#245) "The River" by Bruce Springsteen - The title track off one of his best albums, it might be said "The River" was the beginning of Springteen's artistic evolution from boy to man - post Born to Run/pre-Born in the USA. Its quiet, folk-oriented sound reveals in dark, gritty detail (worthy of The Boss) the life, lifestyle and livelihood of much of the real small town America, too often beholden to traditions that do it no good, and dependent on jobs provided by companies that offer no guarantee of sticking around...jobs that surely aren't sexy, or even healthy.
"The River" is not sexy. But it's real. It's truth.
Bruce's entire body of work should really come along on any cross-country road trip, as so much of it reflects this country through the decades, the good, bad, and ugly...
...the wild, the innocent, and the e-street shuffle.
"Then I got Mary pregnant, and man that was all she wrote / And for my 19th birthday, I got a union card and a wedding coat..."
#246) "Trashy Women" by Confederate Railroad - What can I say? Yes, the song is kind of a throwaway, for this list and for country music in general, but I think it's funny...and more or less true for most men, whether they admit it. True for me, anyway...just a little.
Of course, it is an unnervingly short half-step from "trashy" (easily idealized in the safe, stable sanctimony of a song) to slatternly and rancorous. So all men are well-advised to review this predilection frequently. ;-)
"They said well pardon us Son, she ain't no kid, that's a cocktail waitress in a Dolly Parton wig / I said, I know it Dad, ain't she cool? That's the kind I dig..."
