THE RECORD COMPANY ROSIE, THEY GAVE ME A BIG POLL - Springsteen Tracks Voting Thread

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18646uzphhvdxjpg/original.jpg

Ready for some top of the head un-grammar-checked raving? Okay, here we go then. Bruce is one of those artists that means so much to so many people, that is such a huge part of their lives, that - like Slayer, or Iron Maiden, bringing him up in conversation with another fan is sort of like performing a conjuring trick in that a huge blast of proustian emotion bubbles up and makes both parties mega fucking happy. BRUCE is just one of those artists. I think this is sort of why Eric Church's Springsteen last year was such a hit; he didn't need to litter it with more than the few obvious Bruce references he did, he just had to say the guys name and try to hint at the same sort of teenage rebellious romantic feeling, and it totally works. The depths of emotion in Springsteen's music are just ridiculously intense, he can hit both the happiest (Rosalita) and saddest (Point Black) notes without seeming false, and although the last few records have been pretty off the mark, I think he's basically built up so much good will that I'll let him do whatever the fuck he wants. For me personally, it's the first 3 or 4 albums that really hit me hardest; and if for some crazy reason you haven't heard the live at Hammersmith lp that came out a few years ago in the Born To Run reissue, you're doing yourself a massive disservice. The performance from every band member is just amazingly intense and on the money and apart from some Who live shows, it might contain my fave live drumming performances too. I demand that before proceeding you watch at least one of these clips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9T-H-WDm1k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAYXnm0OvSo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZHAbHg8t2s

....!

* Vote for the standard 20 tracks using this scoring system: 1:40, 2:36, 3:33, 4:30, 5:28, 6:26, 7:25, 8:24, 9:23, 10:22, 11:21, 12:20, 13:19, 14:18, 15:17, 16:16, 17:15, 18:14, 19:13, 20:12.
* Optionally, include your 5 favorite albums in order.
* Voting deadline is this Sunday 11th at midnight UK time. Not sure when I will go up with the results as i'm flying to Australia to run an event that night, but it'll be as soon as I can fit in the time to do the tabulation etc! Email your ballots to jamiesummers1984 (at) gmail (dot) com before the deadline. Also, please make sure I know how to score your list (adding the points by each track would be super helpful).

crap one of those links didn't work, here we go again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAYXnm0OvSo

My big Springsteen epiphany of the last year or so was the concert DVD in the Darkness box: Garry Tallent is a brilliant fucking bassist. Had no idea how much he contributed to that band's sound until I saw that concert.

yes when they were on form they really made a lot of the recorded versions on Born and Darkness sound a little lifeless. The solo piano+harp Thunder Road on the aforementioned hammersmith release is probably my favourite arrangement of the song nowadays.

those quiet Thunder Roads are the best; can I vote for those & have it be marked in the final tally? probably too big a hassle but you never know

yes why not, go for it

I am going to try to assemble a ballot here, but it may be a little too overwhelming for me emotionally to really listen to NONSTOP BRUCE for a week so if I do it at all, it's gonna be straight from the gut. My gut is full of favorites, 20 will be no prob whatsoever.

Well that's my week sorted. How to do this? Early stuff forwards, or late stuff back?

La Lechera - please point me at any deep cuts you adore. I trust your gut too.

20? 20??!!

Jiminy christmas. I was hoping this one would be at least 30. But I'll buck up and buckle down, and figure out which of my many favorites are my favoritest.

I can do 20 easy. The best thing about these polls imo is never overthinking them.

La Lechera - please point me at any deep cuts you adore. I trust your gut too.

― EZ Snappin, Monday, February 4, 2013 11:58 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I gotta admit a lot of songs on my ballot are gonna be coming from Ghost of Tom Joad, which is the only Springsteen album I ever owned.

Also I think I might already know what #1 is but I might not know enough about Bruce to say for sure

Vote for "Lucky Town," people!

(It's weird that I still think of this as "late era" Brooce, because it's 20+ years old now.)

#1 could be a lot of things

As long as nobody votes for "57 Channels" it almost doesn't matter what wins.

Ha, was actually considering that, based on his SNL performance that year.

hmm the only things i remember from Lucky Town are the titled track, My Beautiful Reward and the admittedly excellent If I Should Fall Behind... otherwise i can take or leave it

@title track

My regular listening usually ends at Born In The USA, so my shortlist will def come from everything leading up to that -- but I'm gonna dig back in the post-USA period over the next couple of days and see what sticks

this'll be fun!

also short turnaround means I have to rip the bandaid, which is good for not overthinking

oh and since this seems to be my job now:

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCE

will be giving this a lot of points can't actually listen to it as it makes me fucking bawl like a baby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r4KjCuy94g

Lucky Town is an almost deceptively good album. It's a victim of "1992" production in many places, but things like the title track and "The Big Muddy" and others rise above it.

Overthinking is part of the fun. Like, trying to decide whether to steer entirely clear of the big 10 or 20 radio classics in hopes of boosting other worthies. (I don't think I can actually do that, because at least a few of those classics really are among my top faves.)

I'm trying to remember what hearing the main riff in "Born in the USA" was like for the first time, because it's engrained in my dna now as tightly as the chirping of birds and the sound of a train whistle. So tough to remember it's actual music.

everyone should listen to 'tracks'

so much good stuff

haha tipsy, i was thinking about doing the same thing, but the thought of leaving out those big guns is like considering cutting off a limb

my shortlist is like 50 songs long. I got some work to do

good call on Tracks, iatee

At least I know what my no. 1 is. It's been my official favorite Bruce song for years.

yeah my #1 is a lock

Mine's not. It's between a few choices, but I don't have one stone cold lifelong favorite.

And, oddly enough, if I were filling out my ballot right this moment it could very well be his cover of "War".

see what we really need to do is arrange an ILX fap at a bar in the middle of nowhere with a jukebox full of Bruce, and figure this shit out over booze and dancing

it's the only way

I'm trying to remember what hearing the main riff in "Born in the USA" was like for the first time, because it's engrained in my dna now as tightly as the chirping of birds and the sound of a train whistle. So tough to remember it's actual music.

100% OTM. But here's a hint--it sounds pretty amazing. The version on the Live 1975-1985 box set is actually superior. It's about as gigantic as a song can be.

ILX fap at a bar in the middle of nowhere New Jersey with a jukebox full of Bruce, and figure this shit out over booze and dancing

we need some of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs

if only for crotch-camera in the opening shots

xpost - otm

The version on the Live 1975-1985 box set is actually superior. It's about as gigantic as a song can be.

Listening now. I'm being crushed by the hugeness.

that box is full of awesomenes

I love the slow sad Born To Run too

The Live Box is what made me a fan as opposed to just listening to what the radio played.

100% OTM. But here's a hint--it sounds pretty amazing. The version on the Live 1975-1985 box set is actually superior. It's about as gigantic as a song can be.

― kornrulez6969, Monday, February 4, 2013 12:53 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

As much as I love studio Bruce, I'm hard-pressed to think of a live version of any of his songs that I don't prefer to the studio version (eh, maybe "Cover Me"...ok, all the Nebraska material, too). That live box is insanely essential.

And for years I assumed "Bob Clearmountain" was someone's pseudonym: the dude's name is Clearmountain, because that's what his mixes sound like!

I had the box on cassettes many many (many many) years ago, so listening to it now on Spotify is like having a drink with a friend I haven't seen in too long.

I had always liked Bruce growing up, but Ghost of Tom Joad, then going back and picking up a copy of Darkness on the Edge of Town was what really started my fandom I think.

The funny thing for me has always been, there's a ton of songs that I'm on the fence about album-wise. But all it take is him performing it live and then I'm sold. I guess I'm an easy mark, haha

I had it on vinyl way back when. Sold it to a friend when I went to college. :(

http://www.unlikelywords.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/boss_slide.gif

hahaha

i love that so much

Wasn't there a kerfuffle over Bruce & the band miming/lip-syncing that year?

The piano-only version of Thunder Road on the box set sounds strangely like Tom Waits. I guess that's an obvious comparison to make, but I'd never made it before just now.

yeah, he sounds lovely and ragged

there's a ton of songs that I'm on the fence about album-wise. But all it take is him performing it live and then I'm sold.

There's a song off Wrecking Ball that has a good chance of making my 20 on the strength of how amazing it was in concert last fall.

It's funny, talking with Springsteen fans over the years I've bever had anyone else tell me their favorite record is The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, but it's been my favorite since I first heard it. Anyone here rep for it as a fav or one of his best?

everyone should listen to 'tracks'

so much good stuff

― iatee, Monday, February 4, 2013 11:40 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

jukebox/dancing seconded
can't even imagine how much weeping would go down tho

Also I will email you guys

xps one of his better ones, for sure.

Major soft spot for Matamoros Banks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsOSG6FXW3M

xp yeah wild innocent is definitely one of my faves

The clavinet would never appear on a Springsteen record again...:(

Devils and Dust is high on the list of albums to check out for this poll xxp

I'm having a rough time with Tunnel Of Love

There's cool stuff like I'm Going Down, or Spare Parts, but then there's tracks like the title track where I just can't get past the synths, and it's just so GROSS sounding! I can get over it on Brilliant Disguise because the lyrics are so hooky, but there's stuff in here where i just *dry retch*

sorry bruce, i love you mayne

That's the weird thing about Bruce's production/arrangements: they're either timeless or incredibly dated-sounding. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground.

Exactly.

So many good songs on ToL.

btw, a perfect thread title was missed: BOBBY SAID HE'D POLL OUT, BOBBY STAYED IN

there's at least 1 off ToL that will get my vote.

Just saw this. Here are some awesome deep (depending on your perspective) cuts that are awesome:

"The Promise"
"Pink Cadillac" (acoustic version)
"Frankie"
"Murder Inc."
"Unsatisfied Heart"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7xIMMX54hY&feature=player_embedded
"The Klansman"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ewhMge_MXM
"Protection"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3TB1ljTvCE
"Lift Me Up" (one of my all-time faves)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aext39mEYqg

For a guy I love pretty much without exception, I think I'll have an easy time with this.

pink cadillac is KEY

I love Murder Inc, but I dunno if it'll make it into 20

Not for me, either. But it was great when it got a nightly airing on the reunion tour.

"Fire" so so awesome, too, speaking of songs written for/as Elvis.

For anyone who has never heard his version of "Protection," which he wrote for Donna Summer, you really should.

oh damn yeah I love Fire

my favorite version is from the 78 Agora show -- (start at 4 min for 'Fire' if you don't want to do the whole hour....but if you don't then WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE :) )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA_O42WsFTQ

frankie prob my favorite deep cut

oh god yeah Frankie's awesome

I have to rep for Ain't Good Enough -- it's unbelievable to me how great so much of his b-side/unreleased material is, all these amazing songs just pouring out of him and not enough pots to hold them, lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPg6ZZC3AcY

wooow wowwow Josh otm re Proection! holy shit i've never heard this before. What a jam!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMIs8Y23mBc

EZ Snappin, I'm totally with you on xp The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle. Writing, arrangements, performances add up to tons of fun, although he knows who and what he's gotta say goodbye to, if they're not already coming along (but I wonder how many of his homeboys pulled out of the same old, when they heard this). The emotional range, the fresh paint--yeah. All those years spent working on Thunder Roadleft their mark, although it's got some good stuff too---I love "Meeting Across The River", the acoustic guitar in the bedsit, while he confers, telling Eddie how it's gonna be, gotta be. Randy Brecker's trumpet over the fire escape, already embodying the the reach and release and relief these guys are seeking---other good'uns later, but for me, mainly these.

Speaking of "Meeting," not that the song needs repping for, but I love this reunion with Richard Davis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSZlaZ5ULSY
(also, a friend of mine just bought Davis' bass; dunno if it's that one, but definitely the one he played on Out To Lunch! and slew of other Blue Note sessions)

thanks! So would like 'steen to try recording like this again...

it's unbelievable to me how great so much of his b-side/unreleased material is, all these amazing songs just pouring out of him and not enough pots to hold them, lol

Man, in the early '80s he was literally writing entire albums for his friends and idols, like Southside Johnny and Gary U.S. Bonds.

I'm a big fan of the Boss in this clip. He's a great guitarist, but even he knows better than to step on the toes of James fuckin' Burton:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PLq0_7k1jk

Flag Post Permalink

So many good songs on ToL.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, February 4, 2013 5:32 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

Tougher Than the Rest and Tunnel of Love are two of my all time favorite Bruce songs. I don't like the goofy fun songs (Pink Cadillac) much at all. Mostly I like sad, romantic, hopeless, and hopeful Bruce.

TOUGHER THAN THE REST

does al know about this poll?

Oh yeah, The Mendoza Line (on this track, the female singer, not the miserably sub-Dylanny guy) did an awesome version of "Tougher Than The Rest." Also, Olaf Arnalds did a voice and solo acoustic guitar--low-key, startlingly intent--"I'm On Fire", in a live radio station visit; one of those YouTubes. Pointer Sisters' "Fire", Patti Smith's "Because The Night" (she wrote part of it).

First:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DsY_09MKb0

And for all the "Pink Cadillac" is goofy naysayers, amazing what a little (re)context does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjZ1WO-0YME

Patti Smith added a verse and changed a few lyrics for her "Because" version, which Bruce has since adopted.

"Brilliant Disguise" is one of my ToL go-tos. And it finally got Elvis to cover one of this songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78nLfClrYtc

Speaking of context, I love Bruce's own re-do of "I'm on Fire" with banjo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4WKYtS4JDk

Grant McLennan did a stunningly gorgeous version of "If I Should Fall Behind" that totally made me reassess "Lucky Town:"

http://pathfinderpat.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/if-i-should-fall-behind-bruce-springsteen-cover-grant-mclennan.mp3

The Nebraska version of "Pink Cadillac" is even more goofy because it's so damn serious.

I don't know. I think sung that way, the sleaze and menace is magnified. It's like a stalker song, and of course given the "Nebraska" context, it's plausible that the guy singing the song is ready to simply steal the car he admires. Lines like this:

Well now way back in the Bible
Temptations always come along
There's always somebody tempting
Somebody into doing something they know is wrong

get sort of subsumed in the pop version. In the "Nebraska"-sessions version, but as a song about sexual and material temptation, it's very much of a piece with his scary stuff, I think.

I'm not making a case for it as a A-list song, mind. But it's less goofy than, say, "Open All Night." Of course, that one sticks the landing:

Your eyes get itchy in the wee wee hours / sun's just a red ball risin' over them refinery towers
Radio's jammed up with gospel stations/ lost souls callin' long distance salvation
Hey mr. deejay woncha hear my last prayer/ hey ho rock 'n roll deliver me from nowhere

Allowed myself one cover in my ballot …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjN4HRcX7B0

if "Open All Night" is goofy, I'm not sure I can handle serious...guy's about to put a few folks in the morgue

That's pretty much Bruce in a nutshell, no? "Hungry Heart," his first hit and one of his lightest songs, opens with a guy walking out on his wife and kids.

(But yeah, "Open All Night" is not goofy, no, but neither is the "Nebraska" "Pink Cadillac.")

If I were to pick a cover, I would pick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzzOs0Da43Y

Or:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRXhDQXhdXE

Or:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZl2tpCVwU8

"Hungry Heart," his first hit and one of his lightest songs, opens with a guy walking out on his wife and kids.

Yeah, I'm sure "light" does justice to that. It's pretty much existential yearning in the form of a pop song.

I mean, I'm not sure...

My Love Will Not Let You Down: perfectly poised between exhilarated and heartbroken. lays it all on the line, pledge after desperate pledge; does everything it can within its power and hopes for the best.

Even a lot of "Cadillac Ranch," which is as giddy as Bruce gets, almost, can basically be read as a metaphor for a hearse/heaven/death:

Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Pulled up to my house today
Came and took my little girl away.

Though of course it's mostly about a car.

Here's Jon Brion improvising a fake Springsteen song:

http://robby-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/2008/jon-brion-does-bruce-springsteen/jon-brion-springsteen-song.mp3

"Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is still one of my favorite Springsteen tunes.

and the Cadillac gets its own death/afterlife too, at the actual Cadillac Ranch

http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/images/2006-05-28_cadillac/IMG_1398_cadillac_ranch_close_2006-05-28_2000.jpg

Love "Tweeter and the Monkey Man."

Also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQ-6IAS1cc

also ace.

Though of course it's mostly about a car.

No, I think you had it right the first time. The whole song is about death. It's basically a rewrite of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." And will certainly make my top 10.

For anyone who gave the last album a pass, here's the one I'll rep for from it. Pretty massive, and amazing live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4awmrqR3FI

5 ballots in so far

Cadillac Ranch is one of my favorites

So who all's gonna rep for 'Reno' itt?

Bueller?
Bueller?
...

Ditto; one of my faves off The River...probably my second-favorite after the title track.

xp

I have a friend who says that her favorite Bruce album is The River, and I'm always kinda like, 'Really?'. Don't get me wrong, I love it -- it's just that I tend to think of it as a, I dunno, a collection, rather than a cohesive quote-unquote-album, just because there's just so many kinda 'odds and sods' in there.

It's still kinda weird to listen to the whole way through, definitely takes you on a weird rollercoaster ride, lol

The River was my favorite for a time when I first got into Springsteen.

darkness and the river are often the hardcore fan favs I think

It's still kinda weird to listen to the whole way through, definitely takes you on a weird rollercoaster ride, lol

Haha, yeah, the transition from "I Wanna Marry You" to "The River" is awkward and jarring, to say the least.

I like/love most of it -- the band never smoked like that before or since -- but it has a couple of my least-favorite songs of his ("Sherry Darling," "I Wanna Marry You").

"Out in the Street" is one of my favorites

live this fall, shouting along "whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho", was the best

aw man I love "Sherry Darling"

Sherry Darling is fun, I love it.

bud of mine, total Bruce fanatic, reps hardest for "Drive All Night"

"The River" was his sop to Steve after cutting all the fun songs out of "Darkness." But of course, Dark Bruce still courses through the album, fighting back against the forces of light. "Stolen Car" may be my fave "River" deep cut. Hardcore stans love "Drive All Night" and "Point Blank," but I never have, really.

you know which River era track I dig the most, is "Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own"

Point Blank is pretty killer

I love equal parts dark Bruce and fun Bruce

even the fun bruce songs from the river era are secretly dark bruce

I get the love for "Sherry Darling," but just never dug it myself.

The production on The River, though, is light-years beyond that of Darkness; I'd pick it as his best-produced record. I'll have to check the Marsh book, but I'm reasonably certain they just set up like they do on stage and recorded most of it live.

like hungry heart is a secret bleak song xp

The Nassau boots from 1980 are so good. Easily my most listened to Bruce in the last few years.

Nassau NYE show was I believe the longest Bruce set on record until last year, when some of those Euro sets went bonkers epic.

FTR, best ever Bruce boot prolly 8/20/81, benefit for veterans.

http://brucebase.wikispaces.com/1981-08-20+-+LOS+ANGELES+MEMORIAL+SPORTS+ARENA,+LOS+ANGELES,+CA

Whole show is here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FlOZFxwIT0

Though of course my fave Bruce boots change all the time.

fav Bruce boots would have been a good side poll

Best "Darkness" date is Winterland.

Best ToL Express boot is Roses and Broken Hearts.

best boot period is Main Point 75

agreed on Winterland

"Factory" on that one is fuckin amazing

Main Point is pretty amazing.

The most amazing thing about the Main Point boot is that "Born to Run" comes so early in the setlist. Like ,third. He clearly had no idea what he had yet.

the "Incident on 57th Street" on the Main Point is my fav Bruce moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jy6H8DqTg8

esp when he lifts his voice into "upstairs the band was playing and the singer was singing something about going home"

I lose it every time

I'm probably not going to have time to do this justice. Nobody needs a Greatest Hits ballot from me, so I'm going to try listening reverse chronological and see what sticks. The rest I'll pick up in the countdown.

First up: Wrecking Ball. This is pretty nice actually - for all that they have the setup of a bar band, and Bruce'd no doubt be happy singing in a bar, you'd never mistake this for bar band music.

There was some talk about "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" being inspired by Magnetic Fields/Stephin Merritt when Magic came out in 2007. Did anyone ever follow up on that or was it ever confirmed?

I'd give that about a ... zero percent chance. Going out on a limb to suggest it was inspired by all the stuff that inspired Merritt.

He'd written songs for Patti Smith and The Ramones in the past, and has said Nebraska was inspired by Suicide. Always had an ear towards off the radar music, that guy. And Stephin Merritt's not just some guy who'd popped up yesterday. He'd been releasing (A LOT OF) albums for nearly 18 years by the time that song would've been written.

Stephin Merritt in Time Out, 2008: '"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is just a Phil Spector pastiche done in a style that resembles my Phil Spector pastiche.'

That's not 'Springsteen was inspired by Merritt'. That's Merritt kind of (oddly) suggesting that he was the first to think of it

well not quite that far but, it's not like Merritt cornered the market on Spector Pastiches, whatever the case

Yeah, I know.

I just thought that saying there was ZERO PERCENT chance that Broooce might have been inspired one day by listening to Magnetic Fields was silly. I'm sure he's heard some of those records.

unrelated; Listening to The Ghoast of Tom Joad, forgot how much I still love it. I listened to that so much when it first came out, I don't think I took it off repeat for at least a month or two

I like GoTJ, and I love the title track. But for me it's an album where the tunes don't measure up to the lyrics. There are great bits of narrative on there, but the songs are a little samey imo.

Broooooce is pretty, um, Catholic in his tastes, which run to traditional singer/songwriters and guitar bands. And best of all, acts that combine both of those things and sound a bit like him, too.

You know who basically invented the Phil Spector pastiche. Bruce. Suck it, Merritt.

Haha

"Brian Wilson on line one, Andrew Loog Oldham on line two..."

They didn't do pastiche, they were all peers/contemporaries. Bruce was really probably the first from the next generation down to hearken back to Spector. Who, of course, was not that much earlier! But by 74/75, Spector was pretty much a totally not hip a has-been.

I wonder who the first act was that enlisted/recycled the "Be My Baby" beat?

But by 74/75, Spector was pretty much a totally not hip a has-been.

Isn't that when he was working with John Lennon?

A little after, and man, "Rock n Roll" is the farthest album from hip, as was Lennon!

I want to say by '74 or so Spector was practically AWOL, until at least the Leonard Cohen album. Which of course didn't do either of them any favors.

Melodies from Joad are really sinuous/insidious, sometimes they wont leave my head for days

Putting it like that makes Rage Against The Machine's cover seem hilarious

Speaking of which, Morello is subbing for Little Steven for a hunk of Bruce's upcoming dates!

i may vote for Point Blank as my number one. the live Roxy new years version is a fave.

gonna listen to a River bootleg for this poll, they've never really stuck for me the way 75 or 78 have

"From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)" is another good River era cut

My River deep cut is Wreck on the Highway, which is spare and scary and as the album-closer totally prefigures Nebraska.

voted!

ugh I'm already having second thoughts

I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS

it's going to be impossible to whittle it down to 20 and it's entirely possible that i don't vote for a single track after 1980

I voted for 4 tracks each from 2 albums pre 1980

and now I'm lisening to Born In the USA knowing there's at least 4 tracks that should've been in there raaaaaaaaaaaaagh

oh welp. done now

no one is allowed to vote until they listen to 12 versions of 'thundercrack'

Watching Houston '78 again...man, I love his heavy fuzztone on this. Makes everything so much more menacing.

Also, I'm finding that I absolutely love live versions of songs that, in some cases, I actively dislike the studio versions of.

Wow, I'd never heard this before

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8rcWIHfxeI

Seger + Springsteen doing Thunder Road, Ann Arbor Michigan, 1980

i voted

oh man they are SO CUTE

sorry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUx6yE7plmY

she has parents!
she has religion!
she has SISTERS!!!

can't embed but this conan performance is actually my favorite kitty's back: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5va2f_kittys-back-merry-xmas-baby-bruce-s_music#.URGuBL99KSo

it's just something to see basically every major asbury figure outside of southside johnny on stage and playing like they're a bunch of olds in 1974 -- at its best the whole bruce/asbury thing was always about grabbing everyone from the neighborhood and sticking them on a stage and going nuts for ten minutes at a time

kitty's back is worth your vote anyway because it's one of the only studio recordings that had the whole "everyone gets a solo and then everyone sings at the end in a fit of ecstasy" thing that you see in the live versions, and it's also a wonderful song with metaphors about cats

also doubling support for incident on 57th st bc

esp when he lifts his voice into "upstairs the band was playing and the singer was singing something about going home"

yesss, it's maybe my current favorite song off WIESS (every song is my favorite song off WIESS) and also features some of my favorite opening lines ever

Spanish Johnny drove in from the underworld last night
with bruised arms and broken rhythm and a beat-up old Buick
but dressed just like dynamite

you can leave me tonight, Spanish Johnny, but just don't leave me alone

Kitty's Back totally got my vote, stonecold KLASSIK

Incident on 57th St I love

i always try to avoid these threads bc i know if i read them i'll be compelled to do a ballot and BOOM there goes a week of listening

i'm actually really attached to quite a few songs from the later days. i think "secret garden" is super gorgeous, really enjoy "gypsy biker" and "your own worst enemy" from magic, think working on a dream is mostly bland but "my lucky day"'s a pretty joyous consolidation of bruce's appeal, and i think "long time comin'" from devils & dust is one of his best songs period

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XelwSWXPMrA

^^"Gypsy Biker" is the shizz. Also from Magic: "Living In The Future", a great singalong number.

Standing up once again for "Lift Me Up," the first time he used his falsetto to such good effect. John Sayles has said that he intentionally added several moments of silence and darkness at the jarring end of "Limbo," to allow the movie to sink in before Springsteen's amazing performance began.

Any love for "Streets of Philadelphia?" Another one that made me sit up the first time I heard it, at an early advance screening of the movie.

Secret Garden is a personal fave

"Streets of Philadelphia" is great, yeah. The na-na-na-na hook is catchy and mournful at the same time.

some dude wanted me to implore you on his behalf to save some room on your ballots for "Candy's Room"

http://youtu.be/vu8h7WJfIxw

well duh :)

Is it weird that I always imagine the subject of this song to be the same Candy as "Candy Says"? Also it's my favourite Springsteen track.

I assume "Atlantic City" and "State Trooper" will do well. Those are my two from "Nebraska." There are some days when "BitUSA" is my fave album of his, but I may just vote for "I'm On Fire."

"Atlantic City" is my second to least favorite song on the album. I don't think it improves upon "Meeting Across the River" still a good song though

hope "Highway Patrolman" doesn't get the shaft; that's Bruce's best tearjerker. Johnny Cash's version is lovely too

Is it weird that I always imagine the subject of this song to be the same Candy as "Candy Says"? Also it's my favourite Springsteen track.
http://www.thelightindarkness.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/BruceSatprintersHiRes_ret.jpg
This photo of Bruce going over the Darkness artwork was taken by Doug Yule, who was working at that printer at the time. It's all a rich tapestry.

I've been reading Clinton Heylin's book E Street Shuffle which tells the story up to and including Tunnel of Love. It's a great read because it dwells at length on Springsteen's tortuous studio processes. Heylin paints a picture of an obsessive perfectionist who never knows when to stop tinkering with songs and indeed whole albums, paralysed by the realization that he can't get down on tape the sounds that are in his head. Heylin is also refreshingly pro-Appel and anti-Landau, pouring scorn on Springsteen for severing his ties with the savvy and knowledgeable Appel and throwing in his lot with the inexperienced and ineffectual Landau.

As for this poll, what surprises me when sketching out my 20 is how many of the recent songs I like. People say Springsteen is a spent force creatively but there are at least as many winning melodies and persuasive hooks in a record like Working on a Dream as there are on Born to Run.

I would really love to submit a ballot for this but don't know if I have time to sit down and really listen to the stuff between Tunnel of Love and Magic that I'm not as well-versed in. That said, I could easily compile a top 20 that covered just Greetings to BITUSA. Plus probably "American Skin" and "57 Channels."

will anything from Greetings place?

depends on how many spots there are

"For You" will be in my 20, certainly (although possibly the Hammersmith solo piano version)

xp

it's quite possible late era Bruce does better than pre btr Bruce cause there's more of a consensus on the good songs

in a top 40 we might see "Spirit in the Night" or "For You", mostly because they've been live staples; but I know there are people who think the debut is his best album. It doesn't do much for me.

The "Bruce" book is pretty fair to Appel, too. It's telling that he and Bruce have buried the hatchet.

This photo of Bruce going over the Darkness artwork was taken by Doug Yule, who was working at that printer at the time. It's all a rich tapestry.

And of course Bruce appears on Lou's "Street Hassle!"

"Bruce" book does a good job pointing out how little band action there is on the first album. And also how "Spirit in the Night" and "Blinded By the Light" were whipped up by Bruce at the last minute when the label asked him to write a potential hit.

the real question is will anyone vote for "Part Man, Part Monkey"

Thoughts on songs from the expanded Darkness?

Ain't Good Enough For You was in my shortlist and came right down to the wire, alas I ditched it ;_;

I listened to Born In the USA on the way home last night -- goddamn that is a nicely sequenced album. And talk about all killer no filler. I forgot how much great stuff was on there. And now I'm wondering why I haven't listened to it more up til now --- I've always been kinda stuck in the 70's tbh

The version of "Racing in the Street" on The Promise trumps the Darkness version for me, so that'll be in my 20.

xp

I really like "Talk to Me," but it won't make my list. I want to include "The Promise," but there are so many version floating around (see also: "Frankie").

Would consider "The Rising."

xxp I could easily fill most of my ballot with BITUSA songs alone! I can confidently predict that if I do send in a ballot, it will include "Dancing In The Dark," "Bobbie Jean," "Downbound Train" and "I'm Going Down" AT LEAST.

Listening to Tunnel of Love for the first time in a looooong time right now. Man, "Spare Parts" is a sleeper.

All killer no filler OTM!!

'the promise' is obv po5 springsteen

love candy's boy, ain't good enough for you

gingers crossed that everybody else vote BITUSA up like crazy because like an idiot I only voted up 1 measly song off that album

hah! fingers. Not gingers.

http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/121426/121426,1290065557,27/stock-photo-cute-ginger-girl-stand-with-hands-crossed-65347567.jpg

IT WAS AN ACCIDENT I'M SORRY

Personally I feel BitUSA could have been a much better record, there are so many other better songs he had at that time which could have used. As Heylin says, the final tracklist is more or less a random selection of songs from the period. Not that I don't like the record, but an alternative BiTUSA with "None But The Brave", "Murder Inc" and "My Love Will Not Let You Down" would have been a humdinger.

haha I am listening to the last one right now

we got "My Love Will Not Let You Down" in Chi last year, def a good one

the only song I'd cut off BITUSA is "Bobby Jean". not a huge fan of "No Surrender" either but it's ok enough to leave it.

You can find alternate track list bootlegs with "Murder," "Love" and "Frankie," at least.

Seriously, I'm having trouble picking a second from BitUSA, because I listen to it as one perfectly sequenced. I'm not sure I would ever put on just Bobby Jean or Downbound Train or whatever, but damned if I'd ever dare skip them when they came on.

the "Downbound Train" on the Nebraska sessions is boss

alternative bitusa would obv have frankie, shut out the light, janey don't you lose heart

xp

"Downbound Train" will be in my top 5, you can count on that. Something about that song just hits me.

also brothers under the bridges

bitusa should really be a double album

will anything from Greetings place?

I will definitely rep for "Spirit in the Night," which is one of his sexiest songs. (And he has a lot more sexy songs than I think he gets credit for.)

I don't have the technical competence but I'd love to hear a remix of the Nebraska "Downbound Train" with stomps and claps added as percussion

This is another awesome outtake, from "The River." The version Bruce used for "Tracks" inexplicably drops the 12-string:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoBSpBCOb6E

Those "Definitive River Outtakes" and "Definitive Darkness Outtakes" boots are so good.

Like, this is a totally dropped song that is better than a lot of acts' lead singles.

Another incredible rabbit hole is the multi-volume "Lost Masters" series. Also, the (forget what it's called) boot comp meant to supplements "Tracks." Hell, Backstreets published a special fan-written insert that provides all the information missing from the boxed set.

yeah springsteen's obscurities are better than most careers

the alt v's of Born to Run songs are pretty enchanting; I don't think a lot from that time ended up on Tracks (just "Linda Let Me Be the One" right?) & really these are just fucking around with the arrangements but they're very nice. & of course acoustic / piano "Thunder Road" is fabulous

Spirit In The Night got a vote from me

Heylin is also refreshingly pro-Appel and anti-Landau, pouring scorn on Springsteen for severing his ties with the savvy and knowledgeable Appel and throwing in his lot with the inexperienced and ineffectual Landau.

I'll grant that Appel was savvy enough to get Bruce the Hammond audition, but didn't he negotiate a notoriously shitty deal for Bruce?

And I wouldn't exactly call Landau ineffectual, given how rapidly Bruce's star rose (and stayed there) after he took over. But epics on the order of "Jungleland" disappeared, and I do blame Landau for that.

The "Bruce" book doesn't blame Appel, per se, but the lawyer hired by Appel, who drafted the most onerous contract imaginable. Which of course Bruce did not read before signing, let alone run by a lawyer. Landau gets credit for expanding Bruce's world via books and movies and politics, but it was Bruce who wanted to simplify things. It's funny to think about, since so much of latter era Bruce is built around just a handful of simply folk chords, but that took effort on his part, given the complexity of his early stuff.

I jumped to conclusions re: Landau/epics mainly due to when it happened, and because of Landau's track record (no sprawl for the MC5 on Back In The USA).

I dunno, I think Bruce's writing took a natural turn for the less-epic. From Darkness through Nebraska (my favorite Bruce era, btw), it's all about paring down.

It may sound natural, but it was intentional. He talks about it in the book a lot.

I'm trying to remember this really weird, awkward chord that shows up in both "Born to Run" and Huey Lewis' "Power of Love." E/G#? Any guitar nerds out there much more adept at this stuff than me?

That's just an E with the third in the bass. Brian Wilson used to do that a lot.

Still, it's no meat and potatoes chord! At least I have trouble doing it, especially in the context of a song as fast as BtR!

Lots of ppl put the 3rd on the bass note; BW would more liklely put some unrelated note in the bass that's part of an upcoming chord.

Anyone know if the resemblance between the album covers and titles of Greetings from Asbury Park and Tim Buckley's Greetings from L.A. are intentional or a coincidence?

Maybe it's a different chord I'm thinking of, because the chord shared by BtR and the Huey Lewis jam is a tricky one to form.

E6/G?

Here is a question -- does there exist a gif of Little Steven making that gross face while playing his guitar vertically in the Glory Days video? If so, could you point me to it?

The Tunnel of Love title track kills me

I just thought that saying there was ZERO PERCENT chance that Broooce might have been inspired one day by listening to Magnetic Fields was silly. I'm sure he's heard some of those records.

i have no idea if bruce has heard the magnetic fields or not -- though it would make perfect sense that he has -- but he and merritt appear to have another plot of common ground that rarely gets any play in springsteen literature: the broadway musical. the most obvious evidence to me is "meeting across the river" and "jungleland"; the way he sings "oooother siiiiiide" in the first verse of "meeting" is as pure a broadway gesture as you'll hear in classic rock. there are a few others from around that era that suggest there was more than a little broadway in the boss's blood, "candy's room" being one that leaps to mind.

the next line too, "hey eddie this guy he's the real thing!" is like pure west side story/jazz fingers flair

absolutely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmPMMitJDYg

Piano: Bittan
Drums: Weinberg

i thought this was well understood!? those songs are so ~*razzle dazzle*~

That's why I can't stand Born To Run.

but springsteen a little closer to "west side story." meat loaf a little closer to "grease."

big diff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEd6QUbK2Mw

Piano: Bittan
Drums: Weinberg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvLNRO41o64

Piano: Bittan
Drums: Weinberg

Jim Steinman sure recognized the razzle dazzle!

and all of these songs are great

FOREVER'S GONNA START TONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT
OUT OF NOTHING AT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL
HERE IN JUNGLELAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND

i'm not knockin it, just saying that it's hardly an unmentioned facet of brucery

Bat Out Of Hell is my least favorite album of all time by a huge margin.

Here's the whole package: E Street Band (plus uncredited Bruce) backing Ronnie Spector covering Billy Joel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9oDysH6g5M

The whole gang once again, backing Bonds for an anthem for our times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKxfxixwdXE

Who was around for the release of the Live box set? I was 12 but after "We Are the World" it was the biggest music-related story I'd seen. Local news camped outside Specs and Record Bar at malls with fans at midnight.

It was huge! We didn't have midnight releases where I lived but it's the first thing I remember you could pre-order at the store.

omg Prof and Max on Bat Out Of Hell is an AWESOME convergence of two of my most favorite things
I had no idea!!
I can't even tell you how much I love Bat Out Of Hell (to do so would get me banned from this poll I'm sure)

not hearing any broadway influences in springsteen at all fwiw

really?

he definitely covers it with a wordier, literary bent but I can see it in a lot of his early stuff. Maybe not brodway. maybe off-broadway :)

it's more the type of overblown romance than the actual music cues

i wouldn't have gotten into bruce if i hadn't been a high school drama kid

otm

I mean, there's SO many porches in these songs. Dying for dramatic realization

and the original point about "oooooother siiiiiide" is just no doubt broadway musical, i've never heard that song and not thought of bruce at the front of the stage with a spotlight on him

Totally forgot about "The Fever!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f43eMOLEwsc

Speaking of "Tracks", "Back in Your Arms" kills me right now (I know it's somewhat sappy, but I don't give a shit, it might place, I think)

not hearing any broadway influences in springsteen at all fwiw

― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Wednesday, February 6, 2013 5:35 PM (46 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Me either. John Sinclair wrote that Born To Run had more to do with West Side Story than with "actual rock." Which of course means that John Sinclair had neither heard nor heard of anything Phil Spector ever had a hand in.

it's SO West Side Story

I mean...surely I'm not the only person who's gotten drunk & fallen to their knees during Born To Run imploring Wendy to strap her hands cross my engine? It's a broadway choreographer's wet dream!

miracle it hasn't gotten the mamma mia/movin out treatment yet

and it isn't BTR but Incident on 57th St is basically WSS fanfic

let's write it!

john stamos as the lead / idina menzel as wendy / josh gad as the man across the river

hugh jackman as terry

gonna be RICH

yes to jackman

a sea of mega-fosse jazz hands on the opening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIJ3grfB3WE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeDAcDHjt7A

You guys NO. No!

YES

What's Twyla Tharp up to?

loool

we can afford chenoweth, right?

kristen chenoweth as max weinberg

we're clearly on the same page here

The thing about Broadway is that Ev Er Y One E Nun See Ates.

There are other factors that distance Bruce from Broadway for me, but his lack of enunciation (relative to Broadway hacks) is chief among them.

kristen chenoweth as max weinberg

OK, I'd totally pay to see this.

Yeah, Broadway Bruce would be the worst, sorry. In fact, I'm trying to think if any catalog songs of his have even been allowed into movies. Obviously he's written original songs for movies, but other than that .... hmmm. I seem to recall "Stolen Car" (at least) making it into "Copland," with Sly Stallone moping around as it played over and over on vinyl. Ironically enough, Ed Burns' Jersey Shore set "She's the One" mostly features stuff from Tom Petty.

Found a big list here, intriguing that they are almost all minor movies:

http://www.greasylake.org/the-circuit/index.php?/topic/92223-movies-where-springsteen-songs-are-featured/

buncha stick in the muds, all of you

Out in the Street played a big part in very embarrassing movie Reign Over Me

sandler's SNL bruce was always the best tho

Broadway's a dud
We're sticks in the mud
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey

I'm going to start adding "somewhere in the swamps of Jersey" to the end of everything I say.

Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey.

after this poll I had an idea to create a thread called "In Every Springsteen Song Ever"

I've thought about a poll of Springsteen girls: Sandy, Candy, Wendy, Mary...

nice!

sloppy sue

the most prominent uses of springsteen catalog songs in movies, I think, was in john sayles's great early film "baby it's you" and in peter bogdanovich's "mask." bogdanovich cut his film with several springsteen songs, then replaced them with bob seger songs when he couldn't rights to them for the theatrical release. but the dvd release apparently restores the springsteen songs.

sayles used a bunch of bruce songs in his finished movie, then had a hard time releasing it on home video because of music rights. somewhere in the back of my head I have it that he, too, replaced the boss with seger, this time for the vhs release, but google isn't giving me a definitive answer on that. the bruce music is in the dvd version. and sayles went on to direct three videos off born in the u.s.a.

Jane, Janey ... Rosalita!

Terry, Bobby Jean, Frankie among the androgynous names he likes.

in that broadway show you're writing, please cast steven van zandt as music mob boss jon landau.

anyone know why exactly would it be easier to get the rights for DVD releases than theatrical? xp

those movies were both early/mid 80s and the business was very different then. the vhs market was new, and it was probably just two different negotiations for two different products, with neither side knowing quite what the home market's potential was. nowadays I would assume in most cases producers secure all of their rights for all markets for all media for the entire known universe, and probably any potential unknown universe as well, in a single, probably more complicated and expensive, negotiation.

I wouldn't be surprised if changes in ownership had something to do with it, too.

Tougher Than the Rest and Tunnel of Love are two of my all time favorite Bruce songs. I don't like the goofy fun songs (Pink Cadillac) much at all. Mostly I like sad, romantic, hopeless, and hopeful Bruce.

― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Monday, February 4, 2013

OTM

Tougher Than the Rest has faded a bit for me over time but Tunnel of Love will be high on my ballot. Cold-eyed and harrowing. Lofgren's solo is a masterpiece.

I have a question: Did Columbia ever actually remaster the first two albums after the initial cds? I ask because I just picked up a copy of TWTI&TESS from the cheapie bin at Wal-Mart. This copy was slightly updated & cleaned-up artwork (including Bruce's url on the back cover), a 16 page booklet, a clear case w/a band photo under the tray, and it doesn't sound as bad as I was expecting, given how awful many of the early Columbia catalogue cds were. It kind of has an audible glossy sheen and I know they remastered material from this era for the "Essential" comp.

Poll: Best Song From Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel Of Love

Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love - Classic or What?

Bruce Springsteen, "One Step Up," C or D

xpost The cd also has red label artwork on the disc itself instead of the old black type up with no background like most vintage Columbia discs.

my top 10 will include the title tracks from four albums, and there are four other title tracks in the running for spots 11 to 20.

which got me thinking that every album he's made since 1975 has a title track. can't think of another artist for whom that's been true for anywhere near that length of time.

(every studio album since 1975, that is)

I love Bruce a lot but this thread has made me realise how relatively casual a fan I am - I've only heard a couple of the post-'80s albums, I own the Promise 2CD set but have never even listened to Tracks, don't have any bootlegs... I've got my 20 more or less sorted already but I'll definitely be doing some more digging around over the next few weeks.

La Lechera and rogermexico otm about sad Bruce btw, my ballot is Tunnel of Love-heavy.

I know it probably doesn't need the lobbying, but I just wanna say that the third verse of "Racing in the Street" is one of my favorite things he's written. It starts grounded in the same kind of detail of the first two verses, and ends mythical and apocalyptic, pivoting on "the eyes of one who hates for just being born." Gives me chills.

yeah that's one of the reasons why I much prefer the version of "Racing" on The Promise to the Darkness version. He sings that last verse with this huge rasping power and the lyrics are different too ("dress is torn" for "dreams are torn"). Although my enthusiasm for this version was slightly deflated when I learned that this vocal is a new overdub.

"Racing" (album version) will be in my top 5, probably.

FWIW, there are a lot of sneaky overdubs all over "Tracks" and "The Promise."

Like, the old "Thundercrack" on "Tracks?" Totally new vox, including Bruce's lead and Vini's backup vocals.

Voted. My ballot didn't go deep. I went in with those intentions, but I couldn't NOT vote for some of the big tracks that also double as favorites.

Just sent mine in. Looking at it, I could have swapped out completely for another 20 songs that I love nearly as much.

oh good, i got unbanned in time to participate in this thread!! i have not been happy about the slander for "Bobby Jean" itt! this cover by Portastatic (Mac from Superchunk) is what really opened the song up for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49lZ7cPFtq8

SOME DUDE!

The tales of Mac's Springsteen obsession are adorable.

Bobby Jean is def. superior to Glory Days and My Hometown which i really don't think much of

11 polls in so far.

ballots i mean, obviously

"Bobbie Jean" is all-time, some dude gets it.

Almost ready to turn in my ballot. Was re-listening to Devils & Dust today, am correct in having no songs from there. Might actually include "Radio Nowhere," though.

I'll file mine tomorrow, but I'm going to keep a dozen superior alternate ballots in the vault.

the production on those last few E Street records, actually even on The Rising, really drains some of the life from the songs - i doubt i'll be including anything post Tunnel Of Love

Brendan O'Brien has problems recording guitars against keyboards.

yeah...as i've been listening to Bruce this week i've been skimming the '00s band records and thinking about how i'm not really happy with the Brendan O'Brien modern rock sheen of them but not exactly sure how they should've been recorded instead. wouldn't necessarily something more 'raw' or more 'analog' or some kind of tasteful Rick Rubin thing, but there's gotta be some modern context that would do E Street the best justice. xp

lol I def think the 90s had absolutely no idea what to do with the E Street Band

(btw wb sd)

something more 'raw' or more 'analog'

Like "The Seeger Sessions," which is awesome.

Producer: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau

Come home, Bruce, come home.

yes The Seeger Sessions is really great actually, surprisingly so.

I tried to listen to latter-day E Street records and boy, it was a tough slog for the reasons mentioned. I haven't heard an O'Brien production that I thought was any good, regardless of the artist (his AC/DC record is abysmal).

I would pick Albini to record Bruce (and it sounds like Albini got a few ideas from The River).

I really dig 2000s springsteen despite the production

yeah obviously the Seeger stuff (and to a lesser extent i guess Tom Joad/Devils & Dust) have a more naturalistic pared-down sound, i'm saying specifically that all 4 of the post-reunion E Street albums have a certain '90s rock sheen (3 by Brendan O'Brien, one by Ron Aniello that may sound even less flattering) xp

so far the most recent song in consideration for my ballot is "Land of Hope and Dreams," but purely for the '99 live arrangement because I hate what they did to it on Wrecking Ball. beyond that, don't know what I'd even consider besides maybe "Gypsy Biker."

pox 2000s springsteen

american skin
we take care of our own
wrecking ball
the wrestler
outlaw pete
this life
livin in the future
maria's bed
my city of ruins
let's be friends

(studio) albums neglected by my ballot

Greetings
Human Touch
The Ghost of Tom Joad
The Rising
Devils & Dust
We Shall Overcome/Seeger Sessions
Working on a Dream
Wrecking Ball

I'm going to have an entirely nineties-and-beyond ballot, I think. There's enough there, easy.

Album breakdown of my votes (anything not listed is a 0). Yr basic bell curve:

Greetings: 1
Wild, Innocent: 1
Born to Run: 2
Darkness: 3
River: 4
Nebraska: 4
USA: 3
Tunnel: 1
Joad: 1

lol "outlaw pete"

good song to think about in light of laments itt about the disappearance of 8-9 minute epics since "Jungleland"

I will defend outlaw pete til the day I die

I voted for only one epic, but it was not Jungleland.

Outside the streets on fire in a real death waltz
Between flesh and what's fantasy and the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand but they wind up wounded, not even dead
VIDEO GAAAAAMES

― some dude, Sunday, July 15, 2012 1:10 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

POX 2000s Springsteen

Life Itself
Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Mrs. McGrath
Wrecking Ball
We Take Care Of Our Own
Easy Money
You'll Be Coming Down
Long Walk Home
Radio Nowhere
My City Of Ruins

Still seriously considering a few tracks from Bruce Your Illusion but I think that's as late as I go.

Spike Lee used "The Fuse" effectively in 25th Hour but man the drum track is recorded wack.

I can still listen to a quarter of The Rising when I remember it exists. That handful plus "Radio Nowhere" are all I'd keep from the last decade. While loving Bruce means accepting his cornball streak, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" embarrassed me -- it's his "Into The Night."

Still seriously considering a few tracks from Bruce Your Illusion but I think that's as late as I go.

― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Thursday, February 7, 2013 3:58 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

omg BRUCE YOUR ILLUSION

I love a good half of Lucky Town, but Human Touch can get fucked.

"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" embarrassed me -- it's his "Into The Night."

haha! it's not quite that bad, but it sounds like a third rate Crooked Fingers song to me. i feel that way about his weird voice on "All I'm Thinkin About" -- yuk

just imagine Robert Palmer singing in the voice of "she's so completely kissable, uh, woo woo woo woo" and that's what Bruce does on "Girls..."

yeah see i look over those later song titles and absolutely dreary choruses like "Life Itself" and "Radio Nowhere" pop into my head and i feel like never listening to those records again, even if they really aren't that bad

so far the most recent song in consideration for my ballot is "Land of Hope and Dreams," but purely for the '99 live arrangement because I hate what they did to it on Wrecking Ball.

yeah, the live version will probably be my only post BITUSA song, and it'll probably be very high for me. makes me wonder if some of these 2000s songs could win me over if i found a good performance.

"The Fuse" off The Rising is sounding pretty good to me right now

haha! it's not quite that bad, but it sounds like a third rate Crooked Fingers song to me. i feel that way about his weird voice on "All I'm Thinkin About" -- yuk

― and that sounds like a gong-concert (La Lechera), Thursday, February 7, 2013

just in case anyone hasn't heard it, the Crooked Fingers cover of "the river" is pretty far from third-rate. currently not avail on youtube :/

Voted! My ballot breaks down by decade as:

'70s: 7
'80s: 11
'90s: 2

My ballot broke down as:

TWTITESS: 1
Live at the Main Point (got a proper in-the-shops CD release over here): 1
BTR: 2
Darkness: 4
The River: 3
Nebraska: 2
BITUSA: 2
TOL: 1
The Rising: 1
Magic: 1
Tracks: 1
The Promise: 1

The Seeger Sessions got in my albums list despite not supplying a song to my ballot. I think of that record as 45-minute explosion of joy rather than a collection of songs.

god the more i listen the longer and more impossible to finalize my ballot becomes, am just gonna give up and settle on something today. just stumbled on "Brothers Under The Bridge," which is really nice but i think i prefer how its template was used on "Secret Garden," which will definitely be on my ballot.

haha, me too. I haven't really seriously listened to The Rising except one other time, and there's some strong stuff on there!

anyone like Donna Summer's "Protection"?

Yes, although I'd kill to have heard her version of "Cover Me."

Seriously, why did nobody tell me how good this album is?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_TZnp6AZaY

went with a gut ballot in the end, one Human Touch song, o/w nothing past Tunnel of Love

don't forget

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFpJp29MELM

More from the "indie dudes love Bruce" pile from today. Britt Daniel may have been born to sing this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XrLRQZI2AI

Has anyone posted this beaut?! It totally slayed me back in the day, and I feel like it still works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hRiA6b2cPc

The local FM rock station ("the Loop") played this a lot in 1984, and I thought it was cool at the time. Hasn't dated well, though...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZapYJ14G10

Presumably it's OK to vote for stuff not on the official albums, i.e. stuff from Tracks, The Promise and The Essential (disc 3)? What about live stuff e.g. Live 1975-85?

I voted for one from Live at the Main Point. Worked on the assumption that if it had a widespread commercial release it was fair game. (Widespread commercial release was why I voted for Tougher rather than the Vogel remix, which I believe was almost imposisble to find.)

i think probably MOST ballots will have some non-album stuff, it's definitely allowed and encouraged. i get why someone would want to vote for a specific live version of a song but in general i'm just voting for the song, dunno if i wanna give Jamie the headache of noting who voted for what version in the rollout.

"Dancing in the Dark" is my favorite karaoke song. I love singing it, esp with the dance and "I'm just tired and bored with myself"

I better not be the only ballot that includes "Fire," I know that!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd3KB5Z39vo

Robin Williams usage = instant yellowcard.

haha

I thought about voting for Fire, but I remembered that the reason why I remember it is because of Robin Williams & the Pointer Sisters; Bruce's versions are just ok.

The Live 75-85 version of "Fire" is pure gold.

^^^

it's really hard to love any other version but the Pointer Sisters' but the live '75-85 one is fab

I'm finding it hard to cut anything off my ballot from The Wild, The Innocent except "Wild Billy's Circus Story". I love this record so damn much.

Also, I don't know why I never realized that if you slow down "The Ties That Bind" you basically get The Replacements "Sixteen Blue".

Pointer Sisters' "Fire" is brilliant. WLS-AM in Chicago had enough pull/clout/cocaine to commission a version that replaced the line "You turn on the radio" with "You turn on WLS."

I never cared for the Pointer Sisters version, and revisiting it on Spotify hasn't changed that opinion.

The Live 75-85 version of "Fire" is pure gold.

― EZ Snappin, Friday, February 8, 2013 10:50 AM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

took me a minute to find that on Spotify because they erroneously list that record as having "I'm On Fire" on it twice

i noticed that too. idiots.

that's a warning that you will ignite if you listen to it
be careful!

Also, I don't know why I never realized that if you slow down "The Ties That Bind" you basically get The Replacements "Sixteen Blue".

― EZ Snappin, Friday, February 8, 2013 10:59 AM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I remember the first time I heard The Ties That Bind, I was like "Holy power pop!"* I was not expecting The River to be a new-wave album.

*this was like two days ago lol

Lucky Town is an almost deceptively good album. It's a victim of "1992" production in many places, but things like the title track and "The Big Muddy" and others rise above it.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, February 4, 2013

Yeah I'm surprised how many Lucky Town tracks I'm giving serious consideration over "classic" stuff I've secretly never cared about. Agreed that Human Touch is mostly trash tho I'm cool with the title track and may vote for it f all y'all.

obviously "Brilliant Disguise" will slay in this poll but what else are Tunnel of Love heads really into? i may vote for "One Step Up," not sure what else.

"One Step Up" is on my ballot right now. Other than that and the title track, not much there for me to get enthused about.

I adore "Two Faces" and "Valentine's Day" on the second track; the latter boasts one of my favorite synth lines ever.

also: "Tougher Than The Rest" and "All That Heaven Will Allow."

"Valentine's Day" is my other love after the title track. But it was the first one I got into as an album, instead of just the big radio songs. I still listen to it more as a piece than as individual tracks.

ami the only one who likes "ain't got you"? not top 20 for me but I've always had a soft spot for that one.

and yes absolutely the title track.

Tunnel of Love (the song) -- cuddle up? ok, no prob.

I will probably give lots of points to Tougher than the Rest

Lol "probably" -- you will.

I remember the first time I heard The Ties That Bind, I was like "Holy power pop!"* I was not expecting The River to be a new-wave album.

I had the same reaction. Chimey, crunchy 12-string! He digs the Byrds!

The Houston '78 version is great, but kind of funny in that he flubs the guitar hook, and basically gives up on trying to play it for the rest of the song.

re: tunnel of love... man, this is a good record. A little rough out of the gate but the back half is a monster.

We seem to be sleeping on "when you're alone"...

I've got it down to 20, but I have no idea how to rank them. This is hard!

Really the only tracks I wouldn't at least consider for my ballot are "ain't got you," "all that heaven will allow" and "two faces"...

can only credit Springsteen's popularity (about to cool off) for "One Step Up"'s chart position.

yeah this is def not a record built for radio

voted for "One Step Up"

I love the Mavericks' v of "All That Heaven Will Allow"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwUVNizy9yY

wow the lead singer looks just like I did in 1992, coulda been me, I got a picture in a locket

My look then was not dissimilar.

Ballot sent.

Tracks by album:

Greetings - 3
The Wild, etc. - 5
Born to Run - 1
Darkness - 1
River - 3
Nebraska - 1
Born USA - 2
Live - 1
Tunnel - 2
Joad - 1

Greetings - 0
The Wild - 2
BTR - 1
Darkness - 2
River - 1
Nebraska - 4
BITUSA - 4
Tunnel - 3
Human - 1
non album - 2

The Rising is really something, no? I bought it at the time and remember being really disappointed, thinking it was bland feelgood rock, no awkwardness and no anthems - but I've had it on today and now it seems encyclopaedic, almost, as if they've squeezed a whole career or even genre in there. Musically and lyrically.

It's far too much to properly take in in one go, but that felt kinda revelatory.

i do love My City Of Ruin

I have a visceral hatred of The Rising. I can't even be open minded and revisit it from. It put me off listening to even his stellar back catalog for several years.

I found this marvellous post on 'The Rising' dedicated thread. I don't know that I agree with it all, but it's a great read and the bit about 80s radio roots is more or less what I was getting at by 'encyclopaedic'.

just made the tough cuts and sent in my ballot! please forgive me, [amazing song i'm already feeling silly about not voting for]

Song I feel about dropping: 10th Avenue Freeze-Out. Hoping others pick up the slack, but I'm afraid it will be too many people's 3rd- or 4th-favorite Born to Run track.

I feel bad about dropping...

classic dave q post would read again A+++

http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/new_book_of_rock_lists.htm

Best of Bruce Springsteen

Originals

1. Born to Run
2. Thunder Road
3. Badlands
4. Incident on 57th Street
5. Darkness on the Edge of Town
6. Growin’ Up
7. Reason to Believe
8. If I Should Fall Behind
9. Backstreets
10. River, the
11. Tunnel of Love
12. Independence Day
13. For You
14. Dancing in the Dark
15. Nebraska
16. Glory Days
17. Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
18. Because the Night
19. Rosalita
20. Soul Driver

dunno what year the list was made but I though someone here might be interested

lolbritishes

"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" is a major major song to me. I hope it does well; it's pretty insane that it isn't on ANY of his three most high profile career-spanning best-of comps.

nope its from an american book by american critics

yeah i love 10th Ave Freeze Out

lolcritics

Tenth Ave is a staple of the live shows even now, though. It's the fans' special secret gift from Brooce, I guess.

i mean it WAS a single and i hear it on classic rock radio about as much as "Thunder Road," i'm not sure why one is a lock for every compilation and the other isn't.

For me, Tenth Ave will always be my Clarence song ;_;

yeah that's true, it is also the big Clarence showcase (now memorial) song in concert; maybe NOW it'll finally show up on Bruce's inevitable next Greatest Hits.

tbh good-time raveup major-key party-soundin' PLAY IT BIG MAN! bruce has always left me a little cold. i'll be surprised if uptempo numbers represent more than 25% of my ballot. fwiw i'd def rate 10th ave over e.g. rosalita or hungry heart or glory days or whatever...

i love party bruce. happy music for me

lonely bruce just thinkin baout things 4vr

i enjoy both bruces in equal measure

ALL THE BRUCES

I better not be the only ballot that includes "Fire," I know that!

― Gollum: "Hot, Ready and Smeagol!" (Phil D.), Friday, February 8, 2013 10:40 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you won't be. have watched this YT about a billion times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5PoIrcyd34

so much mojo in that performance

xposts "I will have listens with all these Bruces"

I wish I would've spent some more time with Hammersmith live album from the Born to Run reissue. "Lost in the Flood" is the most fucking amazing thing in the world to me this afternoon, and it definitely would've found a place on my ballot. I even went back and found I had some fondness for the studio version on Greetings.

Voted.

The River - 5
Darkness - 4
Born to Run - 3
Born in the USA - 3
Magic - 1
Ghost of Tom Joad - 1
Working on a Dream - 1
Tunnel of Love - 1
Non-album - 1

I wish I would've spent some more time with Hammersmith live album from the Born to Run reissue. "Lost in the Flood" is the most fucking amazing thing in the world to me this afternoon, and it definitely would've found a place on my ballot. I even went back and found I had some fondness for the studio version on Greetings.

― Johnny Fever, Friday, February 8, 2013 6:28 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i was afraid to delve too much into live recordings this week because i knew it would totally turn me around on songs that i didn't think much of on the albums and then more voting dilemmas

Just voted.

Greetings: 2
Wild Innocent: 2
Born To Run: 3
Darkness: 1
The River: 2
Nebraska: 1
Born In the USA: 3
Tunnel Of Love: 1
Magic: 1
Wrecking Ball: 1
Non album: 3

Is the live disc from the BtR reissue on Spotify? Because I'm curious but am not buying the set for it.

It is.

thanks!

RS:You're a big Neil Young fan. Are you into his current work?

Jim James: The last Neil Young record I really enjoyed was Prairie Wind. I thought that was a fucking beautiful record. I like everything that Neil does. Neil's a big hero of mine, but I really came to this realization: I saw Springsteen in Louisville, and I've never been giant Springsteen fan. I only liked things here or there and I wasn't like a giant fan. I saw him in Louisville and he was fucking phenomenal! It was like seeing the sun shine for the first time or something. It was like he was so positive and it felt like every motherfucker in that place was his best friend. You know he touched everybody. He was crowd surfing. He was fucking running around and shit. When you see Neil (Young) and Bob (Dylan), they're, like, all pissed and you feel like they don't give a fuck if you're there or not. I'm so sick of that, and seeing Bruce I was like, "Fucking-a, man! Thank you! I paid a lot of money to be at this fucking show and you care I'm here." It was just, like, such a revelation.

Greetings: 1
Wild Innocent: 1
Born To Run: 4
Darkness: 3
The River: 3
Born In the USA: 2
Tunnel Of Love: 2
Wrecking Ball: 1
Non album: 3

Greetings: 4
Wild Innocent: 5
Born to Run: 4
Darkness: 2
The River: 1
Born in the USA: 2
Tunnel of Love: 1
Non album: 1

This will not be denied

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8F8nFufbiU&feature=share&list=PL197441B45893D093

Greetings: 4
Wild Innocent: 5
Born to Run: 4

new favorite poster

GREETINGS = 2
WILD INNOCENT = 1
DARKNESS = 4
THE RIVER = 3
NEBRASKA = 2
BORN TO RUN = 4
BORN IN THE USA = 1
LIVE 75/85 - 1
TUNNEL OF LOVE = 1
TOM JOAD = 1

tbh good-time raveup major-key party-soundin' PLAY IT BIG MAN! bruce has always left me a little cold. i'll be surprised if uptempo numbers represent more than 25% of my ballot. fwiw i'd def rate 10th ave over e.g. rosalita or hungry heart or glory days or whatever...

― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Friday, February 8, 2013 10:32 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hungry Heart is in a major key, but it's fulla minor 7ths! Dark undercurrent on that song, it's a mournful progression.

Also, I was at that Louisville show and Jim James otm. (Funny to think of rock stars being in the same crowd with you, paying for their own tickets.)

I hope somebody votes for "I'm Goin' Down"!

i love that song! it's really fun to dance to.

Not voting because I've never been a fan -- I grew up in NJ in the '70s, and found all the mythologizing insane -- but my favorites are "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)" and "Streets of Philadelphia."

The latter made my ballot.

i wonder if consensus is going to be especially weak in this poll compared so some others? some of Bruce's stone cold classic albums, a lot of us are only voting for one or two songs off them, and i bet they're usually not the same songs. obviously there are certain hits and fan favorites that are going to do fine, but there are also some songs that might underperform just from people being burnt out on them or wanting to save room for rarities.

I had a harder time than I thought picking 20, so I'm glad a lot of you picked stuff I didn't pick but really could have.

Meanwhile:

Mr. Springsteen got into the spirit of a charity auction held just before the event. Organizers asked him and several of the stars at the event to sign a new Telecaster guitar in hopes of auctioning it for at least $50,000. The master of ceremonies, David Foster, who is also the chairman of Verve Music Group, waded through the tables collecting signatures from the likes of Elton John and Tim McGraw, but was having trouble getting people in the crowd to open up their wallets.

Then Mr. Springsteen sweetened the deal. He jumped up and bellowed: “With this guitar comes one free guitar lesson from me. That’s right. One free lesson. One hour. And a ride in the sidecar of my Harley Davidson. So dig in, you 1 percenters!”

The bidding started to escalate rapidly as the crowd, which included some of Los Angeles’s most affluent families, roared with laughter. As the bids spiraled, Mr. Springsteen added more to his offer: free tickets to his next concert, backstage passes, a tour of the backstage conducted by him. Finally he threw in a lasagna to be made by his mother, who was present.

In the end, the guitar sold to an unidentified woman for $250,000. She gave Mr. Springsteen a hug.

Jon Stewart, the comedian, who is a close friend of Mr. Springsteen, hosted the event. He pointed out that Mr. Springsteen was one of the few things New Jersey natives like him have to be proud of.

“We don’t have much,” he said. “We are known mostly as the chief exporter in this country of carcinogens. Bruce Springsteen is all we have.”

Mr. Stewart said that, when he was a young man, he worked in a bar called “The Bottom Half,” which was so called because it was downstairs from a liquor store, and drove a 1969 Gremlin, a car so ugly that it assured no self-respecting young woman would go out with him. In those days, he said he took comfort from Mr. Springsteen’s songs. “I would put on a tape of Bruce’s songs and I would think ‘I am not a loser. I am a character in an epic poem about losers.’ ”

I have been thinking a lot about 'I'm On Fire'...I suddenly have started seeing it as a Jim Thompson sketch of a bad dude. That second verse completely changes the intent of the first verse, and the chorus.

I always thought the whole thing is skeezy! Even the video is creepy dude central.

I've always loved the guitar and the cadence of the lyrics but I always thought it was just heybaby i'm horny. now I get it.

I know a few women who don't like the song because they hear it as about some sort of wet-dream having stalker. So clearly it does strike that chord for some.

They take the "hey little girl is your daddy home" bit literally, I think.

They certainly did in 1985.

Really?

Not that I'm surprised. I just feel stuuupid for not "getting" the song til now

Yeah, it was controversial (some stations wouldn't play it, etc).

I remember some people saying it was from the point of view of a pedophile

:/ I can see that. I guess it depends on if you go with the rockabilly little girl/daddy usage or the literal.

either way that gentlemen needs to see a doctor for his terrible headaches

haha

lol I made a post upthread about how Born in the USA, the song, is so engrained in my dna at this port that I sometimes forget it's an actual piece of music and not just a sound the world makes. Well, apparently, it's so engrained that I forgot to vote for it.

port=point

Man, I wish I could find the horribly written and pegged to nothing Chuck D. essay about "Born in the USA" that ran in Musician Magazine way back when.

"I'm On Fire" is such a feat of arranging/performance that the lyric almost doesn't matter to me, was in my top 5. Also, interestingly, it's currently the most popular (non-Wrecking Ball, non-"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town") Bruce track on Spotify.

The Geoffrey Himes 33 1/3 book on BITUSA, which is a very enjoyable read (although he really beats you over the head with the very arguable thesis that it's his best album), has a good story about how "I'm On Fire" was written and recorded very quickly with just Springsteen/Weinberg/Bittan, I think after the rest of the band had gone home for the night or were on meal break or something.

The release of "Spanish Eyes" makes it's origins clear, but there is a menace in "I'm On Fore" that was not there in it's original incarnation.

I'm On Fore? Nice typo.

The Geoffrey Himes 33 1/3 book on BITUSA, which is a very enjoyable read (although he really beats you over the head with the very arguable thesis that it's his best album), has a good story about how "I'm On Fire" was written and recorded very quickly with just Springsteen/Weinberg/Bittan, I think after the rest of the band had gone home for the night or were on meal break or something.

― dirty drone barack boy (some dude), Saturday, February 9, 2013 1:58 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, the Marsh book has a lot of fascinating accounts of how most of the BITUSA material came together so insanely quickly. The title song was the first-ever run-through for the band, I think. They tried a few more takes, but ended up using the first one.

wait I'm on Fire isn't about the Vietnam vet...?

first line always reminds me a little of this: http://www.usfca.edu/jco/whereareyougoing/

xpost Interesting - or not - that "I'm On Fire" is frequently covered by female singers. Tori Amos, Bat for Lashes, Chromatics ...

BitUSA came together quickly because a huge hunk of it stemmed from the "Nebraska" sessions, which Bruce had reportedly been trying to electrify for months.

One of the saddest developments in Bruce world was the creation of his studio(s), which locked down all the leftover stuff more or less from BitUSA on. The "Bruce" book really illustrates how into drum machines and synths he got; with "Tunnel of Love" he, as a patronizing sap to the band, had them play a demoralizing game of "beat the demo," which is why only a handful of the guys are on the record here and there. Bruce did a lot of it himself.

Sop, not sap.

voted. that was hard.

greetings: 2
born to run: 3
darkness: 3
river: 1
nebraska: 5
born in the usa: 1
tunnel of love: 1
human touch: 1
rising: 1
magic: 1
nonalbum: 1

songs involving cars: 5
songs involving criminal behavior: 5 or 6
songs involving death: 6 or 7
songs about fucking: 4
songs clearly set in new jersey: 6
songs likely but not clearly set in nj: 3
songs that don't have a chorus or at least it's not too clear what the chorus is: 5

lol

I'm just pasting this, because fuck a link:

It's Funny, I've Actually Only Been To New Jersey A Couple Of Times
COMMENTARY • Opinion • ISSUE 48•49 • Dec 4, 2012
By Bruce Springsteen

When you think of Bruce Springsteen, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it’s the heartland rock music of your youth, or the E Street Band. Perhaps you think of New Jersey—heck, a lot of people do. But I have to admit I chuckle every time I hear that, because honest to God, I’ve only been to the place maybe three, four times tops.

Crazy, right? You throw a few details about seaside boardwalks and Atlantic City into your lyrics and suddenly people start calling you Mr. New Jersey.

But let’s see, I was there twice in the ’70s, once in the ’80s, and then I think I passed through on my way to Pennsylvania a few years ago—that’s it. Which is not to say I don’t like the place. It seems okay from the little I’ve seen of it, but nothing special, you know? I’ve always been more of a sunshine and palm trees kind of guy myself.

You see, the whole New Jersey thing really started off by accident. Growing up the son of a cinematographer in a comfortably middle-class Los Angeles suburb, I didn’t know the first thing about the best drag-racing back roads on the Jersey Shore or the gritty factory towns up and down the New Jersey Turnpike. Back then I was too busy working on my tan and surfing every day to care about the economic struggles of union folk, let alone the crude, workaday laborers from northern New Jersey whom people seem to associate me with.

But that all started to change in the summer of 1972, the first time I ever stepped foot in the state. I was in Cherry Hill visiting my aunt, and something about a song I was writing at the time—one about riding my scooter through West Hollywood—just wasn’t clicking. Then it occurred to me: Why not set the thing right there in New Jersey? It seemed crazy at the time, but I figured what the hell.

On a whim I pulled out a map, picked some dinky road in the middle of the state, and half-jokingly scribbled, “At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines / Sprung from cages out on Highway 9.” Those words later became “Born To Run.” Maybe you’ve heard it.

Man, it still cracks me up whenever anyone refers to that song as a “New Jersey anthem.”

After some more research, lyrics I’d written about Beverly Hills were changed to some backwater place called Freehold, Santa Monica Boulevard was switched to Thunder Road, and my dad’s agent Armand became Crazy Janey. Easy as pie. By the end of that weekend, I had cranked out enough material to fill both Darkness On The Edge Of Town and The River.

And let me tell you, all you have to do is mention any old ocean-side carnival ride or pull the name of one blue-collar bar out of the North Jersey Yellow Pages and New Jerseyans will lap it right up and claim you as one of their own. It’s kind of pathetic, actually.

Now I can’t go anywhere without people asking me things about New Jersey as if I were some sort of authority on the place. For the record: No, I don’t know the best place to eat in Asbury Park. I only named my first album after that city because I liked the way it sounded. No, I don’t know how the Devils are doing this season. No, I don’t know the fastest way to get from Long Branch to the Parkway.

Frankly, I don’t even know what the Parkway is.

As much fun as I’ve had with this whole Jersey thing, I have to admit I’m growing a little tired of it and am looking forward to delving into some new territory. In fact, I’ve got an album in mind about the everyday lives of theme park employees in the Orlando area. I’ve always loved that part of the country. The tropical breezes, the stucco houses—it really sums me up in a nutshell. So keep an eye out for Florida Dreaming in 2013.

I’ll be the first to admit that while I know little to nothing about New Jersey—aside from the fact that I sure as hell don’t want to live there—my career has gotten a lot of mileage out of the state. But I still can’t wipe the smile from my face when I think that millions of people will always picture me barreling down a Jersey Shore avenue in a vintage Chevy, windows down, the wind in my hair. Maybe I’ll try that someday if, for God knows what reason, I’m ever back in that part of the country. Like, if I have a long layover or something.

It’ll have to wait for a while, though. At least until someone teaches me how to drive.

http://youtu.be/_ScgF3nWGPM

Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover "Born In The USA" w/ Nils Lofgren & "The Signing Cheerleaders" MusiCares tribute to Bruce Springsteen last night.

Neil pretty well suited to that song!

Bears emphasis: Then Mr. Springsteen sweetened the deal. He jumped up and bellowed: “With this guitar comes one free guitar lesson from me. That’s right. One free lesson. One hour. And a ride in the sidecar of my Harley Davidson. So dig in, you 1 percenters!”

The bidding started to escalate rapidly as the crowd, which included some of Los Angeles’s most affluent families, roared with laughter. As the bids spiraled, Mr. Springsteen added more to his offer: free tickets to his next concert, backstage passes, a tour of the backstage conducted by him. Finally he threw in a lasagna to be made by his mother, who was present.

xpost I was hoping he'd do "Wild Billy's Circus Story".

Only Crazy Horse could make a one-chord dirge sound so perfectly shaky and sloppy, bless 'em.

Awesome xxp. Even more awesome xxxxxxp.

i want mrs springsteen lasagna ;_;

Shoulda been something more all-American though - meatloaf or corndogs or something

69 chevy sheet cake

Man, Neil & the Horse killed on that song. But when he said "Bruuce!" at the end, my first thought was, "Jeez, what a weird time to invoke Bruce Berry."

Yeah, the Marsh book has a lot of fascinating accounts of how most of the BITUSA material came together so insanely quickly. The title song was the first-ever run-through for the band, I think. They tried a few more takes, but ended up using the first one.

― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Saturday, February 9, 2013 2:03 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah that story (which i read in the Himes book, still need to read the Marsh one) gave me a whole new appreciation for "Born In The U.S.A." like, Max doing that big snare roll toward the end is kind of heroic given the circumstances. i'm a drummer and i always try to get the whole song as one take with no punch-ins, but there's always that temptation to go for some big splashy fill you haven't practiced that could spoil the take if you don't nail it.

Am I the only one who thinks Max's little drum solo sounds a little, intentionally or no, like fireworks?

Hadn't heard it like that before, but I can now. It's my favorite performance of Weinberg's, primarily for being one of the more creative explorations/re-contextualizations of Keith Moon's approach.

And some dude otm. I'm a drummer too, and if I'm thinking too far ahead, I'm definitely gonna fuck up the cool fill I want to try. And punching in can be a pain (or just impossible) if you just hit the crash cymbal right before the punch-in point.

between Bruce shows and years of Conan viewing, Max may be most-watched and/or favorite drummer to watch play.

he's the best human cyborg drummer ever

i love max

I don't have it with me right now to check but from memory, Heylin's book says that BitUSA didn't come together quickly at all. Springsteen had dozens of songs to choose from and he kept working them over and over, introducing new ones and fiddling with existing ones, changing his mind over the tracklisting &c.

I just meant how quickly the recordings of the individual songs themselves came together. Bruce basically said to Roy "Here's the synth riff" gave Max the tempo (and told him to go nuts at a certain point), and they were off. There were no rehearsals or prior run-throughs with the band; or rather, the take on the record is the first rehearsal of the song; it just so happened to have worked perfectly.

yeah it seems like the writing was painstaking but a lot of the arranging and performing happened in a flash

I hope there's a last minute influx of ballots. With just 11 in a couple days ago, I'm worried.

I'm writing mine now. I'll be quick, but it'll still take longer than BitUSA.

I'm still deciding on the last 5 or so but I imagine there are going to be at least 30?

but honestly fewer voters is not necessarily a terrible thing, too many casual fan votes muck up the results

We have til tomorrow night, right?

I think, per the "Bruce" book (which I just read), that "BitUSA" took a long time but not quite as long as "Darkness" and "The River," but still long enough that it made Little Steven want to quit. He didn't want to invest a year+ in recording with Bruce again. In the case of those three records, it took outside pressure (esp. Landau) to convince Bruce just to turn in the damn record. Which is ironic, because "Nebraska" (obv.) and "Tunnel" came together so quickly. But those band albums were take after take after take. The songs were there, but Bruce had commitment issues.

Also, Max was apparently almost fired at one point in the early '80s, or at least thought he might be fired, so took drum lessons.

Joad: 3
Rising: 5
Devils: 4
Seeger: 2
Magic: 1
Dream: 2
Wrecking Ball: 3

It's a testament to Bruce that if someone told me to pick 20 from only his recent records, I could easily do so without holding my nose.

They're fabulous records, I'm delighted to have had reason to hear them. I'm finding this over & over with these polls; Bruce, Paul Simon, The Stones, they're all still holding up their end of the bargain, it's us who are letting them down.

submitted

Born to Run 1
Darkness 4
River 3
Nebraska 1
BITUSA 3
Tunnel of Love 1
The Rising 1
Wrecking Ball 1
Other 5

Also, Max was apparently almost fired at one point in the early '80s, or at least thought he might be fired, so took drum lessons.

― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, February 9, 2013 5:35 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Very curious/interested in this part. In fact, I may buy the book just for this. What were Bruce's gripes with Max' playing?

but honestly fewer voters is not necessarily a terrible thing, too many casual fan votes muck up the results

― iatee, Saturday, February 9, 2013 5:32 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

-_-

No, I agree - what happens is the singles all get bumped up into the top ten and the surprises fizzle out lower down.

ballot is in. it's criminal what i left off but c'est la guerre.

With the Who poll, I found that the ballots of the casual fans were, in many cases, far less predictable than those of some of the more hardcore fans. It was great to see enthusiasm for songs that, as an obsessive Who fan, I found I had underrated.

xpost Basically, Max was the sort of drummer not suited to Bruce's take after take style. See also: Stan Lynch of the Heartbreakers. Apparently the entirety of the E Street Band felt pretty expendable. Steven in particular comes off in the book rather aloof; all have come to terms with being hired hands. Obv. on that front Nils fares best. He doesn't think it's much of a big deal when Bruce breaks up the band, since he's been there, done that.

Iirc, Max first thinks the band is going to break up after "The River" tour.

well that's when he holed up for months and months doing solo recordings for the first time, ain't it.

drummers usually have the least amount of job security in a band, and Bruce had already fired Mad Dog, so i can see why Max would've felt that way.

You'd think after the epic "Darkness" and "River" tours he'd be more secure.

xpost Basically, Max was the sort of drummer not suited to Bruce's take after take style. See also: Stan Lynch of the Heartbreakers. Apparently the entirety of the E Street Band felt pretty expendable. Steven in particular comes off in the book rather aloof; all have come to terms with being hired hands. Obv. on that front Nils fares best. He doesn't think it's much of a big deal when Bruce breaks up the band, since he's been there, done that.

― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, February 9, 2013 6:27 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ha, I actually thought Lynch was fired for being an asshole, and Petty finally got sick of dealing with him.

I can see how there might be tension with Max and Bruce, though; the Darkness doc has some accounts of Bruce being something of a taskmaster about the drumming and drum sound (and I actually think Max' playing is at its stiffest there).

Always thought an alternate-timeline E Street, where Sancious and Carter stuck around, would've yielded fascinating results, though.

I think Lynch was the sort of drummer whose every take was different, like Ken Coomer in Wilco, when the auteur required (eventually) a take after take consistency that they could not provide.

Carter and Sancious play on Billy Squier's "Tale of the Tape!"

Oof. I guess not for nothing did Carter say he feels like throwing himself in front of traffic whenever he hears "Born To Run."

;_;

I guess he can take solace in the fact that Max never figured out the bit at 2:43.

lol

With the Who poll, I found that the ballots of the casual fans were, in many cases, far less predictable than those of some of the more hardcore fans. It was great to see enthusiasm for songs that, as an obsessive Who fan, I found I had underrated.

― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Saturday, February 9, 2013 6:12 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's less about enthusiasm and more about the fact that people picking from a smaller set of songs are going to have more overlap w/ each others ballots and polls ultimately measure overlap. more voters and more predictable results go hand in hand.

if I'm counting right, Bruce only had 81 songs on albums in his classic phase, from the debut through Tunnel of Love (not counting Live 75-85). figuring that songs post-Tunnel are going to place sparely, there's not much room for unexpected songs; the best we'll do is putting CANDY'S GIRL in the top #5 (here's hoping)

I mean yeah the top 20 is inevitably gonna be from the classic phase, but there's room for non-singles to place pretty high

lotsa darkness stuff has a good shot at top 10

T dominated my ballot.

xpost Interesting - or not - that "I'm On Fire" is frequently covered by female singers. Tori Amos, Bat for Lashes, Chromatics ...

The band Electrelane also do a killer version that could be my favorite Springsteen cover.

huh, just listened to "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" for the first time, & yeah, the Stephin Merritt comparisons are spot on, in the key Bruce sings in, & its pace also. how weird.

shit I meant CANDY'S ROOM, confused with Candy's Boy, probably I just need candy, it's getting on in the day

I actually like candy's boy more than candy's room

I shoulda voted for "Roulette"

28 ballots in so far, deadline is tomorrow/actually today at midnight UK time.

need to whittle my longlist down from 43, except it's actually a shortlist =(

chop chop

I saw Max do a little presentation when I was in college, he must have written a book or something. He talked a lot about the ins and outs of the E Street Band. He said he learned who was in charge early on one night, when he was still pretty new, and he started flirting with a girl he could see in the crowd. He got so into the flirting that he totally missed a cue, and the whole band stopped but he kept playing. He said Springsteen turned around, staring daggers at him, but he was too freaked out to actually stop playing. He figured if he kept the beat long enough, the band could come back in and it would sound deliberate. But Bruce wasn't playing that game, and kept staring at Max and started gesturing across his throat to kill the playing. So finally Max, desperate, just quits playing, 10 measures or so after everyone else. Then Bruce counted off and everyone came back in. And Max said he never missed another cue.

ha!

dear god, are these lists always limited to 20 choices? my exclusions make me want to vomit. like seeing a dead body for the first time. no the river, no blinded, no NYC serenade, no i'm on fire, no backstreets. this is pure evil.

it's a good thing i made a no-covers rule.

Hungry Heart is in a major key, but it's fulla minor 7ths! Dark undercurrent on that song, it's a mournful progression.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Saturday, February 9, 2013

I knew someone was gonna "one of these things is not like the others" on Hungry Heart. It's also probably the track of his I'm most torn on. Like, I really love what it's going for, but I feel it's still working toward something that he won't get right until a couple records later. I'll have to think if I can actually ID a track that nails it.

I stand by my statement tho. Party bruce just does nothing for me.

xpost is not too soon to lament what we left off? I could cry a the river.

fun fact! my #1 is off an album that didn't make my top 5

WIESS is literally my favorite album ever and my #1 isn't on it

i don't think there's necessarily a strong correlation between fav albums and fav songs with Springsteen, compared to some other artists. each of his classics has such a distinct feel and sound compared to the others, that i think invariably some albums feel more like home, or more like your favorite version of Bruce, than others, but then albums that don't have that quality for you will still have unfuckwithable songs.

yeah exactly. literally every one of the first 7 albums represents a complete tonal/sonic shift.

my breakdown:

Greetings: 2
WIESS: 5
BTR: 4
Darkness: 3
The River: 2
BITUSA: 1
Other: 3

I'm really feeling BITUSA more and more, hoping I didn't screw the pooch not giving it more love.

the album I mean, not the song

was just dancing around the kitchen to I'm Goin Down. <3

I've put "I'm Goin' Down" on repeat and listened to it dozens of time in a row several times in the past year. I'd forgotten it prior to that.

