The Hold Steady are one of the most unlikely of indie rock bands to be on the verge of stardom. They pretty much mirror a lot of their fans, they're paunch, balding, pushing 40, and are excited about the free beer. When The Hold Steady come to town, there's inevitably a babysitter shortage that night, and a lot of us pushing-40-professionals showing up for work hungover the next day. This week sees the release of their latest album, Stay Positive, which continues their upward trend toward mass acceptance, mining even more classic rock licks than the album's predecessors. Led Zeppelin, Boston, and, of course, The E Street Band all come to mind listening to it now. When they play Letterman Tuesday night, Neil Young will also be a guest, and it's not hard to see the band and Neil hitting it off, as there's just enough Crazy Horse in there as well to give 'ol Neil some ideas.
Another band that The Hold Steady hold in high estimation will get the red carpet treatment from VH1 Thursday night, as they honor The Who with their VH1 Rock Honors series. Besides The Who, other bands that performed songs from the legends' catalogue include Pearl Jam, The Flaming Lips, Tenacious D and Supergrass -- who filled in at the last moment when Foo Fighter Dave Grohl fell ill. Of course, VH1 never thought to call Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices) the current artist performing today whose music best embodies Pete Townshend's songwriting prowess. Instead we get Incubus (WTF?).
And finally, for those who've checked out BBCAmerica's The Graham Norton Show and wondered, like me, how to watch previous seasons of the funny talk show, they're airing reruns from the first season all week, featuring live music each night. Of note is The Zimmers, a UK band of senior citizens that's a bit like Young@Heart, in that they're really old and sing rock songs that illustrate the loneliness and marginalization of today's elderly. This performance of "My Generation" was taped over a year ago, featuring their single that was a minor hit in the UK:
Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.
