Incompatible

Over break, I read “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” an account of Bruce Springsteen’s recording of the Nebraska album. Sandwiched between the successful River tour and the record-breaking Born in the USA album, Nebraska is quiet, simple, contemplative, and depressing. Springsteen wrote the songs and recorded demos of them on his TEAC 144 Portastudio, a “home studio” machine that could make multitrack…