Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

La Bruce just collectively calls to my mind a stunted bastard vision of music that presumes he was the sole carrier of the 'spirit of rock and roll truth' that the Beatles and Stones 'started' in the sixties. A CLAIM I HAVE ENCOUNTERED MORE THAN ONCE, though thankfully not here, and happily never from the man's own lips either, at least to my knowledge. Without that rhetoric I would just shrug and ignore him for somebody more interesting, but with it, frankly, he becomes a very very useful target to kick against. Perhaps only a straw man, but one I wouldn't mind seeing go up in flames.

The boy has fallen off of late, but... I'm reminded of the Bangs article where he describes how he dismissed this Maoist band as sounding like Bruce, and the band replied "oh, good, the working class like that stuff" or something of the sort, and I'm reading this thinking -- no. no. no. The correct answer is "oh, good. Bruce fucking rocks!"

What I appreciate about Bruce is how he can capture the majesty of a major chord. How so many of his songs have the same progression, but you don't realize it 'till you try to play 'em yourself. How he can take gospel music and write it to a girl instead. And yes, more of them damn anthems.

I mean.. I know that anthems aren't an alien concept to the UK -- after all, The Who were full of them. But maybe British anthems are a different type a "get off of my cloud" or "sod off" type, more cynical and pissy than dreamy and wide-eyed. Maybe this is, after all, because America is The Big Country, The Great Bitch, et cet. Maybe to get America you have to get just how there's always somewhere you might go, maybe.

Along these lines, "Not Fade Away" which is a novel by Jim Dodge is a great rock road story, sort of like the lighter side of Richard Hell's "Go Now" or the more earnest(?) side of Bruce McCullough's "Doors Fan" sketch (on his album, Shame-Based Man). Yes. Get that spirit of the open highway.

I will say, though, that I do lack a car and have never had one. That might serve as a better explanation. ;-)

I wish I wasn't misinterpreting.

Inspirational in some ways. I have often felt that England needed a Springsteen, albeit not just a a copycat 'rocker'; I mean, someone who would write about all the lost and found small-town lives. But to be fair, I suppose there is already a UK tradition here: the probably Jarvis Cocker is a case in point.

1. they don't understand that he's actually not as "pro-america" as they might think he is

2. they don't have as close a connection to "old school" code (which includes "old school" rock)

3. they are mostly college kids on their way up to some office job or whatever that is removed (if not far removed) from the "underworld" (the "blue collar" or "real" world) to get the lyrical sentiments

4. well, and...sometimes people just don't like something 'cause they just don't like it

I, however, do not apply to any of those 4. For I actually do "get" some of the appeal of Bruce (albeit, it took my until my mid or late twenties to get there). Sure, his overly sentimental (downright broadway or maudlin) look at the working class can be a bit (or a bunch) too much. And sure, his music can be too simple and/or too derivitive. But, that's a part of the whole. Familiarity in both music and lyrics, is a large part of the appeal of his stuff (and those like him, ala Mellencamp, etc). He just had the concept to put nearly a whole career on the working class/blue collar life like no other has (not in such a wide reaching broad sense, at least - other than Mellencamp, but Bruce did it a bit better and first).

Classics:

Having said all that, 'Nebraska' and 'Ghost of Tom Joad' are the only two full albums that I would declare anywhere near a "classic" state of existence (with 'Nebraska' being the one clear-cut vote). Many of the rest of his 70's and 80's albums have some good solid worthy singles on them, but. I can't go so far as to get 'The River' (for example) anywhere near a "classic" nod. That one, in particular, I find to be overrated (though still having the wonderful track "Stolen Car" and the title track deserving of 'Nebraska'-like attention).

Anyways, I forgot to mention to huge (to the point of shadowing) element as to one of the why's (or why not's) of enjoy/appreciating Bruce. Which is: DRIVING. Cars and driving is such a central and/or reoccuring figure/subject in his work that...I can't believe I forgot to touch upon that (only after reading some of the others posts, darn it). But yea, I do LOVE to drive. Which also helps to explain the appeal of Springsteen (to me, at least).

*By the way, I do own that McCulloch album 'Shame Based Man' and...love it (some really funny stuff and one of the very rare comedy albums worthy of many plays - if not it's own discussion here on "I Love Music"...anyone?). Every single one of my girlfriends (one present, others past) hated it. "And if (after torching the stolen car) you can still hear the Doors playing...then you have become...a DOORS...FAN!" I'm not a Doors fan, however.

