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
― Whiney vs. (BradNelson), Friday, 9 March 2012 20:27 (twelve years ago) link
yeah "Secret Garden" is if i'm being honest probably my favorite song Bruce has written in the last 20 years
― Pato The Cape GOAT (some dude), Friday, 9 March 2012 20:30 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― iatee, Friday, 9 March 2012 20:44 (twelve years ago) link
'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.
― iatee, Friday, 9 March 2012 20:45 (twelve years ago) link
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".
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Friday, 9 March 2012 23:29 (twelve years ago) link
GREEDY ROBBER BARONS ARE EATING OUR FLESH!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Id9r4cQQU
― scott seward, Saturday, 10 March 2012 14:29 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 March 2012 14:42 (twelve years ago) link
c'mon admit it: you love it
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 10 March 2012 14:44 (twelve years ago) link
my biggest problem with this is that it wasn't made two years ago
― iatee, Saturday, 10 March 2012 15:15 (twelve years ago) link
I totally love it. I hope to see him in Detroit next month.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 March 2012 15:59 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.beersteak.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/dancing-leprechaun-animated-01.gif
― buzza, Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:23 (twelve years ago) link
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/bruce-springsteen-apollo-theater-new-york/?ref=arts
Springsteen at the Apollo
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:09 (twelve years ago) link
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 $$$)
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:19 (twelve years ago) link
The celebrities in attendance included Harry Belafonte, Elvis Costello, Michael J. Fox, Michael Douglas and John McEnroe.
How fucking weird.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 March 2012 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
(if I have the $$$)
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).
― we can be gyros just for one day (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 10 March 2012 21:38 (twelve years ago) link
They go for more than $50. Why not charge just oh $ 30.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 10 March 2012 21:47 (twelve years ago) link
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?
― we can be gyros just for one day (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 10 March 2012 21:48 (twelve years ago) link
€100 for top price tickets in Austria (around $130).
― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Saturday, 10 March 2012 22:11 (twelve years ago) link
$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).
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 March 2012 22:18 (twelve years ago) link
Ugh. It is a bargain, relatively speaking, and it's a mathematical certainty that Bruce isn't gonna phone it in, but jeez.
― we can be gyros just for one day (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 10 March 2012 22:25 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 11 March 2012 01:21 (twelve years ago) link
he isn't playing chicago on this tour? WTF.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Sunday, 11 March 2012 02:55 (twelve years ago) link
also can we maybe talk about the drum fills on "born in the usa" (the song)?
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:03 (twelve years ago) link
well they ARE the song
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:09 (twelve years ago) link
reminds me of thunderstorms
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:20 (twelve years ago) link
thunder only happens when it's raining IIRC
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:20 (twelve years ago) link
My favorite musical element: Bruce's wordless howling in the last minute.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:22 (twelve years ago) link
Stevie Nicks does not understand weather patterns
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:41 (twelve years ago) link
the line "son, take a good look around" in "my hometown" just sent chills up my spine. :(
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:41 (twelve years ago) link
Ugh I love that song
Stevie Nicks should have covered "Cover Me."
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:42 (twelve years ago) link
this album is good
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Sunday, 11 March 2012 03:46 (twelve years ago) link
well duh :)
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 11 March 2012 04:04 (twelve years ago) link
xpost amateurist, the (very strong) rumor is that he's playing Wrigley Field in September. This is only the first leg of the tour - a bit of the US, then Europe, then most likely back to the US. I'm seeing him in Detroit if I can help it because frankly I'm a little concerned about the band's, er, mortality rate. Seven months is a long time away...
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:53 (twelve years ago) link
can't make it to detroit, but wrigley field sounds fun.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Sunday, 11 March 2012 17:41 (twelve years ago) link
I saw him at Pacbell Park in Sf in 2002 or 03. One of the best concerts I've ever been to. something about the vibe in a baseball stadium, it just feels so Bruce
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 11 March 2012 17:48 (twelve years ago) link
Great Springsteen keynote speech streaming on NPR from SXSW:
http://www.npr.org/event/music/147357853/sxsw-2012?ps=cprs
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 15 March 2012 17:49 (twelve years ago) link
Last night in Austin:
1. I Ain't Got No Home (Woody Guthrie)2. We Take Care of Our Own3. Wrecking Ball4. Badlands5. Death to my Hometown (with Tom Morello)6. My City of Ruins7. Seeds8. E Street Shuffle9. Jack of All Trades (with Morello)10. Shackled and Drawn11. Waiting on a Sunny Day12. Promised Land13. The Ghost of Tom Joad (with Morello)14. The Rising15. We Are Alive16. Thunder Road17. Rocky Ground (with Michelle Moore)18. Land of Hope and Dreams19. The Harder They Come (with Jimmy Cliff)20. Time Will Tell (with Cliff)21. Many Rivers to Cross (with Cliff)22. We Gotta Get Out of This Place (with Eric Burdon)23. 10th Avenue Freeze Out24. This Land is Your Land (with Joe Ely, Arcade Fire, Alejandro Escovedo, etc.)
Tom Morello, eh, but Jimmy Cliff!
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 March 2012 12:09 (twelve years ago) link
and Eric Burdon! and Garland Jeffrys
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 16 March 2012 16:22 (twelve years ago) link
Alejandro Escovedo! underappreciated dude
― caulk the wagon and float it, Friday, 16 March 2012 16:29 (twelve years ago) link
why doesn't he sing love songs anymore?
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 17 March 2012 05:32 (twelve years ago) link
because now he is a serious man of politics
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 17 March 2012 06:57 (twelve years ago) link
politics and rock and roll
He sang that long creepy song about getting a blowjob. Does that count as a love song?
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 17 March 2012 07:00 (twelve years ago) link
if that's a representative setlist from this tour i might just skip it.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 17 March 2012 07:23 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, it seems like he's going heavy on the new album, but with bits and pieces of the past, a la the Rising tour. But inevitably as he goes forward, he mixes it up a bit. I mean, note the conspicuous absence of much from Born to Run, Darkness and BitUSA, let alone "Born to Run" the song. Obviously the set is heavy on stuff that favors guests (Jimmy Cliff, Animals) or the SXSW fest (Woody Guthrie birthday stuff). The show at the Apollo was heavy on soul covers, albeit soul covers that Springsteen has done before. I'd be curious what a proper set from this tour looks like, but I bet it's not too different.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 17 March 2012 14:16 (twelve years ago) link
jesus, the boss isn't suicidal is he? that setlist looks like a cry for help.
― scott seward, Saturday, 17 March 2012 14:32 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtTE8aWCe9g
― scott seward, Saturday, 17 March 2012 14:34 (twelve years ago) link
at least the set doesn't end with wreck on the highway, then i'd probably want to stage an intervention
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 17 March 2012 15:21 (twelve years ago) link
also scott seward/sullivan's travels OTM
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 17 March 2012 15:23 (twelve years ago) link