That’s How I Remember It

Jay Sweet is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Jay has done a lot of things but is best known as the force behind the Newport Folk Festival. I have been at Newport for the past two years and have been blown away by the music and the community. Jay and his staff are in the business of making memories at Newport. We talked about that special vibe as well as Lewis Carrol, his first Grateful Dead show, REM at Radio City Music Hall as a youth, Lana Del Rey, and THS at Newport 23. Great talk. Listen and subscribe! 

Duff McKagan is my guest on the newest That’s How I Remember It. Duff is, of course, a founding member of Guns & Roses, one of the biggest rock bands of all time. He also is a million other things: old-school punk, martial arts enthusiast, history buff, etc. In 2023, Duff toured with Guns & Roses and found the time to release his own record Lighthouse. We talked about all of that as well as the influence of seeing The Clash in 1979, losing memory to excess, telling the truth, going through a Crusades phase, and so much more. Duff was an amazing guest. Please listen and subscribe!

Tom Scharpling is my guest on today’s episode of That’s How I Remember It. Tom is the host and creator of The Best Show, a comedy and music radio show that has run since 2000. He has also written for television and, in 2021, published a great memoir called It Never Ends. We talked about the book, bad behavior at rock concerts, trying out for the New Monkees, the aggrieved yet positive tone of The Best Show, and so much more. Big thanks to Tom for coming on the show and being a great guest. Listen and subscribe!

Dennis Lehane is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Dennis is the author of over a dozen fantastic novels. Some of these, such as Mystic River, Shutter Island, and Gone Baby Gone, have been made into successful films. We talked about his most recent novel Small Mercies as well as Boston bussing protests, “Strawberry Letter 23,” the '70s hangover of the Vietnam War in America, nicknames, and so much more. Huge thanks to Dennis for joining, please listen and subscribe.

Slaughter Beach, Dog’s Jake Ewald is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It. Jake is a fantastic songwriter and storyteller, and in 2023 he released a killer record called Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. We talked about the record as well as novelty songs, being a “talky” singer, artists with large catalogs, Delaware beach towns, and much more. Jake was such a fun cool guest and I really enjoyed the talk. Listen and subscribe!

My guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It is M.C. Taylor of the band Hiss Golden Messenger. This year, he released a great record called Jump for Joy and we talked about that as well as Goth vs. Death Rock, his old band Ex-Ignota and how hardcore still influences him, changing band lineups, his hometown of Irvine, CA, and much much more. M.C. Taylor is a dream guest, he’s wise and thoughtful and passionate. It’s a great talk, listen and subscribe!

My guest on this episode of THIRI is Dessa. She’s at true multi-hyphenate artist: a rapper, singer, author, podcast host, and more. This year she released a great album called Bury the Lede and we talked about that as well as her 2018 book My Own Devices, lutes, secret songs on CDs, lucid dreams, the term “breaking news”, our hometown of Minneapolis, and a whole lot more. It was a really great conversation. I very much enjoyed it and I bet you will too. Listen and please subscribe! 

This week’s THIRI guest is Johnny Marr. Johnny is truly one of the all-time great rock and roll guitarists, and has created a musical body of work that has very few rivals. He’s recently released a new book called Marr’s Guitars as well as Spirit Power, a collection pulled from his solo records. We talked about all of that as well as his emotional response to colors, “street bands”, the life-changing moment of buying The Stooges’ Raw Power LP, and the time The Smiths met Van Halen. An incredible episode!

Today my guest on That’s How I Remember It is Peter Jesperson. Peter has written an awesome book called Euphoric Recall which details a rock and roll life filled with amazing music stories. We talked about our mutual hometown of Minneapolis, hearing the White Album for the first time, early 1970s concerts, managing the Replacements, whether the Replacements should have been bigger, his fandom for Phoebe Bridgers, and so much more. It’s an incredible book and a great episode. Listen and subscribe!

Today on That’s How I Remember It, I welcome John McCauley and Ian O’Neil from Deer Tick. This year they put out a new album called Emotional Contracts, and I think it’s their best yet. We talked about that as well as songs about space, John playing with Los Lobos at Newport Folk Festival this year, playing covers, and increasingly shared songwriting duties. It was a great talk and the first double guest episode of this podcast. Lots more coming up, listen and subscribe!

