WEBVTT - Brittany Howard Goes Solo 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:14.360 Pushkin. Just a quick note here. You can listen to 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:17.360 all of the music mentioned in this episode on our playlist, 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:19.440 which you can find a link to in the show 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:23.240 notes for licensing reasons, each time a song is referenced 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:28.440 in this episode, you'll hear this sound effect all right. 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:34.000 Enjoy the episode. The rootsiness of the Alabama Shakes is 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.400 super refreshing, which is why their success after the first release, 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:40.920 Boys and Girls, in twenty twelve wasn't surprising, but it 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:43.599 did seem to happen really really fast. In fact, their 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:46.000 lead singer, Brittany Howard, was still delivering mail for the 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:48.720 Postal Service while writing some songs for the album. It 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:51.880 wound up with three Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist, 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:54.400 plus the album's lead single, hold On, was named Song 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:57.560 of the Year by Rolling Stone. Unlike most rock music 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.680 these days, you can hear the blues in their sound, 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:02.400 but the Shakes don't sound like a throwback act. They 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:06.280 just sound soulful and funky and modern and raucous all 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:10.480 at the same time. This song, Dunes, is from their 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:13.800 second and most recent albums, Sound and Color. It earned 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:16.039 the group six Grammy nominations after it came out in 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.760 twenty sixteen. All the success surprised Britney Howard, the band's 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.920 powerhouse vocalist, guitarists, and songwriter, because she worked through a 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:24.960 serious bout of writer's block to get the album done. 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:27.479 That writer's block returned when she and the band got 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.040 together to make a third album, but this time, when 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.920 she dug deep to write, something more personal came out, 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:34.600 leading her to put the band on hold for a 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:39.000 second and write some songs for herself. This is Georgia, 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.560 from Brittany's debut solo album titled Jamie. On this week's 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:44.800 Broken Record, Britney talks with Rick Rubin about how a 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.120 couple of these songs came together, what was like to 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:50.160 create and performed by herself, and later the interview, Britney 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:55.560 starts asking Rick questions and things get kind of weird. 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.720 This is Broken Record Season three. Liner notes for the 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:06.320 middle Age. I'm justin Richmond. Here's a bit more of 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.240 brittany song Georgia. After her and Rick talk about how 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:13.680 the song came together? How did that one get written 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:18.040 and then recorded? Then I was into panga because that's 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:19.799 why I was doing a lot of writing for this record, 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.960 and it was like lunchtime, so making a sandwich, and 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:26.960 I was reading this article and articles about this woman. 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:32.160 Her name is Georgia and Muldrow. She's a producer, writer, rapper, singer, 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.120 maker of things in general, and I have a lot 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:37.520 of respect for I think she's wonderful and I love 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:41.160 her creativity. So I was like, she works with all 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.760 these people that I had a lot of respect for, 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:45.280 and I was like, man, I wish, I wish Georgia 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:48.240 would like notice me, because if she noticed me, that 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:52.040 means I'm dope too. And then I'm still reading this article, 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:55.919 I'm eating the sandwich, I'm squirm. I just want Georgia 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:59.280 to notice me. And I was like, oh up, that's catchy. 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.840 And then the bassline came in and I had this 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:05.400 idea for this warring the warring clad with the bass 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:07.840 and they're kind of doing separate things, and I was like, 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:10.800 I gotta gotta put the sandwich down. I gotta write 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.240 this song real quick. And then it turned into this 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:15.480 like it turned into a completely different story, turned into 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:18.000 this love song from a little girl to like an 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.480 older girl, and it turned into this like love song 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:23.560 I'd never heard before. But I wish I had and 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.519 then it just ends on this huge dream sequence. What 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.040 sounds like a dream sequence to me anyway. The organ 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:32.800 part in the middle is really dramatic and beautiful. Elsewhere 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:38.520 it really does yeah, really cinematic, really beautiful. We stuck 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:41.960 very closely to the demo and we just retract things 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:47.320 to make them sound more percussive and real, especially like 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.000 the Roads. We had a lot of contact mics on 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:53.640 the Roads, so that it sounded like something that was 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:57.120 tangible and not just something that's like really dreamy and unattainable, 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.640 like what is that like. We wanted everything to feel 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:04.400 very visual and human and woody and close and familiar, 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:11.000 So the contact mix had a big spot in that song. Cool. 