Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
Joining me tonight as guest curator is Pantheon
Podcast Network mate, Jesse Jackson, host of
the Set Lusting Bruce podcast. Jesse, thank you
so much for joining me tonight, man. Well, Brian,
I had a blast when you joined me and we talked
about Petty and your podcast. And so I am thrilled
that you're letting me hang out with you. I think
we're going to have a fun discussion tonight.
I am so nervous about our discussion tonight,
but we'll get into that in a few minutes, because
being you're a first time guest, I get to ask
you my first time guest question, which is, Jesse,
what does the word mixtape mean to you? So mixtapes
to me bring to mind two things. either portable
or actual stereo with two cassette tape decks
where you could mix, you know, you could record
off one and the other. Also, I am of the age
that you used to have the little bitty cassette
recorder that kind of looks like a brick and
you push the two buttons and you would have it
next to the radio. And you're like, oh, I want
this song. So you would not always get because
you wouldn't know. And then sometimes like the
song Color My World with Chicago, you would get
it at the beginning. And then right before the
DJ would go, Color My World on KLOU as time goes
on. So the mixtape to me is that I remember.
And then. Then when you could go to burning CDs,
that was a whole, boy, that was like, okay, we've
gone to mixtape 2 .0, right? Where you could
go, where you get that and burn it. So that's
what it means to me. This idea of doing your
own personalized, once again, I'm going to show
my age, K -Tel record. I grew up with the K -Tel
records on the TV, the best of the hits. And
you could buy this cassette or a track with these
different collections of songs on it. So that's
what it means to me. Well, tonight we have the
challenge. I'll do this K -Tel record style.
We're going to be talking Bruce Springsteen's
21 studio albums, 23 live albums, multiple B
-sides, soundtrack songs, and compilations. And
we're whittling it down. to 20 songs. I'm picturing
song titles just scrolling endlessly up the screen
right now, and I am trying to think, oh my God,
what have we just got ourselves into? Now, Jesse,
you host a podcast that is dedicated to all things
Bruce Springsteen. I'd love to know what your
goal is for tonight's mixtape in terms of balancing
the hit songs, songs that are important to his
legacy, as well as personal favorites and maybe
some deep cuts. So one of the things you and
I brought up in our pre -show discussion to pull
the curtain back is you can't even get one song
per album. Some of our podcast brethrens have
that show. where you go through, you pick one
song per album. We can't even do that. Yeah,
Jason Whistle over at There Can Only Be One is
smiling right now. Yes. And you have to understand,
you ask, what am I thinking? I'm hoping that
my regular listeners don't get too PO'd at me.
Because the discussion is going to be, how can
you leave blank off a Springsteen mixtape? So
there is a lot of discussion on what do we do?
One of the things that I always bring up there
on E Street Radio, which is the Sirius XM dedicated
to Bruce, they have a segment called Be the Boss,
where you pick five songs and you send into them
and you're the DJ. And I always say, don't waste
a slot on Thunder Road and Born to Run. You know,
everyone's going to pick Thunder Road and Born
to Run. So that gives you another spot. How do
you do a mixtape without Thunder Road and Born
to Run? Maybe as we go through this, we might,
right? But I think we're trying to serve many
masters. And I love your premise, Brian, is that
we are going to, where you're a Springsteen newbie,
this will give you a feeling of what his career
is. And if you're a Springsteen fanatic. We're
going to try to hit as many of the highlights
as we can. And somewhere in the middle, we're
going to come up with our 20 songs. Well, let's
get down to business and not waste any more time
tonight. As I mentioned at the top of the show,
Jesse and I will be curating the ultimate. Bruce
Springsteen mixtape, and we'll use the old cassette
deck approach. Jesse, as my special guest, will
begin side A with his first song choice, and
then I'll add a song that I feel best follows
up that choice. We'll then flip -flop choosing
songs until we've mapped out 10 songs for side
A. We'll then give our mixtape a proverbial flip,
and then we'll map outside, be only this time
I'll kick things off with Jesse choosing second.
Our overall goal for this episode is to craft
the best Bruce Springsteen mixtape possible through
only 20 songs. At the end of the show, you can
take our conversation to the next level by visiting
the episode page at myweeklymixtape .com to give
our final mixtape a listen via the embedded playlist.
And if you like what you're hearing on the show,
you can help me out by either telling a friend,
leaving the show a five -star review wherever
you're tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper
at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
And a few of the Patreon mixtapers chimed in
with songs they would use to kick off a Bruce
Springsteen playlist, and I want to shout a few
of those out. Jason Doncic chimed in with, on
behalf of David Hudson from the State of America
podcast, Loose Ends. Philip chimed in that he's
starting with either the obvious attention -grabbing
sting of Born in the USA or with the deep cut
Stand on It. Cactus Pete said there's simply
way too many to choose from, that I completely
understand, but that he was going to make it
easy on himself and pick his all -time favorite
Bruce song, Glory Days, because at this point
of his life, he could truly relate to it and
he's always loved it. Seeker chimed in from Australia
with Born to Run, his favorite boss track, with
Rosalita being a strong second option. And Sean
Faust chimed in with My City of Ruins to get
things started with some hope. So Jesse, right
then and there, we have a nice spectrum of musical
food for thought out in the atmosphere. So I'm
going to officially press the record button on
our mixtape and turn the floor over to you. Why
don't you dive into the song you chose to kick
off Side A? So a few years ago, Bruce put out
the Riverbox set. And included in that box set
was the original single album. Bruce actually
had The River was going to be a single album.
It was totally mixed and done. And then they
decided, no, it needed to be a two album. One
of the outtakes was a song called Meet Me in
the City. It was he did it on Saturday Night
Live for that Christmas show that Tina Fey and
Amy Poehler hosted. So I'm starting out with
an outtake, Meet Me in the City. It is a song
filled with energy. When he was doing the River
Tour, the second River Tour, that was what they
would start every show with. So I'm thinking
right away, let's start out with energy, start
out with something that a song a lot of people
may not have heard. But a really great way to
say, hey, this mixtape is not full of losers
and we're pulling out of here to win. I love
the song. Now, anybody that is a Saturday Night
Live diehard that watches all the seasons and
all the shows will be familiar with this from
the live performance, like you said. But it's
one of those songs that I listen to and think
to myself, how the hell did this first version
of the river not get released? Because. It's
so strong before it became the double album.
