Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet

Today on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet: the one that almost went to Nebraska and didn’t.

He had a job, he had a girl. Then it all went to hell. You know, the rain and the car wash of it all. Downbound Train is a short song about a guy who isn’t in the driver’s seat, and it’s certainly an album favorite for the fellas (or the weakest thing Bruce released since the second album, if you ask Dave Marsh). We also have thoughts about Dave Marsh.

We talk about the three versions of this song that exist and why Rob hates one of them, how Roy Bittan carted a 200-pound synthesizer into the studio, and why Max’s snare drum is the piece of tape holding this whole record together.

How many whining whistles do you give Downbound Train? Tell us in the comments below.

We’ve also dropped our first bonus episode of the new run, the 2023 All Media Underload. We hit the high points of our 2023 lists since we never dropped an episode that year. It’s a subscriber only episode, but everyone gets a free preview episode (I think?).

https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/bonus-ep-all-media-underload

Chapters

04:04 Basic Facts!

10:00 The music

19:27 The lyrics

26:14 Ratings

Today on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet, we’re somehow in the Bs and in the Ws with “Working on the Highway,” the jangly rocker off Born in the USA.

We dig into what makes it move, what it’s really saying about love and work, and why the union hall matters more than you’d think.

We also talk about what makes for good songwriting, which Jon Favreau movies this is exactly like, and some personal stories along the way. Plus, as usual, we talk about making records and other silly stuff with your friends.

Head over to alphabeticalspringstee.substack.com to leave your own song rating.

Check out the video episode here: https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/working-on-the-highway

Leave your own rating in the comments, please!

Chapters

02:59 Exploring the Song’s Musical Elements

05:54 Lyrics Analysis and Themes

08:55 Discussion on Songwriting and Recording Process

12:01 Character and Story Development in Lyrics

15:00 Cultural References and Context

18:10 Final Thoughts and Ratings

Driving into Darlington County with two hundred dollars in your pocket. What a feeling!? Two fellas drive into a new town looking for a good time. How does it end for our two protagonists this time?

It’s fun. It’s raucous. It’s rock’n’roll.

Is it good? Certainly. But is it important? We’re not giving away the ending in the show notes.

We ask the real questions this week.

And we honor Dolly because this episode was recorded weeks ago.

Leave your rating in the episode comments at https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/episode-7-darlington-county

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Chapters

01:04 — Bruce’s birthday

03:06 — Meeting famous people without making things awkward

07:20 — Remembering Dolly Parton

10:01 — Could Dolly have covered “Darlington County”?

11:08 — Basic Facts!

13:23 — The music

18:11 — The album’s characters, insecurity, and disappointment

20:25 — Breaking down the lyrics

29:32 — Ratings and final thoughts

32:13 — How to follow and support the show

This week on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet, Rob and JB talk about Donna Summer’s almost disco hit, Cover Me.

Believe it or not, Bruce originally wrote this song at Quincy Jones request, but you’ll have to listen to the ep for all the details.

This Billboard top 10 single sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and definitely put Bruce on the pop fan’s radar (but there’s still plenty of muscular rock’n’roll guitar, don’t worry, fellas).

We decide if the lyrics are deep, shallow, or if that even matters. Talk about what a Donna cover would sound like, and hand out disco balls.

For more from Rob and JB (including video episodes) head over to alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com.

00:00 Opening banter—and some thoughts about choreography

01:08 The origins of “Cover Me”

06:55 How the song developed and was recorded

12:56 Chart performance and reception

17:19 Rock, disco, and the song’s musical influences

23:03 Bruce’s guitar work

26:00 Moving from political themes to personal ones

27:10 Mood, vibe, and emotional impact

29:54 Whether simple lyrics can still have depth

34:01 The subversive history of disco

37:00 Final thoughts and ratings

Today on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet: We kick things off with a world-wide unanimous banger from the boss.

The song is as famous for its perceived patriotism as it is for its cease and desist letters to presidential campaigns. It’s somehow patriotic and ironically patriotic all at once. A satire packaged inside a genuine, heart-felt, sing along of a pop rock song.

While this song feels like a case of, “What hasn’t been said about this song,” it turns out we found plenty to say.

We’d also be interested in hearing what you have to say. Please shoot us a line or drop your rating in one of the feeds.

As always, if you think a friend would enjoy this, pass it along:

https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/born-in-the-usa?r=44wa19&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true 

Some people hear this one and file it away as a slow, sexy love song. It is not a love song. It is about Abu Ghraib.

Side two, track two. The last song on the EP and the last day of American Beauty Week.

We get into:

The trick Bruce is pulling: pedal steel, twinkly piano, a whisper in your ear, before he walks you straight into the worst thing we’ve ever done. 

Genesis chapter three. 

One of the few times Bruce swears on a record and exactly why it hits. 

JB coins the phrase "sexy doubt.” 

And the decade old rumor that Tom Morello is going to cover this someday.

Heads up, this one has the explicit tag, and we spend a good while on what the song was about then and what it is about now.

Coming at you with a friggin’ power-pop song today. Hurry Up Sundown may seem like a shimmery, empty, late-summer dream, but Rob drops a homily in here that would make even the harshest shut-up-and-singer reconsider.

Since it’s side two, track one, Bruce reminds us that we are supposed to be having a good time here. It is a wall of sound power pop song, it is almost entirely one guy playing everything he could find in the room, and it has never been performed live for a human audience. Not once. We have thoughts about that.

Is it a straightforward pop song, or is it an ode to the plight of the worker and cry for the night that follows a hard day?

What does the album High Hopes, Tony Toni Toné, Record Store Day, and the Farfisa have to do with each other? This song. Kind of.

Join us for the second song in our track-by-track exploration of Bruce Springsteen's American Beauty EP.

We also revisit Rob's campaign to have Dream Baby Dream scratched from the historical record and why JB played an out of tune piano with a bottle of Evan Williams in a fur cap.

Anyway, seems like there might be something about Mary (Mary). Let's go find out. Maybe she's over in Charlestown.

Subscribe on our Substack here: https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/ or on your favorite podcast app!

Follow us on Instagram: @alphabeticalspringsteen

Hello Bruce fans. In case you’ve been wondering, “Are JB and Rob dead?” The answer is no. We are in fact alive and better than ever. Here’s the real question, does being better mentally and physically lead to more entertaining podcasts? Probably not. But who knows?

All that to say, we’re back to the Bosscast and we’re excited to talk about music, (WITH YOU!) again. We missed you. Seriously, all of you. The ones we knew, the ones we didn’t, and they ones we haven’t met yet.

So buckle up, enjoy the ride, and let us know what you think—about the music, about the latest tour, about your life for the last five years.

The final episode of our original run. We thought we were done... but we were wrong!

This was our first episode ever. We were just a couple boys in our summer clothes.

Bruce will give until there's nothing left.

Bruce didn't say goodbye.

Bruce wanted you to heal him, but instead you set him on fire.

Bruce counted the band in and kicked into overdrive!

Bruce got somebody new.

Well you can tell her that Bruce is happy.

Do you wanna be Bruce's friend?

Bruce has a sweet sweet kiss and a true true heart.

Bruce lives with emptiness without your tenderness.

Now, once Bruce was down-hearted

JB and Rob talk about their favorite pop culture things from 2022!

JB and Rob talk about Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's 2020 album, REUNIONS!

We're back with a new episode and talking about Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit's 2017 masterpiece The Nashville Sound!

Movies

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home

2. Judas and the Black Messiah

3. The Harder they Fall

4. Bad Trip

5. Dune

6. Don’t Look Up

7. The Tragedy of Macbeth

8. Rayah

9. The Last Duel

10. 14 Peaks

TV Shows:

1. Reality TV with JB

2. Yellowjackets

3. Search Party

4. We Are Ladyparts

5. WandaVision

6. Succession

7. I Think You Should Leave

8. Reservation Dogs

9. For All Mankind

10. The Beatles: Get Back

11. Ted Lasso

Music

1. Preacher’s Kid - Semler

2. In These Silent Days - Brandi Carlile

3. The Million Masks of God - Manchester Orchestra

4. Stand for Myself - Yola

5. Without People - Donovan Wood

6. I Don’t Live Here Anymore - The War on Drugs

7. Drama - Rodrigo Amarante

8. Pressure Machine - The Killers

9. Backslider - David Ramirez

10. The Moon and Stars - Valerie June

Jason thanks God for the work.

JB and Rob check in!

We discuss the first half of Jason Isbell's 2015 album 'Something More Than Free'!

Today we finish Jason's landmark 2013 album by talking about the final four tracks!

We discuss four more songs from Jason Isbell's masterpiece. Songs discussed: "Flying Over Water," "Different Days," "Live Oak," and "Songs that She Sang in the Shower"

Today we're talking about the first four tracks on Jason's 2013 masterpiece 'Southeastern'!

Today we look at the second half of Jason's 3rd studio album, 2011's 'Here We Rest'!

This week, we explore the first five tracks from Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit's 2011 album, Here We Rest!

Today we're talking about the second half of Jason's 2009 album!

Discussing the 2009 self-titled album 'Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit'

We continue our discussion of Jason Isbell's debut solo album from 2007

Today we're talking about the first half of Jason Isbell's debut solo album--2007's Sirens of the Ditch!

Today we're talking about the final four songs that Jason Isbell wrote and performed with the Drive-By Truckers: "Easy On Yourself," "Daylight," "TVA," and "When the Well Runs Dry."

Jason Isbell released three albums with the band the Drive-By Truckers. In this episode, we talk about the first two albums--Decoration Day and The Dirty South--and specifically, the six songs Isbell wrote and sang for those albums: "Outfit," "Decoration Day," "The Day John Henry Died," Danko/Manuel," "Never Gonna Change," and "Goddamn Lonely Love."

Show notes:

MOVIES

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (05:34)

Mank (10:46)

Palm Springs (13:27)

Eurovision (18:15)

Boys State (20:50)

Greyhound (24:09)

The Old Guard (27:45)

Onward (31:40)

The Vast of Night (33:50)

Bacurau (36:30)

TV

The Good Place (39:06)

Lovecraft Country (45:39)

9-1-1 Lone Star (49:04)

Superstore (51:40)

Ted Lasso (53:50)

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (59:55)

The Good Lord Bird (01:01:50)

The Last Dance (01:05:00)

Mrs. America (01:11:33)

Better Call Saul (01:14:51)

The Mandalorian (01:16:40)

MUSIC

‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ by Fiona Apple (01:20:30)

‘Long Violent History’ by Tyler Childers (01:25:30)

‘Gigaton’ by Pearl Jam (01:28:56)

‘Punisher' by Phoebe Bridgers (01:34:00)

‘Lamentations’ by American Aquarium (01:37:24)

‘Without People’ by Donovan Woods (01:40:25)

‘Songs for Our Daughter’ by Laura Marling (01:43:09)

‘You and I’ by O Brother (01:45:00)

‘Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1’ by Sturgill Simpson (01:48:54)

‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’ by Margo Price (01:52:14)

BOOKS

‘How to Write One Song’ by Jeff Tweedy (01:55:03)

‘This Isn’t Happening’ by Steven Hyden (01:56:46)

‘Why Fish Don’t Exist’ by Lulu Miller (01:59:00)

‘All Adults Here’ by Emma Straub (02:03:12)

‘Apartment’ by Teddy Wayne (02:05:00)

‘Native’ by Kaitlin B. Curtice (02:05:55)

‘Devolution’ by Max Brooks (02:09:05)

‘The Resisters’ by Gish Jen (02:12:30)

‘The Cactus League’ by Emily Nemens (02:14:34)

‘Hard to Handle’ by Steve Gorman (02:16:20)

GAMES

City Skylines, The Last of Us 2, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Transport Tycoon, etc. (02:20:00)

COMEDY SPECIALS

‘End Times Fun’ by Marc Maron (02:24:55)

‘Jackie’ by Rob Delaney (02:27:55)

‘Middleditch & Schwartz’ (02:29:40)

‘Quarter Life Crisis’ by Taylor Tomlinson (02:32:50)

‘Nate’ (02:34:10)

PODCASTS

‘Fake Doctors, Real Friends’ with Zach Braff and Donald Faison (02:38:00)

‘Working It Out’ with Mike Birbiglia (02:40:18)

‘Political Beats’ (02:42:35)

‘Single Podcast Theory’ (02:44:10)

‘Majority 54’ with Jason Kander (02:45:25)

‘In the Bubble’ with Andy Slavitt (02:46:20)

‘Lovett or Leave It’ with Jon Lovett (02:47:08)

This is our final episode of Season 2. Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear our plans for Season 3!

Bruce brings the heat in his 2012 album.

Album or box set? Have you decided yet?

Box set or album? You decide!

Bruce finishes out the first decade of the century and performs at the Super Bowl.

Bruce is tired and angry and he has some thoughts to share in his 2007 album MAGIC.

JB and Rob talk about Bruce's 2007 live recording WITH the Sessions Band in Dublin!

JB and Rob have LOTS of very strong opinions as they discuss Bruce's 2006 tribute album to folk legend Pete Seeger.