Stereogum » Craig Finn

Hear Craig Finn Play Two Unreleased Tunes

tom — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:23:11 +0000

Last month, Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn released Clear Heart Full Eyes, his first-ever solo album, and he’s lately done a few different in-studio sessions for a few different media outlets. At a couple of those, he’s played songs that, for whatever reason, didn’t appear on the album. During his session for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts video session, he did one called “Jeremiah’s Blues,” a really sad and beautifully written story-song that should’ve absolutely been on the album. And on a session for Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current, he played the new one “Sarah, I’m Surrounded,” and it could’ve also made the cut. Hear him play both below.

Stream Craig Finn Clear Heart Full Eyes

tom — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:17:06 +0000

Clear Heart Full Eyes, the first-ever solo album from Hold Steady frontman and expert chronicler of desperation Craig Finn, is all set to arrive. We’ve already posted the album tracks “Honolulu Blues,” “Rented Room,” and “New Friend Jesus,” as well as a live version of “Jackson.” And now you can stream the whole entire LP over at NPR.

Clear Heart Full Eyes is out 1/24 on Vagrant.

Craig Finn – “New Friend Jesus” (Stereogum Premiere)

tom — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:58:57 +0000

Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn will release Clear Heart Full Eyes, his first-ever solo album, later in the month. We’ve already posted the album tracks “Honolulu Blues” and “Rented Room,” as well as an acoustic version of “Jackson.” And now, we’ve got another track from the album: The vintage-Finn story-song “New Friend Jesus.” Click below to hear it, and to check out Finn’s tour dates. He’s got a headlining North American tour coming up, and then he’ll head to Europe to open for the Felice Brothers.

Watch Craig Finn Perform New Song “Jackson”

tom — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:02:54 +0000

The A.V. Club has a new video series called One Track Mind, in which artists play songs and tell the stories behind those songs — a pocket version of VH1 Storytellers, sort of. The latest entry features Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn, whose solo debut Clear Heart Full Eyes is out in a couple of weeks. In the clip, he plays the Clear Heart story-song “Jackson” in his apartment and tells the A.V. Club’s cameras a bit about it. Watch the interview segment below, and the full song at the A.V. Club.

Watch Patrick Stickles, Craig Finn, Tommy Ramone Cover “Bastards Of Young”

corban — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:00:50 +0000

The all-star tandem of Titus Andronicus’ Patrick Stickles, The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, and Tommy Ramone (along with Jesse Malin and Dave Hause) got together a couple of nights ago at Bowery Electric to rip through a cover of the Replacements’ “Bastards Of Young.” This performance was the grand finale of the NYC premiere of Color Me Obsessed, a new Mats doc. Check it out after the jump.

Craig Finn Clear Heart Full Eyes Details

corban — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:06:21 +0000

Borne of a personal challenge to record a song a day in his apartment, Craig Finn is set to release a new solo LP which focuses on quieter, sparer songs than those of Finn’s most famous outfit, the Hold Steady. And yes, the title is totally a Friday Night Lights allusion:

It’s a juxtaposed reference to ‘Friday Night Lights,’ a TV show that excited and moved me and also happened in Texas. Further, ‘Clear Heart’ signifies honesty and transparency, and ‘Full Eyes’ suggests experience.

(via the press release)

Can’t lose! Check out the track list after the jump.

Craig Finn – “Honolulu Blues & “Rented Room”

tom — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:06:02 +0000

At some point next year, Craig Finn, the splenetically wordy and generally joyous frontman of the Hold Steady, will release a solo album under his own name. Finn recorded it earlier this year in Austin, with Spoon collaborator Mike McCarthy producing and members of bands like Centro-matic, the Heartless Bastards, and Phosphorescent helping out. A couple of months ago, when I was still working at Pitchfork, I interviewed Finn about the album, and he used the word “Americana” to describe it.

On 11/25, Black Friday, Finn will participate in the whole Record Store Day thing by releasing a 7″ single with two of those solo songs, “Honolulu Blues” and “Rented Room,” and both of them are streaming below. “Honolulu Blues” is a lazy midtempo chug, and “Rented Room” is a relatively subdued Southern-rock reverie. In both cases, it’s fun to hear Finn’s voice and words removed from their usual blustery Hold Steady context. Listen below.

Fightened Rabbit & Craig Finn Cover “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”

jessica — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 21:29:51 +0000

Frightened Rabbit’s fourth single from The Winter Of Mixed Drinks, “The Loneliness And The Scream,” will be out in the U.S. in early December, and it’ll come with an early Christmas gift: a cover of Elton John/Kiki Dee’s 1976 smash “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Frightened Rabbit and Craig Finn. We haven’t heard the studio version yet, but Finn did show up during the encore of Frightened Rabbit’s Terminal 5 show on Saturday to play Kiki Dee to Scott Hutchison’s Elton John. Watch:

Craig Finn Adapting Chuck Klosterman For The Big Screen

Scott — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:30:35 +0000

Hold Steady’s frontman teams with Letterman scribe Tom Ruprecht to turn Fargo Rock City into a movie. The story centers around geeky, teenage metal fans in ’80s North Dakota, and Klosterman will co-produce with the writers. Details here. \m/