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Alexis Taylor recommended Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen in Music (curated)

 
Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
1982 | Folk, Singer-Songwriter
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Nebraska is different from all the other Bruce Springsteen albums because it's not very bombastic! It's just acoustic guitar on a four-track machine. It's got to be the most lo-fi record you could get from Bruce Springsteen. I believe that's because he made demos for the E Street Band, and just didn't like how they sounded when they were played with the band. His producers, and I think one of his bandmates said to him, "The demos sound better". When I first heard it, I think that I only knew Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie in terms of that type of sound - someone working with a harmonica and an acoustic guitar. He's writing about the working classes of America, or people who are failing in their lives or trying to make it but failing. It's darker than other records too though. I think he's taking inspiration from stories he's read in the newspaper about criminals who are serving life sentences or those who are going to the electric chair. At the same time, it's about families, brothers and someone's father who is no long alive. It's got a lot of humanity in it as a record, with this resonating and wonderful sound - daunting vocals and very haunting harmonica parts. There are also loads of reverbs and a glockenspiel is on there too. It's a murky-sounding record at first, but the more you listen to it, you find all of these other details. I was at school when I first heard it. I couldn't think of an obvious way that Bruce has influenced me, until I wrote a song called 'Elvis Has Left The Building' which is on my new album. I just thought that the kind of song it was, and the mood, reminded me of 'Streets Of Philadelphia' or 'Nebraska' - not in an obvious way, and I didn't think of him in order to write it, but it reminded me of that in an odd way."

Source
  
Local Woman Missing
Local Woman Missing
Mary Kubica | 2021 | Contemporary, Thriller
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm so excited to be a part of the blog tour for this dark, frantic page-turner of a thriller
First Shelby Tebow goes missing. A new mom, Shelby's husband is quickly suspected in her disappearance. Then Meredith Dickey and her young daughter, Delilah--who live just blocks from Shelby--vanish. The rest of the neighborhood, including couple Bea and Kate, are terrified. Are the cases related? An investigation is launched, with few results. Then, eleven years later, Delilah is found, bringing back memories of all the incidents, especially for her father Josh and brother Leo. Everyone wants answers, but Delilah is too traumatized to provide them. Besides, the secrets unearthed with Delilah's return may be too much for everyone.

"I don't know how old I am. I don't know how long they've been keeping me here."

This was a captivating page-turner that I read in three breathless sittings. It's undeniably compelling and sucks you in from the beginning. It starts with Delilah's point of view, shocking and terrifying, and sort of never lets you go. Her voice and story are hard to forget. Among other narrators, we hear from Meredith, eleven years ago, and then Kate and Leo in the present. Working out how the various families and characters are interconnected is part of the challenge and honestly, I was truly shocked at various points in the story. How exactly these missing women and Delilah are tied together is incredibly dark and twisty.

I was completely into this book for most of the story and thought I was looking at 4.5+ star read. It started to dissolve a bit at the end, as things (including some characters) went a little crazy. Still, some of the twists were truly awesome and breathtaking. I think--in that way--this is one of Kubica's best in a while.

Overall, this is an addictive thriller filled with some truly shocking plot twists. It keeps you guessing the entire time, and its complex and layered plot is different and exciting. 4+ stars.