you probably know this, but for Streets of Philadedia he won an oscar for best song.
Bruce Springsteen
- Thread starter !redruM
- Start date
-
This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.
I love Springsteen. Seen him live twice, and am currently going through yet another rediscovery of his music.
Below is a little thing I wrote about how I discovered The Boss for another place, but it seems to me that it fits here as well:
Below is a little thing I wrote about how I discovered The Boss for another place, but it seems to me that it fits here as well:
My discovery of bruce springsteen happened because of a girl in a hotel room in east Jerusalem. Back home, after our mutual journey through Israel and Palestine had ended, we became involved in a long distance relationship. The relationship with the girl fell apart, but my relationship with Bruce is (albeit one-sided) still thriving.
Back to the girl. I had to go by train to see her, and the ride took around six hours. It wasn’t that big of a hassle. Normally I sat reading a book, and when I grew tired of that, I went to the restaurant wagon and got a slight buzz going on overpriced beer. Aside from a book or two, I usually just packed some clothes. I like traveling light, and maybe that was the reason I never brought any CD’s (this was way before iPods and smartphones), therefore I had to make due with whatever music was available when I finally arrived.
Since i wasn’t there to primarily listen to music, my girlfriend’s limited collection wasn’t much of an issue. Nevertheless, as an old friend of mine used to say: ”music is the food of the soul”. When there is no music for too long, I get nervous. She did have Sandinista by The Clash, I remember listening to that a lot. But even I can grow tired of The Clash at some point. The other stuff was mostly too ”pop” for my liking, and then there was that odd one out: the Nebraska CD.
In my very narrow and prejudiced view, a Springsteen fan was a flag-waving, truck-driving, tobacco-chewing male with hairy knuckles. None of which applied to my girl, I assure you. I guess I must have inquired about that particular CD, and although I can’t remember what she replied, she most likely (because contrary to me, she was mature) would have said:
”Well, have you listened to it?”
Of course I had not. All I had were a set of ideas based on a silly video on MTV and a stupid elitist feeling that anybody selling that many albums must suck (that latter idea does in fact have some bearing in the real world – but it is a major folly to turn it into a rule).
I was cornered. I had to listen to the damn album. If only to be able to tease my girlfriend about her poor taste in music later. That never happened. The only person being ridiculed was I, and mostly by myself. I only needed to hear half of the title (and opening) track to realize I was in for a serious paradigm shift. As a matter of fact, I played that album so much my girlfriend begged me to play something else. To me, it was hard to fathom that the person who wrote and performed Nebraska was that Dancing In The Dark fellow.
Today i know that I am far from the only one who has been so deeply touched by this particular album. Or had it serve as a gateway into the musical treasury of The Boss. I am still amazed at the audacity of Springsteen, to release such a lo-fi collection of songs, lacking all the bombast and production of his previous three, wildly successful, albums. With the gloss of production peeled away, I finally managed to see (and hear) past my preconceptions, and feel the music. And Nebraska is a gut-wrenching feeling, there are no happy endings, it falls somewhere between hopelessness and kitchen sink realism of the working class (and those two sometimes unfortunately share the same bed). Yet, and perhaps contradictory, it is beautiful.
I got my own copy of Nebraska. Whether before or after my girlfriend and I fell apart I cannot recall. Since I was now converted, I also bought Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Born to Run and The River. These days I enjoy most albums, and contrary to what a lot of critics (and fans) feel, I even think Human Touch has its moments.
Of course it’s not mandatory to dig The Boss, but if you are a fan of rock n’ roll (in any genre or subgenre) and haven’t discovered him yet, then read what Joe Strummer had to say in 1997:
”Bruce is great… If you don’t agree with that you’re a pretentious Martian from Venus [. . .] Bruce is not on an ego trip… Bruce is actually into the music… we need people like this”.
Back to the girl. I had to go by train to see her, and the ride took around six hours. It wasn’t that big of a hassle. Normally I sat reading a book, and when I grew tired of that, I went to the restaurant wagon and got a slight buzz going on overpriced beer. Aside from a book or two, I usually just packed some clothes. I like traveling light, and maybe that was the reason I never brought any CD’s (this was way before iPods and smartphones), therefore I had to make due with whatever music was available when I finally arrived.
Since i wasn’t there to primarily listen to music, my girlfriend’s limited collection wasn’t much of an issue. Nevertheless, as an old friend of mine used to say: ”music is the food of the soul”. When there is no music for too long, I get nervous. She did have Sandinista by The Clash, I remember listening to that a lot. But even I can grow tired of The Clash at some point. The other stuff was mostly too ”pop” for my liking, and then there was that odd one out: the Nebraska CD.
In my very narrow and prejudiced view, a Springsteen fan was a flag-waving, truck-driving, tobacco-chewing male with hairy knuckles. None of which applied to my girl, I assure you. I guess I must have inquired about that particular CD, and although I can’t remember what she replied, she most likely (because contrary to me, she was mature) would have said:
”Well, have you listened to it?”
Of course I had not. All I had were a set of ideas based on a silly video on MTV and a stupid elitist feeling that anybody selling that many albums must suck (that latter idea does in fact have some bearing in the real world – but it is a major folly to turn it into a rule).
