'THE PUNK SINGER' w/ Ezra Furman
Explicit content warning
05/15/25 • 54 min
This week I am joined by musician, author, and songwriter Ezra Furman, who picked the Kathleen Hanna documentary THE PUNK SINGER to discuss. We talk about Ezra’s process of writing her lyrics, the headspace of making a record, the directness of Kathleen Hanna’s lyrics, and how her lyrical approach changed from Bikini Kill to Le Tigre, the notion of audiences and bands protecting each other, Kathleen urging 'girls to the front' and how Ezra still is working on that at her own shows, being misunderstood as an artist, how the film shows self-documentation coming into full bloom during this era, how even the greatest bands have to break up, myths in rock, how the film reveals Kathleen’s illness that led to the break up of Le Tigre, gender bias in the medical system and the exhaustion of psychological burnout in music, Ezra’s experience having to stand up for and stand up to her fans and more!
EZRA FURMAN:
https://ezrafurman.com/
REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE:
Host Chris Slusarenko (Eyelids, Guided By Voices, owner of Clinton Street Video rental store) is joined by actors, musicians, comedians, writers & directors who each week pick out their favorite music documentary, musical, music-themed fiction film or music videos to discuss. Fun, weird, and insightful, Revolutions Per Movie is your deep dive into our life-long obsessions where music and film collide.
The show is also a completely independent affair, so the best way to support it is through our Patreon at patreon.com/revolutionspermovie. By joining, you can get weekly bonus episodes, physical goods such as Flexidiscs, and other exclusive goods.
Revolutions Per Movies releases new episodes every Thursday on any podcast app, and additional, exclusive bonus episodes every Sunday on our Patreon. If you like the show, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing it on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
SOCIALS:
@revolutionspermovie
BlueSky: @revpermovie
THEME by Eyelids 'My Caved In Mind'
www.musicofeyelids.bandcamp.com
ARTWORK by Jeff T. Owens
Click here to get EXCLUSIVE BONUS WEEKLY Revolutions Per Movie content on our PatreonHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week I am joined by musician, author, and songwriter Ezra Furman, who picked the Kathleen Hanna documentary THE PUNK SINGER to discuss. We talk about Ezra’s process of writing her lyrics, the headspace of making a record, the directness of Kathleen Hanna’s lyrics, and how her lyrical approach changed from Bikini Kill to Le Tigre, the notion of audiences and bands protecting each other, Kathleen urging 'girls to the front' and how Ezra still is working on that at her own shows, being misunderstood as an artist, how the film shows self-documentation coming into full bloom during this era, how even the greatest bands have to break up, myths in rock, how the film reveals Kathleen’s illness that led to the break up of Le Tigre, gender bias in the medical system and the exhaustion of psychological burnout in music, Ezra’s experience having to stand up for and stand up to her fans and more!
EZRA FURMAN:
https://ezrafurman.com/
REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE:
Host Chris Slusarenko (Eyelids, Guided By Voices, owner of Clinton Street Video rental store) is joined by actors, musicians, comedians, writers & directors who each week pick out their favorite music documentary, musical, music-themed fiction film or music videos to discuss. Fun, weird, and insightful, Revolutions Per Movie is your deep dive into our life-long obsessions where music and film collide.
The show is also a completely independent affair, so the best way to support it is through our Patreon at patreon.com/revolutionspermovie. By joining, you can get weekly bonus episodes, physical goods such as Flexidiscs, and other exclusive goods.
Revolutions Per Movies releases new episodes every Thursday on any podcast app, and additional, exclusive bonus episodes every Sunday on our Patreon. If you like the show, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing it on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
SOCIALS:
@revolutionspermovie
BlueSky: @revpermovie
THEME by Eyelids 'My Caved In Mind'
www.musicofeyelids.bandcamp.com
ARTWORK by Jeff T. Owens
Click here to get EXCLUSIVE BONUS WEEKLY Revolutions Per Movie content on our PatreonHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE LIVE w/ PAUL WILLIAMS & PORTUGAL. THE MAN
This week’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience on Feb. 7th, 2025, at Cinema 21 in Portland, Oregon. Beloved composer, musician, and iconic actor PAUL WILLIAMS joined us to discuss the film we screened that night, PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, as well as his impressive and long career in film and music.
Paul talks about his experiences working with director Brian De Palma, juggling acting and composing songs for fellow actors William Finley, Gerrit Graham, and Jessica Harper, his stylistic influences for writing the soundtrack, the joy in playing a bastard like Swan and even how Phantom eventually found an audience with the help of some dedicated Winnipeggers.
He also shares fascinating stories about his prolific work output, including composing for Jim Henson, how Burt Reynolds got the idea to put him in Smokey & The Bandit, writing songs for the Carpenters, Barbara Streisand & Ishtar, meeting songwriting deadlines while touring with Liza Minelli, how it felt when Phantom superfans Daft Punk reached out to him to collaborate on their music, and so much more.
And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a live performance from Paul’s latest collaborators, PORTUGAL. THE MAN, which includes a lovely Phantom Of The Paradise tip of the hat.
Thanks again to all who donated their time and energy to make this beautiful event happen! Enjoy!
PAUL WILLIAMS:
https://www.paulwilliamsofficial.com/
PORTUGAL. THE MAN:
https://portugaltheman.com/
FRANCES CHANGED MY LIFE:
https://www.franceschangedmylife.com/
REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE:
Host Chris Slusarenko (Eyelids, Guided By Voices, owner of Clinton Street Video rental store) is joined by actors, musicians, comedians, writers & directors who each week pick out their favorite music documentary, musical, music-themed fiction film or music videos to discuss. Fun, weird, and insightful, Revolutions Per Movie is your deep dive into our life-long obsessions where music and film collide.
The show is also a completely independent affair, so the best way to support it is through our Patreon at patreon.com/revolutionspermovie. By joining, you can get weekly bonus episodes, physical goods such as Flexidiscs, and other exclusive goods.
Revolutions Per Movies releases new episodes every Thursday on any podcast app, and additional, exclusive bonus episodes every Sunday on our Patreon. If you like the show, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing it on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!
SOCIALS:
@revolutionspermovie
BlueSky: @revpermovie
THEME by Eyelids 'My Caved In Mind'
www.musicofeyelids.bandcamp.com
Click here to get EXCLUSIVE BONUS WEEKLY Revolutions Per Movie content on our PatreonHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/revolutions-per-movie-274686/the-punk-singer-w-ezra-furman-91256834"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to 'the punk singer' w/ ezra furman on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy