The Worst of the Best Podcast

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If, okay, so we're recording right now. So Ruben, if we hear things in the background, we're two fathers who have children, who have families. We just got to fight through it.
I'm kicked out of the house for tonight.
Oh.
They're having a girl sleepover, which really just means they're not invited.
Sorry, where are you right now?
Downstairs in the daycare room.
Okay, that's what it looked like. Okay.
Yeah, yeah, but they're all sleeping in the guest room. They're having a pizza night.
Sure.
I have to fend for myself.
That's awesome. Well, Ruben, I'm excited.
Hey, this is as good as one. This is the worst of the best.
Welcome to the worst of the best podcast. You wanted the best. Well, they didn't freaking make it.
So here's what you get from Canada, Ryan and Ruben.
Hey, Ruben, why don't you introduce the topic and introduce what's going on?
Well, what's the best? We figure out not what the best is, but what the worst is out of the best.
Today is the boss, Bruce Springsteen.
Right.
But these are his underrated songs.
That's right, Ruben.
This is our first time. Bruce has the honor, Ruben. He has the worst of the best podcast honor of being covered twice on our show.
We could divide the boss's legacy by decades. E Street Band, solo, acoustic solo. There's so much depth to him.
Right. He's amazing. Did you see his HBO? Correction, his Netflix special? Yeah.
Thoughts?
It's almost weird that he exists. He's just so talented. He's such a good storyteller, a songwriter, just communicator, whether it's through the way he can almost kind of mumble something, you know? I thought it was beautiful.
Yeah. Agreed. Bruce is the boss. He's the man. And that's why, Bruce, you have the honor. The worst of the best podcast honor of being covered twice.
The last time we covered you, sir, we picked the worst song from your greatest hits album. I believe this is what we did.
So what we're doing now is we're picking his worst song from a list of his most underrated songs.
So these aren't the Born in the USAs. These are not the Thunder Roads. These are not the Rising.
These are songs that though Bruce fans will know, of course, but they're considered to be maybe underrated. Maybe they're not played very often at concerts or they're just ones you don't hear on the radio very often or in the lexicon of the maybe average Bruce fan.
Is there an average Bruce fan at this point?
No, maybe not. Maybe not.
You know, I guess it probably is.
How many?
There's going to be an average.
Sure. That's fair. That's fair.
There's a reason Bruce Springsteen is the boss.
Yes.
Millions of fans around the world.
The rock star songs, the soundtrack to their lives.
Seen to like Governor Chris Christie.
Have you seen a video of Chris Christie rocking out at a Bruce concert?
I'll have to put that on my ever-growing queue of politicians pretending to be cool.
Anyways, it pumps everybody up, including Chris Christie.
They can wall in their sorrow. They can feel joy, show a little faith.
Yeah. Even those who aren't Springsteen fans, they love the tracks.
Born to Run, Thunder Road, Born in the USA, which is, oddly enough, every Republican president has used Born in the USA.
Yeah, yeah. It's the wrong song.
Yeah. Anyways, Dance in the Dark. Thanks, Courtney Cox. Remember her in that?
Yes, of course. She got pulled up on stage.
It was just a random moment in a Bruce Springsteen concert that Courtney Cox got pulled on stage.
Totally planned.
Hey, it's not Bruce, but I was in a taping for a U2 concert video.
Nice.
And they performed the same song eight times in a row.
Oh, yeah. What song was that?
City of Blinding Lights.
That's a good song, but probably got a little tired of it.
Do you know what? I didn't.
They had eight times. They somehow had that magic again each time.
You know?
It was interesting. I was like, how do they do that?
I know they're going to pull the rabbit out of the hat. Why am I surprised every time?
Well, they're...
Because it's why they're U2, and I'm here.
That's right.
Yeah. For every rock song anthem that we know, there are many more that just kind of fade off in the distance.
They don't make it to the Greatest It's album.
That's right.
But diehard fans like us, brother, we know them. They're underrated. We're going to go through them. Here are the top 12.