I don't know what made them think, let's shelve
this and start again because it sounds like a
perfectly finished body of work through the whole
listen. Absolutely. I agree. You know, one of
the things Little Steven says is that if Bruce
had wanted to be a pop songwriter, he believes
he could have been one of the best pop songwriters
of all times. because of some of the songs like
Fire with the Pointer Sisters and Because the
Night from Patti Smith and other songs that he's
written for people that if they wanted, he could
have done a lot of pop songs, but that wasn't
where his heart was. Well, following that up,
I am going to go with a song that I think I'm
going to jump right on what you said right there,
where his heart was. Because to me, 2020's Letter
to You was an album that truly came from the
heart for Bruce. And I think the song I'm going
to pull from that is the song that he was using
in the second slot in a lot of his live shows.
And to me, an absolute anthem from the new album.
One of the most rousing songs on Letters to You
and a live staple ever since is Ghosts. To me,
this song is joy. It's written about. Members
of the E Street band that are no longer with
us, such as Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons.
I mean, in the lyrics, you could hear the joy
that Bruce had having them in his life, but you
can also feel the pain that they're not there
with him. And those two things combined together
over this rousing, joyous track, two words I've
already used. Really create this tension, this
yin and yang pull from a song that just makes
you want to get up and sing to these introspective
lyrics that are how he feels about people that
he's lost. So it's so conflicting. And to me,
that makes for a powerful, memorable tune. And
then Jake Clemens saxophone solo. I mean, look,
I get it. He is blood for Clarence. But to me,
that. is what truly shines on the track, and
the sing -along at the end just evokes a togetherness
that was custom -built for a Springsteen live
show. So I'm going to follow up Meet Me in the
City with Ghosts. Excellent choice. One, he played
it on Saturday Night Live, so there is the theme.
I don't know if you realized that. Yeah, from
the same night. I probably should have mentioned
that. Yeah, and so the other thing is... Many
of us Springsteen fans had good money that he
would open the 2023 tour with Ghost. He ended
up doing No Surrender most nights, but Ghost
is one of the early ones. Because the idea, I
hear the sound of your guitar and just going,
it is joyous. I think that is excellent. And
I was worried. Because I have multiple songs
from Letter to You that we may not have gotten
that on the list. So to have his latest studio
album included, I now feel a little bit better
if none of the others make it, though I love
that whole album. So great, great choice. Perfect.
So I'm going to continue with the joy and I'm
going to do Out in the Street. Yes. Out in the
Street is a great rocking. Once again, it's Off
the River, which is in a lot of ways Bruce's
most party album. When they do it live, one of
the things I love is he goes out in the street,
Susie, and then Susie, who's the violinist, will
sing out in the street, out in the street, kneels,
and then kneels. They all take it. And I have
to include Out in the Street because it has my
son's favorite lyric. He says, Brian, that no
matter what level of the world you are in, whether
you are the lowest person working in the factory
or the CEO, there is not one person that on Monday
morning when the foreman calls time, you don't
have Friday on your mind. And that is one of
the lyrics, you know. And so I think all of us
feel that way. On Monday, we're already thinking
about the weekend. So I'm going to go out in
the street for number three. Well, not only did
you scoop me on the pick, you now followed up
my most favorite song from Bruce's modern catalog
with my favorite song from Bruce Springsteen
ever. Out in the Street is my personal favorite
Bruce Springsteen song. So thank you for choosing
that. Shocked that it was never released as a
single. It's obviously a live staple. But again.
I was also shocked that meet me in the city and
the original version of the river was shelved.
So, and this was one of the last songs recorded
for the double album. And at one point from what
I've read about this song, it was almost left
off the river and I can't picture the river without
this song. There's a timelessness to this track
that. You could say this was recorded in the
70s and I'd believe you. You could tell me this
was recorded in the 80s and I'd believe you.
You could tell me it was recorded in the 90s,
the 2000s, 2010. You could tell me this was recorded
yesterday and I would believe you because it
feels relevant. Everything that there is to love
about Bruce Springsteen is in this song. And
hell, I've talked about this on the show before.
Adam Sandler covered this song. As the closing
track to his HBO special, What the Hell Happened
to Me, that came out in the 90s. And it was at
that moment that I said to myself, even if there's
an Adam Sandler movie that I don't find funny,
I got to hat tip this guy because he has obviously
some amazing musical taste. Because to me, this
is a deeper pick for people that are Springsteen
newbies. And I absolutely adore it. I think it's
fantastic. I did not know that Adam Sandler had
done this. And so after our talk and you shared
that with me, I went and looked at it and he
does it straight up. I mean, there is no schtick.
He isn't doing anything. This is just him with
his band on there doing it straight up and he
rocks it. And it is a live stable and is that
I, you know. this the whole idea uh out in the
streets and it's just yeah i i agree with you
just it is a wonderful song and there is so much
joy when he does this live yeah i agree well
i'm gonna follow that up with the song that introduced
me to bruce springsteen so it's a personal favorite
okay to me this song keeps the energy going from
the first three songs however His live concerts
may say otherwise because the song hasn't been
played live since he did Born in the USA in its
entirety. But because it's the song that introduced
me to Bruce Springsteen, I wanted to include
it for personal reasons. Now, I am sure there's
going to be some Springsteen fans out there that
are here nor there on this song. But this is
one that it was a single. It was the sixth single
from the album. And it motivated me to say, hey,
mom, hey, dad, can you let Santa know I want
this cassette for Christmas? And sure enough,
I got it. And one of the first songs I fast forwarded
to or actually I put the tape in and rewound
side B to get to I'm going down now. I've told
you I'm a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fanatic.
