Steven Hyden
Steven Hyden (born September 7, 1977) is an American music critic, author, and podcast host. He is the author of the books Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me (2016, on rivalries in pop music history), Twilight of the Gods (2018, on the history of classic rock), Hard to Handle (2019, co-authored with Steve Gorman about The Black Crowes), and This Isn't Happening (2020, about Radiohead's Kid A). He co-hosts the podcasts Indiecast (with Ian Cohen) and 36 From the Vault (with Rob Mitchum) and previously hosted the podcasts Rivals, Break Stuff: The Story of Woodstock '99, and Celebration Rock. He is a critic for Uproxx and previously served as staff writer at Grantland and an editor at The A.V. Club.
Steven Hyden | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 7, 1977 Appleton, Wisconsin, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire |
| Occupation(s) | Music critic, podcast host |
| Employer | Uproxx |
| Notable work | Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me Twilight of the Gods Hard to Handle (with Steve Gorman) This Isn't Happening |
Early life
Steven Hyden was born on September 7, 1977[1] in Wisconsin. He graduated from Appleton East High School,[2] then the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire[3] in 2000.[2]
Career
Hyden began his career with The Post-Crescent in 1993; then 15 years old, he contributed to a weekly section for teenagers (his first submission, hand-written, was a review of the 1993 album Zooropa by U2).[2] He continued working for the paper as an intern while in college, and then joined the staff as a full-time reporter when he graduated in 2000.[2]
He joined UPROXX as a cultural critic in July 2016.[4] He previously worked at Grantland as a staff writer and at The A.V. Club as an editor. His music criticism has been published in several other outlets including Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Slate, American Songwriter and Salon.com.[5][6][7][8][9]
Podcasts
Celebration Rock
From January 2016 - December 2018, Hyden hosted the Celebration Rock podcast.[10] A new episode debuted weekly on Monday afternoon and usually ran about 50–60 minutes in length. Hyden and his guests covered topics ranging from "Best Rock Albums of the '10's (so far)" to hour-long interviews with artists (Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Deftones) and hosting other critics to discuss their famous works. The podcast mostly emphasized the current rock scene, but also dove into the past with episodes and interviews about The Replacements, Cheap Trick, and others.
Break Stuff: The Story of Woodstock '99
From July 9, 2019 to August 27, 2019,[11] Hyden hosted an eight episode podcast about the Woodstock '99 festival on the subscription podcast network Luminary. He later appeared as an expert on the HBO documentary Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, And Rage.
Rivals
From February 6, 2020 to January 27, 2021, Hyden co-hosted Rivals, a podcast about rivalries between band-mates and contemporaries in rock, with Jordan Runtaugh.[12]
Indiecast
In July 2020, Hyden began co-hosting Indiecast, a podcast about indie music news and trends, with Ian Cohen.[13]
36 From the Vault
In January 2020, Hyden began co-hosting 36 From the Vault, a podcast about the Grateful Dead's live album series Dick's Picks, with co-host Rob Mitchum.[14]
Books
Inventory
In 2009, Hyden was a co-author of the book Inventory: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, 10 Great Songs Nearly Ruined by Saxophone, and 100 More Obsessively Specific Pop-Culture Lists,[15] a collection of lists from The A.V. Club.[16]
Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation?
In 2011, Hyden published the e-book Whatever Happened To Alternative Nation?, a critical analysis and personal reflection on 1990s alternative rock that originally ran as a 10-part series at The A.V. Club.[17]
Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me
On May 17, 2016 Hyden released Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me, published by Back Bay Books.[18] It is a collection of essays on famous pop music rivalries throughout rock history, including Oasis versus Blur, Beatles versus Rolling Stones, and Madonna versus Cyndi Lauper.[19][20][21][22]
Twilight of the Gods
On May 1, 2018,[23] Hyden published Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock.[24][25][26][27][28] The 19-chapter book is structured to resemble a double-LP, with "tracks" divided among four "sides".[29]
Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes
On September 24, 2019,[30] Hyden published Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes with co-author Steve Gorman about the latter's time as the drummer in the American rock band The Black Crowes.
