Jason Isbell, one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, sits down with host Brian Hiatt in a new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now to discuss his excellent upcoming album, Reunions (with his band the 400 Unit), his whole career, the challenges of sobriety, fatherhood, why he almost didn’t write “Maybe It’s Time” for A Star Is Born, how he enlisted David Crosby as a back-up singer, and much more.
The former Drive-By Truckers member also digs deep into his novelistic songwriting process, explaining why he’s suspicious of cool-sounding lyrics when he writes them. “You go, ‘oh that’s really great,’” he says. “‘Wait a minute, that could be very, very stupid.’ Great lines in a song are usually right on the edge of being meaningless.”
Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out two years worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Ice Cube, Neil Young, the National, Questlove, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Alicia Keys, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr. and many more – plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear Rolling Stone Music Now broadcast live from SiriusXM’s studios on Volume, channel 106.
