I'm attempting to analyze and annotate every specific location and person referenced in The Hold Steady's three albums.
Mock me if you want, but I consider this my obligation to future scholars.
Below is an alphabetical list of places and people. Going through the lyrics, I've noticed certain trends: nothing good happens in California; Florida is the situs of ultimate decadence; everyone always comes back to Minneapolis.
If I can figure out a way to properly export a spreadsheet layout into blogger, I'll publish a complete account. I've omitted site-specific references to Minneapolis because they're so copious, and because I don't recognize many of them.
The Hold Steady Guide to the Twin Cities is a brilliant resource on that front.
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| Location | Song | Album |
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| Bay City, MI | Sweet Payne | Almost Killed Me |
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| Beverly Hills, CA | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| Bowdoin, ME | Chillout Tent | Boys and Girls in America |
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| California | Hot Fries | N/A |
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| California | Modest Is Not That Sweet | N/A |
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| Colorado | Girls Like Status | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Chicago, IL | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | Separation Sunday |
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| Dallas, TX | Don't Let Me Explode | Separation Sunday |
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| Denver, CO | Cattle and the Creeping Things | Separation Sunday |
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| Denver, CO | Milkcrate Mosh | N/A |
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| Edina, MN | Hornets! Hornets! | Separation Sunday |
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| Hollywood, CA | Curves & Nerves | N/A |
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| Hostile, MA | Hostile, Mass. | Almost Killed Me |
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| Lynn, MA | Hostile, Mass. | Almost Killed Me |
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| Los Angeles, CA | Don't Let Me Explode | Separation Sunday |
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| Massachusetts | Banging Camp | Separation Sunday |
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| Massachusetts | Curves & Nerves | N/A |
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| Michigan | Sweet Payne | Almost Killed Me |
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| Minneapolis, MN | Party Pit | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Mississippi River | Some Kooks | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Mississippi River | Stuck Between Stations | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Mississippi River | Stevie Nix | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Modesto, CA | Modesto Is Not That Sweet | N/A |
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| Narraganset Bay, RI | Some Kooks | Boys and Girls in America |
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| New Orleans, LA | Don't Let Me Explode | Separation Sunday |
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| New York, NY | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | Separation Sunday |
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| Osseo, MN | Your Little Hoodrat Friend | Separation Sunday |
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| Pensacola, FL | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Philadelphia, PA | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Shaker Heights, OH | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| University of Minnesota | Stuck Between Stations | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Virginia | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Western Massachusetts | Chillout Tent | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Ybor City, FL | Most People are DJs | Almost Killed Me |
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| Ybor City, FL | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Person | Song | Album |
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| Nelson Algren | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | Separation Sunday |
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| St. Barbara | Don't Let Me Explode | Separation Sunday |
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| John Berryman | Stuck Between Stations | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Black Sabbath | Hot Soft Lights | Boys and Girls in America |
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| William Blake | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | Separation Sunday |
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| Kate Bush | Hornets! Hornets | Separation Sunday |
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| Johnny Cash | Barfruit Blues | Almost Killed Me |
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| Alice Cooper | Sketchy Metal | Almost Killed Me |
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| Andre Cymone | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| Rick Danko | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| John Darnielle | Girls Like Status | Boys and Girls in America |
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| James Dean | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Ellen Foley | Certain Songs | Almost Killed Me |
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| Drop Dead Fred | Knuckles | Almost Killed Me |
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| Freddy Fresh | Knuckles | Almost Killed Me |
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| Humbert Humbert | Hornets! Hornets! | Separation Sunday |
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| King James I | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Jane's Addiction | Charlemagne in Sweatpants | Separation Sunday |
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| Billy Joel | Certain Songs | Almost Killed Me |
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| Jesus | Citrus | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Jesus | Your Little Hoodrat Friend | Separation Sunday |
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| Jesus | Charlemagne in Sweatpants | Separation Sunday |
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| Jesus | Hostile, Massachusetts | Almost Killed Me |
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| Jesus | First Night | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Jesus | Sketchy Metal | Almost Killed Me |
