This year I've been thinking about adding a new sidebar to my best albums column, about albums that I overlooked in the previous year. Hey, can't hear 'em all. But the most embarrassing omission from my Best of 2006 list was the Hold Steady's "Boys & Girls in America," an album that hasn't left heavy rotation in my iPod since last spring.

Needless to say, I plan to check the band out tonight at the University of Washington's HUB Ballroom. And recently I caught up with guitarist Tad Kubler to talk about his band's big breakout year.

Part 1: Vacation in Morocco

Part 2: The wisdom of Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers"

Part 3: It's all about the live show

Part 4: How the Hold Steady came to be