta watch my mouth, you know?
Podcast Interviewer
Totally understandable. You've been compared to some pretty interesting and incredible people, from Ray Davis to Harry Nielsen to Ben Folds writers who have something complicated inside and yet something catchy to communicate. Is that tension between this sort of accessibility and complexity, something that you feel like you chase a bit?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Yeah, I think it is. I think there's something almost contrary in the way I work. Like, whatever direction, wherever a song is, I feel like I want to pull it in a different direction. Like a complicated song. I want to make it sound simple because I think a lot of my favorite writers did things like that. Like Bacharach and David. They made really complicated things sound simpler. Even Steely Dan did that, too. These days I find myself, like, writing songs that might only have, like, two or three chords, but I'm trying to, like, figure out, like, you know, where I can move within those two or three chords. And really there is an infinite ways to move within a single chord or two chords. So I feel like I really am doing that. Like, right now I'm trying to write a Christmas song. There's that push and pull. It's like, okay, what do you want this to be? Like, do you want this to be a Christmas song? It's just full of cliches, because that's what most Christmas songs are. Or do you want it to be a kind of bizarre Christmas song? Or maybe it should be a bizarre Christmas song. Playing with cliches. I think that is always going on in my head, and I think it could be. When I write a simple song, I'm just. I might think in my brain, like, this is. This is boring me. I'll get tired of it. Which is maybe not a smart way to write.
Podcast Interviewer
I think it's a great lesson in creativity, really, the way you laid it out. I mean, it's got to be different, it's got to be interesting. And you got to throw the curveball from time to time or all the time.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Yeah, but I mean, I think the curveball is just to entertain myself, you know, like, because I hear. Sometimes I hear music that I think is just weird for its own sake. And it bugs me, you know, I'm like, I don't like it. Like, you know, like, I don't want to name check music, but even something like Captain Beefheart I absolutely love. I love, like, Clear Light and Doc at the Radar Station and Ice Cream for Crowd and then Trout Mask Replica which is the one. So many people. Name check. I just don't like. It just sounds like a lot of noise to me. So I think ideally I want something strange, but I do want it to have some form. I want it to have something that hooks me in.
Podcast Interviewer
How do you know when a new pornographer's song is done when you're in the process?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
I don't know. I mean, these days. These days it's a little different. It's just a gut feeling, you know. Like sometimes I just listen to it and, you know, it's like the definition of art, you know, Like, I don't know what it is, but I know it when I see it. You know, I'll just. I'll just listen to a song and I'll think something bugs me here or. Or some. Or sometimes maybe I'll come up with something in the verse and I'll think, oh, this verse is really good. And then I'll get to like the pre chorus or the chorus and I'll go like, well, that doesn't work. You know, that doesn't. It doesn't work anymore. It makes me think of what's his name, the famous producer who did the Beastie Boys. He just wrote a book.
