I don't know about you guys, but the vinyl rip doesn't keep me from hearing tired references to "townies" and "the scene". The Hold Steady are reminding me more and more of post-Misery Stephen King. Can you really write another novel with a writer as the main character? Why yes, yes you can.

They ruined "We Can Get Together". Play the live youtube version early in this thread, it sounded awesome, with a terrific guitar solo (it killed when I saw them do the song), but on record they made it sound all syrupy like they're trying to make it their version of "Satellite of Love" or somethnig.

i have no problem with craig having a schtick, as long as the songs stand up. i got 3 tracks into that rip and just couldn't handle it any longer it sounded so poor.

i picked up a copy on RSD but have yet to get a chance to spin my LP, hopefully tomorrow after work.

NPR first listen:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...oryId=126023882

Wow that NPR webcast sounds so much better than the vinyl rip. And I mean, it's not good quality, but that vinyl rip really ruined it.

wow, backlash flavor of the month, it seems.

every song is about townies and the scene the way every Springsteen is about cars.

it's not like these guys take themselves that seriously, i can't understand the fury.

I'm afraid the negativity towards this one might be deserved. I really love The Hold Steady and loved the new songs I heard live last year and I'm hoping it's just the terrible quality of the vinyl rip but they just don't sound half as good as they did live and this seems like a step down from every one of their past 4 albums. Still some good songs, will still kill live but right now I'm disappointed.

I'm still undecided on this album. It'll take a little bit to digest. I'm not immediately hating it like everyone else though.

For the record, I don't HATE this album. I am just outrageously indifferent to the vast, vast, vast majority of it. And really disappointed, if unsurprised. It's embarrassing, of course, but it's a The Hold Steady record. It's a valid criticism, but if I was able to love earlier albums in spite of that, it probably isn't the deciding factor. For me. Anyway, it's just boring and unspectacular and horrifically late-'80s Springsteen-y. Love the first song. Love it. Just wish that they never, like, decided to become a self-help band for so many retarded-ass white kids.

Five songs in. Someone please help me figure out why anyone likes this band.

I honestly don't hate this at all despite the Bon Jovi comparison. There are songs I already love and that I know will be fantastic live. I just think the production saps a lot of the excitement out of the songs that should be exciting, and does nothing for the slow burners. Still, great album opener and closer, at least two good punchy singles, and a handful of fantastic lines (my favorite at the moment: "And you say you're a princess/I remain unconvinced/ I've seen the guys that you've been with/ And they don't seem much like princes") feels like it should be enough.

I have to agree. After a few listens there are some really nice songs here. It's clearly not as powerful or good as Stay Positive, but it's not bad either.

After listening on the NPR stream and reading along with the lyrics, I can finally form a solid opinion about this.

Stay Positive was my first proper Hold Steady album and this one doesn't seem to register as much as that one did with me.

Still, it has its enjoyable moments. I like when they switch up their sound a little, like in "The Sweet Part of the City," "The Weekenders," and "Barely Breathing."

I'm enjoying about half of the songs so far. As for the others, the jury's out.

idolatry - you've obviously heard or read something that rubbed you the wrong way. It's somewhat hard to put your finger on exactly and it's hard to describe a lot of it without sounding like you're baiting a "real fan" argument, but I do know what you're talking about. For one thing, it feels like there's a big, new segment of the HS fanbase that want some kind of rock 'n' roll drinking game or Rocky Horror Picture Show more than they want good rock songs and shows from a good rock band.

HE SAID THE UNIFIED SCENE BRO THAT'S US WHOOOOOOO HEY LET'S GO GET A HEINEKEN NOW SO THAT WHEN CRAIG SAYS "GONNA WALK AROUND AND DRINK SOME MOOOOOOOORE" WE CAN HOLD IT UP AND DO A LITTLE WALK IN PLACE

I'm not sure what you mean, here, but I otherwise follow. Not having a go, my man. Just curious.

Just seemed like you witnessed some extra-annoying HS fans and maybe read some embarrassing stuff on the internets elsewhere from some fans that set this off, even though it's something that's bugged you for a while.

