TSP: The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

As I'd said, there are about 7 or 8 albums in my collection that I simply do not like. This is definitely one.

John's then-girlfriend-now-wife Jenny recommended them to me. I'm not sure if she'd heard the album or if she even liked the band. But her taste in music was pretty decent, so I gave it a whirl. Here is why this album just doesn't do it for me:

1) The vocalist. He always sounds like some burnt out dipstick who can't quite get his voice to sound less vapid. Sometimes he manages to sound more like a normal human being, but he's just so grating the rest of the time.

2) Drugs. Everywhere there are drugs. Out of 11 songs only 2 or maybe 3 do not mention getting drunk or high. Seriously, what the fuck. Drugs are ubiquitous in rock and roll, and omnipresent in rap, but these guys have a pathetic obsession. None of the songs inspire me to think these guys aren't losers.

3) Repetition. Obviously lots of drugs ties into this, but most songs have overdone choruses, and it's not like they're very good to begin with.

I don't know, I listened to this while driving to work, and I apparently left my headphones at home so I can't listen again, but that's okay.

Anyway, the least-bad song is Chips Ahoy, about a girl who can guess which horse will finish in first. It's somewhat catchy, though very annoying. Oh well.

Thank God that one's over.