Posted on 06/23/2008 2:51:15 AM PDT by Apollo 13
I am really curious on this one. I became a fan in 1975, with 'Born To Run', and was dazzled by the force, power, Spector-like grandeur. It was the epitome of 'Americana' for me. I saw him live three times, last in 1987. However, my fandom abated around 1990 or so, but I kept following what he did. Uneven albums, band changes, divorce, a new and happy marriage. Like any other artist, he has his shortcomings, one of these being a tendency towards bombast, pathos, a bit too much of 'grandeur'. But I think he does have his heart in the right place. No drugs, marathon shows around the world at almost 60, and also being the driver of the school bus in his home town. And I do love 'The Rising', great album, top songs. I feel that many of you dissent with him on political grounds (he endorsed Obama). So here is someone who's perceived the world over as a quintessential American artist (energy, drive, zest, but also brooding and dark sometimes). Is politics a reason to dismiss him altogether? For me it doesn't detract from my admiration. What do you think?
I enjoy Springsteen’s music and always have. I do not give a blast for his Politics, and never have.
George Thorogood does the political thing well: he refuses to talk about his, because it is nobody’s business.
That, for me, is how an artist should be. Just because they are entertaining does not make them an authority on Politics.
Cheers for mailing that remark on Thorogood - that’s the way to do it. I lost track with George long ago. Is he still with the Destroyers, and releasing records?
I think you get what you pay for. Keep giving that idiot money and you will get more Obama’s.
With all due respect -
I think he’s the opposite of an idiot. And a great musician. But as the first reply to my post said: it’s better to keep politics out of art altogether.
> I lost track with George long ago. Is he still with the Destroyers, and releasing records?
Excellent questions that I need to defer to someone else: I am a long-time Thorogood fan, too — and his music ain’t too easy to get at here in New Zealand. It gets nearly no airtime.
News of what he’s up to is hard to find here, too.
(but I *am* listenting to one of his CDs now...!)
Know it’s all a matter of taste ...but I’d rather hear somebody scratching their fingernails on a blackboard than listen to Springsteen .
I stopped liking him when he ran around on his wife, knocking up his back up singer and then left his wife for his back up singer.
And he always looks and sounds like he’s constipated when he sings. That always bugged me.
But I like a few of his songs.
His older music is classic rock and roll of the finest quality. Growing up in New Jersey it was something that you could relate to. Some of his newer music leaves a bit to be desired. I really got turned off on him when he started to make himself into a political crusader of the far left bent. It’s a shame really because he is a truly talented musician.
I do draw the line on some celebrities/performers though. The outspoken/radical ones like Barbara Streisand for example. I can't stand to listen to her although I never really did like her. Dittos to Dixie Chicks.
It's tough for me to watch "O brother Where Art Thou?" because of George Clooney.
Maybe I'm a little more tolerant than most because so much of the music I like is tied to folk groups or edgy perfomers like John Prine.
Most of the time it isn't the perfomers but the audience that gets to me.
You like Bruce go ahead and enjoy. Sometimes it's fun to try and turn an obviously left oriented song into somethign the opposite. An admmittedly por example is Stan Roger's "The Idiot." It's actually pretty right oriented but generally the audience doesnt' have a clue so it's fun to watch them get all worked up.
prisoner6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGMPNGCrn5A&feature=related
I’ve seen him nine times.
The absolute best was Hartford, Conn in 79. But I was front row center at the Tacoma dome for the Tunnel of Love tour in 93, also a spectacular show.
I wish folks could get away from the “I don’t agree with somebodies politics so they’re scum” sort of mentality. None of us are so one dimensional that we should be judged by our politics alone.
He puts on a good show, and never disappoints the fans. So I don’t know what else you can expect.
I always thought he was the most overated of rockers. Rolling Stoned basically kept him propped up.
As with most "pop" music, I've always found Springsteen's music repetitious and boring. A "great musician" he ain't. It doesn't help matters when commercial stations play his music into the ground ad nauseum. Long before he started opening his mouth on politics I always wondered if he was a true patriot or if he was just using false patriotism to make money. Given what and who he supports in the political arena, clearly, he isn't a patriot at all, but rather just another Hollyweird Socialist elitist playing to the masses for whatever he can milk out of them. At this point, I pretty much listen to XM when I'm not listening to Rush. Anytime a Springsteen song comes on I change the channel quickly to another genre. I completely agree with you about fingernails on a blackboard being preferable to listening to Springsteen.....
