Post by Rich Tarbell on Jun 20, 2014 11:48:48 GMT -5
Apparently everyone loves a good list and here are a couple by two of the handful of music writers that still matter these days:
Rob Sheffield Rolling Stone:: www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rob-sheffields-top-25-songs-of-2014-so-far-20140619
11. The Hold Steady, "Almost Everything"
Last summer I saw a Japandroids show where they dedicated "The House That Heaven Built" to Craig Finn, saying, "Thanks for letting us steal so much shit from you." Well put! Nobody's written as many great songs as the Hold Steady over the past decade – nobody's even close. My favorite from Teeth Dreams (this week) is the acoustic "Almost Everything," which you could call a power ballad, except it's about total exhaustion. Finn could be singing about a road trip, a romance or a band, but either way he's in a situation where it's too late to let go. When he sings "The Waffle House waitress asked us if we were Pink Floyd," you can't tell whether he thinks it's funny or pitiful. Both, probably.
Steven Hyden Grantland :: grantland.com/features/the-mid-year-music-report-2014-yg-lykke-li-against-me-hold-steady-future/
12. Most Underrated Album, a.k.a. the “Why You Can’t Always Listen to Music on Headphones” Category
Admittedly, I am a huge Hold Steady homer. But I thought the Brooklyn band’s latest, Teeth Dreams, registered as a real comeback after several years in the wilderness. The most polarizing aspect of Teeth Dreams is the production — it was done by Nick Raskulinecz, who has done a bunch of Foo Fighters records, and Teeth Dreams sounds a lot like a Foo Fighters record. This, in my view, is not a negative. Teeth Dreams is a killer guitar album. My theory is that people who play it exclusively on headphones will like it less, since it sounds a bit bright when heard up close; those of us who own cars and can play it with the addition of wind and traffic noise have a 50 percent better chance of enjoying the record.
Rob Sheffield Rolling Stone:: www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rob-sheffields-top-25-songs-of-2014-so-far-20140619
11. The Hold Steady, "Almost Everything"
Last summer I saw a Japandroids show where they dedicated "The House That Heaven Built" to Craig Finn, saying, "Thanks for letting us steal so much shit from you." Well put! Nobody's written as many great songs as the Hold Steady over the past decade – nobody's even close. My favorite from Teeth Dreams (this week) is the acoustic "Almost Everything," which you could call a power ballad, except it's about total exhaustion. Finn could be singing about a road trip, a romance or a band, but either way he's in a situation where it's too late to let go. When he sings "The Waffle House waitress asked us if we were Pink Floyd," you can't tell whether he thinks it's funny or pitiful. Both, probably.
Steven Hyden Grantland :: grantland.com/features/the-mid-year-music-report-2014-yg-lykke-li-against-me-hold-steady-future/
12. Most Underrated Album, a.k.a. the “Why You Can’t Always Listen to Music on Headphones” Category
Admittedly, I am a huge Hold Steady homer. But I thought the Brooklyn band’s latest, Teeth Dreams, registered as a real comeback after several years in the wilderness. The most polarizing aspect of Teeth Dreams is the production — it was done by Nick Raskulinecz, who has done a bunch of Foo Fighters records, and Teeth Dreams sounds a lot like a Foo Fighters record. This, in my view, is not a negative. Teeth Dreams is a killer guitar album. My theory is that people who play it exclusively on headphones will like it less, since it sounds a bit bright when heard up close; those of us who own cars and can play it with the addition of wind and traffic noise have a 50 percent better chance of enjoying the record.