So when you listen to I'm Going Down, there's
a similarity there in the musical style. Those
songs could be played back to back on rock radio
at the time. A Tom Petty song and I'm Going Down
and feel like you're still in the same vibe.
Now, I get it. The word down is used over 80
times in the song. I want to say it's 86. It
would definitely make that his most repetitive
lyric. But even at that point. I never got sick
of it because it's the song is so infectious
and it's got such a pop quality to it that you
can't help but sing along with this song. And
when as I got older and the novelty of just the
music wore off and I started diving into lyrics
and reading the lyrics and understanding where
their songwriter came from, I dove into the fact
that this song is truly about frustration. woven
through this relationship, whether it be personal,
sexual, however you want to put it. That part
went right over my head when I was a kid listening
to the music. And when I got older and started
thinking more about lyrics, it hit home with
me on a different level. And I'm going to also
go on a limb by saying when bands like Trampled
by Turtles cover the song in bluegrass fashion,
Frank Black and the Cadillacs cover it in punk
rock style. And Vampire Weekend takes an indie
stab at the track. Here's a song that's crossing
through different genres of covers and still
holding an impact on people and still working
in all of those different musical atmospheres.
That just goes to show what a prolific songwriter
Springsteen is. And to me, this is probably one
of the more underrated singles from Born in the
USA, even though it was a hit. Yeah, I think
you mentioned this, the turtles, right? Didn't
you mention? Trampled by turtles, yes. Yeah.
So that's from an amazing Dead Man Town, a tribute
to Born in the USA, all done by Americana artists.
Holly Williams does No Surrender. Jason Isbell
and Amanda Shires do Born in the USA. It is too
many people. And when someone tells me. I don't
like Bruce Springsteen. I go, do you listen to
anything besides Born in the USA, that CD? Because
that can be overplayed. What I think too many
Bruce Springsteen fans forget that it was the
gateway album. There are some people that will
only go with Born in the USA and then they'll
move on. But many people bought that album and
then discovered The River, Born to Run. Greetings
from Ashbury Park, right? This taught them, I
like this guy. And Going Down is one of those
that is not as overplayed as You're Much. You're
right. It's not normally in the rotation doing
it live. And this may be one of the few songs
from Born in the USA I've never heard live. So
I think that's a perfect song because it... You're
like, oh, you're picking something from Born
in the USA. But unlike, say, Bobby Jean, which
I adore, or Darlington County or something, it
is something a little more that kind of fits
this. So I love the idea that you're talking
about heartbreak. So I'm going to slow us down
a little bit and talk about a different kind
of heartbreak with racing in the street. Earlier
this year, I had five Springsteen fans join me
on a Saturday morning. And Chris Bloom from South
Africa put together 256 Bruce Springsteen songs.
And we did round -robin tournament style. This
or this, all the way down to number one. And
believe it or not, racing in the street is what
won. That was when we looked at all the different
songs. Racing in the Street is ended up being
the best. I think whether it's the version that
was released, there's a 78 version that is a
little bit slower. But Racing in the Street is
Bruce's first try at a Beach Boys song. Right.
I fun cars and I'm going to do it my way. I love
racing in the street, the instrumental, the voice.
And so I think we've gotten four really strong
pop songs. And now that we're kind of dropping
it down a little bit, racing in the street would
be my choice. I'm just hearing that beautiful
piano coming out of the speakers right after
I'm going down fades out. It's a really nice
transition. And this is truly a beautiful song.
You can hear the angst. Of darkness on the edge
of town in racing in the streets. The storyline
that's woven throughout that album. It's definitely
a much more. I don't want to use the word bitter
because that comes across wrong, but it's definitely
people that are a little jaded. The characters
from born to run are in a different place on
this album. And I think this song is a great
way to sum it up. Coming out of that's going
to be really tough because it's a slower song,
but there's this angst in it. And I think I'm
going to tap into that a little bit more and
go a little more. Let's get a little more angsty
here. And I am a absolute sucker for cover songs.
And when I think about cover songs that Bruce
did, I think about one in particular. Because
when I was a child, I had no idea that this was
a cover song. It wasn't until I started reading
the liner notes. And this is a song that's not
even officially on a Bruce Springsteen studio
album, unless you buy the essential Bruce Springsteen
three CD set and it's on disc three. But originally
when I was growing up, it was on the 1985 compilation.
We are the world. To me, the most memorable song
off the entire compilation, his cover of Jimmy
Cliff's Trapped, recorded August 6th, 1984, right
down the street from where I grew up, less than
a mile, Meadowlands Arena. Even though the song
was never released as a single, it peaked at
number one on Billboard's rock charts. So right
there, that says that this song meant something
to people, that it wasn't released officially.
But I heard it nonstop on New York rock radio
growing up on New York top 40. This was everywhere.
Pretty much. I'd say as much as I was hearing,
we are the world on the radio. I was hearing
trapped. And I guess because of the fact that
it's not on an official Bruce studio album, other
than the essential Bruce Springsteen. I would
say this falls under the quote unquote underrated
section of Bruce songs, maybe a deeper cut, maybe
a B side. I don't know how you would, what you
would officially classify this as, but it topped
the rock chart. So to me, that says it's important.
Otherwise trapped live from the, we are the world
compilation. So for those of you who are pretty
big Springsteen fans listening to this, you know
this, but for the rest of you, There was a little
bit of controversy in 2023 because Bruce, for
the first time in multiple tours, was not changing
his set list as much as he had in the past. Early
in his career, even as late as The Rising, his
set list was pretty set. But over the past tours,
he's been pretty flexible. And that's where the
name of my podcast comes from. Set lusting, Bruce.
