Hardcore Troubadour

Join us as we take a look at the two records that book-ended Justin Townes Earle's short but incredible career: Yuma and The Saint of Lost Causes. "She'd talk about MississippiStill don't know how it isAny place could be worse than thisIt's hard to believe"

Not an easy listen today, as we explore Steve's tribute to his son Justin Townes Earle. Also, being absolutely gigged out but loving every minute of it. Walk up the FDR with us, singing and clapping our hands.

This record from 2020 has some songs that belong in the American folk canon. Full stop. Join us as we talk about labor history, black lung, what they did/didn't teach us in school, Pope Francis, and Chuck Yeager arguing with teenagers on twitter. Don't wanna hear about the state of the economyFiscal reality, profit and lossNone of that matters once you're underground anywayDamn sure can't tell me nothin' 'bout cost

We're joined by our special guest Nate Hardy (Highway Eyes, Infinite Electric Tattoo) to hang out and discuss some excellent records by The Band, Wilco, and Richard Buckner. Also, alienating your friends by obsessing over guitar gear, being excited to see The Melvins, and making sure you get the good kind of brain damage.

Join us as we discuss "Without Getting Killed or Caught," a fantastic documentary about the life of Guy Clark (and Susanna Clark and Townes Van Zandt). Also, Vinnie Stigma, Cincinnati Hardcore, Mahmoud Khalil, and a whole lot of doom with just a little slice of hope.

Let's talk about Steve's tribute album for his friend and mentor, the incredible Guy Clark. Let's also talk about hardcore shows, caves, the National Park Service. Also, we must warn you that this episode contains PADDINGTON IN PERU SPOILERS.

Join us as we discuss Waylon Jennings' outlaw country masterpiece, "Honky Tonk Heroes." It's been a good month of Sundays and a guitar ago.

Waylon and Willie, Guy and Steve, phaser pedals and psy-ops. If you wanna be an outlaw you can never go home.

Join us as we dig into Steve's 2016 collaboration with Shawn Colvin. Also: Saint Luigi, David Lee Roth's Sonrisa Salvaje, and infinite waves of ska.

We're back after a three month hiatus, and getting into the swing of things by digging into three classic records by three true Kings: Albert, B.B., and Freddie. Shout-out to Japan, shout-out to Tulsa, shout-out to taking matters into your own hands (with prior authorization, of course).

Terraplane is a blues record. We have mixed feelings about it, but it's got some bangers, and some true Southern Goth moments. Also, Japan, Mexico City, the pants are big again, and the most important question: Does Jesus have rizz?

Steve Earle's comeback show in Nashville after the release of Train A Comin' was one for the ages, featuring guest appearances by Emmylou Harris and Bill Monroe, as well as a newly sober Steve sounding better than ever. Come for the music, stay for the JFK assassination conspiracy theories.

We're excited to be back and digging into Steve's excellent 2013 release, The Low Highway. Come for the music, stay for making fun of JD Vance and getting all emotional about our sons and cats. When Chapo Trap House misses the easy layup, Hardcore Troubadour is here to grab that offensive rebound and slam it home.

We welcome our special guest Jeremy Holehan (Supertouch, Miracle Drug) to talk about growing up in Kentucky, chance encounters at shopping malls, and the inextricable links between country and hardcore. We also dive into some records by Willie Nelson, Hank III, and Colter Wall. There's a Manitoba Man behind the fillin' station store.

Join us as we talk about an often overlooked gem from Steve's catalogue, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive. Also, Tied Down Fest, baseball in London, terrible cops, and bringing back the draft. You know, the usuals. Yeah, I believe in God, and God ain't me.

Join us as we welcome a very special guest from Memphis, Tennessee, the one and only Bryan Hartley. We discuss the joys of touring, North Mississippi geography, and how if they call your show an after-party, no one is gonna come. We also dig into some excellent records by Dwight Yoakam, Kathleen Edwards, and Mississippi's own Andrew Bryant. Hey hey, we all wanna fall in love.

