September 23, 2005
Happy birthday ...
to Bruce Springsteen!
God, that image is so evocative for me of a certain time and place. I remember that album coming out. I was in high school. And - literally - you could not get away from that album. It was everywhere. E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E.
Mitch, one of my best blog-friends out there, is a major Springsteen fan - and I just looked up his archive of writing on the man. It's funny when an artist somehow - explains your own life to you - at different stages of your life ... Like, you grow along with the artist. It's amazing - these people who have had really really long careers ... Sometimes you hear one song, and you can flash back 20 years in time to a specific place, a specific sensation ... You know where you were, but more importantly than that, more evocatively: You know WHO you were. We change, we grow, we evolve. But music, and musicians who call us out, who challenge us, who evoke emotions, who remain honest and true ... can remind us of WHO we were. Here's a post of Mitch's about this very thing - and he says it WAY better than I ever could.
I'll be honest. Mitch's posts about Springsteen bring a lump to my throat.
Listen to Mitch's words:
But Springsteen has (again with the High Infidelity-level specious associations which, as damnable luck would have it, seem just as credible as they are ridiculous) always caught my mood perfectly - the longing for deliverance in Darkness on the Edge of Town, the wary appraisal of The River, the weary acceptance of Tunnel of Love, the disconcertion of real life, and reconciliation with the ghosts of one's earlier life, from Human Touch and Lucky Town.Now, The Rising - on one level, "about" September 11 (sometimes very directly). On another level...
...I almost wrote "It's about all of us", but I haven't heard the album, and that'd be a pretty pretentious thing to say anyway.
But five'll get you ten it's about me. Or that's how it'll feel, as I try to raise a couple of kids in a world that has nothing to do with the world I or my parents grew up in. To paraphrase one of his greatest moments - I'm 39, I've got a boy of my own now. I sat up with him the other night, and said this is your world, now.
I'll be waiting at midnight, tomrorow night, for the album to come out of the shipping box. I'm a fan.
I have my reasons.
Here's Mitch's wonderful post on the 30 year anniversary of Born to Run. Again, let me make an observation: I know Mitch loves Springsteen's music. Actually, "love" seems like a silly tepid word in this case. It doesn't cover it at all. But what I notice in Mitch's Springsteen posts is that while yes, he talks about the music, what he does more, though, is talk about himself. His memories, his past, his assocations ... And, in my opinion, that is the mark of a great artist. His art is somehow greater than himself. I remember coming out of seeing Death of a Salesman on Broadway with Brian Dennehy. My date had never seen the play, although he had read it. And as we walked to the subway after, did we talk about - the production values, the cast, the wonderful lighting, the great acting? No. My date started telling me, randomly, about how he felt like he could never communicate with his dad ... not in any real way. And how he had a lot of guilt about that. It just struck me, that night: wow. That's the power of that play. That's why it's a classic. Why different cultures respond to it. Because when we leave the play - we are thrown back on OURselves, we must reflect upon our own lives, our own connections with others ... We left the play and didn't talk about IT, we talked about US.
Beautiful.
Anyone remember when Springsteen appeared on the last Letterman Show on NBC? For some reason, it is emblazoned in my brain - and recently, I was validated in my opinion about this - when the Springsteen performance on that show (in 1993) was part of Vh1's "Best Music Moments on television" special. It was this really emotional night ... and then out comes Springsteen ... and he performed Glory Days and I am telling you: I still feel the hairs on my arms rise up when I remember it. I have rarely seen anything so ... exciting ... that's really the only word I can think of. Once I saw the Vh1 special, I learned a little bit more about the backstory of that historic appearance. Letterman is a huge Springsteen fan, and had been trying to get Springsteen to come on the show for years. Springsteen doesn't "do" the talk-show rounds. He turned Letterman down repeatedly - for years. Finally, though - since this was Letterman's signing off night ... I have no idea what decision process Springsteen went through to say "yes", but he did say Yes. Not only did he say Yes, but ... the dude is such a showman, and also- I believe he just has an innate sense of "what is needed" (in terms of performance) - he turned that performance into something that people are still talking about. On Vh1, they interviewed all these music people - random people - like Beyonce, and music journalists, and Melissa Etheridge and Russell Simmons, yadda yadda, and each one of them was like: "Do you remember that?? Do you remember when Bruce jumped up on Paul's piano? I'll never forget it." I guess you would have had to have seen it to get why it was one of the most thrilling live things I've ever seen. Bruce did not "clear" his jumping-up-on-piano move with Paul Schaeffer. But Paul, interviewed for the show, said that during the rehearsal, Bruce came over to Paul's keyboard set-up, and took hold of it, and kind of jiggled it. Asked Paul: "This is sturdy, right?" Paul said, "Yeah", and inside he knew: Oh boy, somethin's comin ....