This week on That’s How I Remember It, I am thrilled to host an absolute hero of mine, Bob Mould. In his seminal '80s band Husker Du, in the '90s with Sugar, and across all decades as a solo artist, Bob is an artistic force that shows no signs of slowing down. We talked about '60s pop music, taking guitar lessons, visiting The Replacements Tim sessions, the 1984 Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll, and writing a memoir before releasing five more albums. Huge thanks to Bob Mould for being awesome. Listen and subscribe to hear even more great guests coming up. 

Welcome back to That’s How I Remember It. I’m honored to have the incredible songwriter Lucinda Williams here to kick off Season 3. Lucinda is an all time great American songwriter and a three time Grammy winner. This year she put out a fascinating memoir and a great new album as well. I talked to her about all of this as well as seeing Jimi Hendrix in concert, getting past grieving to write songs, Blaze Foley & Townes Van Zandt, how the Vietnam War affected her personally, and so much more. A huge thanks to Lucinda for joining me here. Season 3 is full of great guests, so listen and subscribe. 

We are back. Season 3 of That’s How I Remember It is here and we’ve got some fantastic guests coming up to talk about how memory affects the stories we tell ourselves and others. And so much more. Listen and subscribe!

Hope everyone is having a great summer. In this flash episode I share some of my favorite summer rock festival moments and let you all know about upcoming Positive Jam festival that The Hold Steady is hosting on August 5 in Accord, NY. I give thoughts on all the bands on the lineup: Guided by Voices, The Tallest Man on Earth, Laura Stevenson, I Get Wild, and Oceanator. We’ll be back before too long with Season 3. In the meantime - listen, subscribe and join us at Positive Jam. 

That’s a wrap on Season 2! School is out for summer. We had a great time here with some incredible guests. Here I reflect on the season that was: the great conversations, what I enjoyed, what I learned, etc. I also let you know what I’m doing this summer and where I’m going to be. A huge thanks to everyone that listened and we’ll be back for Season 3 in a little bit. Stay Positive! 

The Hold Steady is my guest on this week’s episode of That's How I Remember It. It was recorded live in front of a wonderful audience at Rev Hall Show Bar in Portland Oregon during our amazing weekend of shows there. This was our first episode with more than one guest, and it all worked out pretty great. I asked my fellow band members about their memories, especially how it relates to our twenty years as a band. We talked about early music memories, 9th albums, shirtless frontmen, remembering songs, The Doors, when exactly heavy metal dudes stopped being scary, and so much more. It was such a cool honor to have my bandmates join me here. Keep listening and subscribing! 

This week on THIRI we take a break from hosting guests. I take the time to give a quick update on all the things I have going on in the next few months. Lots of shows, mostly with The Hold Steady. Next week we’ll be back with guests and our second-ever live audience taping. Listen and subscribe!

Hanif Abdurraqib is my guest on this episode of That's How I Remember It. Hanif is the author of two poetry collections and three non-fiction books, all of which have garnered critical acclaim and awards. We spoke a lot about his most recent book 2021’s A Little Devil in America as well as touring as an author, discovering MTV, dancing in school, "Don’t Stop Believing," geographic memory, and much much more. Great talk, was thrilled to have Hanif join me. Lots more coming up, please listen and subscribe. 

Bill Hader is my guest on this episode of That's How I Remember It. Bill is an incredibly talented actor, writer, director. Barry, the show that Bill created and stars in, has just entered its fourth and final season, so we talked a lot about that. But we also spoke of Frank Zappa, late night movies, memorizing lines, being a PA on films, playing the same character for 4 seasons, the initial idea for Barry, and so much more. Huge thanks to Bill Hader for joining me here. We’ve got even more great guests coming up, so please listen and subscribe.

Eric D. Johnson is my guest on the newest episode of That's How I Remember It. Eric is the singer, songwriter and principal of the band The Fruit Bats, and also a member of modern folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman. The Fruit Bats are releasing their 10th studio album this week titled A River Running To Your Heart. We talked about that as well as the first Boston album, writing songs as therapy, anxiety dreams about shows, and how every audience is a unique organism. Big thanks to Eric for joining me here. Please listen and subscribe, lots more to come here in the future.

Karly Hartzman is my guest on this episode of That's How I Remember It. Karly is the singer and songwriter of the great band Wednesday, who are releasing their fantastic album Rat Saw God this week. We talked about this record, her interesting way of pulling details into songs, building monuments, being Southern, race car drivers, How To With John Wilson, and much much more. Huge thanks to Karly for joining, please listen and subscribe as there are lots more great guests coming up.

