The Hold Steady: HEAVEN IS WHENEVER

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they're playing nearby tonight. i was thinking i might go, but i probably won't. 20 bucks is a bit more than i'd spend to see these guys without knowing if the opening band is decent.


the single is exactly the kind of song i'll hear once in a blue moon on the radio, and it will pique my interest. so then i'll scribble down some of the words so i can google it when i get home. but i'll either lose that piece of paper, or lose interest in the song by the time it's over. either way, it's not a song i'd think twice about let alone chose to listen to again.



i was gonna add oh hey, i'm retarded, i have no idea what day/month it is because apparently that show is april 6th, which is next month. but it's not next month, because i really don't know what day/month it is...which means i missed shearwater last week. THAT i would have actually gone to...oops.
 
IWasBored said:
i was gonna add oh hey, i'm retarded, i have no idea what day/month it is because apparently that show is april 6th, which is next month. but it's not next month, because i really don't know what day/month it is...which means i missed shearwater last week. THAT i would have actually gone to...oops.
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I no longer respect you.
 
I'm pretty sure that I don't like this album. With some exceptions, of course.

The main one being the opening song, "The Sweet Part of the City." I don't really like opening up on the internet about stuff, but I feel the need at least partially to unburden myself by saying that the song is, for me, incredibly beautiful and touching. It's cheesy, overdone, sometimes poorly worded, and perhaps insincere, but it reminds me of what was suddenly a long, long time ago, when I was very young and my and my family's life was in complete, total disarray. I was just a real little guy, and I didn't totally know what was going on, all the time. I shed a lot of tears in not too much time, but I was still often happy.

It reminds of my being happy in spite of many painful things that I couldn't really understand. It sounds like spectacular sunsets over rural lakefronts, bare feet, AM radio in trailer parks, and catching lightning bugs in jars. It sounds like a lot of things, to me. Really brought tears to my eyes. Is doing so, right now. Nothing about the lyrics or the delivery; nothing concrete, really. Just the music. For whatever reason, this song has powerfully affected me. I'm glad that I've heard it, even if it kind of hurts. Sigh.
 
I dunno, I thought it was a pretty fun record. Problem is, how much do we *need* this album? It sounds just like everything else in their discography except more obviously produced (not to be pretentious, but I think this is more detrimental to their particular sound/vision than anything). Every song is about getting drunk with drunk girls while occasionally stepping back to contemplate the meaning of it all, only to find there really isn't one. That emotional edge separates them from, say, AC/DC, but it does make their discography a bit monotonous to work through. Furthermore, Separation Sunday executes this formula far more successfully and, if their newest record The Big To-Do is any indication, Drive-By Truckers are carrying the torch with greater vitality and variety.

BUT. BUT. The riffs. The mindless fun. The charming stabs at inebriated philosophy. They're all here, and if you like that sort of thing, you will not be disappointed. Frankly, I had a ball in spite of that paragraph of caveats. I love shit like this, and Soft In The Center, The Weekenders, and Barely Breathing are good examples of it.
 
Well, If you shout..., I'm glad you love at least one track. Or that it inspired such a strong emotional response, reminded you of happy times, etc.

I'm strangely bummed, though, that you don't like the record. Just because I know how much you used to love the band, and how passionate you were about them. The first thing I knew about you on this board was that you were "the guy who fucking loves the Hold Steady." It was just one of those facts of life. The sky is blue, grass is green, Ryan Seacrest is gay, and IYS is a huge Hold Steady fan. And now for you to not like their new record is just...kinda weird.

Your opinion is totally cool, of course. I'm just an idiot and am over-thinking things. One of my many neuroses. Sorry.

Anyway, I downloaded this earlier and the sound quality was atrocious, and I couldn't even make it all the way through "The Sweet Part of the City." I usually am not bothered by (or even think about) the quality of these "rips" but this one stood out as especially poor. Was the sound as shitty for you guys? I'm going to just wait until it's in the stores.
 
It's on NPR, GAF, and sounds about as good as it's going to. This is definitely their HTDAAB, production-wise.
 
