The Hold Steady

i wasn't a huge fan of the first single but i really like the new one "Spinners." not transcendent like they used to be but a damn fine song to my ears.

lyric vid - http://www.vevo.com/watch/the-hold-steady/spinners-official-lyric-video/USRZR1351514

from seth meyers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1mhuRG9gJE

Not keen on the two singles so far. Just seem like very average forgettable rock songs. Nothing about them seems standout. And the lyrics don't live up to the usual standard of Craig Finn's lyrics. They seem very throwaway, particularly Spinners. With all of that said I don't think it's inconceivable that over time IHTWTDFY will grow on me once I've heard the rest of the record. On a less critical note does anyone briefly get reminded of Constructive Summer during the "Never Let Them Tie You Up" part.

The Angry Johnny Revue wrote:

Not keen on the two singles so far. Just seem like very average forgettable rock songs. Nothing about them seems standout. And the lyrics don't live up to the usual standard of Craig Finn's lyrics. They seem very throwaway, particularly Spinners. With all of that said I don't think it's inconceivable that over time IHTWTDFY will grow on me once I've heard the rest of the record. On a less critical note does anyone briefly get reminded of Constructive Summer during the "Never Let Them Tie You Up" part.

I think the album overall will be stronger than these two songs. They really seem to be confident in it, and that song Wait Awhile was a great song

DeathoftheCool wrote:

The Angry Johnny Revue wrote:

Not keen on the two singles so far. Just seem like very average forgettable rock songs. Nothing about them seems standout. And the lyrics don't live up to the usual standard of Craig Finn's lyrics. They seem very throwaway, particularly Spinners. With all of that said I don't think it's inconceivable that over time IHTWTDFY will grow on me once I've heard the rest of the record. On a less critical note does anyone briefly get reminded of Constructive Summer during the "Never Let Them Tie You Up" part.

I think the album overall will be stronger than these two songs. They really seem to be confident in it, and that song Wait Awhile was a great song

I love what they've put out from the new record so far. Aside from the first two singles, they've also played The Only Thing and Almost Everything on radio spots. Not a big fan of Almost Everything (which is especially disappointing because that is one that the guys seemed to be particularly proud of), but The Only Thing is really solid--but I've only heard it's stripped-down form.

The two singles aren't anything special but I'm enjoying them nonetheless. I'm optimistic this will be a pretty strong record overall.

Do you guys like Spinners or I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You better?

woop woop

FULL ALBUM STREAM RIIIIIIGHT HERE

http://www.musikexpress.de/news/meldungen/article552218/the-hold-steady-hoert-euch-das-neue-album-teeth-dreams-vorab-im-stream-an.html

hmmm hopefully theres one for North America sometime soon

what do you think of it Hanswurst?

MKULTRA wrote:

hmmm hopefully theres one for North America sometime soon

what do you think of it Hanswurst?

yeah i was bummed that it didn't work in America. How was it hanswurst? I'm super curious as to how it sounds

thats strange thought   

does this one work?
https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/25527436%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-2e4IE&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true

or this?

https://soundcloud.com/washingtonsquaremusic/big-cig/s-2e4IE

If only the second one works, i may mess around with the source code a little more but its unlikely i'll find a direct link to the mp3..


Now to speak about the music:

I didn't really enjoy it after the first listen. There was nothing which really stood out for me..
But thats the way i feel about all their records - some songs grow on me after a couple listens and become favorites, but most of their songs i feel kinda bored about. So i'd say its a classic Hold Stady album. If you like their older stuff this is great - not as great as Boys and Girls in America - but still some solid stuff.

haha well glad to hear your thoughts.
neither of those links work, thanks for trying though   

on another note i've finally really gotten into Separation Sunday and it blows my mind.

and that has led to my current obsession with the grand Hold Steady narrative in general. i mean who's the savior? who's Judas? if Holly's the Judas and she gets resurrected that's craaazy. is Charlemagne dead? or did Sapphire save him? when does everyone end up in Ybor City? ahhhhhhhh.

http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2005/aug/holdsteady/lyrics_chicago.html

MKULTRA check it

there was also an article i read recently that places all the hold steady songs in order of the narrative, i'll try to find it

EDIT: this is cool too

http://americamagazine.org/issue/642/100/hipster-orthodoxy

thanks for the links. some interesting reading.