You're at home, not at a show. You're seeing
social media. And instead of set listing, you
start set lusting. I can't believe. So on this
discussion that many people were thrilled when
he brought out Trapped and they felt like, oh,
at least we got Trapped. Now, to me, Trapped
is just another cover song. I do not have the
emotional attachment to it that you do. But I
am also the person that is not the biggest fan
of Jungle Land, which makes people hate me. I
would never say I'm wrong. Yeah. So I think that
you absolutely have made a ton of diehard Springsteen
fans thrilled. And they try to explain it to
me. And I get it. The reason why this is so different
from the original. Yes. I mean, it is. He takes
this iconic song and totally reinvents it and
puts it out there, as you say, not even from
original album. So it is now I've heard it live
and it is an amazing song. I mean, don't get
me wrong. I love hearing it. I will never complain
hearing it. So I think an excellent choice. And
I think it definitely fits our theme of where
we're going. Oh, perfect. Perfect choice. Well,
now we're back to you now to follow it up. All
right. So there are going to be albums that aren't
included in this mix just by pure. And we've
already picked two songs that were not on official
releases. So that means there's going to even
be more albums. But I thought Nebraska had to
be on this. There has to be a song from Nebraska
on this. Because Nebraska is often people who
are into punk or into really wild music will
pick Nebraska as their favorite album. Warren
Zane was on the podcast earlier this year. He
wrote a great book, Deliver Me From Nowhere,
The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. Anyone
who loves music at all, I recommend the book
immediately. Go get it. It is a mystery. Why
does Bruce Springsteen put out The River? And
then two albums later, Born in the USA. Why did
he put this silent little album? And for those
of you who may not know, bear with me. He recorded
this on a home recorder and carried the cassette
without a case around in his pocket because he
thought it was going to be demos that the E Street
Band would do. And no one... As success has many
fathers, many people have said, but the story
most told is Little Steven says, this is the
album. You don't need to have us do it. So I'm
going to pick Atlantic City. I think it fits
with track. I think Atlantic City is, as you
say, you've heard the band cover it. You've heard
other people cover it. It is a great song. And
you've got that meet me in Atlantic City, right?
Everything dies, baby, that's a fact. Everything
dies, but sometimes comes back. So I think, and
one of my favorite personal moments, I was in
New Orleans. We were at a kind of a round table,
people doing jam session. The lady was passing
the hat. I asked, my wife said, go ahead, ask
her. And I said, yeah, what are you asking about?
And I said, I'm a huge Bruce fan. And she goes,
oh, I love Atlantic City. I'll do Atlantic City
for you. And they did it for me. I think Atlantic
City fits in perfect with our theme. We're a
little bit slower, a little bit. And that way
we get Nebraska checked off our list. Fantastic
pick. I mean, Rolling Stone, I take what they
say with a grain of salt, but sometimes they
even manage to get it right. And they ranked
it on back in 2021 on their 500 best songs of
all time. And there's something that you mentioned
at the punk community. This album has a punk.
spirit to it when you listen to guys that record
albums with acoustic guitars but with that punk
flair there's almost this outlaw i don't want
to say outlaw country because that might it's
not a country album but that vibe that pretense
is in the music i love the diy fact that it's
so simple a four -track recorder and it's so
personal and it's such a powerful moment in between
the river and born in the usa music has dynamics
in it and the loudness war has stopped a lot
of people in especially younger kids from understanding
musical dynamics where in a song like stairway
to heaven by led zeppelin the loudest part of
the song should not be as audible as the quietest
part of the song and on the original vinyl When
Robert Plant is done at the end saying, and she's
buying a stairway to heaven. It is a lot lower
than when their full band is blaring. But when
you listen to recent remasters of it, it's the
same volume. To me, Nebraska is the dynamics
of Bruce Springsteen, where the river is high
and loud and big. And so was born in the USA.
But Nebraska's the dynamics. And I absolutely
love the pick. The other thing, right, is that
Warren talks about in the book that often we
need to take a step backwards and a moment of
reflection before we move forward. And they mention
other creative people that have done that. Yeah.
And it is a dark album. I mean, the title track
is about a serial killer, right? You know. Highway
Patrolman about brothers. You know, there is
so much used car, so many wonderful story songs
on that. There's just Bruce and his guitar and
maybe harmonica. So, yeah, if you've not spent
time with Nebraska, I think you should do yourself
a favor and spend some time with it because it
is rightly considered a gem. And to follow that
up, that's difficult because I kind of want to
go. big and loud to get the dynamics at play
here. But I think I'm going to do this in a,
I'm going to keep this in Jersey because trapped
was recorded at the Meadowlands arena. Then you
hopped in your car, you drove down the turnpike,
got on the garden state parkway and went down
to Atlantic city. Now I'm just going to turn
around and come straight back to the Meadowlands.
And I'm going to go with the title track of wrecking
ball. My grandfather was part of the labor foreman
that helped construct the original giant stadium.
So this song, when that stadium was being torn
down, it was tough on my family because that
was a piece of his legacy that was now going
to be a parking lot. And when Bruce made that
part of the theme of this song, it truly resonated
with me and my family because. The same things
we were feeling. Here's this person that we don't
know. He obviously has no connection to us other
than all being from New Jersey. He was able to
put into words what we were feeling about those
moments. And, you know, just from the opening
lyrics, I was raised out of steel here in the
swamps of Jersey some misty years ago through
the mud and beer and the blood and cheers. I've
seen champions come and go just. Poetic. I absolutely
love this song. And coming out of Nebraska, there's
still a touch musically of this Americana, almost
folk vibe that is woven throughout Wrecking Ball.
But then the song builds into this massive stadium
anthem. So to me, it's a nice transition musically
out of Atlantic City and it keeps us in Jersey.
And if you're going to name the album. a track
on the album that better be a memorable Bruce
Springsteen track. And I think he knocked it
out of the park with this one. So I'm following
Atlantic city up with wrecking ball. Um, I love
wrecking ball. It is one of my favorite modern
era albums. I think there is so much good on
there and the idea, you know, hold on to your
anger, but don't fall to your fears. I was very
upset unfairly, but when Texas stadium, in Dallas
was imploded because they now had the new Jerry
World. I was like, why are they not playing Wrecking
Ball? Right. Why are they not playing Wrecking
Ball? Even though it was about, you know, and
the live version, we're going to tear the old
girl down. I just love this song. I'm so glad
that we've got something from Wrecking Ball.
