Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA

Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. USA, USA, USA. This is the soccer match? I thought this was a podcast. What's going on? Yes. This is the Album Nerds podcast. I'm Dude. I got Andy and Don with me. How are you guys doing? Doing great, man, doing great. Glad to be in the USA. Of course, Andy. The USA is glad to have you. Don, how are you doing? I'm proud to be an American. So this is indeed the Album Nerds podcast.

We love albums in the album format, discussing them and strengthening our friendship. So we've got a great show for you today. We're continuing with the summer of Don and we're going to be talking about a summertime favorite born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen. Additionally, Don's going to ask us a deep question.

Then we're going to do some shout outs to some albums and album related items that we're digging and then of course we'll spin that wheel of musical discovery to find out what's next in this beautiful summer of Don. This time it's all about the boss. I proclaim this the summer of Donnie Lakey. That's what I'm talking about. Those hazy, crazy days of summer of Don continue.

So as you know, I went back into the Album Nerds archives and made a list of records previously covered before I joined the show that I would still like to discuss. I gave up that list to Wadbot who put it on the wheel of musical discovery and this week the wheel said, let's talk about Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen, which you guys discussed on episode 132. Well let's kick things off with the title track, Born in the USA.

To a newcomer to this song, they're probably like, man, this is Born in the USA a lot. He does. That song really pumps me up. I don't know why. Is it like a patriotic thing or is it like more the sound of it? No, it's not a patriotic thing. It's just so in your face and yeah, I don't know. Maybe I'm remembering the video too because the video was just very in your face and he looks scruffy looking. He's just screaming into the microphone. It almost has a punk rock vibe in that way.

Yeah, the video for that definitely made Bruce Springsteen look like a cool rockin' daddy in the USA for sure. Yeah, so that song was actually written in 1981. The title comes from a film that Paul Schrader was making that Springsteen was considering playing the lead part and that movie actually turned out to be The Light of Day starring Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett. Did you ever see that one? Yeah. Yeah, I saw it too. Not great. It's pretty great.

But actually, this song actually appeared on demos that Springsteen recorded in his home in Colts Neck, New Jersey. On episode 132, we actually played a little clip of some of the demos. Oh, nice. It's very different, very low key, very depressing. So a lot of those demos actually just turned out to be the Nebraska album. So Born in the USA was released in June 1984.

It's the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter, Born Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA in 1949. So it does include the E Street Band. So the E Street Band features Roy Bitten on keyboards, Clarence Clemens on saxophone, Danny Federici on organ. Federici. Federici on glockenspiel and all that stuff, piano, Gary Talent on bass guitar, Stephen Van Sant on guitar, and Max Weinberg on drums. And the Max Weinberg 7, no?

I don't think the 7 were part of the E Street Band as far as I know. Yeah, so the legend has it. Springsteen recorded all these demos. He brought them to the E Street Band. Some of them worked with the full band treatment and some of them didn't. The ones that didn't just got released basically in that demo form as the Nebraska album, which came out in 1982. So it's just Springsteen, the acoustic, AutoZone. And then you have this kind of huge full band album, Born in the USA.

Well, it's such an interesting approach, right? I just think that's so cool that a functioning band, a touring band, a band that's been together, they're friends. It's not like Bruce's backing band. They're part of the creative process. And then when they go, oh, this, nope, we're not liking how this is going, that it's okay. Well, we'll do it as a solo thing. It's very mature for artists to be like, put their ego aside and be like, yeah, you got this on your own. It's a present.

Yeah. So you guys talked about this in episode 132. What were your thoughts then and what are they now? I think for me, I mean, kind of coming from that Nebraska album, which is so simple, I guess, and muted sounding and dark. This record is so big and loud and just kind of brash and like in your face and flashy. I think that was kind of my take on it back then. I still feel that way coming back to it after a few years. I think the quiet moments are still like Bruce's specialty.

I think the moments are really hits the hardest, but I think this record is more interested in just kind of making a big bold statement and sound and that's okay too. Previously, I was more focused on the lyrics are really dark. These aren't fun songs. Stop thinking that they're party anthems people. But I've come to kind of look at it a little differently where these songs can be what you need them to be in the moment. You can focus on the positives or the negatives just like in life.

