No album has ever rewarded my faith quite like the third offering from The Hold Steady, the band that came out of nowhere and reignited my love for for rock and roll. In the very first post made on this site, my only half-tongue-in-cheek belief in the greatness of this album – which I had not yet heard – undergirded my declaration that The Hold Steady was already my sixth favorite artist of all-time. A month later, the album came out and did the impossible: It exceeded my expectations. It also cemented the friendship on which this place was built, feeding the rock-geek fandom of two near-strangers who kept asking each other, incredulously, “can you believe how good this is?”
If you’ve spent any time at all on Teenage Kicks, we don’t have to tell you a thing about Boys and Girls in America. We’ve already said it all before. And if you’re new here, just type the band’s name in the search box and start reading. Even if you’ve never heard this band before, still you’ll get the metaphor, you’ve known people who loved rock and roll before.
For us, Boys and Girls in America is a great, great record, the easy choice in a sea of worthy contenders. It’s also the hub of a community, the same kooks who enrich not only our blog, but our lives – Mary, Lou, the many McClatchys (Kevin, Scott, Beth, etc.), Feeney and the entire crew at Main Street Music, Art, everyone at WXPN, T.J., Scott, Don, Peter, BagOfSongsTom, Daniel R, Dan D, Bill C, Michael M, Juanita, Ms. Suki, Todd P, Andy Whitman, Kurt, Claire, Futureboy, Josh H, a small army of well-intentioned spammers, special guest commenters (if you’d told me when we started that Steve Rushin and Mister Zero would both stop by, I would never have believed it), and every other person I should have named but didn’t (you know who you are).
For all the musicians who inspired this list, we can’t wait to hear the 100 albums that will move us to write in 2019. It’s a thrill to think of all the great unheard music that will soon fill our lives. And for all the friends who visit us here, it will be a thrill to share it with you.