Celebration Rock

By Cumulus Media Minneapolis / KXXR-FM

What's Celebration Rock about?

Rock Critic Steven Hyden ("Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me", "Twilight Of The Gods") talks with rock stars and the country’s biggest music writers about what’s happening in rock. Presented by 93X (www.93X.com) and Uproxx.com (http://uproxx.com/music/)

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Celebration Rock episodes:

11.04.2019
Celebration Rock: Best Albums of the Decade with Ian Cohen
Steve decided to take the podcast out of hibernation for this special one-off episode on the best albums of the 2010's, with special guest Ian Cohen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12.17.2018
Our Favorite Albums of 2018
Every year of my professional life as a music critic, I've made year-end lists. Sometimes it was because I simply had to do it, but more often (especially when I was younger) I did it because I thought it was fun. Making...
12.10.2018
Contrarian's Canon: Joni Mitchell's "Night Ride Home"
This week we return with another installment of Contrarian's Canon, our semi-regular series with Ryley Walker where we talk about great albums that for some reason have been maligned or forgotten about in the course of music history. This time, we...
12.03.2018
Fantasy A&R: The Ultimate Mid-'90s Oasis Album
Last month, we started a new game called Fantasy A&R;, where we take a classic album and attempt to improve/mutilate it by making our own stupid suggestions, such as adding or subtracting songs, swapping in alternate versions, and other probably ill-advised...
11.19.2018
The 2nd Annual "Last Waltz" Holiday Special
Back in 2016, I wrote a column in which I declared that The Last Waltz is the best Thanksgiving movie. "It affirms the faith in the power of ritual to heal — at least temporarily — whatever is awkward or unresolved or plain broken...
11.12.2018
Fantasy A&R: How To Make a 12-Track Version of the Beatles' "White Album"
In the week's episode of Celebration Rock we introduce a new game called Fantasy A&R;, where we take a classic album and attempt to improve/mutilate it by making our own stupid suggestions, such as adding or subtracting songs, swapping in alternate versions,...
11.05.2018
Contrarian's Canon: Dave Matthews Band's "The Lillywhite Sessions"
In the late '90s, the Dave Matthews Band was one of the biggest bands in the world. Each of their first three albums went multi-platinum, and their improvisational live shows made them a stadium headliner. And yet this hippie-friendly collective...
10.29.2018
October's Top Indie Albums by Kurt Vile, Cat Power, and Pinegrove
On this week's episode of Celebration Rock I invited Pitchfork senior editor (and now friend of the podcast) Stacey Anderson to discuss this month's most notable indie-rock albums. Our discussion began with Pinegrove, who's latest album Skylight is an affecting alt-country-leaning album that's a...
10.22.2018
Twenty One Pilots vs. Greta Van Fleet
In the past few weeks, two of 2018's most anticipated rock albums have been released: Trench by Twenty One Pilots and Anthem of the Peaceful Army by Greta Van Fleet. In my review of Trench, I noted that Twenty One Pilots have created a deep and fascinating...
10.15.2018
Contrarian Canon: Pink Floyd's "The Division Bell"
Last month, I invited great indie-rock guitarist and hilarious Twitter user Ryley Walker on the podcast to talk about an album that impacted both of our lives as teenagers, dc Talk's '90s Christian-rock opus Jesus Freak. It was so much fun that...
10.08.2018
A Tribute To The Stills and Other Overlooked Bands of the Post-Strokes Boom
This month is the 15th anniversary of Logic Will Break Your Heart, the debut album by Montreal quartet The Stills, one of many scruffy, post-punk bands that followed in the wake of the Strokes in the early '00s. For a...
10.01.2018
The Status of Tom Petty's Legacy
Last Friday, a career-spanning box set called An American Treasure was released delving into the work of Tom Petty, in time for the one-year anniversary of the venerable rocker's death on Oct. 2. Unlike most retrospectives, An American Treasure largely eschews hits in order to illuminate...
09.24.2018
How Michael Beinhorn Shepherded "Superunknown" and "Celebrity Skin"
If you've spent any time reading the liner notes of classic '90s rock albums, there's a very good chance you know the name Michael Beinhorn. As one of the era's top record producers, his credits include some of the best...
09.17.2018
Recent "Under The Radar" faves by Low, the Lemon Twigs, Ruston Kelly, and more.
Last month, I did a Celebration Rock episode on my favorite sleeper albums of 2018. This week, I figured that the need to talk about lesser known records is so great that it could sustain a semi-regular series of episodes. So, I...
09.10.2018
Can Liberals and Conservatives Still Bond Over Music?
There used to be an old saying about how you should never talk about politics or religion in friendly conversation, because those are the topics guaranteed to make any interaction decidedly un-friendly. However, in the past few years, it's been seemingly...
09.03.2018
DC Talk's "Jesus Freak" and The Peak of '90s Christian Rock
Back in May, I interviewed the hilarious and talented singer-songwriter Ryley Walker about his very good recent album, Deafman Glance. But one of the most memorable parts of the conversation was a tangent about Christian rock, which had been a part of both of...