Laura Stevenson is my guest on this week’s That's How I Remember It. Laura is a wildly talented songwriter and singer. I’ve been lucky enough to do a few tours with her. This year, she’s celebrating the 10 year anniversary of her album Wheel, and will be touring this spring. We talked about the making of that record and who she was at that time, but also: her memory of physical spaces, regretting excessive overdubs, Basia, Love is Blind and much more. Big thanks to Laura for joining me. Tons of great stuff coming up, please listen and subscribe. 

Alejandro Escovedo is my guest on this week’s That's How I Remember It. As a massive fan, I was very excited to have Alejandro come on and talk about his own memories and how they show up in his songs and stories. We spoke about Mott The Hoople, early punk rock, wanting to be a filmmaker, John Huston, how different producers influenced him, Townes Van Zandt, his imminent memoir, and so much more. A big thanks to Alejandro for taking the time to join me. Please listen and subscribe, we’ve got more great guests coming up in coming weeks!

Scott Z. Burns is my guest on this episode of That's How I Remember It. Scott is a talented writer/director/producer of films such as Contagion, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Report, The Informant, and more. He’s also a close friend of mine. We talked about his new Apple TV show Extrapolations as well as how he names characters, humpback whales, cleaning otters after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Contagion's resurgence during the pandemic, and hope vs. courage. Huge thanks to Scott for joining me. Lots of great guests coming up, please listen and subscribe! 

Kevin Morby is my guest on this episode of That's How I Remember It, which is a replay of the first ever live version of this podcast. It was recorded during the 2023 On Air Festival at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn. Kevin and I spoke about his last record This is a Photograph, writing the record in Memphis, Jeff Buckley, his Sonic Youth superstition, Diane Lane, details he remembers about individual shows, and much more. A huge thanks to Kevin for joining us for such a special show, he was an incredible guest. We’ve got more on the way, so please listen and subscribe! 

This week’s That's How I Remember It is a flash episode featuring me and me only. We’re taking a break from guests for a week, so I just wanted to get you caught up on everything I’ve been doing lately and have coming up: live podcasts, the new Hold Steady record “The Price of Progress” and upcoming shows for The Hold Steady and myself solo. We’ll be back with some great guests soon, so please listen and subscribe. 

Amanda Shires is my guest on this week’s That's How I Remember It. Amanda is an incredible songwriter and musician. She’s an accomplished solo artist, a member of The Highwomen, and has played fiddle with The Texas Playboys, Billy Joe Shaver, Justin Townes Earle, The 400 Unit, and much more. Amanda’s incredible last record Take It Like a Man was one of the best of 2022. Here we talk about details in songs, Tom Petty, getting an MFA, the role of nature in her songs, and deliberately making songs that are present and rooted in the now. This was a fantastic talk, huge thanks to Amanda for coming on the show. Please listen and subscribe! 

Ben Gibbard is my guest on this episode of That's How I Remember It. Ben is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service, and has written an absolute ton of great songs since DCFC formed in 1997. Most recently, the band released Asphalt Meadows, another great record and also announced a joint Death Cab/Postal Service tour for fall 2023. We had a great talk about van touring before cell phones, going pro as a musician, always finishing writing songs, Scott Hutchison, art living forever, and so much more. A huge thanks to Ben for joining me and for being so thoughtful. I loved this talk, and hope you do too. Please keep listening and subscribe! 

Eric Bachmann is my guest this week on That’s How I Remember It. Eric is the lead singer of classic indie rock band Archers of Loaf and has also made music as Crooked Fingers, as well as under his own name. Recently, Archers of Loaf put out the great Reason in Decline, 24 years after the release of their last record. I distinctly remember my first time hearing Archers of Loaf, as well as the first show of theirs I ever saw. We talk about both here, as well as Web in Front, first records, band reunions, legacy, expectations, and so much more. Big thanks to Eric for joining me, this was a ton of fun. Please listen and subscribe, and keep tuning in to That’s How I Remember It.

Welcome back for season two of That’s How I Remember It. I’m thrilled to kick off this season with a conversation with the incredible George Saunders. George has written some of my favorite recent fiction, and his 2022 book Liberation Day is a fascinating story collection that we get into deeply here. We talk about Johnny Tremain, humor in stories, drawing on memories of old jobs, late stage capitalism, gentle revolution, and so much more. We even spoke a bit about songwriting at the end of the episode. I was honored to have such an amazing mind join me here, and I’m so excited to be back with another season of the podcast. Listen, subscribe, and stay tuned for more upcoming episodes.