Podcast Interviewer
Oh, Rick Rubin.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Rick Rubin. Rick Rubin was talking about recording a band and saying, like, go through the songs that they brought in and find the best song. And then you have to say, every song has to be as good as this. That's how I feel. And, you know, going back to just within a song, like, if some part of the song is really coming together, I'm like, well, the rest of the song has to be as good as this, and this part doesn't feel as good, so that has to change. And sometimes I realize, oh, I got to cut this out or I have to change the melody. In the last few years, I've just tried to be not precious about things like melody. You know, Sometimes I think like, well, this is a nice melody. But so, you know, there are. There are millions of melodies, you know, like, maybe I can use it for something else. But right now it's not working. So I try to. I try to be pretty cruel with that and just toss things out when they're bugging me. And I also like to, like, check back. Like, sometimes you lose the plot and you don't know that you've lost the plot. So sometimes it's good to, like, if a song. If I am struggling with a song, sometimes I'll go back to like, well, what did it sound Like, a month ago. And then I'll listen to it and I'll think, well, I had it a month ago, you know, and then I'll just start working on the version that was a month old and, you know, just trying to keep some perspective, like, trying to, you know, trying to support my creative mind, but also being very cruel to it at the same time, you know, but knowing that I can fix it and knowing that there is an answer. Like, somebody. Somebody just asked me the question. Like, when you're writing songs, is it. Or coming up with melodies, is it still a mystery to me? Or do I feel like I've figured it out? And I feel like it's still a mystery, but what I figured out is that I know it's a mystery that I can solve. I might. I might be vexed by something. I might be frustrated, but I know, like, you know, like, I can see. I can see the answer somewhere in here. I just have to look for it. And maybe it's something I need to add. Maybe it's something I need to remove. It was kind of an epiphany to realize that something's not working. And what's the natural thing you want to do? You want to add something? You know, like, it isn't. It isn't working. Well, let's add more things to it. But then I realized, like, wait, okay, maybe, you know, maybe it's in here. Maybe the answer is already in here. You know, it's like Dorothy, everything she. Everything she thought was just in her own backyard. You know, I try to look at songs that way and go, okay, but let's pull it all the way. You know, maybe. Maybe I'm just not seeing the answer here.
Podcast Interviewer
It's like that Seinfeld episode doing the opposite.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Yeah.
Podcast Interviewer
Yeah, a little bit.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Sometimes. It's also one of. Whatever Brian Eno put out those cards. You know what I'm talking about?
Podcast Interviewer
I don't know.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
He made a deck of cards that whenever you're stuck for ideas, but it will give you. And sometimes it's really, like, obtuse, and you go, what the hell does that mean? But sometimes there is a card will say, get rid of your favorite thing, or something like that. Just. I think the idea behind the cards is to just make you think in a different way.
Podcast Interviewer
Just like that Rick Rubin book that you talked about, too. You know, I mean, that book is beautiful for that because it just gives you these things that you go, that seems obvious, but I hadn't thought about it, you know?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
You know, you Know what I. Something I just realized. Well, I don't know if you could say, call it a realization, but I decided around last year, I realized that my secret for mixing this record would be to not have anything in the mix that couldn't be the loudest thing. Like, if there's something in there that couldn't be the loudest thing, it shouldn't be there. If anything's gonna clash with the song because it's too loud, then it's like, well, get rid of it. And it seems like you said, it seems like the most obvious thing in the world, but to me, it was an epiphany because I felt like I've spent so many years, especially if you're in a band, there'll be some part. Like somebody's part isn't working very well, and you go, well, how about if I just turn it up a little bit? It could be texture in the background. And now I feel like, no, if it's not working, get rid of it. And at the end of a record, that's what I find myself doing. I find myself just. If I'm giving notes, you know, on the mixes, it's usually like, mute that and mute that. And it's like, there. Now there's more room, you know, now there's more room for the cool things.
Superhuman Podcast Host
We'll be right back with more of
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
the Taking a Walk podcast.
Superhuman Podcast Host
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Superhuman Athlete
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Superhuman Podcast Host
Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
You can have opinions, you can have, like, a strong stance, and then there's your body having its own program.
Dr. Maya Shankar
I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, a cognitive scientist and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans, a show about who we are and who we become. When life makes other plans, we share stories and scientific insights to help us all better navigate these periods of turbulence and transformation.
iHeart Podcast Announcer
There is one finding that is consistent,
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
and that is that our resilience rests on our relationships. I wish that I hadn't resisted for
Dr. Maya Shankar
so long the need to change.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes.
Dr. Maya Shankar
Listen to A Slight Change of plans on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Carlos King
If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Portia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man. They holding K Michelle back. I'm fighting Drew Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's gonna be interesting.
Carlos King
On the podcast Reality with the King I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances and the tea everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand as somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this at the end of the day when people are at
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
home, they want entertainment.
Carlos King
To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the king on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Debbie Brown
The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection action this Mental Health Awareness month. Tune into the podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self discovery and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace and self mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming.