And it is such a perfect, just an anthem. And
so I'm going to keep it rolling. We're down to
our last two songs on the cassette. So from Wrecking
Ball, let's go 10th Avenue Freezeout. Nice. Right?
We kind of did Trapped, Atlantic City. Now then
Wrecking Ball kind of brings us up there, that
anthem. And then we go right to 10th Avenue Freezeout.
I don't think there's much that needs to be said
about this song. It is just an absolute anthem.
what else could you possibly say? It's one of
those songs that just emotes what the E Street
band is all about. It's one of those, what can
you possibly say that hasn't already been said
about the song, but I'm just going to leave it
at the big man joins the band. I mean, that's
all that needs to be said about this. And now
I have the challenge of following that up. It's
really tough. I actually want to do something
that might be to Bruce fans, a little controversial.
but I feel like it might actually work here.
And we have not gone back to the same album twice
yet. Technically, if you want to count meet me
in the city and out in the street by association
from the river box set, you could say that, but
I think to close outside a, we want people up
and singing along and dancing. And I just told
you I have an affinity. If you're going to name
the album, you better do it right. Let's follow
up 10th Avenue Freezeout. You said we're going
to do at least one of them, Born to Run to close
out Side A. Perfect. I absolutely agree. We don't
need to justify why we're putting Born to Run
on there. But I think that is perfect, right?
That you do the 10th Avenue Freezeout is the
story of the band. You know, when the big man
joined the band and people go crazy. Before we
lost Clarence and even more now. And so to have
that go into the lights have now gone up in the
stadium, right? Everyone's screaming and yelling.
I think that is a perfect way to end because
now then, you know, everyone is just ready to
flip over. So, oh, I think that is perfect. That
is absolutely. And I'm looking at our. goes and
i'm like that's a hell of a side well that mixtapers
concludes side a of our ultimate bruce springsteen
mixtape which consists of meet me in the city
from the river box set ghosts from letter to
you out in the street from the river i'm going
down from born in the usa racing in the street
from darkness on the edge of town trapped from
the we are the world compilation atlantic city
from nebraska wrecking ball from the album of
the same name and then 10th Avenue, Freeze Out,
and Born to Run, both from Born to Run. Head
over to myweeklymixtape .com to hear all the
songs we've discussed in this mix through the
playlist embedded on the episode page. Now, before
we flip the tape over to Side B and I kick that
off, Jesse, why don't you tell the My Weekly
Mixtape listeners a little bit about Set Lusting
Bruce? Absolutely. So Set Lusting Bruce has been
going on since 2015. What we do is I invite people
who, not just Bruce Springsteen fans, but someone
who loves music to join me and we talk about
how music has enhanced their lives. Whether it's
Tom Petty, whether it's Aretha Franklin, whether
it's Leonard Cohen. And so we talk about it.
We talk about their childhood growing up, what
kind of music they listened to. What about this
artist spoke to them? If they've seen them live,
if they've not, talk about the favorite music.
So basically, this gives a chance for people
to share stories about why music, and sometimes
a specific musician, sometimes a general brand
of music, why it has meant so much to them. You
know, Brian, I believe music helps us mourn.
It helps us celebrate. It helps us grieve. It
helps us feel joy. And I love capturing that
story where people talk about seeing Bruce only
the one time they've seen him or someone who's
seen him a hundred times, someone who's seen
Jimmy Buffett 30 times. And so I had someone
on to talk about his passing. So if you like
good stories, then I think you will like Set
Lessing Bruce because that's all it is. It is
just. Two people having a conversation and talking
about why music in a specific musician's music
means so much to them. It was an absolute pleasure
when I was able to join the show, so I'm happy
to repay the favor to you here tonight. And like
I said, I was a little nervous going into side
A, not knowing where we would head with this
mixtape. But I think right now the balance that
we were talking about at the beginning of the
episode is being achieved. So to kick off side
B. I want to try to achieve that balance once
again. So I'm going to start with something.
You started side A with something that was a
little deeper. I'm going to start off side B
with something that's not deep at all. And I'm
shocked it wasn't a top 40 hit because it's truly
one of his most beloved songs and a mainstay
of his live show. I'm going with Badlands from
1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town. I've read
and heard other people discuss. that i mentioned
this earlier darkness reflects the characters
of born to run getting older and becoming more
pessimistic about things and when you listen
to lyrics in badlands like poor man wants to
be rich rich man wants to be king king ain't
satisfied till he rules everything you could
feel the pessimism in that song and Over the
years, I've loved the relationship that Bruce
has had with the Dropkick Murphys. He has guested
on a song on one of their albums. They have jammed
with him on songs, including American Land from
Wrecking Ball. Then Bruce joined Dropkick Murphys
virtually for the COVID lockdown show that the
Murphys did on the field at Fenway Park, which
was truly memorable. And the Dropkick Murphys.
during all of that have covered this song in
punk fashion and the angst and anger of a punk
band to me even with all the extra distortion
and everything bruce's version is still just
as heavy and still just as angsty as any punk
band can do it and that's something that was
hard to capture and he truly captured it on this
track and i think that's why it's an anthem for
pretty much every tour since he's been out there
so i'm kicking off side b with badlands Great
choice. He often will start a tour with Badlands.
It is a audience favorite. Those lyrics, as you
say, are amazing. Well, now I'm trying to decide
because there's so many places you could go.
You could go Promise Land. But I think I'm going
to go. And once again, we're repeating. But I
think No Surrender is a great. segue from Badlands
to go No Surrender. I think that gets us off
to a really strong start. And so, yeah, I'm going
to do No Surrender from Born in the USA. Born
in the USA. All right. And that's again, that's
a quote unquote, I'm going to use the word deep
cut. Yes. From Born in the USA with a wink, wink,
nudge, nudge, because let's be honest, anything
on Born in the USA is not really a. deep cut
yeah but when you think about it wasn't a single
nope but there is so much joy in that song 100
yeah all right well what i'm gonna do is go with
a song that i loved during my senior year of
high school yes now i graduated in 1995 and if
you would have told me That a song that I rocked
throughout my whole senior year at high school
was recorded 13 years earlier and should have
been included or was meant to be included on
Born in the USA. I wouldn't have believed you.
But I am going off of his greatest hits album,
Murder Incorporated. Ooh. Think about this. A
song that's recorded in 1982. is released in
1995 with a video that's recorded at, ahem, Tramp's
nightclub in New York City. I have to throw the
dad pun in there, but to me, that live video
was so memorable. You feel the energy of the
band. This is coming out of a moment when Bruce
just did Human Touch in Lucky Town. And this
is kind of getting the E Street Band back together,
even though the song was recorded earlier. So
there's an intensity and a vibe on this song
that I think is on the same playing field as
Out in the Street because it's timeless. The
fact that it was released 13 years after it was
recorded and still made a splash. shows the longevity
and the power of the song they didn't feel the
need to try to recapture it and re -record it
like some of the other songs he put at the end
of greatest hits they left the original 82 version
and to me that that speaks volumes it's been
played over 250 times live but hasn't been played
since 2017 and to me that's a shame because this
is an all -time great for him murder incorporated
i love that pick kind of a surprise pick I love
that. So I'm going to have to pivot. And based
on your this was on my list, but I didn't think
we would get to it. But I'm going with your theme.
When Bruce was doing Letter to You, there is
a documentary that's on Apple TV that I recommend
people watching. It is fascinating because this
is the first time the band had recorded kind
of together in a lot of years. And they had talked
about. quit, let's not play Beat the Demo, right?
Like Bruce would come in, already have a demo
of all the songs. And if you're Gary Talent,
who's the bass player, I've got to play a bass
better than what Bruce did on the demo. So he
came in and he just had the songs and he played
them on his guitar. And you see all the band
members with their legal pad and pencils writing
down. He recorded three songs on Letter to You
that were from the early, early times. And one
of them, as far as we know, till this tour, had
only been played once live. It was one of the
songs he played for John Hammond when he was
applying, and it was If I Was the Priest. Same
theme, Murder Incorporated, an older song coming
back, If I Was the Priest, an absolutely amazing
song. Little Steven has a great solo at the end.
He tells the story that John Hammond said, note
from someone that said if you aren't careful
you're going to run out of words in the dictionary
if you keep writing this way and that was bob
dylan told john hammond that about bruce if i
was the priest is what outlaw p wanted to be
and so once again i'm a little surprised letter
to you is getting two songs but i'm also not
surprised because it's his latest solo album
and someone is still in their 70s throwing a
fastball, to use the baseball metaphor. I was
in Houston, and Bruce said, I wrote this song
50 years ago, and I still don't know what the
F it's about. And we looked at each other, my
friends, and said, no, no. And when he went into
If I Was the Priest, we lost our shit. He played
it in Houston. He played it in Austin. I got
it twice on the tour and was just amazed. I was
like, OK, I'm on house money now. He can play
whatever he wants. I had a five as the priest
twice. I am over the moon. I will be very curious
to see how Bruce fans take two songs from Letter
to You in this mix. But to me, this is up there
with Ghost as two of the best tracks on the album.
I also think this is one of my favorite parts
of that documentary on Apple TV. So I love the
pick. Well, let me see if what I follow up, if
I was the priest with falls under your, he could
play anything now. Cause to me, we're on side
B of a mixtape. I want to dig a little deeper
now. Okay. Before we kind of ramp it back up
at the end with the crowd favorites. Cause again,
we're trying to strike a balance between big
hits. And deeper cuts to kind of give people
a roundabout explanation of Bruce Springsteen.
And I want to go with a song that I feel might
be, in my opinion, one of his most underrated
songs from one of his more recent albums. And
I'll say more recent, meaning post 2000. Right.
Bruce had stated about this particular track
that this is a song about things that shouldn't
happen here happening here. And I want to go
off of 2004's Magic. And I want to go with Living
in the Future. To me, Magic is just an all -around
underrated Springsteen album. But Living in the
Future is so underrated, in my humble opinion.
Like Out in the Street, it has this timeless
energy to it. If you told me that Living in the
Future was originally written for Born to Run
or Darkness on the Edge of Town, I would have
believed you. Musically, not lyrically, because
lyrically, the song is definitely rooted in the
2000s. But musically, you could have told me
that that music for that song was written for
those two albums. And I would 100 percent believe
you. Here's a song with this very happy, inviting
exterior. But when you dive into it, it's a pretty
scathing track. And he has explained the meaning
of the song as political in nature. However,
when you listen to lyrics like. And what I knew
had come, stars struck deaf and dumb, like when
we kissed the taste of blood on your tongue.
There's many relationship layers, no matter what
that relationship is, whether you want to take
it literally or diving into other relationships
people have. This song, to me, is just an absolute
classic that I am shocked wasn't a single from
this album that didn't get... more airplay because
it's just an amazing, deeper Springsteen cut.
So Brian, I'm really tempted to do Long Walk
Home, right? Is that one, two punch, right? Yes.
Long Walk Home is another amazing song, but you've
got me in a magic mood. So I'm going to stick
with magic, but I'm going to change our tune
just a little bit. We already talked about his
original Brian Wilson Beach Boy theme song. I'm
going to do Girls in Their Summer Clothes. Ooh.
Right? Something that I'm sure most people have
not heard. It is very much a version of a Beach
Boy song. A lot of wonderful harmonies in it,
a lot of strings. I think because they're both
from Magic, they are a nice little segue. We
are giving a lot of love to, I think we've done
a lot of throughout his career. So I'm going
to do Girls in Her Summer Clothes because one
of my favorite songs. And so I'm going to throw
it on there. So I'm going to ask you as somebody
who's hosted a Bruce Springsteen podcast, if
you say to people, hey, we put together our 20
song Bruce Springsteen list and two tracks back
to back come from Magic. What's the response
going to be? I'm being genuine when I ask that.
