This week on the Hardcore Humanism Podcast, I speak with singer, artist and writer Alison Mosshart about her life and career. Mosshart has been a touring musician for most of her life: early on in the punk rock band Discount, then performing indie rock in The Kills and blues-based rock in The Dead Weather. In addition to a new spoken word album Sound Wheel and accompanying art book Car Ma, Mosshart also has new solo singles “Rise” and “It Ain’t Water.”
As we spoke, it was clear to me that in many ways, Mosshart’s approach to life exemplifies the basic principles of Hardcore Humanism. Hardcore Humanism, which is a life philosophy and therapy/coaching program, focuses on three central principles: Not So Nuts, Purpose-Driven Health and Heavy Fundamentals. These principles were derived in large part from talking with outside-the-box thinkers such as Mosshart about how they live their life and achieve success in their careers.
Not So Nuts refers to any situation in which we feel that there is a “right,” “normal” or “conventional” way of doing things in the world, but it just doesn’t feel like the best fit for us. And when we take the Not So Nuts path, we choose a direction that diverges from the conventional but feels more authentic and organic for us. Purpose-Driven Health refers to an individual organizing their life around their sense of purpose. Finally, Heavy Fundamentals refers to the fact that even if we buck convention and know who we are and what we want, we have to work hard to achieve our purpose. Any path often requires years and years of dedication to perfect a skill or craft.
In our conversation, Mosshart talks about her unconventional life where she’s predominantly on the road. And she shares how her sense of purpose helps her handle her grueling tour schedule and motivates her to put in the work needed to continue to create art and music in various mediums.
