The hottest band in rock? The Hives? The White Stripes? The Strokes?

Would you believe... Mudhoney?

No kidding — the veteran (please don't call us grunge) punk band is staging what looks to be a smashing comeback from the fringes of rock; perhaps already tired of the new sensations they helped spawn, some music writers are embracing Mudhoney like long-lost friends.

Now in its 14th year, Seattle's favorite little-band-that-almost-made-it-big has a new bass player (Guy Maddison, replacing Matt Lukin), and a new album, Since We've Become Translucent.

It features horns (Seattle sax player Craig Flory and others) and is the band's first album in four years; more significant, it marks the first new Mudhoney recording on Sub Pop since the band left the Seattle label for the major label Reprise a decade ago. Sup Pop has been resurgent in recent years, with hot new acts like the Shins and the Catheters, and now Mudhoney looks like a great re-addition to its roster. The reviews for Translucent have been almost transcendent, probably Mudhoney's best ink ever:

A Times of London writer noted that songs on the album "recall Iggy Pop fronting an Animals/Red Red Meat hybrid, effortlessly transcending Mudhoney's weighty history."

CMJ music magazine proclaimed, "Unabashed, heavy and incessantly bold, this is the rock album that you've been waiting for."

A Washington Post writer said, "We forget about Mudhoney and — bang! — a fabulous album."

And get this, from Rolling Stone:

"This is the kind of record the Hives have been dying to make. Over a decade after discovering the portal through which Nirvana and Pearl Jam would become megastars, Mudhoney inexplicably finds itself back at the height of fashion."

So much has been written by others about Mudhoney, we thought we'd have founding members Mark Arm (singer) and Steve Turner (guitar) interview each other, making up their own questions. That turned out to be pretty disastrous. They did actually start the assignment, with e-mail that went like this:

Mark arrives at the agreed-upon interview site, the Seattle Times cafeteria, a bit late, explaining that he got lost. I assured him it happens to the best of us; why just yesterday I couldn't find my cubicle here at the Times entertainment bureau. He asked how long I'd been working here, and I told him not very long. He congratulated me and told me he just got a job here, too.

We toasted our good fortune in these lean times with a double helping of Jell-O parfait. And down to business.

Steve (reiterating the first question of every Mudhoney interview since 1991): I thought Mudhoney broke up?

Mark: Ha, ha, ha, ha! Nope.

Steve: Why didn't Mudhoney break up? Matt quit, the grunge movement died, we got dropped from Reprise, and to be blunt, we're a bit long in the tooth for this sort of thing, right?

Mark: Because it's still fun. And we're good at it.

Steve: Sort of stubborn. Who's the new guy?

Mark: Guy.

Steve: He's a good Guy.

Mark: Yep.

Steve: And now Mark Arm of Mudhoney will tell us why he plays Rock and Roll.

Mark: ???

Steve: Well, thanks Mark. And now back to work. See you at the Showbox Aug. 29 for the big show.

Call that an interview? Slackers!

So we corral Turner and Arm (drummer Dan Peters, being a new father, is excused) at West Seattle's Easy Street Records, a few blocks from Arm's home, and script out some questions for them to ask each other.

The two skinny, aging punk-skateboarders ("It hurts more when you fall, now," says Turner) in ragged jeans and white T-shirts go along with the Mudhoney vs. Mudhoney idea.

But not very seriously.

Turner: Who do I look like?

Arm: You look like my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Turner: Darn, I thought you were going to say Tom Cruise.

Arm: Who do I look like?

Turner: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Arm: Darn, I thought you were going to say Tom Cruise.

Turner: What makes you happy?

Arm: The simple things. (Turner laughs.) Haven't found any yet. What scares you?

Turner: The simple things. (Arm laughs.) Who are the top three singers you've ever heard?

Arm: I would say Gerry Roslie (of the Sonics), Mark Mothersbaugh (of Devo)... and Alice Cooper — you knew that was coming. (Turner laughs.) Who are the top three guitar players you've ever heard?

Turner: That would be — what's his name? (Arm laughs) — that guy Ron from the first Stooges album.

Arm: Asheton.

Turner: Right. Lightnin' Hopkins. And Jad Fair (from Half Japanese)... What's the worst non-musical job you've ever had?

Arm: Every non-musical job I've ever had, hands down. (Both laugh.) ... What's your dream day-job?

Turner: Just getting up early — because I can. What do you like to have for dinner before a show?

Arm: Something light and non-dairy. Like a Popsicle... What's your least-favorite Mudhoney song?

Turner: It usually revolves around "Here Comes Sickness" — sometimes I feel like a jackass, soloing for three minutes. Other times, I'm just fine with soloing for three minutes. (They laugh.)... Do you ever forget lyrics while you're singing live?

Arm: You know the answer to that: Yes, I do. (They laugh.)

Turner: Oh, yes you do!

Arm: What do you think about when you're playing guitar and day-dreaming?

Turner: You mean when we're rehearsing? I'm usually thinking of the last part of the song I just played — and then I end up 30 seconds behind everyone. ... Who in your family is least supportive of you being in a rock band?

Arm: That would be everyone — everyone in my family is equally non-supportive. (They laugh.)

Turner: What's been most surprising about Guy?

Arm: I would have to say his nurturing side, which has come through in his nursing. (Maddison is attending nursing school.). ... What do you miss most about Matt not being in the band?

Turner: The endless anecdotes and stories that spring from his imagination — and real life. (They laugh.)

Arm: What's been your favorite Mudhoney tour?

Turner: That would have to be Big Day Out (Australia in 1993, with Nick Cave, Iggy Pop and Sonic Youth).

Arm: That's what I would say.

Turner: When do you feel most translucent, and please don't say "now"?

Arm: When I'm scuba diving. Who do you think would win in a wrestling match, Jonathan or Bruce? (They laugh at this allusion to the sometimes-feuding Sub Pop founders, Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt.)

Turner: Besides the fact that I would pay to see such a fight, it would be a draw — they'd both be crying, and Megan (Jaspers, longtime Sub Pop staffer) would have to split them up. But Bruce would be the most translucent.

Arm: Right. Bruce is almost transparent, at times.

Turner: What do you like most about living in West Seattle?

Arm (gazing down the street from behind Elvis sunglasses, chewing gum ferociously as he ponders): I like the fact that ... it still hasn't been renovated. I like the fact that, with the exception of Easy Street, you're not surrounded by hipsters every time you walk down the street. I like being surrounded by the salt of the Earth. What do you like most about living in Capitol Hill?

Turner: I like being surrounded by hipsters. ... Should we be known as "the Rolling Stones of grunge," or something else? (They debate where the Rolling Stones were in their 14th year, if "they started sucking then," or if the sucking-point happened later.)

Arm: I would say, no — we're the Rolling Stones of punk.

Turner: That has a good ring to it — we should trademark it.

Arm: Thanks so much, any other questions you'd like to ask me?

Turner: What time is practice?

Arm: 7:30