A Rhythmic Revolution- The Hold Steady and The Influence Of Beat Poetry
A Rhythmic Revolution- The Hold Steady and The Influence Of Beat Poetry
The music of The Hold Steady conjures a vision of their energetic live performances, but there is so much more. The marriage of words and music has become a lost art over the years, but The Hold Steady are holding true to timeless words. Craig Finn’s ability as a storyteller is severely underrated. I challenge you to dig a little deeper into their lyrics and music and I think you’ll agree it harkens back to echoes of cultural revolution, the Beat Generation of the 1950’s. Literary giants like Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs weren’t just wordsmiths of the time, their influence permeated culture, creative expressionism and music. While The Hold Steady offer a different rhythmic sense to the jazz expressions of the 1950’s the classic formula of words and music are there.
The Beats
The literary movement know as the Beat Generation emerged in the 1950’s in America and pushed against the grain of what a conservative America believed was art. Writing filled with raw and unfiltered experience ignited a fire amongst young readers preparing to take on the world. Their fascination with an experimental marriage between language and rhythm often dealt with topics that seemed too edgy for the common reader. Ideas of sexual experimentation and finding one’s own purpose led to a cultural phenomenon that still inspires readers today. Characterized by a free-flowing cadence almost described as a stream of consciousness, often supported by the sounds of jazz music, Beat poetry helped illustrate a deep sense of disillusionment by the youth in their search for life’s meaning.
The Hold Steady and Their Modern Echo
While The Hold Steady formed in 2003, they were long removed from the movements of the 1950’s. However, they are reviving a blend of rock music and lyrical prowess. Frontman Craig Finn’s lyrics hold influence from previous generations and his storytelling is reminiscent of a Beat poet’s narrative style. His lyrics explore themes of youth, tangles with excess, and one’s search for redemption. Their songs tell stories as if they are vignettes of lives past.
Craig Finn has a knack for employing a stream of consciousness technique in his songwriting, much like the Beat poets before him. In songs like “How a Resurrection Really Feels” and “Stuck Between Stations” Finn unleashes a rapid-fire sense of delivery that has ties and similarities to the fragmented nature and spontaneity of Beat poetry. Finn also tends to shift his narratives abruptly, in similar vein to works like Ginsberg’s poem Howl or Kerouac’s masterpiece On the Road.
While the Beats had fascination with the underbelly and fringes of society The Hold Steady often look to stories of outsiders and rebels in their music taking a page from those who came before them. Finn’s work with The Hold Steady paints vivid pictures of those navigating the periphery of life. In songs like “The Cattle and the Creeps” or “The Swish” he delves into the lives of characters caught in the cycle of addiction and redemption. A clear nod to Beat poetry’s explorations into society’s outcasts.
Beat poets and The Hold Steady often align and explore the idea of the urban landscapes as the backdrop for existential struggles. They tend to be the perfect frames for tales of excess and disillusionment while grounding them in a recognizable and gritty reality.
At the very core of Beat literature is the quest for one’s meaning in life while navigating an indifferent world. The Hold Steady often choose themes to their songs and tell stories of similar existential searches. You don’t have to look any further than songs like, “Sequestered in Memphis” or “Stay Positive” where they explore themes of redemption and hope, mirroring the Beat’s own struggles with finding significance amid a world of confusion and chaos.
The Hold Steady and their music is a modern-day reflection of the spirit of the Beat Generation. Through marginalized characters and the backdrop of urban jungles their lyrical storytelling channel the Beat movement into their own rock sound. They bridge the gap between contemporary rock music and Beat era literary innovation. With The Hold Steady keeping the Beat inspiration alive and resonating with audiences they find themselves their own quests for connection and meaning in a world that is not only everchanging but a world with a short attention span. The Beats changed literature and had a devout impact on what American culture came to be. In a world of Colleen Hoovers, be a Jack Kerouac and in a world of recycled pop stars choose The Hold Steady. Their creativity and dedication to storytelling sets them apart among their contemporaries and they haven’t forgotten how important the relationship between words and music can be.