I never liked Bruce. His leftist politics is just another reason to ignore this mediocre performer.
Barbara Streisand wouldn't even do that.
He’s peeing on the flag on that album cover. look closely,the position of his hand and why is he facing the flag and we only get a shot of his crotch area. even the song is anti American.
This is just an average bar band that got lucky. One slight problem. With tons of music out there, of all genres, that can truly be considered great, why waste your time listening to something that is just average?
I am 66, grew up watching Rock invented, watched it mutate and change through the decades-and I’ve NEVER been able to understand how this guy became as huge as he did. Perhaps the most overrated musician/singer/songwriter of all time. I can’t stand Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson as singers, but they do write great songs. Springsteen’s stuff to me was just bland pap.
Allow me to smile here -
there were many stories about the cover of ‘Born In The U.S.A.’, up to the point that is is a purely homosexual reference (the baseball cap).
I’d say that the title song is not anti-American per sé. It is a personal comment on a specific American’s fate in a war that many, many had, and have, great trouble with. And if one of America’s greatest achievements is free speech, and the ability for self-criticism and re-evaluation, then such a song is most welcome. Where would we be if Americans would, out of fear, withhold themselves from creating what they feel needs be said? Precisely: in a totalitarian state.
A lesser known Springsteen song is ‘Shut Out The Light’, describing in fine detail the plight of a war veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder. What Bruce does here is voicing a deep human truth, regardless of what popular opinion would like to hear.
Democratic art is not about pandering to the most desirable sentiments. It is about giving a voice to what one honestly feels and thinks.
Of course, others may not like it. But then, they are not obliged to purchase it, nor listen to it.
It’s the essence of a democracy, IMHO.
One of the shows on XM I really like is Tom Petty's "Buried Treasure" show, which runs on XM channel 2 on Thursdays. Petty really digs deep and comes up with a lot of "B" side music I've never heard. Some of it goes well back into the 50's. He really digs up the "roots" of rock-n-roll! Awesome stuff! Head and shoulders above anything you will hear playing on commercial radio nowadays.....
I’m 56 , so not very far behind you !
I grew up in the 50’s listening to my uncle’s ( 5 years older than I ) Chuck Berry , Little Richard , Fats Domino , Bill Haley , etc 45s and American Bandstand and a little bop jazz here and there . Then came The Beatles and the Brit Invasion whom I idolized . Sometime in the early 70’s I got bored with most rock ( still listened to a lot of British folk-rock , The Kinks , The Who , etc ) ) and drifted into fusion ( though not entirely ) ...Then around 77 punk re-energized my interest in rock , followed by New Wave in the 80’s which I deeply dug ...In the 90’s my taste in music became even more electic when I got into ambient , world and re-discovered EXOTICA a la Martin Denny , Les Baxter , Arthur Lyman , etc..Never got into rap ...
Glad I grew up when I did ...Lived through the birth , and more or less death , of rock and roll .
The screen door slams
Mary' dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside
Darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me
You can hide 'neath your covers
And study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers
Throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a saviour to rise from these streets
Well now I'm no hero
That's understood
All the redemption I can offer girl
Is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now ?
Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow
Back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting on down the tracks
Oh-oh come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh-oh Thunder Road oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road sit tight take hold
Thunder Road
Well I got this guitar
And I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back
If you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride it ain't free
And I know you're lonely
For words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free
All the promises'll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind so Mary climb in
It's town full of losers
And I'm pulling out of here to win
Of course, just about all his songs feature Mary and a car......
He was my favorite music artist,until he had AL Franken
on stage as the” man” who should be the next President.
> As with most “pop” music, I’ve always found Springsteen’s music repetitious and boring. A “great musician” he ain’t.
Some of his music and lyrics is really, really good if not great. I find it hard NOT to listen to “Born to Run”, and “I’m on Fire” is downright spooky and haunting.
And he does put on a really good concert.
It’s a bit unfair to run him down too hard from a musical standpoint. His politics leave me cold, but then so do Bob Geldoff’s — he’s another musician who ought to have stuck to music rather than getting all uppity and political on us.
Bono the same. Sting the same.
I remember the Wide World of Sports was playing ‘born to run’ on their shows and I think that gave him a big boost.
I saw him in 1980 doing songs from his earlier and contemporary albums, his band was incredible back then.
