The Boss is Back in Town

The recent release of Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town remaster, together with deleted sessions and outtakes from the record, makes me wonder if a new Springsteenism is at work in contemporary American music. Listening to Darkness for the first time, I was struck to resemblances to much more modern releases, and three in particular: Japandroids' Post-Nothing, Titus Andronicus' The Airing of Grievances, and the Arcade Fire's The Suburbs. All exhibit what I would like to posit as the defining features of Springsteenism; all well as an ostensible "blue-collar" mentality, focusing on working- and lower middle-class life and the environments surrounding it, the music shares an expansive vision, hinting at something beyond the confines of familiar surroundings. Guitars soar, choruses lift, and there is earnestness, andger, and introspection in the distinctive voices of each vocalist.

Maybe there is an element of cultural cycles here; as I've explored in previous posts, previous aesthetics seem to be picked up at different stages, and re-forged into a more contemporary milieu. Yet the socio-cultural-economic context may also play a part; Springsteen's America is one of rusting industrial plants, unemployment, and limited future prospects for the youth of society, yet suffused with an undercurrent of romantic notions of hope and escape. Perhaps the resurgence of Springsteenism has something to do with parallels in the social fabric; perhaps today's youth need a Born to Run of their own. Part of Springsteen's appeal is the urgency in his voice; the sense that this all means something. Do the student protests of November 10 have a voice in popular culture - and if not, will one arise?

Bruce Springsteen: Darkness on the Edge of Town
Japandroids: Darkness on the Edge of Gastown
Titus Andronicus: A More Perfect Union
The Arcade Fire: Modern Man

And for a super special bonus, here's perhaps the finest piece of Post-Springsteen recorded in the past decade or so:
The Constantines: Young Lions