All right. You ready? So, Rube, do you mind if I have the honor to start?
Please do, brother.
So, we're going to start with 1992 album, Lucky Town. Do you remember when Human Touch and Lucky Town came out with the double album?
Yes, absolutely.
Well, it actually wasn't a double album. It was two albums released at the same time, much like the GNR, Use Illusion 1 and 2.
It was about the same year, give or take, in that era.
Different calendar years within the same 12-month period, though.
That's right. That's right, because it was 92 for Bruce, but 91 for GNR.
And I remember when this happened as a teenager, I just couldn't believe that some of my favorite artists were releasing oldest music at once. It was crazy.
Yeah.
It was a plethora of riches.
From that album, Rube, if I should fall behind is arguably the greatest love song Bruce has ever written.
See, the song tells the story of two lovers who swore they'd travel side by side, but because we all have such different strides, they will wait for each other if one or the other happens to fall behind.
What a beautiful sentiment.
Yeah, I know. Even if you were reciting it, I'm almost tearing up.
Yeah, I hear you, brother.
It's a lilting, lushly, romantic song that speaks to the secret behind finding love and lasting and true, equal, patient partnership and being there for each other no matter what.
Bruce Springsteen hasn't written many wedding songs, but this one tells the tale of a type of love every bride and groom should aspire to.
Yeah, absolutely.
Here you go, Rube.
We said we'd walk together, baby come what may.
There come the twilight, should we lose our way.
If as we're walking, our hands should slip free.
I'll wait for you.
Should I fall behind, wait for me.
Beautiful. I know I want to listen to every song all the way through, but we can't.
Do it on your own time.
Yeah, please do. Listeners, do it on your own time.
Okay, so that was the first one. Rube, introduce the next one.
American Skin, 41 Shots.
Bruce has never shied away from political statements.
This one's no different.
I know I'll butcher this person's name.
I feel bad because he was shot to death.
Amidou Diallo, he was shot to death by a police officer.
The lyric goes, you get killed for just living in the American skin.
So they debuted the song in Mass Square Gardens in the year 2000.
Unfortunately, it's only grown more relevant.
And then he finally put it in the studio album 2014 High Hopes.
Yes. Great album.
And he'd been performing the song for years.
Well, obviously, it was for 14 years.
But it was always like a staple in the shows.
Brother, when we saw Bruce together, the only time I've ever seen him, he played this song.
That's right.
Yeah, the first time we heard it was during the Rising Tour.
He was playing it during that tour, I believe.
He debuted in New York City, if I recall, right?
Yeah.
And so he started playing it again because of Trevon Martin's death, which I know I'm butchering the names.
I apologize.
That's okay.
Yeah.
41 Shots.
Yeah, 41 Shots.
Here's a sample of that song for those who might not know.
We'll be right back.
Just for living in your American skin.
Boy.
What I love about artists like that, I've never heard the term other than him saying American skin.
Instead of saying black skin, yellow, white, red, or something like that, you know, you're American.
You're one of us.
Right.
You get killed just for living in your American skin.
Boy, what a powerful image.
And then that line, is it a wallet?
Is it a knife?
The beginning part of the song, too, when it talks about the mother telling her son, you know, if a police officer talks to you, just do what he says so you can come home.
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right, Reuben.
Next one's yours, brother.
Oh, okay.
I'll admit, this one has made me tear up more than any other Bruce song.
You're missing.
You're rising.
Yes.
The rising.
Sometimes it's my favorite album.
Sometimes it's not.
We have 9-11 to thank for that.
Look, out of tragedy can come some great art.
Let's just be honest.
Yeah.
Whether it's a personal tragedy in somebody's life, and that Bruce picks parts of his life all the time in his songs.
We'll get to some of those topics.
But this was actually, you know, a worldwide disaster, a modern-day tragedy.
But 9-11 brought out in Bruce everything that's Bruce.
So to be clear, it was 9-11, 2001.
Correct.