09.03.2018
DC Talk's "Jesus Freak" and The Peak of 90's Christian Rock
Back in May, I interviewed the hilarious and talented singer-songwriter Ryley Walker about his very good recent album, Deafman Glance. But one of the most memorable parts of the conversation was a tangent about Christian rock, which had been a part of both of...
08.27.2018
New Albums By Interpol, Death Cab For Cutie, Mitski, and Foxing
In this episode, we review some of the most notable rock albums from the month of August, including the latest from two legacy acts and recent highlights by two of indie-rock's brightest young acts. Joining me is "friend of the...
08.20.2018
Former Pitchfork Editor Mark Richardson Discusses The Site's Rise
If you have read any music writing at all online in the past 20 years, there's a very good chance you have encountered Mark Richardson in some way. As a long-time writer and editor for Pitchfork, Richardson has been reviewing...
08.13.2018
Robbie Robertson On 50 Years of "Music From Big Pink"
Fifty years ago this summer, one of the greatest debut albums in rock history was released. Though when The Band put out 1968's Music From Big Pink, they weren't exactly unknown. Two years prior, they had backed Bob Dylan on his first...
08.06.2018
Favorite Sleeper Albums of 2018 So Far
Throughout the year, really good albums come and go with minimal attention. What happens to those records once they are sucked into the black hole of bottomless content? Are they gone forever? In this episode, we try to rescue some...
07.30.2018
Courtney Barnett Tells You How She Really Feels
One of the best things about being a music critic with a podcast is being able to ask an artist you've written about to confirm or deny opinions and theories you have about their music. For instance, when I reviewed Courtney's...
07.23.2018
25 Years of 'Siamese Dream'
On July 27, one of the greatest rock albums of modern times turns 25. At least I count Siamese Dream as one of the best guitar records of the past quarter-century — it seems like the overall stature of Smashing Pumpkins has...
07.16.2018
Shawn Everett Probably Recorded Your Favorite Album
Even if you don't know the name Shawn Everett, it's very likely that you've enjoyed an album that he's produced, engineered, or mixed in the past several years. In 2015, he rose to prominence for his work on Alabama Shakes' Sound...
07.09.2018
After 25 Years, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows Is Still Here
This summer, Counting Crows will be back on the road for their "25 Years And Counting" tour, celebrating a quarter-century since the release of 1993's classic debut, August and Everything After. During that time, Counting Crows have maintained a sizable fanbase, even...
07.02.2018
Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes Isn't Interested in Fame
In the past decade. Starting with 2009's North Hills, the quartet has been distinguished by strong, understated ensemble playing and Taylor Goldsmith's earnest, narrative songwriting, which evokes the tenderness of Jackson Browne and the evocative storytelling of Warren Zevon. Dawes' latest album, Passwords, is the...
06.25.2018
Our Favorite Albums Of 2018 So Far
Can you believe that we're already (almost) six months into the year? What better time to count down some of our favorite albums of 2018 so far. Joining Steve this week is friend of the pod Hanif Abdurraqib (They Can't...
06.18.2018
Jim James Wants To Purify Himself
On June 29, Jim James will release his third solo album, Uniform Distortion. It's a loose, raw collection of guitar-heavy songs that rail against the darkness of modern times. James is trying to fight that darkness in his personal life, too. ...
06.11.2018
Rock 101: Intro To Townes Van Zandt
The best part of having a podcast is that it gives me an excuse to reach out to people who I think are smart or interesting, and talk to them about topics that I find fascinating. Last month, when I was holed...
06.04.2018
Kanye Hot Takes, Plus Father John Misty and Parquet Courts
On June 1, big albums dropped by Kanye West and Father John Misty, and one of them was much better than the other. I talked about both records with Jeremy Larson of Pitchfork, who also shared his thoughts on how...
05.28.2018
Let's Talk About Hockey And Guitar Shredding with Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan and Alvvays' Molly Rankin
Recently, I had the chance to talk with two of the leading lights in contemporary indie rock. First, we visit 19-year-old phenom Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail, whose full-length debut due next month, "Lush," is one of the most anticipated...
05.21.2018
Let's Talk About New Albums By Courtney Barnett, Arctic Monkeys, and Beach House
May has been a good month for notable rock releases, including albums by Arctic Monkeys, Courtney Barnett, and Beach House. For this episode, I contacted friend of the podcast Ian Cohen, whose writing has appeared at Pitchfork and Stereogum, to...
05.14.2018
Chuck Klosterman On The Rise And Fall Of Classic Rock
Last week, I released my new book, Twilight Of The Gods: A Journey To The End Of Classic Rock. It's about the generation of rock stars from the '60s and '70s that is currently in the process of either retiring or passing...
