Episode 9: Brucepod

Stupid Anthropology

Aaron walks Robert and Rachel through the career of Bruce Springsteen. Why do so many people focus on “Born in the USA” in wildly inappropriate ways? What makes good protest music good? Digressions include: Old cable TV; the gang talks She-Hulk; Aaron makes very good jokes about music that everyone will get and enjoy.

Music by Daniel Griggs.

Reading list:

• RollingStone interviews Springsteen on Tour: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-rolling-stone-interview-bruce-springsteen-on-born-in-the-u-s-a-184690/
• Vice, “Politicians Have Always Misunderstood Springsteen's 'Born In The U.S.A.': https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkyjvn/misunderstood-bruce-springsteens-born-in-the-usa-trump
• Wikipedia article on Nebraska - I dunno, just go listen to the album, man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_(album)
• Smithsonian: The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times, but No One Cared Until 1969: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/cuyahoga-river-caught-fire-least-dozen-times-no-one-cared-until-1969-180972444/
• Lyrics to Dave van Ronk’s “Luang Prabang:” https://www.metrolyrics.com/luang-prabang-lyrics-dave-van-ronk.html
• Utah Philips. We Have Fed You All a Thousand Years, Intro to “Dump the Bosses Off Your Back”
• NPR, Backstage With Bruce: Springsteen On His Early Work: https://www.npr.org/2009/01/30/100038036/backstage-with-bruce-springsteen-on-his-early-work