Tag Archives: The Hold Steady

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Song of the Day #6,613: ‘Stuck Between Stations’ – The Hold Steady

Continuing my look at the albums of 2006…

Memory is a funny thing.

When I saw that the Brooklyn-based Hold Steady released a well-received album in 2006 — their third record, Boys and Girls in America — I thought it would be a great opportunity to listen to a band I’ve heard a lot about.

So listen I did, and I really enjoyed the clever, narrative songwriting, lead singer Craig Finn’s brusquely emotive vocals, and the band’s muscular performances. It’s a gritty, cinematic treat. Bruce Springsteen on a bender.

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Song of the Day #4,986: ‘Chips Ahoy!’ – The Hold Steady

I’m not sure how I came to own the 2006 album Boys and Girls in America by alternative rockers The Hold Steady, and I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it.

The band has made only one other appearance on the blog, in a post about a song they performed for the closing credits of a Game of Thrones episode.

Today’s song is the second track on the band’s third album, and it’s a wonderful Random Weekend find. It’s sharp, propulsive and fun.

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Song of the Day #1,792: ‘The Bear and the Maiden Fair’ – The Hold Steady

hold_steady_bearOne of the joys of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is the rich detail with which he paints the characters’ culture. Particularly entertaining are the dozens of songs Martin sprinkles throughout his tale — songs that evoke cheers or eye-rolling depending on the audience.

The brilliantly thorough Wiki of Ice and Fire lists 52 songs that show up in some fashion in one of Martin’s five books, including ‘When Willum’s Wife Was Wet,’ ‘The Maids That Bloom in Spring,’ ‘The Day They Hanged Black Robin’ and (of course) ‘The Rains of Castamere.’

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