steve earle
Joe Pug Revisits Debut EP With Killers, My Morning Jacket Members
Singer/songwriter Joe Pug has re-recorded his beloved, largely solo acoustic 2008 debut Nation of Heat with a full band, featuring contributions from The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit keyboardist Derry deBorja and singer/songwriter Courtney Hartman. Nation of Heat | Revisited is due July 22 on Nation of Heat Records. Steve Earle penned the liner notes for the new edition of the album, the original version of which was self-released by Pug and turned him into a DIY favorite in the modern singer/songwriter scene. “It’s how I would’ve wanted the record to sound in the first place if I’d had the money and the ability to do it this way,” says Pug of Nation of Heat, which has racked up more than 20 million streams on Spotify. “B...
106 Musicians Predict the 2022 Baseball Season
The powers-that-be did their best to prevent this year’s Major League Baseball season from happening, but, alas, we’re back. By we, I mean the annual SPIN baseball preview. As usual, everyone (or almost everyone) is optimistic about their team’s chances in 2022. In 2021, a good chunk of the season was played with minimal fans in attendance, but things should be mostly back to normal this year. As I said last year about the season: Will it be weird? Probably. But aren’t they all? If it wasn’t a weird season with bizarre injuries, what kind of season would it be? Not baseball, Suzyn. Somehow, we almost doubled the number of participants from 62 to 105. Maybe we go for a cool 162 next year? If nothing else, we know that musicians love America’s Pastime (even if many feel that it doesn’t love ...
The 90 Greatest Albums of the ’90s
This article originally appeared in the September 1999 issue of SPIN. “You must be high.” We heard that a lot during the time we spent preparing this issue. Which is understandable. Pronouncing the 90 greatest albums of the ’90s is a somewhat presumptuous thing to do. When you’re measuring the music this decade is offering to history—the sounds we partied with, copulated to, fought about, and wept over—everyone has an opinion. That ours should be more valid than yours is debatable. But hey—it’s our magazine. What, then, you ask, constitutes “greatest”? Don’t even start. Suffice it to say that, after much heated discussion and countless veiled insults, it came down to the factors of both remarkable artistry and cultural shock value. Sometimes a record’s knock-you-off-your-Skechers impa...
62 Musicians Predict the 2021 Baseball Season
Somehow, some way, it’s baseball season again. Yes, already. Last year’s abbreviated run saw the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first World Series title in 32 years, something that Ben Gibbard predicted in our 2020 preview. As you can imagine, Dodgers fans — especially the ones below — are in great spirits heading into the 2021 season. So what does that mean about this year? Absolutely nothing. As COVID restrictions start to loosen and with more fans allowed back into stadiums, excitement is beginning to buzz, especially with our group of experts. Like last time, many are hopeful that this will be their team’s year. We searched far and wide to get predictions for the upcoming Major League Baseball season, creating a proper barometer of what these su...
Steve Earle Releases J.T. Tribute LP to Late Son, Justin Townes Earle
Steve Earle & The Dukes’ J.T. album, a collection honoring Earle’s late son, Justin Townes Earle, is out today, on what would have been Justin’s 39th birthday. The record, which covers 10 songs from Justin’s discography, along with the elder Earle’s heartfelt tribute, “Last Words,” arrives nearly five months after Justin Townes Earle’s death from an accidental overdose. “His best songs were as good as anybody’s,” Earle said in a New York Times interview. “He was a way better singer than I am, a way better guitar player, technically, than I am. His fingerpicking could be mind-blowing.” In addressing Justin’s struggle with his demons, Earle says his son was “just one of those people that never felt like he was enough.” J.T. was recorded at New York’s Electric Lady Studios...
Steve Earle and the Dukes Release ‘Harlem River Blues’ From Upcoming Justin Townes Earle Tribute Album
When Justin Townes Earle died in August at the age of 38, the music world mourned the talented singer-songwriter, but none more than his musician-father, Steve Earle. To honor his son, Steve Earle and the Dukes’ new album, J.T., features 10 songs penned by Justin and covered by the band, plus one classic tune from Steve. That song, “Harlem River Blues,” which was the title track of Townes Earle’s 2010 album, and was re-recorded by his father and his band at New York City’s Electric Lady Studios, is out today; the LP will follow on what have been Justin’s 39th birthday, Jan. 4, 2021. “The record is called J.T. because Justin was never called anything else until he was nearly grown,” Steve Earle said in a statement. For better or worse, right or wrong, I loved J...
Steve Earle and the Dukes to Record Album With Songs Written By Justin Townes Earle
Following his death in August, many tributes poured in remembering late singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle. His father, Steve Earle, shared a poignant tweet of the two when his son was a teen. Now, the elder Earle will pay tribute to his son by recording a new album comprised of songs written by Townes Earle. The album is slated to be recorded in October with a January 2021 release date. The album will be in conjunction with what would have been Townes Earle’s 39th birthday. All of the artist advance funds and royalties will go to a trust for Justin’s daughter and Steve’s granddaughter, Etta St. James Earle. A few days after his death, a police spokesperson told SPIN at the time that Townes Earle died of a “probable drug overdose.” Earlier this year, Steve Earle released an album, ...
28 Musicians Predict the 2020 Baseball Season
Against all odds and the advice of many virologists, the 2020 MLB season is finally underway. Whether that’s a good idea in the midst of a pandemic is beside the point because it’s happening. Baseball is back, albeit in a much stranger fashion than anyone could have imagined when spring training began in February (which may as well have been 1923). With a 60-game season looming and a bunch of bizarre rule changes in effect (universal DH, runner starting on second base in extra innings, expanded rosters, and more playoff teams), the season is set to be the most unpredictable in years. You know who else is stoked about the season finally starting? Musicians. There’s always been a romanticism between artists and baseball that makes perfect sense. Thus, we’ve summoned a panel of baseball...