You can choose to interpret it how you want in the moment and how it serves you and that's some of the beauty of this art form. I actually remember you telling me back in the day because I think I was not a Springsteen fan growing up and I think at some point I learned that it was cool to like Nebraska. And I remember you telling me that Born in the USA is just Nebraska with the East Street band.

I mean Born in the USA really I think is if you take Born to Run and Nebraska and put them together, that's kind of what you're getting here. You know? Yeah, I hear that. Why don't we hear the, I guess the first big single from this album. This is Dancing in the Dark. This comes for hire. Even if we're just dancing in the dark. Don's Doing the Carlton which is essentially what the dance was in the video for this song. I think that's the video. He's doing the Courtney Cox.

Yeah, but that's strikingly similar to what later became the Carlton, don't you think? When Don's Doing this, yeah. Right. So that song was written by Bruce in a single night specifically to be kind of the radio single and it worked. It was the highest selling single in the US and Australia in 84. Won a Grammy for best rock vocal performance for the track as well. Yeah, I remember that song being huge on the radio. That's probably my first introduction to Mr. Springsteen I would say.

I always thought of him as before this album, I thought of him as being depressing. I guess aside from Hungry Heart from the river. But when I saw this video, I was probably at my grandparents house because I didn't have MTV but I was like, whoa, this guy is cool. I thought this meant that it was okay to like this guy. I didn't realize he was the same age as my parents. I probably wouldn't have liked him if I had known that. Yeah, I think this kind of introduced him to a larger audience.

Definitely painted him in a more rock star kind of light I guess. Well, they showed a big crowd, it's a live concert type deal. So there's this huge crowd screaming and it's like what? That's what convinced me he must be big. That's like a big anthemic track. It's kind of danceable and it's got this synth sound kind of becomes part of the band here. Yeah, it's really a cool song.

I mean, I think in the Springsteen library, I'm sure it's not a fan favorite but it's really just a well-written pop song, personal. The best part is it's really sort of bleak and dismissive in a way because it's like this guns for hire, the producer wanted him to do a hit song. So he's like, all right, this guns for hire even if I'm just dancing in the dark, I don't know where I'm going with this. I don't know how to do this. So it was kind of interesting. It was sort of one-off.

Yeah, but it worked. I mean, it was a huge song. It made them very popular, helps out a lot of records for them, I'm sure. The saxophone at the end is really cool. I don't think I ever really paid attention to it until recently. Well done Clarence. Yeah. My clickbait headline for Born in the USA is Springsteen draws back the blinds and shines little synth on his working man blues. Yeah, it's a pretty shiny record. We are kind of getting into the mid 80s here.

This record is kind of bounce around. It sounds even a little bit hopeful, I would say, especially in comparison to his previous album. I think this is kind of like the bright side of Bruce Springsteen, which is not saying it's a bright shiny record, but it's a little bit brighter, maybe a little bit hopeful in comparison.

I think with the added synths and stuff, I think they did a really good job of keeping it a rock record, particularly with the title track, it just starts with that synth line. If you isolate that synth line, it could be Human League or Depeche Mode or something, but just because I think of it, because of the loud drums and just the edge to that record, it's as much a rock record as Van Halen. Of course, Van Halen had Jump, they were doing the synths too. Yeah, I mean, it's still a rock record.

Yeah. No, I think you're right, man. The band's still there and you're right, Max Weinberg has beaten that hard, those drums. It's such a brash sound, like, bam, bam, bam, bam. Yeah. Well, let's hear another one. This is Down Bound Train. All aboard, time to get sad. It's definitely the saddest sounding song on the album. Apparently, the lyrics are kind of a lament to a lost spouse, but also throw in a lost job and lost everything else.

My favorite part of it is actually that final verse where I think he's kind of dreaming that his lost love is calling to him and he's running through the woods or whatever to get to her and he basically wakes up and he's alone. Reminds me of Roy Orbison in Dreams. Man, that's dark. Yeah. She is. I'm surprising that that was also one of the Nebraska demos. It's depressing as hell and I just, I eat that stuff up. Can't get enough of it.

