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This week on the Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got one of those fun conversations where the reverence is on full display from the get-go. When we asked singer-songwriter Beabadoobee who she’d be interested in speaking with for the podcast, she immediately responded Nina Persson of The Cardigans—one of her heroes, as you’ll hear.
For those unfamiliar with Beabadoobee, she was born in the Philippines, raised in London, and found fame over the past couple of years online and IRL. She released a string of really strong EPs, and then dropped her proper debut album, called Fake It Flowers, in October of last year. More recently, she released the Our Extended Play EP. It’s a fantastic set of fuzzy pop songs that clearly found a ton of inspiration in the music of the 1990s—bands like The Sundays, Pavement, Belly, and even Daniel Johnston have bandied about in reviews. Beabadoobee is hitting the road this year with her fantastic labelmates BLACKSTARKIDS; you can see all the tour dates down below.
And maybe if you’re listening closely you’ll hear a little bit of the Cardigans in there as well, another band that found fame in those alternative-nation days. The Swedish band had a huge hit in 1996 with the song “Lovefool,” whose chorus was imprinted on a generation, and released a string of excellent albums right up through 2005, when they went into a sort of semi-retirement, emerging occasionally to play shows. At the front of the band was charming lead singer Persson, who went on to form a band called A Camp, as well as release a solo album. She’s also, admiringly, enjoying not being all that busy. She plays the occasional show but also teaches and does pottery. Sounds nice.
Bea and Nina had a really lively cross-generational conversation: You can hear the admiration in Bea’s voice, and the real interest from Nina about how things are different as a twentysomething woman in the music business now versus when she was topping the charts. They also talk about social media, Nina’s favorite moments from the Cardigans catalog, red pandas, and gross hotel rooms with shag carpet, sperm, and toenails. Yuck. Enjoy.
2021 BEABADOOBEE/BLACKSTARKIDS TOUR DATES
Mon 01 Nov – WASHINGTON, D.C. – 9:30 Club
Tue 02 Nov – PHILADELPHIA, PA – Union Transfer
Thu 04 Nov – NEW YORK, NY – Webster Hall
Fri 05 Nov – BOSTON, MA – Royale
Tue 09 Nov – CARRBORO, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Wed 10 Nov – CHARLOTTE, NC – The Underground
Thu 11 Nov – ATLANTA, GA – Buckhead Theatre
Sat 13 Nov – BIRMINGHAM, AL – Saturn
Mon 15 Nov – HOUSTON, TX – White Oak Music Hall
Tue 16 Nov – AUSTIN, TX – Emo’s
Fri Nov 19 – PHOENIX, AZ – The Van Buren
Sat Nov 20 – SAN DIEGO, CA – The Observatory North Park
Sun Nov 21 – LOS ANGELES, CA – The Fonda Theatre
Mon Nov 22 – LOS ANGELES, CA – The Fonda Theatre
Tue Nov 23 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Fillmore
Fri Nov 26 – PORTLAND, OR – Crystal Ballroom
Sat Nov 27 – SEATTLE, WA – Neptune Theatre
Sun Nov 28 – VANCOUVER, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
Tue Nov 30 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The Depot
Wed 01 Dec – DENVER, CO – The Summit Music Hall
Sat 04 Dec – KANSAS CITY, MO – The Truman
Mon 06 Dec – CHICAGO, IL – Metro
Wed 08 Dec – DETROIT, MI – Majestic Theater
Thu 09 Dec – TORONTO, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Fri 10 Dec – COLUMBUS, OH – Newport Music Hall
Sat 11 Dec – PITTSBURGH, PA – Stage AE
Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Nina and Bea for chatting. If you like what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platforms and social channels, and don’t forget to check out all the great written content at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Melissa Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!
(Photo Credit: left, Callum Harrison; Edited by: Keenan Kush.)
