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 09, 2020
Wednesday Sep 09, 2020
More than any other track on the album, "Knuckles" shows what makes the Hold Steady different. The one liners, the pop culture references, the crunchy guitars. The quips and the catalog of missed expectations are enough to fill a couple podcast episodes.
But there's more to the song than Craig Finn's comedy routine. Matt Brooks rejoins co-hosts Mike Taylor and Daniel Shvartsman, to discuss key themes - Knuckles’ political context and whether this is a protest song; the dissonance between the narrator's view of himself and what other people think; Craig Finn’s lyrical techniques; and the jagged synth lines that fall alongside the lyrics like bits of confetti.
Most importantly, we take a beat to consider the classic Sunny D commercial and how that puts The Hold Steady on the map.
Check out the full show notes here: https://shortmanstudios.com/a-positive-jam-track-6-knuckles/
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