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:14.480 How did you make the original demo? They had a 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.680 little MIDI keyboard. I'm like a real tiny one, I 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.600 think the twenty eight keys or something, because twenty five keys, 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:24.000 because when I get them bigger than that, I don't 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.320 play them. It has to be like a tiny keyboard 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:28.520 because if I have a full size one, I just 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.039 get intimidated by it. So I had this little one. 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:36.200 I use logic logic, which is cheaper than pro tools, 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.200 so I use that and just electric guitar, a little 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:42.920 crappy amp I found. That's about it. That's usually all 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.000 I need, because you know, you got your kid on 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:47.240 the MIDI and then nothing's like a real guitar, so 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.840 you got to use a real guitar. Do you buy 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:53.240 any chance? Have the demo in your phone? Yeah, but 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:55.600 it's not as good. I'd love to hear it. I'd 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:57.680 love to hear it, just to hear it, hear the process, 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.720 you know. Okay, that's a great question. Can you can 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:03.040 plug it in right behind you? There's a little that 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:07.600 chord yet, just be fun to hear. Let's see here. 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:14.559 It's great, you know. It just feels like molten lava 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:16.400 just poured all over me. And I have to listen 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:19.720 to the demos again. It's just so interesting how how 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.880 much of the idea is there right from the beginning. Yeah, 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:25.640 a lot of my demos are like that. They're just 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:30.200 like there sound and Color was a song I did 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:33.640 that's pretty much exact from album and shakes at Good. 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:38.520 It's pretty much exactly like my demo is the same thing. Yeah, 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:43.560 they come prett complete, not very well recorded, but pretty complete. Yeah. 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:47.000 And from the time that you were eating the sandwich 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:51.320 until that demo existed. How long was it a couple 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:57.560 of hours? So same day the initial idea comes. When 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:01.120 did the dream sequence ending? Did you realize that was 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.800 the choice you were gonna be you were gonna make? Oh, 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:05.800 it just kind of happened naturally because I was like, 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:08.480 I've run out of ideas. Let me try just putting 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.080 it through another sound and see if that creates a 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.120 different section. And then it did, and then it made 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.600 me think in different ways, and then started layering on 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:21.479 all this like X files sounds and big kick drum, 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:26.440 big dramatic ending. It's it sounds like hearing the demo 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:30.520 makes it sound like it comes to you very naturally 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:34.760 and easily, and that's beautiful to hear. Thanks. Yeah, I 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.159 think all those songs are really I fight with and 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:41.320 songs like that, I just put them down. I said, 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:44.839 don't got it right now, or I just never do 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:49.359 anything with it at all. Yeah. Yeah, How often do 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:54.960 songs come? I don't. I don't really, it's not that 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.440 easy for me. I feel like there's writers out there 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:02.000 who write wonderful songs daily. They just they can sit 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:04.760 down and write two or three songs a day. Everybody's different. 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:09.080 For me, that's not how it works for me. I am. 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:11.600 I feel very fortunate to receive any song I get, 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:14.680 and I try to see it through because the way 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.120 I think of it is like, if I'm as long 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:20.200 as I'm saying open enough to receive this song, so 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:23.559 to say, like if I'm sitting there trying to think, Okay, 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:25.240 I gotta write a song, I gotta write a song. 