The Song That Changed My Life: The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn

Episode notes

Craig Finn attends “A New York Evening With Margo Price” at The Greene Space on June 16, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Craig Finn is the front man of The Hold Steady. 

The Midwest musician spent the 90s in Lifter Puller, playing angular post-punk indie rock. But he turned squarely to rock in The Hold Steady. 

The band is unapologetically heavy and often anthemic, but the themes tend to be richer than the 70s bands that might have inspired them. 

Finn’s lyrics are smart and moving. It’s the kind of music that can remind a middle-aged guy about how deeply he felt things when he was 17. 

After 20 years together, The Hold Steady released a new book called The Gospel of the Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels. It’s a collection of photographs and short stories put together by the band over the years.  The group’s ninth studio album was also released earlier this year. It’s a record called The Price of Progress. You can stream it here.

When we asked Craig Finn about the song that changed his life, he took us back to his childhood in Minnesota — the first time he heard “Slip Slidin’ Away” by the great Paul Simon.