Meet me tonight in Atlantic City.

I got some good advice the other day...something along the lines of ''the more you love yourself, the less bullshit you'll tolerate''. It's probably true no? I mean if we don't value ourselves, we let people walk all over us. And then there was another advice from my best friend, he said, ''Nikki honey, I doubt vodka is the anwser but it sure is worth a shot''. Smart man. That same one that once said to me that vodka is just potato that chose the best career. I do not support excessive drinking by the way before you're all on my throat again. I enjoy a drink every now and then but getting drunk? No thank you. And you shouldn't do it either. Be smart about it guys...

Here's to another monday. I'm back, rambling about music, today's choice is the one I'm listening to, while reading a book about the lives and deaths or rock n roll legends. Aparently I enjoy torturing myself. This shit is painful, they all died so young and so tragic. And I kept it together but then there was Jim Morrison and goodbye self control. Also a quick note to the author, I'm very offended that you did not include Jani Lane in your book. I get it, his music was hair metal, he was nowhere near Hendrix or Queen's succsses but he was still a legend and should be included in this book. Right, back to the record, here we go...

Bruce Bruce Bruce...the only real love of my life as I like to put it. The one person in my life who hasn't dissapointed me yet or broke my heart in one way or another...I probably love this man a little too much. River is one of my favorite albums ever made, not by him, but generally from every single album there is out there. I find it funny, the River came out, it was Bruce's first number one, Hungry heart was a huge hit, world tour was all but sold out, you'd expect his next album to be similar, you know keeping the momentum alive and all that. But no, Bruce being Bruce did a something completly different and released Nebraska, which is dark and brooding and nothing at all like the River.

"Everything dies baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies some day comes back."

I don't think there's anything more then his voice, acoustic guitar and harmonica on this record. And the lyrics, murder, loss, loneliness. Makes me wonder, why the hell would you go so dark on us? But I do appreciate the fact that he sung in the first person which gives them this intimacy that I don't feel often while listening to an album. I mean the cover alone gives you this dark, depressed vibe, like an opening of a movie about desperation. I suppose this is one of them rare cases where you can actually ''judge a book by it's cover''. The ten songs on this album are just as haunting as the cover is, simple melodies, soft guitar, harmonica. They talk about people who lost everything, maybe even their souls. I find the songs absolutely brilliant. I know most of these people are just characters, they're probably not even real, but he brings them to life so well. You actually feel the sadness and despair these made up people would feel in search of themselves and their lives. He's giving a voice to those that don't have a voice because though made up there are people out there living lives like that, people that are too beaten down to speak up for themselves and the sad part is...I understand them all too well. I feel like I can connect. Maybe that's why this album speaks to me so much...I feel like I can melt into their lives even if for just for a moment...I can't say though that this version of Nebraska he talks about is a place I'd like to visit but I love to replay that album and get lost in these stories every now and then. Even if most times they make me sad, I remember how bad some people have it, some people that are just helpless and lost and been hurt so many times that they are just completly broken. I suppose here's a moral on this album though, remember to have empathy, don't judge till you know the whole story and help anyone you can, wherever and whenever you can. World would be so much nicer if we'd all just show some kindness to eachother. This album had a huge effect on me, I may be a fan of a lot of other musicians but there aint one single songwriter out there like Bruce. Not one that makes you feel like you've been sitting in the room with him, the world just melts away and he's telling you these stories...at least that's what it does to me. Here's the deal Nebraska was a risky and brave move, he literally stripped down his art right to the core and it payed of, he managed to record one of the most honest and hauntingly beautiful albums there are out there. There is so much compassion in every line, like he's trying to say that there's no peace in the darkness...I suppose at the end it comes down to a man and a dead dog, trying to revive him and another one, on the way to get married, but the bride doesn't show up, he's waiting for her, the river still flows and the people still find their own reasons to believe. It's simple and naive, the caption underneath Bruce's ''glorious'' picture of America. Bottom line he asks a lot of questions on this album and it seems to me that he dares you to go out and search for anwsers and guess what? Those anwsers are damn well worth your time. I love this album to bits and pieces and I honestly recommend you listen to it. Maybe pay attention to Atlantic city and Johnny 99, they're really something special.

Let me know how you feel about it, or recommend something, always open to suggestions, cheers guys, have a good week!