The River

9. Bruce Springsteen

Hordes of mad-eyed Brooooce loyalists are even now amassed at our doorstep bearing torches and battering rams and wearing bandana headbands. The Boss? A mope? Well, hear me out. Springsteen has produced a massive body of work, but upon even casual examination,... more a surprising amount ends up being quite mopey indeed. "The River" ("Now I just act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care") is mopey; the entire "Nebraska" album is crushingly mopey; even "Glory Days" is, in reality, a song about remembering how life was better in high school. Slow down "Born in the U.S.A."? Turbo mope. And "The Ghost of Tom Joad"? Sheesh. Springsteen's a genius, a high-energy showman, a rock icon ... and a master of mope. (Cisfr / Dalle / Retna Ltd.)

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