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If you live anywhere from the rust belt to Nebraska, you will about one thing per minute that speaks to the Midwest/forgotten American town experience on this album. K-Mart parking lots, dirty spring snow piles, family mini-vans with 200,000 miles.
Such an underrated band!
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Caveat: I'm not a midlife-crisis "Brooce guy."
But every so often I return to his four-track, almost-demo LP "Nebraska" like it's a prayer.
To call this a "shock" when it was released in 1982 is a huge understatement.
"The River" (the LP just before it) had been a huge hit and he was poised for superstardom, which would come on the NEXT album, "Born in the USA."
In between -- Bruce discovered the TEAC 144, a four-track home recording device that nobody was using at the time and disintermediated the studio process. He had originally thought this version of these songs would be presented to the E Street Band as demos, they'd learn 'em, and record them in the good ol' E Street way.
But they didn't. They went out just like this -- spare, skeletal, almost entirely acoustic solo sketches of desperate American lives poised on the brink of disaster and cataclysmic change. The title track is about a convicted murderer awaiting the electric chair (based on the all-too-real spree killer, Charles Starkweather). The rest of the album is equally as dark, which is a near-complete contrast with the energy and optimism Bruce and the band were known for previously.
In one night -- January 3, 1982, in a rented ranch house in Colts Neck, NJ -- Springsteen recorded "Starkweather" (later, "Nebraska"), "Atlantic City," "Mansion on the Hill," "Johnny 99," "Highway Patrolman," "State Trooper", "Used Cars," "Wanda," "Open All Night," "Reason to Believe," "Born in the U.S.A." (acoustic), "Downbound Train," "Child Bride," "Losin' Kind," "My Father's House" and "Pink Cadillac" for a total of 16 songs, 10 of which ended up on "Nebraska."
It remains punk AF and I can't imagine being someone of Bruce's artistic and commercial stature at that point just lobbing this home-recorded thing out into the world and then not even touring behind it but moving on to the next thing.... which was the album that turned him into a Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Bowie-level entertainer. (It remains one of the top-selling albums of all time while "Nebraska" may be one of his least-selling records despite having made it to number 3 on the Billboard charts).
When I think about our country -- the good, the bad, the ugly -- this is the album I turn to.
And I know for fact that so many artists who would (much later) record albums at home or in their basements or closets -- Elliott Smith, Lou Barlow, Neutral Milk Hotel, Mary Lou Lord, Cat Power, anyone who ever traded in "alt country" like Wilco or Son Volt or Drive-By Truckers, etc -- were almost totally obsessed with this album as a starting point for their songwriting craft.
If you haven't heard it yet, it's here in its entirety. It's not only the best thing I think Springsteen will ever do, it's one of the best LPs ever recorded. There have been months at a time ever since where I listened to almost nothing BUT "Nebraska."
Apr 25, 2024
my favorite album front to back. justā¦ haunting. the eponymous song is my favorite singer songwriter track ever recorded. closing verse on āopen all nightā some of the dirtiest bars ever spit
the range between existential hope and practical despair is what i am most attracted to here
i do my heaviest weight lifting in my nebraska crop top
for fans of the album, have you read āheart of darknessā by david burke? details the albumās place in greater folk history/bruceās arc
Feb 25, 2024
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makes me want to drive on the sidewalk in the minivan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m4mNLLj9H0
thanks indiana
Aug 10, 2024
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Stop buying cotton socks other than for running. wool socks are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer
Jan 31, 2024
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Have a friend who you can hit up to throw/hit/kick ball with at a momentās notice.
Obviously this can be mapped to non-ball sports as well as non-sport activities as needed, but thereās something special about a ball friend.
If you have one currently in your life, text them and let them know you appreciate them.
Feb 28, 2024
They have this at the Whole Foods hot bar and I canāt get enough of it
Onion, fennel bulb, red bell, garlic sautĆ©ed till caramelized. Chicken broth, salt, lemon juice, pepper flake, fennel seed. After simmering for 15, toss in chopped kale and cooked tortellini until kale is wilted. Add parm and black pepper as desired ā¤ļø
Jul 10, 2024