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So on my way to/from work this week I've been listening to/deafening myself and others with Springsteen's greatest hits album.
Is there a better/more evocative driving album out there?!
There I am pootling down the A11 towards Wymondham when the saxophone 'outro' in Thunder Road kicks in. Suddenly I'm not on a potholed stretch of dodgy British trunk road any more. In fact I'm sat in the driving seat of a 1957 Chevy convertible, cruising towards the sunset on an arrow-straight American highway, chasing the American Dream with the wind in my hair.
It's an odd one, because when you take the time to listen to the lyrics this All American Hero is singing about closed down factories, 'towns full of losers', and death-traps - a far cry from the world which 'they' would have you believe is within the grasp of each and every American man, woman, and child.
"You spend your life waiting for a moment that just don't come."
It's weird that songs with such dark and defeatist lyrics, and a message of struggle, can be so evocative and uplifting!
Anyway - sorry for the random stream of consciousness... here's some music!
The greatest long career songbook of the lot. Neil Young number 2, name your own no 3.
I have completely ignored Springsteen and probably at my peril. I thought The River was fantastic but then he got a bit American rocky and and it put me off. I have been told though that his concerts are something else - three hours and so. Respect. Neil Young? One of my top of the pops artists but also the biggest pile of sh1te k have seen live. Big oil? Big bank balance. Feck you Neil.
“Hello, I'm your MP. Actually I'm not. I'm your candidate. Gosh.”
Boris Johnson canvassing in Henley, 2005.