Dr. Maya Shankar
The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected, we, we're becoming more individualized, but we
Debbie Brown
actually need people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
Superhuman Podcast Host
Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.
Podcast Interviewer
So as you have some distance from the creation of the former site of A Little Bit of Time, I'm sure a little bit of distance. How are you feeling about it?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
I feel really good about it. I feel like I've been writing in a different way, a way that feels new to me, which makes me feel excited about it. And I spent a lot of time on the lyrics writing in a way that I had never really written before. Like I, I mean I did, I did research on some of these songs, you know, like I, you know, on the song Spooky Action, you know, it's like, okay, if I'm gonna, if I'm gonna write about the Cassini Huygens probe circling Saturn, I should know what it would look like, you know, like, what would you see if you were circling Saturn? And the song, the Former side of. You know, I was writing about, you know, a town being flooded for the reservoir in upstate New York in 1905. And I thought, well, what would those towns have looked like? You know? And I had to do some research. You know, even if it's just a few lines, I wanted to make sure that. I wanted to make sure if somebody made the effort to dig deep into the song, they would find, like, oh, this all checks out. Like, he's not just throwing word salad out there. That, to me, was new. And I think it's. It's affected the way. The way I write. And it feels like exercising a muscle that you haven't exercised as much in the past. And it makes it. Yeah, it makes it new to me. Just like going through a song and thinking, is this line necessary? You know, just like. Like cutting it out. Well, one thing I've been mentioning recently is that I don't know if it applies to songs, but the idea of Chekov's Gun, where Chekhov said, if you're gonna show a gun in your play, it needs to be fired at some point. Which is his way of saying, like, don't put anything in your story that's unnecessary. Everything should have a reason. So I was thinking of that on this album where sometimes I would cut out lines or even cut out a verse if I thought it could be said with a couple words somewhere else. Like, just trying to, like, just trying to communicate something is as economically as possible. Like the song. The song Bonus Mai Tais was a very, like, personal story about a friend of mine who died of cancer and about when I went to visit her and her husband when she was dying and when I was. It took me a long time to write that song because I, I just wanted to. I just wanted to get it. I, I, I just wanted it to feel exactly right. Like, I didn't. I didn't want any part of it to feel like filler. Like, I, I want. I wanted every. Every word, every detail should, like, communicate the story and that. And that denialism. That's fun. Yeah. And I, you know, that's. That's the way I'm still writing now. Like, it. I think that's why I feel like I'm. I'm really into the idea of working. Like, I, I try to spend and, like, you know, an hour or two a day writing or recording or arranging or whatever I do, whether it's like, writing lyrics or working on music, like psychically, I find it very rewarding.
Podcast Interviewer
The New Pornographers have always had this incredible vocal identity. Nico Case. Katherine Calder. How do you. How do you write knowing that there's going to be multiple voices that are part of a song?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
I don't really. I don't really write for anybody. There have been parts of this record where I thought, like, oh, this will. This will sound really cool in Katherine's voice and which. Which comes from just working with somebody for so long. Yeah, I've never really written for anybody. And the reason our songs in the past have had like three singers or two singers was not because I wanted them to be duets. It would be because the low section, none of the females can sing the low parts, and I can't sing that high on that section. So, you know, it was just a matter of, like communicating the song the best way possible. And in the end, you know, it became like this multi voice band just because, you know, I needed different instruments to get the song told.