Would they be shocked? Would there be a lot of
people that feel the same about this album? So
I think there are two types of people. There
are many fans that believe that darkness on the
edge of town, that 78 tour was the height of
the street band. There are people that swear
that the tour they had in 78, there was no better
tour and that. Darkness was the best album Bruce
ever did. Other people say magic is a unrecognized
gem. That many people say that magic, because
it's the modern era, doesn't get as much love
as it deserves. Long walk home, living in the
future, gypsy biker. I'll work for your love.
Heck, Radio Nowhere. Yeah, Radio Nowhere. Absolutely.
I could have started this mixtape with Radio
Nowhere. I mean, just as easy. That is a song
that just gets you up and moving. I'm hoping
that we're running out of slots. I was hoping
to get something from Western Stars. Don't know
if it's going to happen. I have some of them
on my thing. But I think people will say it's
impossible to get everything on there. And if
you're going to have a modern album. it's kind
of cool that magic and letter to you are both
getting some love. Well, we're going to give
one more, some love right now, because I want
to go back just a couple of short years prior
to magic. And I want to go with a song that originally
was written about Asbury park. However, after
nine 11 and that opening version on the tribute
to heroes telethon, my city of ruins became such
an important. song to me living just on the other
side of the city. At that point, I was actually
on a bus heading into New York city during nine
11 when things were happening. And when I turned
that telethon on and he opened with this song,
it spoke to me in words that you could not imagine.
I had no idea at the time that the song was just.
written a few years prior. I had no idea it was
about Asbury Park. To me, Sean Faust had mentioned
at the top of the show, this song is about joy.
And it's truly the perfect way to close out The
Rising. There's a gospel -esque nature of this
song. The with these hands moment is absolutely
spine -tingling. And to me, this is going to
be always ranked in my... probably top five of
all time. And it could be his most powerful song
to me just from my personal experiences and how
this song spoke to me at a time when I needed
that joy and my city of ruins. I can't picture
a Bruce Springsteen 20 song list without it.
So I have to include it here. So the rising is
the only song that I have seen. I have gone to
Bruce 19 shows. And The Rising is the only song
that has been played on all 19 shows. So people
ask me, when did you become a Springsteen passionate
slash obsessive? And there's a couple of moments.
I was a fan of everyone. But after 9 -11, I turn
on the TV for this telethon, this fundraiser,
and you see the candles and you hear Bruce. a
prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters. And
when they go into that and you hear that rise
up, rise up, it chills, chills. And then in 2002,
I saw The Rising was my first tour. And that
was it. I was sold. I was like, I know this is
now my guy. This is my band. I will always love
the Beach Boys and a lot of other bands. But
Bruce is it. And so. I absolutely wanted something
for The Rising and My City of Ruins is a perfect
choice for that reason. I mean, you're telling
that story and mine was exact. And I think that
there are hundreds, if not thousands of people
who saw that and needed that, you know, that
feeling, that feeling of Bruce and then saying,
and it feels like it was written for 9 -11, but
it wasn't. And it's just a perfect song. Yeah,
I absolutely agree. Ah, so that was strong. So
we got Living in the Future, Girls in the Summer
Clothes, My City of Ruins. I think I'm going
to try to change our tone a little bit. And I'm
going to go tougher than the rest from Tunnel
of Love. I was tempted one step up, but I'm going
to do tougher than the rest. If you push me,
Tunnel of Love is my favorite Bruce Springsteen
album. I just love that album. I think it's an
album that as you grow, the album grows with
you. You have to have your heart broken a few
times to really appreciate the songs. The premise,
this is after he had darned Born in the USA and
he was married to Julianne Phillips at the time.
The marriage was not going well. Partly because
he did not believe anyone could, he wasn't worthy
of love. And so tougher than the rest is kind
of a country song, but I just love that. And
I wanted something from that album. So I think
my city of ruins flows through tougher than the
rest. This is one of the songs he did on Broadway
with Patty. So that's what I'm going to go. Fantastic
pick. I'm actually surprised you didn't go with
the Broadway version because that one with Patty
is definitely memorable as well. But we haven't
really besides trapped. We really haven't dove
into a lot of live stuff tonight, which is another
interesting choice. Put it down tougher than
the rest from Broadway. Oh, you're going to say
from Broadway instead. OK. Yeah. Now that you
said that, absolutely. We need to do that. You
know, I haven't been thinking which versions,
but absolutely tougher than the rest from Broadway
is. Great call, Brian. Well, we have one song
each left. And we are talking about decades of
massive hits here. I feel like we've gone a little
deeper on... side b than we did on side a which
is the case on a lot of mixtapes because if you've
got somebody into your mixtape on side a side
b is where you can kind of try to lure them into
other bands you're into or other songs or and
to me i feel like we're giving people a nice
mix of stuff from all over his career but we're
at the end of the road here so i want to put
in a song that everybody knows everybody loves
everyone's going to sing along and i am so scared
to say it because I am afraid of the hardcore
fans maybe going, ugh, all at once. But I told
you I got born in the USA for I'm Going Down.
And when my first song that I bought the cassette
for finished, I heard the opening riff to Glory
Days. And to me, those two songs back to back
were what made me fall in love with Bruce Springsteen
as an artist. And I played those two songs back
to back. So much as a kid, and I loved them.
But as an adult, with kids of my own now, the
lyrics mean a lot more to me than they did when
I was a kid. Very much the way Cactus Pete said
it. I hear this song through a new lens now.
My band covers this song when we play. We call
it our contractually obligated New Jersey Bruce
Springsteen cover song of the night. But it's
one that every time we play it, everybody in
the room gets up and sings along. And it's one
of those songs that I know hardcore fans are
probably tired of hearing because it is what
made Born in the USA such a big album. And if
it's not the reason, it's one of the reasons
because there were so many popular songs from
that album. Kind of balances out the deeper cuts
on side B with something that's so big, it kind
of makes it a little more even playing field
here. I might have gone Dancing in the Dark instead
of Glory Days, but I think either one of them,
for the longest time, he didn't play either.
