This man has scratched and clawed his way through the business and has seen the worst and best of life. He has more than earned himself a seat in that studio among other honors. He is the real deal.
Steve Earle stood out in the mid eighties in the middle of all that alternative music and played some incredible country sounds with amazing song writing .Saw him open for Dylan . Perfect
I was privileged to be backstage for one of his shows, and, unlike some performers, he is exactly as he seems to be. He is a master songwriter - not a throwaway line in sight - and an American treasure.
One of the true masters of modern Americana songwriting. Up there with the likes of Dylan, Springsteen and his old friend Towns Van Zandt among others. He always has something important and interesting to say whether in song or conversation. His music seems to be becoming more urgent as he gets older. The real deal.
Come on folks, get passed your ocd issues of needing to label and just enjoy. Steve Earle's music is what it is, and it doesn't need to be classified! When you hear that perfect chord and the lyric that just hits you... that's all that matters. To quote the legend Robert Marley "Hit me with music"
During the '90s and '00s a lot of his stuff was Country with rock or rockabilly influences. He varies his style a lot more than most artists, but at the core of his music is country.
baby, you need to go back through RUclips and find all of Steve's wonderful music, I've been a fan since the mid 80s when they called him country, then rock country and roots, American, whatever you call it, it's perfect.
Where the hell can I find more shows by Steve Earle like this with the same length? Radio Shows? He's my idol because he understands us!~ "The Mountain" was my whole life! Where can I find more Steve or who knows how many Wal Marts I'll have to blow up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Send Wrod, Kexp. I hope that you do.
Your son will remember you, Steve. That's for damn sure. And we all will as well. Your stories and struggles won't be forgotten, friend. Carry on rocking the socks off of audiences here, and when your only audience is that of the heavens, may their socks rain on back down here again. Excellent work.
We all have to grow up in some point of time, he has. He see's things differently now. It takes something big for a person to finally wake up and see what's going on.
Love his music. Steve Earle is not only a great song writer and performer, he's one of the most approachable, gregarious, outgoing, and accommodating "stars" I've ever been around. Go to one of his concerts and stick around afterwards to find out what I mean.
saw him in Berlin some years ago, he is AMAZING, great performer, just by himself with a few guitars, I was blown away and could´t take my eyes and ears off him...keep on doing what you are doing, Steve!
Was so awesome listen to this guy in Australia, was so excited so see him play. Some of my young days as a working class guy he has something for everyone ... who has ever lived in a small town and and the big guys in town probably wants to get back to
xcuse me for my last comment, All the words are good. I knew just one of his songs cause i travelled trough galway (ireland) at some point and met a girl there (obvious) but tonight this guy blows my mind. absolutely mindblowing songwriter
I've never seen or heard of this man before seeing this video. I immediately like him. There are artists who probably shouldn't talk about their ideals or politics. There are too many who seem shallow and vapid whenever they open their mouths to speak. Steve isn't one of those artists. This guy seems genuine, well spoken, kind, and intelligent. I don't really agree with everything he said, nor is his music my favorite style, but I'll definitely be back for more.
So proud of Steve Earle. He sing on his own better then the band. I really enjoy all four songs. So glad more records I like them better CDs. And last part song very nice for his son. God bless him he will get better soon. I wish Steve Earle and the band good luck this record and songs. His music A plus. Great video.
Steve's music hooks you and pulls you in... I recommend checking out his older stuff. (If you havnt already) A few suggestions- Ft. Worth Blues, My old friend the Blues, Copperhead Road, and the entire album entitled Townes! Enjoy my friend!
I often find myself struggling to explain to people what makes folk and country that I like different from Top 40 country. I come back again and again to a sense of "authenticity" but of course that's a construct (and presumptuous as shit for me to judge, since I'm a city girl, although certainly a born and bred Southerner. Ultimately I think the rural vs. urban distinction matters more than South vs. North). But whatever I end up saying, I believe Steve Earle when he sings. I don't know why, but I feel his words, and I believe them.
I think the authenticity is the lack of other "stuff." Just a person and their guitar, thoughts and feelings, and it doesn't get more real or authentic than that. It's music for real people by real people. This music forces you to think about the hard things, the corrupt things, and the sad things. Top 40 country is usually about stuff that doesn't matter, drinking, parties, friends, and an occasional surface relationship. It's stuff people want to hear more than about burning down a local big box store. I love Townes, Blaze, Steve, Guy, etc... They're the real deal and make life what it is.
thank god for storytellers like Steve Earle. In case you ever read this Mr. Earle I not only agree that Mr. Van Zandt was better than Mr. Dylan, but I feel he tought you well and you sir are also better.