My clickbait headline for Born in the USA is, meet the new boss same as the old boss. I think that's somebody else. Isn't that the Who? Yes, it is the Who. But it's a shinier Springsteen, but it's the same thing. It's kind of a blue collar poet, working class hero telling sad stories. I guess as I've gotten older, I've just really appreciated his storytelling and as somebody that hasn't worked hard enough to get calluses on my hands. I assume you use lotion.

That's probably why the hands are so soft in the first place. All the jurgens. As somebody that's kind of white collar, I've always found it easy to relate to because they're kind of universal things, lost love and feeling powerless and all that stuff. I think he's an incredible songwriter. I was growing up in the Midwest at this time and one half of my family are farm small town people.

When I hear these songs, this in Mellingcamp, I really had a sense of what that is like when you're talking about the Americana Heartland rock type stuff. Songs like Down Bound Train, the imagery is so clear for anyone to pick up if they want to give it the time and this train that's just headed downward and you cannot stop it until it hits the bottom of the hill and then figure it out from there. Yeah, just good imagery, but as a kid, it was just a cool song about a train, which I liked.

Lots of trains on this record. Yes. Let's hear more. This is the closing cut on the album, My Hometown. Thinking about this song, I originally was thinking that this album is not all sunny sounding Downers, but when I was a kid, this was a song that was a happy song. I wasn't hearing the stuff about the bad stuff that happened in the 60s there or the history of the town, but just the pride of this is my hometown.

Again, in that environment I grew up in, but I think that's the thing with any of these songs. You can look at the bright side, you can say, hey, this is about looking back and he was in his 30s, the Boomers were in their 30s and this album, a lot of it is looking back to good times and bad times in your past, but looking forward, these people had a lot of life left, families to raise. It was this, I think there's a lot of hope here, even though it doesn't sound like it on this final track.

I think so too. I think it's just a realistic portrayal of circumstances and like, yeah, some shit's happened, but we've built things. We learned, yeah. We're better for it, we're stronger. Or at least let's not make the same mistakes again. Yeah. I love how, especially on that track, there's all these little moments of him remembering growing up and then pass these stories on to his kid.

He makes all these little vignettes feel so epic and monumental and sitting your kid on your lap and telling them the truths of the world. It just feels like such a big, it feels like your memory is walking through your memories and it's like, these are the big things from your life. It just feels very real and lived in the song in particular. Yeah. So my clickbait headline to describe the album, Bruce becomes boss of the charts alongside Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince.

Once the spotlight hits, he runs to the tunnel of love. I feel like maybe he took it too far here. I don't think anyone expected it to be as huge of an album as it was or for him to be a chart topping pop star. And then the album, the followup to this tunnel of love was No E Street Band, very introspective about his relationships, marriage and divorces and that kind of thing.

And I remember when tunnel of love came out four years later or whatever in 87, 88, I was like so disappointed because it didn't have any of the synths and the celebratory sax sounds and stuff. Yeah, it was just about life without all the flowers. And I think he was back in a way. I think he's like, I don't want to go through that again. We did that, but no, it got out of my system. Yeah, the boss can do whatever he wants.

I'm going to make an effort this summer to wear a white t-shirt, blue jeans and put a red baseball cap in my back pocket. I suggest we all do that this summertime. That's iconic look. It is pretty classic. I'm sure that record got bought a lot just for the Elm Art, especially after there's many posters in college dorm rooms from people who wear it. Bruce Springsteen's ass. Yep. I guess some people misinterpreted the cover and thought he was urinating on the American flag. Oh, what?

Yeah. Okay. He's kind of got one arm like, yeah, interesting. I never thought of that. No. I don't want to think about that. Not cool, Don. Why'd you do that? That's funny. All right. Well, I'm feeling a lot of love for this record, so I'm going to nominate it for the Album Nerds Hall of Fame. Yeah, I just enjoyed the hell out of this album this week. So I vote yes. Sure. Dude. It's interesting that it's fairly new to you. I mean, adulthood new, not something you grew up loving like I did.

So I think that's awesome. I vote yes. This was a classic. It's a time-defining album in the history of the US, sometimes perhaps used to celebrate patriotism and such. It's iconic and it meant one thing to me as a kid and it still does, but there's also the depth. Love it. Andy. I'm a little surprised by you guys. I mean, I'm not the world's biggest Bruce Springsteen's fan and I appreciate this record, but I know he's put out much better records than this.