I think 2008 was fine.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Springsteen's a master, but writing about loss.
This ballad captures the hollow numbness of grief as life continues around you.
Bruce is a master, writing about loss.
This ballad perfectly captures the hollow numbness of grief as life continues around you.
I usually don't think of 9-11 during this song.
I just think of just missing somebody.
But apparently, this isn't about 9-11.
He wrote the song in 1994.
Interesting.
I didn't know that.
I just assumed.
But it fits with, obviously, the theme of loss on 9-11.
But I didn't know he wrote it seven years before.
Perhaps he might have tweaked a lyric or two.
Sure.
Of course.
Of course.
He hasn't let me know one way or the other.
Imagine writing something.
Because, you know, music styles come and go.
But, like, what other things has he worked on that just hasn't released that's as good as this?
Right.
He had that in his back pocket for eight years.
Isn't that crazy?
That's weird.
Seven years, but yeah.
I don't know.
Yeah, so everything is everything that you're missing.
Ah, yeah.
Children are asking if it's all right.
Will you be in our arms tonight?
Morning's morning.
The evening falls.
I got too much room in my bed.
Too many phone calls.
How's everything, everything?
Everything, everything that you're missing?
All right.
Everything ain't everything.
Yeah, everything ain't everything.
Yeah, that line always gets me.
Wow.
Well, those are two somber songs in a row.
Let's liven the mood a little bit.
Yeah, let's take this party up a notch.
Okay, so you thought this was going to be all sad songs, Ruben?
No, I didn't think that.
No, that was something that you interjected and just placed on me.
So a Springsteen list of any kind wouldn't be complete without at least a few booty-shaking jams, okay?
Sure.
So the river was Springsteen's only double album.
Even though Human Touch and Lucky Town were released at the same time, they weren't considered double albums.
So the river was his only double album and his first to hit the Billboard 200 when it was released in 1980.
Its length means it's bursting with underappreciated gems like the unabashed celebration of the joys of the end of the work day.
We all know the glee of what it's like to come home, take off your work clothes, and get ready to go out in the street or crash on the couch.
Eventually the song was, crash on the couch.
I'm going to go out in the street.
All right.
That's a fun song.
It is fun.
Nobody does it better than him.
I was talking about working and going on partying.
Jon Bon Jovi tries.
Jon Malekamp tries.
Jon Springsteen tries.
That was the long-lost cousin of Bruce.
Jon Springsteen did not have the same career as Bruce.
No.
Kind of like how little there's Bill Clinton and then his brother.
Or Frank Stallone to Sylvester.
How dare you?
They have parallel careers.
All right.
Ruby, you got the next one?
Another fun song, sort of?
It is.
This one is The Bee's Knees.
Bruce wrote it for his idol, Elvis Presley.
I love the idea of writing a song for somebody.
Yeah.
That's thinking big.
Movie writers do a lot of time, too.
They'll write for actors in mind.
So, but some musical artists do the same idea, I guess.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The King died in 77.
Bruce wasn't really that popular until early 80s.
Right.
There's some dreaming there.
You know what I mean?
Right.
But the King died before he got the demo.
Yeah.
The King never got to hear the song.
Yeah.
And if you want to hear us talking about the King in one of our previous episodes, check
out the death episode.
Yes.
We do bring...
No, no.
It wasn't the death episode, Ruben.
We talked about Elvis and his underwear in the Cuckoo for Caca episode.
I believe it was the episode prior to this one.
My apologies.
Cuckoo for Caca.
Yeah.
Yes, that one.
But you know who did cover this?
The Pointer Sisters.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
I forgot about that.
I wonder how much money he made from them covering it.
He had a couple songs where it wasn't popular necessarily under him, but other artists made
it popular.
Of course, Blinded by the Light being the other one.
Yeah.
That happens to lots of people.
The Canadian band, 5440, wrote I Go Blind.
And then Who Named Bullfish covered it, and that was their biggest hit.
Oh, interesting.
Yeah.
