Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

Well I wasn't really saying he was insincere, I do think he believes what he sings! I just don't think he goes into each new album intending to be "more" or "less" political, its just a common thread that he taps into wrt his songwriting. This time he seems to have tapped into it a little more than usual, but again, I don't think "being political" is one of his main goals.

I think he just kinda is by nature of what he writes about and critics (on both sides of the fence) have a field day projecting their politics onto it.

I'm divided between about four tasks this morning, so nevermind me really I guess.

He's writing more of an anthemic "we" in these songs, the we of "We Shall Overcome," which is different from his standard short-story mode.

That's for sure. This stuff is less observational and more ... motivational?

Was it discussed upthread that the new one was reportedly originally made as a sodden Bruce with guitar record, but was remade (retrofitted?) as a fully electric project? That's happened before, of course ...

Oh, and Alfred, the essay is in the book "Present Tense," edited by Anthony DeCurtis. It's written by Martha Nell Smith and is called "Sexual Mobilities In Bruce Springsteen: Performance As Commentary."

"Gambling man rolls the dice, workingman pays the bill
it’s still fat and easy up on banker’s hill
up on banker’s hill, the party’s going strong
down here below we’re shackled and drawn"

Not much projection required there jon.

Do you mean me? My point was that there's no projection need on the *new* stuff. But Bruce's classic rebel rousers and barn burners - like "Badlands" - are far more ambiguous than the feeling they provoke. Speaking of which:

http://www.mv.com/ipusers/richbreton/lrgjpg2/HTTS_LR_ctr6.jpg

Jim Cullen:

"...Springstenn has never exhibited the kind of sexual flamboyance of the Rolling Stones or David Bowie... but his performances are marked by a surprising amount of sexual subversion. It is most apparent in the case of his relationship with Clarence Clemons, with whom his contact ranged from their affectionate pose on the cover of Born To Run to the exuberant kisses they routinely exchanged during live shows. Springsteen showed similar intimacy with guitarist Steve van Zandt in the way they gazed into each other`s eyes while sharing a microphone throughout any giving evening. Such intimacy, sexual or otherwise, diminishes markedly with the release of Darkness On The Edge Of Town in 1978. It`s not altogether clear why that happens... "

(Typos courtesy whomever transcribed that)

Not much projection required there jon.

Yeah, I was really having trouble trying to articulate what I was trying to say. Basically, I do think Springsteen IS political and he is 100% sincere in what he says. My comment about projection was that I think critics tend to make it a BIGGER deal that it needs to be. Like, yes, Springsteen is political, but thats not what his music is all about, not the ultimate end game. He paints pictures of a certain segment of America and, right now esp given the recession, politics plays a HUGE part of that segment right now (whether directlty or indirectly). I think Bruce is more interested in painting these pictures than he is in scoring political points or advancing an agenda (although thats there too, its just not his end game, imho). I'm kind of blabbering on here, but I hope my main point gets across.

Ham-fisted or no, the new stuff is specific

I would actually argue that for the most part the reason the new stuff is perceived as more overtly political is because it's fundamentally non-specific. That is, it's on a level of generality and abstraction that it can't be taken as the kind storytelling in which he had previously couched his (mostly kind of inchoate) politics. But that doesn't mean that the lyrics are particularly sharp or even coherent. In fact the same generality that causes people to perceive them as "statements" makes them kind of fall down as any kind of real political rhetoric--indeed in the worst cases ("We Take Care of Our Own," which isn't a horrible song overall, just a horribly mixed/mastered one) it's basically just meaningless. The Coldplay syndrome in other words -- not that I really wish to mention them in the same breathe.

BTW I don't think it quite works--in this discussion--to lower the threshold for what constitutes a "political" pop star --e.g. by saying that "choosing a subject" is a political act. I mean, it is, in a broad sense. But when critics single Bruce out for being "political," they mean something more than that. They mean that his songs evince anger about broad economic and political realities, and even (on occasion) seem to place blame.

ok in honesty i overstate the "generality" of his lyrics. there are some fairly specific themes that emerge from the new one (which yes i've listened to finally). i guess i was describing his recent songs at their worst, not at their best.

although the onscreen lyrics in the video for WTCoOO are kind of unforgivable.

ok yeah the lyrics to this one are really ringing "coldplay" bells in my head. "where's the work that will set my soul free?" huh?

and maybe this is obvious but he seems to absorbed the influence of his own admirers, like arcade fire etc. i don't think that's to the bad, although i have no time for arcade fire.

if he could only write another song like this :-(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs&feature=relmfu

