A Positive Jam

Sweet Payne starts off on an awkward step as it connects various threads in Almost Killed Me and in the Hold Steady mythology. But it rises from those beginnings to a glorious finish, revealing some of Craig Finn’s best lines and some of the album’s best ensemble playing. It also introduces the idea of the Unified Scene, a defining aspiration and mantra for The Hold Steady, and digs into the Twin Cities as much as anything in the Hold Steady’s discography.

To understand this, we have Shawn Westfall, writer and comedian and founder of The Unified Scene Theater, join us to explain how Sweet Payne fits in, how the dissonance between sunny harmonics and lyrical darkness plays out for the Hold Steady, what hardcore can teach us about the Cityscape Skins, the importance of community, and more. We also bust out a last Map Corner for this season to get deep into the Minneapolis roots.

Check out show notes here: https://shortmanstudios.com/a-positive-jam-track-9-sweet-payne/

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/

Sketchy Metal may be the dud of Almost Killed Me. What makes it stand out that way, and what is there to redeem the song?

We talk about its down-tempo approach, the ongoing pace of Craig Finn one-liners, the way the band still gets a heavy sound out of this track, and the prevalence of Catholic imagery on this track. And because it comes up, we share our takes on 70s rock stars and sitcom characters. It’s always positive jamming with podcasters.

Check out the full show notes here: https://shortmanstudios.com/a-positive-jam-track-8-sketchy-metal/

Hostile, Mass is another quintessential Hold Steady track. A mix of punky snarl, classic guitar licks, and Springsteenian sax solos and hope, the track is a stand-out for Almost Killed Me and an ill omen for the band's future at the same time.

To break it all down, we're joined by Leon Neyfakh of Fiasco and Slow Burn fame. He explains why this is his favorite track on the album, as the conversation runs the gamut from NoFX to the persistence of high school drop-out fashion sensibilities to why Season 3 of A Positive Jam should be about the Smashing Pumpkins.

We also weigh whether the Hold Steady Universe plot line matters if you want to enjoy the music and break out another Map Corner.

Check out our full show notes at https://shortmanstudios.com/a-positive-jam-track-7-hostile-ma/.

Every party comes to an end, and some parties almost kill us. We wrap up our review of Almost Killed Me (though not Season 1 of A Positive Jam!) with a look at "Killer Parties", the closing track on the Hold Steady's debut album. It's a ritual as much as a song, and we treat it with all due consideration. That includes making this a four-person episode, with regular guest Matt Brooks rejoining us as well as Shawn Westfall hitting us up for back-to-back appearances.

Mike Taylor kicks off the episode with a story about trailing the Hold Steady on their fall 2006 tour and how Killer Parties underlines all that is good about the band. We then go into a discussion about the band's use of ritual, including Craig Finn's So Much Joy speech, and the dichotomy between freshness and familiarity.

Check out our show notes here, and stay tuned for a few bonus episodes over the rest of the month: https://shortmanstudios.com/a-positive-jam-track-10-killer-parties/