Katy Kirby will be joining myself and The Uptown Controllers on tour starting next week so I caught up with her on this special flash episode of That’s How I Remember It. Katy was in the parking lot of the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach CA when she dialed in, so there’s a little ambient noise, but that’s life on the road. And perhaps it added to our discussion about learning to sing harmonies, quality of light as a memory trigger, the making of her amazing record Cool Dry Place, the oranges that show up in her songs, and the tour we are embarking on. So cool to speak to one of my favorite songwriters, looking forward to seeing her set each night. Season 2 of THIRI coming up before too long, listen and subscribe.

Today I fly out to start the Uptown Controllers tour this weekend in Odense, Denmark. To celebrate, we’re releasing this flash episode where I have a small chat with Scott Lavene, who will be supporting on most of the dates. Scott is a brilliant songwriter who released one of my favorite records in recent memory, “Milk City Sweethearts”. We talked about the record and the upcoming tour. Check out craigfinn.net for all upcoming tour dates and I hope to see you on the road!

Adam Duritz is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It and I am quite psyched about it. Adam is obviously the singer and songwriter of platinum selling band Counting Crows, and has been making thoughtful and great music for decades now. I met Adam when Counting Crows took THS on tour in Europe/UK in 2009 and was so excited he agreed to do this. We talked about how the details matter so much in songs, each of our first trips to Asbury Park, loving Christmas music, that dog., last year's fantastic Counting Crows EP, bootlegs, and the way that light attaches to a girl. That’s a wrap on season one of That’s How I Remember It; we’ll be back with season two before long. Listen, subscribe, and keep your eye on this space for tour updates, etc. Stay Positive!

Maggie Smith is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It. Maggie is the author of four full length poetry collections, the most recent being Goldenrod from 2021. She also wrote Keep Moving, an essay collection about loss, creativity, and change. Maggie is the author of "Good Bones," a poem that went viral in 2016 and reached a massive audience across the globe; the last line of that poem “You could make this place beautiful” is the title of her forthcoming memoir in 2023. We spoke about writing for yourself first, '80s music, nostalgia as a medical diagnosis, writing as springtime, memorials, saying things out loud when you see them, and a memoir being more of a “tell-some” than a “tell-all.” Great talk, huge thanks to Maggie for joining me. Listen and subscribe to hear even more fascinating guests on That’s How I Remember It.

Tom Perrotta is my guest on this week’s That's How I Remember It. Tom is a fantastic author of at least eight novels, many of which have been made into films and TV series. This includes Election, Little Children, Mrs. Fletcher, and The Leftovers. On this episode we talk about his decision to revisit the Election character Tracy Flick in his new novel Tracy Flick Can’t Win, and his approach. We also spoke about high school reunions, nostalgia, personal narratives, how he uses smaller stories to connect to national conversations, and how TV and film adaptations affect his own relationship with his work. This was such a cool talk; I hope you’ll check it out and subscribe.

That’s How I Remember It is taking a break from hosting guests this week as we gear up for the final few episodes of Season 1. Instead, we are featuring this "Flash Episode," where I talk about the upcoming tour I’m doing with The Uptown Controllers in UK/Europe and North America. Listen up to hear some thoughts on all the dates, the support, the band, and the origin of the band name. Check out craigfinn.net for all the dates and tickets. We will return with an amazing guest next week as we push towards the end of Season 1 in the next few weeks. Listen and subscribe!

Emily Haines is my guest on this week’s That's How I Remember It. Emily is the lead singer and a songwriter in Canadian rock band Metric who have a 20 year career and recently released their powerful new record Formentera. She’s also released solo music as Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton. We talked about writing love songs to friends, searching for a past version of NYC, working out your problems in a song, the '90s, the very many ways you can have your heart broken in modern times, being in a band for two decades, and her performance with Broken Social Scene at Lollapalooza 2006. Huge thanks to Emily for joining, it was a lot of fun and I hope you’ll listen and subscribe.

Allison Moorer is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It, and it’s a great one. Allison is a wildly accomplished singer, songwriter, producer, and author. Beginning her recording career in 1997, she has released 10 albums. In 2019, she published her first memoir, Blood, about her early years and family. Earlier this year, she released her second book, I Dream He Talks to Me, as well as an EP of music she recorded with her son John Henry. We talked about all of this, as well as: memory as a defense mechanism, hiding from life in art, the honesty that shows up in details, and her desire to learn the cello. Huge thanks to Allison for joining us. Please listen and subscribe — we’ve got more great guests ahead on That’s How I Remember It.

