60 Songs That Explain the '90s

Bruce Springsteen — “The Rising”

February 18, 2026

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  • The footage of They Might Be Giants playing "New York City" in Tower Records on the morning of September 11, 2001, serves as a poignant, almost unbearable snapshot of pre-9/11 innocence, highlighting the abrupt shift in the American psyche that day. 
  • The host explores the phenomenon of albums released on 9/11 (like those by They Might Be Giants, Jay-Z, and Bob Dylan) that were technically part of the new world but whose creators did not yet know the context, creating a surreal dissonance. 
  • Bruce Springsteen possessed the unique authority, built over decades of writing about American dreams and nightmares (including politically charged songs like "American Skin"), necessary to step up and create the first great American rock record that explicitly acknowledged the post-9/11 reality with *The Rising*. 
  • The guest, Steven Hyden, prefers Bruce Springsteen's descriptive songwriting (like on *Nebraska* or *Born in the USA*) over his prescriptive style, finding the latter, exemplified by *The Rising*, less personally resonant despite acknowledging its importance to those directly affected by 9/11. 
  • The production quality of *The Rising* is criticized for sounding like the loud, 'granite wall' mixing style common in the late 1990s/early 2000s CD rock era, contrasting sharply with the sparser sound of Springsteen's *The Ghost of Tom Joad*. 
  • Bruce Springsteen, particularly with *The Rising* and his return to the E Street Band, served as a crucial, unifying national symbol in rock and roll form immediately following 9/11, a role that is difficult to find in contemporary music. 

