First one so far that I voted for. Not mad about the studio iteration, but it's such a reliably wonderful moment in the live set.
― Trans-Europe Stopping Train (ithappens), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:17 (eleven years ago) link
One big spindle:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/33/Berwyn_car_spindle_20070707.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:19 (eleven years ago) link
Two big spindles:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iAAFb4q5tNs/T576TtOnxpI/AAAAAAAABpg/6GVDCE0bKsQ/s1600/the_spindle_berwyn_2.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:20 (eleven years ago) link
me and wayne are in the blue escort
― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:20 (eleven years ago) link
I knew Bruce went through a lot of cars, but that just seems wasteful.
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:21 (eleven years ago) link
xpost to Dorian … I know exactly what you mean. When I was sort of getting into him, a Springsteen-loving American friend emailed me: "You need to embrace the lameness and it all becomes so rewarding. As former raver [his girlfriend] said after her first Bruce show: 'That was like taking ecstacy for the first time. I just want to do it again right now.'"
― Trans-Europe Stopping Train (ithappens), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:22 (eleven years ago) link
love the organ/vocal interplay (lol?)
"she don't know nothing about this cruel, cruel world" BEST PART, hooting & hollering
& it's a Nebraska song, or has a Nebraska version: "Child Bride"
― Euler, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:23 (eleven years ago) link
Workin On The Highway is def a fun car song -- total jam, I love it
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 19:29 (eleven years ago) link
amazing that "My Hometown" hit the top ten.
i think momentum had a lot to do with that: it was his seventh straight top 10 in a year and a half. (he even got his cover of "war" into the top 10 a year later.) but i think it also had a lot to do with the times. it was a perfect '80s recession song. and also just a pretty great song.
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 20:03 (eleven years ago) link
Can't wait for "I'm On Fire" to show up. And, dog willing, "I'm Going Down."
― ARE YOU HIRING A NANNY OR A SHAMAN (Phil D.), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 20:06 (eleven years ago) link
45. Prove It All Night from Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)101 points drawing with #46, 4 votes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mZ-EP1GRTc
― Jamie_ATP, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 20:57 (eleven years ago) link
Never was a huge fan of this one, always felt a little too by-the-numbers E Street. Obligatory sax solo, etc.
― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:13 (eleven years ago) link
The live version from the Houston show on the Darkness box is awesome.
― Vol. 3: The Life & Times of E. "Boom" Carter (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:15 (eleven years ago) link
one of my fave ever springsteen songs.
― Jamie_ATP, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:23 (eleven years ago) link
the lowness of his voice and the piano and the heaviness of the mixing (not to mention the explicit suggestion of the chorus) didn't sound like anything he'd recorded prior. sounds by-the-numbers in retrospect but it's always stuck out to me on darkness.
― This is called money bags. (zachlyon), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:27 (eleven years ago) link
44. Reason To Believe from Nebraska (1982)103 points, 6 votes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc4UopypcT8
― Jamie_ATP, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:29 (eleven years ago) link
43. The Ghost Of Tom Joad from The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995)108 points, 5 votes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ5zPs_lX8Y
― Jamie_ATP, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:31 (eleven years ago) link
Woo! Tom Joad is the first, and probably last, of mine to place. I always liked the mood and subdued melody and all, but on rediscovery it was the imagery that stood out - it's almost biblical, the things he selects. Not at all unusual for him, I now realise, but I do love it.
― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:35 (eleven years ago) link
"reason to believe" is kinda "yeah okay i get it" on Nebraska and absolutely gutting on Live 75-85
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:37 (eleven years ago) link
i love 'Reason To Believe' -- it feels like an oldtimey folk song
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:40 (eleven years ago) link
ah tom joad, the other album people were allowed to like until 2004
― This is called money bags. (zachlyon), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:43 (eleven years ago) link
before 2004, i should say
"reason to believe" stands on a thin line between cynicism and hope, which made it a perfect ending to my favorite springsteen album. is he shaking his head in disbelief that these losers insist there's still a reason to believe, or is he marveling at their unshakeable faith? in 2013, it's easy to see how springsteen would choose the latter, but in 1982 it wasn't so clear, and i think those conflicting impulses have a lot to do with the greatness of this one.
(and speaking of 2013-ish, his searing performance of "reason to believe" was one of the highlights of his wrecking ball tour.)
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:44 (eleven years ago) link
nebraska >>>>>>>>>> tom joad
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:46 (eleven years ago) link
It hurt me to cut "Reason to Believe" from my ballot but I already had 4 Nebraska songs ...
