The massively conscious mind of Craig Finn
The Hold Steady – Heaven is Whenever
Need any more proof that Craig Finn is a genius? Aside from writing a song essentially about the Catholic concept of heaven coming to earth every time we perform Mass (though his communion is over vinyl rather than bread and wine; no complaints here), check out the research done by some Hold Steady fans to uncover ten or fifteen references in four and a half minutes.
The way Finn weaves countless cultural, religious and personal reflections into a single song that means the world to a lot of people (well, at least two that I know of) is endlessly comforting.
I’m reminded of Scott Adams’s theory of God’s debris: that, as time moves forward, the world at large slowly converges back into a single consciousness that is the consciousness of God himself. Finn might be the patron saint of this idea, if for no other reason than to prove we’re getting better at massive consciousness in compact form. It’s a beautiful thing.
- August 30th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
- Category: Art, Faith, Music
- No Comments »