Segments

They Might Be Giants 9/11 Footage
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(00:00:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Footage of They Might Be Giants performing at Tower Records on the night of September 10, 2001, captures a moment of pure, unaware New York City joy just hours before the 9/11 attacks.
  • Summary: The host struggles with the emotional weight of watching They Might Be Giants perform their song “New York City” at a midnight album release party for Mink Carr on September 10, 2001. The documentary Gigantic, a Tale of Two Johns features this footage, which John Linnell noted felt like celebrating a previous era that ended that day. The host emphasizes that without the date, the scene is just a beautiful New York night, but knowing the context makes it tragically poignant.
Cub’s “New York City” Origin
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(00:05:56)
  • Key Takeaway: They Might Be Giants covered the song “New York City,” originally by the Vancouver pop-punk band Cub, who described their style as ‘Cuddle Core’ and featured Nico Case on drums for a time.
  • Summary: The original version of “New York City” was recorded by Cub on their 1995 album Come Out, Come Out. Cub’s version romanticizes the myth of New York City from an outsider’s perspective, contrasting with They Might Be Giants’ insider view. A key line from the song, ’everything looks beautiful when you’re young and pretty,’ is highlighted for its sharp, painful beauty.
Accidental 9/11 Topicality
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(00:11:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Many albums released on September 11, 2001, such as Jay-Z’s The Blueprint and Bob Dylan’s Love and Theft, were created without knowledge of the attacks, forcing listeners to grapple with their unintentional apocalyptic or prophetic lyrics.
  • Summary: The host details the surreal experience of consuming media released on 9/11 that did not know the world had changed, citing Jay-Z’s ‘Song Cry’ and Dylan’s ‘Mississippi’ (with its ‘sky full of fire’ lyric) as examples. Fabulous’s video for ‘Can’t Deny It,’ released that day, was accidentally perceived as patriotic due to its red, white, and blue color scheme, illustrating the public’s desperate need for uplifting content.
Post-9/11 Rock Anthems
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(00:21:25)
  • Key Takeaway: Songs released before 9/11, like Jimmy Eat World’s ‘The Middle,’ unexpectedly gained massive appeal afterward because their messages of reassurance sounded like they knew the future.
  • Summary: Jimmy Eat World’s ‘The Middle,’ which rose to a Top 5 hit in summer 2002, resonated because Jim Adkins’ assurance that ’everything will be all right’ felt prophetic. Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which streamed online starting September 18, 2001, contained lyrics like ’tall buildings shake’ that echoed the tragedy, despite being written beforehand. U2’s performance of ‘Beautiful Day’ at the Super Bowl, culminating with the victims’ names scrolling by, represented the maximalist, earned sentimental response from established rock royalty.
Springsteen’s Authority and ‘My City of Ruins’
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(00:28:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Bruce Springsteen’s performance of ‘My City of Ruins’ during the ‘America: A Tribute to Heroes’ telethon permanently recast the song, originally about Asbury Park, as the definitive musical statement on 9/11’s immediate aftermath.
  • Summary: Springsteen’s performance was characterized by pleading rather than commanding, as he sang ‘Come on, rise up,’ relying on accumulated goodwill to deliver solace. The host notes the visceral cracks in the voices of celebrities like Julia Roberts during the telethon, emphasizing the shared rattled state of the nation. Springsteen’s authority to speak on the national psyche was earned through decades of exploring both the American Dream and its failures, such as in ‘American Skin (41 Shots)’.
The Weight of ‘The Rising’
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(00:54:16)
  • Key Takeaway: The album The Rising is described as the heaviest record ever made, requiring Springsteen’s entire catalog of prior work—both explosive anthems and quiet implosions—to lend credibility to its central theme of moving forward after incomprehensible loss.
  • Summary: The album’s opening track, ‘Lonesome Day,’ immediately establishes the theme with a classic, simple Springsteen riff now burdened by immense gravity. ‘Into the Fire’ directly addresses the sacrifice of emergency workers ascending the stairs, which Springsteen describes in his memoir as a literal, not metaphorical, ascent into death. The host finds the album’s exploration of grief, including rage (‘I want an eye for an eye’) and survivor’s guilt (‘Nothing Man’), to be a necessary, though emotionally crushing, taxonomy of loss.
Wilco vs. Springsteen 9/11 reaction
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(01:17:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot resonated strongly with the post-9/11 feeling because its relevant lyrics and imagery were created before the event, unlike The Rising which felt too on-the-nose.
  • Summary: Jeff Tweedy’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, released after 9/11 but written before, was perceived by the guest as speaking more directly to the time than Bruce Springsteen’s album. The guest ranked The Rising as the 16th best Springsteen record, indicating skepticism toward its messianic and literal approach to the 9/11 subject matter.
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Songwriting
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(01:19:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Springsteen’s strongest work, like Nebraska and Born in the USA, relies on descriptive songwriting about characters, whereas his post-2000s work, including The Rising, leans toward prescriptive songwriting aimed at achieving a clear, real-world inspirational outcome.
  • Summary: Descriptive songwriting allows listeners to inhabit characters, making the politics within the subtext transcend the moment, as heard in Nebraska. The Rising is seen as shifting toward prescriptive songwriting, focusing on communicating a clear message or inspiring a specific outcome. This shift is noted as being less strong personally for the guest.
The Ghost of Tom Joad Contrast
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(01:21:08)
  • Key Takeaway: The Ghost of Tom Joad is Springsteen’s most lyrically dense, politically focused album that remains resonant because it focuses on universal characters, contrasting with The Rising’s stadium-ready, broad approach.
  • Summary: The Ghost of Tom Joad is cited as having a specific political viewpoint regarding immigrants and the border, yet it maintains relevance because it is character-driven. The song “The Rising” is rousing in an arena setting, but the album’s overall style is designed for the stadium, unlike the less commercially successful The Ghost of Tom Joad.
Production Style of The Rising
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(01:23:07)
  • Key Takeaway: The production of The Rising, handled by alternative rock producer Brendan O’Brien, aimed for contemporary relevance but resulted in a loud, compressed sound reminiscent of early 2000s CD rock.
  • Summary: The guest dislikes the sound of The Rising, comparing its mixing quality to the definitive example of the era, Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Springsteen sought to update his sound, moving away from production by John Landau and Chuck Plotkin, though the guest suggests his later album Magic better reflects conversation with current rock trends.
Singer-Songwriter vs. National Monument Bruce
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(01:25:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The guest prefers the ‘singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen,’ who excels at visual storytelling, over the ‘National Monument Bruce Springsteen,’ who often resorts to less interesting stump speech or political sloganeering mode.
  • Summary: Springsteen is considered the best storytelling lyricist in rock music for his ability to write songs that visualize like a movie. The prescriptive aspect of his monument persona, while helpful to many listeners seeking solace, is generally less interesting artistically to the guest. This divide is also seen in his recent protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”
The Rising’s Unique Explicit Role
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(01:28:21)
  • Key Takeaway: The Rising stands alone in its explicit declaration of being a healing album for the nation following 9/11, a context amplified by the public’s relief that Springsteen returned to making E Street Band music.
  • Summary: The media coverage at the time framed The Rising as Springsteen stopping his ‘screwing around’ post-Born in the USA to make a necessary record with the E Street Band. This return to form, combined with the lyrical content, provided reassurance that the America people remembered was still intact, similar to how the Yankees’ World Series run offered comfort.