The Boss finally put it on The Promise, a box set of unreleased songs from the Darkness
at the Edge of Town sessions.
This deep-throated tribute to the promise of something more in the fire of a kiss.
Yeah, go on.
What?
Is kiss what?
Or a kiss what?
The fire of a kiss, brother.
Okay.
That's what's the spring sync.
Fire is a metaphor.
He knows how to make it sexy.
Yeah, he loves it.
That and Red-Headed Woman.
No, the song we're talking about is Fire.
Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet.
Samson and Delilah.
You can't bear.
The love they couldn't deny.
Your words say spring.
But your words say a lie.
When we keep on fire.
When we keep on fire.
When we keep on fire.
Fire.
Fire.
All right.
Let's go on.
Fantastic.
You can sure hear the king singing that.
Yeah.
Good point, Ruben.
That's a very good point.
I felt the same.
And I didn't know until the preparation of this episode.
As big as a Bruce Springsteen fan I've been since 1986.
I didn't know this song was written with Albus.
Or two Albus.
Or Albus in mind.
Or four Albus.
Now that I hear that.
I'll never listen to it again without hearing Albus sing it in a weird way.
Sure.
Like you know the Don Henley song.
Boys of Summer.
Yes.
Mike Campbell.
Tom Petty's guitar player.
Wrote that for Tom Petty.
Oh, interesting.
But Tom Petty turned it down.
He's like, I can write my own songs type of thing.
You know.
And then Mike Campbell sold it to Don Henley.
Within like a week later or something like that.
Wow.
Tom Petty's like, maybe I should have sung that.
Sure.
But every time I hear the song, I'm like, yeah.
Tom Petty could be singing this.
It was written for Tom Petty.
I never knew that either.
Wow.
Yeah.
There's probably a whole rabbit hole that could go down.
Yeah.
We should.
An episode of songs written for other artists that turned it down.
Yeah.
Might be interesting.
Okay.
Ruben.
My father's house from the album Nebraska.
You might know this already.
That Springsteen's relationship with his father has provided untold amounts of fodder for
his songwriting.
That's the thing about life.
Like some crap can be turned into gold.
Yeah.
If you want to hear more about our discussion on crap, listen to the episode before this one
called Cuckoo for Caca, where we have a whole episode dedicated to poo.
So on the river, Ruben, the album, the river, he probed their strained relationship on Independence
Day.
But this sparser track off of 1982's Nebraska is perhaps an even more heartbreaking look at
the unfinished business between them.
It's such a spare, precise examination of old things in that father-son relationship that
haunt Bruce that he brought this up again in Springsteen on Broadway as a storytelling anchor
around the ways his father's depression, working class life, and uniform, and withholding of
love shaped his life and his music.
So that song again is My Father's House from the album Nebraska.
With the devil snapping at my heels, I broke through the trees and there in the night, my father's
house stood shining hard and bright.
The branches and brambles tore my clothes and scratched my arms.
But I ran till I fell, shaking in his arms.
Oh, yeah.
What a gift.
There's a lot of bravery in a song like that.
You know, Clive Davis isn't hearing this and going, yes, Bruce, that's the number one hit.
No, no, no, no, no.
Bruce, yeah, there's no chorus in the song in that sense, the traditional sense.
Sure.
Yeah, that's a haunting good song.
Boy, my life wasn't that messed up.
I can't really write too much about it.
But our parents did a pretty good job and I'm doing a pretty good job with my kids.
I should say that you want to raise your kids well enough that they can't make art out of you.
I don't know if mom and dad listen to the podcast or not, but.
I think.
Oh, yeah.
Mom listens to our show.
I think so.
They did a good enough job that anything that wasn't perfect is outshined.
You know what I mean?
Right.
You know, Bruce, he's not that you threw his dad under the bus.
He makes it clear that he had issues with his father, but that's how he that's how he deals with it, though.
We need an upbeat song.
Have you got an upbeat song for me?
Yeah.
Leave the faith, brother.
OK.
