Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

Let's leave the last word to Thurston Moore: "Dude, have you heard Darkness On The Edge Of Town? It's just as good as Swell Maps!"

note:

(a) i like swell maps
(b) i think darkness is one of bruce's most uneven records

i love the shit out of bruce springsteen

im from new jersey so its natural but seriously the guy like means something to me

i have a picture of him in my room like a russian orthodox icon or something

I spend a lot of time defending the man.

I used to loathe his music, his persona, all that shit -- like he was the personification of everything American that made me retch. But weirdly, I've come around lately, just sifting through the periphery of his catalogue/discography (fuck, is there a better word for that?), although I always had a soft spot for Nebraska, especially after a long solo road trip across the continent during which I found myself on the New Jersey Turnpike among other Springsteen reference points.

I used to loathe his music, his persona, all that shit -- like he was the personification of everything American that made me retch. But weirdly, I've come around lately

Credit Arcade Fire.

i can't see beyond the cock-rock in him. so dud

i just wish he had a clue about production: too slick, too polished, too FM radio, too much synth/piano, too little guitar. neil owns his ass.

too slick, too polished, too FM radio

yawn

you said it: Boss = yawn.

I'll go with classic, but the only songs I ever really want to hear are the early, kinda funky ones (10th Ave Freeze-Out, E Street Shuffle), and of course "Rosalita" and "Blinded by the Light" are completely awesome.

I prefer synth-pop Bruce (especially the ruminative Tunnel of Love, which is an electro Nebraska) to earnest wordy Bruce.

I love his cadence on the line "The night is dark but the sidewalk's bright
And lined with the light of the living"

I'm from NJ, and it's impossible to overstate how huge he is here. I would even venture to say that Springsteen in NJ is more popular than any other singer/band anywhere else in America. Can't speak for Europe, though.

Obviously classic. My favorite album is Born In The USA, and my favorite song is The Promised Land.

Listen to his audition demo, it's on the Tracks box set. It's staggeringly good.

I'm not from NJ, and I say 'classic'. Though the two biggest Springsteen fans I know are European (of the German ilk).

I love the "earnestness" complaints above in the thread, b/c that seems like such a ridiculous "reason" to not like something. Like "I don't like Tim Duncan, he's too serious about his game".

I am from NJ, and I think he sucks, like really fucking bad. Just because you're from Illinois doesn't mean you have to like REO Speedwagon either. Remember, Bon Jovi is big in Jersey too, so it's not like the state has the most discerning musical palate.

fuck you bill magill bon jovi rules

Jovi sucks. But REO rules. I'm not being ironic, either.

Credit Arcade Fire.

Ha! Although the Arcade Fire make me tired. Come to think of it, perhaps credit a less lauded Canadian indie rock band, the Constantines, whose comparisons to the Boss made me revisit and hear something different.

I can't decide between C and D, because he's neither really. Classic for "Thunder Road" and "Atlantic City" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad", and (insert whatever), and Dud for everything you hate. I mean, in certain moods, he can slay you -- a live version of "For You" (Hammersmiith Odeon) came up on shuffle the other day and I completely lost my shit! Other than Nebraska, a copy of which I've had a long time, I don't think I'd ever buy a full album of his, but cherry-picking songs (especially live versions) and compiling your own "Best Of" mix can be Classic, too.

As for the earnest blue-collarness, I have no problem with that, even when it's not earned or it's cartoon-like (hello, Joe Strummer and a million others). It all just gets subsumed in my overall reception of/ reaction to the music, like Dylan's faux wandering troubador thing in the early '60s.

That was my own earnest blue collar approach to ILM posting, btw.

Anybody listen to the new Bruce track? Go to hypem.com and search for "Springsteen Radio Nowhere." I dig the track - one the more rocking Boss songs in a while!

one of

I think I'd rather listen to Rosie O'Donnell defecate than listen to any Springsteen, much less new Springsteen.

This is fucking outstanding. His best rocker in a very very long time.

I can't get into Springsteen. His whole aesthetic is a bit too gay for my liking. All that blue-collar sweatiness just reeks of camp.

It's like that "Brucing" craze that erupted in the Berlin gay clubs back in the day, where everyone used to wear a bandana and denim jacket and pull anguished, sincere, meaningful faces to the latest Springsteen records.

I prefer something a bit more authentic.

I prefer something a bit more authentic

Oh...

Anybody listen to the new Bruce track?

eight six seven five three oh nye-ee-en

it's ok.

i forgot how much i liked this thread.

I bought this a few weeks ago

http://991.com/newGallery/Bruce-Springsteen-Live-1975-1985---283030.jpg

So good.

It's like that "Brucing" craze that erupted in the Berlin gay clubs back in the day, where everyone used to wear a bandana and denim jacket and pull anguished, sincere, meaningful faces to the latest Springsteen records.

Tell me about this in more detail please.

I was completely surprised by "Radio Nowhere," because I'd feared some of the Seeger Sessions vibe might creep over into his new stuff. The difference is totally night and day, though. I'm actually looking forward to the whole record now (and I'm def going to try and see him live again with the E Streeters).

Sooooo... Magic leaked a few days ago. I think it's kind of fucking amazing, much better than The Rising. Anybody else listened to it? "Livin' In The Future" could be a forgotten single from The River, for chrissakes!

OH man, I am so excited.

The Rising had some good songs but it's not exactly something I'm dying to listen to all the time. He hasn't made a great rock record since Born In The USA so this is really great news. I love Radio Nowhere. When he wants to, the guy can make some of the best sounding music of anyone.

He hasn't made a great rock record since Born In The USA

TUNNEL OF LOVE DUDE, TUNNEL OF LOVE

"Radio Nowhere" is pretty in all, with its Tommy Tutone guitar hook, but it says NOTHING AT ALL except that the radio scares Bruce but he's not about to get all Tom Petty about it.

*pretty and all

the new song is funny, the sax break reminds me of the backwards bagpipes on "Under The Milky Way"

seeing the video for "Human Touch" on VH1 Classic was REAL funny

bruce should figure out a really ridiculous haircut for this album, or at least shave it all off.

"Radio Nowhere" is one of the weaker tracks on the new album, IMHO.

a co-worker says a friend of his was once making a documentary about ashbury park and while walking around some abandoned warehouses on (the darkness on) the edge of town he thought he heard some noise and opened a large door to discover Bruce and a band rocking out inside. after a minute, some security guys ran over and told him to get out of there.

LEGENDS OF BRUCE.

Also, it's totally pimp that he's releasing it on vinyl a week earlier than the CD.

Kick a can in Ashbury Park and out comes BROOSE.

Also: "Radio Nowhere" IS "Human Touch."

That's a lie and you know it!

Not the thing about kicking a can. That's true.

you guys know its asbury, right?

woooops