Craig Finn
Encyclopedia
Craig Finn is an American
singer and guitar
ist. He is best known as the front man for bands Lifter Puller
and The Hold Steady
. He currently lives in New York City
. His lyrics are often noted for having a strong literary bent, stringing together recurring characters and storylines throughout.
. He was raised Catholic
. Finn attended Valley View Middle School and subsequently graduated from Breck School
, and in 1993 from Boston College
. In 2000, Finn moved to New York City, where he currently resides.
in the fall of 2001. The result of this was two EP's.
Untitled EP 1
Untitled EP 2
in the fall of 2001, after Lifter Puller
broke up, for a change and because he and his wife knew people there. He has said that lyrically, with The Hold Steady
, he's been trying to produce a more positive, coherent, story-based message, in a natural way that he could imagine someone saying.
's second album, The Monitor
. He is the voice of Walt Whitman
at the very end of their song "A Pot in Which to Piss"
.
He worked with Minneapolis rapper P.O.S.
on the song "Safety In Speed (Heavy Metal)" which was released on the 2006 album Audition
.
In between Lifter Puller
and The Hold Steady
, he did a project with Mr. Projectile known as The Brokerdealer, a techno styled group. They released two unnamed EPs on http://www.thebrokerdealer.net/. This website has shut down, but the songs are still floating around the Internet.
In 2010 he co-wrote, with Chris Cheney
, the title track from The Living End's
2011 album, The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating
, while Cheney was in New York
. After working together, Cheney called Finn "a hell of a lyricist".
.
, storytelling
lyrics that make reference to literature
(ex: Sal Paradise
and John Berryman
on "Stuck Between Stations," William Butler Yeats
and Nelson Algren
on "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night") and pop culture (ex: Rocco Siffredi
on "Most People are DJs," Joe Strummer
on "Constructive Summer"). Frequent references to youth culture, partying, religion
and drugs
are also made in Finn's lyrics.
Both with Lifter Puller
and The Hold Steady
Finn has woven various characters (ex: Charlemagne, Holly, Gideon) and locations (ex: Ybor City, Mississippi River
, Twin Cities
, Osseo Minnesota
) through his songs. Finn has stated that "irony
is certainly not something I want to be accused of," instead hoping to bring "honesty and sincerity" through his songwriting. Although his stories involve violence and heavy drug use, Finn states his songwriting is not very personal or "confessional".
Finn's lyrics have been a frequent point of praise for The Hold Steady
with Uncut Magazine describing his style as "narratives driven less by the wordy exposition of yore than acute observation, devastating detail, by turns exclamatory, epigrammatic and grainily authentic."
from Jets to Brazil
and Jawbreaker
as well as Bruce Springsteen
. In a Guardian
article, he described The Replacements' Let It Be as his "favorite ever record."
He found The Doors
' L.A. Woman
to be influential in a different manner. As he told the same newspaper: "The music meanders, and Morrison was more like a drunk asshole than an intelligent poet. The worst of the worst is the last song, Riders on the Storm
: 'There's a killer on the road/ His brain is squirming like a toad' - that's surely the worst line in rock'n'roll history. He gave the green light to generations of pseuds."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist. He is best known as the front man for bands Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the 80's revival fads of the early 2000s...
and The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
. He currently lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His lyrics are often noted for having a strong literary bent, stringing together recurring characters and storylines throughout.
Personal life
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Finn grew up in Edina, MinnesotaEdina, Minnesota
Edina is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and a first-ring suburb situated immediately southwest of Minneapolis. Edina began as a small farming and milling community in the 1860s. The population was 47,941 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
. He was raised Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. Finn attended Valley View Middle School and subsequently graduated from Breck School
Breck School
Breck School is an independent college-preparatory preK–12 school in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. It was founded in 1886 and is affiliated with the Episcopal Church...
, and in 1993 from Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. In 2000, Finn moved to New York City, where he currently resides.
With The Brokerdealer
Craig Finn did a short stint of work with Mr. Projectile after moving to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the fall of 2001. The result of this was two EP's.
Untitled EP 1
- If Not For Hipster Pictures
- Give Me My Body Back
- The Last Ones Up Become Lovers
Untitled EP 2
- Sophmore Slump
- Mommy Can I Go Out and Chill Tonight
- Do Me Nails
- The Dead Ones Look Like Dolls
With The Hold Steady
He moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the fall of 2001, after Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the 80's revival fads of the early 2000s...
broke up, for a change and because he and his wife knew people there. He has said that lyrically, with The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
, he's been trying to produce a more positive, coherent, story-based message, in a natural way that he could imagine someone saying.
Work with other artists
Craig Finn provided his voice to Titus AndronicusTitus Andronicus (band)
Titus Andronicus is a punk/indie rock band from Glen Rock, New Jersey, USA, formed in 2005. The group takes its name from the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus, and has cited musical and stylistic influences as diverse as Neutral Milk Hotel and Pulp...
's second album, The Monitor
The Monitor (album)
# "A More Perfect Union" - 7:09# "Titus Andronicus Forever" - 1:55# "No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future" - 5:16# "Richard II" - 5:06# "A Pot in Which to Piss" - 8:53# "Four Score and Seven" - 8:38# "Theme From 'Cheers'" - 5:01...
. He is the voice of Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
at the very end of their song "A Pot in Which to Piss"
.
He worked with Minneapolis rapper P.O.S.
P.O.S.
