The influence of Springsteen is worn of the sleeves of many large "indie" bands, in the 2000's, whether it's Arcade Fire trying to replicate the feeling of "No Surrender/Bobby Jean" of Born in the USA era, The Killers imitating Born to Run on the entire album of Sam's Town, or the more subtle acoustic folk of Nebraska which shines through in the work of The National. Such inspirations are worn prouder than a red base-ball cap in Bruce's back-pocket.
However, Springsteen's method is more than dramatic chord changes, and myths about girls and cars - the strength of the Springsteen song is how he uses these worn down rock n roll myths to express, through his characters, an emotional catharsis.
No better example than "Stolen Car"
Here the rock n roll romance of driving down Thunder Road, a signature of Bruce's early work is re-written as a nightmare.
It's starts typically with Bruce's characters meeting a "little girl" and "getting married", but then there romantic young love grows cold in the second stanza. The mythical motor-vehical metaphor is turned on its head:
"And I'm driving down a stolen car, Down on Eldrich Avenue, Each night I wait to get caught, But I never do"
Rather than providing an escape, the car of this characters relationship, no longer feels like its his. It doesn't feel like it belongs to him or that he even wants to drive it, but regardless he continues it hoping all the time to "get caught" -for it to end, but without the courage to do so.
The conversation then becomes two-way, as his character trys to rekindle the ride, alluding to the love letters of their early days. He then paraphrases his wifes repsonse in the cold line "She said last night she read those letters, and they made her feel one hundred years old"
The song's musical back drop is simple, a two chord riff latterly to be joined with piano and drums; it's no "Born to Run" (cf "When you were Young - the Killers"). Even in the climactic final chorus, the back drop is kept to a minimal with a disdainfully mournful ending:
"And I'm driving a stolen car, On a pitch black night, I keep telling myself I'm going to be alright, But a ride by night, and I travel in fear, and in this Darkness I will dispair"
The ending stanza is in stark opposition to Springsteen's other work where such situation might be romatisiced or even violently extinguished (see Nebraska), rather Springsteen taps in into the everyday dread of life of those without courage to stop their journey to nowhere. It crys out to those who accept and pity cirucumstances of their personal relationship but rather to accept it with the emotional and soulful damage with it entails (sounds like a Drake song).
Stolen Car demonstrates one thread to the bow of Springsteen which influences indie rock artists today. Beyond the cosmetic influences of "the optimistic rock opera" (the Killers), the urgent rock n roll Evangelist (
Arcade Fire), this song illustrates the bleak emotional depth with colours some of Springsteen's best songs, and influences in a less obvious ways my third modern day influenced example of the National.
The Killers (Thunder Road)
Arcade Fire (Born in the USA)
The National (Mansion on the Hill)
