Arlo Parks

0:05Pushkin. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human When it comes to the holidays, I believe you fall into one of two camps. Someone who loves holiday music, or someone who won't admit they love holiday music. There's something about a voice you love singing a familiar opening phrase, maybe it's Donny Hathaway, maybe it's Mariah Carey, that just flips a switch, and you instantly back into that warm and cozy headspace only the holidays can bring. For me, that feeling pairs perfectly with a cup of Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte. That's their signature espresso with steamed milk and a rich caramel brulee flavor topped with whipped cream and a crunchy caramel brulee topping.

0:46It's like the sound of the season, but in drink form. And that's really what this season's about. Because this season and every season together is the best place to be. Come together over your favorite holiday favorites at Starbucks. If you've ever hired for your small business, you know how important it is to find the right person. That's why LinkedIn Jobs is stepping things up with their new AI assistant. so you can feel confident you're finding top talent that you can't find anywhere else. The best part is those great candidates are already on LinkedIn. In fact, employees hired through LinkedIn are 30 % more likely to stick around for at least a year compared to those hired through the leading competitor.

1:21That's a big deal when every hire counts. Hiring doesn't have to be complicated. With LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant, you can skip the confusing steps in recruiting jargon. It filters through applicants based on criteria you've set for your role and surfaces only the best matches so you're not stuck sorting through a mountain of resumes. When you have a business to run, you don't have hours to spend on hiring. You don't want to just wait around hoping the right person stumbles upon your job. That's why LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant suggests 25 great candidates daily so you can invite them to apply and keep things moving.

1:50Hire right the first time. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash broken, then promote it to use LinkedIn Jobs' new AI Assistant, making it easier and faster to find top candidates. That's linkedin.com slash broken to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Every December, we start singing at church, around the fire, in our cars, with the radio turned up. But have we ever stopped to ask, where did our favorite Christmas carols come from? And what makes them so magical? Join me in unwrapping the meaning and the magic behind these caroling classics. Listen to Hark, the stories behind our favorite Christmas carols.

2:29Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and at americamagazine.org. Singer-songwriter Arlo Parks is a compelling new voice in music. Born in London, the 22-year-old snagged the Best New Artist trophy at the Brit Awards in 2021, in part because of her breakout single, Eugene, about an unrequited crush. Arlo's songwriting is a vivid exploration of the euphoria and heartbreak that comes with being young and in love. She pulls inspiration from a diverse palette of music, including Ethiopian folk, Radiohead, and Diggable Planets. She's found a way to expertly weave all of those influences into her work.

3:13This month, Arlo Parks will release her sophomore record called My Soft Machine. She collaborated with producers who worked with Brockhampton, SZA, and Frank Ocean, and even produced some of it herself. The album unpacks the anxiety of feeling lost in your 20s and navigating the uncertainty of life with grace. On this week's episode, I talk with Arlo about how seeing Black creators pushing the boundaries of popular music inspires her. She also explains how taking long drives around L.A. shaped the sound of her new album and how she first started writing songs at just seven years old. Plus, we'll hear Arlo play three of her songs live from the Village Studios in Los Angeles.

3:59This is Broken Record, liner notes for the digital age. I'm Justin Richman. Before we jump into my conversation with Arlo Parks, let's hear a live acoustic performance of her new song, Impurities.

4:23Piling in the escalade, my chest is buzzing like a bluebird cage

4:34Laugh like Julia Binoche, you touch my leg to make sure I'm still there I radiate like a star, like a star I radiate like a star, like a star I radiate like a star, like a star

5:04When you embrace all my impurities When you embrace all my impurities When you embrace all my impurities And I feel clean

5:27Oh, the look you threw me blind was so intense that it was physical

5:37You're the rainbow in my soap, you notice beauty in more forms than most I radiate like a star, like a star I radiate like a star, like a star I radiate like a star, like a star

6:07When you embrace all my impurities When you embrace all my impurities When you embrace all my impurities And I feel clean

