Bruce Springsteen has always been pretty cool. Sure, there may have been some mockery associated with his persona and a few bad associations with his music, but he’s always worked his ass off, stood up for the right thing and made the kind of music that he wanted to make. In fact, it’s become increasingly cool to be influenced by the Boss. Just look at the number of artists and bands that sound like him or listed him as an influence (The Hold Steady, Arcade Fire, Titus Andronicus, Against Me, The National, etc.). His influence stretches from the punks to the folkies, to the punky folkies and the rousing sounds of indie rock. His music is immediately recognizable, with difficult to describe, “Springsteeny” features that almost create a genre in and of themselves. Today, in honor of the announcement of his new album, we are bringing you a list dedicated to New Jersey’s greatest export: some music from Mr. Springsteen and two bands that take his sound and run with it in different ways.
We Take Car of Our Own – Bruce Springsteen // Buy
We’ll begin with The Boss himself and his brand new song, “We Take Care of Our Own”. Boasting slightly less intrusive production than he’s used recently, it’s a stellar example of modern day Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen). The track begins with a harsh beat and some distorted guitar, but soon after, pop chords, violin and chiming piano blend to form his familiar sound. As usual, the lyrics are poignant and thoughtful, with the populist sentiment and Christian imagery that he’s previously used to great effect. The chorus seems to be another “Born in the USA” or “Glory Days” moment, where what he actually says may get lost in the track’s seeming jingoism and rousing melody. While the song appears to be about how smaller communities have to compensate for the failures of the Government, the sentiment could be seen as flag waving to some.
Bruce is also one of the most heavily bootlegged artists of all time — rightfully so given his incredibly dynamic live show. Here are some videos of particularly great performances: a stellar version of “Because the Night” (made famous by Patti Smith) with some excellent guitar work, the rarer non-album track Thundercrack and finally, his brilliant performance of Detroit Soul hits. This show from the 70’s was broadcast live on the radio, so it has amazing quality and features nearly 4 hours of music (from one night!). If you’re a fan, we hope you enjoy these amazing performances, and if not, we hope this makes you a convert!
Springsteen’s influence isn’t easily recognizable upon first listen to Praything’s Ju Kovacevich. Clearly an incredibly lo-fi basement/bedroom rocker with a cracked nasally voice, his sound definitely isn’t what’s commonly associated with “heartland rock”. The content of his first EP Born, however, consists entirely of covers of and music inspired by songs from Born in the USA. This influence is also surrounds Praything’s original single “Supermarket Dream”. Like Bruce, Kovacevich takes American pop-song language and twists it to meet his own ends, but in his case, he combines it with the Florida’s folk-punk aesthetic. Listen to the first lyrics on “Supermarket Dream”, reminiscent of Gary U.S. Bonds or Allen Touissant: “Baby now, why you so sad, tell me the truth, oh baby why you so sad.” He goes on to sing about traditional American imagery, like roller-rinks and sodas, but includes some fairly angry observations about the wealthy and the general state of things. All of this is tightly wrapped in a catchy as hell melody. The Boss would be proud.
Hello Evening define their sound as both Folk and Progressive Rock, a surprisingly fitting description considering the differences between the two genres. There’s also a pleasant 50’s Rock and Roll vibe on their new record as well. Their first song, “Wrapped in Persistence”, for instance, starts off with a tremolo guitar instrumental passage straight out of “Sleepwalk” then brings in the full band for a lovely mid-tempo folk/rock number. The lead singer’s raspy voice and R&B/Folk influenced lyrics show clear signs of Springsteen influence. Not surprisingly, the band even tagged “Bruce Springsteen” as a genre for the song “Coming Home”. Beginning with some lovely “doo doo doo doos”, the track turns into a three chord garage number with a horn driven wordless chorus. The lyrics reference being young and having the faith and courage to keep moving in a difficult world — universal themes, but those particularly fitting for Mr. Springsteen.