Songs about cars as a means of escaping everyday life
And I know it’s cool to hate on Springsteen (trust me, I hated on him, too) but seriously folks, listen to the album Born to Run in it’s entirety and think back to being in your early 20’s and that bone-deep need to get away from everything you grew up around. If you can’t relate on some level, then i think you need to do some serious self-reflection on your relationship with your hometown/family
Why is it cool to hate on Springsteen?
No damn clue. Never really loved him but he’s committed to being a good musician, showman, band leader, etc.
In my case, it was because he was my parents’ music and all I really knew was “Born in the USA” (and I was too young/naive to recognize the satire, especially since my parents were conservative and always approached lyrics by ignoring all subtext)
Plus, I grew up in a conservative town and moved to a hipster mecca where nothing was cool if had ever been played on a mainstream radio station.
I was in high school in the late 1970s, and didn’t really know there was any music other than the top 40 stuff that the people around me were listening to. Mostly disco: Barry Manilow, the Bee Gees, and so on.
Then one of my brother’s friends told me to come and listen to some real music. He played Born to Run, and my head exploded.
I’m not a huge Springsteen fan (although I did see him in Syracuse a couple of months ago), but that song resonates with me, representing a time of awakening. Not just musically, but socially, politically, and other ways.
