Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

i say this with love

i'm just looking forward to the bootlegs of demos coming out

Yeah, that hasn't happened since "BitUSA," alas. Dude's stuff is on lockdown.

xposting, I think "Lucky Town" is OK, but "Human Touch" is easily his worst record. Even he made fun of it on tour, joking that it was a bestseller in Norway or something.

Anyway, I don't think those two albums have been any more written out of the canon than "Ghost of Tom Joad," "Devils & Dust," "Working on a Dream." "Magic," it's hard to say. "The Rising" has stuck around, though. "Seeger Sessions," the best thing he's done in 25 years, exists in a weird parallel universe.

I mean, "Lucky Town" has "If I Should Fall Behind," which is great.

yeah, i just meant on the offchance that the song does happen happen to cross a few more conservatively-inclined ears. trojan-horsey in the same sense that "born in the USA" was, though less likely to succeed on pop radio/playlists.

― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Wednesday, February 22, 2012 5:27 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you actually think a springsteen song has the power to changes minds about something important? you are more optimistic than i am.

I'll say this: I still think Springsteen has the potential to do that, yes. As much as any musician of his stature.

When Springsteen was more of a blank slate it was easier for George Will to put on jeans and attend his shows without thinking twice about lyrics. Springsteen, a proud and loud liberal, has no mysteries, aural or otherwise, to offer a conservative.

Also: apart from being presumptuous and awfully condescending to assume "we" have anything to teach or that a conservative would want to listen, the notion that people start to reexamine their lives thanks to songs written by one of the most ubiquitous boomer rockers is...rickety at best.

well after all the handwringing upthread about the possibility a republican candidate appropriating "we take care of our own" and springsteen setting them straight, it's now on the campaign playlist for...the obama administration. so yeah, preaching to the choir.

Which is to say: five stars in Rolling Stone!

it comes with a nice Occupy narrative, so i wouldn't rule out six stars

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/djurzi/DMB/articles/092204.jpg

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahabarf

you actually think a springsteen song has the power to changes minds about something important? you are more optimistic than i am.

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, February 22, 2012 6:38 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

no no, trojan horse. i.e., lull into a stupor so that memebots mathematically encoded into the chord changes can sneak out and assassinate the conservative impulse during rem sleep.

Production's been a particular problem of his for twenty years.

Closer to 30. Tunnel of Love has some questionable decisions too.

trying really hard to figure out what year that RS cover is from

The River was his last great full-band production. He has yet to improve upon that drum sound.

is bush's lost year a reference to razorblade suitcase or "w" in '05?

wondered that too! some long fucking years there in bushland.

turns out it's about dubya

is bush's lost year a reference to razorblade suitcase

lool

trying really hard to figure out what year that RS cover is from
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, February 22, 2012 10:43 PM (54 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

1992 2000 2012 1988. yes, 1988.

But Johnny Ramone was still alive then.

I like how MIKE MILLS is their rep for R.E.M..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6a/Johnny_Rebel_Book.jpg/200px-Johnny_Rebel_Book.jpg

fall '04

Closer to 30. Tunnel of Love has some questionable decisions too.

love that production actually

Yeah, it might be '80s cheese, but the arrangements are so spare that it doesn't really smother the record.

Is Springsteen the only major stadium-level act with an explicitly political stance? Anyway, the guy's lefty credentials are being overstated a little, Alfred: Kerry was the first president he'd ever endorsed, which is more than you could say for Neil Young and Prince.

Springsteen's politics were never in doubt. When Reagan won in '80 he said during an Election Day concert, "I don't know about you, but the results frightened me."

Silly argument. They were never in doubt to you, maybe, but they long toed ambiguity. I mean, "Darkness," his "angriest" record, came out in 1978. Was that his response to, what, the Ford administration? It's just a vague expression of frustration. Even the alleged politics of "Nebraska" are sort of nebulous.

