Anton wrote from me in Brooklyn, reminded me that two of the members of the Hold Steady used to be his upstairs neighbords.

Meaning: at least one of my most vicious hangovers occured beneath the near famous as they made their morning coffee.

He told me he hardly knew them, and that they listened to their own music a lot. They could have been working, it's true, but I know there are musicians who secretely enjoying listening to their own works. If Picasso almost certainly masturbated at the beauty of the females he drew, then certainly we can expect a little air guitar from Johnny Napalm as he grooves to his own riffs. And, of course, that's one of the delights of the musical ear: you hear new and unexpected things, even if they came from your mitts.

Ah, that gentle mix of the new and familiar; the roots of aesethetics.

*

Mikey's passion for the Hold Steady wore off on me, and, yes, it was the lyrical specificity that drew me in. Such specs are old -- some old blues guys would give you the name of the post office clerk that wronged then, and the time of the day, the cost to the cent of whatever was in their belly. The vague sometimes aims at some type of universality, as if by being vague we have a better shot at not seeming dated by the time the product is finally off the press. Plus, I imagine we have a learned instinct to be indirect, because of lawyers.

Yet the Hold Steady use the vague, too, and use it well. Consider these lines:

'Cause most kids give me credit
For being down with it
When it was back in the day
Back when things were way different

When the Youth of Today
And the early 7 Seconds
Taught me some of life's most valuable lessons

There's gonna come a time
When the scene'll seem less sunny
It'll probably get druggy
And the kids will seem too skinny

There's gonna come a time
Where she's gonna have to go
With whoever's gonna get her the highest

There's gonna come a time
Where the true scene leaders
Will forget where they differ
And get big picture

'Cause the kids at the shows
They'll have kids of their own
And the sing-along songs will be our scriptures

Whoahoho We gotta stay positive

For those of you who haven't heard the song, imagine a mix of Springsteen nostalgia, Husker guitar buzz, and Misfits crew o' dudes sing-along choruses. In other words: enough to distance the singer from the words and make you wonder if he's playing a character. Longing for the past meeting with a shaky legged nervous energy.

But the vague part, and what tickles me about this, is the switch between "the scene" and "the personal," and yes, I know the band are being allusive here.

And I like it because, well, that's the way my memories and fears seem to work, too. But it involves leaving gaps and not putting two and two together. Why mention the girl? Why give that sense of betrayal? I thought this was about moshing and being creative and being a kid and being optimistic and all that good stuff!