John Darnielle is my guest on this week’s That’s How I Remember It. John has been making brilliant music as The Mountain Goats since 1991. Originally a solo lo-fi bedroom project, TMG has grown into a lush rock & roll juggernaut. John has also written four great novels, the most recent being Devil House, which we talked about here. We also talked about activated charcoal, local crime obsession, consciousness of sin, and whether the amazing new Mountain Goats record Bleed Out is their Age of Quarrel. Huge thanks to John for bringing a great conversation here. Listen, subscribe, and stay tuned for more awesome guests on That’s How I Remember It.

Nick Lowe is my guest on this week's That’s How I Remember It. I am thrilled to have one of the all-time great rock & roll songwriters and performers on the show. We talked about the lasting power of “Peace, Love & Understanding,” the way Brinsley Schwarz’s letdown at the Fillmore East may have eventually led to punk rock, touring with Thin Lizzy, “The Bloke” that visits him with songwriting ideas, and the sublime elegance of his later records. It was an incredible honor and joy to spend this time with Nick. Tune in, listen, and subscribe. There are a lot of great guests coming up on That’s How I Remember It.

My guest on this week's That's How I Remember It is Edward “Eddy” Kitsis, who has had a fantastic career as a writer and producer of TV and film. Alongside his partner Adam Horowitz, he has written for television shows like Lost, Popular, Felicity, and more. Eddy and Adam also created and produced Once Upon a Time, which ran for seven successful seasons on ABC, and wrote the screenplay for Tron: Legacy. More recently, Eddy and Adam worked with Steven Spielberg on Amazing Stories for Apple TV. But here’s the twist: Eddy has also been my best friend since 8th grade. We get into the way his memories show up in scripts, how his experience seeing the first Tron in the theater affected the writing on the sequel, Easter candy writing metaphors, the influence of older siblings, '80s concerts, and the mystery of our differing recollections of a Thelonious Monster show from 1994. A huge thanks to Eddy for joining us, this was a really fun episode. Please listen and subscribe, as we have more amazing guests coming up in the next few weeks.

Fred Armisen is this week’s guest on That’s How I Remember It. Fred has accomplished a ton in comedy, TV, and film as a cast member of SNL and creator of shows like Portlandia, Los Espookys, and more. But the story seems to start back when he was the drummer in the band Trenchmouth. We talked here about touring in the '90s, and how that banked a world of memories that he mined to help create his amazing TV series Portlandia. We also spoke about sense memories, early MTV, Tito Puente, the period of his life between Trenchmouth and joining the cast of SNL, and discovering new things about his family history as an adult. Then we tried to figure out why the audience nervously laughs at whatever a lead singer says at a rock show. Such a joy to spend this time with Fred. Please listen and subscribe, and stay tuned for more amazing guests on That’s How I Remember It. 

On the second episode of That’s How I Remember It, I talked with Brian Koppelman. Alongside his partner David Levien, Brian has created the television shows Billions and Super Pumped, as well as written movies like Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen, Solitary Man, and more. We talked about his great memory for dialogue, the films that made him feel like he could be a writer, the way the language in poker rooms inspired his writing, how misheard lyrics can persevere, albums we both listened to on the day they came out, his take on legacy, and much much more. A huge thanks to Brian for joining me and being so great at this. Look for more episodes of That’s How I Remember It in the coming weeks, and don’t forget to subscribe. 

For the first episode of That’s How I Remember It, I spoke to Patterson Hood, one of my all-time favorite songwriters. Patterson’s work with the Drive-By Truckers has examined life in the Southern USA and beyond, lyrically tearing down old monuments while constructing new ones to more worthy recipients. We talked about turning memories into mythology, honoring deceased friends, and how his classic song "18 Wheels of Love" might be built on a shaky foundation. We also reminisce a bit on the Drive-By Truckers/The Hold Steady “Rock and Roll Means Well” Tour from 2008. Huge thanks to Patterson for being my first guest. I’ll be talking to Brian Koppelman, Fred Armisen, and other great guests in weeks to come, so please subscribe and keep listening to That’s How I Remember It. 

Hosted by Craig Finn, That’s How I Remember It is a podcast that examines the connection between memory and creativity.