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4 The Soundtrack Series

Stories about songs–the soundtrack to our lives. Dana Rossi hosts this monthly dose of music inspired nostalgia where guest writers and performers tell the hilarious or heart wrenching stories and memories they forever tie to certain songs. The Soundtrack Series has been called “the best rock and roll storytelling event in New York” by Flavorpill, and has been featured in the New York Times, BUST, NY1, “Above and Beyond” in the New Yorker, a Critic’s Pick in Time Out New York, and included among the “Best Events and Things to Do in NYC” by CBS News New York.

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Craig Finn (of The Hold Steady)

http://steadycraig.tumblr.com/

We All Want The Same Things, Craig Finn’s new solo record out March 24th on Partisan Records, explores themes of love and partnership in the modern world. Expressed via Finn’s signature character studies, black humor, and smartly arranged rock ‘n’ roll, the album is arguably his most musical to date. Largely recorded in Rhinebeck, NY with frequent collaborator Josh Kaufman producing and Dan Goodwin engineering and mixing, the record also features contributions from drummer Joe Russo, keyboardist Sam Kassirer, Rainer Maria vocalist Caithlin De Marrais, singer/songwriter Annie Nero, horn master Stuart Bogie, Jon Shaw, Jordan McLean, Matt Barrick and Finn’s longtime partner in The Hold Steady, guitarist Tad Kubler.

“Love seems like the biggest mystery in our modern days- no amount of science or advances in technology can help us fully understand the notion of love and the role it plays in our lives” Finn says, “But I also thought about the search for love as an antidote for loneliness, and how so often modern partnership can be an alignment of self-interests. We make teams with each other to combat the world around us. There is a beauty in that for sure, but it also can fray around the edges. We lean against each other to keep ourselves upright, make uneasy truces, and push forward into uneasy times. The songs I had dwelled on this.”

The name of the album comes from a line in the song “God in Chicago,” which Finn explains “although it seems like a bit of dark humor in these turbulent political times, it also rings true: no matter our differences we all have some very basic wants and needs that line up with each other.”

Finn is best known as the frontman of acclaimed rock outfit The Hold Steady, with whom he has released six studio albums. Prior to The Hold Steady, Finn was the also the frontman of beloved Minneapolis post-punk band Lifter Puller. We All Want The Same Things is Finn’s third solo album, following Clear Heart Full Eyes (2012) and Faith In the Future (2015). WAWTST takes the listener even deeper into Finn’s complex, nuanced world of characters, explaining “these songs are about normal people trying to help themselves, trying to move forward, and in some cases trying just to survive. All the while they are negotiating what space the others in their lives can occupy.”

I truly believe that on some level, WE ALL WANT THE SAME THINGS. I hope you enjoy the record.

Craig Finn

Brooklyn NY

December 2016