Rate 08: Christmas selection box: The Hold Steady

Continuing our trawl thorugh some of the tracks of the year:

The Hold Steady - Sequestered In Memphis

Un-steady: Dates on Hold

The Hold Steady have axed their entire UK tour, apparently on health grounds but nobody seems absolutely certain why.

It's not going to make up for it - indeed, it might make the loss even more tart - but here's the band doing Sequestered In Memphis live in July this year:

Unsteady 'head

Tad Kubler isn't sure about what Radiohead are up to these days:

"I think they've lost the plot. What are they doing? Where are they going? What's happening? I don't get it any more. They lost me. I still appreciate what they're doing, or what they're trying to do. But I think they're trying too hard not to be Radiohead. That seems a little ridiculous to me".

"I like them as a rock band, all the buttons and sequencing and stuff like that I don't really care for. I'm a fan of rock music and what they're doing now I don't think is very good. When you have that kind of money, you can put on a great performance regardless of what you do. If you can't go out and pick up your instruments and play a good show, that doesn't do it for me. I don't have any interest in that".

Uh-oh. Much as I like the Hold Steady, I'm not sure I like where this would be heading... if Radiohead using sequencers is BAAAAAAAD, because they're trying to be something other than what you might expect, that would suggest that a band who plod on, week-in, year-out, never progressing would be the ideal, wouldn't it? But that would mean... The Hold Steady are... endorsing... oh, no:

"I love Oasis. I love them. I think that what they do is earnest. I think it's honest. When they get up and do what they do, it's one take and they get up and they perform. I trust Noel Gallagher to do a good job with the record"

Tad also has a pop at Muse for using electronics, too. It's all a bit dispiriting from a band whose songwriting suggests at wider horizons than that.

Just as a sidenote, though, the NME report says that Tad was also unimpressed with the charging system:

The Hold Steady's guitarist Tad Kubler has slammed Radiohead's revoluntionary pay what you want plan for their last album 'In Rainbows'.

It's not so clear - at least from the BBC website - that he was talking about the pay-what-you-feel model at all; just the music on the album.

Hold Steady sell strongly

While various incarnations of Abba songs fight at the top end of the chart, The Hold Steady are at number eight in the midweeks.

Positive streaming

The Hold Steady's new album, Stay Positive. Want to hear it before buying? It's streaming over at Imeem.

Attention, Londoners

If you're from London, or in London, or just know where London is, some good news: The Hold Steady are playing a free set in HMV on Monday, at 6pm, to mark the release of Stay Positive.

Something to listen to: The Hold Steady

Currently on the Hold Steady's MySpace - all of their new album, streaming for free.

Glastonbury on TV

Cherry Ghost have just finished doing an exclusive acoustic track on BBC2. Is this the only time of the year indie acts stand a chance of getting a run-out on prime-time terrestrial televsion now? Unless the Queen invites Soho Dolls to perform on her Christmas Message?

Lauren Laverne and Jo Whiley are co-ordinating things from a slightly overdone studio ("with a white floor"); Jo is doing her best to stop Lauren getting a word in edgeways.

Mark Radcliffe is, for reasons that appear to do with vindictiveness towards the environment, hovering above the site in a helicopter. This lets us see that the festival site is large, and covered in tents - something you couldn't have told from clambering to the top of a hill, of course. Or standing on tiptoe.

Colin Murray has been sent off to stand next to some jugglers; it's hard to say who is the more insulted. He introduces the sort of overlong feature on Arabella Churchill, who organises the theatre events, which you would have only ever seen on Omnibus in the past. It's interesting, but it's like having a pep talk from your parents when you want to rush off and play.

On returning to the studio, Lauren has sent Jo off somewhere, so that she can throw to Phil Jupitus. Phil informs us we've just missed the New Pornographers, and offers us the Hold Steady instead, as if that's going to make up for it.

Slide, The Hold Steady, slide

Lots of Hold Steady news, coming from all angles: there's a new single (Stuck Between Stations) out on May 7th; then they're going to pop up on the new series of Later With Jools Holland. There's a mini-UK & Ireland tour been set up:

Mon 2nd July London Shepherds Bush Empire
Wed 4th July Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Thu 5th July Manchester Academy 2
Sat 7th July T In The Park Festival Scotland
Sun 8th July Oxygen Festival Ireland

And, on top of all this, Vagrant/Full Time Hobby will be releasing the band's first two albums. Previously only available in the UK through import or, more honestly, bittorrent, Almost Killed Me and Seperation Sunday are getting a May release.

And, on top of that, the band have recorded a version of Take Me Out To The Ball Game for the Minnesota Twins. Craig Finn was excited when Twins' musical director Kevin Dutcher approached him:

"He thought it would be cool for us to record 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game.' He was like, 'I'm gonna be playing your record, so it'd be cool if you guys could do this.' It was all unofficial, but we decided we should do it.

"I mean, the Hold Steady, we're all sort of sports guys. We're more likely to be drinking beer and eating wings and watching baseball rather than collecting some obscure 7-inch."

Something to do with rounders, we understand.