We're talking Townes (Van Zandt) again this week, but this time through his own records and not Steve's interpretations. Also: old man shows, college, and Marian apparitions. So shake the dust off of your wings and the sleep out of your eyes.

We're back, after a very brief hiatus, to discuss Steve's 2009 tribute to Townes Van Zandt. RIP Townes. RIP Eddie Sutton. Please lay off the string scratches this time, Tom Morello.

Join us as we discuss Leaves of Grass, the Walt Whitman-inspired 2009 film starring Edward Norton (twice) and Steve Earle playing a mean dude from Oklahoma. You have a spiritual objection to monofilament?

Tyler and Brian are together in Brooklyn to talk about Steve's move to New York and the first album he put out after crossing the Hudson, Washington Square Serenade. Just three Southern boys who dream of nights in NYC.

Join us for the third (and final) part of our deep dive on The Wire. For Walon, for Bubs, for folks in recovery everywhere. And if this little detour hasn't been your thing, don't worry, we'll be back to nerding out about Steve's music on the next episode.

We continue our deep dive into The Wire, covering Season 3 and most of Season 4. Rest In Power, Michael K. Williams.

Speaking about his character Walon, Steve Earle said, "“In The Wire I played a redneck recovering addict. It didn't require any acting.” The last thing the world needs is two more middle aged white dudes talking about The Wire, but it's still the best, and Steve was in it, so come take a walk in the garden with us.

Our friend Jessee Kowalski (Meantime, Jessee William) joins us to kick off 2024, where we talk more about the connections between country and hardcore and explore records by John Prine, Blue Rodeo, and Orville Peck. Also, Winnipeg is in Manitoba, NOT Alberta, Brian.

It's 2004. Join us as we drive up and down I-55 listening to Steve and Janeane Garofalo get us amped up about what would surely be the most important election of our lifetimes. Right?

"You outta work? You hungry? Eat your Nissan." Come for the ode to Brian's 1985 Mercury Topaz. Stay for Steve and the Dukes on Austin City Limits in 1986.

"Back home, I have been accused of being unpatriotic, which doesn't bother me very much. Mainly because I'm reasonably sure that my definition of patriotism and the definition of my accusers are pretty far apart."

Join us as we discuss the 2003 documentary, "Just An American Boy," that covers Steve's 2002 tour with the Dukes, the right-wing media's bad faith interpretation of "John Walker's Blues," and Steve's anti-death penalty activism, among other things. This man can house a whole Philly cheesesteak and a soda and then walk on stage and play for two hours like it was nothing.

This is the record that put Steve in the crosshairs of the post-9/11 right wing outrage machine. Wild that this is the week we're talking about it, but we swear it just happened this way. Join us as we dream about a day when there are no barricades, no wire or no walls, and we can wash all this blood from our hands.

On September 3rd, 1995, three of the best to ever do it got together in a small room south of Downtown Nashville and played some songs. We are lucky that it was recorded for posterity. Join Steve, Townes, and Guy as we thank the folks who take care of our teeth, especially those of us who can't afford dental insurance. You can floss while you listen.

This week we're diving into Sidetracks, a compilation of covers, soundtrack songs, and other often overlooked material that contains some real gems. And also some dirt. To the FBI agent assigned to listen to this podcast - hello. “Lay off the needle drugs. The only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon.” -Abbie Hoffman

Let's watch a little-known-but-really-cool Dutch documentary together, exploring Steve's pathway to sobriety and life in Nashville. Don't cut too much off of that bonsai.

Join us as we pay tribute to the incredible activist, singer, and truth-teller, Sinéad O'Connor, before diving into Steve's ninth studio album, Transcendental Blues. Candles on the altar, penny in your shoe.

Join us as we welcome another special guest, friend of the pod and Louisville hardcore legend Scott Keeling, to hang out and discuss some of our favorite records by Guy Clark, Tré Burt, and Drive-By Truckers. Rock and roll means well but it can't help telling young boys lies.

