McNutt Against the Music

My apologies for the significant lack of blog output this past month. I could come up with a plethora of excuses (seasonal, employment, otherwise) but the bottom line is that with everything in the world slowing down in August I’ve found myself less inspired to sit down and write on my evenings and weekends. Maybe after a year straight of this stuff I just need a bit of a cool-down. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick things up again into the Fall.

In the meantime, you should know that the new Bruce Springsteen single “Radio Nowhere” is currently available completely for free on iTunes right now, and will be until Tuesday. While iTunes always offers up a ‘free song of the week,’ Springsteen’s track is completely separate from that. Frankly, I think it’s great – in a day-and-age where radio’s scope is increasingly limited, it’s a great way for artists to get their music into someone’s playlist.

As for the song itself, how fares The Boss’ first recording with the E-Street Band in five years? It’s not bad, but not great either. It’s got a great feel to it, and I love how raw Springsteen’s vocal performance comes off, but I still really don’t like Brendan O’Brien’s production style. This is now the third Springsteen record he’s worked on (he also produced The Rising and Devils and Dust) and every time he touches the dials things come out too clean, too crisp, and – in this case – not nearly the sonic assault that the E-Street Band deserves. We’ll see how the rest of the album turns out when the full LP, titled Magic, is released on October 2.