Posts Tagged ‘We All Want The Same Things’

CRAIG FINN (Hold Steady) – ” We All Want The Same Things “

Posted: February 9, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Craig Finn We all want the same things album art

There’s a danger that pushing everything through the Trumpian prism collapses some of the intricacies and nuances of art. After all, The Donald is a product of the disaffection Craig Finn is exploring here, not the cause. The problem is deeper and more complex than any government-related trouble, and Finn is too wise to offer much in the way of an answer. Instead, he suggests we shift the focus of our questions. Because We All Want the Same Things is an album about relationships, but not in the usual sense. Not the transcendental, star-aligned love of Billboard hits and Hollywood flicks but coupling based on common needs. Not life-changing answers but life-preserving strategies. Luckily, in the hands of Craig Finn, this version of ‘romance’ feels somehow more fulfilling, the opposite of cynical, for better or for worse, genuinely human. Perhaps the revolution in the conclusion isn’t some violent revolt or epiphanic break, rather a gradual yet constant commitment to challenging our own expectations. To stop wanting too much for ourselves and to start being sympathetic to others. A comeback story, of sorts.”

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CRAIG FINN (HOLD STEADY) – ” God In Chicago “

Posted: December 16, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The plaintive tune “God In Chicago” appears at the midpoint of Craig Finn’s “We All Want The Same Things”, his third and most fully realized solo album to date. While it’s got all the characteristics of the best of the Hold Steady and Lifter Puller songs — when push comes to shove, I bet Wayne from Winnetka could hold his own with Charlemagne from “Separation Sunday” — the track feels utterly singular in Finn’s body of work. With unsettling solemnity and uncanny deliberation, “God In Chicago” befits a Midwestern winter, icy and foreboding. It comes not in hollers, but in hushed tones, hinting at desperation and hiding fresh wounds. It’s a short story of a song that’s fixated on specificity: that Mexican restaurant near Midway, a left turn on Cermak, the Walgreens near the Hyatt. “God In Chicago” is an attempt at closure amid unfinished business and uncertain future.

We expect strong characters and compelling stories from Craig Finn, whether he’s recording solo or with the Hold Steady. We even expect beautiful details and excellent location scouting. But we didn’t expect a song as powerful, as specific, as lived in, as beautiful, as insightful, as risky as “God in Chicago,” one of the great surprises of 2017. The music is as simple as anything he’s ever done: just a few sad piano chords and a bruised chorus that never repeats. He doesn’t sing, either. Instead, he relates the story of two grieving souls in a matter-of-fact tone, speaking to you, direct and conversational, as casual as a tale told over beers but as serious as a eulogy. When he remarks, “We all want the same things,” you know exactly what he’s talking about, because this story he’s telling isn’t just about two people selling drugs and having a night in Chicago. It’s about you and me and our desire to find some brief escape from the beautiful horror of living.

“We All Want The Same Things” available now on Partisan Records.

“God in Chicago” written by Craig Finn & Josh Kaufman
Craig Finn – Vocals
Josh Kaufman – Bass
Sam Kassirer – Piano, Organ
Matt Barrick – Drums
Annie Nero – Additional Vocals