2000 Great Songs #1357: Luke & Leanna
I'm totally blowing my general rule about avoiding songs that haven't been around long enough to confirm their staying power, as we hit our first song from 2025 to make the list. We've seen a few tracks from the Hold Steady before (4, if we're counting), but this is our first visit to Craig Finn's solo work, where he tends to pull back from the band's more energetic, anthemic indie rock for more confessional, gentler work. "Luke & Leanna," off last year's terrific Always Been LP, is a real gut-punch, a cleverly-constructed slice-of-life tale about marital dissatisfaction and emotional infidelity. Full of rich details and striking pathos, it's something I've spun a couple dozen times over the past year, and it consistently chokes me up. Some of the best songwriting of the modern era, a pretty simple pop tune carrying tremendous heft. Live 2025: See the entire Top 2000 to date in a sortable database !