It's all just pure honesty...straight forward. Put on a country station...what do you get, hip hop beats. think about it. He has always kicked ass.Maybe not someone elses way, but always the Steve Earle way.
+Julian Warmington kind ? wise? beautiful ? a communist punk who supports a system that has murdered millions, and would put a bullet in his shit for brains skull if he ever had the fortune to live under such nonsense
Thanks KEXP, GOOD STUFF ! ... 12:19 ... Coffee breaks over, everyone back on your heads. Love that punch line, it's from an ol' joke I can't even remember when/where I first heard it but I've used it most of my adult life and I've got a nickel on Steve.
dodger916 what makes one a "groundbreaker" is treading where no one else dares. Steve has done that for years. Like flipping off Nashville when he had a sure deal but had to take his attitude out of it. He said Fuck You to guaranteed money. In this country that is ground breaking
His attitude towards Nashville was unusual. Maybe admirable (depending on which way you look at it) His music is not groundbreaking. Thats just the wrong word for it.
Cole Younger - I get a different message from that. He is a wealthy and critically acclaimed musician, but he also works for a living. Entertaining people is work for many with a blue collar ethic. You aren't honing your craft or sharing your art, you work for the people who pay you and they have an expectation that you 'perform'. That's why he says 'It's my job and I'm glad I've got one.' He's also recognizing the working class who don't have two nickels to rub together and where he came from.
He's not saying he is a ground-breaker - he is saying that the current recession has been as almost as devastating the great depression. So all of us, not just Steve, are seeing something that we have not seen in a long time. I am not sure I totally buy it, but it is not about promoting himself.
This is either eloquent simple truth (if you agree) or infuriating damnable lies (if you don't) but either way, doesn't he move you? As a musician, I admire how much Steve squeezes out of 6 or 7 chords (all songs combined).
If you think he talks too much, use the amazing tech that is youtube and... fast forward. Earle's a classic folkie in that way - telling the story before singing the story.
Before our local Walmart came to Alexandria, Kentucky, there were plenty of small businesses up and down Alexandria Pike (US 27). At first, they dropped prices to the point the local businesses just couldn't compete. Most had to close up, sometimes, businesses which had been in their families for decades. Now, they're gone and Walmart has raised their prices. I can see why somebody could think about burning one of those big boxes down....just 10 gallons of gas, a propane tank and the ignitor from a gas grill......
Taunya Vanstraten Please re watch the video starting at 8:20. "Burnin' It Down" is a character study of an antagonist who feels the pain of having his hometown reduced to sweet memories due to Walmart and their incessant expansion. My comment was concerning that song.
freetickeys Burnin' it Down is just a great song - Here in the UK we have Tesco fighting it out toe to toe with Asda (WalMart) with their big out of town stores and it has devastated our High Streets.Burn the whole lot down.
I wouldn't count the various collections and re-releases, and was really talking about the post jail output, since that is when a lot of casual fans lost track of him. More exactly, he has 14 studio albums since 1986, plus a couple live albums and an early EP which was later released. The rest are collections. Still, a significant output. Also, he could have been making records during those lost years, as he was only locked up two months. His mental state, not his environment, was at issue.
WOW....! Tim Robbins and Steve living in the same neighborhood....! thought Steve was country to the core, but its' ok New York is a stretch for me , but cool regardless, Steve is amazing..........!
He has never recorded it in the studio, but it is on the soundtrack for the Heartworn Highways documentary. They put out a CD. Not sure if it is still available.
So, "The Low Highway" is a Woody Guthrie, dust-bowl song? Apparently not! We've "been there, done that" haven't we? Well, we went there again... Oh... I'm writing as the interview goes on and Steve is commenting on this very subject... Thanks, Steve!
Check out the movie "The World Made Straight" on Netflix. I watched it having no idea he was in it, but I recognized his voice. Unmistakeable Rockabilly voice, by definition.
Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop Stumble in the restaurant wonderin' why I don't stop Well I gotta keep rockin' while I still can I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan When my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man With my back to the riser I make my stand
Tell Steve Earle to go ahead and go bald and go blind. His best years are way way way behind him. Anybody can strum a guitar and all the The Hitmakers are still living off of four songs.
Hey guys it's a radio interview. They are asking him questions and he's answering them. How exactly would he better suit your desires and do an interview by not talking? Geez...
This man has scratched and clawed his way through the business and has seen the worst and best of life. He has more than earned himself a seat in that studio among other honors. He is the real deal.
Steve Earle stood out in the mid eighties in the middle of all that alternative music and played some incredible country sounds with amazing song writing .Saw him open for Dylan . Perfect
I was privileged to be backstage for one of his shows, and, unlike some performers, he is exactly as he seems to be. He is a master songwriter - not a throwaway line in sight - and an American treasure.