Stefon Alexander, better known by his stage name P.O.S, is an American rapper, singer and multi-instrumentalist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is currently signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment and is a founding member of the label/collective Doomtree...
on the song "Safety In Speed (Heavy Metal)" which was released on the 2006 album Audition
Audition (album)
Audition is the second album from Minneapolis hip hop artist P.O.S, following his first album Ipecac Neat, and is likewise heavily punk-inspired...
.
In between Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the 80's revival fads of the early 2000s...
and The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
, he did a project with Mr. Projectile known as The Brokerdealer, a techno styled group. They released two unnamed EPs on http://www.thebrokerdealer.net/. This website has shut down, but the songs are still floating around the Internet.
In 2010 he co-wrote, with Chris Cheney
Chris Cheney
Christopher John Cheney is the guitarist, main songwriter and lead vocalist in the Australian rock band, The Living End. His trademark guitar is a Gretsch White Falcon and he uses mainly distortion and modulation effects...
, the title track from The Living End's
The Living End
The Living End are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 1994. The current lineup consists of Chris Cheney , Scott Owen and Andy Strachan...
2011 album, The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating
The Ending Is Just the Beginning Repeating (album)
The Ending Is Just the Beginning Repeating is the ARIA Award-winning sixth album by Australian rock band The Living End, released on 22 July 2011 on Dew Process. The album was produced by Nick DiDia.-Composition and recording:...
, while Cheney was in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. After working together, Cheney called Finn "a hell of a lyricist".
Solo
In July 2011, Finn started a Tumblr account and announced he was recording a solo record in Austin, Texas. He had played a few new songs earlier in the year on a Minnesota radio program. The album, entitled Clear Heart Full Eyes, will be released January 24, 2012 through Vagrant RecordsVagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...
.
Lyrical style
Finn is most notable for his narrativeNarrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, storytelling
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
lyrics that make reference to literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
(ex: Sal Paradise
Sal Paradise
Salvatore “Sal” Paradise is the narrator and the protagonist in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road. Sal, an Italian American youth living in New Jersey with his aunt, is an uninspired writer working on a book who follows and accompanies Dean Moriarty, a young and reckless Denver vagrant, on his...
and John Berryman
John Berryman
John Allyn Berryman was an American poet and scholar, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and was considered a key figure in the Confessional school of poetry...
on "Stuck Between Stations," William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
and Nelson Algren
Nelson Algren
Nelson Algren was an American writer.-Early life:Algren was born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Goldie and Gerson Abraham. At the age of three he moved with his parents to Chicago, Illinois where they lived in a working-class, immigrant neighborhood on the South Side...
on "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night") and pop culture (ex: Rocco Siffredi
Rocco Siffredi
Rocco Siffredi is the stage name of an Italian pornographic actor, director and producer of pornographic movies, famous for his rough sex scenes...
on "Most People are DJs," Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
on "Constructive Summer"). Frequent references to youth culture, partying, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
are also made in Finn's lyrics.
Both with Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the 80's revival fads of the early 2000s...
and The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
Finn has woven various characters (ex: Charlemagne, Holly, Gideon) and locations (ex: Ybor City, Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
, Osseo Minnesota
Osseo, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,434 people, 1,035 households, and 606 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,179.7 people per square mile . There were 1,060 housing units at an average density of 1,384.7 per square mile...
) through his songs. Finn has stated that "irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
is certainly not something I want to be accused of," instead hoping to bring "honesty and sincerity" through his songwriting. Although his stories involve violence and heavy drug use, Finn states his songwriting is not very personal or "confessional".
Finn's lyrics have been a frequent point of praise for The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
with Uncut Magazine describing his style as "narratives driven less by the wordy exposition of yore than acute observation, devastating detail, by turns exclamatory, epigrammatic and grainily authentic."
Influences
Finn has indicated that some of his greatest lyrical influences include Blake SchwarzenbachBlake Schwarzenbach
Alexander Blake Schwarzenbach is an American musician. He was the singer and left-handed guitarist of Jawbreaker , Jets to Brazil , The Thorns of Life , and forgetters -Education:...
from Jets to Brazil
Jets to Brazil
Jets to Brazil was an American rock band formed in 1997. It was founded by Blake Schwarzenbach, former frontman of Jawbreaker. When Schwarzenbach relocated to Brooklyn, New York, after Jawbreaker had disbanded, he reunited with friend Jeremy Chatelain and the two began working on four-track...
and Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker (band)
Jawbreaker was an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996 and considered one of the most influential acts of the early-1990s emo movement...
as well as Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. In a Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
article, he described The Replacements' Let It Be as his "favorite ever record."
He found The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
' L.A. Woman
L.A. Woman
The band embarked on a tour to promote the album, although it would only comprise two dates. The first was held in Dallas, Texas on December 11 and reportedly went well. The second performance took place at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 12, 1970, where Morrison apparently had...
to be influential in a different manner. As he told the same newspaper: "The music meanders, and Morrison was more like a drunk asshole than an intelligent poet. The worst of the worst is the last song, Riders on the Storm
Riders on the Storm
"Riders on the Storm" is a song by The Doors from their 1971 album, L.A. Woman. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, number 22 on the UK singles charts and number 7 in the Netherlands.-Overview:...
: 'There's a killer on the road/ His brain is squirming like a toad' - that's surely the worst line in rock'n'roll history. He gave the green light to generations of pseuds."