Bruce Springsteen

• Peter Seeley +2
• fionmul +1 — This is so good too! And I love Bruce
• Edward James +1 — Also wanted this to work so badly, but it just doesn’t totally fit beyond the “hungry heart” concept. The rest of it…. Wait never mind. I’m reasoning my way into it. The part about him leaving his wife and child made me think of Augustine, leaving his partner and child to devote his life to God. So then the rest of the song didn’t fit. But if you read it as just recognizing the Hunger of the heart Eavan, amen the brokenness, then it really does fit.
• judd.baker +1 — flawless. Great pick
• Sam Ary +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Yes, this is a core Augustine theme. But there’s really just one line in this that connects.
• Claire 0 — This is accurate for sure. Less about Augustine himself and more about a universal phenomenon that he articulated. Perfectly valid read but didn’t quite make podium for me

fionmul: The only time I’ll ask you to listen to something for this long… Listen for the musical nods to nearly every neighborhood and culture of the city. You got a taxi at LaGuardia. You’re crossing the bridge into Harlem at night. The keys ring out as your driver weaves his way along Grand Central Parkway. As the Manhattan skyline comes into view, Bruce’s voice is heard…

• ared56 +1
• shea nowicki +1
• Regina Scime +1
• Claire +1 — This is really cool. I can’t say I was paying 100% attention for the full duration of the song but I did hear it out. I wonder if it’s meant to be sorta ambient at times
• fionmul 0 — This is just so beautiful I can’t. It’s magic.🥺🥹
• SamRobertsND 0 — Sorry, Fiona, if it's a famous artist, not really starting point for "hear me out." Already assume it will be decent.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Ok… this has some merit to it. Can’t stand the vocal delivery and it doesn’t have to be that long, but it’s fine
• Edward James 0 — THIS IS JUST A NORMAL SONG
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I guess I need to hear you out because of the length? Anyway, this song didn't blow me away. Was waiting for an amazing drop, but it never came. Fiona

• Edward James +1 — This song combines the best of all worlds - Southern vibe fit, theme (although weaker than the others), and narrative. I am actually kind of mad, because I was trying to find a Springsteen song to use, but the vast majority of them are about a different kind of Americana and just miss the boat for O'Connor connection. The opening scene with the dead dog in the ditch could 100% be out of one of her stories. Belief in the face of the mundane and the tragic is a theme she explores too. I think theme fit is a bit weaker than others, otherwise this would be a +2. Incredible pull.
• fionmul +1 — I almost submitted bruce. This is a great pick!
• Brad Stalcup 0 — I can't pick this one simply because it's a song of despair and cynicism. Despite the darkness and ugliness of Flannery's stories, there's always a glimmer of light. Bruce Springsteen seems to imply that people are delusional and that's why they have a reason to believe.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Decent enough lyrics at times but I just don’t like Springsteen. The vibe I get from him is a non musician who somehow ended up having a music career
• shea nowicki 0 — I like this. I don’t know why this song feels like 5 years long to me… but a good pick. Especially the opening lines resonated.

• shea nowicki +1
• Edward James 0 — Tom Joad as the moment of apotheosis of the bindle-carrier into Christ figure
• fionmul 0 — This was lacking for me, hard as it is to say. It was almost too on the nose but also not on the nose enough? Not as authentic as some?
• Peter Seeley 0 — 2-3 minutes of this would have been great. 8 is brutal. No justification for the length.
• Claire -1 — 1. I need to read the grapes of wrath. 2. This song is cool. Epic guitar at the end 3. I feel, however, like this doesn’t quite fit with bindlecore as I understand it bc the misfortune it talks about seems caused by a system that is beyond our control rather than being in some way caused by oneself
• Brad Stalcup -1 — This was the furthest from bindledom of the songs on the list.

• Edward James +1 — My friend Nick had a music blog back in the day when people had music blogs, and he had an article that actually inspired this category. He said the best road trip kickoff song when you're 16-22 is "The Great Escape" by Boys Like Girls (my runner up for my submission) - "for when you're young and still feel the shiny promise of life". And that "Thunder Road" is the perfect kickoff song for "when you're past college and the gleam and glamour is starting to wear thin and you're wondering what life might hold." I agree with him still, and therefore this gets my vote. Impeccable choice.
• Regina Scime +1
• Spicey Riche +1
• fionmul 0 — I wanted to vote for Bruce but not enough votes
• Brad Stalcup 0 — The way this song builds just seems to lend itself really well to getting onto the highway and "rolling down the windows and letting back your hair"
• SamRobertsND 0 — Hi Fiona! This doesn't work!
• judd.baker 0 — As with other submissions (perhaps even my own, upon hearing the whole playlist): roadtrip, absolutely. Kickoff? I’m not convinced