Dudes, I just can't explain the moment when he leapt up there. You know how you see someone performing - and it's good, and it's a song you know and love, and it's awesome, and everyone's rocking - but then sometimes, very rarely, the performer just ... kicks it up a notch ... and it's suddenly like you are in another universe: your heart leaps out of your chest, your breath gets shallow - and you feel like the performance is suddenly inside of you, working through you ... rather than something you are just watching.
That's what happened (to me, and obviously to millions of others) when Springsteen jumped up on top of Paul's piano.
What was so beautiful about it, so unbelievably moving (I have the thing on tape, and I'm deeply moved every time I see it) is that it was all FOR Letterman. Most people go on that show and are pumping up their own careers, they're selling a new album, they're giving themselves publicity - ain't nothing wrong with that. That's one of the purposes of the show. But Springsteen didn't care about any of that. He wasn't there for himself. He was there to celebrate Letterman, and to finally say "YES" to Letterman's long-standing request.
Springsteen was not gonna go on that show and do just a regular set. He took it to another level. Just for Letterman.
I'm all verklempt right now just remembering.
Happy birthday, Bruce.
I have to say that I was probably the only kid growing up in Jersey in the 70s who didn't have a "Boss" sticker in his locker; I really didn't care for his music at the time. It wasn't until "Born In The USA" came out when I was in college that I became a fan (I guess it's beacuse it was then that he finally lowered his 'art' to the craven level of my pop sensibilities). I remember all the girls alternating between swooning for Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" poster (admit it girls, you were) and pure flat-out lusting after Bruce's denim-clad butt on "Born In The USA", and the butt of course winning out.
Oh, the daggers that were cast Courtney Cox's way when she got pulled out to dance with Bruce in the "Dancing In The Dark" video!
Oh the tears that were shed when he married Julianne Phillips! And boy as soon as you heard the lyrics to Brilliant Disguise you just knew that marriage was over. It's fitting, and somehow satisfying and proper that he ended up with a jersey girl named Patty Scialfa. It just seems right.
And I still cry every time I hear "The Rising."
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 23, 2005 8:29 AMhahahaha about Michael Jackson - so true!!!
Posted by: red at September 23, 2005 8:31 AMI think what's so cool about Springsteen - and there are only a few other artists out there who are in this category - he just keeps growing, he keeps evolving, he's not trying to stay "relevant" - he just keeps with the process of making music. Music that matters to him. That's why his career has spanned decades. Not too many people can do that.
Bob Dylan's another one. I would say U2 is another one, too.
Posted by: red at September 23, 2005 8:33 AMWell, and he's also a guy who does care about his local community. He (and Bon Jovi, as well) gives a lot of money and support to various charities in our area and most of it flies below the media radar; they do it because it's the right thing, not for the publicity. I respect them for that.
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 23, 2005 8:41 AMWow - did I write that?
Cool!
Thanks, Sheila!
Posted by: mitch at September 23, 2005 8:43 AMBingley - yeah. I think it's wonderful when local guys who make it big still invest in their homes. Kevin Smith is another one. At least he was last time I checked. He refuses to leave new jersey and move to LA. He just won't do it.
Posted by: red at September 23, 2005 8:46 AMmitch - ha!! Yes indeed you did. I knew you could express what I was trying to say waaaay better.
Posted by: red at September 23, 2005 8:50 AMI guess it's time for my family's Bruce Encounter:
My bride used to teach at the school in the town where he lived. This was, oh, 1998 or so. Early one afternoon after school she picked up our daughter (who was 5 or so at the time) and went to get some ice cream. They were finishing up their cones and they were the only ones in the shop, when in walks Bruce with one of his kids to get a cone. My wife is trying to think of some way, any way, to tactfully ask Bruce to sign anything and generally just basking in his presence, but our daughter couldn't care less who was 2 feet away; she was finished with her cone and WANTED TO GO. "I'm done mommy. Let's go."
So she just grabbed my wife's hand and dragged her out of the store...
Heh. My bride is still bumming.
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 23, 2005 9:13 AMBruce's daughter rides horses down here in FL, so he and Patty are always here watching her compete. They sit on the side of the show ring with everyone else. No one bothers them or anything- I think a lot of people don't recognize him. They're both really nice and laidback and friendly. It is quite strange to see them in that context though, just like all of the other parents who are supporting their kids and hoping they do well, clapping for the other competitors. It's pretty cool...
Posted by: Jen at September 23, 2005 12:17 PMMy Bruce encounter. Ahem.
I don't do autographs. It's a personal thing - and I've only made one exception. When I saw Bruce in '99, the week my ex moved out, I brought the sleeve of my copy of Darkness On The Edge of Town that I'd bought in ninth grade. After the concert, I waited outside the Target Center for about four hours (there was an "end of leg of tour" party backstage, so it took forever). Finally, the E Street Band started filing out in their various cars, headed for the hotel. Bruce, Patty and Chuck Plotkin were the last ones out; they came through the garage door in a minivan. A roadie formed all of us (probably 60 who stuck it out on a very cold night) into a line, and Bruce sat in the side hatch and started signing.
I got to the front. "Bruce, just thought I'd say that...I named all my kids after you!".
