After 15+ years on the road, Seattle's Minus the Bear said goodbye in 2018... but not for long. Marking two decades since the release of their second album, Menos El Oso -- heralded by both critics and fans alike -- the five-piece are back this year to play the album in full across the country. A sprawling, math-rock masterclass, Menos takes listeners on a globetrotting trail through Spain, Ireland, Los Angeles and more, while vocalist/guitarist Jake Snider inhabits characters seeking escape, be it from fever dreams, crime scenes or soul-crushing day jobs. Today, Jake is joined by guitarist David Knudson, as the pair breakdown Menos track-by-track. Along with host Jim Hanke, they dive into the meanings behind some of the band's most impactful songs twenty years later, and how the genre-bending experimentation of Danger Mouse and DJ Shadow influenced the LP. Catch Minus the Bear at this year's Best Friends Forever Fest in Las Vegas, or on tour cost-to-coast, this fall. Visit minusthebear.com for tickets, social media and more.

On the heels of a fiery new album (Here We Go Crazy), influential indie icon Bob Mould reflects on how record store culture informed Hüsker Dü's formation and why the jukebox singles of his youth still help him get out of the occasional songwriting stalemate. Visit bobmould.com for tour dates, social media and more. 

This is an encore presentation of a previous episode, originally airing in August 2023.

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The two sounds Tommy Prine says he remembers most growing up were having the AM radio on or his father (renowned singer/songwriter John Prine) workshopping tunes at the kitchen table. Journeying through adolescence, his eclecticism later manifested through acts like Outkast and System of a Down. But now, on the heels of This Far South — his debut album — Tommy has found his own unique voice that marries his mom’s Irish wisdom and his dad’s dry Midwestern/Southern wit. On today’s show, Tommy shares why Radiohead’s “Videotape” speaks to him, his experiences working with Nashville talents Ruston Kelly and Gena Johnson on This Far South, and how the artwork for this album feels like both an ending and a beginning. Visit tommyprine.com for your dates, socials and more.

Long before Hot Ones became a viral sensation, there was Man v. Food. Over four seasons on the Travel Channel, host Adam Richman cruised the country going toe-to-toe with fiery chicken wings, monster-sized pizzas, pizza-sized burgers and more. Though the Brooklyn native demolished eating challenges that boggled both the mind and the belly, the heartbeat of MvF was in the small sandwich shops and hole-in-the-wall diners that were suddenly given a national stage. Since then, he's remained an in-demand, jovial educator of eating -- whether helping demystify menus via the YouTube series Pro Moves, embracing UK cuisine through Discovery+'s Adam Richman Eats Football, or tracing the origins of our favorite culinary brands on The Food That Built America (now in its sixth season). On today's episode, Adam dissects the similarities between food and music culture, his vinyl collecting habits, the classic rock staples he first heard through Beastie Boys samples, and the connections he's made with world-class performers who just so happen to be huge MvF fans -- ranging from Warren G to Green Day. Follow @adamrichman on Instagram and watch The Food That Built America on the History Channel, Sunday evenings at 9pm EST/8pm CST. 

Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon (Knives Out, The Shape of Water, Boardwalk Empire, Groundhog Day) and acclaimed musician Jason Narducy (Split Single, Bob Mould Band, Superchunk, Verböten) discuss their friendship through song, and their current tour performing Fables of the Reconstruction -- R.E.M.'s third album -- which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Tickets are available at concertedefforts.com, and you can watch Michael and Jason perform “Driver 8” with their band on The Tonight Show here. Follow @jasonnarducy on Instagram, plus catch the drama Eric Larue -- Michael's first film as director -- arriving in theaters this spring. 

In 1995, a fervent and wry rapper (Sean Daley, aka Slug) and a dexterous deejay (Anthony Davis; Ant for short) helped co-found a platform to help put Midwest -- and more precisely, Minnesotan -- hip-hop on the map. Three decades later, Rhymesayers Entertainment is one of the most popular and influential modern rap labels in existence, releasing seminal LP's by MF Doom, Freeway, Aesop Rock, Brother Ali, and Atmosphere: Slug and Ant's infectious repartee that helped define the Rhymesayers aesthetic from the jump: While Daley puts the listener in a metaphorical chokehold -- thanks to a volatile delivery of vulnerable self-reflection -- Davis' textured musical milieu allows plenty of room for revelry within a hybrid of soul, gospel and rap's golden age. On this week's episode, the pair ponder how record shopping has actively made their lives better, why racially integrated album covers usually lead to great music, and when their first-ever appearance on vinyl became a time capsule of their first-ever collaboration. Atmosphere will commemorate the 20th anniversary of their landmark release You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having by kicking off their aptly-titled Imagine The Fun tour in January. Tickets, social media and pre-orders for Ant's third volume of his Collection of Sounds series (dropping next month) are all available at atmospheresucks.com. 

Bruce Springsteen once said that the secret to good songwriting was striking a balance between the personal and the universal: Get specific with people and locations first before shading in the rest with the kinds of generalities that make your listener relate, and hopefully, feel something. Craig Finn -- leader of the rough-and-ready, Grammy-nominated outfit The Hold Steady -- has subscribed to this philosophy in spades, garnering a cult-like fandom over 20+ years. On critically-acclaimed albums like Separation Sunday and Boys & Girls In America, the band has wheeled-and-dealed jaw-dropping tales of overdoses, arrests, confessional debauchery, and post-party pathos on par with any binge-worthy crime drama. Yet, despite those circumstances, the most fervent fans of The Hold Steady often connect most with the undying optimism that lies within Finn's brash and bewildered characters -- many of which show up on multiple tracks. Recorded in front of a live audience at Pinwheel Records in Chicago, Craig spotlights a lyrical trick he learned from Paul Simon, the babysitter who schooled him on Led Zeppelin, and the intriguing plot of his next solo album, due in spring.

Visit craigfinn.net and theholdsteady.net for news, social media, tour dates and more. You can also subscribe to That's How I Remember It -- where Craig examines the connections between art and memory -- wherever you listen to podcasts.

Live sound engineer: Manny Medina

Between his father's banjo picking and his mother's love of Motown, Superdrag's John Davis eventually began writing tunes that would channel Stax's classic soul and Big Star-adjacent power-pop through the blurred guitar wall of My Bloody Valentine -- an eventual blueprint for the band's cult classic debut album Regretfully Yours in 1996. But between grueling tours and generous MTV airplay for the infectious "Sucked Out," John would discover a second home in local Knoxville, Tennessee music shop Lost & Found Records, where he says owners Mike and Maria Armstrong became like a surrogate aunt and uncle, further deepening his love of vinyl. On this episode, John chats about sobriety, Superdrag's future, and nostalgia's double-edged sword. His latest solo outing titled Jinx is now available digitally, on CD and wax via lostinohio.com. Follow @johndavisbrandmusic and @superdragofficial on Instagram for updates.