Craig Finn Of The Hold Steady Picks His Favorite Replacements Songs

Craig Finn is the lead singer and songwriter for the hard-rocking stalwarts The Hold Steady, known for his lyrical bar-end philosophizing and striking characterizations of down-on-their luck normal Joes. Growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Finn says hometown heroes The Replacements illustrated for him what rock music could be about. 

"I never knew anyone who looked like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith," says Finn. "But I knew a lot of guys who looked like [Replacements lead singer] Paul Westerberg. So when I saw The Replacements for the first time, I thought 'Oh my god, I can do this.'"

The Replacements were famously hard-living and raucous during their mid-to-late 1980s heyday. They disbanded in 1991, but Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson recently started touring again behind the band's catalog. The Replacements land at the historic Forest Hills Stadium on Friday night. Craig Finn's band The Hold Steady will also perform -- and Finn finds himself sharing a stage with his childhood hero. 

"I can honestly say The Replacements changed my life," says Finn.

Finn walks host John Schaefer through some of his favorite songs and, in the process, talks a bit about how The 'Mats (as Westerberg's band is sometimes affectionately known) influenced his life, his music, and his sense of humor. 

Craig Finn's Essential Picks: The Replacements 

Craig Finn: "[Hootenanny] was the first album I got, it was the newest one at the time. It was my favorite song on the record, so I guess it was my first favorite Replacements song."

"I always thought it was possible The Replacements were the first real self-deprecating band. It's funny when you see Nirvana and the "loser" t-shirts that came out later, I tie that back to The Replacements; they were always kind of saying 'We aren't that good, why do you like us?'... This song has a great Westerberg lyric, 'You're in love, and I'm in trouble.'"

"I think it's incredibly romantic, the idea 'If you will dare, I will dare.' And it's very cool -- I always feel cool when I listen to this song."

"Even though I had been a fan for many years, the first time I saw them was the Tim album release party, so I have a personal connection to that one. I just remember them coming out and saying 'Our new album is called Tim' and thinking, well that's ridiculous. 'Our album has a name and his name's Tim.'"