Posted on by daniel.shvartsman

A Positive Jam Track 5: Certain Songs

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.

Here’s the episode itself.

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Here are a few categories and things to listen for, in the song itself and in our podcast:

Best Line in the song: They got coaxed out by a certain perfect ratio – just a lovely depiction of youth and following the crowd.

Things we learn about the Hold Steady’s musical taste: Billy Joel and Meatloaf at least play a nominal role in their universe, as a stand in for certain songs, for memories and nostalgia.

D4, as in the Dillinger Four, the legendary 90s Minneapolis punk band, also get a nod, and they  more directly influence The Hold Steady’s sound and ethic. 

Most foreshadowing moment: “Hard drugs are for the bartenders” will recur in “Cattle and the Creeping Things” on the Hold Steady’s next album, Separation Sunday. One of their best songs, and that line was the first stake in the ground for their album to album intertextuality. 

A geographic note: While there are no specific place names shouted out, Craig sings about the east coast and the west coast. The west coast (and Colorado) go through the wringer in the bonus tracks, but this seems like a pretty positive if hedonistic depiction of the place – screwing in the surf and going out to shows. Or does that say something about our taste?

Billy Joel/Bruce Springsteen or AC/DC/Thin Lizzy?: Every Hold Steady track seems to exist on this spectrum. It’s a contrast between loud, guitar-driven rock that takes no prisoners and more of a soulful, troubadour lyricism both in the melody and the lyrics themselves. Like any band, the Hold Steady is at their best when they forge their influences into a unique sound. But it’s still fun to try to rank their songs by which side of the line they’re closer to, so we do that frequently on our podcast’s episodes. And even if we don’t remember to do so live, we can revisit here thanks to our handy graphics department.

This spectrum basically exists because of “Certain Songs”, at least as far as this album goes. Namedropping Billy Joel and Meatloaf? Check. Piano as the lead instrument? We’ve got that. Evoking memory, both musical and social? You bet. Hard to get more on the Bruce/Billy side of the scale than this track, at least in the early Hold Steady era.

Biggest question: Which flow is better, from Most People Are DJs’ guitar solo cutting off to the hi-hat/bass drum clip to start Certain Songs, or Certain Songs’ build fading away right before “Knuckles” jumps in?

Pop culture and nostalgia: Almost Killed Me came out when we were in college. The ‘00s are going through the nostalgia cycle these days. We drew on The OC, a more popular but less timeless piece of ‘00s pop culture. And “Certain Songs” is all about how songs from our past stick with us. Are these messages eternal, do we all just fall back to what we were listening to when we were in high school and college, becoming fully formed (more or less) adults?

(“Certain Songs” is nothing if not a catalyst for pensive thinking). 

Review of the week:  A shout out to Ryan Trim, who sent us a nice word on twitter.com: