This is my coping mechanism

fromthehipla:

By Mickey Galie (of Dirty Boogie TV)

I used to hate Bruce Springsteen. Fact. And if you were a kid born and raised in South Jersey, this was as sacrilegious as it could get. Then, over a decade ago, a roommate of mine in Boston caught wind of this and after an hour of trying to convince me that I just “didn’t get it yet” and decided to finish off the argument right then and there by slapping Nebraska on. Needless to say, I suddenly got it. I’ve since become a huge fan of the Boss, singing his praises and even tossing the word “genius” around with no regrets. I’ve come to appreciate just about everything the man has made in his career but it all started with this album.

Let’s start by talking about the songwriting first. Side A introduces us to quite the rogues gallery of serial killers (“Nebraska”), two brothers on opposing sides of the law (“Highway Patrolman”), and a criminal tensely making his way down the highway looking to avoid an ugly confrontation with the law (“State Trooper”). Now, the Boss has always had a bit of bite to his songs (you didn’t really think “Glory Days” was an upbeat song, did you?) but here on Nebraska, they go deeper and bleaker. These are people who have generally just fucked their lives up but he’s not praising or condemning them. Instead, he’s making us understand them. America has dark and occasionally ugly roads and with this album, Bruce is making us travel them with him.

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my good bud Mickey with a great Nebraska 101.