6:29Don't hide the bruise When you know I'm watching, baby Don't hide the bruise When you know I'm watching, baby Don't hide the bruise I know it's hard to be alive sometimes

6:49I radiate like a star, like a star I radiate like a star, like a star I radiate like a star, like a star

7:10When you embrace all my impurities When you embrace all my impurities When you embrace all my impurities And I feel clean

7:34Impurities, I've like listened to it. Like it's a song that I find like I repeat like three or four times when I listen because it's such like a feeling of just like elation and freedom and and that emotion really is so in that song that i just usually play it a few times because i'm like i love that feeling like if i could bottle that you know yeah and that's exactly how it feels to me like i wanted to capture that feeling of like either you're coming back from a night out you're coming back from the beach with people that you feel completely safe with and the sun is setting and everyone's just kind of quite serene yeah and like a few people are dozing off and like everyone is just content and that's exactly what i wanted those moments man if you could just like freeze them where it's like everything is like perfect yeah and they're always like moments of quiet or something after like a big thing or a little whatever it's just like it was just like whoa like life couldn't get better than this moment right here peace and i think the biggest thing that is like hard about being human is that those moments do end but that shouldn't be a reason to like not let them be you know yeah i think a lot of it is just accepting that even the most beautiful moments and the most painful ones like at some point they will end it's all transient it really is yeah i had no conception really of how old you were beyond just knowing like when i first heard your music which i guess was 2018 Yeah.

9:03But I was like, whoa. I was 17 then. Yeah, I literally was 17. I mean, not to stereotype what the art young people make, but it sounds very mature, you know, fully formed. I think honestly it's just because I spent so much of my life when I was growing up just practicing. Practicing what? Just practicing writing, practicing, like, just being a student of what I was seeing around me and, like, making a lot of really bad, silly songs. I just at a very early age decided to like dedicate my life to like the practice of writing and expression not necessarily singing but just like storytelling and I would write every single day so by the time I put out a song from the age of like seven or eight I was like writing every day and so yeah I had a lot of experience in that way what inspired that at such a young age seven or I don't know.

9:54I was just very curious. And my imagination was just so like insane that I needed a place to put all of that. And I just got a lot of joy from just like making up these little like fantasy worlds. More insane than the average seven or eight year old's imagination. Maybe not. I feel like I just had that urge to put it somewhere. I feel like a lot of people maybe would like make up little games with their friends or, you know, would stay quite contained. but I always had this urge to write things down and to document them. Was anyone in your family writing or a writer? No, no one. Everyone in my family is like engineers and lawyers and accountants.

10:31Like no one is really remotely creative. My dad really likes jazz music and listens to a lot of music, but no one is like remotely creative in any way. Wow. If no one in your family maybe inspired you to do that, were you seeing art or hearing art? I grew up with the internet and with YouTube and my uncle gave me a collection of records and that was like an interesting way into the world of records and world building and he had a really interesting taste because he's French and so there was a lot of like French music, French funk, but also like L, Cool J and Tupac and like Sade. Tupac. Yeah. Amazing.

11:12And like, it was such an eclectic mix of things. And I think that started it for me because I was like, maybe like nine or 10. And then growing up with the internet on YouTube, I could just go down these little rabbit holes and like see Radiohead perform at Glastonbury. Like, see people like Odd Future kind of like blossoming online and being like weird and black and like crazy. You know, I was watching that rap caviar thing that Tyler Creader did like yesterday night. Beautiful, right? And it was so beautiful. and I feel like I'm part of that generation because I remember seeing that, seeing the colorful clothing and like just that sense of energy and just these people being disruptors and making like weird stuff and I was like, I can do that.

