Lightning Bugs: Conversations with Ben Folds

Today, my guest is Dr. Daniel Levitin. He’s a neuroscientist, musician, and author. His research encompasses music, the brain, health, productivity and creativity. Publishing more than 300 articles, authoring four New York Times Bestsellers, and serving as a music consultant for several musical groups, Daniel’s insight and ideas have been felt far and wide. Daniel's ears have influenced the work of Blue Öyster Cult, Chris Isaak, and many many more.

On this episode, we discuss why humans create music, how our definitions and interpretation of sound have changed, the divide and overlap between science and creativity, and how the ability to recognize sound is as old as 800 million years.

You can submit your questions to Ben here: https://www.speakpipe.com/BenFolds

And check out the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ix6szTyjg3vmx1sIj-Vfw

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, my guest is singer and songwriter Emily King. She’s an amazing R&B artist with four albums and three Grammy nominations under her belt. She released an album in 2020 called Sides, which is all acoustic versions of previously released songs.

On this episode, we discuss how to find your authentic voice in a world where you can have unlimited versions on a track, how recording from home and at a studio can change your creative perspective, and how sometimes the track you do half awake with your hands in your pockets is the best one that ends up on the album.

You can submit your questions to Ben here: https://www.speakpipe.com/BenFolds

And check out the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ix6szTyjg3vmx1sIj-Vfw

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is the record producer, sound engineer, and professor, Susan Rogers. She’s worked as a studio engineer with artists such as Prince, Barenaked Ladies, David Byrne, and many more. Susan has a doctorate in music cognition and psychoacoustics from McGill University, and she’s a professor at Berklee College of Music in the Music Production and Engineering department.

On this episode, we talk about how our music tastes develop, how our ears physically react when we hear music we like, and how styles of music are constantly changing and evolving. We also speak about the human baseline of innate music knowledge and understanding of theory, and how we can learn to become better listeners.

You can submit your questions to Ben here: https://www.speakpipe.com/BenFolds

And check out the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ix6szTyjg3vmx1sIj-Vfw

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s guest is a former poet laureate in Canada, author, and essayist, Alice Major. She’s published eleven collections of poetry, two novels for young adults, and an award-winning collection of essays about poetry and science.

Her work has appeared in a variety of anthologies, and she’s active in many literary and arts organizations all over Canada.

We spoke about the creations of associations in our world and how words and language contain a sound and shape that can be played with and formed. We talked about how poetry isn’t just about the words, but the part as a whole and how it flows piece to piece.

You can submit your questions to Ben here: https://www.speakpipe.com/BenFolds

And check out the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ix6szTyjg3vmx1sIj-Vfw

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we spoke with Mo Willems, the New York Times best-selling children’s author, illustrator, animator, and playwright. He’s known for his characters such as The Pigeon, Elephant, Piggie, and many more. In our conversation we talked about how a character is a child’s best friend and how children often are the best critics, noticing details in books that adults seldom see. We dive deep in the various forms of creativity and how it can be applied in different forms, so take a listen!

You can submit your questions to Ben here: https://www.speakpipe.com/BenFolds

And check out the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ix6szTyjg3vmx1sIj-Vfw

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.