GirlsAloudFan said:
Well, If you shout..., I'm glad you love at least one track. Or that it inspired such a strong emotional response, reminded you of happy times, etc.

I'm strangely bummed, though, that you don't like the record. Just because I know how much you used to love the band, and how passionate you were about them. The first thing I knew about you on this board was that you were "the guy who fucking loves the Hold Steady." It was just one of those facts of life. The sky is blue, grass is green, Ryan Seacrest is gay, and IYS is a huge Hold Steady fan. And now for you to not like their new record is just...kinda weird.

Your opinion is totally cool, of course. I'm just an idiot and am over-thinking things. One of my many neuroses. Sorry.
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Absolutely no need to apologize! None of that! I guess it's just one of those things, you know? I feel at least as strongly about Separation Sunday now as I did (somehow, it was already) five years ago. I felt strongly enough to be at fucking Reckless at 7:00, on Saturday morning, to get this. I always only loved about half of the first album, and still do; I also still LOOOOOOOOVE Boys & Girls in America. With a fiery passion.

But both people and bands made up of people change, as time goes on. I spun this, and then I spun Sunday, and it's no longer the same band. It's not even that "they don't have it, anymore," or something like that. It's just really NO LONGER THE SAME BAND. I mean that both literally and figuratively--different lineup, different sound, totally different frontman (and it's also important to note that the fans have gotten really, really, really obnoxious, in comparison to the old days; that makes it tougher for me even to enjoy the shows, sometimes). That doesn't mean that The Hold Steady is now a bad band; it just means that they're no longer that good of a band for me. I don't like U2 anymore, either. Or Lou Reed. Or Brian Eno. Or much David Byrne. The list goes on, man. All of these people/bands were as important to me as The Hold Steady, and they all still are; I just don't want or need to pay all that much attention to what they're still up to, you know? They're all among my all-time favorites, when it comes to what I consider their respective golden years. I am endlessly happy that I know and love their music.

If Separation Sunday (or Achtung Baby or Transformer or More Songs... or Here Come the Warm Jets, etc.) came out next week, I would be losing my fucking mind. Even though I spend most of my time pretty deep in the underground, these days, and don't actually listen to very much which sounds ANYTHING like THS, I do still like all of this stuff. So it goes, you know? He wasn't going to stay 33 forever, and now he sounds like...well, you know. Tunnel of Love era Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Some Eagles, too. Such is life. Maybe in 15 years, this album will mean all the world to me. Who knows?

Anyway, as a final addition, I should also note that I don't HATE this album. I just don't really like it too much. Ho-hum.
 
If you shout... said:
I feel at least as strongly about Separation Sunday now as I did (somehow, it was already) five years ago. I also still LOOOOOOOOVE Boys & Girls in America. With a fiery passion.
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I agree with this.

I think sometimes when you absolutely loved a specific artist's previous work, if you are even slightly disappointed with their new album, it some how feels far worse than it actually is. It's like your disappointment is amplified or something. At least that's how it is for me.
 
I saw THS in Harrisburg on Friday (my third time seeing them) and they sounded fantastic! As awesome live as they ever were. I haven't heard the new record yet. I'm waiting anxiously for it and hope I'm not as disappointed as some folks here seem to be.
 
Thanks for the response, IYS.

And, yes, now that I've heard it, "Sweet Part of the City" is the best thing here. You're right, that instrumentation sounds like something out of another time. And very un-Hold Steady. I love it.

I definitely dig the album as a whole, too. There's a handful of songs I really enjoy. I like it better than Stay Positive at this point.

My first listen to it was pretty cool and memorable, too. I felt myself starting to get tired and knew I'd be asleep within a half hour or so, so I decided to turn up the NPR stream on the computer speakers, lay down on my bed, and fall asleep to the album. It was a warm and comforting thing to listen to as I drifted off to dreamland. I used to fall asleep to albums all the time when I was younger, but haven't done it in years. I don't know, it's always a unique way to experience a piece of music.
 
^ Reading that back, it probably sounds like I'm saying the album put me to sleep. That's not the case at all, ha. Anyway...