Other artists have done this.
Keep the faith.
Right.
Again, John Bon Jovi.
Living on a prayer.
Living on a prayer.
John Bon Jovi.
Inspired by the boss.
Yeah.
Anyway, Springsteen writes a lot about faith.
Those Catholic roots are strong, he always says.
You got Thunder Road, Backstreet, Badlands, The Promised Land, and more.
Other songs of faith.
This song taps into a biblical metaphor to stress the importance of faith in one's life, whether it be relationships, career, something more intangible.
Springsteen understands the power of faith.
But if you're teetering on the edge of a big decision, this twangy rocking reminder is taking that leap of faith just might help tip the hand.
The song may not be as poetic as much of his music, but it's the most straightforward assessment of one of his most common themes.
All over the world, the rain was pouring.
I was scratching and very itch.
Oh, heartbreak and despair got nothing but a born spot.
Grabbed you, baby, like a wild bitch.
It takes a leap of faith to get like a girl.
It takes a leap of faith to catch a girl.
It takes a leap of faith to get like a girl.
It takes a leap of faith to get like a girl.
All right.
That's another fun song.
Got a great.
I always loved that song when I first bought that album many years ago.
For me, it was never an underrated song, but I guess for the general public or Bruce fans, it's considered to be one.
We have another track off the river.
I Want to Marry You hits the sweet spot on the album between banging party blowouts and a more somber character-driven piece.
This tale of a man watching a working girl mom down on her luck, walk her babies around the block and wanting to marry her is pure fantasy, but it's rare we get something so romantic, idolistic from the boss.
It's a simple proposal, but he infuses it with such warmth and charm that it becomes a working class fairy tale.
You never smile, girl, you never speak.
You just walk on by, darling, week of the week.
Presents and kids alone in this mixed-up world must be a lonely life for a wicked girl.
Little girl, I want to marry you.
Oh, yeah.
Little girl, I want to marry you.
Yes, I do.
Little girl, I want to marry you.
All right.
They don't really do that anymore.
I say they, I mean like older songwriters.
People aren't called like little girls anymore.
It used to be common.
Like no one's saying that they're a little girl.
Right.
But it's a term of endearment that just...
Right.
It's, and she probably was young, you know, 18 to 23.
You know, she was a single mom, so she at least had one kid according to the story.
But yeah.
Yeah.
But Bruce wanted to be the knight in shining armor and rescue her from her plight.
All right, Ruben, you got the next one.
I do.
Another one from The Promise.
Unreleased track off The Promise.
And it sounds more like a Billy Joel song than a Springsteen one.
It also feels like it came from a different time.
It's bright, buzzy melody line, enthusiastic party sounds throughout it.
Bruce has perfected the art of writing about relationships that are falling apart.
Like I'm going down or tunnel of love.
Oh,
which is such a great song.
Yeah.
But this more earnest take on feeling like you've never good enough in your
partner's eyes is a fizzy fun lesson that taps into something inherently
youthful and breezy.
Hit it,
bro.
Well,
what's the name of the song?
We didn't say the name.
I didn't say that song.
No.
Ain't good enough for you.
Well,
you don't like the way I walk.
You don't like the way I talk.
You criticize about me endlessly.
Logic defies how you got stuck with me.
And you complain about the clothes I wear.
And you explain to the boys out there.
You complain.
My car makes too much noise.
And you cry.
I'm always out without boys.
I give up,
little darling.
Yeah.
No matter what I do.
If you're lost,
ain't good enough for you.
All right.
It does sound very Billy Joe-esque.
Sure.
Can't count that error.
So we got a newer song from the newer album,
High Hopes,
which I think itself is an underrated Bruce album,
quite frankly.
I don't think it gets the love that it deserves.
Well,
when you name something High Hopes,
you're setting it up.
Yeah.
Maybe he should call it low expectations.
Yeah.
What are you talking about,
man?
This is a great album.
Right.
Especially Frankie fell in love.
Yeah.
