For years, Steve railed against the indie-snob archetype — the judgmental expert in the horn-rimmed glasses who only likes obscure artists. But now, the indie snob has been marginalized in music culture. In an era where pop music dominates the conversa...

Classic rock used to mean Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Who. But now it looks more like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, and even Blink-182. How did this happen? Steve chats with Rob Harvilla of The Ringer about how alt-rock has slowly evol...

Rob Sheffield has been one of America's top music critics for at least two decades, due to his work at Rolling Stone and books like Love Is A Mixtape and Turn Around Bright Eyes. His latest book, On Bowie, is a self-described love letter to the late icon.

Steve invites his friend and fellow critic Ian Cohen on the pod to discuss the year in rock so far. Ian feels more enthusiasm than Steve for the year's output thus far, but they both have plenty of recommendations for quality new music. Sponsored by Bl...

Steve sits down with the best known rock producer of the 90s to discuss his life and career, including his work on landmark LPs such as Nirvana's Nevermind and Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream. Vig also talks about his band Garbage, which is back with...

The guitar virtuoso used to be a fixture in rock, but feats of fleet-fingered strength no longer seem to impress people. Steve tries to find out why with Jason Concepcion, aka netwerk, of The Ringer, a guy who has been studying great guitar players sin...

The fastest-rising star in rock right now has to be Courtney Barnett, the Aussie singer-songwriter who has wowed critics and a growing legion of fans. Steve caught up with Barnett in the midst of her latest tour, and talked about her background and th...

One of Steve's favorite bands right now is Beach Slang, a group from Philadelphia obsessed with the myth of the rock and roll dream. Steve met up with the band's frontman, James Alex, during a recent stop in Minneapolis. They talk about the band's hist...

Last week, Radiohead released its first album in five years, A Moon Shaped Pool. Steve wasn't sure what to expect going in, but he came away with a renewed appreciation for one of rock's most important bands of the last 25 years. He invited a fellow fa...

A lot of Steven's favorite rock records of the 21st Century came out in 2005 - and the same is true for Steve's friend Ian Cohen. Has any year topped the one that gave us classics by LCD Soundsystem, The National, The Hold Steady and Sleater-Kinney? ...