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There Was Nothing You Could Do

Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland

Author: Steven Hyden  

There Was Nothing You Could Do
Hardcover

A thought-provoking exploration of Bruce Springsteen's iconic album, Born in the U.S.A.-a record that both chronicled and foreshadowed the changing tides of modern America

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Summary

A thought-provoking exploration of Bruce Springsteen's iconic album, Born in the U.S.A.-a record that both chronicled and foreshadowed the changing tides of modern America

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Description

A thought-provoking exploration of Bruce Springsteen's iconic album, Born in the U.S.A.-a record that both chronicled and foreshadowed the changing tides of modern America

On June 4, 1984, Columbia Records issued what would become one of the best-selling and most impactful rock albums of all time. Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. would prove itself to be a landmark not only for the man who made it, but rock music in general and even the larger American culture over the next 40 years. Because this record ended up being much more than just an album-it is a document of what this country was in its moment, a dream of what it might become, and a prescient forecast of what it actually turned into decades later.

In There Was Nothing You Could Do, veteran rock critic Steven Hyden explores the essential questions that explain this classic album - what it means, why it was made, and how it changed the world. By mixing up his signature blend of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden digs deep into the songs that made Born In The U.S.A. as well as the scores of tunes that didn't, including the tracks that make up the album's sister release, 1982's Nebraska. He investigates how the records before Born In The U.S.A. set the table for the album's tremendous success, following Springsteen as he tries to balance his commercial ambitions with his fear of losing artistic control and being co-opted by the machine. Hyden also takes a closer look how Springsteen's work after Born In The U.S.A. reacted to that album, discussing how "The Boss" initially ran away from his most popular (and most misunderstood) LP until he learned to once again accept his role as a kind of living national monument.

But the book doesn't stop there. Hyden also looks beyond Springsteen's career, placing Born In The U.S.A. in a larger context in terms of how it affected rock music as well as America. Though he aspired to be as big as Elvis and as profound as Dylan, he was equally aware of his heroes' shortcomings and eager to avoid their mistakes-all while navigating the tumultuous aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, a time when America was coming apart at the seams. Born In The U.S.A. simultaneously chronicles that coming apart and pushes for a more united future, a duality that made him a hero to a younger generation of bands - from Arcade Fire to The Killers to The War On Drugs - who openly emulated the sound of Born In The U.S.A. in the hopes of somehow, in their own way, achieving a measure of that album's impact in the 21st century. By the aughts, when Springsteen fan (and future podcast partner) Barack Obama entered the White House, it appeared that the hopeful promise of

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Critic Reviews

"Steven Hyden's excellent new book... traces the pop-cultural and political impact of that album."--Rolling Stone
"An easy and enjoyable read."--Americana UK
"Hyden's thoughtful... deep dive explores how the Boss and his 'ass-cheeks' triumphed and yet proved the last time heartland rock could convincingly champion an ameliorative account of the American way. Four stars!"--MOJO

"But with the passion of a lifelong fan who first heard the cassette in a very-Springsteen way... and the keen mind of a music journalist, Hyden's book is about far more than a dozen tunes produced in the mid-'80s. And it's a very welcome addition to the Boss Bookshelf."

--Houston Press
"There Was Nothing You Could Do explores how the album channeled our hopes for common ground while foreshadowing today's extreme political polarization. It uses classic songs like 'Dancing in the Dark' to dissect the arc of Springsteen, rock culture and politics with an amusing blend of cultural criticism, music journalism and personal vignettes."--Wall Street Journal
"[Hyden] is an imaginative cultural omnivore...[the book] is an astute and briskly written look at the circumstances and legacy of an album whose outsize popularity has made it paradoxically divisive among Tramps Like Us."--Washington Post
"A damn fun read."--Aquarian
"Even longtime Springsteen fans will learn a thing or two from Hyden's entertaining examination of the man and his music."--Booklist
"Fascinating...A very well written, wise, and insightful book."--Washington Examiner
"Steven Hyden writes about Bruce Springsteen's monumental 1984 record as a watershed moment--for American culture, for Springsteen, and for the author himself. Hyden... mixes memoir, sociological observation, and good old-fashioned journalism to explore how this blockbuster album defined a decade and created--and in some ways ended--the Bruce Springsteen persona."--AV Club
"Balancing a fan's enthusiasm with a critic's attention to detail, Hyden sheds light on Springsteen's legacy and the political moment that allowed him to occupy the cultural 'center of American life.' Fans of the Boss will want to add this to their bookshelves." --Publishers Weekly
"Hyden scores good points ...Fans of the Boss will find arguable interpretations on every page, but definitely a book worth their attention." --Kirkus
"An instant classic from Steven Hyden. Definitive and elegant and essential. Hyden shows how Born in the U.S.A. changed Springsteen and us--and at what cost."--Seth Wickersham, ESPN writer and New York Times bestselling author of It's Better to Be Feared
"Steven Hyden could write about my least favorite band and I'd gobble it up because he's just so good at writing about music. But when he tackles one of my favorite living artists, The Boss, he sends me to heaven. This book is such a gift: Hyden contextualizes one of Bruce's biggest and least understood records by taking us back to the '80s and into the heartland and Bruce's headspace. This isn't a 'making of' book, it's a meditation on who we thought we were and how we may have lost that identity, all told through Hyden's experience with the record. It's entertaining, heartbreaking, and makes a great case for Bruce Springsteen as one the great artists of our time."--Tim Heidecker, comedian, writer, and musician
"Steven Hyden's There Was Nothing You Could Do honors and understands Bruce Springsteen and his music. It's for Springsteen fans, but even better, it's about Springsteen fans: Why he matters to us, what he represents, how every person can feel like his songs were written individually for them. Hyden's writing makes you want to tap the steering wheel right along with him and The Boss."--Will Leitch, author of How Lucky and The Time Has Come
"The best music writing can make you hear an album you've listened to hundreds (or thousands) of times in a new way. Steven Hyden has done just that with There Was Nothing You Could Do, his exhaustive and highly entertaining deep dive into Bruce Springsteen's massive and often misunderstood commercial peak, Born in the U.S.A. Well-researched and thought-provoking, the book also uses that landmark album and its fallout to examine the changes we have undergone as a culture, and the price we've paid as a people and a country. Highly recommended."--Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers
"This book offers you the rare possibility--you can listen to Bruce Springsteen and feel like you are in his brain as he makes the music. Steven not only gets under the hood of creativity, but he separates Bruce from his contemporaries by better understanding them. It makes you want to listen to Bruce again with fresh ears. I love it!"--Benny Safdie, director and writer of Uncut Gems

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About the Author

Steven Hyden is the author of Long Road, This Isn't Happening, Twilight of the Gods, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me, and (with Steve Gorman) Hard to Handle. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Billboard, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Grantland, The A.V. Club, Slate, and Salon. He is currently the cultural critic at UPROXX. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife and two children.

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Product Details

Publisher
Hachette Books | Da Capo Press Inc
Published
20th June 2024
Pages
272
ISBN
9780306832062

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