To each his own. I find that I don't even have to think about changing the channel if a Springsteen song comes on. It just happens automatically, unless my wife beats me to it.
I'm curious, do you play any instruments? Most musicians I know absolutely hate Springsteen......
> I’m curious, do you play any instruments? Most musicians I know absolutely hate Springsteen......
(grin!) No — my wife is a classical musician, as are both my kids. I cannot play a note. But I can play the fool really, really good!
I had the same dilemma with Elton John, having been a fan since 1972 when he at least ‘appeared’ to be a fairly normal guy who sang really good songs.
I think it’s fine to enjoy their music, but for me, when they start pushing their political crap out THROUGH their music, that’s when I quit. And in Elton’s case, every time he opens his trap for the press, he’s bashing conservative christian people... He hasn’t gotten a dime from me in years.
I like some Springsteen songs a lot.
Others bore me and leave me cold.
He can’t sing all that well, but then a performer can get pretty far despite that, if they have enough other things going for them.
Politically speaking, of course he has his free speech rights, and you have your rights to like him despite his politics.
The funny thing to me is these Leftys seem to think their utterances and symbolic actions make them appear smart, as opposed to the idiot George W Bush and those who voted for him twice.
They are the idiots.
Laura Ingraham has it correct when she says, “SHUT UP AND SING”.
I recognize those signs!
Bruce Springsteen has never celebrated America. He has nothing good to say about her.
I’ve always liked Springsteen’s early work, but with a few exceptions I think the quality of his music steadily declined after “The River” in 1979-80.
Yeah, it is pretty much dead, except for some alternative stuff. Everclear was about the last band I liked. Les Baxter & his orchestra used to do many many “B”-Movie soundtracks.
| Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce DingSpring Born down in a dead man's town |
Not really. It's a reason to leave a show but I can't just stop liking music that I've liked for so long. As for Springsteen I really like "The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle", "Greetings from Asbury Park" and I love "Born to Run". AFIC nothing since has lived up to his early genius.
I don’t base music, tv, or movies on what an actor does or doesn’t do. If I like the music I will listen if not than I won’t. Springsteen’s politics bore me but they are his own. I really enjoyed listening to him back in the day and if he ever puts out another GREAT CD, I will buy it.
As an artist, Bruce is awesome. But politics is a matter of privacy. Better left offstage when performing.
Trouble is Guthrie never got rich and never had to battle the dichotomy of being rich while singing about the poor.
Springsteen had some really good songs like "Downbound Train" and "Brilliant Disguise". They showed a very emotional side to him.
I haven't listened to any of his new stuff for years. Not because of politics but his message, like that of Mellencamp's, got old.
All that said, I always thought Springsteen was over-rated. When he first appeared on the scene in the 70's, they labeled him the next Presley. I laughed then and I laugh at it now. I never really liked him even before I knew his politics. Maybe it's that Jersey thing - I don't really like most of the Jersey artists. I like Texas rock and the Detroit sound. Springsteen an artist - don't make me laugh. Frank Zappa - that's an artist, continually pushing the boundries of his music. Springsteen is just another who played the game to get to where he is today.
Luckily for me, I don’t care what Bruce’s politics are because I think he is a talentless assclown. It’s not like I would ever have to decide between his music and his political philosophy. Both suck. (Just my opinion)
Brilliant summary of a good argument. Cheers.
> In fact, if Ted is on the ticket, I’ll have a reason to vote for McCain.
The Nuge is always a pleasure to listen to, and he has certainly driven your Second Amendment rights well.
When I want to hear a guy who sounds like he is singing while he is pinching a loaf on the toilet I turn on Springsteen. Which is never.
I love all kinds of music with alternative rock being my favorite.
I like Three Days Grace. I like Led Zeppelin.
I like Steve Vai. I love Frank Marino.
I like Christian hymns. I like the masters like Mozart and Chopin and Vivaldi.
I like chamber music. I love violin solos.
I can't stand Bruce Springstine.
His voice is horrible. His guitar playing mediocre.
His immoral politics and lifestyle just cap it off.
I don’t like filthy rich celebrities who whine and complain about how bad it is here in America and how tough it is to make a living. I see them as hypocrites.
Download his music thru LimeWire, BearShare, etc.
That way you can enjoy his music w/o making him any richer.
BTW, he DID lose it. Born to Run, Jugleland, etc is real music.
Born in the USA is not.
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