Oh, oh. Yeah, exactly right. It seems to me that the core, hardcore fanbase has not just grown (which is something I'm outlandishly happy about; on the old mailing list, I'll never forget the unanimous joy when Separation Sunday randomly placed very respectably in the Pazz and Jop), but mutated from mostly music fans who really like The Hold Steady (and Lifter Puller) to mostly surprisingly and openly maladjusted kids who don't like but are embarrassingly OBSESSED with (the Word of) The Hold Steady and...well, and Craig Finn. Oftentimes Franz Nicolay, as well. And music, sure, but only that which is name-dropped by Craig Finn. It's sad and infuriating. I once saw a trembling 35-year-old woman confront an obviously horrified Craig Finn outside of a club to present him with a pair of...knitted mittens which "were inspired by you!" They were blue. It was painful to watch. She had tears in her eyes.

Now, is she everybody? No, of COURSE not. But she was with a whole cadre of these retards, and not only did nobody say, "Yo, Edna...maybe that's a crap idea, huh?" but they were fucking gangbusters enthusiastic and supportive. Ugh.

I feel slightly guilty for basically agreeing with everything you're saying on this topic because I have some met cool people at Hold Steady shows. But I think even the Hold Steady guys are kinda creeped out at some of the bizarre adoration they've started to get over the last few years. I've heard both Finn and Kubler comment on it in interviews. Again, I really hate to sound like a guy whining about a band he likes having weird "johnny-come-lately" fans, but it's beyond strange that people that got into this band circa 2006/7 have such a sense of ownership of this band. The story about the 35 year-old mitten woman is completely unsurprising to me. I could tolerate it a bit more if it was 18 year-olds running up to Craig after the shows talking about how his songs changed their life and being naive enough to think that Craig would want to 'party' with them after the show. But when it's 38 year-old guys in Affliction t-shirts doing this, it's sad, strange and creepy. Maybe some of these superfans should go back and listen to Lifter Puller: "Jane, you're lame. The cocaine's for teenagers."

You should not tolerate this.

This is true. But that type of behavior would at least make more sense coming from 18 year-olds rather than guys old enough to have kids that age.

So I thought this was a pretty good performance of "The Weekenders" on Letterman. I also thought "the new guitarist looks so out of place with these guys".

Really good.

gotta say, totally come around to this album.

been fortunate to have a 'proper' copy since just after the vinyl-rip leak, and i think it's back-to-front a really strong release.

i love that it's more minimal than anything the band have done previously, with so much more space in the recording. finn is also much more economical this time around - that line "the theme of the party was the industrial age / and you came dressed as a trainwreck" would have been expanded upon and more fully detailed previously, but now he's leaving much more up to the imagination.

i likey.

That stuck out to me as well(especially in the Letterman performance). Nice observation.

they're in studio every morning this week on Sirius XMU

kind of obscure, but the verse in "rock problems" reminds me of alice cooper's "no more mr nice guy"...

digging it more and more.

probably ranks fourth or last in terms of my preference of ths albums, but what a stellar five-album run they've had.

Just finished my 1st full listen, and what can I say, I like it quite a lot so far. It's certainly The Hold Steady smoothed out, and more of the same, but as long as I continue to be into that same thing they're saying, in that same place, I'll probably always like their records.

After about three full listens yesterday, I love this record. They'll never touch Separation Sunday in my book. As with most folks, the first record I love from a band remains my favorite because of certain memories attached to it, etc. That being said, if forced to rank them, I may have this as my second favorite right now. I don't see the production as a negative at all, in fact I think it's a nice change of pace. Maybe that's just me being a child of the 80's and loving hair metal in my formative years, i don't know. Finn is finally learning the art of melody and this album to me has several unbelievably catchy tunes. Lyrics are still great. I see the point that he's covering the same ground, but man it's fertile ground and THS songs take me back to a certain time in my life like no other modern band. I can't say enough good things about it. Can't wait to listen in the car today, just sorry so much other good stuff came out yesterday, I don't feel I'm giving any of it proper attention.

saw them last night in L.A. the new material (they played half of the album) sounds really good live.

how's the keys-heavy material sound sans franz?

to be honest, the keyboardist they had last night sounded a bit muted. it's almost as if the songs were rearranged to be played on guitars, with the keys now in the background. then again, the keys could have been buried in the live mix.

