Subversive Music - RATM, Immortal Tech, Akala, Slaves, Allfl

iThe true excitement to be had from Kanye's nod to Bruce Springsteen revolves around his assertion that his next album, "has to be Born In The U.S.A." Working off the same set of soul-crushing, downright scary demo recordings that made up Nebraska, Springsteen spent 1984 purchasing a couple synths, getting the E Street Band back together, and setting out to make the biggest pop record of his career. Specifically, he wanted to make a record that shined so bright, partied so hard, and caught on so thoroughly amongst the masses that no one would notice all of the lyrics are about the same state of crippling, suicidal depression that birthed Nebraska. Born In The U.S.A. provided not only a refreshing subversion of mainstream popular music but also a new vision for the capabilities of the medium for self-respecting artists like himself, fascinated by the reach and universal power of pop moreso than the profitable business behind it. To this day, Americans still boogie down to a myriad of lyrically miserable Born In The U.S.A. songs about everything from the horrors of Vietnam ("Born In The U.S.A."), the crushing reality of nostalgia ("Glory Days"), and Springsteen's own inability to look in the mirror without hating himself ("Dancing In The Dark"). The project turned out to be the most successful album of Bruce's entire career, firmly establishing him as a life long star. In all of its ecstatic misery and sloppy humanity, Born In The U.S.A. is my favorite record of all time.