THE CULT OF BRUCE (fawning over Springsteen)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Friday, August 23, 2002 | Mark Gauvreau Judge

[Marianne]

He's back.

Bruce Springsteen, the man who almost got me assaulted in 1984, is once again topping the pop music charts with a new album, "The Rising," written as a response to Sept. 11. He's the subject of hagiographies in Time and Rolling Stone and was interviewed by Ted Koppel and entertained by Katie Couric, who genuflected (rhetorically) before his greatness on "Today."

[Marianne]

FYI

[Revolting cat!]

Bruce is a manufactured Bob Dylan. His Svengali was rock critic par excellence, former editor of the great Fusion Magazine, and most recently film producer (Titanic, if I'm not mistaken,) Jon Landau. Keith Richards captured the essence of Bruce when he said many years ago that his music sounds "contrived".

[Chi-townChief]

Pretty good article - I admit that I was a Springsteen fan back in the 70s but we're all entitled to a mistake or two.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

Replace 'Springsteen' with 'President Clinton' and the article still largely holds true.

[Aggie Mama]

BTTT

[Minn]

Bruce is a manufactured Bob Dylan. His Svengali was rock critic par excellence, former editor of the great Fusion Magazine, and most recently film producer (Titanic, if I'm not mistaken,) Jon Landau. Keith Richards captured the essence of Bruce when he said many years ago that his music sounds "contrived".

The difference being, of course, that Bruce can carry a tune. What exactly does "uncontrived" music sound like?

[bankwalker]

Who is Bruce Springstene?

[Arkinsaw]

At the risk of being called a Bruceophile I'll make my comment anyway. I'm not sure the author of this piece has actually listened to the album. Most of the album, it seems to me, is aimed at those who lost family members on 9/11 and deals primarily with personal loss and redemption.

The songs deal with a variety of feelings that came out of 9/11 including loss, revenge, peace, war, resurrection, duty, faith, etc. These things are dealt with as they come and as they are and Springsteen doesn't seem to inject to much beyond the personal. He really makes no grand political statement and he articulates the desire for revenge several times throughout the album. His only qualification seems to be a desire that the revenge be focused (think before you shoot - tree of evil,tree of good). His statements in interviews that he was pleased with the Afghanistan operation because it was well thought out seems to echo the sentiment on the album.

To me this not a political album and is instead a very personal album. I find absolutely nothing on it with which I can find a political complaint. Even his song about the suicide bomber strikes me as pointing out the deadness of the bomber and the finality of it and puts that in opposition to another path that leads to life.

Springsteen seems to have taken on the idea that he is the heir to Woody Guthrie. We can perhaps find some complaints with that and have some valid criticism of both the concept and the results. But this album, in my opinion, was a labor of love outside that concept. Done for the city of New York and the families of those who died. If I were a family member I think several of these songs would provide great comfort to me.

The song "Empty Sky" is to me, the one song of any that I have heard that captures the morning of Sept. 11. For me, I know that 25 years from now I will be able to listen to that song and capture that morning. To me, that is art. So whatever his politics, or whatever criticisms I may have for "41 Shots", etc., I am always going to be grateful to him for that song.

[Mr. Mojo]

Pretty good article - I admit that I was a Springsteen fan back in the 70s but we're all entitled to a mistake or two.

I don't think it was a mistake. Greetings from Asbury Park, Born to Run, and Darkness on the Edge of Town were all tremendous albums. However, his subsequent material has ranged between below average and horrible.

[Delbert]

He wrote 2 really nifteee songs, Born in the USA and Born to Run and he's got a new song called Born to Suck and he's like really good at writing lame songs.

[Revolting cat!]

The difference being, of course, that Bruce can carry a tune. What exactly does "uncontrived" music sound like?

The difference being, of course, that Dylan, or Neil Young for that matter, doesn't march lockstep with the infantile neo-marxist ideology. Oops, I meant theology!

Semantics games? Cool! What does "uncontrived" mean? Not in my dictionaries!

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

What exactly does "uncontrived" music sound like?

That is a very good question. My answer would be the CD "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

Uncontrived music might be best described as music created by an individual who has lived what he/she sings.

The "Blues" is best performed by those who have lived a tough life. The best "Country" is performed by those who have actually grown up in the country.

This is one reason I don't think we'll again see original artists of times past. The coal miner's daughters growing up today are shopping at Wal-Mart and eating at McDonalds.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Fusion Magazine bump! I loved that rag...almost as much as Creem, which is saying a lot!

[perez24]

I would agree with you on "Born to Run." The only other Springsteen's songs I like are the ones Manfred Mann re-did. But the lyrics are still incomprehensible.

[WhiteGuy]

I still love The Boss & The E Street Band.

Their first 4 albums were still their best work.

THE CULT OF BRUCE (fawning over Springsteen)

The author thinks this is bad?

He should surf over to "A day in the life of president bush"

[Delbert]

Is that the Manfred Mann song about being revved up like a douche? just kidding....

[Mr. Mojo]

Dylan, or Neil Young for that matter, doesn't march lockstep with the infantile neo-marxist ideology.

Good choices, amigo. Dylan and Neil are probably my two favorite musicians. ....Although I have to admit that I've been a bit disappointed in Young's work the past 5 years or so.

Dylan, in particular, hated to be placed in an ideological box. Many still think he was some sort of leftist, Vietnam protest folkie in the 60's, but the fact of the matter is that ALL of his antiwar material - and it appeared on only 2 or 3 of his 30+ albums - was both written and recorded before our troops were engaged in Vietnam. But perception is everything, so it seems, and Dylan will forever be placed in the same category as Joan Baez and her ilk by the ignorant.

By 1965, Dylan had exorcised almost every ounce of political ideology from his music.

[Egregious Philbin]

I don't think it was a mistake. Greetings from Asbury Park, Born to Run, and Darkness on the Edge of Town were all tremendous albums. However, his subsequent material has ranged between below average and horrible.

I agree. I'd add "The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle," if only for the "title" tune, one of my favorites. The author accurately describes the new Springsteen album as "ham-fisted." It's total crud, and self-righteous crud at that. Yuck. I love old Springsteen records, but I also love Keith Richards, and I think he is right to call much of it "contrived" (Keith's always been an honest man).

The author loses me several times though. If he writes music journalism, he should know that Rolling Stone always gives 4 or 5 stars to the latest albums by aging rock stars (they gave Mick Jagger's absolutely terrible recent solo album 4 stars, I believe; ditto anything by Young or Dylan).

And also his comment that suggests that only jazz and classical are worthy of our praise. And he thinks that the brief swing revival was meaningful!? (He wrote a book on it.)

[Minn]

Byb Dylan and Neil Young? Who's next on your list of great talents? Cheryl Crow? Dream Street? Oh I forgot, It's a musician's politics that determine there worth as an artist. Let's put in some Pat Boone and boogie down. Maybe throw in a little Stryper. Isn't John Tesh a bit of a conservative? Crank It!

I guess in your book Cher, Jackson Browne and the dozens of other musicians with obnoxous politics are not to be listened to or enjoyed in any manner, regardless of talent or contribution to music.

I have absolutely no ability to sing whatsoever, I'm also not a marxist. This gives me two things in common with Dylan and Young.

[WhiteGuy]

I think the author had a deadline and didn't have much to write about.

As for political ideology, I couldn't care less.....

If the music is good, why should I be bothered with what the artist believes?

"Kitty's back" is one of my favorites, dynamite arrangement.