“ A lot of my songwriting in the Hold Steady has to do with this place in your life where it’s appropriate to go to parties and have a dumb job. And then you get a little older, and it’s not as appropriate. There are people who make that transition, and then there are people who get hung up right there. It’s that frustration: ‘This isn’t turning out how I thought it was going to. Why is it so hard for me to get to work? Why do I sleep so much? Why am I not excited to see my friends?’ ”