Jorge wrote:"I'm On Fire" was a huge single, it charted higher than "Born in the USA" on the Billboard Hot 100. In recent years it's gotten a second wind through TikTok and playlists.
This is fascinating to me. When I was getting into Springsteen in the early 2000’s, it was virtually nonexistent in the public sphere (compared to the other big singles from that album which still got regularly played on classic rock stations, ‘80’s stations, etc.). I think the first time I heard it was when I heard Born in the USA for the first time (and that was one of the last major albums I bought). I assumed it was a deep cut. Weird how songs move in and out of focus over time like that.
With that level of success it also seems super weird that it was omitted from both of his greatest hits albums, especially when things like “Human Touch” were included.
Yes from what I'm reading the decision to leave "I'm On Fire" off those compilations (though it was later included in The Essential Bruce Springsteen) came down to the fact that there were already several Born in the USA singles included, and that they felt the song wasn't representative enough.
If we're talking signature song, I'd have to say Blinded By the Light. It's so Bruce Springsteen that people assume it's Bruce Springsteen even though it's not Bruce Springsteen. (yes I know he wrote it)
lvc wrote:If we're talking signature song, I'd have to say Blinded By the Light. It's so Bruce Springsteen that people assume it's Bruce Springsteen even though it's not Bruce Springsteen. (yes I know he wrote it)
you have the most inexplicable takes on this board, starting to believe the trag conspiracies
lvc wrote:If we're talking signature song, I'd have to say Blinded By the Light. It's so Bruce Springsteen that people assume it's Bruce Springsteen even though it's not Bruce Springsteen. (yes I know he wrote it)
you have the most inexplicable takes on this board, starting to believe the trag conspiracies
There is plenty of evidence for that, but to me the above statement is completely logical (while being a joke). Springsteen literally passed his entire essence into another band just by the song structure and content. If a song sounds so much like someone that you assume it is, then that's about as signature as something gets.
But I forget that we're using the inferior definition of signature that's basically what song does the average guy in the WalMart parking lot think of when you mention a band.
And for the record, I almost always disagreed with Trag when I saw something he posted. Often viscerally.
I will certainly give it a listen but I will also say this: there’s a charm and romanticism behind the decision to scrap all the efforts to develop Nebraska and then just deciding the demos were the album. It’s the kind of bold move only a handful of rock musicians could pull off or would dare to. I don’t know that releasing the full band versions after all these years changes that narrative and dynamic, especially for hardcore fans, but the mystique around all that is a valuable piece of the Springsteen career lore.
I walked in the door from work today and Blood Brothers was playing and it looks like the doc was upped to YouTube recently, I don't recall seeing it on there though I never looked specifically:
ELECTRIC NEBRASKA FINALLY BEING RELEASED 