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:28.200 What's it about? What's it about? Like that doesn't work, 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:32.080 really cuts me off from being creative. And I think 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:35.320 whenever I just relax, like making a sandwich, pretty relaxing, 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:38.680 that's when things hit me. So I'm the type of 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:43.120 person that runs to the studio whenever I do get 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.840 an idea because I realize it's very special. So I 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.960 wouldn't say they come super super often. But then again, 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:52.840 I'm not. I'm also doing other things. I'm just like 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:58.120 a very mentally active person. Out of the way, let 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:02.640 it come exactly. We'll be back with more Rick Rubin's 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:10.000 conversation with Brittany Howard. We're back with more from Brittany Howard. 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.160 What's the first time you ever sang in front of people? 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:17.040 Probably fourteen and fifteen it's like a talent show at school, 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:20.600 and I was writing songs then horrible songs, but I 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:24.440 got there and did it. We got people's choice says something. 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:27.280 It's like someone's drunk dad was out there going whoa 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.400 Like the drunk dad loved it. He was like, man, 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.080 y'all re mommy rush something like that. I was like, 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.280 what did you did you like the experience of singing 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:38.320 in front of people? I guess so it was. It 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.360 was weird. It was like I was after something, but 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:43.400 I still don't know what that was. I was like 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:47.439 trying to achieve something. I'm trying to put myself back 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:51.200 into that headspace of being like a teenager. Dare's wouldn't 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:55.160 be good again a good band because my my ultimate goal, 0:08:56.200 --> 0:09:00.079 ironically enough, should be in a band. And I was 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:02.520 gonna stop until I was in a band, and then 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:04.480 my next goal was like I'm not gonna stop until 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:07.880 we play a real show and an album and this 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:11.800 all these really basic goals. You know, who would be 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:15.400 the inspirations for wanting to be in a band. It 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:19.040 was really weird. It was like at my school, we 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:22.240 had like this old gym, had this old stage, and 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:24.640 then one night I was in marching band. I was 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:27.480 like eleven years old, and this older girl who's in 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:29.800 marching band came up to me. It was like, are 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:32.200 you going to the concert tonight? I was like what concert. 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:34.920 She's like, it's that the old gym. It's at seven o'clock. 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.040 You should come to it. It's gonna be bands. So 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:40.920 I show up by myself and they had there's just 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:42.880 these bands playing their kids I went to school with, 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:47.439 and they're really good, and everybody's like dancing and I'm 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.600 like standing there. It was like such a moment that 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.920 was so surreal because like all these kids are dancing 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:54.680 and then I look at the stage it's like a 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:56.760 kid like I had pe with, and like this like 0:09:56.800 --> 0:10:00.360 a kid that I knew, and they're playing instruments and 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:02.640 this moment happened where I was just like I have 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.560 to be in a band. So cool, Yeah, so lucky 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:07.240 that that happened. Yeah. I was like, this is the 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:10.320 ultimate thing that one can do is do that. And 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.000 and ever since I was eleven, I was like looking 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:15.920 for band members. I remember teaching like a few kids 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:17.520 how to play instruments so that I could start a 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:21.680 band with them. Is the sheiks your first band? No, 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:27.079 so what's your history? Wow, I've been a lot of bands, 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:29.520 a lot of bands, a lot of bands I made, 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:32.360 I formed. I had wanted to be like the singer 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:34.240 for some bands and stuff because they're already formed, they 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.559 are new to player instruments, but they're like, nah, you 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:40.040 don't look apart. I was like, all right, I'll make 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.960 my own band then, and then proceeded to just like 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:45.280 train a lot of kids, like I pulled out a 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.000 marching band, Like just how you play bass, Just how 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.640 you play drums, Like you're the drummer. Now practice the drums. 