Bruce Springsteen’s 16th DJ show on SiriusXM satellite radio, subtitled “Hits of the Week,” premiered on Dec. 16.
The 16th show in Bruce Springsteen’s “From My Home to Yours” DJ series on SiriusXM satellite radio, which premiered Dec. 16, was subtitled “Hits of the Week.” Unlike most of the installments in this series, this one didn’t have a theme beyond songs Springsteen likes and has been listening to. The playlist covered a tremendous amount of stylistic ground, ranging from well-known artists such as Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and The Weeknd to performers who are considerably less famous (in the United States, at least), including South Korea’s Jang Hyun and Lee Jung Hwa.
Springsteen also played his own recent collaboration with Bleachers, “Chinatown,” and his much-loved E Street Band version of the Christmas standard, “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.”
Though packed with great music, this was possibly the shortest show in the series, lasting slightly less than an hour.
You can read what Springsteen said here, and see videos for the songs that were played. In some cases, a version of the song may have been played that is different from what is embedded in this post.
“Hello, hello, fans, friends, listeners from coast to coast and around the world. Welcome to Vol. 16 of ‘From My Home to Yours,’ titled ‘Hits of the Week.’ This is what we’re listening to around Stone Hill Farm this week, and I hope you find it fun and interesting. I want to open our show with ‘Chinatown’ by Jack Antonoff and his band Bleachers, featuring yours truly.”
“CHINATOWN,” BLEACHERS
“STRONG,” GLEN CAMPBELL
” ‘Strong.’ That was Glen Campbell with the Dandy Warhols. Glen, of course, was an inspiration for my Western Stars album, and the master of great, great hits like Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman,’ ‘Galveston’ and ‘Gentle on My Mind.’ He also made great albums towards the end of his career. A terrific album called Meet Glen Campbell was absolutely wonderful, as was Ghost on the Canvas, which contains ‘Strong.’ And the Dandy Warhols were formed in Portland, Ore., more than 25 years ago and they’ve made some great music ever since. You should check them out.”
“I WANNA BE YOUR MAN,” AG
“FURTHER ON UP THE ROAD,” JOHNNY CASH
“That was Johnny Cash, ‘Further On up the Road,’ and that is a voice that it’s always an honor to hear cover one of your songs. I was lucky enough to have lunch with Johnny and June (Carter Cash) one afternoon while we were on the road, Patti (Scialfa) and I. It was an unforgettable experience. And before that, it was AG, Adrianne Gonzalez, who released a lovely EP in 2012 that was called Reimagine: The Beatles by AG. Fabulous reinventions of some of the great Beatles songs. This is ‘Easy Street,’ by Larkin Poe.”
“EASY STREET,” LARKIN POE
“And again, that was Larkin Poe, a great blues-rock band formed in Georgia, fronted by two sisters, Rebecca and Megan Lovell. Definitely check them out. Coming up now, a song titled ‘I Don’t Like.’ It’s a vintage piece of South Korean soul by Lee Jung Hwa.”
“I DON’T LIKE,” LEE JUNG HWA
“SAYING GOODBYE,” ONDARA
“That was ‘Saying Goodbye,’ by J.S. Ondara. Just beautiful. He is a Kenyan singer-songwriter whose debut album, Tales of America, was released in 2019. He was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and he traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., at 20 years old. And there he taught himself to play, sing and write, and he was discovered when a Minneapolis radio station pulled a song of his off a YouTube channel, and aired it. So singer-songwriters, persevere! You never know where or when it’s going to happen. … All right. This is The Weeknd with his smash, ‘Blinding Lights.’ ”
“BLINDING LIGHTS,” THE WEEKND
“IT’S A SIN,” PET SHOP BOYS
“I love the Pet Shop Boys! They did a beautiful cover of ‘Last to Die.’ Let’s go for two! I’m dancin’! This is ‘Go West.’ ”
“GO WEST,” PET SHOP BOYS
“I DREAMED I SAW ST. AUGUSTINE,” THEA GILMORE
“That was the beautiful ‘I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine’ from Thea Gilmore, who has an LP where she covers the entire John Wesley Harding album. Next up: ‘AUATC’ by my friend Justin, Bon Iver. I am here, singing somewhere, on this lovely song.”
“AUATC,” BON IVER
“PLEASE WAIT,” JANG HYUN
“That was ‘Please Wait,’ some more vintage South Korean soul music by Jang Hyun, from the compilation record Beautiful Rivers and Mountains, 1958-1974.
“So this session, we are going to be bookended by the Bleachers, with ‘Alfie’s Song.’ ”
“ALFIE’S SONG,” BLEACHERS
“And that’s our show for now. Play safe out there. Mask up. Social distance over the holidays. Take extra care for one another. Oh, and merry Christmas and happy holidays.”
“SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN,” BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
You can read transcripts of what Springsteen has said on the previous 15 shows, and see YouTube videos of all the songs he has played, via these links:
APRIL 8 (a tribute to the late John Prine and more)
APRIL 24 (thoughts on life during pandemic, New York songs and more)
MAY 6 (when the pandemic is over, he promises, “50,000 people will once again scream their heads off somewhere in New Jersey”)
MAY 20 (a tribute to the late Little Richard and more)
JUNE 3 (protest songs and more)
JUNE 17 (a “rock ‘n’ roll requiem” for those who have died from coronavirus)
JULY 1 (discussion with and songs by Southside Johnny and Steven Van Zandt)
JULY 15 (summertime songs and memories)
JULY 29 (discussion with and songs by Patti Scialfa).
AUG. 14 (“In Dreams,” nocturnally themes songs and memories)
SEPT. 2 (songs about work, in honor of Labor Day)
SEPT. 16 (end of summer)
OCT. 7 (songs about cars)
OCT. 28 (Election Day and Halloween preview)
NOV. 25 (Election Day victory, “music about music”)
Also, click here for some of my thoughts on this ambitious series in general.
Springsteen has been doing these shows regularly since April.
The shows have lasted between one and two hours each, and are being broadcast on SiriusXM’s E Street Radio channel (channel 20), with repeats and on-demand availability following the initial broadcast. “Hits of the Week” will also be played Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.; Dec. 17 at 6 a.m. and 3 p.m.; Dec. 18 at 10 a.m., 4 p.m. and midnight; Dec. 19 at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; Dec. 20 at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Dec. 21 at 7 a.m., 4 p.m. and midnight; Dec. 22 at 8 a.m.; Dec. 23 at 6 p.m.; Dec. 24 at 3 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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