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The Pitchfork-Hold Steady Love Affair Heats Up Again
Posted at 1:00 PM on December 4, 2006
by Hans Eisenbeis
(2 Comments)
"If you want to be heard, you want to make time to write the lyrics, and you want them to be enjoyable, too. There are things like repetitive choruses, which we really didn't do much before this record. But if you yell at people for three straight minutes, they might not remember anything. But if you say one thing a couple of times, that'll be what they remember."Don't get us wrong, we love Craig as much as the next guy. But the only new revelations to be gleened from this longish walk-up is how much Pitchfork still loves "Boys And Girls in America," and Craig's personal strategy for surviving a night of rock 'n' roll.
"My big thing is to get onstage sober. Whatever happens from there happens. But you get onstage drunk and it's not going to be good. It takes a while. I have to sing a lot, so I can only drink so much. So most nights it's fine; even if I drink as much as I possibly can, I can't get that drunk."We think that's good advice, especially as we head into the season of office parties, holiday festivals, and family socials: Try to get onstage sober, and from there let the cards fall where they may.
Photo: MPR
Comments (2)
Is Craig's affinity for repetition why he keeps saying "kickin' it" on his way over-rated new album?
Does Finn say "kickin it" a lot? I guess he says it a few times, but who cares? It seems to me that if you're inclined to criticize the Hold Steady, it would behoove you to start with something other than Finn's use of language, because, above all, Craig Finn is a writer. He uses literary devices like alliteration and assonance more effectively than any lyricist I've ever heard. Additionally, to point out that the Hold Steady are repetetive just doesn't make any sense. The record that preceeded "Boys and Girls in America" had only one song with a repetetive chorus, other that that there was no lyrical repetition whatsoever. Finally, what does "way overrated" mean? Music, like any kind of art, really shouldn't be "rated" at all because one's aprreciation of music or lack thereof is almost entirely subjective.
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