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.360 You're you're gonna be the guitar player. Because it's like 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.160 the one kid that could play the solo from I 0:10:55.200 --> 0:11:00.200 Wish You Were Here that was a guitar player. So 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:02.920 many bands I can't even really count. It would it 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:07.559 would just be this menagerie of different kids from the band, 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:09.559 and then we would always change our name and always 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.600 have different members. But it was always like me and 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:16.440 the drummer, Johnny, who's still my best friend to this day. 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.880 You did that for how long? Say? From eleven to 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:27.600 I found his Sheakes when I was twenty. Yeah, And 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.200 how did that come together. Would they already playing together 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:37.080 or no? It was so Zach bass player. I had 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:40.600 a psychology class with him. Three of us all went 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:44.040 to Sam High School. So Zach who would always wear 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:45.880 the T shirts they had like the cool bands and 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:48.160 nobody really knows about. So I was like, man, I 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:52.400 figure out how to talk to Zach. I was really shy. 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.439 I was like, I didn't know I'd approach him. He 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:56.640 gave me nothing. I didn't know anything about his personality. 0:11:56.679 --> 0:11:58.840 He's kind of a jerk when I first met him. 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.480 But I was like, look, man, and I've been writing 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:03.840 these songs. I got this like demo. Do you wanna 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:05.600 listen to it? Because I know you play bass. He's 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.120 like yeah, okay, So go to the little Honda Civic 0:12:08.520 --> 0:12:11.280 and we're sitting in it and he plays it. He's like, yeah, 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.240 it's pretty cool. And I'm like, will you wanna come 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:15.679 jam sometime? It's like, yeah, I do that. So that's 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:17.520 how I mean Zach got started. We were just like 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:21.000 musicians first friends later and we you know, he taught 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:22.760 me a lot about a lot of different type of music, 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:27.280 like King Crimson and like lots of Prague kind of music. 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:29.920 But I liked it. I got into it. So me 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:31.800 and Zach were real tight from the beginning. And I 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:35.800 was probably like sixteen, he must have been seventeen. And 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:40.400 then men him were making this music and he's the 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.000 guitar player. He got to hold one of our demos 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.040 that we made. He was like, oh, they're pretty good. 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.200 We should get them to open for us. And I 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.439 was like, whoa. You know, when a drummer we ain't 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:54.360 got a material, He's like, I'll help y'all out. Here's Steve, 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:57.920 Steve from the music store. Now we're being and we 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.120 we got thirty minutes in material and we did our 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.240 first show. We did our first show Indicator, I'll be 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:04.920 i'mna pay for thirty minutes. It was amazing. Like I 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:09.800 remember walking up there and being so nervous. Everybody's looking 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.440 at this crazy because I know we looked strange, like 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.400 our drummer's Davie. He had like a like a a 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:21.160 Clippers jersey on or something, just the Clippers jersey, and 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:24.400 and Zach had liked this little funny mustache, and you know, 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.360 he's looked like a nice guy. And then it was me, 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:30.040 we're just like an odd bunch and then I opened 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.040 my mouth to sing and then I just like blacked out. 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:36.080 And the next day and everybody's cheering and standing up 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:41.160 and they're like what's amazing and clapping, and I was like, whoa, 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.120 I think that went really well. And then and then 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:47.280 I got paid. I was like, what did get paid? 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:54.160 Was that first set all original material? It was like 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:56.080 all covers. I think we did. I think we had 0:13:56.160 --> 0:14:00.320 three songs that originally original material. Three songs that's just 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:04.079 like James Brown covers like Zeppelin CDC. Because you wouldn't 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.320 get hired where we're from if you didn't play covers. 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:11.319 How will live be different? As a solo artist, It's 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.320 a lot more vulnerable, tell you that much, because I don't. 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.040 I'm a guitar player, but in the Shakes, I played 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:21.040 guitar all the time, and this I play guitar and 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:24.880 like three songs because they're the parts I wrote, are 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:26.840 like way too technical for me to sing and play. 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:32.800 So it's just me up there with Mike and I'm like, okay, 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.640 I've never done this before, so it's new. It's new, 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.560 it's exciting, it's fun, but at first is very very 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:41.720 scary because I'm like I'm so good at this thing 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:45.320 that I don't do anymore. Now what am I good at? Yeah? 