"Dancing in the Dark" is one of the all-time great Trojan horse songs - a last minute addition at the record label's request about not wanting to write a hit song, fretting about the machinations of pop stardom. Worth recalling that our man' Bruce, like Fogerty, has never had a number one hit. Not "Dancing" (for a good reason), not "Born to Run" (not even close), not "Hungry Heart" (though it was a breakthrough). "Streets of Philadelphia" went to number 9.

love that it's one of his weird minimal synth songs

i am probably the only person who wanted an entire album of "streets of philadelphia" and "secret garden"-esque songs, which i already half-have with tunnel of love, i guess

yeah "Secret Garden" is if i'm being honest probably my favorite song Bruce has written in the last 20 years

I would actually argue that for the most part the reason the new stuff is perceived as more overtly political is because it's fundamentally non-specific. That is, it's on a level of generality and abstraction that it can't be taken as the kind storytelling in which he had previously couched his (mostly kind of inchoate) politics. But that doesn't mean that the lyrics are particularly sharp or even coherent. In fact the same generality that causes people to perceive them as "statements" makes them kind of fall down as any kind of real political rhetoric--indeed in the worst cases ("We Take Care of Our Own," which isn't a horrible song overall, just a horribly mixed/mastered one) it's basically just meaningless. The Coldplay syndrome in other words -- not that I really wish to mention them in the same breathe.

I don't think 'we take care of our own' falls flat as political rhetoric anymore than boitusa does. it employs the same trick (car-commercial chorus, bleak verses) and has worse production, but I don't think the politics are that hard to read.

'from the shotgun shack to the superdome, we take care of our own'? that's not a generality or an incoherent statement, that's a pretty sharp jab.

I love "Dancing In The Dark" too, but also reckon a lot of songs on "Born In The USA" were just as strong. "My Hometown", "I'm Going Down", "Downbound Train", "Cover Me". All great. But he had no reason to be ashamed of the rather modern and synth-dominated sound on "Dancing In The Dark".

GREEDY ROBBER BARONS ARE EATING OUR FLESH!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Id9r4cQQU

Tonight we've got some old friends and some new friends with us... but our mission remains the same. We're here to bring the power, hour after hour... we're here to put a whoop-ass session on the recession... we're here to bring a smile to your face, an extra beat to your heart, and to raise your spirits high in these hard times.

c'mon admit it: you love it

my biggest problem with this is that it wasn't made two years ago

I totally love it. I hope to see him in Detroit next month.

http://www.beersteak.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/dancing-leprechaun-animated-01.gif

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/bruce-springsteen-apollo-theater-new-york/?ref=arts

Springsteen at the Apollo

Whatever misgivings I have about his newer recorded material is completely separate to how much I fucking love this guy live. I will never not go see him play (if I have the $$$)

The celebrities in attendance included Harry Belafonte, Elvis Costello, Michael J. Fox, Michael Douglas and John McEnroe.

How fucking weird.

(if I have the $$$)

Bruce is one of the only -- possibly the only -- artist of his stature to be somewhat conscientious about ticket prices (which, granted, are still a not-cheap $50, but that's peanuts compared to his contemporaries).

They go for more than $50. Why not charge just oh $ 30.

Didn't know that. How much more, though? He's not doing the $200-and-up thing that the Who and the Stones do, is he?

€100 for top price tickets in Austria (around $130).

$130 for top price tickets is a bargain in this racket. Bruce keeps a ton at $50, as does U2, but then, U2's top prices are nuts. Looks like top Bruce tix are around $100 in the US (with fees). Madonna is $375 (with fees). Radiohead is about $50-$80 (with fees).

Ugh. It is a bargain, relatively speaking, and it's a mathematical certainty that Bruce isn't gonna phone it in, but jeez.

Well, that "relatively speaking" part is kind of key, isn't it? Because thank god we are not mandated to go, as there is no better price than zero.

I will say, as someone who goes to shows all the time, big and small, and never pays, that I think most folks ie the average concert goer, hit maybe one or two big shows a year. And with that in mind, $130 is pretty cheap. That's dinner and a movie for two, with a glass of wine. A luxury for some, I suppose, but I don't that's considered a conspicuous expenditure.

he isn't playing chicago on this tour? WTF.

also can we maybe talk about the drum fills on "born in the usa" (the song)?

well they ARE the song

reminds me of thunderstorms

thunder only happens when it's raining IIRC

My favorite musical element: Bruce's wordless howling in the last minute.

Stevie Nicks does not understand weather patterns

the line "son, take a good look around" in "my hometown" just sent chills up my spine. :(

Ugh I love that song

Stevie Nicks should have covered "Cover Me."