05.07.2018
Matt and Aaron from The National, live from the Homecoming Festival
In late April I visited Cincinnati to attend the first ever Homecoming, a festival headlined and curated by The National that also featured Father John Misty, Feist, Alvvays, The Breeders, Julian Baker, Moses Sumney, and many other great acts. I...
04.30.2018
Who is Better: The Smiths or The Cure?
In 2016, I published my first book, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life. For all of the famous rivalries that I wrote about — The Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones, Kanye West vs. Taylor...
04.23.2018
Pete Yorn Has Endured Well Past "The Morning After"
A few months ago, I was on a serious Pete Yorn kick. The singer-songwriter, whose best-known album is his 2001 debut Musicforthemorningafter, has put out several quality LPs over the past two decades, including 2003's Day I Forgot and 2006's Nightcrawler. In 2016, he released a...
04.16.2018
It's Our 100th Episode!
Way back in January 2016, I launched a podcast. Over the course of 99 episodes, I've interviewed musicians, writers, and lots of other interesting people. It's been a blast. For the 100th episode, I invited one of my favorite guests ever, Rolling Stone critic...
04.09.2018
Gang Of Youths Are Slowly Taking Over America
Last fall I wrote about Go Farther In Lightness, the second album by Australian indie band Gang Of Youths. At the time, Gang Of Youths had a low profile in the United States in spite of great success at home. While the band...
04.02.2018
What's Your Favorite Album Of 1998?
Let's go back 20 years to a fascinating time in music history. In 1998, the internet had not yet become the hub of how we listen to music — Napster was still one year away from taking over college campuses,...
03.26.2018
Is Jack White's New LP A Good Trainwreck Or a Bad Trainwreck?
"Boarding House Reach" is an utterly unique Jack White album — made with the assistance of ProTools, it's as layered and overstuffed as the White Stripes were austere and straight-forward. Unsurprisingly, some people love it and some people hate it....
03.19.2018
Dean Ween Continues To Wave The Ween Flag
Of course Dean Ween is one of the founders of Ween, a band that has been putting out albums since 1990, though they haven’t had any new albums in a while. But he's also the leader of the Dean Ween...
03.12.2018
Robert Plant Is Still A Golden God
If Robert Plant had stopped making music after 1980, his legacy would still be eternal as the lead singer of perhaps the greatest rock band ever, Led Zeppelin. But Plant has spent the past nearly 40 years following his own...
03.05.2018
20th Century Boss Part 8: '90s Bruce with Tim Showalter
The '90s are easily the least well-regarded decade of Bruce’s career. If people make note of this period, it’s to illustrate how far he fell without the E Street Band, who finally reunited with Bruce at the end of the...
03.05.2018
20th Century Boss Part 7: "Tunnel Of Love" with John Darnielle
Released on Oct. 9, 1987, "Tunnel Of Love" has a reputation among some Springsteen fans as his “soft rock, baby boomer divorce record.” It’s true that "Tunnel Of Love" doesn’t exactly rock, and it’s definitely not guitar-heavy. Instead, it’s dominated by synthesizers,...
02.26.2018
20th Century Boss Part 6: "Born In The U.S.A." with Patterson Hood
After the stripped-down "Nebraska," Bruce Springsteen went in the opposite direction for 1984's "Born In The U.S.A.," one of the most popular rock albums ever made. Springsteen was so popular at this time that he was inevitably commodified and turned into a...
02.26.2018
20th Century Boss Part 5: "Nebraska" with Phoebe Bridgers
In 1982, Bruce Springsteen released "Nebraska," a stark collection of acoustic songs recorded at home on a four-track in one marathon session. It's an album about criminals and economic hardship and flawed father figures, with lots of spooky echo and heavy...
02.19.2018
20th Century Boss Part 4: "The River" with Patrick Stickles
For Bruce Springsteen 1980 double-album "The River," I spoke with Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus, whose latest album, "A Productive Cough," comes out March 2. I met up with Stickles at his apartment in Brooklyn right after my plane landed, and there's...
02.19.2018
20th Century Boss Part 3: "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" with Julien Baker
Our Bruce Springsteen series continues with Julien Baker, a wonderful artist whose 2017 album "Turn Out The Lights" was one of my favorite LPs of that year. Even though she was born almost 20 years after it was released in 1978, Baker...
02.12.2018
20th Century Boss Part 2: "Born To Run" with Jeff Rosenstock
In episode two of our special Bruce Springsteen series, Jeff Rosenstock dives into the first true masterpiece of Springsteen's career, 1975's "Born To Run." While Rosenstock was raised on punk and ska music, he was also drawn to Springsteen's most uplifting...
02.12.2018
20th Century Boss Part 1: Early Boss with Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem
Welcome to 20th Century Boss, our in-depth series on the albums that Bruce Springsteen released in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. In episode one, Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem joins us to discuss 1973's "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.," and "The...