This Isn't Happening: Radiohead's "Kid A" and the Beginning of the 21st Century
On September 29, 2020,[31] Hyden published This Isn't Happening: Radiohead's "Kid A" and the Beginning of the 21st Century about Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A and its broader cultural context and influence.[32][33][34][35]
Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation
Hyden's Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation, was published by Hachette Books on September 27, 2022.[36] AllMusic interviewed Hyden about his publication and enquired about Pearl Jam's decision to release a number of 2000 live shows.[37]
Personal life
References
- ^ Hyden, Steven (September 7, 2017). "It's my son's 1st day of kindergarten and my 40th birthday". Twitter. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Nyman, Shane (May 13, 2016). "Beatles or Stones? Answer may say a lot about you". Post-Crescent Media. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ . Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
- ^ "Steven Hyden". UPROXX. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Masthead | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ . Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "Steven Hyden Archives « American Songwriter". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Steven Hyden's Articles at Salon.com". www.salon.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "Steven Hyden". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Celebration Rock by Westwood One on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Break Stuff: The Story of Woodstock '99". Luminary. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- ^ "Rivals: Music's Greatest Feuds on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "Indiecast on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "36 From the Vault". Osiris. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "Comet Branding - We Talk about Brands". Comet Branding. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "'Obsessively Specific': The A.V. Club's Book Of Lists". Weekend Edition. NPR. December 11, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Steven Hyden's 'Whatever Happened To Alternative Nation?'". DangerousMinds. March 19, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life by Steven Hyden. Back Bay, $16.99 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-316-25915-6". Publishers Weekly. February 8, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ Light, Alan (June 1, 2016). "'Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me' and 'Your Song Changed My Life'". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ Klimek, Chris (May 2, 2016). "What do pop music rivalries reveal about the meaning of life?". Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ O'Kane, Josh (June 17, 2016). "Review: Beatles or Stones? Steven Hyden's Your Favourite Band is Killing Me explores musical rivalries". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ Hermes, Patrick Doyle,Will (April 25, 2016). "3 Great Rock Books to Read This Month". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock by Steven Hyden. Dey Street, $25.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-265712-1". Publishers Weekly. April 23, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ Fertel, Rien (May 7, 2018). "The lily-white Twilight Of The Gods plays a requiem for the giants of classic rock". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (May 28, 2018). "What Was Classic Rock?". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Our list of 2018's best fiction and non-fiction (so far) adds up to 50 books to read before Labor Day". Newsweek. May 23, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ Lannamann, Ned (May 10, 2018). "Rock 'n' Roll Requiem: Steven Hyden's Twilight of the Gods". The Stranger. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ Gabler, Jay (May 2, 2018). "Rock and Roll Book Club: Steven Hyden's 'Twilight of the Gods'". The Current. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ Klimek, Chris (May 10, 2018). "Review | Can classic rock survive the death of classic rock stars?". Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Appleton native author's next big gig: Telling the rock 'n' roll saga of the Black Crowes". Appleton Post-Crescent. March 6, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- ^ "Review: Steven Hyden's This Isn't Happening contextualizes the impact of Radiohead's landmark Kid A album". Bad Feeling Magazine. September 24, 2020.
- ^ Hyden, Steven (January 7, 2020). Radiohead book announcement. HachetteBooks.com. ISBN 9780306845697. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^ Hogan, Marc (September 24, 2020). "How Radiohead Struggled to Reinvent Themselves While Making Kid A". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Sigler, Gabriel (September 24, 2020). "Review: Steven Hyden's This Isn't Happening contextualizes the impact of Radiohead's landmark Kid A album". Bad Feeling Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Kingsley, Brock (October 2, 2020). "To Be Excited and Confused in "This Isn't Happening"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Long Road. Hachette Books. January 8, 2022. ISBN 9781668610916.
- ^ "Pearl Jam's Long Road and Live Albums with Steven Hyden". AllMusic. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ Dykes, Bretty Michael (May 18, 2016). "UPROXX 20: Steven Hyden Still Reads Websites Even After They've Insulted Him". Uproxx. Retrieved July 12, 2018.