Had no idea that referred to Bruce Springsteen. I kinda prefer its being just some kid in their room, with a highway they can hear, and only kind of see, in the distance. But, yeah. I don't think it's disparaging to Bruce, nor to songs about cars and girls. Sure, I imagine anyone passed that stage in their life knows there's a bunch of problematic gender stuff packed into that little slice of our popular culture, but... Maybe there isn't a "but" there. But, I think, given that McAloon is associated with "the quest for perfect pop," he's clearly still deeply affected by elements of pop culture, which has had a lot to do with adolescence since, uh, the '50s, I think? Everyone acts like YA books are a millenial thing, but teenagers have been the driving (hey!) force in pop culture for a long time. I think a lot of people like certain pieces of art or culture, in fact, because they so embody feelings they used to have and still occasionally do - I love driving home from work. At some point in there, I am totally just like I was as a kid, the same sense of freedom and exploration, etc., even if it's only temporary - even if it's actually part of a ritualistic fail-safe release valve for the frustrations of daily life in first-world late-capitalism. I don't know, I have mixed feelings about art - it's a consolation, but it's hard to spot the line between "I should console myself about this" and "I should change this, maybe put a stop to it, or at least try to, at least contribute to putting a stop to it." I think the ambiguity of that line is part of why a song like this exists. Not that "ambiguity" should be taken as a permission to inaction. But I think that's a longer topic, and this is already pretty long.
Had no idea that referred to Bruce Springsteen. I kinda prefer its being just some kid in their room, with a highway they can hear, and only kind of see, in the distance. But, yeah. I don't think it's disparaging to Bruce, nor to songs about cars and girls. Sure, I imagine anyone passed that stage in their life knows there's a bunch of problematic gender stuff packed into that little slice of our popular culture, but... Maybe there isn't a "but" there. But, I think, given that McAloon is associated with "the quest for perfect pop," he's clearly still deeply affected by elements of pop culture, which has had a lot to do with adolescence since, uh, the '50s, I think? Everyone acts like YA books are a millenial thing, but teenagers have been the driving (hey!) force in pop culture for a long time. I think a lot of people like certain pieces of art or culture, in fact, because they so embody feelings they used to have and still occasionally do - I love driving home from work. At some point in there, I am totally just like I was as a kid, the same sense of freedom and exploration, etc., even if it's only temporary - even if it's actually part of a ritualistic fail-safe release valve for the frustrations of daily life in first-world late-capitalism. I don't know, I have mixed feelings about art - it's a consolation, but it's hard to spot the line between "I should console myself about this" and "I should change this, maybe put a stop to it, or at least try to, at least contribute to putting a stop to it." I think the ambiguity of that line is part of why a song like this exists. Not that "ambiguity" should be taken as a permission to inaction. But I think that's a longer topic, and this is already pretty long.