Craig Finn

…Craig Finn, lead singer of The Hold Steady. He says he's happy. I think I believe him. That's it for us this week. You can pick up a copy of the band's new oral history book celebrating their 20th anniversary, written in collaboration with music writer Michael Hahn. It's called The Gospel of the Hold Steady, How a Resurrection Really Feels.…

…But the more we talked, I realized, oh, no. My real question was actually a different, more pressing one. I wanted to know how ambitious people find a way to be happy. Like, how do you succeed without making your own misery part of the machinery of that success? Craig Finn is now 20 years into his job as frontman of the whole study.…

…So starting this show, I was thinking a lot about that experience and very desperate not to recreate it. When I emailed Craig Finn, I initially thought that what I was doing was kind of weird. Asking him a question that belonged to a younger version of me. Does anyone like their job? Obviously, I now know that some people like their jobs. I have liked my job…