Podcast Interviewer
You know, you've said you want to be remembered as a. As a good guy and as a songwriter. I want to ask you, is there a song that you've written that you feel most proud of, one that. That sounds like you at your absolute truest moment?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
I don't know. I mean, I'm so close to this new record, but like, it feels weird to be the guy, the rock guy in his 50s saying, I think I'm doing my best work right now. You know, I think I roll my eyes anybody who does that. But I mean, I feel like a lot of songs on this record I feel the closest to then. I mean, then there are other songs. Like, I've always loved our song Jessica Numbers. Not because of anything I really say in it, just because, like, I just love like the musical attack of it. Like, I felt like, oh, I felt like I did something. We did something kind of unique here. Or I feel a similar way about the Bleeding heart show. It's hard for me to even go back and look at that. I feel like. I feel like my hope, my whole career is me, like, just trying to get somewhere. And then at the end of it, you go, well, you didn't quite get there, but try, try again, you know? So I feel like I'm just. I'm just trying to get closer. Like. Like, I, like, I'm really proud of the song. I wish you could see me. I'm killing it. Just because it's so. It's so direct, you know, it's. It's it's honest and it. And it's very. It's very direct and. But that, you know, that's. That's stuff I look for, you know? Like, I see different things in songs that other people do. I remember on our. On our song. On our. Sorry. On our album Brill Bruisers, there was a song called High Rise that I. It was my favorite song on the record. And I said, like, oh, this is. I think this is the best song on the record. And then other people were telling me it should be cut. You know, when I'd say, should anything go off the record? And they'll go, I don't know, maybe that song. And I'd go, what? What do you mean? I think it's the best one. And so I. So I realized, like, what I'm. What I'm looking for or what I see in a song is not what other people see in a song, and taking that to an even more absurd length. So I have a theory that what has made us popular is not the part of us that I think is good. You know? Like, I think we were made of different elements, and I think there is something in our music that made people like us. But I don't. You know, I think the part of us that I think is good people might just tolerate, you know? And then there's the part that I. I just shrug at. And that's what people go, oh, no, those are your best songs. Which is a long way of saying, I'm not really sure the answer is.
Podcast Interviewer
You are. You know, you guys are going on the road, though.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Yes, I'm looking forward to it.
Podcast Interviewer
Yeah, you look for it.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Sometimes you play songs that. There are songs that I like, but I'm just sick of, you know, like some of our most popular songs, the songs that we always have to play. Like, when we're rehearsing, I'm like, oh, my God, do we have to rehearse this? We could do this in our sleep. But when you get in front of people and you start playing an old song that you played a million times and you see how people love it, that absolutely changes the way you feel about it. And all of a sudden, you love it, too. You know, I'm sitting here on Zoom talking about, oh, I'm sick of that song. But when the first. You know, when the first chords of the Laws have changed hit and I see how the crowd reacts, I'm like, oh, yeah, this is awesome. This song is awesome. Then you leave behind all this pseudo intellectual theorizing and you're just inside the
Podcast Interviewer
music, inside the moment. Exactly.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Yeah.
Podcast Interviewer
Yeah. So in closing, since this podcast is called Taking a Walk, I do want to ask you, Carl, if you could take a walk with someone or some folks, living or dead, who would you take a walk with and where would you take that walk?
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
I don't, I don't know where I would take a walk. But this, this might be a. This might be a really grounded answer for this, but, you know, I would love. I would love to just hang out with Brian Eno. You know, I, I, I admire his approach to creativity so much. You know, like, I, like I would. It's, it's like a selfish. My reasons for wanting to walk with him are very selfish because I think I hope I would learn something. You know, I hope I could learn something that I could take with me. I don't know. Maybe we live a. We live near Overlook Mountain, you know, above Woodstock. Maybe he could come here. It's kind of a. It's kind of a tough hike, but either him or perhaps Jesus Christ of Nazareth. But I don't know. I have a feeling I might be a little disappointed if I met the real Jesus. Like, I, I know. I know a lot more about who Briano really is, and I think, I think he would. I think I would learn a little bit more. A little. Learn a little bit more from Brian Eno at the risk of being an apostate. Is that the right word?
Podcast Interviewer
Lessons in creativity from you. A beautiful conversation with Carl Newman. I so enjoyed it. Congratulations on the former side of and.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Oh, thank you. It was great to talk to you.
Podcast Interviewer
Good luck on the upcoming tour and let's do it again sometime.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Yes, definitely.
