the Boss?

So, I'm sitting at my computer, listening to a CD set from the library. And see, because I'm a little unoriginal and lame, it's the Essential Bruce Sringsteen.

Okay, see, it's like this: my childhood was Springsteen's anthem rock period. I was born the year Born to Run was released. I was seven years old and far too musically immature to know or appreciate the magically poetic Nebraska. Born in the USA, perhaps the most misunderstood song of an era, came out when I was nine years old.

It wasn't until 1995, when a friend, mentor, and practically hero of mine (M.H.) gave me a mixed tape (remember those?) with the title track from 1995's masterwork The Ghost of Tom Joad. This song awoke in me an immense appreciation for Springsteen, and caused me to discover Nebraska, and go back to actually listen to and understand Born in the USA.

Other tracks on that tape, which oh! how I wish I could track it down, included Richard Thompson's extraoridnary (and underappreciated!) song Beeswing. I have a hard time explaining (and understanding) how much this tape changed the way I listened to music, and what music I listened to. Another CD sitting in the pile on the kitchen table is Richard Thompson's Action Packed: The Best of the Capitol Years.

But I digress: Springsteen. While he put out a fair amount of mediocre, commerically viable but artisically lacking music, I confess here that I like his music enough to have all three discs from Essential. If that's lame, well, that's just too bad.