Is The Hold Steady actually worth 1 1/2 pages of ink in the New York Times?

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Granted, I am not as up to speed on indie rock as I used to be, but is The Hold Steady really worth a page and a half of coverage in this Sunday's New York Times Arts & Leisure? (I get an advance copy.)

― M. Carlson (mattsoncarlhew), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:19 (nineteen years ago)

IS THE HOLD STEADY GETTING IN THE NY TIMES ACTUALLY WORTH STARTING A NEW THREAD ABOUT WHEN THERE ARE ALREADY 57 OF THEM ON ILM?

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

only a few thousand people listened to the hold steady but everyone who did blogged about them

― gear (gear), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:24 (nineteen years ago)

only a few thousand people listened to the hold steady but everyone who did blogged about them

Haha.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:25 (nineteen years ago)

"only a few thousand people listened to the hold steady but everyone who did blogged about them

Haha. "

Ha ha

― everything (everything), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:26 (nineteen years ago)

I stand corrected.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:26 (nineteen years ago)

So they're like Animal Collective?

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:27 (nineteen years ago)

"only a few thousand people listened to the hold steady but everyone who did blogged about them
Haha. "

Ha ha

HA HA HA

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:27 (nineteen years ago)

I think they changed their name to Thee Hold Steady to represent the uptick in cultural relevance.

― mcd (mcd), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:28 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.warhol-andy.de/images/artist/226.jpg
In the future, a new thread about an indie/emo band being written about in P-fork or teh NYTimez will appear every fifteen minutes

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:31 (nineteen years ago)

"only a few thousand people listened to the hold steady but everyone who did blogged about them"

Echoes this actual oxymoron from article:

"Lifter Puller was huge, if only in the minds of a small number of fans."

― Matt Carlson (mattsoncarlhew), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:33 (nineteen years ago)

Sorry M@tt--I had a really insightful backup question about the musical similarities of Steve Miller and Boards of Canada, but that was already posted here recently.

― Matt Carlson (mattsoncarlhew), Thursday, 28 September 2006 18:44 (nineteen years ago)

you snooze you lose! : )

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:08 (nineteen years ago)

i will read it. but i'll read anything.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:14 (nineteen years ago)

Thread Retitle: Rolling Hold Steady In The NY Times 2006 Thread.

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:31 (nineteen years ago)

I have yet to actually hear The Hold Steady...should I continue to avoid them, just out of sheer will?

― hank (hank s), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:35 (nineteen years ago)

that sounds like you answered your own question there, hank.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:47 (nineteen years ago)

one of the most painful bands to listen to out right now, along side Art Brut

beyond terrible. someone should put an end to this band quick.

― ()()()---()()() (internet), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:50 (nineteen years ago)

some people like them and some people don't like them. that much i know.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:55 (nineteen years ago)

are you this same person from the other thread or just biting his quotes

hands down the most painful band to listen to, alongside Art Brut

-- boonah (boonah8...), September 16th, 2006. (boonah)

either way, we got the point

― dmr (Renard), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:57 (nineteen years ago)

wait, nabisco and franklin bruno both like art brut, do they like the hold steady as well?

― Ruud Comes to Haarvest (Ken L), Thursday, 28 September 2006 19:58 (nineteen years ago)

I keep seeing random outta-nowhere anti-Hold Steady shit-talk from poster(s) with various heretofore unseen yahoo.com e-mails. It's weird.

― nate p. (natepatrin), Thursday, 28 September 2006 20:32 (nineteen years ago)

Are they really indie-rock? The guitars sound like 80s radio hard rock.
Their last album was great.

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Thursday, 28 September 2006 20:37 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.pulsetc.com/image/2005/1026/cover-CRAIG-FINN.jpg

Don't hate me, hate the money I see, clothes that I buy

Ice that I wear, clothes that I try, close your eyes

Picture me rollin, sixes, money foldin

Bitches honies that swollen to riches, Nas get in ya

Most critically acclaimed Pulitzer, prize winner

Best storyteller thug narrator my style's greater

Model dater, big threat to a lot of you haters

Commentators ringside try watchin my paper

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 28 September 2006 20:39 (nineteen years ago)

I suppose "indie" only in the sense that Craig Finn's sing-bark thing is "difficult" and that they are thereby largely outside the "mainstream."

Scare quotes. Mmm.