Landau did famously politicize him, but even all these years later I wouldn't be surprised if a huge segment of his fanbase either has no idea of his politics or disagrees with him. Which is why I say he still has some potential to influence the debate: his audience isn't exactly homogenous, politically. I mean, Springsteen and Pearl Jam are the only two big acts I've seen booed for something they said from stage. But Springsteen, unlike Pearl Jam, more actively courts mainstream attention, which at least sets the stage for a bit of frisson. Whether a mere boomer act has the power to do that, I'm not so naive as to believe that. But I do believe Springsteen has a greater potential to do that than, say, Dylan, the ur-boomer protest singer.

you know what bruce doesn't get enough credit for? not acting in horrible movies. he has never really diluted the brand. and you gotta figute people have pitched him scripts for decades. and offered him tons of money. "you play a magical drifter from the 1930's..." luckily michael pare was around to take up the slack in the 80's. plus, bruce has the perfect dimensions for the movies. short with a big head. kudos to you, bruce!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZE7OchG3DY

he has made a lot of unfortunate decisions over the years, it's true

yeah but that was just silly in high fidelity. i mean "acting".

lotsa springsteen fans have no prob w/ cognitive dissonance on the politics see: gov christie

I've been long thankful that he has (I think!?) always said no to what I'm sure is a steady stream of people looking to make BitUSA into a cash cow musical.

"Working on the Highway" is just begging for the BIG DANCE NUMBER treatment

see and the funny thing is i think he would be better in movies than 90% of musicians. he's a good actor on stage. totally charismatic, riveting, etc. good speaking voice. strong face and big head. i would watch him in movies. or even if he reprised walker texas ranger. the fact that he hasn't done it, despite the fact that he could probably get a $$$$$$$$ movie made with one phone call says a lot about the dude.

The video for "I'm On Fire" should've been feature length.

xpost yeah Bruce is undeniable on stage, even now. I've seen him twice in the last 10 years, and both times really surprised by the energy level, and how even in a big venue he can make it seem like a tiny club. Dude has charisma for days.

Springsteen and Pearl Jam are the only two big acts I've seen booed for something they said from stage

Crosby Stills Nash and Young did a tour during the height of the Iraq war that was a hell of a lot more overtly political than anything Bruce or PJ has done. There was a pretty cool documentary about it.

CSN hasbeen holdovers from the heyday of protest. Their only claim to relevance - aside from the occasional assist from Young - has been a connection to that bygone era. Springsteen and certainly PJ don't have "the '60s, maaaan" to fall back on, but to say neither of them has done anything political on par with touring during the Iraq war is nonsense.

also C and S (and sometimes Y) are genuine article Insane People

New Boss album features a buncha samples. Lyn Collins, Alabama Sacred Harp Players ...

Some good quotes from a European press conference:

"There is a feeling of patriotism underneath... in my best music, but at the same time, it's a very critical, questioning, often angry sort of patriotism. That's not something that I'm prepared to give up for fear that someone might simplify what I'm saying.... My work has always been about judging the distance between American reality and the American dream. How far is that at any given moment?"

"I never campaigned for politicians previous to John Kerry and at that moment it was such a blatant disaster occurring at the top of government, you felt that if you had any cachet whatsoever, you had to cash it in because you couldn't sit around and watch it.... I'm not a professional campaigner and every four years I don't think that I'm going to go and pick a guy and go after him. I prefer to stay on the sidelines. I genuinely believe an artist (is) supposed to be the canary in the coalmine, and you're better off with a certain distance from the seat of power."

don't really understand how N did it all those years. money is one thing, but, ehhhh....

x-post

For a guy who used to be kind of shy offstage, sort of, he's become a well-spoken, introspective, thoughtful dude.

lyn collins! if bruce goes baltimore club....

i don't know if i'm more excited by mention of lyn collins or sacred harp (and then disappointed bc it's going to blow no matter what)

Oh, yeah, lower expectations.

Actually, in this album's defense, there are few tracks that won't kill live.

how's the studio "land of hope and dreams"?

i mean maybe you don't know, couldn't tell from that post if you had actually heard it or what