Vinyl Emergency

Admitting he never looks forward to looking back, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament also says releasing a retrospective like Since Forever — a new visual memoir spanning the band's first decade together, through hundreds of intimate black-and-white snapshots — was "one of the most important things I could've done at this point in my life; I just didn't know it." And while Ament's talents behind the lens have led to some of the most iconic album covers in the Pearl Jam catalog, the impetus for Since Forever came from his younger brother Barry, whose design work has appeared on t-shirts, posters and more for the band since the earliest of days. Together, the duo combed through 15,000 potential images -- some never-before-seen, others whose negatives were on the cusp of decomposition -- to tell Since Forever's story: one of gratitude and joy, acting as a loose, yet personal love letter to Jeff's bandmates. On this episode, Jeff details his early 80's hardcore seven-inch collection, the ways in which the band has championed vinyl from the very start, and why album packaging -- even for terrible music -- still matters. Order Since Forever directly from pearljam.com, follow Jeff on Instagram @officialament, and stream Paving The Way — a short documentary film Jeff recently scored — for free on YouTube. Ten Live, a 2016 concert recording of Pearl Jam's landmark debut LP front-to-back, will be available November 27th.

With the Milwaukee Brewers kicking off their first World Series appearance in nearly 45 years tonight, we bring you this wide-ranging conversation from 2024, on Episode 193 with retired MLB pitcher John Axford. With the 2011 Brew Crew, he racked up the most saves of any National League reliever, and has himself pitched in the 2013 WS, then as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Check out our Instagram post as well, featuring visuals of John's audio set-up and LP collection, to go along with the audio. GO BREWERS!

Fresh off of a blistering new Dinosaur Jr. album titled There Near, and the announcement of a 30th anniversary reissue of Sebadoh's Harmacy LP, Lou Barlow visits this week to discuss when the first Trump presidency kickstarted a picture sleeve obsession, why he intentionally destroyed Dinosaur Jr.'s first vinyl test pressing, and how a proper guitar tablature book for the band would be theoretically impossible. Visit dinosaurjr.com for tour dates and megamart.subpop.com for the Harmacy pre-order.

Naturally and keenly shifting from soul to folk to stadium rock (sometimes in the same song) over the last 25+ years, Jim James -- and by extension My Morning Jacket, his Grammy-nominated powerhouse quintet -- points to an unlikely influence for such a kaleidoscope of sound: Jim Henson. Through The Muppet Show and Sesame Street's wide-eyed optimism and cast diversity — be they human actors or handmade ones — songs like "The Rainbow Connection" spoke deeply to him as a youngster, leading to an admiration for the rag-tag nature of Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem. Fast-forward to the present, and Jim's success as led to a few Muppet-related full-circle moments, like jamming with manic drummer Animal or crooning side-by-side with Kermin the Frog, both occurring at Newport Folk Festival appearances within the last few years. On the heels of a new solo LP titled Wowed Out, Jim chats about other early influences like AC/DC and Anita Baker, how he's collecting fonts these days more so than records, and why letting go is an integral part of the creative process. Tour dates and more can be found at jimjames.com and mymorningjacket.com.
For more My Morning Jacket talk, find bassist Tom Blankenship's visit from 2020, on Episode 134 further back in this same feed.
Follow @vinylemergency on Instagram for visuals relating to our episodes.

Enjoy this special feed drop of The Great Albums Podcast, where Vinyl Emergency's Jim Hanke guests to discuss The Promise Ring's 1999 LP, Very Emergency, track-by-track. Find and subscribe to the Great Albums wherever you get podcasts!
Members of the Great Albums Patreon can listen to an additional interview regarding the album with Dan Didier, drummer and founding member of the band.