One of the true masters of modern Americana songwriting. Up there with the likes of Dylan, Springsteen and his old friend Towns Van Zandt among others. He always has something important and interesting to say whether in song or conversation. His music seems to be becoming more urgent as he gets older. The real deal.
Steve is America in all of it's beautiful and brutal honesty.
You just had a whole new world opened up to you my friend. He is hands down one of the top 10 songwriters of the past 30-40 years.
This guy is an American Icon. I can hear the soul of America when he plays....
Nobody I mean nobody does it better. Songwriter, and voice. Thanx steve earl!
Come on folks, get passed your ocd issues of needing to label and just enjoy. Steve Earle's music is what it is, and it doesn't need to be classified! When you hear that perfect chord and the lyric that just hits you... that's all that matters. To quote the legend Robert Marley "Hit me with music"
During the '90s and '00s a lot of his stuff was Country with rock or rockabilly influences. He varies his style a lot more than most artists, but at the core of his music is country.
Thank You Steve Earle. You do good works and you write and play great songs.
baby, you need to go back through RUclips and find all of Steve's wonderful music, I've been a fan since the mid 80s when they called him country, then rock country and roots, American, whatever you call it, it's perfect.
Steve Earle is as real and as honest a person gets. He's a living treasure that will become a legend some day!
One of the best modern songwriters ever
meeting him was truly an honour and something I will never forget,a really great guy and a very talented man
if you haven't seen him live,you really should
Where the hell can I find more shows by Steve Earle like this with the same length? Radio Shows?
He's my idol because he understands us!~ "The Mountain" was my whole life!
Where can I find more Steve or who knows how many Wal Marts I'll have to blow up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Send Wrod, Kexp. I hope that you do.
Steve Earle you are an amazing inspiration to so many! Absolutely love that you don't let society affect your beliefs and opinions! Thank you Steve!!
Your son will remember you, Steve. That's for damn sure. And we all will as well. Your stories and struggles won't be forgotten, friend. Carry on rocking the socks off of audiences here, and when your only audience is that of the heavens, may their socks rain on back down here again. Excellent work.
Amazing! Very inspirational! Nothing short of a genius! Longtime loyal listener.
Excellent songwriting, as well as performances. A true and genuine artist. Always changes the shape and mood of my day. Thank you Mr Earle!
We all have to grow up in some point of time, he has. He see's things differently now. It takes something big for a person to finally wake up and see what's going on.
Love his music. Steve Earle is not only a great song writer and performer, he's one of the most approachable, gregarious, outgoing, and accommodating "stars" I've ever been around. Go to one of his concerts and stick around afterwards to find out what I mean.
Judson Hair
Damn straight...Steve Earle and The Dukes are superb live.
I see them whenever they're in my area.
Love 'em!
saw him in Berlin some years ago, he is AMAZING, great performer, just by himself with a few guitars, I was blown away and could´t take my eyes and ears off him...keep on doing what you are doing, Steve!
Steve Earle is truly one of the greats. Thanks for posting.
Finally some one singing about real people, nice one Steve.
Was so awesome listen to this guy in Australia, was so excited so see him play. Some of my young days as a working class guy he has something for everyone ... who has ever lived in a small town and and the big guys in town probably wants to get back to
you are right, nilradem....and every album a jewel, in my opinion. he's been my hero for years and years and years. never fails.
Wonderful...sincere...people will always want such stuff.
xcuse me for my last comment, All the words are good. I knew just one of his songs cause i travelled trough galway (ireland) at some point and met a girl there (obvious) but tonight this guy blows my mind. absolutely mindblowing songwriter
Steve Earle jumped with his first snappy answer "It is my job" direct in my heart!
He seems to be a great guy, and he seems to react to slimy people.
Saw Steve in Glasgow a few years back, great artist. One of the best.
Fantastic Steve! Awesome
KEXP Great interview enjoyed the conversation and the music. Thanks
I've never seen or heard of this man before seeing this video. I immediately like him.
There are artists who probably shouldn't talk about their ideals or politics. There are too many who seem shallow and vapid whenever they open their mouths to speak.
Steve isn't one of those artists. This guy seems genuine, well spoken, kind, and intelligent. I don't really agree with everything he said, nor is his music my favorite style, but I'll definitely be back for more.
AWESOME songwriter and singer. Thanks for sharing
brilliant words on the low highway. just amazing
Condolences to your family from Australia. RIP. Justin Townes Earle ,Age 38!
