Caught Bruce Springsteen as both interviewee and musical guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and thought it was great. Musicians don't always make for the greatest interviews, and sometimes it works that their amount of musical talent is inversely proportional to their comfort level in an interview setting. This would be the exception, with Bruce looking comfortable and happy, and chatting with Jon in a jovial and straightforward manner. It was a reminder of what a bright guy Bruce is. He talked about mixing music with politics in a way that I thought was very interesting. It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure out where Bruce lays in the political spectrum, but he talked about the fact that his fans come from all over the map in regard to upbringing and personal beliefs, and it certainly seemed like he respected the fact that people can have different ideals and still come together to enjoy music.
Here's where I fess up. I have not traditionally been a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen's music, and I blame my rebellious side. When I was in boarding school at The Williston-Northampton School for Ne'er-Do-Well Youth (the actual name is a bit shorter) in Easthampton MA, there was a young-ish teacher named Tom Andrews who was a hard core Bruce fan - always talking about going to see The Boss, and how great he was - and it rubbed me the wrong way and made it so I was not keeping an open mind about Bruce. I have since come to realize why people dig Bruce's music so much, and I certainly respect the hell out of him as a musician. Isn't it dumb to close yourself off to something just because other people are so enamored with it? Yes, but life is filled with dumb things. It's what makes us appreciate the not-dumb things.
Be well.
george
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The Boss rocks. Any skeptics should take a listen to these:
ReplyDelete1. Darkness on The Edge of Town
2. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle
3. Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ.
Cue up those three on Rhapsody and you're good for over two hours.
- Pete B.
I've had the same issues with Bruce, George. In my case, my high school soundtrack was synth pop and Springsteen meant "Born in the USA." And of course, I had as deep an understanding of the lyrics as the Reagan folks who wanted to coopt him at the time.
ReplyDeleteThrough people whose opinion I respect, I've gotten around to the same kind of appreciation that you've expressed. The Seeger Sessions put me over the top, not because the music was exemplary (a bit over-arranged for my taste) but because I'd been hitting a Pete Seeger phase and I felt like I was finally on the same musical wavelength as The Boss.
Thanks for expressing your thoughts in a public forum and I look forward to reading more.
glad to see you are back to blogging.
ReplyDeleteGeorge - Love hearing your fresh perspectives on musical artists - and I couldn't agree more on your views on the Boss.
ReplyDeleteI'll be listening to your show on Sunday for more great snippets! Thanks for resuming your blog - I've missed it!
-A Loyal Listener from Acton