The funny thing about genres like alt, punk, indie is that there was a point when these things were directly in opposition to something mainstream and corporate, but then somewhere along the way they became styles and aesthetics that could also be mainstream. It's not always clear what it means to be alt-rock or alt-country these days or even how to listen to an album in the streaming age where our music habits are changing so rapidly all the time. On today's show, Tom Knoblauch is in conversation with Julia Steiner, whose band Ratboys just released a new album called The Window, about the always-shifting music landscape, the construction of an album, and how she developed her unique style over the past decade.

Ratboys will be playing at the Reverb Lounge on October 19th. Tickets can be found here.