Sia — June 2014

Stern has singer and songwriter Sia on his show to discuss “Diamonds,” which Sia wrote and eventually gave to Rihanna to record. The following interview transcript takes place immediately after Sia performs her rendition of “Diamonds” live on the show.

Howard: Does Rihanna get upset when she hears you sing that because — in a sense — isn’t it like pulling back the curtain? I didn’t know that much about Rihanna, and I thought she wrote that song, and I go “Oh my God this chick is so hot because she’s so deep,” and then I find out you’re the brains behind all that. Then I fell in love with your version of it because you’re the artist. You’re the one who has that vision, and it’s a sad song, isn’t it?

Sia: See I don’t even know. I don’t really analyze my own work.

H: Do you know what it’s about, or you don’t even think about it?

S: I wrote it just for me, and I sang it, and I thought ‘This is great, it sounds like something people would vibe out to on ecstasy in the dance tent at Glastonbury.’ Like I just saw kids with their hands in the air in Ibiza on the beach.

H: I think about your life, and you were so low because of your illness. You almost killed yourself.

S: Yes.

H: So I think of you as the diamond in the sky, and that you’re shining bright now.

S: Oh, I’m gonna cry.

H: Right? Isn’t that it?

S: You’re so nice.

H: But you’re shining bright like a diamond now. And it’s so beautiful.

S: You’re so sweet I’m crying.

H: But isn’t that the beauty that you didn’t kill yourself? I mean you almost took your own life and how we would’ve lost out on this diamond in the sky.

S: I can’t talk because I’m crying.

H: That’s good for ratings.

S: Thanks for pulling me back there.

H: I think out of all that misery comes a song like Diamond in the Sky. I don’t think a happy person or a person who hasn’t suffered could write a song like that — with that much emotion.

S: You’re gonna make me cry again.

H: No, but I’m serious. I mean it’s terrible you have to go through that type of pain to write a song, but I think it’s very unique that song. It’s very special.

S: Thank you.

H: And you’re very special. You really are.

S: Thank you.

H: Alright, go ahead and cry.

Photo courtesy of HowardStern.com. Sia performs her rendition of “Diamonds” on The Howard Stern Show in June of 2014.

Bill Murray — October 2014

Legendary actor and comedian Bill Murray talked with Stern at length about his early days at Saturday Night Live and what it’s like to be one of the most famous people on Earth. Near the end of the interview, Murray — who is often reserved — discussed his struggle with loneliness.

Howard: What a life you’ve had. Are you having fun? I don’t mean now, I know this is torture.

Bill: This right here is rollicking (sarcastically).

H: I can’t tell with you. Are you a happy man?

B: Right now, I’m kind of pleased.

H: Has the bane of your existence been relationships with women? Not that you didn’t enjoy them, but… is there something you question in your own life, like why haven’t I found that great love of my life? Do you ever reflect on that?

B: (Takes a deep breath) Well, I think about that. I do think about that. I’m not sure what I’m getting done here. I have kids.

H: Right.

B: I have children that I’m responsible for, and I enjoy that very much. That wouldn’t have happened without women.

H: Are you lonely?

B: I don’t think I’m lonely. It’d be nice to have someone. I mean, it’d be nice to go to some of these things and have a date — to have someone to bring along. But there’s a lot that I’m not doing that I need to do.

H: Therapy, are you referring to?

B: (Laugher) No. Just something like working on yourself or self-development. Becoming more of a person. Not more of a person, but more of myself.

H: More connected to people.

B: Well, more connected to myself. I don’t have a problem connecting with people. My [problem] is connecting with myself.

H: So are you impossible to live with?

B: I don’t think so.

H: So where is the gridlock? You can certainly get women; you’re a very desirable man. I would have random sex with you.

B: I don’t know. I keep thinking maybe it’s something, but I have to do this other thing. If I’m not really committing myself really well to that, then it’s better I don’t have another person. I can’t take on another relationship if I’m not taking care of the things I really need to take care of the most. It’s not a selfish thing; it’s sort of an obligation.

Robin: What has stopped you from getting in touch with you?

B: Well, what stops you Robin?

H: You’re afraid to. That’s what stops me. I get afraid.

B: Exactly. What stops us from looking at ourselves, is that we’re kind of ugly if we look really hard.

H: That’s right.

B: We’re not who we think we are.

H: I think you’ve hit it on the head. I think the hardest thing in the world to do for anybody — I don’t care who you are — is to confront who you are, and to sit there and work on it. Most of us want to run away from that. Even though a lot of good stuff would come out of it, it’s just too Goddamn painful.

Photo courtesy of HowardStern.com. Bill Murray on the set of The Howard Stern show in October of 2014.

Lady Gaga — July 2011

World-famous singer and songwriter Lady Gaga sat down with Stern for the first time in 2011 to discuss her musical career. In typical Stern fashion, the conversation quickly veered toward Lady Gaga’s childhood — when she experimented with drugs and was an outcast. In the following interview excerpt, Stern asks about Lady Gaga’s high school years, and how drugs became an escape from loneliness.

Howard: When you talk about getting high, I mean you were doing some hard-core drugs. You were into coke and you loved ecstasy so much.

Lady Gaga: No, not then. I did later.