Did vote for "Tom Joad," though. The song has a lot of conceit to carry off, but I think it works. "The highway is alive tonight" connects so directly to all his earlier highway/driving songs, but there's no romance left -- nobody's kidding nobody about where it goes.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:46 (eleven years ago) link
yeah I voted for Tom Joad too, after Darkness it was the 2nd Bruce album I owned. They kinda tie together somehow, I think
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:49 (eleven years ago) link
I had to cut "Reason" as well. Glad to see it place.
― Vol. 3: The Life & Times of E. "Boom" Carter (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:51 (eleven years ago) link
is he shaking his head in disbelief that these losers insist there's still a reason to believe, or is he marveling at their unshakeable faith?
It seems almost more anthropological to me than cynical or hopeful. In every verse it's clear that belief or lack thereof is not going to change the underlying equation: the dog will still be dead, Johnny is not coming back, Kyle William will eventually be dead just like the old man in the shotgun shack, and the bride has run away for good. And yet they believe anyway. The tone is more interested and maybe puzzled than judgmental, imo.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:53 (eleven years ago) link
wish I could link to Greil Marcus' analysis of "Reason to Believe."
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:54 (eleven years ago) link
bruce proclaiming the mysteries of faith imo
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 21:57 (eleven years ago) link
last two for today...
― Jamie_ATP, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:01 (eleven years ago) link
42. Bobby Jean from Born In The USA (1984)110 points, 5 votes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhR1JdZCFh8
41. For You from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)118 points, 6 votes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0JOOEnRopM
bobby jean pretty low!
― iatee, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:02 (eleven years ago) link
"Bobby Jean" = one of the better songs about male friendship.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:02 (eleven years ago) link
Reminder: here's a spotify playlist
http://open.spotify.com/user/mondosalvo/playlist/5sS8pSeutHuNnIpGkaUwye
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:07 (eleven years ago) link
Bobby Jean is great - that line about hoping Bobby hears the song on the radio, ugh, I love it.
Honestly I hadn't ever considered bobby was a dude til just now. My Mum's middle name is Jean so I always assumed it was a girl. That's cool that it can work either way though
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:07 (eleven years ago) link
The tone is more interested and maybe puzzled than judgmental, imo.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, February 27, 2013
looking down kinda puzzled iirc, strikes him kinda funny
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:08 (eleven years ago) link
they wore the same clothes!
xpost
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:08 (eleven years ago) link
maybe Bobby Jean was like Susannah Hoffs in "In Your Room," trying on his clothes when he's gone.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:09 (eleven years ago) link
xpost dude there are days where *I* wear the same clothes as Bruce Springsteen. Check your stereotypes honey :)
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:14 (eleven years ago) link
i (and, tbh, many other people) always assumed "bobby jean" and "no surrender" were back to back love letters to steven van zandt. whoever they were written for, it's kinda amazing that neither of them was released as a single, especially at a time when almost everything springsteen touched was being released as a single. i sometimes wonder if they were a little too personal to him to give them away to the world like that.
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:15 (eleven years ago) link
i (and, tbh, many other people) always assumed "bobby jean" and "no surrender" were back to back love letters to steven van zandt.
Yep. They make thematic sense too, sandwiched between a haunted, ravaged ballad and a horny rocker.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:19 (eleven years ago) link
The homosocial if not homoerotic side of Bruce exerts as powerful a pull as cars and girls.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:21 (eleven years ago) link
don't remember if i voted "for you" or not, but cool! such a weird, lucid set of lyrics
Didn't you think I knew that you were born with the power of a locomotiveAble to leap tall buildings in a single bound? And your Chelsea suicide with no apparent motive You could laugh and cry in a single sound
― This is called money bags. (zachlyon), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:22 (eleven years ago) link
I belatedly cut "Bobby Jean" even though I love it, but I did vote for "For You."
Tut, tut - they LIKED the same clothes.
― ARE YOU HIRING A NANNY OR A SHAMAN (Phil D.), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:53 (eleven years ago) link
one look at Miami Steve should have told Bruce the obvious: they do NOT like the same clothes.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 22:54 (eleven years ago) link
"Bobby Jean" = one of the better songs about male friendship.i thought it was about male-female friendship! i still think it is.
― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Wednesday, 27 February 2013 23:23 (eleven years ago) link
lotta great songs breakin my heart already this low in the poll, most of all "Bobby Jean," which was my #2
― steeny HOOSer (some dude), Thursday, 28 February 2013 00:19 (eleven years ago) link
the 33 1/3 on Born In The USA is good but i got SO MAD when the author lovingly picked apart the origins of nearly every song on the album and then glossed over "Bobby Jean" as supposedly one of the album's weak spots
― steeny HOOSer (some dude), Thursday, 28 February 2013 00:20 (eleven years ago) link