Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2010 2:32:48 GMT -5
and despite spending most of my day at both these sites i missed the Firstie. dammit nice bit from the comments: Todd VanDerWerff
4 May 2010 | 2:02 AM CDT
Ugh. I kind of hate myself for doing this.
But one of my favorite fan theories about Born to Run/Darkness on the Edge of Town/The River is that they form a loose trilogy about teenagers/20somethings and 30somethings in New Jersey, slowly getting older and confronting that their best days are behind them.
Given that Springsteen is such an obvious influence on The Hold Steady, I've always read Boys & Girls/Stay Positive/Heaven Is Whenever as being about roughly the same thing. They more or less follow the same group of characters (with cameos/starring parts for the Separation Sunday gang) as they get older and slowly become less and less vital, with the band itself as a chronicler that somehow never gets older but grows more world-weary. KIND OF LIKE AHASUERUS IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE, I GUESS.
God, I hate it when I geek out like this
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Admin
Midnight Hauler
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Post by Admin on May 4, 2010 2:52:02 GMT -5
The Hold Steady played at a Pitchfork festival a few years back, no? I know it's hip to hate on them, but I probably would have never listened to THS if it weren't for the positive Pitchfork reviews they garnered. I'm sure I'm not the only one. So I guess I shouldn't have taken my hipster ass to that Harrisburg show after all. And I guess I don't like this album as much as the older ones because I traveled to the future, read the Pitchfork review and it told me it wasn't cool to like The Hold Steady anymore. And I guess the same goes for all my friends who are mildly disappointed by the new album too. The Pitchfork buzz surrounding Boys and Girls In America is what compelled me to give The Hold Steady a second chance. That record felt like an event. Not many records in this day and age have that kind of aura surrounding them. That one really did. I got swept up in it. I didn't like them at all the first time I heard them. Now, I'm here. Pitchfork is tastemaker, for better or worse. The reviews aren't nearly as divisive as they used to be, and more times then not, they expose new artists to a group of people that may have never heard them otherwise. Granted, it shouldn't be someone's only source (no site should), but it's a decent start.
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Post by muzzleofbees on May 4, 2010 4:01:03 GMT -5
The third largest paper in Norway says 5/6 oslopuls.aftenposten.no/musikk/article375602.eceI'm looking forward to Dagbladets review. They've been giving Hold Steady attention since Separation Sunday (not exactly common in Norway), and gave both SS and SP 5/6. Think they will do the same this time around.
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jr
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Post by jr on May 4, 2010 4:45:30 GMT -5
The third largest paper in Norway says 5/6 oslopuls.aftenposten.no/musikk/article375602.eceI'm looking forward to Dagbladets review. They've been giving Hold Steady attention since Separation Sunday (not exactly common in Norway), and gave both SS and SP 5/6. Think they will do the same this time around. Hey there, sorry if you've answered this before, but why is everything out of 6? Is it a Norwegian thing? I like it.
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Post by muzzleofbees on May 4, 2010 7:15:50 GMT -5
The third largest paper in Norway says 5/6 oslopuls.aftenposten.no/musikk/article375602.eceI'm looking forward to Dagbladets review. They've been giving Hold Steady attention since Separation Sunday (not exactly common in Norway), and gave both SS and SP 5/6. Think they will do the same this time around. Hey there, sorry if you've answered this before, but why is everything out of 6? Is it a Norwegian thing? I like it. It's a fifty year old concept where the dice (!) has been used as the basis for the rating. Quite ironic, when a dice throw represents totally randomness, while a rating is everything but random. It's become so regular in Norway that even papers who don't use the dice as a symbol has six grades in their rating system. And if you think of it, it makes sense from an academic point of view. You know, A to F.
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Post by hoodrat on May 4, 2010 8:27:44 GMT -5
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Post by brian1766 on May 4, 2010 8:38:19 GMT -5
Did you not read pages 4 and 5 of this thread? Maybe you need a vacation.
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Post by hoodrat on May 4, 2010 8:39:22 GMT -5
ah crap. maybe i do.
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cre618
True Scene Leader
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Post by cre618 on May 4, 2010 13:35:11 GMT -5
Does that mean you owe me a drink? So far, it looks that way. Down to 76, without pitchfork. You may be buying me that drink tomorrow, 99. But, then again, Rolling Stone isn't added yet either.
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Post by jtd7 on May 4, 2010 13:39:30 GMT -5
The songwriting equivalent of "fan fiction"
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Post by muzzleofbees on May 4, 2010 14:05:48 GMT -5
I'll keep on refering to scandinavian papers.