He stopped. "You did?" I saw Patty and Chuck's jaws drop.
"Ummm...no. Not really. I'm a fan, not a stalker..."
All three of 'em got a good laugh.
(At the time, I didn't know that his youngest son and my youngest son were about the same age - and both named Sam. I found that out the next day...)
Posted by: Mitch at September 23, 2005 1:52 PMSheila
never been a big Bruce fan, though I do love a couple of songs, I do like Glory Day. Thunder Road is my favorite song, but overall I never felt Bruce was ever really singing about me or my world. I graduated HS in 83 and he seemed to belong to my brothers world really (He's 4 yrs older). I guess I never dug the populism thing he had going on. I was into Elvis Costello and The Clash (of course they were from the same generation as Bruce - but never let little things like facts get in the way of teenage self rightousness - being a middle class disaffected youth an all that - who voted for Reagan - the irony). Anyway, love the writing, its like a window back into the 80's somedays, just what an aging youth needs.
Posted by: kevin at September 23, 2005 2:46 PMSure, I'm going to give up posting and then you tell me it's Bruce's birthday - well then ---
I didn't know about the Letterman appearance, but please allow me to comment. Bruce does make his presence intelligent. I really don't think it is vanity, him having turned down Letterman requests. But I would imagine his thinking, "if I am going to do it - I must make it count - make it worth something."
He is a master of master showmen - and it isn't just hype. He delivers the goods and then a whole lot more. His own description of what he wants his concerts to be is quite accurate - a combination rock'n'roll show, political rally, spiritual revival meeting - and meeting across the river on the over side!
It is a sense of occasion - that you are participating in something unique - something that is only going to happen in your town. If you go to his website you'll see he's performed something like 150 different songs - some stretching back more than 30 years - on his SOLO tour. When he was in Toronto - there was this gal down front just going nuts and 3/4 of the way through he asked her what was going on - she said it was her birthday - so he said "only becuase it's your birthday - what do you want to hear next" -- and she names some album cut from E Street Shuffle - and Bruce kinds of recoils admitting "hmmmm, been a while since I've done that one --- " But he finds his way and does it! Amazing ---
dave - yes! His "sense of occasion" - that was just what I was trying to express. No, I don't think it was vanity ... It was a well-thought-out decision to not do shows like that as a regular thing.
But yes - when he finally said "yes", he made it count.
Do you have Vh1? keep an eye open for the 100 Best Music Moments on Television show - they run it often. You can see a clip of it there. It's exhilarating.
Posted by: red at September 23, 2005 3:41 PMNo Canada doesn't allow VH1 and they sabotage FoxNews! -- oh, wait, this isn't a politcial blog --- never mind.
I'm going to be in California for 10 days -so I'll leave it on in the hotel room.
I'll tell ya, Mitch's words about talking to 'me' - right on. How on one level The Rising - is about 9/11 --- and it is a wonderful capture of so many feelings and points of view --- it came out just before my Dad died (oh! there he goes talking about that again) --- and without question - that album was a touchstone for me that roller coaster of grief - still is --- goes through the anger, the questioning, the self-pity, and the celebration of life when you start to get a handle and perspective on things. True Art.
Posted by: "dave" at September 23, 2005 4:00 PMNo vh1??? Oh man. I love their stupid compilation shows, and have taped many of them.
"500 greatest rock moments"
"25 greatest guitar solos"
"200 greatest concert videos"
"300 greatest tuba riffs ..."
You name it, they have it!!!
And I hear ya, on that whole true art comment. That's really what it's all about.
Posted by: red at September 23, 2005 4:15 PM300 tuba riffs? --- off the top of my head, I can only come up 263. God Bless America!
Posted by: "dave" at September 23, 2005 4:29 PMThe vh1 compilation shows have been the cause of many lost weekend at our house.
that and "I Love The 80s"
Pat benatar and leg warmers. Need I say more?
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 23, 2005 6:37 PMI've been to 2 Bruce concerts. The first time was in the summer of 1985 during the "Born In The USA" tour. We drove up from Charlottesville to Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh to see him.
The second time was sometime in the early 90s. We saw him in the Continental Arena at the Meadowlands. Both times were phenomenal. It's true he loves to perform and give the fans their money's worth, as each were 3 hour shows. Simply amazing, and awesome. I've been to other concerts where ytou were lucky if the main band performed for an hour, but not Bruce.
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 23, 2005 6:43 PMI've been blessed to see him 8 times, the first being 25 years ago, the most recent in my hometown of Sacramento two years ago, and the most memorable being in 2000 on my only trip to New York City, at Madison Square Garden (a 40th birthday present that my longtime best friend and I gave to each other).
Indeed, happy birthday!
I've been blessed to see him 8 times, the first being 25 years ago, the most recent in my hometown of Sacramento two years ago, and the most memorable being in 2000 on my only trip to New York City, at Madison Square Garden (a 40th birthday present that my longtime best friend and I gave to each other).
Indeed, happy birthday!