"It only gets inconvenient when you wanna get high alone" - The Hold Steady

Probably the main criticism of the Hold Steady's frontman Craig Finn is that he kinda speaks more than sings. The same people who get their panties in a bunch about this are also the same kind of people who love the Velvet Underground's "Waiting For The Man." Indie kids are hypocrites and whiny dorks who'd rather have something to nitpipck than enjoy. Case closed.

Anyway, for those of you who didn't run off just now to comb your hair in front of one eye and crank out a poorly-written blog about an opinion on the internet you disagreed with, the Hold Steady just put out a record called Boys and Girls In America that's aces. It seems Finn and co. have been playing the part of Sisyphus in a never-ending struggle uphill against the force of low expectations. When Finn disbanded much-lamented Minnesota group Lftr Pllr (buy a vowel, anyone?), no one thought his new group, with their Springsteen keyboards and bar-band melancholia, would be very good. Then they put out The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me, which was tits and already showcasing their fairly unique sound. "Well," the snots said, "it's not like they can keep this formula interesting for another album." They were answered with the universally praised Seperation Sunday, which just amped up their sound and brought them a lot of attention. (As a side note, I would just like to add that the album included the song "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," easily one of the 25 best songs of the 00's so far.)

This was followed by a recording deal with Vagrant, a notoriously atrocious record label with exactly five good acts (Paul Westerberg, the Lemonheads, the Futureheads, and the Alkaline Trio being the others) crammed in between wall-to-wall screaming emo horseshit. Combined with all the attention they received after their last record, all the shitsuckers thought it was assured that the band would do a "sellout," "commerical" record that caved into trends of the day.

Hopefully, after everyone gets a chance to hear Boys and Girls In America, the bullshit will finally stop. Classic-sounding riffs, epic pianos, and Finn's poetic narratives of the gutter generation should resonate with anyone who cares to give it a chance. If you've ever been drunk and felt fucked-over by reality, this will have you rocking in your living room all night, doing blow to stay up just long enough to call in sick to work. Finn is a Howard Cosell for a generation of kids and young adults who are feeling the sting of an indie culture that champions detachment and self-absorption. It's like he's sitting on the back porch, swigging a Budweiser and surveying the trash, filth, sewage, and broken washing machines.

I guess if I had to sum it in one sentence, it's road trip music for your memories, and let's leave it at that.

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/2177715/hold_steady_you_can_make_him_like_you.mp3.html