IYS, or anyone else who has heard this thing, what do you think of the track "We Can Get Together"? Really, really liking that one at the moment. Great song.

It might not reach the highs of SS or Boys and Girls, but there are moments on this album that stand up with anything the band has done, and that I know I'll be revisiting for a long time.

Yay for music.
 
GirlsAloudFan said:
^ Reading that back, it probably sounds like
IYS, or anyone else who has heard this thing, what do you think of the track "We Can Get Together"? Really, really liking that one at the moment. Great song.
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Picked up the vinyl today and I am loving this album! "We Can Get Together" is my second favorite track behind "The Weekenders." Ask me in an hour and you'll probably get a different answer. :)
 
GirlsAloudFan said:
It might not reach the highs of SS or Boys and Girls, but there are moments on this album that stand up with anything the band has done, and that I know I'll be revisiting for a long time.
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I'll definitely agree with this. No reservations. Several of these songs are, for me, stellar. Or better. "The Sweet Part of the City" sounds like one of my all-time fave THS songs. I have had this for a few weeks, and I listen to a frightening amount of music (50+ new albums and 7"s, in the last week), but this song remains in constant rotation. Somehow. Doesn't mean that the song is technically perfect or that it MUST be awesome because I like, but that I clearly like it an awful lot, if it's rising up through all of that other listening.
 
Picked up the latest album after learning that a childhood friend of mine, Dan Neustadt (he was at my second-grade birthday party, lol) has joined the band as their keyboardist. Dude was a straight-A honors student in high school, really laid-back and nice, and is very talented. I'm warming up to their music - pretty good stuff.
 
One of my friends asked me if I want to see them tomorrow, and I cannot refuse concerts, so I'm going.. I still haven't purchased, or even heard, the new album, so it's going to suck not being familiar with it. Looks like they mix the sets up pretty well though, so I guess it won't be a huge problem. I've never seen them live, so it should be fun regardless.
 
This was the setlist:

Positive Jam
Stuck Between Stations
Hurricane J
Girls Like Status
The Swish
Magazines
You Can Make Him Like You
The Smidge
The Sweet Part of the City
Rock Problems
Bangin' Camp
Chips Ahoy!
Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night
Stevie Nix
Sequestered In Memphis
We Can Get Together
Southtown Girls
Your Little Hoodrat Friend
The Weekenders
Slapped Actress
ENCORE
Constructive Summer
Massive Nights
Most People Are DJs
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I want to murder the sound guy at the venue, it was nearly impossible to hear the vocals during most all songs. Made the show really, really, really disappointing. It wasn't the bands fault, they were extremely entertaining, and were playing the hell out of the place. I'd like to get a in a fight with the people at the mixing board though, such a bummer.
 
u2popmofo said:
This was the setlist:



I want to murder the sound guy at the venue, it was nearly impossible to hear the vocals during most all songs. Made the show really, really, really disappointing. It wasn't the bands fault, they were extremely entertaining, and were playing the hell out of the place. I'd like to get a in a fight with the people at the mixing board though, such a bummer.
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I've seen THS 3 times and their shows are always a blast. You got a great setlist. Too bad about the mixing board folk. Any problems should be taken care of at sound check.
 
That really fucking sucks, scumbo. There is nothing worse than a show where the vocals are mixed too low, especially with such a great and verbose lyricist like Finn. Did he make any mention of the sound problem, or was he even aware of it?

Anyway, I'll help you beat up the sound guy. Hopefully you get to see them again under better circumstances.

I would recommend buying their latest album, by the way. There's some great shit on there.
 
If it sounds anything like that Brokerdealer shit from all those years ago, I will forever bid farewell to him and his musical endeavors.
 
Sounds like a terrible idea to me. Finn's voice is easily the worst thing about the band, and without the power of those guitars, I just don't know.

He's a very good lyricist though; maybe he should write some poetry.
 
no interest whatsoever. but as having only been able to feign marginal interest in the hold steady, that's kind of expected of me i'm sure.
 
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