A Positive Jam breaks great albums down track by track to find out what makes the music great, what goes into the songs, and why these albums matter. The second season covers The Hold Steady's breakthrough second album, Separation Sunday, an ambitious follow-up that saw the band refine their sound, their style, and their narrative approach, and which put them on the map with the wider music-listening audience. Season 2 is hosted by Shawn Westfall, with Mike Taylor and Daniel Shvartsman alongside. It will feature a variety of guests while focusing on the key lyrical themes of the concept album, its resonance with classic works in both rock and roll and beyond, and the way it built on The Hold Steady's debut album, Almost Killed Me (subject of Season 1 on A Positive Jam) in almost every meaningful facet.
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Wednesday Sep 02, 2020
Certain Songs slows things down, and it marks the feature debut of Franz Nicolay’s piano playing - a key sonic element in the albums that follow Almost Killed Me. Certain Songs not only foreshadows the Hold Steady's future; it also raises the question: Do the band’s heartfelt ballads bring the momentum to a halt?
We talk about how Certain Songs’ “piano man” balladeering fits on the album, whether slow songs are acceptable for hard-rock Hold Steady fans, and what it means that Craig Finn's lyrics spotlight a woman for the first time on the album. We also draw on canonic cultural works like...checks notes...The OC to explain why drawing on Billy Joel, Meatloaf, and the more populist side of rock and roll is effective, at least in this case.
Check out full show notes here: https://shortmanstudios.com/a-positive-jam-track-5-certain-songs/
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