I love Nebraska. It's just so... empty. like the emotions he's conveying, and like the state itself.
If I tried to make a list of songs that mean something to me (not necessarily favorite songs), Used Cars would be on it. "Mister the day my number comes in I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again" is how I feel when I travel. It's expensive and probably appears frivolous to a lot of people, but I'm able to do it, and it's amazing and all mine. In defense of the state of Nebraska, having driven the length of both Kansas and Nebraska (on consecutive days now that I think about it), Kansas makes Nebraska look like Times Square mixed with the Swiss Alps.
Nah, I love places like Nebraska, i'm not hatin'. It is a good metaphor for the sound of the album, though, especially when it was written because there was a lot of economic depression in that area of the world at the time as well. It just highlights all of the themes for me.
The only reason Nebraska isn't my favorite is that E Street Shuffle and Greetings have more sentimental connection to me since they were the first albums of his I owned. It's a somewhat difficult album to appreciate. It's not really pop, and if you want to be honest most rock is pop music with some edge. Atlantic City and Reason to Believe have hooks but songs like My Father's House and Used Cars are just stories set to music. The title track is another one like that based on the movie Badlands by Terrence Malick. My Father's House can make me cry. Like Bruce I have a terrible relationship with my dad. In February it'll be two years since we talked. But back to my point, it's a challenging song that requires active listening to understand. It's not a record I'd recommend to someone who I know wouldn't devote full attention to listening to.