NPR has a pretty awesome annotated lyrics sheet for Cattle and the Creeping things. You just mouse-over the lyric and it tells you about the Biblical reference. You should totally listen to the song and read that instead.

The Hold Steady are one of those few bands that I like for just one album, and that album is this one, Separation Sunday. I love how literary it is, I guess. I love that NPR can write 'used to create tension' in reference to Craig Finn's songwriting.

I'm not a religious person, (though a while back i was deeply interested in the Gospel of Thomas and all sorts of other Jesus stuff, but eventually i discovered that the only truth in the world that matters is: do for others what you would want to have done for you. that's the only religion there is), but something about people who are pulled deeply into Christianity really intrigues me (Wise Blood comes to mind) and this whole album is about possibly born again drug addicts? What does it all even mean?

I saw them play when they were on Jimmy Kimmel about the time the Chips Ahoy! music video came out. They are so incredibly awesome live. So awesome, in fact, that I find all their other albums largely unlistenable. I've got no deep interest in the songs (I dig the concept, you see) and they sound so much better live. It was funny because so few people showed up to see them play for free that they had to move the show indoors to the small lobby stage so it would look like there were more people there. By funny, I mean sad, but they're a lot more popular now.

A lot of why they sound better live than on their albums has to do with Craig Finn's song-speak vocal being partially buried by the sheer loud awesomeness of the musicians playing. It's much easier to rock out when he's not blaring into your ears like the drunk guy at the bar who won't stop yelling about his crazy drug addict friends and his religious upbringing.