Carnie Wilson | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
4.6 • 731 Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2025
⏱️ 102 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
In this episode, Billy Corgan sits down with Carnie Wilson for a frank, wide-ranging conversation that moves from childhood memories of blasting the family stereo with the Carpenters and Elton John to what it was really like growing up amid the Beach Boys’ orbit—falling asleep under control-room consoles while her dad and uncles spun out other-worldly harmonies. Carnie explains how that whirlwind of studio sessions, surfboard logos and late-night vocal stacks shaped her own ear, why she still relies on co-writers, and how Glen Ballard helped transform teenage harmony sessions into multi-platinum hits like “Hold On.” She opens up about ADD, body-image pressures, industry politics, family chaos—including her near-tragic rescue of sister Wendy—and the complex creative bond she shares with her father Brian Wilson.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Did it is see right? |
| 0:02.0 | Did it. |
| 0:03.0 | That's one of my guilty pleasure signs. |
| 0:05.0 | Oh God, I love it. |
| 0:07.0 | This is getting really deep, but this is where songwriting is. |
| 0:10.0 | So, it's what we're here to do because no, because there is a connect. There's a connection. Do you understand where I'm going? Yeah. He's like, you need to call your band pretzels with mustard. And we're like, okay, you're A, you're clearly wasted |
| 0:21.0 | and have the bunches. |
| 0:22.0 | Well, you're just going to, though. |
| 0:23.4 | Who knows? |
| 0:24.6 | I just remember it was the most creative magical thing |
| 0:27.7 | I've ever felt. I'm curious because you grew up in a musical world like when do you first remember hearing music? Do you have like that first memory? Yeah, I don't know if I have like a first memory, but I have memories of being in our living room. My parents had a really great stereo system that we could blast super loud and we used to test it like how loud can we really go. There were these huge black speakers and they were on the ground actually and it was just we would just totally play with fire. It's like, blasts is loud as we could to the windows would shake. And I mean, how destructive it can that be when that's the carpenters, right? Because that's what we would blast. It would be the carpenters. So, you know, tuck into a silver failure. You know, really loud. But anything loud has a kind of a feel it all, you know, really loud. But anything loud has a kind of a... Yeah, I don't know what it is about volume of music. I really love listening to my music very loudly. When I'm in my car, it's kind of dangerous the way I listen to it. But I don't know if it's because my hearing Right now. I don't know, but it's kind of always been that way really yeah So I remember the first memories would be like just in the living room Mom and dad stereo and then it was captain fantastic. It was that would have been out 73 right? Yeah, so I was born in 68 So like five or two two. I'm just a little older than you. I'm 67. You look great. God. Jesus. No, I'm 56. So yeah. Yeah, so I just remember loving, just loving it from young. Yeah. Because I grew up in a musical household too. Yeah. So I feel like kids you grew up with musician parents. You know, we grew up in that atmosphere. There's always the atmosphere. We heard people hanging around and music and. It is an out. It is an atmosphere. Yeah. So I was curious for your own personal connection because, you know, as you know, when you grow up with a famous parent, people kind of put their own version of that on you. But your musical life indicates to me that you had your own experience with music and your own trajectory. Absolutely. You're right about that. People love to talk about that lineage. And it is a powerful thing and something I'm so proud of. But yeah, |
| 3:05.2 | it's like I really did have my own experience with it. And I went in phases, you know, discovering different music at different ages. But um, So tell me some of the people that you were listening to. Like when you first were like, okay, this is my music. I want to listen to this record. Yeah. Well, that was, I mean, I mean, I am total 70s horror for music. |
| 3:27.1 | Love anything in the 70s. I'm completely blown away by it. Give me some guilty pleasures. Okay. Like Pablo Cruz, you know, like. Do you know he's a music supervisor now? Did you know? Is he? He's from one, somebody told me he's the number one music supervisor guy in town here in LA. His like if you need to see him with like some kind of music you go to Pablo Cruz. He's your guy. Oh my god. Well like Ambrosia. Amber J. Ferguson. Of course. Yes. Thunder Island was it? Yes. Love it son. See right? That's one of my guilty pleasure songs. Oh God I love it. I love, I love it, son. Did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, |
| 4:05.9 | did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, |
| 4:06.9 | did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, |
| 4:07.9 | I love a groove. |
| 4:09.9 | That's the thing that got me was like, that's why I love Michael Jackson's music because |
| 4:14.2 | he just had these rhythm, like these groove things. |
| 4:16.7 | And I think all his songwriting started with that, with some kind of groove in his mind. |
| 4:21.1 | He always think like he's always very rhythmic in his rhythm. |
| 4:24.3 | Yeah, rhythmic, yeah. |
| 4:26.2 | But so I was drawn to that. |
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