Did a bunch of dudes cheer wildly at the "i've been straight since Cinco de Mayo" line in "Hot Soft Light"? "DUDE TODAY IS CINCO DE MAYO HAHA YEAH"

This was the first time I missed an LA HS show. I just saw the setlist for it. Pretty solid, although the lack of AKM songs would have been a downer for me. One thing about their live shows/setlists that always stands out to me: they have some really set-opener and set-closer options. I think that's why the new album feels weird. "Sweet Part of the City" is kind of an odd choice for an opening track for them and "Slight Discomfort" builds to a dramatic ending, but it's not as epic as the other album closers. Also seems like they've gotten tired of doing the "Killer Parties" schtick at the end of the shows. I thought the whole "get everyone up onstage" thing got to be annoying after a while, but I always loved them ending on that song.

If having a wacky fan hand you a pair of mits is something that "horrifies" you, things must be going pretty fucking good. Secondly, if a performer doesn't care for this sort of thing, maybe they should look at becoming a brick layer or a waiter. Don't seek out the public eye and then moan about the side effects.

i forgot to mention, did an interview with tad and asked him about the economy of space this time around - it was a conscious effort that included the producers (tad and dean) relaying to craig that he needed to cut back on his wordplay.

pretty innaresting thing to do, i thought.

i'm amazed how little interest i have in this album. might have been my most anticipated album of the year and it faded faster with every glimpse i got. a couple background listens all the way through now and there's just nothing to it from what i can tell.

i'll give it some more time but for now, i can't believe how bad this is.

Re: Tad's quote above, maybe he should have spent some more time on his own writing. his (lack of) riffs are the biggest problem.

come back hold steady

Hmmm. I'm not sure how I feel about this one.

Expectations always screw things up and I'm not sure what I expected or wanted, but my first impression was that the album was a bit too slick and subdued. Initially, I thought "this is my least favorite Hold Steady album". My main basic criteria for new albums from bands I love is generally that I want it to have some essence of that band but be different enough from previous albums to warrant existing. So this at least fits that bill. But after buying the CD and listening to it in the car for about a week, it's started to grow on me. It does seem a little subdued at first, but once you get used to the album, "Sweet Part of the City" and "Slight Discomfort" actually work. Right now, I think I like this more than Stay Positive but it's not really in the league of the first 3. Once the novelty of SP wore off, I found myself skipping a lot of it when I went back to it. Nothing here excites me as much as "Slapped Actress" or "Constructive Summer", but HIW makes for a more cohesive, enjoyable-all-the-way-thru listen right now.

other thoughts:
*It may turn off some, but it is so well-produced compared to the other albums. This is partly the reason why I think we may see the Hold Steady have their first honest-to-goodness "hit" with either "The Weekenders" or "Hurricane J". They're not gonna get MGMT/Kings of Leon love, but I can actually see them getting a hit out of this record.

*I'm shaking my fucking head at "We Can Get Together". I still like the basics of the song and the lyrical idea, but I don't like what they did with it. I see what they were going for and maybe I'll get used to this version, but dammit. Tad's guitar solo didn't make the cut.

*When SP came out, someone (apologies, honestly can't remember who said it) said it was "their Darkness on the Edge of Town". At the time I think I agreed, but this seems to fit that analogy more.

*I don't really like debating all the "SO WAIT, IS THE GIRL IN THIS SONG HOLLY?!" stuff, but there is one thing that I find kinda interesting about Craig's lyrics on this album and I'm not sure if reviews have mentioned this. The SP lyrics seemed to reflect THS having some success and touring around. It feels very "American" and there aren't many Twin Cities references on SP. But on this record, he's back to hometown references. The record even starts out with a reference to living in MPLS. He's talking about how Husker Du was from St. Paul, "I'm from the place with lots of lakes", "it's a long way from Cedar-Riverside to Cedar-Sinai". This album's like Craig coming home after finding some success in music/life/relationships and giving advice to the Twin Cities kids.

#26 on Billboard this week. 23,000 copies sold.

Heads up. They're on Colbert tonight.

*When SP came out, someone (apologies, honestly can't remember who said it) said it was "their Darkness on the Edge of Town". At the time I think I agreed, but this seems to fit that analogy more.


I think that SP was more like this band's pleased to meet me, and that this is their Don't Tell a Soul.

Production on this album is fantastic. I'm not a fan of the more generic rockers, such as "Soft in the Center" or "The Smidge," but songs such as "The Sweet Part of the City," "The Weekenders," and "Barely Breathing" are excellent.