"Springsteen" Eric Church

Today's biggest twangtastic hit pays tribute to a hard-rocking legend from another genre: Eric Church's "Springsteen," currently sitting at #1 on the country charts, is a nostalgic ballad about youth, first love and the Boss himself, whose '80s hits like "Born in the USA" are fondly remembered as the soundtrack to some July Saturday nights. Its warm orchestration (stuffed with banjos, fiddles and a tinkling piano, among other instruments) and bittersweet reminiscences create a quietly gorgeous, evocative experience that perfectly captures the song's notion of a "melody [that] sounds like a memory." Accessible and affecting, let's hope pop radio soon takes notice of this one. A-