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:47.680 What do I do with my hands? Exactly what I 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:50.000 say all the time. Thanks for saying that. I always 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:55.960 say that. Nobody laughs, jeez. Tell me about the solo 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.080 work and how is this solo work different than the 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:02.560 band work. I think the solo work, to me, is 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:04.960 a lot different than the band work. I loved the 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.400 music we made together as a band. I just think 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:11.480 the solo stuff is my opportunity to be a whole 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:15.080 lot more adventurous and to steer my own ship and 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:19.200 to make my own triumphs and my own mistakes explore, 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:24.520 just do whatever I want. There's really no one to 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.560 embarrass or anyone to let down. It's really just like 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:30.400 I get to just be a free, creative person and 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:34.760 that means like everything to me. It's very different. The 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:38.200 process is different. It was just I like this with here. 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:40.160 This is why I like it, this is how it 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:44.960 makes me feel. It stays, you know, pretty simple. Play 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:51.800 something else from the new album, just for let's see. 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:55.480 That's incredible. That's one of them. Thank you, it's incredible. 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.080 It's interesting when you described going on stage the first 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:02.720 time and the feeling of blacking out and then hearing 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:07.640 people applaud And when I hear this, my first reaction 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:12.400 is the person who's singing that isn't it is so 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:18.160 in the music that they don't exist outside of the music. Yeah, 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:20.760 it's I'd say even as a performer, when I'm performing, 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.960 it's like, if I can't get into my music, then 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:27.040 I'm That's what I'm most upset about when I leave 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:29.560 a stage is like I wasn't there, Like I couldn't 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:31.960 get in there. It's usually some sort of weird technical 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:35.400 difficulty or tiredness. And is it something it just comes 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.880 naturally to you, that ability to kind of be in it? Yeah, 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.320 because I feel like I learned really early. Yes, I 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.480 feel like I learned really early on. Like if I'm 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:48.000 not feeling it, then why would anybody else feel it? Yeah? 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:51.920 And how is that song written? Oh? This song? I 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:55.000 was short. It's called Short and Sweet. I was sitting 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:59.440 on my back porch in Nashville. I remember being like 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.520 a really nice day, wasn't too hot, and I remember 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:07.040 there being these wind chimes in the background, And usually 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:08.840 I don't record out there because of the wind chimes. 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:10.800 And of course I don't take the wind chimes down 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:14.879 makes too much sense. But that day I was just 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:21.040 messing around. I just got this classical guitar and just 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:24.359 started playing these chords. Then the first chord I opened 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:27.760 up with, I don't even know what it's called, doom, 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:31.720 Doom Doom. It's a really funny chord. I was like, Oh, 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:34.480 that's so nice. And then I thought, how cool to 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:36.919 be to start a song with this funny chord. And 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:38.960 then I went to the g and then I and 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:40.639 then the song just kind of came out. I just 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:45.080 started there's something between it, like the words came out, 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:48.000 and then I just did it. Yeah, matter of moments. 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:51.800 And how are we able to remember it was? I 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:53.520 just had my phone there. Oh and you just turned 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:55.520 on the phone as soon as you started working on it. No, 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:58.320 I kind of had it going a little bit and 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.480 then I was like, oh, let me hit this record button. Yeah, 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:04.520 and then I just like it was just kind of 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:11.119 like top of the head. Yeah, amazing, it's really beautiful. 