NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
MISSION OF BURMA . . . . . Forget Yourself . . . . . The Sound the Speed the Light
THE STAPLES SINGERS . . . . . Respect Yourself . . . . . Stax: Top of the Stax, Vol. 1: Twenty Greatest Hits
ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 . . . . . What You Is . . . . . Goodnight Oslo
BOB DYLAN . . . . . My Back Pages . . . . . Another Side of Bob Dylan
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STEET BAND . . . . . Growin’ Up . . . . . Live: 1975-85 (3CD)

TAKEN BY TREES . . . . . Anna . . . . . East of Eden
PAUL SIMON . . . . . Another Galaxy . . . . . Surprise
BEBEL GILBERTO . . . . . Ela (On My Way) . . . . . All in One
JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS . . . . . Global A Go-Go . . . . . Global a Go-Go
ZEEP . . . . . Ghost Town (Issa Não Da) . . . . . People & Things
DEVOTCHKA . . . . . Head Honcho . . . . . A Mad and Faithful Telling
FIREWATER . . . . . Already Gone . . . . . The Golden Hour

VISQUEEN . . . . . Tall Grass . . . . . Message To Garcia
ELVIS COSTELLO . . . . . 13 Steps Lead Down . . . . . Brutal Youth (With Bonus Disc)
BLACK WHALES . . . . . Roll With The Punches . . . . . Origins
MARK PICKEREL AND HIS PRAYING HANDS . . . . . Cherokee Grove . . . . . Cody's Dream
BUDDY HOLLY . . . . . Well . . . All Right . . . . . The Buddy Holly Collection
WILCO . . . . . You And I . . . . . Wilco (The Album)
THE BYRDS . . . . . She Don’t Care About Time . . . . . The Byrds
YO LA TENGO . . . . . Avalon Or Someone Very Similar . . . . . Popular Songs
ALL SMILES . . . . . Words Of Wisdom . . . . . Words of Wisdom
PULP . . . . . Bob Lind (The Only Way Is Down) . . . . . We Love Life

BOB LIND . . . . . Elusive Butterfly . . . . . The Best of Bob Lind: You Might Have Heard My Footsteps
RICHARD HAWLEY . . . . . Open Up Your Door . . . . . Truelove's Gutter
GEORGE HARRISON . . . . . I’d Have You Any Time . . . . . All Things Must Pass [BOXED EDITION]
CLEANERS FROM VENUS . . . . . A Mercury Girl . . . . . Golden Cleaners
CAMERA OBSCURA . . . . . Swans . . . . . My Maudlin Career
HERMAN’S HERMITS . . . . . No Milk Today . . . . . Herman's Hermits - Their Greatest Hits
MOJAVE 3 . . . . . Kill The Lights . . . . . Puzzles Like You
MARBLE TEA . . . . . How Does It Feel? . . . . . Fantastic Day EP
THE BEAU BRUMMELS . . . . . Laugh Laugh . . . . . The Best of the Beau Brummels: Golden Archive Series

I was at the opening show of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's current five-night series at Giants Stadium, which are the final concerts in that building before the wrecking ball comes a-knocking. Night 1 included Born to Run played from soup to nuts, which was as amazing as it sounds. However, the highlight for me was "Growin' Up" with the birthday dream story that Springsteen told in the middle of the song. Just like back in the day, when Bruce telling some tall tale was always a high point of the show, this one was both funny and revealing in a way that was easily relatable (especially if you're in my age bracket). To close out this opener we heard a version of the song from those long ago days (summer of '78), and before it came a quartet of tunes from Mission of Burma, the Staples Singers, Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 and Bob Dylan that all address the subject of personal identity.

The next section began with a tune from the new Taken by Trees disc, which was recorded in Pakistan. You can feel the influence of that setting in many of the sounds and rhythms found on this album, and everything that followed here had a certain international appeal. So we heard Paul Simon from his last record with a favorite that shows Brian Eno's contributions in a more overt fashion, and from there it was a new one from Bebel Gilberto that ended with a keyboard bit that flowed nicely into the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros tune that followed. Zeep adding some Brazlian rhythm to an old Specials track that also featured the always popular accordian brought on DeVotchKa indulging their fondness for that instrument as well before Firewater took us full circle with a track from their last disc, which reflected main man Tod A.'s three-year journey through the Near and Far East.

A change of pace opened this next section as we heard some energetic guitar rock n roll from the new Visqueen disc followed by an old one from Elvis Costello with a similar appeal. Black Whales shifted the emphasis ever so slightly into more of a pop place, and then Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands pushed it even more in that direction with one that seemed to segue quite well into one of Buddy Holly's prime gems. WIlco with an assist from Feist off of their most recent disc led to the Byrds classic jingle jangle on a Gene Clark composition, and then we heard Yo La Tengo from their new album that recalled one from the All Smiles disc out earlier this year. At the finish it was Pulp inspired by a one-hit wonder from the mid-'60s named Bob Lind . . .

. . . which is where the finale kicked in. The enduring search for romance in that track was echoed in the Richard Hawley tune that followed, although from a different point in the relationship timeline, and then we heard George Harrison with a hint of exasperation at his inability to break through. The Cleaners From Venus seemed a bit mystified by it all, and then it was Camera Obscura in an unsure place leading to the finality expressed by Herman's Hermits' milk delivery. From there we heard Mojave 3 seemingly on the merry-go-round of relationships followed by the Marble Tea happy to see the tables turned, a sentiment shared by the Beau Brummels to close this one out.

Here's Bruce Springsteen's birthday dream from Giants Stadium