One of my goals for 2026 is to “scroll less, read more.” I can’t say I’ve kicked the scrolling habit entirely, but I did make incremental progress in January. I have been able to read two books five weeks into the year. A good start.
I just finished Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run by Peter Ames Carlin. Most people are familiar with the Springsteen song, if not the album. Fifty years on, it’s hard to imagine the impact of the album on the direction of Rock music. Jon Landau, the music critic who became Springsteen’s manager and coproducer, after attending an early concert famously wrote: “I have seen the future of rock n’ roll and his name is Bruce Springsteen.”
For all the impact of the album, making it was a desperate and tortuous process - and Carlin brings insight and to both the complicated creative process and the cut-throat music business. Whether or not you’re a Springsteen fan, Tonight in Jungleland is an interesting read about what Rolling Stone says is number 21 on the Greatest Albums of All Time list.