What's Celebration Rock about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Celebration Rock episodes:

Celebration Rock: Best Albums of the Decade with Ian Cohen

Our Favorite Albums of 2018

Contrarian's Canon: Joni Mitchell's "Night Ride Home"

Fantasy A&R: The Ultimate Mid-'90s Oasis Album

The 2nd Annual "Last Waltz" Holiday Special

Fantasy A&R: How To Make a 12-Track Version of the Beatles' "White Album"

Contrarian's Canon: Dave Matthews Band's "The Lillywhite Sessions"

October's Top Indie Albums by Kurt Vile, Cat Power, and Pinegrove

Twenty One Pilots vs. Greta Van Fleet

Contrarian Canon: Pink Floyd's "The Division Bell"

A Tribute To The Stills and Other Overlooked Bands of the Post-Strokes Boom

The Status of Tom Petty's Legacy

How Michael Beinhorn Shepherded "Superunknown" and "Celebrity Skin"

Recent "Under The Radar" faves by Low, the Lemon Twigs, Ruston Kelly, and more.

Can Liberals and Conservatives Still Bond Over Music?

DC Talk's "Jesus Freak" and The Peak of '90s Christian Rock

DC Talk's "Jesus Freak" and The Peak of 90's Christian Rock

New Albums By Interpol, Death Cab For Cutie, Mitski, and Foxing

Former Pitchfork Editor Mark Richardson Discusses The Site's Rise

Robbie Robertson On 50 Years of "Music From Big Pink"

Favorite Sleeper Albums of 2018 So Far

Courtney Barnett Tells You How She Really Feels

25 Years of 'Siamese Dream'

Shawn Everett Probably Recorded Your Favorite Album

After 25 Years, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows Is Still Here

Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes Isn't Interested in Fame

Our Favorite Albums Of 2018 So Far

Jim James Wants To Purify Himself

Rock 101: Intro To Townes Van Zandt

Kanye Hot Takes, Plus Father John Misty and Parquet Courts

Let's Talk About Hockey And Guitar Shredding with Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan and Alvvays' Molly Rankin

Let's Talk About New Albums By Courtney Barnett, Arctic Monkeys, and Beach House

Chuck Klosterman On The Rise And Fall Of Classic Rock

Matt and Aaron from The National, live from the Homecoming Festival

Who is Better: The Smiths or The Cure?

Pete Yorn Has Endured Well Past "The Morning After"

It's Our 100th Episode!

Gang Of Youths Are Slowly Taking Over America

What's Your Favorite Album Of 1998?

Is Jack White's New LP A Good Trainwreck Or a Bad Trainwreck?

Dean Ween Continues To Wave The Ween Flag

Robert Plant Is Still A Golden God

20th Century Boss Part 8: '90s Bruce with Tim Showalter

20th Century Boss Part 7: "Tunnel Of Love" with John Darnielle

20th Century Boss Part 6: "Born In The U.S.A." with Patterson Hood

20th Century Boss Part 5: "Nebraska" with Phoebe Bridgers

20th Century Boss Part 4: "The River" with Patrick Stickles

20th Century Boss Part 3: "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" with Julien Baker

20th Century Boss Part 2: "Born To Run" with Jeff Rosenstock

20th Century Boss Part 1: Early Boss with Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem