Springsteen Survivor - Born to Run - Round 2

[bono_212]

Please vote for your LEAST favorite.

First to go from Born to Run was Meeting Across the River

Votes:

Meeting -11
Night - 7
Tenth Ave. - 2
Jungleland - 2
Born to Run - 1
Thunder Road, Backstreets, She's the One - 0

 

[bono_212]

Tenth Ave, even though it's pretty obvious Night will be going next.

 

[LemonMelon]

Even though it comes across a bit slight, Tenth Ave is a blast. That and Thunder Road kick off the album brilliantly. Night though...it's too much of a good thing. There's nothing particularly unique about it.

 

[corianderstem]

Now it's time to vote for Night.

 

[cobl04]

Even though it comes across a bit slight, Tenth Ave is a blast. That and Thunder Road kick off the album brilliantly. Night though...it's too much of a good thing. There's nothing particularly unique about it.

This is absolutely perfect.

Two votes for Jungleland? I do hope they're in jest.

 

[Bono's shades]

I love Night.

I voted for 10th Avenue. I love it too, but it's so, so much better live.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Night.

The other morning when I was getting my latte, 10th Avenue came on the radio. So I started singing along with the sax intro with a "ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba" and doing a little dance, punctuating my movements in the right places, and the girl behind the register who's much too young to know the song or to care, really, just looked at me like "OH MY GOD HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" I felt cool for a split second and then just felt old so I grabbed my latte and my cane and hobbled back across the street to my office.

 

[corianderstem]

Promise me we can sing the instrumental parts of Bruce songs together in Chicago.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I would be woefully out of my league.

 

[corianderstem]

Pfft. Nuts to that!

Enthusiasm counts, you know.

 

[bono_man2002]

Tenf tenf tenf tenf tenf tenf!

 

[If you shout...]

"Jungleland" is one of the most hilariously bombastic and retarded songs I've ever heard. Ever. Cringe-inducing, from start to finish. All the sadder because it was just an overcooked rehash of a song he'd already written and done as well as can be--"New York City Serenade." I don't know a single person (in real life, mind you) who feels any differently. From people who were there and fans before he had released a single record to '80s babies raised on Born in the USA to indie kids. Everybody hates it. Except for the people on this board. I don't get it!!!

 

[LMP]

This was the first time I've heard dissent on "Jungleland." It certainly is bombastic, but I'd say it doesn't standout in the context of the rest of the album. Plus, "New York City Serenade," as gorgeous of a song as it is, is like jazz. Fucking poetic shit. Love, love, love it. The only comparisons I can draw between that and "Jungleland" is that they're both long and done by Springsteen and the E Street Band.

 

[phanan]

You must not know many Springsteen fans then, IYS.

Jungleland is generally considered one of his all-time greats (certainly not just here), and is much more popular than NYC Serenade (although also a fantastic song).

 

[If you shout...]

Oh, I know. And, believe me, I know a lot more Springsteen fans than you do. Take my word for it. I didn't mean to imply universality--I meant to make note of how uniform, yet anomalous, my experiences have been.

Anyway, it sucks ass. Total ass. "Guitars like switchblades" PHWOARRR!

 

[No spoken words]

Without arguing for or against Jungleland, I too know a ton of Springsteen fans and cannot think of too many who have anything but love for the song.

And, before you tell me that you know more Bruce fans than I do, keep in mind that this is not a contest and so I don't really care how many either of us know; I just am passing along some info that differs from your experience.

 

[If you shout...]

Without arguing for or against Jungleland, I too know a ton of Springsteen fans and cannot think of too many who have anything but love for the song.

And, before you tell me that you know more Bruce fans than I do, keep in mind that this is not a contest and so I don't really care how many either of us know; I just am passing along some info that differs from your experience.

Was I out of line, somehow...? Like I said, I know that this is an aberration...

 

[No spoken words]

Was I out of line, somehow...? Like I said, I know that this is an aberration...

Not out of line at all, dude.......and even if you were, who the hell am I to judge that?

I was just speaking plainly, sorry if it seemed antagonistic. I spent 24 years hard time in The Bronx and it still colors my speech now and then.

 

[LemonMelon]

"Jungleland" is one of the most hilariously bombastic and retarded songs I've ever heard. Ever. Cringe-inducing, from start to finish. All the sadder because it was just an overcooked rehash of a song he'd already written and done as well as can be--"New York City Serenade." I don't know a single person (in real life, mind you) who feels any differently. From people who were there and fans before he had released a single record to '80s babies raised on Born in the USA to indie kids. Everybody hates it. Except for the people on this board. I don't get it!!!

This makes my opinion that Badlands is a painfully stereotypical Springsteen track with absolutely nothing original to offer seem perfectly normal. That said, I understand where you're coming from.

 

[If you shout...]

All good, NSW. I think it has less to do with you than with the faceless internet, though. No worries. Also, I think that "Badlands" gains a lot from being on Darkness, which just isn't that good of an album; in a more positive sense, it also benefits from our hindsight, which positions it as a very convenience and concise statement of the artist Springsteen was to become (in thematic or representational or, more plainly, lyrical terms). Some killer tunes, but I think it's pretty 50-50, on the whole. "Badlands" just sounds better than a lot of the record, and it sums up a lot of what was to come. Ergo, it is baller. To many. Myself included.

 

[phillyfan26]

Every single person I know except for one who has heard that song, Springsteen fan or not, has loved it. The one who did not love it still enjoyed it, but couldn't take the aforementioned switchblade line seriously.

 

[No spoken words]

Badlands is a song that I would not go out of my way to listen to at home but enjoy in concert.