Switched on Pop

Two countries at war. Rostam’s 'American Stories' belongs to both.

15 May 2026

Audio

Description

The pedal steel and the saz both live in the spaces between equal-tempered notes, and that gap is where Rostam built American Stories. Rostam joined Vampire Weekend at Columbia in 2006, produced the band's first three albums, and after leaving in 2016 made records with Clairo and Haim you can identify as his within a few bars. His solo album, American Stories, reflects his experience as an American whose family is from Iran. He came into the studio this past March, just after the United States launched military operations there. It's a record that asks us to listen between two cultures. SONGS DISCUSSED Rostam "Like a Spark" Wilco "What Light" HAIM "Summer Girl" Rostam "Back of a Truck" Bob Dylan "Like a Rolling Stone" Bob Dylan "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin' On" Lou Reed "Perfect Day" Rostam "Forgive Is to Know" Rostam "Hardy" (ft. Clairo) Clairo “Sophia” Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam “A 1000 Times” David Bowie "I Can't Give Everything Away" Rostam "The Road to Death" Rostam "Come Apart" Rostam "Campus (Original Version)" Rostam "The Weight" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcription

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.

0 upvotes

🗳️ Sign in to Upvote

Popular episodes get transcribed faster

Other episodes from Switched on Pop

Transcribed and ready to explore now

Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say

09 Jun 2026

Switched on Pop

How a sci-fi dystopia became a personal utopia (ft. Arc Iris)

05 Jun 2026

Switched on Pop

MUNA's end of the world dance party

02 Jun 2026

Switched on Pop

Drake's Slop Era

26 May 2026

Switched on Pop

Eurovision is back – but not without controversy

12 May 2026

Switched on Pop

Samara Cyn is rap's best new writer

08 May 2026

Switched on Pop

View all episodes from Switched on Pop

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.

Report any issue

Switched on Pop

Two countries at war. Rostam’s 'American Stories' belongs to both.

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other episodes from Switched on Pop

Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say

How a sci-fi dystopia became a personal utopia (ft. Arc Iris)

MUNA's end of the world dance party

Drake's Slop Era

Eurovision is back – but not without controversy

Samara Cyn is rap's best new writer

Sign in to Audioscrape

Share this moment