ALSO I USED THIS TO LISTEN TO THE GERMAN STREAM-

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hola-better-internet/gkojfkhlekighikafcpjkiklfbnlmeio?hl=en

MKULTRA wrote:

thanks for the links. some interesting reading.

ALSO I USED THIS TO LISTEN TO THE GERMAN STREAM-

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hola-better-internet/gkojfkhlekighikafcpjkiklfbnlmeio?hl=en

cool! i added it, how do i specifically use it to listen to the stream

If you click the hola button that should be next to your URL bar, there will be some flags. Click on the German one. The site's homepage will load. Navigate the site to the album stream page. And it should work.

MKULTRA wrote:

If you click the hola button that should be next to your URL bar, there will be some flags. Click on the German one. The site's homepage will load. Navigate the site to the album stream page. And it should work.

Sweet! I really like the album so far. I'm only on Spinners though. I listened to Heaven is Whenever at the gym yesterday and Sep Sunday earlier this week, so I'm in a Hold Steady type of mood. I have the feeling this album won't be as heavy as some early interviews and reviews have mentioned.

Quick hits-

It took a few listens for the album to resonate with me. I really like it. I don't know how it will compare to the first 4 albums, but those are pretty hard to beat.

After a 4 year gap between albums, "the cityscape skins are kinda kicking it again" is an awesome line to kick it all off.

Sometimes I'm feeling like the production is a bit much. Quite nice in some places though.

The Only Thing is an amazingly written song.

I think at least one track (Runner's High) is about Charlemagne! Gotta love Charlemagne.

I don't really know what Oaks is about yet but it just made me melancholy as fuck.

MKULTRA wrote:

Quick hits-

It took a few listens for the album to resonate with me. I really like it. I don't know how it will compare to the first 4 albums, but those are pretty hard to beat.

After a 4 year gap between albums, "the cityscape skins are kinda kicking it again" is an awesome line to kick it all off.

Sometimes I'm feeling like the production is a bit much. Quite nice in some places though.

The Only Thing is an amazingly written song.

I think at least one track (Runner's High) is about Charlemagne! Gotta love Charlemagne.

I don't really know what Oaks is about yet but it just made me melancholy as fuck.

Oaks was one of my favorites. I'm really digging the long, mellow album closers they've been doing, specifically this song and A Slight Discomfort
Can't beat Southtown Girls, Slapped Actress, or How A Resurrection Really Feels either.
They're kinda like Arctic Monkeys, their last song tends to be their best one

DeathoftheCool wrote:

http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2005/aug/holdsteady/lyrics_chicago.html

MKULTRA check it

there was also an article i read recently that places all the hold steady songs in order of the narrative, i'll try to find it

EDIT: this is cool too

http://americamagazine.org/issue/642/100/hipster-orthodoxy

The article about all the Hold Steady songs in order was posted on the Unified Scene a while ago.  One thing I think should be noted though:  according to Craig, there is no proper order, and not every song is about those characters.  That being said: I think the chronological list the guy made was overall pretty good, but there were some things I disagreed with.  Also, while he was cognizant enough not to include some songs because he didn't see them fitting into the canon, I still think he forced some in there that shouldn't be. Still pretty interesting.

Overall I'm just not feeling this record. After several listens there are only about four songs that really stand out to me (Spinners, Oaks, Almost Everything, and I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You). Finn's vocals are so distorted and the songs just sound sloppy overall, with very little melody or any distinguishing features. I keep hoping it'll grow on me but unfortunately I think it's a pretty underwhelming effort.

UGHHHHHH.... so bummed by this record. Drums sound like they were recorded outside the studio in the rain. The amount of reverb on Craig's voice is also really ridiculous. He is also in the middle of the mix. Tad and the new guitarist are on the very top. The lyrical content is at least better on this record than the last record. But this producer.... yikes. Def the most disappointing record of the year thus far.

yeah I didn't really feel this on first listen. Gonna give it a few more spins before writing it off though cause this band is still too good.

This album is kinda like Tim to me

DeathoftheCool wrote:

This album is kinda like Tim to me

if you mean a great album in spite of some production issues, i pretty much agree.

the production here... its not like i hate it. there are some places where i like it. generally i don't mind the way Craig's voice was treated. there are some parts where its too muddy; Runner's High comes to mind. the production might bring the album down sometimes, but not enough to make me not like it.

With Tim, the production is quite annoying. still, most of those songs power through it, which is really a great achievement by the band.

i would say Tim has worse production and better songs, while Teeth Dreams moves closer the middle of the spectrum on both.