I saw him at Auditorium Shores during last year's SXSW. He was perfect, as usual. I've been listening to this guy since I was really little.
Amazing! Not having heard a lot from this master in a long time but it's amazing to hear from him again.
So proud of Steve Earle. He sing on his own better then the band. I really enjoy all four songs. So glad more records I like them better CDs. And last part song very nice for his son. God bless him he will get better soon. I wish Steve Earle and the band good luck this record and songs. His music A plus. Great video.
Steve's music hooks you and pulls you in... I recommend checking out his older stuff. (If you havnt already) A few suggestions- Ft. Worth Blues, My old friend the Blues, Copperhead Road, and the entire album entitled Townes! Enjoy my friend!
Love you Steve.Will always be a devoted fan,
Loved Steve at Hardly Strictly last year, can't wait for October!
You make it sound like he has not made an album in a long time, but he has had a new album every two years. more or less. for the last 20 years.
Great! Specially the song invisible. Respect Steve, keep up the great work, we love you!
I often find myself struggling to explain to people what makes folk and country that I like different from Top 40 country. I come back again and again to a sense of "authenticity" but of course that's a construct (and presumptuous as shit for me to judge, since I'm a city girl, although certainly a born and bred Southerner. Ultimately I think the rural vs. urban distinction matters more than South vs. North). But whatever I end up saying, I believe Steve Earle when he sings. I don't know why, but I feel his words, and I believe them.
I think the authenticity is the lack of other "stuff." Just a person and their guitar, thoughts and feelings, and it doesn't get more real or authentic than that. It's music for real people by real people. This music forces you to think about the hard things, the corrupt things, and the sad things. Top 40 country is usually about stuff that doesn't matter, drinking, parties, friends, and an occasional surface relationship. It's stuff people want to hear more than about burning down a local big box store. I love Townes, Blaze, Steve, Guy, etc... They're the real deal and make life what it is.
thank god for storytellers like Steve Earle.
In case you ever read this Mr. Earle I not only agree that Mr. Van Zandt was better than Mr. Dylan, but I feel he tought you well and you sir are also better.
Isnt every creative performer of value? Apples , Oranges, Pears....surely each individual has something of value to offer...IMO..
Hahahahaha, funny joke!
It's all just pure honesty...straight forward. Put on a country station...what do you get, hip hop beats. think about it. He has always kicked ass.Maybe not someone elses way, but always the Steve Earle way.
First time I heard him - I was watching tv and there was his concert Live At Monteeaux. I strongly recommend it to you :-) :-)
23:20 "We choose what we see sometimes."
- Wise words from a kindly wise, careful, beautiful soul.
+Julian Warmington kind ? wise? beautiful ? a communist punk who supports a system that has murdered millions, and would put a bullet in his shit for brains skull if he ever had the fortune to live under such nonsense
+Zandor Crowley ...so why did you bother to watch! Troll
+Zandor Crowley you bell-end.
+Zandor Crowley I'm sorry for whatever happened to you in life that made you feel so negative toward someone who is so inspired.
Thanks KEXP, GOOD STUFF ! ... 12:19 ... Coffee breaks over, everyone back on your heads. Love that punch line, it's from an ol' joke I can't even remember when/where I first heard it but I've used it most of my adult life and I've got a nickel on Steve.
dodger916 what makes one a "groundbreaker" is treading where no one else dares. Steve has done that for years. Like flipping off Nashville when he had a sure deal but had to take his attitude out of it. He said Fuck You to guaranteed money. In this country that is ground breaking
His attitude towards Nashville was unusual. Maybe admirable (depending on which way you look at it) His music is not groundbreaking. Thats just the wrong word for it.
I didn't say his music was, but he is
Steves' the deal man...! wrote a song bout my town encapsulated my youth/adolescents to a tee...Galway Girl...
Cole Younger - I get a different message from that. He is a wealthy and critically acclaimed musician, but he also works for a living. Entertaining people is work for many with a blue collar ethic. You aren't honing your craft or sharing your art, you work for the people who pay you and they have an expectation that you 'perform'. That's why he says 'It's my job and I'm glad I've got one.' He's also recognizing the working class who don't have two nickels to rub together and where he came from.
He said he makes music for 'nerds' why so, what does this mean.
Great performance.
Just back from seeing the Dublin show, just sublime music
Great feeling of music... very nice.
hes playing a free acoustic show today in a record shop cant wait
Remember me. Wow gotta tear-up on that one.
the audio was really bad in the original and i'm guessing they fixed it. Thanks, KEXP!
He's not saying he is a ground-breaker - he is saying that the current recession has been as almost as devastating the great depression. So all of us, not just Steve, are seeing something that we have not seen in a long time. I am not sure I totally buy it, but it is not about promoting himself.
