Blake Mills

...

Blake Mills has a song on that, yeah

... and, and the film is kind of all right, but the soundtrack is brilliant.

Yes.

He'd been on a five-year, four-album creative tear, but despite his best efforts, the songs just kept on coming.

The latest batch arrives on his new album, Indigo Park, and it features collaborations with longtime friends like Bonnie Raitt and the late Bob Weir, as well as a new generation of artists like Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend and Blake Mills.

Today, Bruce joins me to talk about the song that wouldn't leave him alone, which ended up sparking this new album, and about how, after a career devoted to looking forward and trying new things, he's let himself take a moment to look back and write about aging and memory.

Before we get to that conversation, here's the title track from his new album.

amazing records were made.

Dave Kroll made a movie about it, a documentary on Netflix, I think.

Uh, so Tony's partners, Blake Mills, you probably know Blake Mills is cause you seem like you're very informed.

And so, uh, so, uh, uh, Tony asked me, Blake has a trio with, uh, the transcendent Pino Palladino on bass and Chris Dave, a fantastic young drummer from Houston.

Uh, they also make just beautiful sounding records.

Uh, Sound & Color was made with Blake Mills.

This new album is made with Shawn Everett.

Just two great producers, uh, who work often in the indie world.

Many of those life events inform Last Weekend, which unfolds in phases and reflects on many of the beginnings and endings in Phoebe Bridgers' life.

All that lore gives fans plenty to unpack, but it's also a gorgeous record on the surface with rich and sometimes orchestral arrangements and a long list of contributors that range from bluegrass band Nickel Creek to the classical composer Caroline Shaw to indie rock luminaries like Alex G, Blake Mills, John Bryan, and the other members of Boy Genius, Lucy Dacus, and Julian Baker.

Last Weekend is out now.

Ann Powers, you wrote about Last Weekend extensively and eloquently for NPR Music last week, but give me your top line thoughts.

Sloan, the list of collaborators here is like a roll call for the best of the indie sphere.

Alex Gee, Blake Mills, Mike Kinsella, even Bo Burnham.

It is a dense, detailed piece of work.

It's fascinating how she has navigated that move from indie famous to just famous, as the reviews point out.