Ep. 224: HAIM | Do It Your Way. (“I quit", + more)

And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

And The Writer Is

Songwriting, Artists, Interviews, Music Interviews, Music Creation, Music, Songwriters, Education

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s guests are HAIM — one of the most unique voices in modern music, known for blending rock, pop, and soul into a sound that defined a generation. From garage band beginnings to Grammy nominations, they’ve collaborated with some of the biggest names in music while staying fiercely true to themselves.

And the writer(s) are... HAIM!

In this episode, we dive into a decade-long journey of grit, growth, and creative conviction — from rejection to recognition. The sisters open up about the early years, the family dynamics, and the lessons that shaped their songwriting and success.

In this episode:

• How HAIM built success on their own terms after years of “no’s”

• The real stories behind their biggest records

• What they’ve learned about songwriting, collaboration, and creative control

Chapters

0:00 Intro Teaser – HAIM’s Gritty Start Against All Odds

0:30 Nobody Wanted to Sign Us – Early rejections that almost stopped HAIM

1:10 The Sister Dynamic – Therapy, tension, and love between bandmates

2:30 Strict Parents, Rebellion & First Gigs

5:00 Leaving for Tour at 19 – Danielle’s leap of faith

7:30 Almost Famous IRL – Touring with Jenny Lewis & Julian Casablancas

9:15 Skipping College & Faking Dentist Notes

12:30 Oldest Sibling Pressure & UCLA Lessons

15:00 Nobody Wanted Rock Music – Breaking through rejection

16:00 Meeting Ludwig Göransson – The producer who changed everything

18:30 2 AM Sessions & the “Forever” EP

20:00 SXSW Madness – 14 shows in 5 days

22:00 The UK Breakthrough – Why British fans got it first

25:10 How They Learned to Write Songs – Lessons from “Rockin’ Haim”

27:00 Recording Songs from the Radio – Childhood obsession that sparked their craft

31:10 The First HAIM Song Ever – From bad demos to “The Wire”

34:10 The 10,000 Hours – Becoming one of LA’s best live bands

35:45 Days Are Gone – Finding their sound amid chaos

38:30 Working with James Ford & Ariel Rechtshaid

40:50 Balancing Chaos and Craft – The HAIM recording process

42:10 Collaborating with Kid Cudi – Their first big studio moment

43:10 Touring Exhaustion & Finding Their Groove

45:15 Shutting Down Ventura Blvd – The iconic “Want You Back” video

47:39 Women in Music Pt. III – Growth & vulnerability

48:30 GarageBand & Songwriting – Danielle’s creative superstition

49:30 The Making of “I Quit” – A new era of HAIM

50:00 Creative Control & Saying No to Labels

52:00 Lessons from Paul Thomas Anderson – Vision & long-take storytelling

Presented by

@NMPA | @nmpaorg – Fighting for songwriters’ rights and fair pay.

Learn more at NMPA.org.

@Splice – The industry’s top royalty-free sample library and creator platform, supporting original artists with world-class sounds and ethical AI tools.

Download Splice and start creating today.

And The Writer Is...

Hosted by Ross Golan

Executive Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	No one wanted to sign us.
0:01.7	You're a girl band. Nobody wants it.
0:03.3	You play rock music. Nobody wants it. And we just kept going because we loved playing live. Time! Time! Our first show has like 30 kids. And we were like... We played South by South. Plus, the first three days, there was no one coming. And then I guess word of mouth happened by the end like
0:21.6	we were one of those bands that had that show that no one could get into and we got signed almost
0:26.0	immediately was it hard for you to define the difference between bandmate and sister oh therapy there was a lot
0:36.4	of pressure.
0:39.5	It was the biggest roller coaster of my life.
0:49.7	This season is presented by NMPA, the National Music Publishers Association.
0:53.4	Champions of songwriters and publishers everywhere.
0:57.2	Welcome to And The Writer is. I am your host, Ross Golan.
1:04.0	Today's trio of musical geniuses blend their unmistakable sibling harmonies into a mix of delicious genre bending batter.
1:07.0	They've crafted a sound that's both timeless and fresh out the oven.
1:11.3	They've toured the world, collaborated with some of the biggest names in music,
1:16.1	and cooked up albums that have resonated deeply with multiple generations of listeners.
1:22.3	Hailing all the way from the Valley, this band has always embraced a journey of sonic evolution, innovation, and undeniable
1:33.0	authenticity.
1:34.7	And the writers are, is, Higham.
1:37.6	Yay.
1:38.6	That was beautiful intro.
1:40.1	Thank you so much.
1:41.3	I'd never had empathy for older children until I had my son when I realized, oh, oh my God, you have to be brave and like enter the world as this.
1:55.0	Yeah, we're warriors.
	...

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