Show Notes
Today, Indiecast co-host, Uproxx cultural critic and author Steven Hyden returns to the show to discuss his book about one of the most iconic albums of all time, "There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" and the End of the Heartland. Steve talks about the album's uneasy relationship with Bruce's die-hard fans, Bruce's internal tug of war with the level of fame this album brought, misread meanings of Bruce's songs and how his music has become more didactic over time, the universality and timelessness of Nebraska and Born in the USA vs the more explicit protest music of the time, Springsteen the storyteller, the "Bruce voice", the emotional comedown whiplash of exiting an E Street Band show, the death of the unifying American myth, 'heartland rock' as a genre, Bruce's hopefulness vs the fatalism of Fogerty and Mellencamp, why the Replacements were the antithesis of Springsteen, the lessons Bruce drew from Bob Dylan and our hopes for the Born in the USA 40th Anniversary.
More from My Favorite Album with Jeremy Dylan
Hollye B's career has already taken her from New York dancer to punk frontwoman to vocalist in Mike Campbell's Dirty Knobs and now as a compelling Americana singer-songwriter. Hollye joins me to talk about the modern classic album from Jenny Lewis, 2008's 'Acid Tongue'. We delve into how Hollye discovered Jenny through Grey's Anatomy while in high school, how the album balances artistic freedom and expansiveness with discipline, Jenny's genius at creating intimacy as a vocalist, sexism in the indie world, how the album and its creation harkens back to the 70s Laurel Canyon scene, the sprawling cast of LA backing musicians featured across the album, how Lewis marries different forms and approaches in her lyrics and more.
The brilliant Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville ('Won't You Be My Neighbor?', '20 Feet From Stardom', 'Man on the Run') joins me today to talk about the epic insanity of The Clash's legendary triple album 'Sandinista!'. We talk about the album as 'the ultimate onion to keep peeling back', the ahead-of-its-time meta commentary and self-deconstruction on the album, how the band recorded the album during a frenzy of activity around the world, the album's status as The Clash's 'White Album', the political underpinnings of the album and its title, the wild diversity of music influences that come together on the album, and much more. Plus, we touch on Morgan's recent Paul McCartney documentary 'Man on the Run'.
Today, Nashville-based Australian country hitmaker Melanie Dyer joins me to talk about the modern classic album from Kacey Musgraves that redefined the borders of country music for a generation, 2018's 'Golden Hour'. We talk about how the album represented a major sonic shift from Musgraves' first two albums, the fork in the road she was faced with in her career, how some of the songwriting harkens back to early 20th century American standards, the importance of space in the production, the story of the glass slipper shooey and how Musgraves continues to face forward and break new ground with each record.
Today, emergent honky tonk hero Alicia Blue joins me to talk about her hero Waylon Jennings and his seminal album from 1975, 'Dreaming My Dreams'. We talk about how Waylon puts himself in the context of his country forebears with songs like 'Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?', 'Bob Wills Is Still The King' and 'Waymore Blues', the outlaw movement and how artists like Waylon and Willie reinvented themselves after the earlier Nashville chapters of their careers, how Alicia navigated bringing Waylon's influence into her own Shooter Jennings produced new album, the different interpretations of the meaning of 'Bob Wills Is Still The King' and much more.
It is rare for a character to have survived and thrived through almost 90 years of continuous reinvention, adaptation and exploitation. It's even rarer for a consensus to emerge as to a definitive incarnation of such a character. Well, Batman: The Animated Series is that unicorn, a coming together of incredible talent to produce the most elegant distillation of decades of storytelling, along with its own innovations and contributions to the mythos. 30 plus years since it premiered, the reputation of the series has grown even further and now the behind the scenes story has been told in a fantastic new book by my guest today, Daniel Dockery, in I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series.