11:52I don't know if they know how important that was for so many people. By that point, I was in college at that point and I remember feeling like, oh shit, like these are my people, finally, you know? Yeah, exactly. And that's always what has kind of inspired me and I think growing up, I always did have a sense that the music that I liked was an interesting kind of pod of music everything from ambient music to like my bloody valentine and then I also really loved like diggable planets but I also loved like jazz music and like Ethiopian folk music like I just had this world of things and I was like okay maybe I can distill this maybe I can create a kind of little collage almost of all the things that I like because I didn't feel like anyone else had that specific taste.

12:39I'm trying to imagine what listening to Tupac in England and you're like nine or ten years old and it's like 2009, 2010 and you're hearing Pac. Like what was, you know, I think of Pac, I grew up out here and I was like six when he was killed. So like my memory is like it was a bunch of chaos and then he like was killed and it was like, oh, you know, it was like almost scary. I just trying to imagine what that vibe was like for you. I think for me it was yeah it did feel like a world that was very alien to the one that I was living in but I loved the fact that even though I hadn't lived any of the experiences that he was talking about I could picture it like it was so vivid the storytelling and and I think I've kind of carried that forward that sense of like the spoken word and feeling like someone is telling you their truth and that sense of rhythm and also just how that can kind of really bring communities together and move people and yeah i think i was just moved by the way that he painted these really vivid scenes of like a place that was so far away from where i was as a kid yeah there is a lot of that in your songwriting like i know you're gonna play eugene for us that's the song in particular that i when i hear i'm like oh man that's like that's really laying it out there like definitely definitely that song is like i i feel like it's the first time that i was really kind of like stripping myself bare in that way but I think that the way that the song kind of traveled in the world and the kind of queer experience that it captured I think it's kind of like what you were saying before where I felt like it was an experience that only I had gone through and then when I put it out into the world people were just like holding up mirrors to themselves and being like wow I this is what I lived whether it was 20 years ago or this is what I'm in now so I think that fear kind of melted away once I just started getting a reaction from people but yeah it's scary it's always scary it always feels very I don't know just exposing but I'm kind of used to it now because I'm doing it all the time yeah I'm used to just being out here when I was knew we were gonna do this I was like man I should think like wow like what is it that attracted me to your music I think there's a lot of things but one of the main things was I realized was the writing you know people who are like songwriters it can be obtuse and that can be cool but it's like it uh and there's some mystery to i think what you're writing but there's also like some of it's really evocative you know like just even like on on your first song like your coca-cola eyes you know i think i've thought about that phrase meaning three different things since the first time i've heard it you know the first time i heard it i interpreted that one way was very vivid it made me think of like a coca-cola bottle and like being like this person's like wide-eyed and then i was like oh it's like a person on cocaine but it's such an evocative line and even um your new song impurities there's there's some evocative stuff in there too and the way you reference people like i love it i can't stop myself i love when you reference people you know gerard ray claire danes uh juliette binoche like it's like oh wow i don't know why i have the instinct to do that i think when it comes to my taste in writing it's something that I really can't explain.

15:54Like, I guess it is just a mixture of my favorite writers and my favorite influences. I think a lot of it is just like a love of film. When did you start loving film? When did that happen? I think honestly, it was a little bit later in my life. I mean, my short life. So probably when I was like in my late teens, I really started like throwing myself into film, especially like international film. Like I never really explored like Brazilian film an Iranian film and just actually really spreading out into different cultures in the way that they approach storytelling and I think that really bled into the work because there was a sense of wanting to paint these scenes as they were unfolding in front of my eyes and picking out these specific details and you know the people who are listening to my music aren't like living my life and maybe they weren't there but there is something about like detailing like the eyelash on somebody's cheek or like what exact song was playing on the cd when this happened and the exact tone of brown of the floor like i really love that sense of detail and and i think that happens so naturally the details little details really create like a point for like for me as a listener to really all of a sudden be transported you know like yeah it does like the hard work of getting me in and then like all the other things that are maybe a little more open for interpretation or whatever can kind of like now I'm like in a frame of mind where I can really interpret those things in an interesting way you know but when you say like Claire Danes and it's like you're automatically like I know I just it's like a shortcut it's like I know what you're saying like I'm shorthand for like this feeling you know I think it's interesting to have also that balance right between those really clear anchors that are so specific and can't really be interpreted in any other way and then parts of it that feel more fluid and that are just open and it's like you know when you embrace my impurities and I feel clean again like there's maybe a more obvious way to interpret that but then it can like blossom into a million different ways of thinking and I think I like having that balance because I think being specific as well makes it feel like it's something that you know I really lived and it is.

