Sean Nelson is perhaps best known in his role as the lead singer of the 1990s Seattle band Harvey Danger. His subsequent musical endeavors include albums with The Long Winters and solo releases, including Make Good Choices and Nelson Sings Nilsson. He’s also a writer and journalist, the author of Court and Spark, a book about the Joni Mitchell album of the same name for Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 series. He’s also acted onscreen and written for film.

In addition to his gifts across a range of art forms, Sean is relentlessly curious about creativity and its surrounding landscape. His latest endeavor is “The Wonder of It All,” a podcast ‘about the blessings and curses of success.’ How does the prospect of success (or failure) hang over an artist’s creative life? How does finding success change it?

I’ve known Sean since Harvey Danger and Semisonic toured together in the summer of 1998, and I was grateful for his invitation to be interviewed for this podcast.

Here’s our conversation: