The Check-In with Telehealth
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In this episode of 'The Check-In with Joe Plummer,' Joe welcomes Alex and Kendra from the indie synth-pop band Telehealth to discuss their upcoming sophomore album, 'Green World Image,' set for release on May 15th via Sub Pop Records. The conversation dives into the band's origins as a pandemic-era project born from years of collaboration in Seattle's music scene, their DIY ethos, and the satirical yet poignant themes of modern tech culture, social media absurdity, and urban gentrification. They reflect on their creative process—writing music first, then crafting lyrics through improvisation and revision—and reveal how their song 'Things I've Killed' emerged from a Reddit meme about millennial-era cultural casualties, transforming it into a tongue-in-cheek anthem of both guilt and empowerment. The hosts also explore the band's live setup, their shift to sample-based backing tracks for practicality and performance focus, and their upcoming month-long US tour starting in Cleveland. Throughout, the tone is candid, self-aware, and celebratory of the messy, contradictory reality of being artists in a hyper-commercialized world.
Write what you know—even if you don’t know what’s happening, use art to make sense of the chaos.
Satire and absurdity are powerful tools for coping with modern dystopian capitalism.
Simplify your live setup to prioritize performance and connection over technical perfection.
DIY music remains viable and meaningful, even when signed to a major label like Sub Pop.
Embrace the contradictions: you can be both complicit in and critical of the systems you critique.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Sponsor Intro: Kuma Coffee & Audio Tech
Joe opens the episode with sponsor reads for Kuma Coffee, Isotope (audio restoration), and DistroKid, highlighting their products and exclusive offers for listeners.
Seattle Roots & Music Beginnings
Alex and Kendra share their personal histories—Alex from Polsbo, Kendra from Phoenix—and reflect on their late starts in music, childhood dreams, and the formative role of bands like Tyrex Fire and Blink-182 cover groups.
The Birth of Telehealth & Sub Pop Signing
“We're just trying to make sense of what's going on in our own world and specifically looking out our window every day and being like, what the hell? What is this?”
Themes of 'Green World Image': Satire & Postmodern Pessimism
“It's the type of like postmodern pessimism that I think is very important for us. It's a great vehicle for us humans who are still humans to laugh at this, to cry if you feel like it.”
Creative Process & 'Things I've Killed' Behind the Scenes
“We're both guilty and not guilty at the same time. And that's kind of how it feels in this world.”
“We're both guilty and not guilty at the same time. And that's kind of how it feels in this world.”
“It's the type of like postmodern pessimism that I think is very important for us. It's a great vehicle for us humans who are still humans to laugh at this, to cry if you feel like it.”
“We're just trying to make sense of what's going on in our own world and specifically looking out our window every day and being like, what the hell? What is this?”
Host
Guests
Telehealth
other
Joe Plummer
person
Alex
person
Kendra
person
Green World Image
media
Seattle
place
Things I've Killed
media
Kuma Coffee
brand
Sub Pop Records
brand
Polsbo
place
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