Everything Dies, Baby, That's a Fact
Song: Atlantic City
Album: Nebraska
Year: 1982
Okay, we've got the mob, a crummy town, and desperate people, and public transportation gets a shout-out. This is basically a Bruce Springsteen Mad Lib. Another convention I'm noticing pop up a lot is B instructing people how to get dressed. In the last song, you had to put on a coat while he got his hat. Here, we're supposed to put our makeup on and fix our hair up pretty. Maybe that's why they call him the Boss: because he's so CONTROLLING sometimes. CHILL OUT, BRUCE! MY BODY, MY CHOICE!
"Atlantic City" is a great song, which is probably why like 30 different bands (among them, the Counting Crows) have covered it. It's basically a mini movie! It's very depressing and also there's an explosion—key components to any Oscar-winning script. Boardwalk Empire, another Atlantic City-themed media property, would've been greatly improved by an infusion of Bruce's poetic drama. Imagine what the show could've accomplished had HBO put him at the helm. Also, imagine that while working on the show, he and Steve Buscemi became best friends and the media started calling them "Steve Bruce-cemi" or "Bruce Springsteve Buscemi." Just. Imagine.
Rating: 8 chicken men out of 10.
This song makes me feel: sooooo melancholy. I'm beginning to think Nebraska isn't exactly a party album.
Fun Bruce Fact: Apparently Ryan Adams' cover of Taylor Swift's 1989 took its sonic inspiration from Nebraska, as if there wasn't enough to love about it already. Careful you're not flying a little too close to the sun, Adams.