If you don’t know who The Hold Steady is, you probably should stop reading. Because I really don’t want to associate myself with people who don’t listen to good music. Or you can continue reading, because maybe you’ll be inspired to listen, and maybe I’ll like you. But probably not because, after 48 hours of driving and listening to The Hold Steady’s third album “Boys and Girls in America,” I have decided that I am every single girl Craig Finn sings about.
His girls are always messed up and confused, sad and alone. They listen to hard rock and drink a lot. They’re pretty much lost souls.
Ok, so for those who actually know me, I’m not exactly a lost soul. But everyone feels a little different sometimes, right?
I first got into The Hold Steady last year, when I realized that the title of their “One for The Cutters” paid homage to one of the best movies ever, “Breaking Away.” I immediately related to Finn’s story of a girl, who, sometimes, parties with townies.
And I’ll admit it: for awhile, I only listened to this Hold Steady song. But over the spring, when I started feeling sort of alone and on my own, the whole album became my savior. Almost every single song felt like how I was feeling.
Like “Magazines:”
“She’s always funny in the morning/She isn’t always funny at night./Once she gets a couple drinks in/She’s probably gonna tell you/ You ain’t do anything right/And then you’ll roll your eyes/And then you’ll probably fight.”
Or perhaps “Sequestered in Memphis:”
“In bar light, she looked alright./In daylight, she looked desperate.”
So if you see me out running with my iPod, I can gurantee you that this is what I’m listening to. It’s the soundtrack to my summer. (Sorry Boys Like Girls. Ew.)
I’m off to raid my little brother’s computer for the rest of The Hold Steady discography, but I’ll leave you with my song of the moment. =)
The Stuff of Half-Rembered Dreams 
Good post. I’ve been listening to the hold steady for a few years now. Love them 🙂