I mean, he would not play them both. He is kind
of now on his tour. I love Glory Days. I think
Glory Days is a song that, as a fan of music,
it is hard to get tired of. In that video, that
video, you wanted to be in that club. You wanted
to see little Steven playing that mandolin and
Max twirling the drumsticks. I love glory days.
I mean, everyone's laughing and joking. And so
I agree that that is a really, really perfect
next to last song. Well, that's the penultimate.
You get to close us out tonight. You kicked us
off with Meet Me in the City from the Riverbox
set. Yeah. What are we closing out the night
with tonight? So when people ask me, what is
your favorite Bruce Springsteen songs? I always
say Better Days off his The Other Band, right?
Because that song says that life is a journey
and you've got to enjoy that journey. And Land
of Hope and Dreams. So I saw when I was going
to be last, I'm like, OK, Land of Hope and Dreams.
I mean, that's how we're going to end. But it's
Thunder Road. But it's Thunder Road. It's like
when I think about it, how can you not? And I
cannot believe that I have a choice and I am
not picking Land of Hope and Dreams. But it just
seems perfect. You hear the Broadway tougher
than the rest. Glory days. And then you could
see the band has left. And I would do a solo
version of Thunder Road, right? Bruce or even
the band. It doesn't really where he's telling
us goodbye. The other thing I thought of, I'll
see you in my dreams because, you know, we love,
but Letterview's already gotten two songs. So
I think Thunder Road is, we got Bowling to Run
and Thunder Road in both of them, but it seems
like the perfect way to kind of end the side,
right? This. invitation to join us. Well, and
there's something about this song I would like
you to talk about on Set Lusting Bruce, because
we talked about this and this is something you
talk about with everybody. And I would love for
you to explain what that is to the My Weekly
Mixtape listeners. I would love to do that, Brian.
So maybe a year, not even two years into my podcast,
I had a guy named Jay Armstrong join me and he
was an honors English teacher. And he's a huge
Bruce Springsteen fan. And he talked about that
he would give his students the lyrics to Thunder
Road and they would treat it as if it was a poem.
They would compare it to like Robert Frost, The
Road Not Taken. They would talk about and they
would spend two classroom sessions, days breaking
down Thunder Road and then discussing it. And
at the end of the second day. He would ask his
class, and that was their assignment, does Mary
get in the car? So when he told me that, I went,
what are you talking about? Of course she gets
in the car. I mean, it's in the song. Mary, you
know, climb in. We're pulling out of here to
win. He goes, if you look at the lyrics, I'm
pulling out of here to win. What? Wait a minute.
So I've listened to the song. And so now then,
seven years later, I end every podcast with the
Mary question. I tell my guests beforehand. whether
they're a Bruce fan or not, I said, listen to
Thunder Road, read the lyrics, and then give
your opinion. Does Mary get in the car? Half
the people say, yes, she gets in the car. How
could she not? And the other half say, no, she's
not getting in the car. And they give the reasons
why. So that's my homework. I give to everyone.
And you gave a great answer. But yes, so I remember
a few years ago, Joe Montana was on a sports
station. And they were talking afterwards what
a great guest he was. And they said, how could
someone be that nice? He married Miss World,
you know, the prettiest girl in the world. And
when you have the discussion of the greatest
quarterback of all times, he's in the discussion.
He may not win. And this was before Brady had
won all these, right? And so when you discuss.
The greatest rock song of all times, Thunder
Road, is in the discussion. And so we've got
to end with Thunder Road. And I will just tease
and say, head over to Setlusting Bruce and listen
to my episode if you want to hear my answer.
I will not spoil that here. Yes. There you have
it, folks. Side B of our ultimate Bruce Springsteen
mixtape, which kicked off with Badlands from
Darkness on the Edge of Town. No Surrender from
Born in the USA. Murder Incorporated from his
greatest hits, If I Was the Priest from Letter
to You, Livin' in the Future and Girls in Their
Summer Clothes from Magic, My City of Ruins from
The Rising, Tougher Than the Rest from the Broadway
live album, Glory Days from Born in the USA,
and Thunder Road from Born to Run. Head over
to myweeklymixtape .com to hear all the songs
we've discussed in this mix. through the playlist
embedded on the episode page. Now, Jesse, if
people want to hear my answer to the Thunder
Road question, why don't you let people know
where they can tune into and learn more about
Set Lusting Bruce? Yeah, Set Lusting Bruce is
a proud part of the Pantheon Podcast Network.
I love the fact that I am part of a group that
does nothing but music podcasts. Yeah, so if
you look for Set Lusting Bruce anywhere where
you get your... podcast you can hear us setlustingbruce
at gmail .com is my email address you can send
me i am currently on twitter aka x at jesse jackson
dfw i would love to hear your feedback i'd love
to hear you curse us on what songs we left i
have another 12 that we didn't even get to talk
about right i mean we didn't get anything from
his first album i had growing up i'd love something
from Western Star. So yeah, this was a lot of
fun. And I feel pretty proud of us. I think we
did a good job of trying to capture the well
-known songs and mix again with maybe some of
those rarities that if you're a casual Springsteen
fan, you have not heard. And hopefully it'll
make you want to go, well, maybe I should explore
more of Bruce's music. Amen. And one thing that's
the beauty of making mixtapes, there's always
time for a volume two. Jesse, thank you so much
for joining me on my weekly mixtape. I'm looking
forward to continuing our musical relationship
through Pantheon. And it was an absolute pleasure
having you on tonight. Thank you, Brian. This
was a joy. Remember, Mixtapers, you can find
My Weekly Mixtape on all the social media haunts
at My Weekly Mixtape. You can also head to MyWeeklyMixtape
.com to check out the full catalog of My Weekly
Mixtape episodes. And if you like what you're
hearing on the show, you can help me out by either
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My Weekly Mixtape. That's all for this week.
Thanks again for listening. And until next time.
Enjoy the tunes.