18:05Yeah. Yeah. That idea of like the personal being general too. We all feel like our experiences are so personal to us, but you know, human experience is in some degree limited. So like much of what we go through, a lot of other people have gone through just in other variations, you know, it's the idea of like the personal sort of being the more specific and the more personal you can get actually the more kind of broad appeal you're opening up. Exactly. Exactly. And I feel like the songs that have moved me and moved the world in the biggest sense are the ones that feel like they were written just for you.

18:42And everyone feels that way, which is kind of impossible, but that's how I feel. I was thinking about Coachella's coming up. I remember seeing Radiohead there back then. That's so funny you said that. I was literally going to be like Radiohead. Were you thinking of Radiohead? Yeah, I was thinking Radiohead. I mean, I just love Radiohead, so I'm always thinking about Radiohead. But yeah. When did you get onto Radiohead? Probably when I was about 17 and I just fell completely in love. I feel like it really informed those first few songs that I was doing, those first few EPs. Because I was listening to songs like House of Cards and Weird Fishes and Videotape.

19:17And just like the warmth and the texture. I was like, how did they make instruments sound like that? There is this sense of minimalism, but everything is so intentional. and then I kind of like blossomed into like Kid A and listening to Amnesiac and thinking about them more electronic elements honestly my favorite band of all time and I've never seen them live never I really really need to I saw The Smile in Copenhagen but I haven't seen them I wanted to see them yeah how was it? it was so good like Johnny Greenwood like doing his like guitar with a bow thing and the bow's just exploding and he looks like the same age as he always has Yeah, he's never changed.

19:55Just a timeless wizard. I love him. We have to pause for a short break, but before we go, let's hear Arlo Parks play Eugene from her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams.

20:18I had a dream we kissed And there is old amethyst The under part of your eyes was violet You hung a cigarette between your purple lips

20:40We've been buzzed, but since the tea I hold your hat back when you're too late I hold the taco bell and you cry over Eugene He was mean, he was mean But hey, I know I've been a little bit off and that's my mistake I kind of fell half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been made since day Yeah, I don't know what to say Hey, I know I've been a little bit off and that's my mistake I kind of fell half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been made since day Yeah, I don't know what to say

22:00Seeing you with handburns, I feel it deep in my throat You put your hand in his shirt You play him records as sure You read him till you play I thought that that was our thing You know I like you like that I hate that son of a We've been buzzed since 13 But that don't change the things I feel Oh, when I see you smile with your teeth That you cheat, yeah I could do But hey, I know I've been a little bit off And that's my mistake I kind of fell half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been made since day Yeah, don't know what to say Hey, I know I've been a little bit off and that's my mistake I kind of felt half in love and you're to blame I guess I just forgot that we've been made since day Yeah, I don't know what to say

23:50I firmly believe when it comes to the holidays, you fall into one of two camps. someone who loves holiday music or someone who won't admit they love holiday music. There's something about a voice you love singing that familiar opening phrase, maybe it's Donny Hathaway, maybe it's Mariah Carey, that just flips a switch and you're instantly back into that warm and cozy headspace only the holidays can bring. For me, that feeling pairs perfectly with a cup of Starbucks caramel brulee latte. That's their signature espresso with steamed milk and a rich caramel brulee flavor topped with whipped cream and a crunchy caramel brulee topping.

24:22It's like the sound of the season, but in drink form. And that's really what this season's about. Little moments of pairing, little moments of connection. Sharing a song, sharing a story, sharing a caramel brulee latte. Because this season and every season, together is the best place to be. Come together over your holiday favorites at Starbucks.

