Celebration Rock

Our seven-part series on Pearl Jam begins at the most obvious point: The band's wildly popular 1991 debut, "Ten." Is it possible that one of the biggest selling rock albums of the 90s is actually underrated? Steve delves deep into very early 90s Pearl Jam with Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone, and then chats about the iconic video for "Jeremy" with the video's director, Mark Pellington.

Celebration Rock makes its triumphant comeback from a long paternity leave with none other than the band that inspired our name. Steven sat down with Brian King of Japandroids at the start of the band's latest tour to discuss its great new album, "Near to the Wild Heart of Life," and the weirdness of touring in Trump's America as an Canadian band. Do we have to quit now that we've achieved singularity? Never!

Steve takes a hiatus from his hiatus to talk with Ian Cohen about 2016's best rock albums and worst "is rock dead?" thinkipieces, and Rob Mitchum about the science of year-end-best-of-albums lists

Season 1 finale! Before Steve takes off for the rest of 2016, he talks with two great young singer-songwriters. Alex G has made his name as an indie-pop tunesmith via his Bandcamp releases, but he's making in-roads toward the mainstream, including a recent cameo on Frank Ocean's "Endless." Ryley Walker is a Chicago guitarist who was raised on punk rock, and then took a left turn into jazzy, enigmatic folk music. His latest LP, "Golden Sings That Have Been Sung," is one of Steve's favorites of 2016.

One of the sharpest bands operating in the punk realm at the moment is Joyce Manor, a SoCal outfit that specializes in succinct songs that delve insightfully into the minutia of daily life. But as Steve learned when he talked to the band's singer/songwriter Barry Johnson, Joyce Manor's influence extend far beyond punk. Johnson is actually a huge fan of Guided By Voices and Oasis, two of Steve's favorites. So, both guys spent a lot of time geeking out in this episode.

As a profile writer for Rolling Stone, Brian Hiatt has interviewed virtually every musician of consequence, from Bruce Springsteen to Mick Jagger to Prince to Adele. Steve invited Brian on the podcast to talk about his process of "getting the story" when he's dealing with very famous people. They also talked about the history of Rolling Stone, and why the magazine has endured for nearly 50 years.

For almost 20 years, Drive-By Truckers have been one of America's best bands, known for melding cinematic lyrics to riff-heavy arena rock. As one of the band's primary songwriters, Patterson Hood has established himself as one of the finest stylists in all of southern rock. Ahead of DBT's latest album, American Band, Hood talked about how the group has survived its many ups and downs, as well as the challenges of inserting political messages into songs.

Our guests this week come from opposite ends of the life experience spectrum. David Crosby recently turned 75, but he's not considering retirement. In fact, he's stepped up his production in recent years — in October he'll release a solo record, Lighthouse, and he already has another record to go after that. Crosby talked with Steve about his creative rebirth and how George Harrison inspired Steve's favorite David Crosby song. Then (at 32:02) Steve welcomes newcomer Lucy Dacus, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Virginia who recently wowed critics with her independently released debut, No Burden. Now Dacus is signed to Matador Records and touring with Car Seat Headrest. Dacus talked about how she got to this point so early, while also indulging in a long tangent at Steve's insistence about her childhood interest in Christian rock.

Before he became a fixture on MTV in the late 90s, Dave Holmes was just a kid growing up in St. Louis, trying to come to terms with his sexuality. Holmes writes about his coming out process as a gay man in his funny new memoir Party Of One, which also covers Holmes' love of pop culture and how the music he loves informed his life. Dave also talked to Steve about his tenure at MTV, giving him the lowdown on what Kurt Loder and Jesse Camp were really like.

One of the best indie bands of the last several years is Cymbals Eat Guitars, who will release their fourth LP, Pretty Years, in September. Steve talks with the CEG's frontman, Joseph D'Agostino, about the band's history, as well as the highs and lows of being an up-and-coming rock band at a time when music culture is increasingly dominated by a small handful of pop stars.

Drew Magary is a writer for Deadspin and GQ who recently published a novel called The Hike. He's also a 39-year-old dude who grew up listening to metal and hard rock in the 90s. Steve talked to Drew about the Metallica vs. GNR debate, as well as the recent demise of Gawker.com and the awkwardness of meeting his frequent targets of derision, like Sports Illustrated's Peter King.

Chuck Klosterman is one of our favorite guests, so we had to have him back on to discuss his new book, But What If We're Wrong? Of particular interest is the chapter on how rock music will be remembered, which Chuck and Steven discuss at length.

When Steve recorded a podcast on Friday morning with Lindsay Zoladz (The Ringer, Pitchfork), they couldn't help but talk about the non-release of Frank Ocean's new album, Boys Don't Cry. From there, they segued to a larger discussion about the decline of the download era, which in recent years has been hastened to a close by the rise of streaming services. With all the choice and convenience streaming services offer, are music fans losing something more valuable in the process. Steve and Lindsay try to figure it out. Sponsored by Amazon Prime and Harry's.

When it comes to the jam band scene, people either know everything or nothing at all. A good introduction to this subculture is "Heads," the new book by journalist and critic Jesse Jarnow. Steve talked to Jesse about the book, the latest incarnation of the Grateful Dead with John Mayer, Dead and Co., and how he broke up Phish in the early '00s. Then (at 49:29) Steve talks with one of his favorite singer-songwriters, Todd Snider, about why he joined a jam band, Hard Working Americans, with members of Widespread Panic and the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. Todd also shares the story about the time he spent in rehab with Phil Hartman's wife before her and her husband's tragic death.

Few people have written as many great rock songs in the past 15 years than Craig Finn. As frontman of the Hold Steady, Finn is about to celebrate the 10th anniversary of perhaps the band's greatest record, Boys and Girls in America. Finn has also branched into a solo career, which has become an outlet for his quieter, more contemplative songs. Finn talked with Steve about his the Hold Steady, and why he thinks it's tough to grow old in rock and roll.