VG, the largest paper in Norway, concludes an absolutely horrible review with a 3/6.
...and Dagbladet, the second largest mentioned earlier, goes for 4/6, with the headline "Not easy to follow up a masterpiece" (that didn't really sound good in english, but you'll get the idea), and refers to Stay Positive. Strange.
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Post by oliver wendell ramone on May 4, 2010 16:16:57 GMT -5
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Post by campfirewood1980 on May 4, 2010 17:17:11 GMT -5
Who writes iTunes reviews?
Oh, yeah. I do. Everyone IS a critic.
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Post by hollywasahoodrat on May 4, 2010 17:44:23 GMT -5
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Post by chipsahoy240 on May 4, 2010 22:09:42 GMT -5
so i went to best buy today almost directly after school. and purchased the enxt to last copy they had. i was talking to this guy there who, through all my trips to best buy, i have become fairly good aquatances. he said "everytime you come in here you have a shirt on of theirs. i figured youd be here. are they a good band?" i said the best man. he was like " i think im going to get this cd. stop back this weekend, i will tell you what i think." i cant wait. im really really excited to hear from him. also i was in hot topic last week and the kid i know was playing chips ahoy!, and everyone in the store asked who it was. im hopeing i can spread the good word. i have officially converted 5 people.
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Sunny D
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"We've gotta try a little harder..."
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Post by Sunny D on May 4, 2010 22:30:58 GMT -5
so i went to best buy today almost directly after school. and purchased the enxt to last copy they had. i was talking to this guy there who, through all my trips to best buy, i have become fairly good aquatances. he said "everytime you come in here you have a shirt on of theirs. i figured youd be here. are they a good band?" i said the best man. he was like " i think im going to get this cd. stop back this weekend, i will tell you what i think." i cant wait. im really really excited to hear from him. also i was in hot topic last week and the kid i know was playing chips ahoy!, and everyone in the store asked who it was. im hopeing i can spread the good word. i have officially converted 5 people. Haha, awesome! That seems like an awkward thing for him to ask you though, seeing he knows you always wear T-shirts of THS and he's ringing up HIW.
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Post by guiltyfeat on May 5, 2010 12:03:31 GMT -5
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cre618
True Scene Leader
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Post by cre618 on May 5, 2010 12:16:15 GMT -5
Also my favorite review so far......thanks for posting.
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Post by Ellie J on May 5, 2010 13:45:44 GMT -5
I feel as though I am far too sober to understand this review. I think I'm going to print it out and put it in my messenger bag to see if it makes any sense next time I'm drinking. Okay, so, I just wanna say I am really fucking trashed right now, and this review makes perfect sense to me now. It also kinda makes sense to my boyfriend who knows shit about The Hold Steady (he is also drunk). Also, I promise this will be the first & last time I post drunk. (I am aware it is 2:30 PM on a Wednesday. Apparently I started the weekend early.)
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Post by hoodrat on May 5, 2010 13:52:36 GMT -5
this makes me wonder if there are any other sections of the times that suddenly make sense when you are shwasted. the real estate section, maybe? flooding in nashville? protests in greece? BP press releases? i may test this theory later.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2010 18:47:27 GMT -5
the Style section? which is the one that reports on 'trend' pieces like 'sometimes guys hang out together and see a movie. this is called a 'man-date'?
i mostly read the Saturday and Sunday papers hungover, actually
and thirding that Village Voice article
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jnb987
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Post by jnb987 on May 6, 2010 11:12:32 GMT -5
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Mahoney
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Post by Mahoney on May 6, 2010 12:12:13 GMT -5
if anyone still cares, the RS review is up. 4/5 stars, good rating, but same old review. springsteen, america's bar band, blah, blah. however they say when THS vary too far off it doesn't work, citing Sweet Part of the City. which is probably my favorite track on the album. worked for me.
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Sunny D
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"We've gotta try a little harder..."
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Post by Sunny D on May 7, 2010 21:14:05 GMT -5
if anyone still cares, the RS review is up. 4/5 stars, good rating, but same old review. springsteen, america's bar band, blah, blah. however they say when THS vary too far off it doesn't work, citing Sweet Part of the City. which is probably my favorite track on the album. worked for me. Sweet Part of the City works for me too! It's probably my third favorite track on HIW.
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Post by muzzleofbees on May 11, 2010 3:54:21 GMT -5
More scandinavian reviews:
Natt & Dag (NOR): 2/6. Horrible review. BT (DAN): 5/6 Østlandets Blad (NOR): 4/6
The Metacritic score is now 77.
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