Because that song,
Ruben,
it's a celebratory romp about two roommates whose life is upended when their female roommate gets engaged.
This is a pure,
playful Springsteen song.
He purposely wrote it to evoke his days living with bandmates Steve Van Zant in Asbury.
Yes.
And there's something delightful in imagining Steve and Bruce struggling to cook themselves dinner when their roommate moves out,
leaving them high and dry.
It's a fun,
unabashedly joyous track,
wouldn't you say?
Let's hit it.
Good morning,
good morning.
The church mass is snoring.
News is out all over town.
Frankie fell in love.
Wake up,
boys,
wake up.
You drunken cry,
boys,
shake it up.
Our Juliet says,
Romeo's been found.
Frankie fell in love.
Well,
peace for a break,
girl.
I'm here and I'm waiting,
take her.
She ain't gonna be cooking for the likes of us.
She won't be cooking for the likes of us.
I love that.
All right.
Mary's Place,
The Rising.
I don't even know why this would be an underrated song,
but I guess it kind of is.
I guess it is in a weird way because it's on an album that is so full of,
like just moving songs from,
you know,
The Rising and You're Missing and the whole album itself.
It is kind of a song that it's almost like it could have gone on any other album and still would have been a good song.
But the song itself is a kind of a different track for the rest of the album that it does get kind of forgotten,
I think.
Maybe if it was on High Hopes,
it would have stood out more.
Yeah.
What can you tell us about it?
Some lyrics.
Meet me at Mary's Place.
We're going to have a party.
It is a good time song,
which is kind of a little bit different than some of the 9-11 tinged songs with Deep Loss.
This track stands out as a joyous interlude that is perhaps less spiritual than the title track and in less frequent rotation than Waiting on Us Any Day.
It deserves, I tell you, just as much attention as those songs for the way it turns the notion of Mary's Place into vibrantly musical space for joy and salvation.
Listening to it as good as time as the parties he described in the lyrics.
I don't think it matters, but for whatever reason, I've always envisioned that Mary was black.
Really?
Isn't that weird?
It's just as relevant to say that she's white or just as a non-issue to say that she's white or Asian.
But for whatever reason, I always pictured Mary.
This party was having Mary who was black, African-American.
And the only way we'd ever know is we'd get to ask Bruce if that's the case.
I don't know.
I always just pictured a Chinese woman.
Oh, you thought it was a Chinese woman?
Interesting.
Well, we'll let our listeners figure it out.
Or maybe they can weigh in on the comments below if Mary's white, Asian, black, or Australian.
We'll be right back.
Tell me how to get this thing started.
Meet me at Mary's Place.
How do we get this thing started?
Well, probably get to Mary's Place first.
Yes.
And that might be the first way to get the party started, is to go to the location of the party.
And then you've got to drop the needle on the record.
Yes.
And then you've got to turn it up.
Turn it up.
Turn it up.
So I have the privilege of introducing the last underrated song from Bruce's career from one of his most underrated albums.
Because it had the misfortune of coming after Born in the USA.
And I think Tunnel of Love, the album, is not given the proper attention both at concerts and in rotation that it deserves.
I think Tunnel of Love is just one of the most amazing albums ever written.
I concur.
I concur.
So I think the album itself, Rhythm is highly underrated.
This will not make my worst.
I couldn't even imagine this song would ever make the worst.
Of course not.
So I'm spoiling my pick a little bit here out of the 12 songs.
But I just want to say for our listeners that the song, Tougher Than The Rest, is one of my all-time favorite Bruce Springsteen songs.
So Springsteen has written about love in all its forms.
It's crushing disappointments.
It's breathless hope.
It's solid reassurance.
Tougher Than The Rest.
Pulses with an optimism shaded by the songs and minutes that love requires someone who is rough and ready for it.
He regularly sings it on tour.
He does?
No.
There was a time that he sang it on tour.
And he did it every night, though, on Broadway with his wife, Patty.
So that's kind of cool.
So it does clearly speak to something innate in their connection.