24:45Every December, we start singing. At church, around the fire, in our cars, with the radio turned up. But have we ever stopped to ask, where did our favorite Christmas carols come from? And what makes them so magical? I think it's probably one of the most perfect tunes to play and to sing. The voices are converging. They're adding this more complex and chromatic harmony. And it gives us that climactic arrival point. Hark is a podcast about the meaning and the making of Christmas carols. Get into the spirit of the season and listen to Hark, the stories behind our favorite Christmas carols. Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and at americamagazine.org.

25:35If you've ever hired for your small business, you know how important it is to find the right person. That's why LinkedIn Jobs is stepping things up with their new AI assistant so you can feel confident you're finding top talent that you can't find anywhere else. The best part is those great candidates are already on LinkedIn. In fact, employees hired through LinkedIn are 30 % more likely to stick around for at least a year compared to those hired through the leading competitor. That's a big deal when every hire counts. Hiring doesn't have to be complicated. With LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant, you can skip the confusing steps in recruiting jargon.

26:09It filters through applicants based on criteria you've set for your role and surfaces only the best matches so you're not stuck sorting through a mountain of resumes. When you have a business to run, you don't have hours to spend on hiring. You don't want to just wait around hoping the right person stumbles upon your job. That's why LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant suggests 25 great fit candidates daily so you can invite them to apply and keep things moving. Hire right the first time. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash broken, then promote it to use LinkedIn Jobs' new AI Assistant, making it easier and faster to find top candidates.

26:45That's linkedin.com slash broken to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.

26:53We're back with more of my conversation with Arlo Parks. What was the first music that felt like your own music? That you kind of discovered and felt like this is... That's interesting. I think the first people that I really clung onto were actually singer-songwriters, like listening to like Carrie and Lowell by Sophie and Stevens, listening to either or by Elliot Smith, listening to blue by Joni, like just these really kind of like emotional, especially when you're like 15 and you're like going through it all for the first time. Big emotions. Exactly. Big emotions. Like everything fell on like such a massive scale, even if in the grand scheme of things, it's like a tiny minor inconvenience.

27:37And I feel like I really aligned with that. And I think that's something I've always kind of taken with me, that sense of being really like emotional and like, you know, open heart surgery. Those lyrics always come from this really deep place and it's everything is kind of overflowing and brimming. And I think I've always taken that element into my music and then maybe moved away from it sonically, but always having that thread through like how I write. Meaning like you feel like the songs as you write them end up sounding very different from what the record sounds like. Yeah, no, I mean more that when listening to people like Elliot Smith or Joni, I try and kind of carry that essence in terms of how they write.

28:22But the actual kind of sonic world always like moves in a million different directions. Got you, got you. That's really interesting. Also interesting that those are two L.A. transplants. Yeah, that is true, actually. which I guess you've just recently moved to LA right yeah no I have and there is something about like reading like Joan Didion when you're in California like how you know wait just everything aligns I'm from California but still it's like reading Joan Didion in California or listening to a Joni Mitchell song listening to like Laurel Canyon or something as I'm driving you know I have to anytime I drive like up Laurel Canyon I'm like I gotta think about Joni and think about you know the mamas and the papas or something it's like it's just it's that effect even though i've lived him all life it's never gone away like this is a magical place still you know i agree was a lot of your writing for your new record done here or was it yeah i mean that's kind of how i really got to start knowing la i was coming back and forth for sessions so in london i was working with paul epworth who's like one of my oldest collaborators but in la i kind of started building this little community out of people who I really loved and trusted for the second record and I started just having so much fun with my music like I just felt infused with this new energy when I was here and just driving around and like going to the beach going to Big Bear making weird little bands with my friends for the day and just like really enjoying the process of making my second record I suddenly felt like LA was an adventure that I needed to have and I kind of made the leap quite randomly and I feel so happy here.