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The Hold Steady
There was a time when indie kids wouldn’t admit to listening to Springsteen — the alt-country kids might cop to liking Nebraska, but that was it. That is, until the Hold Steady crashed the party, and a whole scene reawakened to its love for anthemic paeans to the hopeless hopefulness of America’s suburban outsiders. Where […]
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STAYING POSITIVE
On Clear Heart Full Eyes, Craig Finn’s recently released solo debut, the Hold Steady frontman celebrates the same world that provides the setting for albums such as Boys and Girls in America—one where “Jesus isn’t getting through,” so Freddie Mercury and Johnny Rotten become idols, and the kids drink booze ’cuz they’re dead on the […]
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SHE
This leg of the Drive-By Truckers’ nigh never-ending tour sports the moniker “Rock and Roll Means Well,” sourced from one of lead guitarist Cooley’s finest songs, “Marry Me.” In their long years of playing together, ‘The Stroker Ace’ and DBT front man Patterson Hood have certainly pondered and unflinchingly explored all the right and wrong […]
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The Hold Steady Return With Another Fist-Pumping Ode to Triumphant Fatigue
After one or two or 12 rounds, few finer drinking games exist than Hold Steady Mad-Libs. It’s like freestyling for music nerds. As Shock G once said, it’s real easy to do—check it out: “I was [synonym for ‘relaxing’] in [midsized Midwestern city] at the [place where underage people hang out], and we were doing […]
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Constructive Summer
Onetime disaffected Twin Cities hardcore kid Craig Finn came to New York in 2000, after the dissolution of Lifter Puller, his old beloved rock outfit. A turn as a thirtysomething office drone living his days out in Boerum Hill prompted Finn to reach out to an old bandmate and, in 2002, form a new act, […]
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Music
Exotic Diseases The disquieting social phenomenon wherein you think you see Craig Finn everywhere you go. Like Being John Malkovich with a louder soundtrack. TV Party People who seem genuinely shocked and offended that the I’m With Rolling Stone interns are doing interesting and fun and telegenic things, as opposed to normal intern drudgery. For […]
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Cotton Candy on the Edge of Town
Sunday, October 1, 2006, might be remembered as the Hold Steady’s happiest day together. That night: embraced by a riotous crush of hometown fans at Irving Plaza, launching a sizable U.S. tour. That morning: The New York Times runs a deferential (if perplexingly vague) profile in praise of the band. And perhaps more significantly, the […]