Rhett Miller stares across the classroom at the 14 sets of eyes staring back and lets his curiosity run free. This was early September, during Miller’s second class of the semester teaching a songwriting course at the New School in New York’s Greenwich Village. The Old 97’s frontman, with nearly …
Read More »Old 97's Never Put Out an Album as a 'Cash Grab.' But Rhett Miller Says It Crossed His Mind
If you wonder what motivates a band after three decades together, ask the Old 97’s. “It feels so unlikely that we’re here, in this moment, in our career and in our lives, and we’ve built something that’s really pretty unimpeachable,” Rhett Miller tells me. We’re sitting in his office — …
Read More »On 'American Primitive,' the Old 97's Just Want You to Enjoy Life for 41 Minutes
On their latest album, American Primitive, the Old 97’s have sandwiched songs about assessing their life choices and serial monogamy with reminders that the world is a doomed and hopeless place and that if you’ve found even a modicum of joy, then that day is a triumph. On the first …
Read More »Old 97's Celebrate Survival in New Song 'Where the Road Goes' With Peter Buck
Rhett Miller bums a ride in the back of a pickup and receives the signs of his past and future in the video for “Where the Road Goes,” the Old 97’s’ new song that celebrates the band’s more than 30 years of longevity. While Miller sings about various highs and …
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