Celebration Rock

Last week, I wrote a piece for Uproxx weighing the strengths of 2007's "Boxer" against the other albums in The National's formidable catalog. In spite of strong contenders like 2005's "Alligator," 2010's "High Violet", and 2013's "Trouble Will Find Me," I ultimately decided that "Boxer" is the best album The National has yet made. I had so much fun delving into the minutia of The National's career that I decided to call up another super-fan, Chris DeVille of Stereogum, in order to discuss what exactly makes "Boxer" so special, as well as its ultimate place in the pantheon of National records and 21st century indie-rock overall. Join us as we walk through this album, and measure it against the other albums in the band's discography.

The rock world lost one of the best frontmen of the last 30 years this week, so Steve decided to record a special emergency episode to memorialize the great Chris Cornell. Joining him are Celebration Rock producer Derek Madden and critic and poet Hanif Abdurraqib.

A crucial touchstone in '90s rock that's often overlooked is Shake Your Money Maker, the 1990 debut by the Black Crowes. Thanks to singles such as "Hard To Handle" and "She Talks To Angels," Shake Your Money Maker became a multi-platinum smash right before grunge took over. What happened next is one of the more fascinating stories in '90s rock. The Black Crowes were essentially the American version of Oasis — a brash, hard-partying group led by two brothers who were constantly at each others' throats. To help make sense of this tumultuous, criminally underrated band, I invited my friend and Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman on the podcast. We talked about the band's feisty interactions with Rick Rubin, the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, the time they spent $1 million on an album they didn't even put out, and Steve's almost-fistfight with Liam Gallagher at Glastonbury in 1995. Stories abound in this episode!

About a week ago, Steve received a DM on Twitter from none other Josh Tillman, better known as Father John Misty. This was not the first time he reached out to him — Josh also messaged Steve after last month's episode on "Pure Comedy" with Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes. After that conversation, Steve asked Josh if he would appear on the podcast. Josh said "yes," and because he's a man of his word, he took some time out of his busy schedule to reach out for an impromptu conversation. We cover a lot of ground in this pod: We talk about the scuttled "Pure Comedy" musical, the controversial "Total Entertainment Forever" video, his next record, the video-game habits of his former band, Fleet Foxes, and (of course) the madness of mass media.

This is a rock podcast, so it's about time we finally get around to talking about perhaps the greatest rock band of all-time, The Beatles. Our excuse is a great new book called "Dreaming The Beatles" by venerated rock critic (friend of the pod!) Rob Sheffield. The prospect of writing another Beatles book is pretty daunting, given that the Beatles might be the most written about band ever. But Rob — a staff writer at Rolling Stone whose other books include "Love Is A Mix Tape" and "Talking To Girls About Duran Duran" — is able to find fresh angles on the Fab Four, starting with the idea that the Beatles have transcended the '60s and become a band that's truly stands outside of time. Steve and Rob have plenty of Beatles opinions to share — this pod could've gone on for four hours but we assure you that we were merciful and capped it at one.

This past weekend, one of the most revered rock records of the past few decades turned 15, which seemed like a good excuse to revisit Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." Back in the early 2000s, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was celebrated for many reasons — as a statement about 9/11 America, as an emblem for integrity in a corrupt music industry, and as a major leap forward artistically for one of the era's top rock bands. Since then, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" has taken on the stature of a classic rock LP. But even if you love the album, when was the last time you actually played it? Steve decide to delve back into "YHF" with his friend and fellow critic Rob Mitchum to see if the magic is still there.

In the mid 90s, some of the best and most exciting rock records came out of U.K., thanks to a generation of bands with tremendous style, spirit, and smarts. This movement was dubbed Britpop, and it was spearheaded by bands such as Oasis, Blur, Pulp, and Suede. In March, the music website Pitchfork compiled at list of the Top 50 Britpop Albums Of All-Time, for which Steve was asked to vote in. Are there really 50 great Britpop albums that are still worth revisiting? How does the era hold up? Steve talks it out with Pitchfork's associate feature editor Stacey Anderson, who spearheaded the website's Britpop list.

For 15 years, Mastodon has been one of America's most consistent bands, whether they're making concept records based on "Moby Dick" or catchy hard-rock anthems in the mold of classic bands from the 70s and 80s. It hasn't always been easy — the making of the band's latest LP, "Emperor of Sand," was marred by personal tragedies and hardships suffered by all of the members. Steve talks with the band's drummer and lyricist, Brann Dailor, about how Mastodon has thrived and survived for so long in this special bonus episode.

Last Friday, Josh Tillman released his third album as Father John Misty, "Pure Comedy," a sprawling fire-and-brimstone sermon about the state of Trump's America. Steve thinks it's a work of genius — but he also understands if people find it exhausting. To get to the bottom of one of the most provocative singer-songwriters working today, Steve called Jillian Mapes of Pitchfork, who recently spent four hours interviewing Tillman for a story.

We wrap up our series on Pearl Jam by looking at the band's three most recent albums — 2006's "Pearl Jam," 2009's "Backspacer," and 2013's "Lightning Bolt." For a band whose career often teetered on the brink of dysfunction and chaos, Pearl Jam has settled into a period of stability and relaxed comfort in recent years. Looking ahead, Pearl Jam seems poised to go on forever like the Rolling Stones. To figure out how we got here, Steve talks with Mark Wilkerson, co-author of "Pearl Jam Twenty."

The alternate title of this episode is: "Pearl Jam: The Lost Years." Many PJ fans stopped following the band in the early '00s, leaving a core of diehards who continue to support Pearl Jam to this day. But has the rest of the world been missing out? Steve revisits two of Pearl Jam's most underrated albums with journalist and fan Jessica Letkemann.

Is the fifth Pearl Jam album the beginning of an era, or the end of one? Actually, it's probably a bit of both. Steve delves into one of the most underrated Pearl Jam albums, which was both the last PJ album to go platinum and the marker of a new era of stability for the band. Our guest is the poet and critic Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib.

Our series on Pearl Jam continues with possibly the most fascinating record in the band's catalogue, "No Code." Released in 1996, "No Code" competed on the charts with a host of poppy alt-rock rip-offs by artists such as Alanis Morissette, Live, Bush, and Matchbox 20. In spite of being a figurehead band of 90s rock, Pearl Jam's popularity receded greatly in this period. But the band drew on the turmoil for "No Code" and produced an album that holds up decades later. Joining Steve is Derek Madden, the producer of Celebration Rock and a long-time radio veteran who's been following Pearl Jam for most of its career.

The third Pearl Jam record is a favorite for many Pearl Jam fans, even if it is a chaotic document of a chaotic time in the band's history. To help make sense of this willfully scattershot but frequently brilliant LP, Steve called upon Chuck Klosterman to discuss how Pearl Jam made one of the weirdest LPs of its career at the height of its fame.

Our series on Pearl Jam continues with the band's second album, Steve's personal favorite PJ record. This was the album that truly heralded Pearl Jam's arrival as one of the biggest bands, selling nearly 1 million records in its first week. But does it hold up? Steve digs deep into Pearl Jam circa 1993 with Dave Hartley of The War On Drugs and Nightlands.