Podcast Interviewer
I'm Buzz Knight, and thanks for listening
Buzz Knight
to the Taking a Walk podcast. Now please check out our companion podcasts produced by BuzzKnight Media Productions with your host, Lynn Hoffman.
Podcast Interviewer
Music saved me.
Buzz Knight
Showcasing the healing power of music and comedy saved me. Shining a light on how laughter is the best medicine. All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and are part of the iHeart podcast network.
Superhuman Podcast Host
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all. Embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Superhuman Athlete
Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Superhuman Podcast Host
Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
David Eagleman
There are times when the mind becomes a difficult place to live. This is David Eagleman with the Inner Cosmos podcast and for Mental Health Awareness Month, we'll talk with singer songwriter Jewel about anxiety.
Jewel
I started living in my car and then my car got stolen. I was having panic attacks. I was agoraphobic.
David Eagleman
This is a month of deeply personal and honest conversations about what happens when the brain goes off course. Listen to intercosmos on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Mental Health Advocate
Most people out here think that taking care of one another is important, and most people would step up for a neighbor going through a tough time. Most people around here help out friends and family when they need it, but the funny thing is, most of us won't look for help when we need it. Talk to someone if you're struggling with mental health, because most people out here really care. Find more information at@loveyourmindtoday.org that's loveyourmindtoday.org brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the AD Council.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Now everybody over here.
Superhuman Podcast Host
Oh, it's one of my other favorite places. The Twilight Gazebo, Sunset Gardens.
Carl Newman (A.C. Newman)
Twilight Gazebo. What's next? Dead Man's Grove?
Debbie Brown
Mom, could you please try to be a little bit positive about this?
iHeart Podcast Announcer
From Kenya Barris, the visionary creator of Black Ish, comes Big Age, an Audible original about finding your way in life's next chapter. This audio comedy series follows a retired couple's reluctant relocation to Sunset Gardens, a Floridian senior community that is anything but relaxing. Starring comedy legends Jennifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer and Niecy Nash Betz. Through its blend of outrageous comedy, Tea Party anyone? And touching revelations, Big Age explores what it means to grow older without growing old at heart. Go to audible.com bigage series to start listening today.
Release Date: April 22, 2026
Host: Buzz Knight (iHeartPodcasts)
Guest: Carl Newman (A.C. Newman, The New Pornographers)
In this episode, Buzz Knight takes a walk—metaphorically—with Carl Newman (a.k.a. A.C. Newman), acclaimed songwriter and frontman of The New Pornographers. Their conversation spans the band’s turbulent year, the making of their 10th studio album "The Former Site Of," collaborating with legendary drummer Charlie Drayton, creative processes, songwriting insights, and how music sustains and transforms through crisis.
On Perseverance:
“I felt kind of defiant...If anybody’s going to come after me and say you should change the name, I'm going to say, well, why? Like, who is that for? Like, who am I pleasing?” (04:12)
On Creative Contradictions:
“I think there's something almost contrary in the way I work...A complicated song, I want to make it sound simple...” (11:47)
On Creative Tools:
“Brian Eno put out those cards...the idea behind the cards is to just make you think in a different way.” (18:19)
On Artistic Editing:
“Every word, every detail should, like, communicate the story and that... I just wanted it to feel exactly right. Like, I didn’t want any part of it to feel like filler.” (25:19)
On Audience Connection:
“When the first chords of ‘The Laws Have Changed’ hit and I see how the crowd reacts, I’m like, oh, yeah, this is awesome. Then you leave behind all this pseudo-intellectual theorizing and you’re just inside the music, inside the moment.” (31:40)
This wide-ranging conversation with Carl Newman gives listeners deep insight into how The New Pornographers navigated a career-shaking crisis, how Carl’s approaches to creativity and songwriting have evolved, and the enduring importance of both personal satisfaction and connection to fans. Whether discussing the nuts and bolts of recording or the push and pull between accessibility and quirk, Carl is honest, self-reflective, and always in search of the next creative breakthrough—qualities that have helped keep The New Pornographers vital and beloved for more than two decades.