JOHN’S GUIDE: SPRINGSTEEN
IT’S BOSS TIME
I would say that I know a little bit about music, but there’s a lot of gaps in my knowledge. This isn’t the definitive guide… It’s just John’s Guide.
First it was third-wave ska. Then it was bloghouse. Now it is… Springsteen? What the fuck am I doing with my life?
Welcome back to John’s Guide. If I’m keeping it 100 with you, few artists have impacted me quite like Bruce Springsteen. From the music to the lyrics to the live show–which I have never actually seen but have spent hundreds of hours studying on YouTube–the man and his band continue to stir up something in my haggard millennial heart. It’s pure American Music, driven by dreams and desperation and wailing saxophone. During my years riding Greyhounds and rolling on the floors of empty anarchist bookstores, the music of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band was my North Star.
For the most part, we are not going to be fucking with deep cuts here. I remember a friend once telling me with a straight face that “Meeting Across the River” was his favorite song on Born To Run. Big Cap, as the Twitch streamers say. With that said, this list is fairly arbitrary.
Let’s start at the beginning of my Boss Journey. Growing up, I had a Born In The USA tape that I used to play on my walkman during long road trips. I remember nothing about that tape or those trips except for this song’s fade-out. Is that a false memory? Probably. But there is something in my bank that continues to register “Darlington County” not as a whole but only as a fade–Born In The USA had long-ass fades–and I associate that fade with being young and in the backseat of a car somewhere in America. It always seemed to me like the song “Something In The Night” was the comedown sequel to “Darlington County,” even though it was out years earlier. Any Springsteen experts want to weigh in?
“It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 11/18/75)”
Simply unbelievable live damage from the floppy beanie era. I could post hours of E Street YouTubes, that shit is like my Grateful Dead. Which I guess would make this show 5/8/77 at Cornell? No, those timelines don’t really match up. You know what? I do not have enough Dead knowledge to really stick this landing. Anyways: When Bossman and Miami Steve start trading licks, that’s pure rock and roll mayhem right there. Watching Springsteen videos made it hard for me to go back to noise shows. Not that I didn’t continue to do that, for decades.
Classic Boss Move: The guy writes a song that would’ve been a Top 10 for Billy Joel and he decides to just throw it in the vault. There is an alternate reality where he releases “Ain’t Good Enough For You” or gives it to another artist and you still hear that shit ringing out on CBS FM. Peak Springsteen in the streaming/Tik Tok era would’ve been a problem.
I’m 18 and I’m in my bed listening to classic rock radio, something I was too “punk” to do for most of my teenage years. It’s not like I never heard “Born to Run” before, but in that moment I was listening with different ears. I don’t know if I’ve said this aloud, but The Big Man’s sax solo really ignited something in me. I think Brandon Flowers has a similar story, which is probably why I never copped to my weird little reawakening. Back then, there was no way I was getting into Dylan. Too “smart.” But Springsteen’s “world building” seemed to have more in common with the monomaniacal insanity of Andrew WK than any middlebrow boomer icons. At least to me, when I was 18 and really stupid.
It has been said that this B-Side is the closest Springsteen ever got to writing a punk song. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but the connection between Springsteen and punk has been long and annoying. I’m somehow sympathetic to middle-aged men with Bouncing Souls tattoos and newsboy caps. Do not ask me why. One of the many reasons I’ll never be able to make “cool” music, I guess. Good song, and it’s punk in the sense that it’s fast and 1:16 long.
I’m not going to bother with any post-Tunnel Of Love output. Life is too short. I haven’t even included enough songs from the first two, or the best four. The man made a lot of good music. I might have to do a second round at some point. More Springsteen? Dear god… Help us all… It’s Jonathan’s Music Blog. Where was I? Ah yes, the hit from the “last decent one.”
“Darkness on the Edge Of Town”
I’ve sampled Springsteen on three different occasions: “Adam Raised a Cain,” “10th Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Darkness On The Edge Of Town.” I’ve also sampled John Cougar Mellencamp, but we won’t get into that right now. There is nothing quite like rapping over a Springsteen loop. Honestly? I’m surprised Em never did it. My favorite Springsteen song changes all the time; again, this list is fairly arbitrary. But “Darkness” is up there. Who doesn’t sometimes feel like that loser on the hill, looking out at a world that has left them in the dust? The next Rustbelt EP is called You Got Nowhere To Go But You’re Going There Tonight.
“Atlantic City (Live at Parc de La Courneuve, Paris, 6/29/85)”
Nebraska is obviously a classic, but I prefer the live AC. Fuck it, lets rock with this version from Paris ‘85. Here, Springsteen puts the song through the Born In The USA blender, down to the false ending and triumphant outro jam. Sounds like the template for The Band’s 1993 cover of the song. For even more context, this was the kind of content I was continuing to consume as all of Brooklyn pivoted to techno. Springsteen poisoned my mind forever.
“Growin' Up (Live at the Roxy Theatre, W. Hollywood, CA, 7/778)”
I’m convinced that this performance’s mid-song monologue and subsequent ending is one of the best moments in live recorded rock and roll history. “Tonight, youse are both just gonna have to settle for rock and roll.”
“Night” reminds me of winters spent in Milwaukee: I would wake up at noon, walk to the UWM computer lab, log into Myspace, and book a tour. Then it would get dark and I would walk home, with Born To Run blasting on my iPod Nano and a delusional dream in my head. Depending on my route and my mental state, I would usually pass Dominos around the time “10th Avenue Freeze-Out” or “Night” was banging in my earbuds. I will forever associate this record with cold air and the smell of pizza grease. It’s the Official Sensory Explosion of The Heartland.
This might be a Real Boomer Opinion (TM) but The Rising and Wrecking Ball both have some good tracks imo
Have you read his semi-recent autobiography? It's a cinder block of a book and it sent me down a Springsteen k-hole.