Springsteen talked about the influence Flannery O’Connor’s novels had on his song-writing in his late 20’s. Recalling writing the songs for the “Nebraska” CD, he said:There was something in those stories of hers that I felt captured a certain part of the American character that I was interested in writing about. They were a big, big revelation. She got to the heart of some part of meanness that she never spelled out, because if she spelled it out you wouldn’t be getting it. It was always at the core of every one of her stories—the way that she’d left that hole there, that hole that’s inside of everybody. There was some dark thing—a component of spirituality—that I sensed in her stories, and that set me off exploring characters of my own. She knew original sin—knew how to give it the flesh of a story.
If you haven’t - you should. My pop. forms of public culture prof. made me (specifically) listen to this for a class project, because he said I thought I knew too much about music. He was right, this album is incredible, and made me realize I was, and in many ways am, a dumb kid from the South. It’s a stand alone work for the Boss.
↓ 24 Sep 2008