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:14.679 Thank you so much. We'll be back with more from 0:18:14.720 --> 0:18:22.439 Brittany Howard. We're back with more Brittany Howard's conversation with 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:27.280 Rick Rubin. Are you excited to make more music, Yes, 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.679 that's all I want to do. Like I love touring, 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:34.040 I love I love being a performer, of course. I 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.680 love performing. I love meeting the fans. I love being 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:40.480 in a studio because I'm inspired by the engineering aspect 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:42.880 of it and not knowing anything about it and then 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:45.439 finding out one little thing and then my brain just 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:51.119 going and making the music and being inspired from something 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:53.320 like that. That's my favorite thing to do, just to 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:56.880 just mole around his studio and figuring little things out 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:02.200 that excite me. Performers a little front. Obviously, you're on 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.960 a bus for a long time, like twenty people just 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:11.960 like it's just different. It's different. Yeah, when you when 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:16.040 you talked about the Georgia song, you were inspired by 0:19:16.040 --> 0:19:19.880 something you were reading an article in that moment. How 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:23.800 often does does the inspiration come from something in the 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:28.359 world around you? Pretty often. I think this record was 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:33.879 more inspired by my my own life memories, being nostalgic, 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:39.600 just knowing myself better. And then the record before sound 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:44.320 and color came from watching a lot of movies like Dune. 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:47.159 I watched Is it just done or is it Dunes? 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:51.280 There's a Dune they watched Dune, I was like, I 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.480 gotta write a song about that. Watched this a Kia 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:59.560 Krosawa movie called Dreams Watch. I mean, I gotta gotta 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:03.280 write a song after watching that. Movies really inspired my 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:05.720 last record for sure, because I'm like, I'm definitely like 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:08.000 a visual person, and if I see and if I'm 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:11.399 seeing all those colors and things like that, I already 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:15.720 have my own soundtrack. Even though they're playing their sweeping soundtrack, 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:17.880 I have my soundtrack, and I'm like, it's so much 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:21.000 cooler in here, you know. So that definitely inspired sound 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:23.439 of color. And then this one was just like my 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:25.920 own life. I don't think a lot of people stop 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:28.200 and reflect on how they got to where they are, 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:31.120 or what kind of patterns they repeat, or where they're 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:32.720 going or what they want. I don't I don't know 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:36.359 if people really pause and take stock of how proud 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:40.320 they should be of themselves already. And you know, that 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:42.720 was there was just something I was checking out turning thirty. 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:45.280 It was just checking out being more self aware. And 0:20:45.320 --> 0:20:50.000 then it kind of begat this record doing somethinking like that. 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:54.160 In the case of being inspired by movies to wrect songs, 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:57.400 you talk about having the soundtrack going in your head, 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:03.600 So would it be more would it be more like 0:21:03.640 --> 0:21:06.840 you're watching a movie and you're imagining the score that 0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:09.440 you would do and that ends up being your song, 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:13.399 or might it be based on well, this character in 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:19.359 the movie is going through this thing, so it's that emotion. Yeah, definitely, 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:25.440 the feeling, the definitely the feeling. Also the colors, the mood, 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:29.760 what and also what would I do here? All of it? 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:33.080 All of it kind of creates a thing all together. 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.200 It can create or inspire me to write a song. 0:21:37.440 --> 0:21:40.520 And I wrote a song called Dunes after watching Dune. 0:21:41.040 --> 0:21:43.359 But the topics really don't have anything to do with 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:49.359 each other. It's just the feeling of desolation. Anything else 0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:53.040 interesting that you could think of to talk about, yea, 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:56.320 all tons of things. Okay, let's you still it's gonna 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:59.800 be weird. I'm not afraid. All right, we're flipping an interview. 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:05.680 Can you believe in aliens? I believe in everything? Okay, 0:22:05.720 --> 0:22:10.119 so yes, yeah, how about you? Yeah? Definitely. Have you 0:22:10.119 --> 0:22:16.159 ever had any other worldly or mystical experiences? Yes? Tell me. 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:19.080 I used to live in a haunted house. It was 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:22.840 so haunted I moved out and I was broke, So 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:26.520 imagine it's pretty haunted. What would be an example of 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:30.720 a haunting? Okay, well I'll just put it to make 0:22:30.720 --> 0:22:33.320 a long story short, getting locked out of my house 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:40.200 from from the inside out and having doors and cabinets 0:22:40.280 --> 0:22:43.600 just slam right in front of me or behind me, 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:50.040 and like blankets move, curtains move, what else? Oh my 0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:53.480 bass player has actually seen a shadow go from one 0:22:53.520 --> 0:22:55.840 room to another room. I've never seen anything well besides 0:22:55.880 --> 0:22:59.600 like things move. And eventually it just got like so 0:23:00.040 --> 0:23:02.639 it being bad that I just like wasn't sleeping good. 0:23:03.000 --> 0:23:04.879