this is radio nowhere.

Radio Nowhere is your new home for true information, meaningful content and thoughtful musings, commentary and analysis about or related to the work of Bruce Springsteen. I'm your host, Caryn Rose. (You can learn more about me and my work here.)

I wrote for Backstreets Magazine for 20+ years and have spent the last couple of years since its closing wishing there was a place where I could actually find out what's going on and read in-depth reportage on all things Bruce from people I knew I could trust.

There's a lot of places on the internet where you can get information about Bruce. There's no shortage of people with posts about "this day in Springsteen history," reports of last night's setlist, or can regurgitate a Wikipedia or AllMusic listing of basic biographical information about an artist who sang a song Bruce covered.

But there are very few people who can explain why any of it matters, how it connects, why you should care, and obsessively care about getting it right. There are very few people who know how to research, and the difference between a random factoid and information that actually matters.

That's where I come in.

"Reading Caryn Rose’s thoughts on Bruce Springsteen — whether a show she just saw or one she remembers seeing 45 years ago — was one of the great joys of editing Backstreets. As a contributor for two decades, Caryn brought exactly what we were looking for: the deep perspective of a longtime fan coupled with broad musical knowledge, an eye for detail, sharp memory, and especially in her case, pure enthusiasm for her subject undampened by a critical ear and commitment to calling it like she hears it. If you miss Backstreets (like I do!), I have to think her newsletter will scratch that itch — you bet I’ll be subscribing to Radio Nowhere. — Chris Phillips, Backstreets Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, 1998-2023

I'm a professional writer. I have written books. I regularly freelance for national and international music publications, who give me assignments because I can write and because they know my research is impeccable. My book on Patti Smith (for which I was able to interview Bruce) had twelve pages of footnotes on a 50,000 word manuscript. Getting it right matters.

I've been writing about Bruce Springsteen since I was 16 years old and decided needed to review the show I just saw in Hartford on the River tour (12/12/80) for my high school newspaper. In 2003, I wrote my first piece for Backstreets Magazine about the Doubletake Magazine benefits.

I've since gone on to write a whole lot about Bruce Springsteen in many places – including Backstreets and brucespringsteen.net – over the ensuing 20+ years. But not having Backstreets to write for definitely left a large gap. Radio Nowhere is how I've decided to solve that issue for myself, although it is absolutely not intended to be any kind of replacement for Backstreets.

This is explicitly not a site for breaking news. It is, however, a site where I'll discuss that news, and explain why it's important (or not), among other things Springsteen related. It is for paid subscribers only, because doing this work well is incredibly time intensive.

"Caryn Rose is one of the best rock writers in the biz—maybe the best. She passionately champions the artists she loves without being afraid to call out BS when necessary. Whether it's in her books, newsletters, or epic lists, her writing is fun to read and sharp as hell, and there is no one better at doing a deep dive on an artist's career and catalog." - Ray Padgett, Flagging Down the Double E's

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[You can read more comments on my Springsteen work on the Testimonials page.]

The types of posts you'll see on Radio Nowhere can be grouped into the following categories:

Three Minute Record: Breaking down Bruce Springsteen's best live cover versions, with historical analysis and discussion.

The Ties That Bind: Springsteen history: places and events.

Magic In The Night: Essays on historical live shows, officially released and otherwise.

Where The Bands Are: Reviews, discussion and analysis of the current tour / older live performance reviews.

Be True: About Bruce's songs and music and songwriting and albums.

57 Channels: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in the media.

The Upstage: Like the nightly jam, anything can happen here.

I have a full editorial calendar already sketched out for the entire year. There will be a big focus on the 50th anniversary of Born to Run, but there are also European shows scheduled. Will we get Tracks 2? Will there be a second volume of Only The Strong Survive?

I'm so excited to do this work and publish it here. The good thing about this being my hangout is that I can write about whatever Bruce-related thing I want.

SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS:

You're funding quality independent journalism. Every dollar is going to fund this project. I will pay photographers and I hope to hire someone to help edit.

4-6 Newsletters a month: All of these newsletters are for paid subscribers only for at least the first month after publication and most of them will remain locked to subscribers.

The exception is for historical, evergreen pieces (like Three Minute Record or historical show recaps) that will be made public later. This allows my work to continue to be in service of the Springsteen community at large while still providing value for subscribers. There's a lot of bad information out there and AI is not helping improve that.

The unlocked content that's currently on the site came from my general newsletter site over at jukeboxgraduate.com. All the Springsteen content (gated or ungated) that lived there now lives here, and is available to everyone.

Live recordings: Live archive shows that have NOT been officially released will include show downloads in mp3 format that are available for subscribers only. Those download links will go away (or will be paywalled) once a piece has been opened to the public.

Archive Show Requests: Beyond what Bruce Inc. decides to release, I have my own list of shows I want to write about for a variety of reasons. But if you are a Yearly or Founding Subscriber, you can make a request that I write about a show. (The only caveat is that it has to be a show for which there's a circulating recording and that I'm able to access a recording.) BTW: I absolutely stole this idea from Ray Padgett over at the great Dylan newsletter, Flagging Down the Double E's.

Commenting privileges. You can have a conversation here that isn't clogged up with spam comments or randos.

YEARLY SUBSCRIBERS: For those subscribers willing to commit to a year up front, you get a snazzy RADIO NOWHERE sticker suitable for your car, laptop or water bottle.

FOUNDING MEMBERS: You get a sticker as well your choice of an enamel pin, a t-shirt, or a mug. Those items will later be available for all subscribers to purchase.

Other stuff I haven't thought of yet. Do you want a private Discord server to chat with other Springsteen fans? A monthly AMA? Become a subscriber and weigh in!

Thank you for your consideration and hopefully your patronage. You can find me at caryn dot rose at gmail dot com if you have any additional questions I can answer.