Artist of the Week 12/6/10: The Hold Steady
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 11:50 am
*Clams approached me about doing AOTW this week as there was a cancellation, and I've been a bit busy and stressed out due to finals, so I apologize for any lack of coherence, excessive brevity, or too much nonsense/rambling. It's less of an informative piece about the band, and more of an introduction to them based on my feelings about the band. I do think it's a bit incomplete, and I could talk about this band for an hour. Hopefully you all enjoy!*
(from L-R: Kubler, Drake, Polivka, former keyboardist Franz Nicolai, Finn)
I've been aware of the Hold Steady since some time in 2005. However, the first mention I head of them included the "E" word ("emo") so I avoided them like the plague.
Whoever was lazy or stupid enough to label this band "emo" should be drug out into the street and shot.
I've heard a lot of people try and try to put into the words what The Hold Steady sounds like. The closest anyone has come was my buddy Zach who said "imagine that Thin Lizzy and the E Street Band had a massive jam session, and Randy Newman was on vocals". I'd say that works. Fat ass guitar riffs, an aggressive rhythm section, and lots of keys and horns interweave over top of Craig Finn's some what nasally sung/spoke vocals (a major turn off for some folks), which tell stories about kids in the Upper Midwest getting fucked up, worshiping rock and roll, and finding salvation therein. It's meant to be played loud, and as Finn instructs on "Constructive Summer", "our songs are sing-a-long psalms", so sing the fuck along!
The Hold Steady came together in Brooklyn in 2004. All 4 main members (Craig Finn: guitar/vocals; Tad Kubler: guitars; Galen Polivka: bass; and Bobby Drake: drums) are originally Midwesterners, with Finn and Kubler being from the Twin Cities. They released Almost Killed Me in 2004. It was an introduction to Finn's vision of telling sometimes funny, sometimes cautionary, and always touching tales of partying like it was your job, trying to get by, and damn near dying in the process. It introduced some of the characters that would become the focus of their later albums, especially Separation Sunday. The characters of Charlemegne, Gideon, and Hallelujah (“Holly”) have continued to appear throughout their other 4 albums, Separation Sunday, Boys and Girls and America, Stay Positive, and Heaven is Whenever. They continue to get drunk, get high, make out with strangers following overdoses at concerts, and generally search for redemption and salvation through the power of rock and roll. Maybe that’s what draws me to the Hold Steady so much. Just like DBT, the power of rock and roll to truly save or redeem you is really what lurks at the heart of their music.
Another similarity that the Hold Steady has to DBT is their fierce regionalism. The band may have moved to Brooklyn, but in some sense they’ve never really left Minnesota. Their songs are littered with constant references to the Midwest/Minnesota. From the iconic Grain Belt bridge, to the Mississippi River, to the Golden Gophers and from relocating from Cheyenne to Aberdeen because you couldn’t hack it to being “dreadlocked in the dorm in the Colorado corn”, the band always manages to paint you a picture that easily fits together in your mind. The band maintains a fiercely Midwestern ethos. No nonsense, hard working, blue collar. They strip away the bullshit, and come at you with an honest, and earnest sound. Regular guys who like beer and sports, not rock stars, but they can still kick serious ass on stage, and write incredibly powerful songs. The power chords blare, the rhythm section pounds, the solos soar. Their sound really is the sound of drinking away another shitty Northern winter with an eye towards the optimism of summer.
Maybe, finally, when you strip it all way, that’s why I love the Hold Steady so much. The characters in their songs could have just as easily been me and my friends. It’s almost impossible for me not to listen to a Hold Steady song and not picture a time when I was doing more or less EXACTLY what they’re talking about doing. The first verse of “Massive Nights” is a great example:
“the guys are feeling good about their liquor runthe girls are kinda flirting with the setting sun
we all kind of fumbled through the jitter bug
we were all powered up on some new upper drug
and everything was partying
everyone was pretty
and everyone was coming towards the center of the city
the dance floor was crowded, the bathrooms were worse
we kissed in your car and we drank from your purse”
Who hasn’t been there? That excitement of heading out for an evening of partying. You’ve got your booze, you’ve done a couple lines of Adderall, and you’re ready to rock. It’s a snap shot into a time and place where you probably aren’t right now, but have definitely been before. They hit the highs, and they hit the lows. In “You Can Make Him Like You”, Finn sings: "You don't have to go to the right kind of schools/Let your boyfriend come from the right kind of school/You can wear his old sweatshirt/You can cover yourself like a bruise." Hell, they even hit those grey areas where you can’t tell if it’s good or bad, but that’s the beauty of it all. “How’m I supposed to know that you’re high if you won’t let me touch you?” Finn implores on “Chips Ahoy”. Again, the images pack a punch and show a scene we’ve all been through.
