Bandsplain

We’re back! At Bandsplain, all we wanna do is have some fun, and Yasi had the feeling she wasn’t the only one. So this week, friend of the show Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast joins us to make the case for Sheryl Crow. In 1986, Sheryl’s winding road began when she left small town Missouri for Hollywood, where she toured with Michael Jackson, scrapped her own debut album, and survived off trail mix until her breakthrough Tuesday Night Music Club put her on the map. Bethany and Yasi uncover the tragedies and successes of Sheryl’s story as she spent the next few decades navigating the underbelly of celebrity and the mess of music media while becoming one of the quintessential songwriters of her time. Follow Bethany Cosentino on Twitter at @bestcoast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bob Mehr returns to Bandsplain for an in-depth look at oft overlooked stalwarts of the 90s rock charts, Gin Blossoms. Looking at the history before a slew of hit singles brought the band into the realm of grocery store soundtrack ubiquity (Hey Jealousy, Found Out About You, Follow You Down), Bob leads us through their origins in Tempe, Arizona’s fruitful scene of the late 80s and the tragic story of songwriter Doug Hopkins to the admirable longevity of some of their best-crafted rock songs. Content warning: this episode addresses suicide and substance abuse. Follow Bob Mehr on Twitter at @BobMehr and find Trouble Boys: the True Story of the Replacements wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Lifter Puller’s scrappy Minneapolis origins to the Hold Steady’s reign as “America’s best bar band,” Yasi is joined by writer Darcie Wilder of Gawker to unpack this pair of critically beloved and certifiably cult bands who culled as much from Catholic symbolism and Springsteenian character studies as they did from the social milieu of the Brooklyn aughts zeitgeist. Follow Darcie Wilder on Twitter @333333333433333 and pick up her book, “literally show me a healthy person.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re coming at you from Zebulon in Los Angeles with our very first LIVE episode, where we’re blessed by the presence of Max Collins of Eve 6 as he discusses who he thinks is America’s greatest rock n’ roll band: Fountains of Wayne. Follow Max Collins on Twitter at @eve6. We’re off next week for Thanksgiving. See you back here on Thursday, December 2 for an all new episode of Bandsplain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yasi is joined by journalist Natalie Weiner to unpack the four-decade reign of Reba, Queen of Country, from her humble Oklahoma rodeo origins all the way through her world domination as a multiplatinum-selling artist, award-winning star of screen and stage, and intrepid entrepreneur. Follow Natalie Weiner on Twitter @natalieweiner and check out her podcast, Rebawatchables. Check out Reba’s podcast, Living & Learning with Reba McEntire, only on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gina Arnold—author, academic, and architect of Yasi’s youth—graces us with her perspective on Pixies, the seminal cult indie rock band from Boston. Follow Gina Arnold on Twitter at @ginanarchy and check out her books Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana, the 33 ⅓ book on Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville, and Kiss This: Punk in the Present Tense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re gonna scream, scream with us. Glenn Danzig’s iconic punk outfit The Misfits get the Bandsplain treatment thanks to Mike Gitter, A&R man and progenitor of XXX Fan Zine. Yasi and Mike traverse the spooky landscape of The Misfits, from the history of horrorcore to punks pumping iron on tour, and the countless drummers in between it all. Follow Mike Gitter on Twitter at @TheGitter and pick up his book, “XXX Fanzine 1983-1988: Hardcore & Punk n the Eighties,” wherever fine books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here is part two of our Metallica episode, because nothing else matters. Journalist Joe Gross takes us through the latter years of Metallica. We investigate the ups and downs of their musical explorations, personnel changes, and famously documented self-help odyssey, all of which follows their 16x platinum blockbuster, the self-titled Black Album. Follow Joe Gross on Twitter at @joegross and pick up his 33 ⅓ book on Fugazi’s In On the Killtaker wherever fine books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For whom the pod casts: we bring you part one of our mega-episode on Metallica, the biggest heavy metal band of all time. Rolling Stone senior writer Kory Grow has spent years writing about the band, and takes us through the beginning half of their career, from their origins to tragedy to triumph, and off to never never land. Follow Kory Grow on Twitter at @korygrow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re back with guns blazing. Yasi dons her top hat and talks with storied Guns N’ Roses associate Riki Rachtman, former host of MTV’s Headbangers Ball and original co-owner of the legendary rock n’ roll hangout the Cathouse Hollywood. Follow Riki Rachtman on Twitter at @RikiRachtman. Further reading: “Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction” by Marc Canter “Slash” by Slash “It's So Easy: and other lies” by Duff McKagan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices