Adam Handpicks Boss Songs to Learn Mal What He's Missin'

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

It'll probably give you 2 GB and tell you to use the Cloud or go fuck yourself.

[Dalty]

I have a feeling that is where we are going. Not amazingly helpful. I funking hate the cloud the way Apple appear to want to use it.

[Jubbers]

So are Android and Windows phones as bad on battery life? If not, what are they doing right that Apple are doing wrong?

I usually get about a day and a half out of my Moto G per charge, and that's with me using the internet and listening to audiobooks on it while at work.

[Dalty]

I get about half a day out of my iPhone 5 with a podcast on the commute and a fair amount of WhatsApp.

[Mal Shot First]

I have an HTC EVO that I use primarily to check my e-mail on the go. I do a little bit of online surfing and occasionally use Google Maps/Navigator. Basically, I use my phone as anything but a phone.

If I'm only restricting it to e-mail checking (with all sound, Wi-Fi, and GPS tracking turned off), I can get more than two days out of my battery. Navigation eats a lot of power, and a 30-minute trip will drain about 20 to 25% of the battery.

[Mal Shot First]

So here's what I'm thinking.

In the world of Springsteen nuts like me (collectively known as E Street Nation) there's pretty much universal consensus that his three best albums are Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Tunnel of Love. Some would try to make a case for The River or Born in the USA but like you, I think there's too much repetitive synth going on in his early 1980s stuff to make it appear anywhere in the top 3. There is healthy disagreement amongst fans about how to rank the top 3, but I'd go like this:

1. Born to Run
2. Tunnel of Love
3. Darkness on the Edge of Town

(with the caveat that 2 and 3 are completely flippable depending on your mood at the time. Tunnel is a lot darker, for example, but probably his best lyrical work.)

So what I'm going to do is give you two tracks off each of the top 3 which are must listens, plus one honorable mention track if you're so inclined. Please note, I'd strongly encourage anybody who hasn't to check out the entire Born to Run album. It's a masterpiece. A short, beautiful masterpiece. Ironically, it's also perfect to listen to if ever you want to head out on a 45 minute run. Here we go.

Born To Run

Again, the whole thing is fantastic, but since I'm making myself narrow it down to just two tracks, go with "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run." The first will give you a taste of his ability to tell a story, the second (so long as you find the album version) will show you how musically good that band can be.

Honorable Mention: Jesus....why did I limit myself here? I...arghhhh......"Backstreets." NARROWLY edges out "Jungleland."

Next...

Darkness on the Edge of Town

"Badlands" is mandatory here, and will hopefully remind you that it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive.
"Racing in the Street" is beautiful, melodic, lyrically golden and segues perfectly into the upbeat honorable mention that is "The Promised Land."

And the bronze medalist...

Tunnel of Love

This is tougher for me to choose as it's only very recently grown on me, but it grew on me in a hurry. Lyrically, like I said, probably his best work. It came out in 1987, so I'll warn you that it does have a fair amount of synth flavor to it, but it's also got his failing/failed marriage inspiring it, hence the powerful lyrics about falling in love and losing it. It's also solo Bruce, which is vastly different than E Street Band Bruce. ANYWAY...

"One Step Up" is a powerfully sad, beautiful song about the end of a relationship. Best song on the album.
"Tougher Than The Rest" is the flip side of that, a track about falling in love in the first place.

Honorable mention: "Brilliant Disguise" was a single from this record about the lengths to which people reach to try to save failing relationships. Depending on your relationship with your father, however, "Walk Like a Man" may be a better choice, and is definitely less synthy. I'll let Goiter pick here.

For the best thing he's done in the last ten years, just find "Gypsy Biker." If you wanna go back 15, check out "The Rising" or "My City of Ruins."

Thank you, that is all, good night and good luck.

Since I'm now dead to Adam anyway, I figured I could post a response to this without risking a huffy flounce.

I felt like I gave your list a fair shot and ended up listening to "Thunder Road", "Born to Run", "Backstreets", "Badlands", and "Racing in the Street". I also listened to about half of "The Promised Land" before I couldn't motivate myself to keep listening anymore. Maybe I tried to pack too much into one session, but I just didn't feel like listening anymore.

It's not all that clear why I didn't see in his music what you seem to see in it. What it comes down to is that it's difficult to distinguish one song from another. None of the songs I listed above had a melody that would stick with me or that I could grab onto (I guess maybe Springsteen wasn't all that big on hooks). Beyond that, it wasn't even possible to tap my foot or bob my head to the music. There was no interesting structure to get immersed in, which made the experience relatively unmemorable. Maybe this stuff gets better the more you listen to it, but I honestly don't have the time, energy, or will to do so.

Part of my dislike of these songs is probably that I didn't find Springsteen to be a talented singer. There's not enough variation in his voice to keep me interested in listening to him. It's mostly the same type of grunty moaning that stays within a limited vocal register. The other part of my dislike is that I recognize that on the one hand he's a good storyteller (he definitely has stories to tell that touch upon important facets of American life, and I can see a certain depth to them), but on the other hand he's not a great lyricist. In other words, the stuff he tells about is appealing, but the way he presents his material is not.

I was trying to think of another musician who does it better, but the one I came up with wouldn't mean much to you because he's a Serbian singer-songwriter of my parents' generation. The musician I eventually came up with, though, is Billy Joel.

Now, I'm not a big fan or anything of Billy Joel, but I think he and Springsteen lend themselves to a comparison because they're about the same age and rose to fame at around the same time. More to the point, Billy Joel is another musician who produced songs with melancholy themes and social commentary, but he seems like he's actually more talented than Springsteen. Not only is he a better singer than Springsteen, but he also seems more skilled at writing and constructing songs. After all, song lyrics aren't just about stating what you want to state, but doing so in some kind of artful way. You've gotta have some wit in there, some wordplay, conventional turns of phrase used in new and unusual contexts - and unfortunately, I didn't notice any of that in Springsteen's music.

I did enjoy the intro to "Racing in the Street", but it's hard for me to call the song beautiful. It's certainly slower than the others, but it's similarly constructed otherwise. Basically, it's a drawn-out version of his conventional songs. Again, I just didn't really see what you see in it, but that's okay. We don't all have to like the same stuff.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

When my brain Venn diagrams artists who cross over with Springsteen, Billy Joel's not one of the first names I think of. I think of people like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, and Bonnie Raitt. On the younger side, I think of Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, and maybe even Ryan Adams. Still, I see why you'd make the comparison.

[Mal Shot First]

I'm probably less familiar with Neil Young, Tom Petty, and Bonnie Raitt than I am with either Springsteen or Joel. I don't think of Dylan as being political in the way that Springsteen is political, so he didn't occur to me. Vocally and thematically (at least in the songs of theirs that I know), the younger guys you mentioned are similar to Springsteen, but I don't think they necessarily do it any better than him. Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" is pretty catchy, I guess.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I should have specified that I didn't mean to suggest that any of the people whose names I threw out do Springsteen-y stuff better or worse than Springsteen. It was just meant to be a list of names of people who do things on occasion that one might deem vaguely similar to some of what Springsteen does.

[Dalty]

What was that one from Jerry McGuire? That was good. And the starving and AIDsy one. Also good.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

And the starving and AIDsy one. Also good.

You mean the one on the Philadelphia soundtrack? I like it. It's my second favorite song on the soundtrack. My favorite one, incidentally, is the Neil Young one.

Here's both of 'em:

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Both those songs were nominated for an Academy Award, I think. The Springsteen one won.

[Dalty]

That won one? One won one? Wow!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

That won one?

Yes. That one won one.

[Dalty]

It only one won? Did not win more than one?

[Adam54]

*sigh*, Mal, now we can never date.

No, I think you made your case very well and I appreciate you giving it a shot. I think it's the stuff he's talking about which drew me in most, but I don't know if I ever gave it that much thought when I was 17 and got hooked.

Someone may need to start up a "Let's learn Adam some Billy Joel!" thread, since I'm rather ignorant on his work so I have no idea if that's a fair comparison to make or not. I'll assume it is.

Like you said, we all like different stuff and that makes the world go round. THAT SAID, Live Springsteen is a vastly different animal than Album Springsteen, but if you don't like the album stuff, hearing it done live probably won't make a world of difference.

Good on you for giving it a try. You're no longer dead to me. That honor has been passed to Moneybags Dimple. He knows why.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I'd want to learn you some Neil Young before learning you some Billy Joel--not that there's anything wrong with Billy Joel.

You may have already learned you some Neil Young, of course. I don't know where you stand on him.

[Adam54]

I know less of him than I know of Billy Joel. Off the top of my head, I couldn't name you a single one of his songs.

With Billy Joel, I at least know the Bosom Buddies theme song.

[Adam54]

I don't know why I know that theme song, mind you. Perhaps just because it was the only good part of a horrible, horrible show.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

The show used a cover, I'm pretty sure. The original is better. I think so, at any rate.

[Adam54]

I want to say it originally was him, but in syndication it was a cover since they didn't have rights to it beyond the original run.

I could be mistaken though. Like I said, horrible, horrible show. I've only seen a couple.

[Adam54]

Ah, nope. You were right. Per Uncle Wiki:

"The theme song for the opening credits was Billy Joel's "My Life", although it was a re-recorded version with a different vocalist. Some reruns shown in syndication (such as when USA Network aired reruns, as well as its later runs on Me-TV) and all home video and DVD releases use a vocal version of the show's end credit instrumental theme, "Shake Me Loose", performed by Stephanie Mills, for the opening credits, replacing "My Life"."

[Mal Shot First]

If you've ever listened to any classic rock station, you've probably heard Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and "Movin' Out."

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

If you want something that sounds like an unabashed clone of--maybe even a parody of--a mid-eighties Springsteen song (Joel's outfit and choice of instrument in the video makes it pretty obvious), there's "A Matter of Trust":



(Also: the drummer has a mullet and big glasses. Coincidence?)

If you're looking for Billy "Springsteenesque Social Commentary" Joel, you'll probably want to give "Allentown" a try:



If you're looking for Billy "Hey! Remember the Fifties and Sixties?" Joel, there's always his An Innocent Man stuff:







(He recorded all the doo-wop vocals for "For the Longest Time." Kinda neat, I guess.)

If you want a goofy history lesson from an eighties perspective, there's "We Didn't Start the Fire":



If you want something with lounge singer flair that's vaguely lyrically Dylanesque, there's "Captain Jack":



I really only know the singles when it comes to Billy Joel. I have some albums, and I've listened to them, but they don't really stand out as an experience for me.

When it comes to Neil Young, I know more of the deep cuts. I can put something together if you really want me to.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

All right. Everyone can rest easy. I'm done editing.