In 1982, Bruce Springsteen released one of his worst-selling albums. Now it is the one he hopes people remember “50 years” from now

Bruce Springsteen has said he would choose *Nebraska* as the album he hopes will represent him 50 years from now. Released in 1982, the stripped-back record stands apart from his stadium rock and explores despair, violence and disillusionment in America through stark, character-led songs.

Springsteen wrote it after feeling depressed and unsettled by the success of *The River*, his first top-ten hit. Inspired in part by Bob Dylan’s unvarnished view of America and the band Suicide’s 1977 album *Frankie Teardrop*, he shaped *Nebraska* into a ten-track, 40-minute work with a spare folk sound and stories including that of murderer Charles Starkweather. The article presents the album as a defining expression of the social darkness Springsteen wanted to confront.