Sometimes you need a lushly romantic love song, but other times you need one that understands that love is about hard work, ribbon, and showing up even when it's tough.
Springsteen's music has always reveled in its stories of the working class.
And this is a blue collar.
Roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty love song, if there ever was one.
There's one, and this is it.
I wish I could listen to the whole song.
I will in my own time.
But here's a little piece for our listeners.
Well, it ain't no secret.
I've been around a time or two.
Well, I don't know, babe.
Maybe you've been around, too.
Well, there's another dance.
All you gotta do is see it.
And you're up and ready for love.
Only I'm tougher than the red.
Maybe you're up and up for love.
Maybe I'm tougher than the red.
I just love the way that song rolls.
There's something about it.
Yeah.
We've reached the end of our list.
Do you have a pick of the worst underrated song by Bruce?
So maybe one that deserves, maybe, to be a little bit underrated.
Maybe one that deserves to not be rated underratedly.
Yeah.
I wonder if it's the same one I have.
Sorry.
I think we have the same pick for some reason.
But go ahead.
I don't think we do.
Okay.
All right.
I'm going to base this on the one I want to listen to the least.
For our first-time listeners who maybe came onto this episode because of their love for Bruce Springsteen and maybe in a group or on Reddit where I posted this episode.
They've got this far into the episode of this podcast.
Ruben and I, we pick the worst of the best.
And sometimes, such as this list, there's no duds.
There's no such songs that are just, oh, we can't stand it.
But we have to, as the show states, we have to make a pick or else our show is pointless.
So, Ruben, what's the worst of the best here?
Yeah.
And it's really hard to say, but American Skin.
Ooh.
No, that was not my pick.
What's your reason?
It's just so sad.
Sure.
As a parent, how could there be anything worse?
Yeah.
Okay.
That's fair.
That's why.
I'll listen to it.
Absolutely.
It moves me too much if I think about it.
Yeah.
Like I said, that line where, that lyric in the song where the mother is talking to her child saying,
if a police officer stops you, don't give him any lip or anything because I want you to come home.
You know, and this speaks to his strength as an artist.
It would get that, like, I appreciate the music.
I appreciate the style that the song's rooted in.
It's kind of like a dirty, you know, like band, you know, garage band kind of playing, bar band playing.
Lyrics are, you don't want to have it be cheesy for a song like this.
No.
It's out of the park.
It shows respect to the situation.
It makes people feel uncomfortable.
Amazing.
Yeah.
I've got my pick, Ruben.
Sure.
Let's hear it.
Fire.
Oh.
Yeah.
I love that he loves Elvis.
Who doesn't love Elvis?
I love that he wrote it for Elvis.
And it's not even necessarily because the message is kind of dated a little bit.
You know, the girl is giving mixed messages, but he's still, if you read the lyrics, it's kind of a, you know, I understand it.
Look, it's a song written a long time ago.
The girl's playing coy and then she doesn't want to kiss and she does want to kiss and the boy keeps kissing.
So it's kind of like a little bit of a, you probably wouldn't write it today.
Sure.
That's not why I don't have some sort of hoity toity soapbox here.
It's just actually, I've never been a huge fan of it.
And I first heard it on his live album, double album.
It's a fun little ditty, but I'd never get excited by it.
So on this list, it's, it's my worst pick.
Okay.
I think if 41 wasn't on there, that would be my pick.
There you go.
Okay.
So right behind.
All right.
Well, Ruben, this has been another amazing episode of Bruce.
Will he make a third appearance?
We don't know.
Stand by listeners.
But again, Bruce, you have the honor, Bruce, of being a two-time topic guest on our show,
The Worst of the Best Podcast.
And remember, in front of every silver lining, there's a cloud.
And Ruben and I are here to help you find it.
Thanks for listening.
Remember to review us on iTunes and tell all your friends about us.
Thanks, guys.
Thanks, Ruben.
Thank you, brother.
Bye.
We'll see you next time.
Thank you.