Probably like three or four in the previous of his records would be, I think, held in much higher regard. But you got to look at a lot of those albums probably wouldn't have been heard by people if they hadn't gotten into this album and gone back. This is culturally more significant than the other albums, whether they're artistically superior or not. Well, this is not a pop culture podcast. This is the album nerds podcast where we talk about the quality of the records.

But it also shapes the sound of music moving forward. I think it's accessibility is kind of what makes it great because it's deep, but it's easy to get to. That's the charm of it. That's a good point. Well, I'm going to say no. What the fuck? I'll stand by that one 100%. But it's an opportunity for our listening audience to get involved, maybe show some patriotism for the USA. And Mr. Springsteen can cast a vote on our website, albnerds.com.

We'll have a poll up there on the homepage as well as the socials. I think this is a great record. I do, but I don't think it's a Hall of Fame record by any means. All right. Well, no glory days yet for Mr. Bruce Springsteen. They're coming. We'll see what the audience says. I know our people will have our backs. Well, again, the record is Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1984.

Excuse me. I'd like to ask you a few questions. All right. Well, time for another deep question by Don. Just like Mr. Bruce Springsteen, we're going deep. Born in the USA has been called one of the most misunderstood songs in history. What other songs have been misunderstood? The one that first came to mind for me was one that was a pretty big part of my youth. And that was from Outkast, the song Hey Ya.

Then going up largely the song was like a party song about saying hey, and then primarily shaking. Shaking things like a Polaroid picture. Yeah, there's lots of shaking going on. But in reality, if you read the lyrics or listen closely, Andre is going pretty deeply into this idea of relationships not really being viable and love kind of being a temporary, maybe more physical thing, really. The line from the record is, if what they say is nothing in forever, then what makes love the exception.

Yeah, honestly, it's a pretty dark song. If you read the lyrics just on their own, I think you'd be pretty depressed. You guys familiar with the song at all? Yes. You really paid much attention to the lyrics. No, I just thought the video was bright and cool. I never even considered what that song could be about other than shaking it. So thank you for ruining it. What came to mind for you, dude? I was thinking about Green Day's Good Riddance, Time of Your Life. Yes, indeed.

Another dirty boy, the book stuck in the road. Wow. I didn't read the clip for that one. That's funny because I was thinking that song was being called Time of Your Life. Right. A prom classic, big prom song in the late 90s and apparently it's not romantic. Billy Joe Armstrong had said that the song was about an ex-girlfriend who moved to Ecuador. He was really bitter at the time and that's why it's Good Riddance, Time of Your Life. It's get out of here. I hope you have fun. You asshole.

Again, that's the beauty of being misunderstood or misinterpreted. It really isn't. It brought happiness to people on a completely different level and a lot of money in Billy Joe's pocket. So everyone wins. I was thinking about artists who are always like, oh, I don't want to interpret the song because I want the fans to decide what it means for them. That's why that was a cop out, but in these cases, it works. It's nice that that song can have more meaning than just the girl in Ecuador.

I used to be like, just tell me what it means, but I've come to prefer to, even if I find out what it means, I can put my own spin on it. That's the beauty of the art form. So how about you, Donald? Yeah. So I think there's a lot of great examples out there. But I'll go with that song, Pumped Up Kicks. Came out in 2010 by Foster the People. Right. It was on a commercial or something? Yeah, I think it was for Lady Footlocker. It might have been. Yeah, but it sounds like a fun song.

I remember being at a college football game and it was playing during a time out and stuff and the crowds grooved into it. But my understanding is that it's actually about a school shooting. What? Yeah. Well, that's... Better run, better run faster than my bullets. Yeah. Oh, see, you know... Yeah, it's dark. Yeah, I think it's better off not thinking about that. But isn't it so much fun to spoil people's fun by telling them, oh, this song is about murder. The song is about drugs.

As they're dancing during the football game. I used to enjoy that. I don't like ruining songs for people by saying, this is the real meaning, you dolt. But I don't enjoy that anymore. I've grown past that. Wow, really? That was like a core part of your being, honestly. The bubble burster? Well, I like bursting bubbles in other worlds, but the music thing, I've become sour to doing that. I don't... I see. Okay. Well, what other songs can you think of that have been misunderstood? Let us know.

Visit us on the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and threads. Also on our website, AlbumNerds.com. Can you dig it?

Can you dig it? Can you dig it? So at least dude and I were digging Springsteen all week. Not so sure about Andy. He was half digging it. I liked it. But what else were we digging? All right. Well, I got a handful of things here in my... What do you call those little patches you wear around your waist in the 80s? Fanny pack? Fanny pack. That was in the front though, wasn't it? We used to call them hip sacks too. Hip sacks. I don't care for that. All right.

Well, I got a couple of new releases in my hip sack here. Share them with you guys. At least it's not his coin purse. Geez. I'm pulled up to that. Please continue. Okay. The first one is from a five piece from New York called Ben Stellar. It is a play on that, right? It is supposed to be like Ben Stellar. I think so. Yeah. I think so. The name of the album is Scream from New York, New York. I believe this is their debut record. We're going to play track five. This is called Sweet. Oasis, anyone?

Yeah, I can hear that. Yeah. A lot of big guitars and muffled vocals. It's pretty cool. I've been enjoying it. All right. The next one up for me is from Linda Thompson. I knew one of you two would bring this up. Have you seen this yet, Don? Yeah. Yep. This is a song actually called Proxy Music, which I couldn't not mention just because of the album art and the title. Clear shout out, I guess, to Roxy Music's Lamarck album.

This is a collaborative album between Linda and a bunch of artists, some modern day artists and also some artists from back in the day, including Martha and Rufus Rainwhite, John Grant, the Proclaimers, a bunch of people. Have you listened to this yet, Don? No, not yet. Yeah. Let's play a clip. This is Darling This Will Never Do. This is with Rufus Rainwhite. Rain, rain, right. Rain white. It's hard to say. Yeah, Rufus sounds pretty good on this. Rufus Rainwhite. Elmer Floyd. Westwich Wode.

The record's kind of all over the place in terms of the sound, but it's interesting, I would say. And what is she? Is she a musician? Yeah. Like she plays an instrument? Yeah, her and her ex-husband Richard Thompson were a duet at one point and she's an artist in her own. Yeah. Okay. Is that Coact Andy? Linda? Yeah, she wrote all the songs on the record.

I guess she suffers from a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, I think is how you say it, which doesn't allow her to sing like she normally would. So she partnered with a bunch of her friends in the music industry and put this up. It's pretty cool. All right. And last one up for me is from a, I'd say jazz musician by the name of Rich Ruth. Rich Woof. Oh, great. Look what you've started. Oh my gosh. All right. The name of the record is Water Still Flows. Let's play No Muscle, No Movement.

Yeah, I did listen to this this week. I did know what to do with it though. If you were listening to it, you were doing all right. Was I supposed to licking it? Well, Rich Ruth is a product of multi-instrumentalist Michael Ruth. I would probably say it's like instrumental rock, jazz, electronica. No vocals, pretty lengthy tracks. I found it, I was talking about his record a couple of years ago. I found his music very interesting. Pretty dense.

I haven't gotten too far on this one yet, but it sounds cool. On weed. Wow, it doesn't hurt. What you been digging on, Dan? Well, one group that I never paid attention to before, but I think they're pretty famous, Vampire Weekend. They came out with an album called Only God was above us. It's their fifth studio album. Here's a song called Prep School Gangsters. You know, I was afraid by the title that it was going to be similar to Pretty Fly for a white guy, but it is.

So thank God. Yeah, this actually came up on my Pandora station and thought it was kind of interesting. So I might give these guys a chance. Have you guys done the Vampire Weekend? I've dabbled, but nothing. I haven't gotten serious. They seem a little too happy for me. I always want to write them off, but I think that rockin' in particular is pretty good. I've enjoyed the one previously too. I think they're pretty good songwriters, as commercially viable as their sound is. Okay. Another one.

The Ride has been around a long time from England, not surprisingly. Sort of in that early shoegaze vibe, but maybe a little harder. They have a new album called Interplay, and this is a song called Peace Sign. Sounds shimmery. Don's other side, darkness and shimmery. Dark and shimmer. Don, biography. Sounds like that vampire fell in When a Skin Hits the Sun. Okay.

