Hear Rob Thomas on ‘Smooth,’ His New Album and the Glories of Weed

Rob Thomas breaks down his upcoming solo album, Chip Tooth Smile (due April 26th) along with the whole rest of his career on the latest episode of our podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now. In an in-depth interview with host Brian Hiatt at our SiriusXM studio, Thomas touches on his short-lived pre-Matchbox Twenty band Tabitha’s Secret, how weed has helped his songwriting, the advantages of middle age, balancing his solo career with his band, the ’80s influences on his new LP, the trials of Gen-X and much more. With the 20th anniversary of “Smooth” approaching, he also details the making of that song, what it was like dealing with its ubiquity (he got sick of it for a while), and Carlos Santana’s unexpectedly heavy use of emojis in their text exchanges.
To hear the entire discussion, press play below or download and subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.
Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify, and check out two years worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Ice Cube, Neil Young, the National, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, Gary Clark Jr. and many more — plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions and debates with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear the show broadcast live on Sirius XM’s Volume, channel 106.