I hadn't listened to this record in a couple of years, but god, it still sounded great. Actually, I kept getting shivers down my spine when it was playing and it had me close to tears a few times (mostly on "Thunder Road" and "Backstreets.") Listening to this today finally settled an ILM debate for me: Music can never affect me quite as much now as it did when I was a teenager. No record I've heard in the last few years, including Loveless, has had as much affect on me as Born to Run did this morning, and I know it's not just because Born to Run is such a great album. This is a record that got to me when I was young and emotionally vulnerable in a way that I'm not anymore, at the age of 32. I still feel music very deeply and appreciate and enjoy a wider range of music than ever, but music doesn’t completely overpower me the way it did when I was 15. Oh well.

Springsteen is still a big classic, by the way, despite all the incredibly corny lines on Born to Run.

"candy's room" is the grebtest song ever written about being in love w. a prostitute when you sound a bit like david bowie

Is this a new genre? Cos that'd be fucking incredible.

I still love Bruce Springsteen. Put on Rosalita and you will see me go insane.

Yeah, new album is weak. Basically just an excuse for the live shows, though, which according to what I've heard remain wonderful.

Found this at the near start of the thread, dunno if Ned can be bothered to talk about it now:

La Bruce just collectively calls to my mind a stunted bastard vision of music that presumes he was the sole carrier of the 'spirit of rock and roll truth' that the Beatles and Stones 'started' in the sixties.

Odd, because Springsteen's own views are the exact opposite- he was always far less interested in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones than he was in Phil Spector and James Brown.

Though he always does look really tense and "real rock" when he performs.

It used to be such that every time I got drunk, the evening would end with me and a gentleman companion in the group deciding to put on Dancing in the Dark and imitating the Boss & Courteney Cox dance. This has thankfully not occured in a long time now.

Ah, to explain my sense further -- there I wasn't referring to exact sound (I hope) so much as the role he seems to be in. I don't like universal idolatry, but personal, and so much around Bruce is "my god, the genius is among us all again! DO YOU SEE!" insistence that just makes me hate him even more. Like I said above in that quote, I don't get the sense that he believes that garbage (if he takes Dave Marsh at all seriously, though, that's a pisser).

And as for the music itself, a lot of people love Phil Spector and James Brown. In my mind, that doesn't give them a free pass for their own efforts. ;-)

My only realization about Bruce recently has been when I finally heard Bat Out of Hell and realized I loved that a hell of a lot more than any Springsteen I've heard.

Yeah, Nebraska is a pretty OK album, but I recall at the time that it was more noteworthy as an advertisement for Tascam's portastudio than as any kind of artistic breakthrough.

Even so, I'll give him a "Get Out Of Dud Free" card for this, which I think is pretty goddamn cool.

swinging with an Andrews Sisters USO vibe. Looking back on Dublin, it's the last release of his that I really liked a lot.

I wish he had experimented more after this but instead he doubled down on what his perception of what Bruce Springsteen is supposed to do, sticking with the myth and staying firmly MOR.

x-post to Cow Art's music on shuffle

I feel like it's one thing to like that expanded sessions band in Dublin take w/ the Andrew Sisters like vocals on that track and another to claim that was his last time being fresh and experimental. The Sessions band thing you like was a Springsteen retro Americana and folk genre exercise I think to him just like his later albums "Western Stars" and "Letter to You" with the Jimmy Webb influences. In some ways that Dublin live sessions band one you like seems more MOR to me than Springsteen sticking to his rock canon. And as Josh and Tipsy note, Springsteen now in his live takes with his 23 piece band plays around with and alters his rock canon just enough to keep it interesting and powerful.

five things about last night at madison square garden:

his voice is surprisingly strong

his message and his band remain on point and inspirational

i melted when he launched into "two hearts" (i had very carefully avoided seeing any previous setlists)

i didn't recognize the song "american land," it is great!

i don't think i've ever seen so many non-bruce guitar solos at a single bruce show, and all three non-bruce soloists were on fire

\m/

I really liked the biopic film and, turns out after being pretty much agnostic towards him that Atlantic City is an absolute banger. I wonder what else I’ll like.

"Atlantic City" is amazing yeah. I was 12 or 13 when that album came out and my dad played it a lot, and I got pretty obsessed with it. "Atlantic City" had the effect on me of great literature, it illuminated sort of a whole way of seeing and experiencing the world.

try “The River” next (the song)

His story songs are so good

There's a lot to like but Atlantic City is as good as it gets.

You'll probably like Brilliant Disguise. If you don't, there's something wrong with you.

