Block Party The Hold Steady are Playing Block Party… Wanna Go?
posted by on July 15 at 11:00 AM
Eric Grandy reviewed the Hold Steady’s latest album, Stay Positive, in this weeks paper. An excerpt:
On the title track of the Hold Steady’s fourth and latest record, Stay Positive (in stores this Tuesday), Craig Finn observes, “It’s one thing to start it with a positive jam/and it’s another thing to see it on through.” Of course, bands have been singing about the need to stay positive for about as long as hardcore has been a part of punk, the Youth of Today and the early 7 Seconds among them.But when the Hold Steady belt out, “We gotta stay positive,” it’s more complicated than any straight-ahead youth-crew sloganeering. There’s a sense of desperation, even defeat, to Finn’s exhortations. The Hold Steady’s PMA isn’t indomitable, it’s doubtful and quixotic. Their optimism flies in the face of all reasonable evidence that things really are fucked. And that tension makes their sing-along songs a hell of a lot more interesting than any hardcore anthem.
Excited to see the Hold Steady at the Block Party(they play the Mainstage Saturday)? Or maybe you hate the Hold Steady but you’re excited to see someone else? Well today’s your lucky day—send an e-mail to lineout@thestranger.com with BLOCK PARTY CONTEST in the subject line by 5 pm today. A name will be chosen at random and that person will get a pair of weekend passes to this year’s Block Party! Hooray!
Godspeed and good luck.
nevermind. they're playing portland that night. :(
oops! wrong post!
me & my friends are like:
double whiskey, coke, no ice
actually, it's "DOUBLEWHISKEYCOKENOICE," a song by Minneapolis punk icons the Dillinger Four.
But Grundy's review, while decent, completely missed the story that develops through the lyrics. many of the songs tie together lyrically, but because most reviewers were looking for Gideon, Holly and Charlamange, they missed the entirely new story being told.
hell, i'm not yet sure what it is, but it involves a psychic, drugs, movies and death.
great record. eric should spin it a few more times...
"i'm not yet sure what it is, but it involves a psychic, drugs, movies and death."
Yeah, that's way more incisive than what I could come up with. Watch me click through to your blog...
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