I was cornered. I had to listen to the damn album. If only to be able to tease my girlfriend about her poor taste in music later. That never happened. The only person being ridiculed was I, and mostly by myself. I only needed to hear half of the title (and opening) track to realize I was in for a serious paradigm shift. As a matter of fact, I played that album so much my girlfriend begged me to play something else. To me, it was hard to fathom that the person who wrote and performed Nebraska was that Dancing In The Dark fellow.
Today i know that I am far from the only one who has been so deeply touched by this particular album. Or had it serve as a gateway into the musical treasury of The Boss. I am still amazed at the audacity of Springsteen, to release such a lo-fi collection of songs, lacking all the bombast and production of his previous three, wildly successful, albums. With the gloss of production peeled away, I finally managed to see (and hear) past my preconceptions, and feel the music. And Nebraska is a gut-wrenching feeling, there are no happy endings, it falls somewhere between hopelessness and kitchen sink realism of the working class (and those two sometimes unfortunately share the same bed). Yet, and perhaps contradictory, it is beautiful.
I got my own copy of Nebraska. Whether before or after my girlfriend and I fell apart I cannot recall. Since I was now converted, I also bought Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Born to Run and The River. These days I enjoy most albums, and contrary to what a lot of critics (and fans) feel, I even think Human Touch has its moments.
Of course it’s not mandatory to dig The Boss, but if you are a fan of rock n’ roll (in any genre or subgenre) and haven’t discovered him yet, then read what Joe Strummer had to say in 1997:
”Bruce is great… If you don’t agree with that you’re a pretentious Martian from Venus [. . .] Bruce is not on an ego trip… Bruce is actually into the music… we need people like this”.
Last edited by a moderator:
Bruce is just brilliant. Thunder Road is one of the greatest songs I've ever had the privilege to listen to. Bruce Springsteen has not only wrote songs, but poetry. Lyrical genius!
"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 rolling on
But when you get to the porch, they're gone on the wind
So Mary, climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win"
"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 rolling on
But when you get to the porch, they're gone on the wind
So Mary, climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win"
Neesy
#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
For some reason I assume his involvement into folk music wasn't very popular with his fan base. I guess since I never hear about it.
I just got the brand new "Album Collection 1973-1984" yesterday. This is a remaster and reissue of the first 7 Bruce Springsteen albums. The original cd versions of these albums sound like crap so this is a welcome release. All of the albums are in cardboard sleeves and are replicas of the original vinyl packaging (very cool) including the lyric sheet inserts that were in the original albums. Now for the important part - The sound is fantastic. When cds were first coming out, the record companies rushed the back catalogs of the most popular artists, like Bruce and the results were bad. The original cds sound tinny and muddy. These new cds have clarity and depth and are well worth getting to replace those old cds. To my ears, "The Wild , The Innocent & The E-Street Shuffle" sounds better than it did on vinyl. If you have a Bruce fan on your gift list, I'm sure they would like this. I paid $75. on Amazon.
Really? I don't think the original CDs sound that bad...Knowing me, I may wait until I can pick up a cheaper copy, seeing as that I already have pretty much all of his main albums. Only wish he would release individual CD releases, like the Beatles did.
I think these will be released individually in a few months after the sales for the box set are done. The ones I think are the biggest improvements are "The River", "Darkness on The Edge Of Town" and "The Wild, The Innocent..." If you have something decent to listen to them on, you will notice an improvement.
Backstreets.com: Bob Ludwig on 'Bruce Springsteen: The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973-1984'
I like Bruce.
Saw him on The Tunnel of Love tour my freshman year of HS in 1988 when I was a wee SwiftPup. One of the top 3 shows I've seen live.
Darkness on the Edge of Town is one of the best rock albums ever, IMHO.
Some newer bands (Gaslight Anthem, The Hold Steady) are heavily influenced by him. You can hear it in their vocals, lyrics and arrangements.
Saw him on The Tunnel of Love tour my freshman year of HS in 1988 when I was a wee SwiftPup. One of the top 3 shows I've seen live.
Darkness on the Edge of Town is one of the best rock albums ever, IMHO.
Some newer bands (Gaslight Anthem, The Hold Steady) are heavily influenced by him. You can hear it in their vocals, lyrics and arrangements.
There is an interesting new item that is for sale on Bruce's website. It's the 1978 Cleveland show (Darkness on The Edge of Town tour) that was simulcast on the radio in 1978. I recorded this way back then and had cassettes of this show for years. It's a fantastic concert and it is available for download (I bought it and downloaded it today) and it sounds way better than my old cassettes did. 
The show is about 3 hours long. You can get it in mp-3 (I think it was $9.95), cd or HD. Some of you, like me, may have heard this way back in the day. Many radio stations broadcast it for a few years after it originally aired. It's a great live show and a good bargain.
The show is about 3 hours long. You can get it in mp-3 (I think it was $9.95), cd or HD. Some of you, like me, may have heard this way back in the day. Many radio stations broadcast it for a few years after it originally aired. It's a great live show and a good bargain.