Co-sign The River and Brilliant Disguise, two very different takes on doomed relationships.

I’m assuming you’re giving all of Nebraska a go? It’s as great as they say.

"Atlantic City" feels like the ur-text for a lot of Craig Finn's solo songs, so it may be worth it to check those out.

Also hard rep for “Racing In Street” for Bruce songs that seem like they’re about a boring thing but are actually about a beautifully sad thing

in the context of BitU, utter miracle "downbound train" made the cut.

Also "Meeting Across the River" is a predecessor of "Atlantic City" - desperate guy gets involved in probably criminal and likely disastrous activity.

If you don't, there's something wrong with you.

I don't dislike it, but I know I'm not feeling what he is, singing it.

A"Meeting Across the River"...likely disastrous activity

ah, man, you don't understand that two grand's practically sitting here in bruce's pocket. and tonight's gonna be everything that he said!

"Highway 29" off Tom Joad is such a beautiful song, a haunting little crime spree tale that goes surreal at the end in a very powerful way

"Meeting" is sort of his mini Scorsese, you can really tell he'd been watching a lot of movies.

"Brilliant Disguise," even setting aside the (in retrospect) semi-autobiographical nature of it, it's just such a simple but heartbreaking conceit, a person in a purportedly loving relationship who suspects deep down that neither he nor his partner ultimately has their heart in it. The narrator is wracked with a paranoia and a self-destructive insecurity ultimately stronger than love. It's the same sort of self-destructive tendency that drives (no pun intended) "Hungry Heart," "Stolen Car," "Racing in the Streets," and plenty of others in Bruce's big bummer pantheon.

I mean, Bruce knows it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idnJnjV_8rg

my favorite thing about the song is my thinking "the gypsy lied" is a Lou Christie nod.

My least favorite thing is getting stuck on the idea that he's singing "brick in da skies"

I think "Two Faces" on the album is a nod to Lou Christie, so he had Christie on the mind!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pdp76Q98xk

Also hard rep for “Racing In Street”

Had this on in the car not long ago, and my wife — who you could at best call a casual fan, she doesn’t dislike him but she wouldn’t put him on on purpose — said when it was over, “He sure can write, can’t he?”

My social media feed spit me one of those Fantano videos. I never watch him, but I clicked on this one to get his "hot take" on the Times songwriter list. It was funny which ones he pondered, and which ones he just sped by with a basic "well, yeah, they're one of the greatest songwriters of all time." I think Bruce got a perfunctory "sure, he's in the top 15" nod before the dude moved on.

“Racing In The Street” was the one that made me take him seriously

I think the lyrics to "Tunnel of Love" are possibly his best.

Darkness is my favorite Bruce album. I still have this terrible idea that Nick Cave should cover the entire thing.

I think hearing the title song in the movie copland triggered something. Like before that I was a casual fan, hip enough to know Nebraska was the cool one or whatever, but Darkness did it for me.

Lou Christie is an interesting bit of Bruce DNA. I don't know how big he was worldwide, but from New York to Cleveland and especially south jersey and philly to pittsburgh, he was a king.

another place to go after "atlantic city" - "it's hard to be a saint in the city," which could be the same character earlier in life, full of bluster and bravado, aware of the system but not yet beaten by it, cinematic images tumbling out of his head almost faster than he can sing 'em, his small rock and roll combo pushing him forward into those dark, romantic city streets

Also recommend "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "The Promised Land" "Wreck on the Highway," maybe "Independence Day."

Agree with ums about Highway 29, just a perfect chilling little noir novel condensed into a song

I always felt like I’m On Fire & State Trooper were two halves of the same Jim Thompson story, just set to different music

Saw Springsteen, Tom Morello and E street band at Nats Park in DC and enjoyed and was inspired by the show. He does an anti-Trump and worry about our troops opening talk, condemns ICe later as well as shut down of us aid , removal of Black history from parks and museums and more , among other pointed comments. He wishes for a constitution, civility, and support for those in need. War, 41 Shots, Clampdown and many others sounded great with the big band and the skilled backing vocalists and extra musicians . I enjoyed the bit of Motown “It takes 2” at the end of “2 Hearts” and a later inclusion for another song of bits of “People Get Ready “ and “This Train is bound for glory.” While the last tour I saw him do featured a meaningful but sad theme about mortality, this tour like a recent European one , is about what America has become and was and what it can be . Springsteen seemed especially inspired being in DC .

He had ACLU tables in the concourses and gave them a shout out also.

Anybody else see this tour?