Join us as we explore The Mountain, where Steve teams up with the Del McCoury Band and makes it sound like he's been playing bluegrass since he came out of the womb. Let's keep singing, just as long as our luck and our lungs hold out.

For all of us who still can't get through "Wildflowers" without tearing up. Whether your day is a diamond or a rock, I hope you'll spend part of it with us.

We're back, with a tribute to one of the greatest songwriters to ever live, Mr. Thomas Earl Petty. We picked six albums from his massive discography, and dive into three of them here. Remember, even the losers get lucky sometimes. Also, time is most definitely a flat circle.

Let's talk about a record that AP writers called "one of the top 10 best pop albums of the 90s." Right up there with Dr. Dre, Beck, Lauryn Hill, and Portishead. Come on, let's go. This ain't Louisiana. Your mama won't know.

On June 25th, 1996, Steve Earle played a show at the Cold Creek Correctional Facility in West Tennessee, as a condition of his parole. In addition to making a killer live recording, MTV was also on-hand to make a mini-documentary, that included lots of great footage of Steve and the Dukes, and also quite a bit of standard-issue court-mandated war on drugs carceral state nonsense. Come for the tunes, stay for the prison abolition.

This week we are joined by our good friend, Tom Sheehan (Indecision, Most Precious Blood, Axe To Grind Podcast), who was gracious enough to come hang with us and talk about some of our favorite records. Come hang out as we dig into some classics from Lucero, Emmylou Harris, and Sturgill Simpson, and learn about how a Brooklyn boy came to have such great taste in country music.

We're back with a dive into "I Feel Alright," Steve's first record of all new material since his early 90's "vacation." Come stand with us at hell's door with a bad attitude and a .44

Join us as we discuss the 1976 documentary "Heartworn Highways" and ask the tough questions: Was Riley Gale a Townes Van Zandt fan? Is David Allan Coe a poseur? Will we get off this LA freeway without getting killed or caught?

While it doesn't feel quite right to call this a "comeback album," it was in many ways. Steve is back, he's sober, and he's got an arsenal of great songs that he wrote back in the 70s, along with a few new ones and some covers. Join us as we fight for no country but die for good pay.

This often overlooked and underappreciated live record marks the conclusion of this important phase of Steve Earle's career that began with Guitar Town. Some people say his voice sounds "rough" on this one, as if that's a bad thing. Anyway, sit back and read up on the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (aka Oka Crisis), because it's 1990 and we're heading up to Canada.

Join us as we examine The Hard Way, Steve's last studio album before he went on "vacation" for a few years. This record has never gotten the shine it deserves, so we hope y'all love and appreciate it as much as we do. There are those that break and bend. We're the other kind.

Part 2 of our journey with The Boss. I guess there's just a meanness in this world.

A slight detour this week as we begin our deep dive into Bruce Springsteen's 3rd through 7th studio albums (we'll explain), what they mean to us, and as always, their connections to Steve Earle. This is Part 1 of 2. Listen to it while you walk these empty rooms looking for something to blame.

Keep your bedroll dry and join us this week as we dive into Steve's third studio album, the heavy hitter, Copperhead Road. If you ain't impressed yet, tell us what you want to hear.

In an alternate universe, Steve Earle might have just been a rockabilly dude. Be glad that we don't actually live in that universe. Still, Steve's pre-Guitar Town material from the early 1980s deserves a listen, especially if you're a nerd like us.

We continue down the Nowhere Road this week with an exploration of Exit Zero, Steve Earle's second studio album. This one's for everybody who ain't ever satisfied.

We told you there would be a few detours, right? Join Tyler and Brian and Del and Neal as we explore the 1987 classic, "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." And yes, there is a Steve Earle connection here, we promise. It's the holidays, you're probably traveling, and this is the perfect travel movie. Just take my socks out of the sink if you're gonna brush your teeth, alright?