I'm ordering my ballot know, because I don't understand the UK time situation in my pea brain.

there's a list of 20 off the top of my head, and another list of a different 20 that came after that. Instead of making a third list of 20, I'm going trust my original instincts.

So finally Max, desperate, just quits playing, 10 measures or so after everyone else. Then Bruce counted off and everyone came back in. And Max said he never missed another cue.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Saturday, February 9, 2013 11:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Haha, that's hilarious.

The book he wrote is The Big Beat, where he interviews various drummers. It's really fascinating, and I'm pretty sure it's the first documentation of Bernard Purdie's claim to have played on all the early Beatles records.

for those who haven't yet put their pencils down, more classic dave q:

"Atlantic City"

So there's this guy, and he's spent all his money on God knows what. Maybe just groceries and repairing his car, although he probably goes out and raises hell now and then. Problem is, now that his money's all gone he doesn't know how to impress his lady anymore. He sort of needs to, because she doesn't really love him anymore, and he's basically forgotten how. So this opportunity comes up to kill two birds with one stone, he can take her on vacation to a crumby, cut-rate, shit-ass resort town with a beach covered in used condoms, but it's a day out, right? And she might remember why she loved him, although that probably won't happen, and even so, he's got other things on his mind. Like, the only reason he got to go on this trip in the first place is because he figures if he hangs around with some criminals, problem solved. Now, these criminals don't fuck around. They kill people and blow their houses up, all that good stuff. He knows what they're into, although you get this feeling that he'll crap out when it gets down to the shit. So what he's doing is putting himself into a potentially lethal situation and sort of strongly hinting that the bitch doesn't give him shit about it because she's getting something out of it too, and deep down, he wants something out of it he knows he probably won't get, and in the end he'll probably be dead and the bitch probably doesn't give a shit.

But does he LOVE her?

I dunno, but I LOVE this fucking song. This album just gets better and better the more I listen to it.

― dave q, Sunday, December 2, 2001

loool dave q otm

"shit-ass resort town with a beach covered in used condoms"

Max once answered a letter of mine in the pages of "Modern Drummer!" I have the clipping somewhere...

My ballot:

Greetings: 2
Wild, Innocent: 2
Born to Run: 3
Darkness: 1
The River: 1
Nebraska: 1
BITUSA: 3
Live 1975-1985: 1
Tunnel of Love: 2
Human Touch 1
The Rising: 2
non-album: 1

xp No way! That is so cool!

sent

the only organizing principle i had was that i only chose bruce songs that have made me burst into tears (often in public) on a regular basis and i chose by memory alone. no idea what the album spread is, did not vote for albums. i think the OP was otm in that talking about Bruce causes the eruption of bubbles of emotion, but for me this can be really overwhelming, and i wind up embarrassing myself. like now!

what is it with that dude always making us cry

whatta jerk :)

He wields his power with caution, I think it's mostly my fault.

i've been doing a lot of listening the past few days. changed the "memory alone" version of my ballot a lot (tracks i would've sworn were top 10 locks dropped entirely) but i can't say it improved if you know what i mean. p sure you could put together a 100% defensible ballot using nothing but tracklists and an AD&D dice set.

but man, has anyone worked the Norman O. Brown thing harder or longer or considered it from more angles than Bruce? life against death, eros/thanatos, all that. feel like most folks would have felt like they made their point after Born To Run but dude just was just getting warmed up.

otm

Just got down w/The Houston show on the Darkness box. Took me two evenings to do it (and funnily enough, I unintentially stopped last night in the same spot where the critic whose review is in the book admitted he had to depart to meet his deadline that night--missing an over an hour of show). All kinds of awesome, although imho not a patch on the Hammersmith film--which doesn't diminish this at all, but only means how untouchable that '75 date really was.

Quality posts from Kenan from The Promise thread:

I love the shots through the crowd. During "Spirit in the Night," there's a great shot where somebody thrusts an arm into the air that clearly has a joint in it. (You could do that in 1978, so I've heard.) And then a few seconds later someone puts their drink up over their head, and it's a huge red cup that says in fat white letters, "BIG BEER." Yes, yes it certainly is. Bravo, sir.

― DSMOS has arrived (kenan), Thursday, June 9, 2011 7:04 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

re: the live "Prove It All Night"

But there's nothing excessive about this, no matter the length. There's two minutes of piano intro, then four solid minutes of Bruce guitar solo, which is motherfucking amazing, and THEN he sings the song. Saying it's too long would be like saying an orgasm was too long.

― DSMOS has arrived (kenan), Thursday, June 9, 2011 9:50 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I didn't get to vote in this; I kept meaning to sit down and spend some time with the records that I am less familiar with but last week was pretty hectic. Oh well. My ballot would have included half of WIESS; my number one would have been one of two songs depending on how I felt at the moment, both of which I am pretty sure will place and one of which I can see being in the top ten.

okay now that voting has ended it's time to play BALLOTS OF SHAME

as shocked as I was to watch "cadillac ranch" and "badlands" slide off my ballot, the one track I really regret leaving off is "the rising" and if I were voting today it would surely be top-15 if not top-10. pulling off an honest-to-god top 40 rock anthem about god and faith and all that stuff has to be about the toughest trick in the book, and this track pays off in glory themes that have been implicit in the work since The River at least ("You have made us for yourself, O Lord," sez St. Augustine, "and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Saxophone!")

dave q otm about this record, and thanks ismael for posting on it. i didn't give it a shot then and if not for that i might not have given it a shot now. anyway, it's crazy and musical and knowing and a walloping reminder that dude spent 20 years on top of the game not by dumb luck but by extraordinarily self-conscious craft of song, sound, and image. like, the greatest trick that bruce ever pulled was convincing the world he was a jersey apprentice plumber who just happened to find a beat-up telecaster in the gutter one day and not the suspiciously arty music nerd who would have got beat in half of those bars if hadn't been playing in them.

Really frustrated with myself that I didn't wait until finding a whole new love of "Lost in the Flood" before submitting my ballot. Would've gone top 5. Also, der, for leaving off "Born in the USA" accidentally.

There's all sorts of awesome stuff Bruce has done that I could have picked, like "Lost" or even "The Rising," the latter of which I considered. But to be honest, I didn't feel like setting the Bruceathon in motion. I knew if I went back and started listening to stuff that I'd be listening to him all week, and didn't want to commit!

I ended up not voting for "Bobbie Jean," even though I really do love it. Some other songs just kinda edged their way in after I heard them again for the first time in a long time.

My #1 is a thuddingly obvious choice, but I'm hopefully not the only #1 vote for it.

Nah, I voted for it, too, because how could you not and still love Bruce?

I love Bruce and did not vote for any song with "Born" in the title. Much as I enjoy and admire them, neither has ever been a personal fave -- plus, I figured those ones would safely sidle up the countdown without my help.

Really frustrated with myself that I didn't wait until finding a whole new love of "Lost in the Flood" before submitting my ballot. Would've gone top 5.

Yeah, this would have made my top 5, too, if I had voted. :(

#1 was such a no-brainer that it seems impossible any other track could finish first. but I could say that of at least 4 others and I'm sure there were ballots that left it off.

man the Dylan poll is gonna be nuts.

really moved by the Mac McCaughan cover of "Bobby Jean", thanks for posting it!

I'm as happy with my list as I'd be with any list, but I already feel bad not including born in the USA. what an incredible vocal performance, even by his standards.

man the Dylan poll is gonna be nuts.

― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Monday, February 11, 2013 2:07 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i hope whoever's doing that one allows more than 20 spaces. i definitely am going to for the Jay-Z poll, and while i thought 20 would be enough for Bruce now it feels like there shoulda been more room.

I'm doing the Dylan poll, assuming I don't die before 2028 or whenever it comes up. There will be a 20-vote minimum, because if you don't have 20 favorite Dylan songs gtfo. With a max of 40 or 50, I don't know.

I didn't vote for for Born in the Usa, but it was never a favorite.

I def regret not voting for Bobby Jean or I'm Going Down

re born in the usa here's how i break it down to an extent

back in 92 i heard "57 channels" as about as pure a statement of irrelevance as a once-proud Boss could make, and The Ghost of Tom Joad seemed to pretty well confirm a retreat up his own ass into the victory lap/winners' circle/ Best Album Since Blood On The Tracks phase of the ol' career.

consequently, i basically haven't listened to any springsteen at all for nearly 20 years. for real. a track here and there. a spin through Nebraska or Tunnel of Love. but really as far as i was concerned he just kinda stopped existing.

so i'm really grateful that this poll came at a time when i could actually dive back in a little. because a) the rising is nuts and i'm going to have to spend a lot more time with it and b) i was able to hear "born in the usa" as if for the first time and it sounded AMAZING. here's a guy coming off Darkness on the Edge of Town and Nebraska, stepping in the ring with Van Halen's "Jump" and scoring a first-round KO. And doing it without giving up any of the writerly observation or irony or compassion that got him there. Plus yeah, it's a hell of a vocal.

i had no intention of voting for this one going in but it bullied its way into my top 10. just undeniable. whereas e.g. bobby jean/darlington county now sound like the croaks some terrible brundlefly made of the most unfortunate tendencies hinted at in Born To Run and Nebraska.

also the drums

I regret not voting for Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Some songs on that record are a little overwrought for my taste, but that one works like a charm.

If I never heard Badlands again, however, I'd be ok.

bobby jean/darlington county now sound like the croaks some terrible brundlefly made of the most unfortunate tendencies hinted at in Born To Run and Nebraska.

Huh. "Darlington County" is one of my favorites on that record. It's like a Richard Ford short story with a great chorus.

If I never heard Badlands again, however, I'd be ok.

I'll defend it at more length if it shows up on the countdown, but it's a classic on the strength of live performance alone -- martial beats really fire up an arena.

Hi my name is VG and I love Badlands. Ask me how!

"Workin' on the Highway" made my ballot: a superior re-imagining of "Out of Work."

that's a good one too. love that rockabilly swing

if there was one song that i'd happily use as mental shorthand to signify Springsteen whenever i think of his music it'd be "Badlands"

w/ the exception of a lucky town track and maybe one other song (which made the billboard top ten so...) everything on my ballot felt really really super obvious. almost never listen to anything from btr->bitusa (always opt for the live box if i want to hear those songs), play the fuck out of greetings, wiess, and tunnel of love (which placed four on my ballot, two in my top three). this thread (and several ppl i trust repping for wrecking ball elsewhere) makes me want to make more of an effort to check out the stuff from this century.

"Darlington County" is one of my favorites on that record. It's like a Richard Ford short story with a great chorus.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Monday, February 11, 2013

I would have said the same in 85 (minus richard ford) and i expected it to be one of the maybe two bitusa tracks on my ballot at most. really didn't hold up for me on relisten but i seem to have become more allergic to WOO! bruce, no matter how many layers of irony are at play.

I mean it's good, it's pro, but it doesn't make the hairs stand up the way the bruce i'm digging does.

I got four from TOL too

just a note to say i'm hella uber busy right now so might not get around to posting results until after this weekend. sorry to annoy.

no way, it's cool! gives us more time to write forlorn bruce songs about the tracks we left off our ballot

ain't nobody gonna rush you, live your life homie. would it be a hassle to open things up for more ballots to come in, though? sounded like at least a couple people missed the window that wanted to vote, the more the merrier imo.

"You're Missing" got me today.

yeah sure if anyone wants to send them in, i'll keep it open until i get around to tabulating the results

'Nother deep cut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UMe0athq8o

Also, totally forgot that Sean Penn's "The Indian Runner" was based on "Highway Patrolman."

It's fascinating how no one has stepped forward with a reconsideration of Human Touch. Is it that dud-ish?

btw anyone like "Sad Eyes"? My favorite late-period Tracks number.