The Guestlist With Sean Cannon

Iconic horror director John Carpenter talks about being an outsider, reveals what inspired him to make films, and marvels at how he accidentally became a full-time musician.

Mondo Cozmo frontman Josh Ostrander talks about being an overnight sensation...20 years in the making. He also gets into his recent visit to the Senate and discusses what he calls a "rock and roll freakout" that resulted in hours of surgery.

MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger talks about the band's early days — when it wasn't even a "band" — his time as a folklorist, his need to mean what he says, and the effect Wendell Berry had on both his life and work.

Jack Antonoff of Bleachers, Fun, and Steel Train had very specific ideas of what success in the music industry looked like. When his band Fun blew up, it also blew up those ideas and expanded his horizons. In this conversation, we talk about that explosion, the writing process, and "buying the delusion" as an artist when no one else will believe in you.

Wyclef Jean casts a big shadow in hip hop, R&B, and pop music. While The Fugees mega-hit "The Score" sold more records, his solo debut "The Carnival" is really what helped him cast that shadow. Some people have described it as a cold, calculated attempt by record execs to push urban music further into the mainstream. According to Wyclef, though, nobody knew if the record would even work!

Grandmaster Flash was more integral in the creation of hip hop as we know it today than any other individual. While many people know him as the man behind "The Message," his journey began over a decade earlier as a little kid from the Bronx who was obsessed with his dad's stereo.

Things have been a little slow around these parts, and there's a reason for that. I've been working feverishly on a new project with Kill Rock Stars. I'm excited about it and wanted to share it with you. Don't worry though, things are gonna pick up here again soon.