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Fresh Air

St. Vincent

10 Apr 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 19.757 Unknown

On the latest episode of Newsmakers, where we interview the most powerful and influential people of our time, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Why he thinks the American dream is fading for millions. A third of the population, or 25%, their wages effectively didn't go up like everybody else's, almost for 15 or 20 years. Who can bring solutions?

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20.157 - 23.822 Unknown

Jamie Dimon weighs in on the latest episode of NPR's Newsmakers.

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24.663 - 47.048 David Bianculli

This is Fresh Air. I'm David Bianculli. St. Vincent is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and a multi-Grammy Award winner. Her guitar playing can be shredding, and her songs often can be dark, but her lyrics typically read like poetry. She's been making music as a solo artist for 17 years across seven albums.

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47.551 - 73.837 David Bianculli

New York Times music critic John Pirellis described her as, quote, a grown-up fascinated by personas, gender roles, connections, obligations, self-destructive behavior, and looming mortality. In addition to her own albums, she co-wrote the Taylor Swift song Cruel Summer and the Olivia Rodrigo song Obsessed and recorded an album of duets with David Byrne. On her new album, St.

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73.897 - 87.767 David Bianculli

Vincent Live in London, she's backed by the 60-piece Jules Buckley Orchestra on stage at London's Royal Albert Hall. It was recorded last September. Let's listen to a track from it. This is Los Angeles. Los Angeles

88.928 - 145.811 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

In Los Angeles, the winner never comes In Los Angeles, the mothers milk their young But I can keep running, oh I can keep running I, oh I The Los Angeles, hang out by the bar Burn the pages of unwritten memoirs, but I can keep running. Oh, I can keep running. I, oh, I. How could anybody have you? How could anybody have you and lose you?

145.831 - 149.637 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

How could anybody have you and lose you and not lose their mind too? How could anybody have you?

Chapter 2: What influences shaped St. Vincent's music career?

149.877 - 153.563 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

How could anybody have you and lose you? How could anybody have you and lose you and not lose their mind too?

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158.268 - 182.374 David Bianculli

That's St. Vincent on her new album, Live in London. Terry Gross spoke to St. Vincent in 2024 upon the release of her album that was titled All Born Screaming. Two musicians featured on that album played in bands that influenced her in her formative years, Nirvana and David Bowie. Dave Grohl, who was Nirvana's drummer and later co-founded Foo Fighters, is featured on drums.

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183.055 - 194.646 David Bianculli

Mark Giuliana, who played on Bowie's album Blackstar, also is featured on drums on some tracks. Here's a song from St. Vincent's album All Born Screaming. It's called Broken Man.

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196.407 - 235.896 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

On the street Who the hell do you think I am? And what are you looking at? Like you've never seen a broken man.

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265.087 - 265.614

What the heck?

281.354 - 295.87 Terry Gross

St. Vincent, welcome to Fresh Air. It's such a pleasure to have you on the show. This is a terrific album. The song that we just heard, those lines, what are you looking at? Who the hell do you think I am? So were you looking at someone or was someone looking at you?

297.335 - 325.715 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

You know, I think that there are these kind of frequencies that we can tune into in our brain that are like, you know, whether it's deep ego stuff that underneath that is really just a whole lot of pain. And you're walking down the street and you feel like you could... fall in love with somebody or kick over the trash cans. And if someone looks at you the wrong way, you just could explode.

326.177 - 347.457 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

I just, I have that feeling. I mean, not every day. Like I said, it's a frequency you can kind of tune into. When life takes you there, but art luckily is a safe place to explore all emotions, all ideas, no matter how dark or complicated.

348.331 - 355.906 Terry Gross

And you're not saying, haven't you ever seen a broken woman? You're saying, haven't you ever seen a broken man?

Chapter 3: How does St. Vincent describe her identity and performance?

357.91 - 366.728 Terry Gross

Yeah. Why did I say it like that? Was it because of the number of syllables you needed? You know what? Yeah.

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366.708 - 381.696 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

You know, sometimes it really is as well. That's just sings better. It sings better. And it makes me feel a certain kind of way. And and so therefore, that's what it should be.

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382.992 - 401.794 Terry Gross

The chorus of the song, after what are you looking at, and I think this is on the second chorus, there's this really buzzy, dirty chord, and I'm not even sure if it's your guitar or you're playing synthesizer or what. What is that?

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Chapter 4: What is the significance of St. Vincent's live album recorded at the Royal Albert Hall?

401.774 - 416.02 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

Oh, Terry, that's a combination of my guitar completely blown out and then also just white noise going psss, psss.

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417.94 - 442.734 Terry Gross

I love that because that is the about to unravel, explode feeling that you're conveying through the song. I just think that chord gets it perfectly. And I love that it's used as punctuation. It's like the exclamation point in the song. And it's not happening throughout, so it's so effective because you use it so sparingly. Thank you.

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442.794 - 470.747 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

Yeah, I look at music sort of like architecture, you know, and call and response and tension and release. That's the whole game, right, in music is tension and release. So you get these little just explosions of release and then it goes back to tension and then an explosion of release and then tension. But it's this simmering, creeping tension. Creeping dread, I guess.

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472.071 - 485.125 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

On this record, I swear, some moments are almost like horror movie jump scares. Like, I think that chord is like a jump scare.

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487.547 - 506.186 Terry Gross

Yeah. So I mentioned that, you know, Dave Grohl, who was in Nirvana before co-founding Foo Fighters, is on drums and that you played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that you sang at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction of Nirvana. What did Nirvana mean to you in your formative years? How old were you when you first heard them?

506.927 - 507.027

Yeah.

507.007 - 508.609 Terry Gross

I was nine years old.

509.309 - 541.983 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

I was in my best friend Doug's front yard. He and his brother Paul had built a half pipe. We were learning how to skateboard. And Paul, who always had cool taste in music, you know, who was like onto DC punk from an early age, was like, brought out the boombox, put in Nirvana Nevermind, and... played it for us for the first time, and we were floored.

543.226 - 552.37 St. Vincent (Annie Clark)

And it was the first music that I heard that I went, this is my music. This is the music of my generation.

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