As subtle as an Articles Of Faith box set, as musically inventive as the Iron City Houserockers, there’s a certain lowering-the-bar-band that continues to find favor with persons who get lost on the way to Geniusville and are tired enough to stop at Hack City for the night. Sadly, the New York Times’ Jon Pareless, in this instance, reveals himself to be one such traveller.
In songs with titles like “Crucifixion Cruise” and “How a Resurrection Really Feels,” they’re looking for redemption when they’re not looking for thrills. These are songs full of offhand aphorisms, and they can grab you from the first line, like the one that starts “Multitude of Casualties”: “She drove it like she stole it.”
Wow. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to hear a line like that set to music?
(The Iron City Houserockers, so heartened by the gratuitous mention in CSTB that they’re preparing to take on John Cafferty and Beaver Brown in a knife fight)
As much as I disagree with your assessment of The Hold Steady, I have to say I laughed heartily at your description (as quoted in their Village Voice cover story) – “Late period Soul Asylum fronted by Charles Nelson Reilly”.
thanks, Sal, anything to spice up the story. But please keep in mind that I’ve not acknowledged the identity of the band in question — Mr. Gross is presuming, as are you, that a band I described as “late period Soul Asylum fronted by Charles Nelson Reilly” is in fact, a band both of you like. Which says to me that either the description was dead on, there’s a wild coincidence taking place, or you think Soul Asylum fronted by CNR would be a good thing or all of the above.
Ron House could’ve fronted the same combo, by the way, and they would’ve been a thousand times more interesting. If he fronted a band of his own choosing, they’d have been a hundred thousand times more interesting. I know we can’t all be Ron House but what’s the point in settling?
Which (somewhat) begs the question: What is Ron House up to these days? And when can we expect a Great Plains reunion show?
That’s funny, I thought the Charles Nelson Reilly comment was aimed at Dr Dog. I’m glad we both agree on the underwhelmingness of The Hold Steady. I was just bitching about them on my blog (albeit onto another rant that wonders what is cool about being Catholic all of the sudden).
Also, I miss Ron House too.
they’re no Geils band, that’s for fucken sure