If there’s one thing I take from their music, it’s about looking back at the past with honesty and candor, and keeping a bright eye to the future. “We can’t get as high as we got on that first night”.
Album Roster:
-Almost Killed Me. 2004
-Separation Sunday. 2005
-Boys and Girls in America. 2006
-Stay Positive. 2008
-Heaven is Whenever. 2010
Here are some choice cuts. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjDI1oouS8w
"Sequestered in Memphis" from Stay Positive. If I had to cite one song as a perfect snap shot of their sound, it's this song. Only thing missing here is the horns, but a great live performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fjwaQy1 ... re=related
"Hostile, Mass." from Almost Killed Me. A great example of their Thin Lizz meets Springsteen description. Also, a great example of why Finn's vocals can be a turn off for some people (although I love them). Love the horns on this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrRqmhb1cag
"Banging Camp" from Separation Sunday. This might be one of my favorite songs of all time. "There's strings attached to every single love". So true. The silence and ensuing kick back in by the rest of the band from 3:30-3:45 is the definition of rock and roll minutiae.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RURod5D0UTI
"Girls Like Status" from Boys and Girls in America. "Guys go for looks/Girls for status". Definition of a universal truth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64IJv6fJonQ
"The Weekenders" from Heaven is Whenever. One of the more cathartic songs in their catalog in my opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeLnY35hOX4
"First Night" from Boys and Girls in America. One of their moodier pieces. Some of the best lyrics in their catalog, and the build up/coda at the end of this song is just epic. Probably one of the most emotionally cutting songs I've heard, and it's message is one of those unavoidable facts of life.
(from L-R: Kubler, Drake, Polivka, former keyboardist Franz Nicolai, Finn)
I've been aware of the Hold Steady since some time in 2005. However, the first mention I head of them included the "E" word ("emo") so I avoided them like the plague.
Whoever was lazy or stupid enough to label this band "emo" should be drug out into the street and shot.
I've heard a lot of people try and try to put into the words what The Hold Steady sounds like. The closest anyone has come was my buddy Zach who said "imagine that Thin Lizzy and the E Street Band had a massive jam session, and Randy Newman was on vocals". I'd say that works. Fat ass guitar riffs, an aggressive rhythm section, and lots of keys and horns interweave over top of Craig Finn's some what nasally sung/spoke vocals (a major turn off for some folks), which tell stories about kids in the Upper Midwest getting fucked up, worshiping rock and roll, and finding salvation therein. It's meant to be played loud, and as Finn instructs on "Constructive Summer", "our songs are sing-a-long psalms", so sing the fuck along!
The Hold Steady came together in Brooklyn in 2004. All 4 main members (Craig Finn: guitar/vocals; Tad Kubler: guitars; Galen Polivka: bass; and Bobby Drake: drums) are originally Midwesterners, with Finn and Kubler being from the Twin Cities. They released Almost Killed Me in 2004. It was an introduction to Finn's vision of telling sometimes funny, sometimes cautionary, and always touching tales of partying like it was your job, trying to get by, and damn near dying in the process. It introduced some of the characters that would become the focus of their later albums, especially Separation Sunday. The characters of Charlemegne, Gideon, and Hallelujah (“Holly”) have continued to appear throughout their other 4 albums, Separation Sunday, Boys and Girls and America, Stay Positive, and Heaven is Whenever. They continue to get drunk, get high, make out with strangers following overdoses at concerts, and generally search for redemption and salvation through the power of rock and roll. Maybe that’s what draws me to the Hold Steady so much. Just like DBT, the power of rock and roll to truly save or redeem you is really what lurks at the heart of their music.
