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"The "cool kids" and burn outs were a combo of rockers and Dead Heads. The jocks were into whatever groups were common on the radio and they loved Springsteen. And then fags/nerds either didn't care at all or like the jocks listened to whatever was on the radio. Oh yeah there were a few punk types around too but they were cool...

For many of us Springsteen was in the same category as Disco - he was literally and passionately hated. He could honestly be considered torture."

Come on!!

You didn't dance to Springsteen! OR bump and grind (but hey -- power to ya if you could).

NO WAY was Bruce tossed into the same category as Disco. I should know -- I worked on the boardwalk in Seaside Park in those days during the summer -- and even ran an album/tapes booth.

Though his 'Darkness On the Edge of Town' album came out at the height of disco, he was THE man. And that album was one of the most anticipated albums ever -- especially on the heels of the 'Born To Run' album, which brought to attention his great work on the previous album, 'The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle.'

I don't know what the "cool kids" were listening to up in your neck of the North Joisey woods back then (76-80), but down here at the shore Bruce, Foreigner, Boston, and Fleetwood Mac dominated. Of course Zepplin, Pink Floyd, the Cars and Tom Petty always had their place...

But let's be honest -- if you were looking to meet the ladies and didn't mind a 2-1 ratio or better in the house -- a DISCO was THE place.

So what were you listening to back in '76-'80?

I'll go as far as to say that late 70's Springsteen and Petty were responsible for keeping rock and roll breathing after the excesses of bands like Zep (with their live songs sometimes lasting a full hour) and the invasion of disco. Their bands were tight, the lyrics were descriptive with being "ethereal" (unlike Yes, Floyd, Zep, etc), and their sound was uniquely American. From '78 to '80 they were it. But after The River Springsteen lost his edge, and hasn't yet recovered. ....His music became somewhat contrived. But from where I'm sitting, his first five albums are among the best in the genre's history.

Well, having grown up in New Jersey myself in the 1980s (F.L. High school 80 to 84, Rutgers '84 to 88) I can say that Springsteen was the one artist who pretty much crossed ALL cliques and all regions of the state as a source of pride for everyone, especially after Born in the U.S.A. became such a monster hit.

In my high school, Heavy Metal (Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, etc) ruled the roost, and most of us were listening to loud electric guitars. However there was also a big contingent of Springsteen fans, and even more importantly even the non-fans appreciated how he put New Jersey on the map globally.

Ironically enough, for those who are unaware, Born in the USA is NOT a patriotic song but quite the reverse - it is a song about a returning Vietnam Vet who is CRITICAL of his treatment upon his return to the U.S.A. George Will in one of his columns (and then President Reagan) made the facile mistake of confusing the patriotic-sounding refrain of "Born in the U.S.A." for a patriotic, pro-America song. Given Springsteen's politics, it was quite disturbing to him and he still complains about it in interviews.

Ironic that it is what they are playing the evil ones in Guantanamo...

I didn't mean Springsteen sounded like disco. I said he was in the same category i.e. both sucked.

A friend of mine who I met in the late 80s used to own a club in Manhattan back in the 70s - he played disco for the reason you mention - it got the ladies in the joint. Of course the ladies got the men in and with that combo he sold a lot of drinks. But he'll quickly admit he was not a disco fan for musical enjoyment aspects. That being said Disco was an urban thing at first but it eventually changed all the clubs in the suburbs that used to have live rock bands. They all eventually switched to a DJ and dance music. I started going to clubs when I was 16 as I was big and had facial hair plus my friends were older and you only had to be 18 anyway. At least I got to experience the club scene before the switch was wide spread and finalized.

What did I listen to? Typical stuff - Stones, Zeppelin, Doors, Pink Floyd, Allman Brothers, etc. plus two bands that were big that got no radio play at all - Black Sabbath and Hot Tuna. Never got into most of late 70s bands at all - cheap trick, foreigner, van halen, etc. - they were almost as bad as Bruce ;^) Like I said to Mr. Mojo, it got to the point that I had to turn the radio dial every 3 song so I eventual gave up R&R. Hey man, it wasn't a point of trying to be cool, it was a natural reflexive reaction of my ears. Some sounds inspired me and others were like fingernails on a blackboard. Why do some guys like football and others baseball and others like both and some can't stand either? It's how we're hard wired - genetics that is. I react to color the same way I react to music. I'm sensitive to these things. Some aren't and so it goes....

Though his 'Darkness On the Edge of Town' album came out at the height of disco, he was THE man. And that album was one of the most anticipated albums ever -- especially on the heels of the 'Born To Run' album, which brought to attention his great work on the previous album, 'The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle.'

Do you remember when Scott Muni of WNEW got an advance copy of Darkness? The way I heard the story, he supposedly was in a record store when he overheard some Barbra Streisand fan complaining about having a Springsteen album in her BS record sleeve? The record in question turned out to be Darkness. The story goes that Muni took the record off her hands, and was the first to play the album on the radio.