Rufus Wainwright Sings with the Muses

Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

iHeartPodcasts

Tv & Film, Music, Music Interviews, Arts, Performing Arts, Film Interviews

4.4 • 8.4K Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2022

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Singer, songwriter, and composer Rufus Wainwright continues to surprise and delight with a new tour and album, Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios, paying homage to one of his heroes, Judy Garland, and her historic recording. Wainwright was practically born into songwriting as son of musicians Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and touring with his family by the age of thirteen. The Juno-Award winning and Grammy-nominated artist has since defied expectations, playing with genre, from standards to pop and even opera. Rufus Wainwright talks to host Talia Schlanger about the influence of his musical family, what uncharted territory is next for him and how he communicates with the muses in his songwriting.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Taliya Schlinger and you're listening to Here's the Thing from I Heart Radio.
0:05.1	That's the absolute
0:29.9	unmistakable voice of Rufus Wainwright. The song is Poses. It's the title track from his second album.
0:36.2	You could say that musical craftsmanship was Wainwright's destiny. It's certainly in his DNA.
0:42.2	He was born to folk royalty, son of singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarregal.
0:48.0	His sister Martha is also a compelling musician. Rufus Wainwright was playing piano by the time
0:54.2	he was six and touring as a member of the McGarregal sisters and family when he was only 13.
1:00.1	So it's no surprise that he broke through early. Rolling Stone named Rufus Wainwright best new
1:06.4	artist for his self-titled debut album. He went on to record nine more studio albums and five live albums.
1:13.5	He's won Juno Awards and been nominated for Grammys. He's been honored by GLAD and has poured his
1:19.3	gifts into numerous genres from pop to standards and even opera.
1:24.4	That's Owen Madame Saint Laurent from Rufus' opera Primadonna. He's also an unabashed lover of theater and of the legendary Judy Garland.
1:49.2	All the music of life seems to be like a bell that is ringing for me.
2:01.3	That's almost like being in love. From Rufus' 2007 live album Rufus does Judy at Carnegie Hall.
2:09.2	The song's Rufus' performance are so wide-ranging and demanding. I was curious to hear how he prepares on Show Day.
2:17.2	I just got off a fairly long European tour. I would say, especially when you're in Europe and you're going to a different country every day,
2:28.2	that usually entails trying to get some sense of where you are and maybe taking a walk around the beautiful part of the place that you are playing.
2:41.2	I think what I most enjoy doing on a more musical level is I write songs all the time.
2:49.2	If I can get into a mode where I'm writing backstage, I get lost in that process. On one hand, it warms up my voice because I'm just singing repetitively.
3:02.2	But then also, I have the strange thing where oftentimes I will come up with an amazing lyric or what I think is an amazing lyric right before I have to go on stage.
3:13.2	It's like a strange little cosmic sort of thing that happens. I'm always shocked at like right before I have to jump onto the stage.
3:23.2	This melody will come or this lyrical come and it's kind of the muses playing tricks on me a bit.
	...

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