Another similarity that the Hold Steady has to DBT is their fierce regionalism. The band may have moved to Brooklyn, but in some sense they’ve never really left Minnesota. Their songs are littered with constant references to the Midwest/Minnesota. From the iconic Grain Belt bridge, to the Mississippi River, to the Golden Gophers and from relocating from Cheyenne to Aberdeen because you couldn’t hack it to being “dreadlocked in the dorm in the Colorado corn”, the band always manages to paint you a picture that easily fits together in your mind. The band maintains a fiercely Midwestern ethos. No nonsense, hard working, blue collar. They strip away the bullshit, and come at you with an honest, and earnest sound. Regular guys who like beer and sports, not rock stars, but they can still kick serious ass on stage, and write incredibly powerful songs. The power chords blare, the rhythm section pounds, the solos soar. Their sound really is the sound of drinking away another shitty Northern winter with an eye towards the optimism of summer.
Maybe, finally, when you strip it all way, that’s why I love the Hold Steady so much. The characters in their songs could have just as easily been me and my friends. It’s almost impossible for me not to listen to a Hold Steady song and not picture a time when I was doing more or less EXACTLY what they’re talking about doing. The first verse of “Massive Nights” is a great example:
“the guys are feeling good about their liquor runthe girls are kinda flirting with the setting sun
we all kind of fumbled through the jitter bug
we were all powered up on some new upper drug
and everything was partying
everyone was pretty
and everyone was coming towards the center of the city
the dance floor was crowded, the bathrooms were worse
we kissed in your car and we drank from your purse”
Who hasn’t been there? That excitement of heading out for an evening of partying. You’ve got your booze, you’ve done a couple lines of Adderall, and you’re ready to rock. It’s a snap shot into a time and place where you probably aren’t right now, but have definitely been before. They hit the highs, and they hit the lows. In “You Can Make Him Like You”, Finn sings: "You don't have to go to the right kind of schools/Let your boyfriend come from the right kind of school/You can wear his old sweatshirt/You can cover yourself like a bruise." Hell, they even hit those grey areas where you can’t tell if it’s good or bad, but that’s the beauty of it all. “How’m I supposed to know that you’re high if you won’t let me touch you?” Finn implores on “Chips Ahoy”. Again, the images pack a punch and show a scene we’ve all been through.
If there’s one thing I take from their music, it’s about looking back at the past with honesty and candor, and keeping a bright eye to the future. “We can’t get as high as we got on that first night”.
Album Roster:
-Almost Killed Me. 2004
-Separation Sunday. 2005
-Boys and Girls in America. 2006
-Stay Positive. 2008
-Heaven is Whenever. 2010
Here are some choice cuts. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjDI1oouS8w
"Sequestered in Memphis" from Stay Positive. If I had to cite one song as a perfect snap shot of their sound, it's this song. Only thing missing here is the horns, but a great live performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fjwaQy1 ... re=related
"Hostile, Mass." from Almost Killed Me. A great example of their Thin Lizz meets Springsteen description. Also, a great example of why Finn's vocals can be a turn off for some people (although I love them). Love the horns on this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrRqmhb1cag
"Banging Camp" from Separation Sunday. This might be one of my favorite songs of all time. "There's strings attached to every single love". So true. The silence and ensuing kick back in by the rest of the band from 3:30-3:45 is the definition of rock and roll minutiae.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RURod5D0UTI
"Girls Like Status" from Boys and Girls in America. "Guys go for looks/Girls for status". Definition of a universal truth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64IJv6fJonQ
"The Weekenders" from Heaven is Whenever. One of the more cathartic songs in their catalog in my opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeLnY35hOX4
"First Night" from Boys and Girls in America. One of their moodier pieces. Some of the best lyrics in their catalog, and the build up/coda at the end of this song is just epic. Probably one of the most emotionally cutting songs I've heard, and it's message is one of those unavoidable facts of life.