I've got my iPod on shuffle and it plays Springsteen's The River back to back with Bon Jovi's Never Say Goodbye. (Never mind the snide comments about why I have Bon Jovi on my iPod, I share it with my wife) And I realize that they are essentially about the same thing, a man looking back on his life realizing that the bad choices he made led him to the land of the disenfranchised.
It also made me realize that Springsteen is a hundred times better with words than Bon Jovi ever was. Compare:
But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
to
Remember when we used to park
On Butler Street out in the dark
Remember when we lost the keys
And you lost more than that in my backseat
Pretty much the same scene but Springsteen paints such a vivid picture of young love mixed with mourning and loss while Bon Jovi seems like every jock you ever met trying to be romantic.
I guess this is what happens when you're bored and listening to music. You start to realize the obvious.
It also made me realize that Springsteen is a hundred times better with words than Bon Jovi ever was. Compare:
But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
to
Remember when we used to park
On Butler Street out in the dark
Remember when we lost the keys
And you lost more than that in my backseat
Pretty much the same scene but Springsteen paints such a vivid picture of young love mixed with mourning and loss while Bon Jovi seems like every jock you ever met trying to be romantic.
I guess this is what happens when you're bored and listening to music. You start to realize the obvious.
