tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22884663.post378899976248183900..comments2023-08-16T10:50:11.795-05:00Comments on Bitter Old Punk: If You Hate The Hold Steady, Skip ThisUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22884663.post-86559448598943088132009-03-10T10:31:00.000-05:002009-03-10T10:31:00.000-05:00WORST BAND EVER.WORST BAND EVER.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22884663.post-52567113503476188822008-01-31T15:04:00.000-06:002008-01-31T15:04:00.000-06:00I'll cop to that, Matthew. I don't have nearly as ...I'll cop to that, Matthew. I don't have nearly as firm a grasp on the history of the Hold Steady as I do of DBT, and that observation wasn't fair to the band. Perhaps I was confusing the narrative distance in their songs for irony. But, yeah, we're pretty much in agreement -- both bands rock, and there's a dearth of genuine, smart, guitar-driven rock out there that can acknowledge the past without explicitly emulating it. Both the Hold Steady and DBT succeed. <BR/><BR/>Also, check out the Dexateens! They're from Tuscaloosa, they aren't great songwriters like the Hold Steady and DBT, but they rawk like hell.Bitter Old Punkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08822642541489971655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22884663.post-85447931653725933582008-01-27T14:00:00.000-06:002008-01-27T14:00:00.000-06:00Stumbled across this post, I'm a huge fan of both ...Stumbled across this post, I'm a huge fan of both DBT and The Hold Steady (Also, D. Boon was indeed a fucking hero), and I think you are missing the genuine aspect of the Hold Steady. The stories Craig are telling are not really ironic, they are humorous at times, but the are sincere meditations on teenage and 20-something life for a segment of the population. Also, his love for the setting of these stories, the Twin Cities, shows through at any life performance or through the songs. Both Craig and Hood, Cooley, and (Isbell) sing sincere, and often humorous, but never really ironic sons about the people in their backgrounds. I would say the Truckers songs might be more "personal" at times, but much like The Hold Steady, many songs, are stories about the people populating their youths and adulthoods, such as Puttin' People on the Moon, Aftermath USA, My Sweet Annete. Basically, I would argue that both bands are sincere in their work with a genuine love for the kind of music they play. To say the Hold Steady are trying o be a rock band denies the whole history of some of the band's members in the Twin Cities music scene during the 80s and 90s as fans and participants. Craig and company are up there as part of the legacy of bands as diverse as the Replacements, The Grifters, The Band, and Bruce and the E Street Band, and I think that as a band they have a genuine, nonironic, love for all these influences. But damn, this is all kind of arguing the fine points, cause from your post I can see we all agree that both bands do indeed rock.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07643905394003822741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22884663.post-87144873115434122942007-12-04T15:28:00.000-06:002007-12-04T15:28:00.000-06:00They did, and I missed them. That's what I get for...They did, and I missed them. That's what I get for never leaving the house.Bitter Old Punkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08822642541489971655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22884663.post-66209439287230075012007-12-03T15:10:00.000-06:002007-12-03T15:10:00.000-06:00... didn't they play in b'ham at the bottletree ca...... didn't they play in b'ham at the bottletree cafe recently w / art brut ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com