And then I just wanted to mention another podcast out there, a special one called Transmissions, the Definitive Story of Joy Division and New Order. So back in 2020, they released the first season, which basically is an authorized biography of Joy Division and New Order. So that first season covered basically the Joy Division era right up to New Order's release of their big single, Blue Monday. So season two is coming out in August. Looking forward to that.

Cool. Sounds like a documentary, but podcast forum. A podcumentary. Podcumentary. Podimentary. Okay, cool. All right, dude. I went with a band that I haven't really, I've heard of but never listened to, The Libertines. Their new album, fourth studio album after a nine year break. This one is called All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade. The track is Runs on Run. Does that sound so familiar? Have we listened to it before? No. I mean, this just came out in April. Arctic Monkeys.

Yeah, so they were early 2000s, formed in the late 90s. So their early albums were produced by Mick Jones and they did have kind of a clashy garage rock sound, but they got it. Lyrically, this is really interesting. It's fun. And I might go back and listen to their older stuff. There was drugs and egos forced them to have some problems. That guy Pete Doherty is in the band that was in the news a lot with Amy Winehouse and stuff, but some good stuff and it's got some punky vibes.

Yeah, I'd better listen to it a little bit as well. It's pretty catchy. All right, so next up Fontaine's DC we recently talked about on our Ireland episode. They've got a new album coming out August of 2024 called Romance. This is a little bit from Starburst. I really have come to dig this band. Was it recorded during COVID? It's on the ventilator. This was inspired by the front man, Grian Chetton's panic attack at London St. Pancras station. So it's a kind of trip hop infused production.

It's interesting. I'm looking forward to the record. I like these guys. Yeah, me too. Yeah, they're okay. And then lastly to the vinyl collection, I recently mentioned that I didn't get T-Rex Electric Warrior because I had to choose Mastodon, but I went back to the record store. They had a different copy, not the same 1971 original, but I did pick up T-Rex Electric Warrior on vinyl. Bet that was eating at you, couldn't sleep. It was. Yeah, well it wasn't that bad.

But great glam rock, early days, dirty, stones-y, just good stuff. I think it's overlooked. Dirty and sweet. Love the hubcap diamond star halo. Yeah. Just some kooky little lines. I think Mark Bolan was wired differently than others. The way he put words together was unrepeatable. Well what are you digging? Let us know. Check us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and threads. Also on our website, AlbumNerds.com. It will be a discovery of extraordinary value.

Well, it's about that time on the show when I'm reminded of the great US president, Harry S. Truman. Harry S. Truman? That's what it sounded like. Let the record show. I did not say that. Yeah, I was trying to be respectful, but not all of us clearly could do that. Mr. Truman, who said, America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.

With that in mind, let's bring out my friend in here as a wild bot to see what we'll be talking about next time. The summer of Don continues. With that in mind, I will be choosing which albums from Don's curated list you will be exploring this summer. Next time, you will experience David Bowie's final album, Black Star. It is a haunting and experimental farewell released just days before his death. Black Star, that's exciting because we didn't get to dig in.

We just kind of talked about it briefly, I think around the time he passed away and it just come out. So yeah, getting to dig into some modern Bowie, his swan song. It's going to be fun. Can't wait. Black Swan song, you could say. There you go. All right. Well, don't forget, we do have an ongoing Elbnerds Hall of Fame vote in progress. You can go to our website, elbnerds.com. U-S-A. Vote for Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA, yes or no? Does it belong in the Hall of Fame? Rock the vote, USA.

Okay, does Born in the USA belong in the Elbnerds Hall of Fame? What do you think of David Bowie's final album? Let us know. Leave a comment on our website or email us at podcast at elbnerds.com. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and threads at Elbnerds. And please subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast app. And if you'd like to support the show, you can do so via paypal at elbnerds.com slash support. Thank you for joining us here on the Elbnerds Podcast.

We'll catch you next time with some Black Star. Thanks for listening everybody. See you next time. America, America, God shed his grace on thee. What? Trying to go do kind of Ray Charles-ish or something. Oh, I thought you were doing an Elvis thing. Oh. It was the vibrato. Wait, stay jealous. And pay for it.