H: So you still get high?

L: No, no way.

H: You still smoke weed…

L: Well, come on that’s not…

H: Weed doesn’t make you paranoid?

L: You know I really don’t do it that often, and I’m really honest about it.

H: I like that you’re honest about it.

L: I don’t really like or respect artists that lie about what they do recreationally because it just builds this separation with your fans.

H: But when’s the last time you did coke?

L: Gosh I don’t even remember.

H: Do you think you had a habit? Were you addicted?

L: I was for sure addicted.

H: How did you get off of it?

L: My father kicked my ass. Not really, but you know. He just…

H: He said ‘You’re a mess.’

L: He just called me out. And I love my dad, so when your dad calls you out…

H: Don’t you think you were unhappy? Like I had a period of time when I did a tremendous amount of drugs, and I look back on it now, and I sense that I was lost. I was unhappy.

L: I was so unhappy.

H: What was the source of your unhappiness do you think?

L: I think I was lonely, and there was something about the drug that made me feel like I had a friend.

H: See, I think that of myself. I was very confused, and I was feeling very insecure.

Robin: But it’s also a fitting in thing. A lot of times, you get to fit in because you’re with that group.

L: But see, I didn’t do it with other people.

R: You didn’t?

L: No, I did it alone. I did it all alone in my apartment, and I wrote music. And you know what, I regret every line I ever did. So to any of the little sweethearts listening, don’t touch it. It’s the devil.

Lady Gaga performs “The Edge of Glory” on the Howard Stern Show.

Louie CK — April 2015

At least once a year, Louie CK — one of the most respected standup comedians in the world — comes on Stern’s show and reflects on his life. Both Stern and Louie have an obvious affection for one another, and Stern often asks Louie about his own fame.

Howard: This is a weird question, but do you ever get jealous of the young comics in Bushwick who are struggling? Is there some beauty to that?

Louie CK: Fuck yes.

H: There is right?

L: Absolutely

H: You kind of go, ‘Man they don’t have any pressure on them.’

L: I wish I was them. I really do. That’s the only fantasy I have because everything else I’m doing. I’m fucking playing Madison Square Garden; I’m making a TV show. The only fantasy left is I wish I could go back in time to not knowing how it‘s gonna go and struggling really hard with those dudes in Bushwick.

H: Because you’d think you’d say, ‘You know what it’s horrible.’ Now I have every amenity, I have a beautiful home, this that the other thing. But yet, there’s something sort of elegant and beautiful about being the struggling guy in Bushwick with all the other comics, and everyone’s laying out material, and nobody knows what the future is.

L: That’s right. And you see them all hanging out at the club and they’re shooting the shit, and I walk in and they’re like ‘Ah fuck.’

H: Fuck, here he comes.

L: He’s gonna bump everybody and…

H: You’re the asshole now.

L: Yeah that’s right. I’m the dick.

Robin: Who’s not gonna get to talk tonight?

L: Yeah exactly, here comes this rich douche. And they have no sense that it took me 30 years of suffering.

H: You want to explain to them, ‘Hey excuse me assholes, I waited 30 years to be the asshole.’

Photo courtesy of HowardStern.com. Howard Stern and Louie C.K. pose for a picture on The Howard Stern Show in 2016.

Jay-Z — November 2010

In 2010, Jay-Z came on the Howard Stern Show to promote his autobiography, “Decoded.” Jay-Z discusses being abandoned by his own father and how he dealt crack as a young kid to survive.

Howard: You’ve had a weird life. Here’s why I think your life is weird: you’re the type of guy who had this talent, but at the same point you were this crack dealer and hustler.

Jay-Z: Yeah.

H: And the reason it’s so weird is when you’re that artistic, and you’ve got so many things going on inside, you could’ve lit a landmine in your life and just gone to jail for a really long time.

J: Absolutely. Or got killed.

H: You shot your brother in the shoulder — point blank pretty much — didn’t you? Because he was fucking around with you?

J: Yeah.

H: You’re an angry guy…

J: Yeah.

H: Do you think your anger comes from your father leaving you?

J: Of course.

H: It’s gotta be.

J: It was around that time. My pop left me anywhere between nine and 11. I had a bunch of anger.

H: Did you have a close relationship with him up until that point?

J: Yeah, the closest.

H: Have you ever been in therapy?

J: No.

H: You seem to be pretty self-realized. Reading in your book, you seem to have a good understanding of the hurt and the pain and everything. You’re able to feel it. Don’t you think that’s something you need to talk to someone about?

J: I’ve spoken to the world about it.

H: But wait a second. Before you become a father yourself, and before you even got married, didn’t you want to sit down with someone and say, ‘Shit, how much is this going to affect my relationship with everyone? How am I going to stay focused on one woman? How am I going to get over the fear that someone’s not going to leave me?’

J: Well, I’ve been dealing with that my entire life. And I’ve been dealing with that through my music. So I deal with that daily.

H: You think that’s enough?

J: Yeah. I’ve got a million therapists.

H: You think that’s really therapy?

J: Yes, of course. Listen to these albums, read those songs. Read the level of — like you said — self-realization. All that therapy is in that music.

Jack Rieger is a freelance writer who covers pop-culture and sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JackRieger.