That was on my birthday ;) ive loved you since i was a little kid steve e xoxoxoxox
I fell in love with him from his first song ever
This is either eloquent simple truth (if you agree) or infuriating damnable lies (if you don't) but either way, doesn't he move you? As a musician, I admire how much Steve squeezes out of 6 or 7 chords (all songs combined).
Warren Hellman was the owner of the first winning horse I ever bet on at Pimlico----Stearic
I really don't like country, so I don't listen to his older stuff much, but I've gone through his music over the last month or so.
He can still sing. Pretty cool.
Happy 60th Steve
If you think he talks too much, use the amazing tech that is youtube and... fast forward. Earle's a classic folkie in that way - telling the story before singing the story.
nicely said ;}
I love hearing his stories, it's who he is.
Before our local Walmart came to Alexandria, Kentucky, there were plenty of small businesses up and down Alexandria Pike
(US 27). At first, they dropped prices to the point the local businesses just couldn't compete. Most had to close up, sometimes, businesses which had been in their families for decades. Now, they're gone and Walmart has raised their prices. I can see why somebody could think about burning one of those big boxes down....just 10 gallons of gas, a propane tank and the ignitor from a gas grill......
Im just curious what does this have to do with steve earle. Just wondering.
Taunya Vanstraten Please re watch the video starting at 8:20. "Burnin' It Down" is a character study of an antagonist who feels the pain of having his hometown reduced to sweet memories due to Walmart and their incessant expansion. My comment was concerning that song.
I get it now i didnt catch that part so i rewatched it thank you for explaining it. I get it now. And you made a very good point.
Ok
freetickeys Burnin' it Down is just a great song - Here in the UK we have Tesco fighting it out toe to toe with Asda (WalMart) with their big out of town stores and it has devastated our High Streets.Burn the whole lot down.
look forward to seeing you nexst month steve at the delaware
I wouldn't count the various collections and re-releases, and was really talking about the post jail output, since that is when a lot of casual fans lost track of him. More exactly, he has 14 studio albums since 1986, plus a couple live albums and an early EP which was later released. The rest are collections. Still, a significant output. Also, he could have been making records during those lost years, as he was only locked up two months. His mental state, not his environment, was at issue.
You got to live it to sing it!
Llenando vacios..incomparable voz (Y)
I just Love him ❤
WOW....! Tim Robbins and Steve living in the same neighborhood....! thought Steve was country to the core, but its' ok New York is a stretch for me , but cool regardless, Steve is amazing..........!
there is a biography of Earle called "Hardcore Troubadour "...
pretty good read.
"I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" brought me here.
A true highwayman !
His social observations are right on.....!
He has never recorded it in the studio, but it is on the soundtrack for the Heartworn Highways documentary. They put out a CD. Not sure if it is still available.
Steve is my No. 1 singer - or half No.1 with Chris Knight.
AWESOME
oh gosh, that voice... *w*
He is a great musician.......Hannelore Antes from Germany .....being now in the Alpes in Unterammergau....
Steve Earl and Charlie Parr need a collaboration...could you imagine????
I do think he saw more of what Woody saw than any of the rest, including me.
So, "The Low Highway" is a Woody Guthrie, dust-bowl song? Apparently not! We've "been there, done that" haven't we? Well, we went there again...
Oh... I'm writing as the interview goes on and Steve is commenting on this very subject...
Thanks, Steve!
More of an interview than a performance
Check out the movie "The World Made Straight" on Netflix. I watched it having no idea he was in it, but I recognized his voice. Unmistakeable Rockabilly voice, by definition.
'..thinking bout burnin it down, boys..' Booom!
Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt
Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop
Stumble in the restaurant wonderin' why I don't stop
Well I gotta keep rockin' while I still can
I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan
When my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand
hero.
awesome
The Opening of Burnin It Down sounds a lot to me like Love Is On a Roll by Don Williams.
g-damn best song writer in my life time...
It's an easy explanation Steve. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, but a depression is when you lose yours too...
Tell Steve Earle to go ahead and go bald and go blind. His best years are way way way behind him. Anybody can strum a guitar and all the The Hitmakers are still living off of four songs.
Sheer Genius!
Seems to have conquered his demons with great success. Support Americana...
Hey guys it's a radio interview. They are asking him questions and he's answering them. How exactly would he better suit your desires and do an interview by not talking? Geez...
I agree and the people telling him to shut up and play his songs they must not have read the memo that this is an interview not a concert.
I agree and the people telling him to shut up and play his songs they must not have read the memo that this is an interview not a concert.
BTW... great job kevin.....