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Post by jk on Mar 13, 2023 19:58:47 GMT
Generally speaking I'm not a fan of singer-songwriter stuff where there's one bloke playing a guitar and singing. Generally speaking I'm not a fan of Bruuuuuuuuuce either. In both cases, Nebraska is a glaring exception.
If I had ever got round to visiting my long-term pen pal (and if I still drove), I can imagine playing this on my way across a flyover state or two. Especially at night -- it has a serious nocturnal vibe. And a fascinating history.
To say nothing of a great unrelated film of that name. Ten.
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Post by kds on Mar 14, 2023 14:34:04 GMT
Listening to Nebraska now. It's definitely got a nocturnal feel, and that's probably why I'm not really feeling it at the moment.
It's been probably two years (I think), since I've listened to this album in full. I'd forgotten about some of Bruce's hoots and hollerins. Particularly on State Trooper. Those yelps sure sound a lot better with the E Street Band behind him.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 14, 2023 14:43:10 GMT
Funny, because I am also listening, am on "State Trooper" right now ... and love those hoots and hollers as-is! I like the way they echo with that reverb, not getting lost amidst drums and keyboards and guitars. It's like yelling into a cave rather than into a crowd. I do agree that this isn't the greatest listening context for the album, though: mid-morning, a sunny day, music in the background while I try to focus on writing some marketing crap (my job...why must I have a job? Why couldn't I just be born into wealth? A trust fund!? ). It doesn't really lend itself to such a dark album. But even so, I really do love the album as it is. I wouldn't want this to be his norm, but as an exception it's fantastic.
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Post by carllove on Mar 14, 2023 14:53:27 GMT
Generally speaking I'm not a fan of singer-songwriter stuff where there's one bloke playing a guitar and singing. Generally speaking I'm not a fan of Bruuuuuuuuuce either. In both cases, Nebraska is a glaring exception. If I had ever got round to visiting my long-term pen pal (and if I still drove), I can imagine playing this on my way across a flyover state or two. Especially at night -- it has a serious nocturnal vibe. And a fascinating history. To say nothing of a great unrelated film of that name. Ten. I AM generally a fan of singer-songwriter stuff - but never could stand Bruce Springsteen. This was the only album of his I could ever get through, and I had to admit, I kind of liked it. Maybe I will give it a listen again. It has been literally a decade or two since I've listened to it in it's entirety.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 14, 2023 14:59:07 GMT
I AM generally a fan of singer-songwriter stuff - but never could stand Bruce Springsteen. This was the only album of his I could ever get through, and I had to admit, I kind of liked it. Maybe I will give it a listen again. It has been literally a decade or two since I've listened to it in it's entirety. Personal taste is personal taste, but I should note that I pretty strongly disliked Springsteen--all of it--until this album. And then I only liked this one, none of the others, for years. And now, only in the past few years, I've come to appreciate and even like quite a bit more of it. (There is a lot I haven't heard, and there is plenty I've heard that I am ambivalent about. But I like a good amount, too.) So you never know. A fresh listen can work wonders.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 14, 2023 15:01:05 GMT
Also carllove , I thought maybe you'd jumped into the thread to object to jk using the term "flyover states," in that you (like me) are in one often lumped into that characterization. Though if we had to debate whose state deserves the term more, I'm standing up for Team Minnesota and saying Kansas is more the flyover state!
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Post by carllove on Mar 14, 2023 15:21:11 GMT
Also carllove , I thought maybe you'd jumped into the thread to object to jk using the term "flyover states," in that you (like me) are in one often lumped into that characterization. Though if we had to debate whose state deserves the term more, I'm standing up for Team Minnesota and saying Kansas is more the flyover state! Kansas is the ultimate flyover state. I want to keep it that way, because we have enough New Yorkers and Californians moving to the Eastern part of my county as it is. I would rather keep Kansas a secret. I love my little acre of heaven. Meanwhile, my daughter can't wait to move back to California when she is done with nursing school. I love California, but it's not like it used to be. I used to dream of living there, but now not so much.
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Post by kds on Mar 14, 2023 15:24:49 GMT
Funny, because I am also listening, am on "State Trooper" right now ... and love those hoots and hollers as-is! I like the way they echo with that reverb, not getting lost amidst drums and keyboards and guitars. It's like yelling into a cave rather than into a crowd. For me, I think the yelps, hoots, and hollers kind of detract from the vibe of the album.
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Post by carllove on Mar 14, 2023 16:44:03 GMT
I finished streaming Nebraska and it's a darned good listen. What a beautiful record. I give it a 9. I'm sure I won't go another two decades before listening to it again. Springsteen is much better stripped down.
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Post by jk on Mar 14, 2023 21:29:56 GMT
Kansas is the ultimate flyover state. I want to keep it that way, because we have enough New Yorkers and Californians moving to the Eastern part of my county as it is. I would rather keep Kansas a secret. I love my little acre of heaven. Meanwhile, my daughter can't wait to move back to California when she is done with nursing school. I love California, but it's not like it used to be. I used to dream of living there, but now not so much. Yes, I was thinking of Kansas, where my late pen pal/best friend lived. Specifically Lawrence and later Hays (regrettably not her choice). I don't see "flyover state" as an insult at all but actually as denoting something magical and a little mysterious, much like what you say about Kansas. And all this because of the Boss! Actually, I described singer-songwriters as blokes, for which I should be shot. Curiously, I do like some female singer-songwriters, notably Joni Mitchell and Carole King...
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 15, 2023 19:19:31 GMT
I gave this a 10.
I've said it in other contexts, but just to put it in its proper place for the thread...
Born in the USA was huge--HUGE--in my childhood. It came out just before I turned 8, and it just kept rolling for about two years. (Released in early June 1984, they kept releasing singles through late November 1985.) There were videos, there was mainstream rock airplay here in the Upper Midwest ... it was everywhere for a long time to the point that for someone my age then, only just understanding there was a world around him, it just felt like a permanent thing. This is, was, and ever shall be the biggest album ever.
And I didn't like it. In 1984 and '85, I would have said the greatest albums of all time were Twisted Sister's Stay Hungry and Van Halen's 1984. Maybe Prince's Purple Rain. In the coming years, I only moved further into hard rock and metal, plus rap. Either way, Springsteen? Ugh. Anything even vaguely in that Americana direction--say, John Mellencamp--was just a massive turnoff for me. It was so fucking corny!
The first crack in the dam was (as you presumably guessed, if you've made it this far) Nebraska. When? When else, that same late-90s, "best albums of all time" list era when I felt pressure to know all of the alleged greatest albums ever. So I bought it and, while this wasn't the case with all the supposed greats, I actually did connect very much with this. Moody, dark, stark--all very good for a guy who at that time was a big fan of Raymond Carver and similar fiction and a recent music major with an affinity for requiems and such. This was my "exception album" for Springsteen in the same way Pet Sounds was at the same time for the Beach Boys. But it took me even longer to expand with Springsteen. It was probably 3-4 years before I bought another one, and I only slowly expanded my collection. Even now I only own seven or eight of his however-many dozen.
I think Nebraska is still my favorite one. It's definitely the one I'd say is my favorite, just because I've historically loved it. But as I learned with The River last week, tastes obviously change. So I am looking forward to the next albums as well. But anyway, yes, this is a 10.
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Post by kds on Mar 15, 2023 19:27:28 GMT
It's funny you mention Mellencamp. While I've grown to really appreciate Springsteen, I never really came around on him.
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Post by kds on Mar 16, 2023 17:20:04 GMT
I was back and forth between a 7 and 8 for Nebraska, but settled on a high 7. I think it's a good album, but, and I promise I'm not trying to be a contrarian, for me the E Street Band is one of the big reasons I like the Bruce material I like. So, without them, this album just kind of pales in comparison to the other albums of his classic period to me.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 16, 2023 17:50:35 GMT
I was back and forth between a 7 and 8 for Nebraska, but settled on a high 7. I think it's a good album, but, and I promise I'm not trying to be a contrarian, for me the E Street Band is one of the big reasons I like the Bruce material I like. So, without them, this album just kind of pales in comparison to the other albums of his classic period to me. I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. I think everybody on this board seems to have a few opinions that are contrary to popular opinion. (After all, we've just wrapped up Pacific Ocean Blue and begun Bambu in the BBs forum, and lord knows my opinions on those are not quite the norm... Plus, I just rated The River above Darkness on the Edge of Town in this thread!) And your logic actually makes a lot of sense. If what you like is the E Street Band, then this obviously would not be the album for you!
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Post by kds on Mar 16, 2023 18:42:11 GMT
I do think Atlantic City and Highway Patrolman are pretty amazing.
Now, if I were outside, on the deck, on a cold dark Saturday night, with a glass of bourbon neat, I'd probably be swayed to vote closer to an 8. Like I said before, it's a "mood" album for me. I might have to see if I can think of others for a separate thread.
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