Tuesday, Apr. 30, 2013 | 08:52
springsteen
derogatis rips springsteen for glorifying, or at least being nostalgic for, a past that never existed, much the same way 'american graffiti' does. he has a point, but he also makes a point of tearing down sacred cows (he has a book to that end, even), and i don't always find his arguments persuasive. i feel like some songs do seem to glorify the good ol' days, but in the context of his albums they're telling stories about people who live like that. "born to run" seems to applaud a couple who think they can run away from their lives, but the lyrics are strewn with the wreckage of other people who tried. i think the song is about being young and feeling invincible and missing the warning signs. springsteen sings about losers and suckers; in the end his worldview is bleak and nearly hopeless. people find solace in small moments, but they know outside those moments their lives are prisons. their hometowns are crumbling wrecks. the stolen dance in the dark kitchen is the few minutes between the end of work and the exhausted sleep--the brief flicker of life the couple has in an endless drudge. though success has caused him to broaden his worldview, the core of springsteen is in those 70s and 80s albums when losers lost and the biggest winners were the ones who kept the wolf from the door.
