Tag: born in the usa

Springsteen’s “Rockaway the Days” is a lost classic, culled from a few other songs, but with a unique structure that stands on its own

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The seemingly omniscient narrator of the main verses is interrupted by a first-person speaker who sings something almost entirely different, setting up both a duality and a contrast that persists throughout the song until the very end, where it is either resolved with Billy as the speaker or someone else.  Bruce Springsteen recorded the incredibly… Continue reading Springsteen’s “Rockaway the Days” is a lost classic, culled from a few other songs, but with a unique structure that stands on its own

Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and the unreliable narrator

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Like a great sonnet of old, Bruce Springsteen uses the perspective of the speaker to establish a character that is both part of the story and separate from it. A verse about this father cut from the original song, but available in lyric form further illuminates a story of aging that is both universal and… Continue reading Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and the unreliable narrator

Bruce Springsteen and the artistic necessity of cultural appropriation

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The Boss’ new album will be composed of entirely culturally appropriated songs, a collection of “soul music” covers, but that is inherently a good thing.  Harold Bloom’s seminal The Anxiety of Influence reveals why all art, if not all ideas entirely, can be seen as the product of cultural appropriation.  Bruce Springsteen is just the… Continue reading Bruce Springsteen and the artistic necessity of cultural appropriation

Bruce Springsteen’s Atlantic City:  The personal and the universal connect in a timeless and versatile classic

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The entire Nebraska album was recorded by Bruce Springsteen alone in his house on a 4-track cassette.  At points, you can hear the creak of the rocking chair he sat in, but these meager beginnings do not limit the songs’ collective scope, power, and impact.  “Atlantic City” combines it all in one haunting track. Bruce… Continue reading Bruce Springsteen’s Atlantic City:  The personal and the universal connect in a timeless and versatile classic

My Hometown: Springsteen’s 1984 classic is the timeless tale of our own era and proof he’s worth every penny

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The country is still convulsed with racial tension, frequently culminating in riots.  The riots and unrest have claimed countless businesses on countless streets, and the manufacturing industry that once was the heartbeat of America remains largely in decline.  Springsteen could release the song next week and it would remain as powerful as it was 40… Continue reading My Hometown: Springsteen’s 1984 classic is the timeless tale of our own era and proof he’s worth every penny

At least 2020 had an awesome Bruce Springsteen album, “Letter to You” might be the most fired up thing ever released by a 70+ rocker and his band

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“There’s too many outlaws trying to work the same line” enters the lexicon as one of the Boss’s most timeless lyrics, especially in this era of endless politicization of everything including Bruce himself Full disclosure:  I’ve been saying since at least 2002 that Bruce Springsteen will be remembered as much more than one of the… Continue reading At least 2020 had an awesome Bruce Springsteen album, “Letter to You” might be the most fired up thing ever released by a 70+ rocker and his band