Episode 485
with Nikki Sixx, Todd Haynes, and Melanie Charles
Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello reveal their go-to karaoke songs; Mötley Crüe co-founder and bassist Nikki Sixx describes how his love of storytelling propelled him from a small-town kid to a heavy metal icon; Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven, Carol) unpacks his first documentary feature The Velvet Underground, which looks at the lasting legacy of the 1960s experimental rock group; and genre-bending powerhouse Melanie Charles performs a "reimagining" of Marlena Shaw's "Woman of the Ghetto" from her new album Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women.
Nikki Sixx
Musician
Nikki Sixx is a musician, songwriter, radio personality, and producer best known for his role as lead bassist in the heavy metal band, Mötley Crüe. At 17, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue music, performing as a bassist in various bands before forming Mötley Crüe with drummer Tommy Lee. The group’s most successful album, Dr. Feelgood, remained on the charts for 114 weeks, and the group's autobiography, The Dirt, became a New York Times bestseller and later a movie. Sixx also hosted the radio show Sixx Sense from 2010-2017, a discussion of music, lifestyle topics, and the world and mind of a rock star. Never one to shy away from introspection, Sixx has released several tell-alls about his life and career, the most notable being The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star. In October 2021, Sixx added The First 21 - How I Became Nikki Sixx to his author credits, a memoir exploring his evolution from Idaho farm boy to heavy metal icon. Insta • Twitter
Todd Haynes
Filmmaker
Filmmaker Todd Haynes uses his cinematic expertise to explore the unusual, the provocative, and the controversial. His works center around the lives and personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender roles. Haynes has gained critical recognition throughout his career. His directorial debut, Poison (1991), a three-part exploration of AIDS-era queer perceptions and subversions, won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize and is regarded as a seminal work of New Queer Cinema. Velvet Goldmine (1998), a tribute to the 1970s glam rock era, received the Special Jury Prize for Best Artistic Contribution at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. Haynes revisits the glam rock era in his newest film, The Velvet Underground, an exploration of the career and cultural influence of the iconic rock band. Info
Melanie Charles
Singer
Brooklyn-born and raised artist, Melanie Charles, captures the sentiments of a generation. Over the past few decades, she has made a name for herself through dynamic engagements with jazz, soul, and R&B. Her bold genre-bending style has been embraced by a range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, SZA, Mach-Hommy, Gorillaz, and The Roots. In 2021, she appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk and stunned with her eclectic style. Through it all, she has remained committed to making music that pushes listeners to consider new possibilities—both sonically and politically. “Make Jazz Trill Again,” a project that she launched in 2016, demonstrates her allegiance to everyday people, especially the youth, and is focused on taking jazz from the museum to the streets. Charles’ newest album, Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women is reflective of Charles’ tremendous versatility and imagination as an artist but of also her deep care for community. Listen • Website
