The Guestlist With Sean Cannon

When it comes to musicians with a punk rock past (and a punk rock present, for that matter), there aren't a lot of folks that are as legit as Ted Leo. I'm not just referring to aesthetics or the knowledge of punk rock history. I'm talking about someone who really attempts to embody the best aspects of what punk rock has represented over the decades. Plus he's written a ton of badass songs in the last 25 years – including a few with Aimee Mann for their upcoming album as The Both, which we hit on during our conversation.

If this were just my 200th interview for the show, it would be special enough. That's a bit of a milestone. And if this were just a conversation with Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of The Zombies, it would be plenty special. But the fact that I got to hit 200 with one of the most influential bands of the 20th century (especially if you're talking about the music I'm into) makes it mind blowing for me. Heck, the fact that these guys said yes to the interview is mind blowing enough.

Live radio! I usually record my interviews weeks in advance and edit them for the initial broadcast. This conversation/guest DJ set with Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme was a little different, which brought a great energy to the experience. Even Joe agreed.

Since there's a new Dismemberment Plan record coming out and I'm a big fan of the band, you'd think Plan-related discussion would be at the forefront of my conversation with frontman Travis Morrison. You'd be wrong, though. While we got into that eventually, we kicked things off with a pretty extensive discussion of church choirs. Because why not?

Music supervision isn't something most people think about. Heck, it isn't something most people know anything about at all. But it's such an important part of television and film, particularly when you watch a show like "Breaking Bad." The person responsible for the music supervision on that show, one of the greatest television dramas of all time, is Thomas Golubic. Not only does he have an incredibly unique approach to his craft, but he also has a unique story himself.

Dan St. Germain doesn't care if he's the comedian of the hour (or day, or minute, or however long someone gets these days). He's just a guy who keeps doing what he's good at: being really funny. And when you do that, every so often the stars align. Then all of the projects you're working on come to fruition around the same time.

Less than five minutes with someone isn't enough time to do what I normally do on the show. But that's all the time I ended up having with Dwight Yoakam after some scheduling issues. It was pretty cool, though, because he literally sat down my microphone and walked on stage to play his set at Bonnaroo in front of a frantic crowd. It felt like a scene from a movie.

Ever since "Country Sleep" came out, I've wondered why Night Beds seem to be operating from such a different paradigm than their neo-alt-country brethren. So when I sat down with frontman Winston Yelton at the Forecastle Festival, I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

There are way too many things I could say about Mac McCaughan and his various endeavors (whether it's Merge Records, Superchunk or his other bands from the past), because they helped shape who I am today. And if you're a fan of indie/alt/college rock, or whatever they've called it in the 24 years that Merge and Superchunk have been around, there's a pretty good chance the feeling is mutual. So I'll just let my conversation with Mac (which touches on the new 'Chunk record "I Hate Music," getting older, running a label and being intentional about listening to music) do the talking.

Kelly Hogan is such a charmer. If you don’t believe me, consider this: How many people could make you feel like being a centerfold in Sexy Santa Quarterly is a good thing? Yeah, see what I mean? In addition to her enchanting disposition, Kelly gets around a bit (musically speaking). So that comes up in our conversation, as does her love of Kiss.

For this episode, I was tempted to come up with an incredibly personal, possibly gross story that I'd never told before in honor of my interview with Kevin Allison. That's what he does, and what he encourages others to do, on his show Risk: tell bold stories, and tell them boldly. But instead, I decide to let our conversation about Cincinnati, coming out, Catholicism and 45s speak for itself.

I've never really believed that Wayne Coyne is the crazy musical Willy Wonka that some people make him out to be. Sure, he makes weird art and dances in the street at the intersection of music and commerce, but I've always felt like he was just a down-to-earth guy who also happened to have the balls to run his freak flag up the pole and salute it proudly. And after my conversation with him, I'm more convinced of that fact.

For fans of pocket squares, perfect timekeeping and weekly phone call-based comedy, Jon Wurster is about as high profile as it gets. It was a pleasure to sit down with him before Forecastle Fest and try to figure out exactly what makes him tick (here's a hint: it doesn't involve practice).

When Baroness played Bonnaroo during their first tour back after a near-fatal bus crash, I got to sit next to John Baizley and talk about what it was like to come back from that. Watching him talk about "getting on the fucking horse" after almost losing everything was a pretty intense and moving intense experience.

All you have to do is ask yourself one question: WWMKD? It's that simple. If you don't believe me, then maybe you'll believe Matt & Kim. That directive came straight from them.