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| Judas Iscariot | Citrus | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Judas Iscariot | Milkcrate Mosh | N/A |
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| John F. Kennedy | Don't Let Me Explode | Separation Sunday |
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| Jack Kerouac | Stuck Between Stations | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Jack Kerouac | Hot Fries | N/A |
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| James King | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Freddie Knuckles | Killer Parties | Almost Killed Me |
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| Phil Lynott | Most People are DJs | Almost Killed Me |
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| Mickey Mantle | Hostile, Mass. | Almost Killed Me |
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| Meatloaf | Certain Songs | Almost Killed Me |
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| Freddy Mercury | Knuckles | Almost Killed Me |
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| Mary Tyler Moore | Stevie Nix | Separation Sunday |
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| Vladimir Nabokov | Hornets! Hornets! | Separation Sunday |
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| Nazareth | Curves & Nerves | N/A |
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| Stevie Nicks | Stevie Nix | Separation Sunday |
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| Jackie Onassis | Don't Let Me Explode | Separation Sunday |
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| Sal Paradise | Stuck Between Stations | Boys and Girls in America |
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| St. Paul | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | Separation Sunday |
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| St. Paul Saints | How a Resurrection Really Feels | Separation Sunday |
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| Steve Perry | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| St. Peter | How a Resurrection Really Feels | Separation Sunday |
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| Mackenzie Phillips | Cattle and the Creeping Things | Separation Sunday |
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| Porky Pig | Hostile, Mass. | Almost Killed Me |
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| Jada Pinkett | Sweet Payne | Almost Killed Me |
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| Lionel Richie | Charlemagne in Sweatpants | Separation Sunday |
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| Right Said Fred | Knuckles | Almost Killed Me |
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| Robbie Robertson | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| Johnny Rotten | Knuckles | Almost Killed Me |
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| Neil Schon | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| Rocco Siffredi | Most People are DJs | Almost Killed Me |
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| Beverly Sills | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| Nina Simone | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| Patty Smythe | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| Phil Spector | Milkcrate Mosh | N/A |
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| Bruce Springsteen | Barfruit Blues | Almost Killed Me |
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| Rod Stewart | Stevie Nix | Separation Sunday |
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| Izzie Stratlin | Chillout Tent | Boys and Girls in America |
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| Alfred, Lord Tennyson | Chillout Tent | Boys and Girls in America |
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| St. Theresa | Your Little Hoodrat Friend | Separation Sunday |
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| St. Theresa | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | Separation Sunday |
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| The Times | Arms and Hearts | Boys and Girls in America |
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| The Trix Rabbit | Cattle and the Creeping Things | Separation Sunday |
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| Tuscan Raiders | The Swish | Almost Killed Me |
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| William Butler Yeats | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | Separation Sunday |
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8 comments:
Actually, I'd bet $5 that those Mississippi River references are in the Twin Cities.
Correct. I had to do some arbitrary line drawing. For instance, I didn't write about Adam and Eve for "The Cattle and the Creeping Things," even though there were other songs where people weren't mentioned by name (e.g., Lionel Richie wasn't named, but "Dancing on the Ceiling" was).
awesome
if showmewhere hadn't gone awry i was going to do a full national map eventually. if i ever find a similiar site i will be in contact with you about doing it :)
Can we take this to mean that you're not too busy to blog any more? This is... thorough.
In other news, CrimeNotes is single! Ladies, form an orderly queue ...
I don't know if this is a signal of "free time" so much as "unhealthy obsession." For instance, if someone on NPR is discussing the Iraq Study Report and you think, "the way they pronounced Iraq Study sounds like Iraq steady, which reminds me of The Hold Steady," it's along the lines of Richard Dreyfuss building a mock-up of Devil's Tower in his backyard. Same thing when you start wondering whether the first-person voice used in certain lyrics is Finn speaking in character as Charlemagne or Gideon, or whether, in the alternative, Finn-as-narrator is an altogether different character who is along for the ride. (That's what I think it is; I think Finn-the-narrator is an unnamed character on Separation Sunday, and it's the story from "never to trust me" to "I was all wrapped up in a video booth when I heard her say I love you too.") Or you're puzzling over the chronology of whether Holly kissed Mary (who got a bloody nose from sniffing margarita mix) before or after she was golden with barlight and beer on that first night. And you know that "First Night" takes place somewhere in the middle of the chronology because Charlemagne ultimately dies.
Oh, and thanks, solace. I'm not positive that this is complete, it was kind of a first draft.
That is dedication. I'm wondering how freakin long that took to compile...
And yes, everyone does eventually end up back here. I wish someone would explain why
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