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Thursday, 28 September 2006 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

x-post

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Thursday, 28 September 2006 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

I like to bite.

i need the point to be heard again

― ()()()---()()() (internet), Thursday, 28 September 2006 20:45 (nineteen years ago)

and again

― ()()()---()()() (internet), Thursday, 28 September 2006 20:46 (nineteen years ago)

Yes

― Dr. Joseph A. Ofalt (hyloolnuspstt), Thursday, 28 September 2006 23:35 (nineteen years ago)

i wonder if the new issue of the new yorker came in the mail today

― yours fondly, harshaw. (mrgn), Thursday, 28 September 2006 23:59 (nineteen years ago)

is that a hold steady lyric

― am0n (am0n), Friday, 29 September 2006 00:04 (nineteen years ago)

if it was i would have typed it in caps

― yours fondly, harshaw. (mrgn), Friday, 29 September 2006 00:06 (nineteen years ago)

I liked it better the first time around when Killdozer did it.

― Martin Schneider (priceyeah), Monday, 2 October 2006 01:29 (nineteen years ago)

i still need to chime in about how bad this band is.

I will never tire of shooting their music down.

especially on bulletin boards.

― ()()()---()()() (internet), Monday, 2 October 2006 05:26 (nineteen years ago)

thanks, internet critic man!

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Monday, 2 October 2006 05:51 (nineteen years ago)

the Hold Steady are not an indie band but a rock band, so you haters can relax, I'm sure there'll be some new indie stuff to get aggro about pretty quick here

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Monday, 2 October 2006 06:29 (nineteen years ago)

--()()()---()()(): a man just not made for these times.

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Monday, 2 October 2006 07:55 (nineteen years ago)

9.4? Crikey.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38888/The_Hold_Steady_Boys_and_Girls_in_America

― eh (fandango), Monday, 2 October 2006 09:00 (nineteen years ago)

Craig Finn's sure an indie vocalist, though.

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 2 October 2006 13:11 (nineteen years ago)

They could also be seen as a lament for the type of music Finn's making, the straightforward arena rock that, these days, often settles for critical acclaim and respect rather than connecting with lots and lots of people.

Irony!

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 2 October 2006 13:22 (nineteen years ago)

Finn sings more than speaks, and his lyrics have a big-picture approach, allowing listeners to fill details of their own lives into the songs rather than be required to commit fully to those of his characters. Putting less emphasis on lyrical detail than in the past... and unlike on past efforts, lyrics can sometimes be summed up by lines that approximate the effect of a chorus, even if they're presented more like a thesis statement: "I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere," "When they kiss they spit white noise," the aforementioned "Gonna walk around and drink some more."

...Unlike many of those who've translated big, arena-ready guitars into arena-sized audiences, Finn doesn't resort to confidently sung platitudes like "It's a beautiful day!", "Look at the stars/ See how they shine for you," or "I'm not OK."

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 2 October 2006 13:27 (nineteen years ago)

I would dispute that any of the quoted Finn lyrics could be described as "confidently sung platitudes," Zwan.

z-post

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Monday, 2 October 2006 18:12 (nineteen years ago)

I do not think that is what Anthony (zwan) said (or the piece he quoted).

Now in the NY Times article Kelefa Sanneh loves the geography in Finn's lyrics: "This, maybe, is his idea of what it means to be an American band: singing about Minneapolis, and all the Minneapolises across the country. A dull street corner gets transformed into a rousing refrain; a fictionalized town inspires its real-life counterpart. That album title, “Boys and Girls in America,” really isn’t so misleading; it’s a salute to the neighborhood kids in the songs, and outside them too. The Hold Steady’s made-up map of the country is looking a little bit less imaginary."

― curmudgeon (DC Steve), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 02:13 (nineteen years ago)

their appeal baffles me entirely. unlistenable.

― literalisp (literalisp), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 02:18 (nineteen years ago)

"Gonna walk around and drink some more" is such a great lyric.

― a|ex (Pareene), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 02:20 (nineteen years ago)

i think i heard a bro utter that line more than a few times in college while on a pub crawl

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 02:52 (nineteen years ago)

well it's something worth hearing

― Zwan (miccio), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 04:15 (nineteen years ago)

i'm not surprised pitchfork did a massive cum all over their faces. actually i'm not surprised at the critic love. or much of anything, b/c to this day I don't know a sould that likes this band, and judging from MUCH of what I see on this site, most agree this band blows ass

― ()()()---()()() (internet), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 06:21 (nineteen years ago)

yup.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 06:24 (nineteen years ago)

"did a massive cum"

― Tiki Theater Xymposium (Bent Over at the Arclight), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 08:01 (nineteen years ago)

more than a massive cum

global one

can anyone find a picture to exemplify what a global cum might look like? much like when someone found the Jerry Seinfeld shirt in the grizzly bear thread? sure could use some visual help here

― ()()()---()()() (internet), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 08:36 (nineteen years ago)

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