Born to Run

This is a special post because it is the first item in this collection that is not a book. It’s an album! Technically I listened to this in July of last year but it’s been in my head the last two months.

Anyway, I read a Pitchfork article which compared the album Day and Age to Bruce Springsteen’s music. I heard a few of his songs before (Born in the U.S.A and Dancing in the Dark) and while I didn’t dislike his stuff, I didn’t like it enough to listen to any of his albums. Day and Age is one of my favorite albums of all times so upon hearing this comparison I knew I had to at least try listening to a Springsteen album.

I didn’t like Born to Run at first. Springsteen’s voice sounded like an old man who had just finished running a marathon. And the music was a kind of rock and roll that my ears weren’t accustomed to (I grew up on pop and motown). But my ears kept wanting me to try the album again and again. By my third listen, I was hooked.

The album is so down to earth and yet fantastic. We follow a man’s ups and downs-he’s hopeful and then the final down is he dies but nobody cares. There’s saxaphones and violins (which is not a combo I would have thought of but just shows you have inexperienced I am with music). There’s interludes of piano. The songs are a nice amalgamtion of different genres. And the lyrics are equally as impressive as the sound. Read this:

The street’s alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they flash unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switchblades
Hustling for the record machine

Springsteen has this incredible ability to transition from singing to almost talking (kind of like Leonard Cohen). At times it borderline feels like poetry reciting.

I also love the line You ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright.