OT: Is Bruce Springsteen a closeted Buckeye fan?
He's lucky he didn't make this mistake in Ann Arbor or it would have been his last concert.*
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091115/ap_en_mu/us_people_springsteen
*Comment is tongue in cheek for those who take everything seriously on here.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:37 PM ^
That is quite the sensationalistic jump in logic - from a mistake - he was probably just in Ohio - to saying he might be a buckeye fan.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:39 PM ^
Springsteen sucks, I hate his music, and I hate his democratic views.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:57 PM ^
See, I'm not the biggest fan of Bruce. I think a lot of what he's put out is fairly mediocre and that, while his best songs are truly fantastic, the rest of his catalog is littered with junk. I hate that people treat him like some rock and roll GOD amongst men, a fact that I attribute to him filling a void as the only goodt American rocker of his era (see also Petty, Tom)
But to bring politics into it? Dude, no.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:33 PM ^
They both wrote some great songs, which the accomplished by writing a larger number of lame songs and then playing the bell-curve game. Many of Bruce's weaker songs are carbon-copy riffs on the same Woodie Guthrie working class shtick.
To Bruce's credit, many of his early good songs were written for other artists. (Ditto Prince, who wrote Manic Monday and a bevy of other people's hits.)
Bruce is also like the Police in that his studio recordings and concert performances are basically two separate careers with wildly different interpretations of ostensibly the same music.
His skill as a recording artist and arranger greatly improved across his first eight records. His Asbury Park version of Blinded By The Light flat-out stunk.
Also to his credit, the _Born in the USA_ album did not contain so many 80's cliches as to become a relic of the era. It is still good music to listen to, unlike say Michael Jackson's Bad which is now a period piece.
I don't care for his involvement in politics, which makes him look more like an urban version of a country singer.
Favorite Bruce songs: I'm On Fire, Tunnel of Love, Hard To Be A Saint in the City, Prove It All Night Live, Spirit in the Night.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:35 PM ^
When I was young, I thought they were the same person. FWIW, I like Dylan more than Springsteen now.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:52 PM ^
I'd agree and disagree. I think Dylan is the greater songwriter and wrote more songs that were truly meaningful than Bruce has... I mean, Nebraska is a great song but it's not actually meaningful in a social context in the way The Times They Are A-Changing is.
November 15th, 2009 at 5:54 PM ^
Maybe this is a matter of personal taste, but my avatar won't let me let this comment go uncontested. I guess all I can say is that you should listen more to his pre-Born to Run albums and Darkness On the Edge of Town more, and Born In the USA less. Also, lyrically, as far as musical complexity, and live Tom Petty cannot hold Bruce's jock.
You just can't deny this.
November 15th, 2009 at 7:03 PM ^
Of course it's personal taste, and I agree Petty is worse than Springsteen. But man, you can't deny that Lucky Town and Human Touch blew.
November 15th, 2009 at 7:47 PM ^
Actually, I don't know why Lucky Town gets such a bad rap. Personally I think it's much better than Magic. I will agree though, that Human Touch blew.
To your larger point, I agree Bruce has had his share of meh, but the sheer quantity of awesome is staggering. With the possible exception of the River, every album up to Born In the USA is classic. That alone is six classic albums. How many artists or bands can measure up to that?
November 15th, 2009 at 11:45 PM ^
from 1972-84, beginning with Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and up to Born in the USA, are as flawless a run of albums as you will find in rock n' roll history. I agree that while Springsteen has been hit or miss since then, I would argue that's more a consequence of leaving the prime years of artistic inspiration behind rather than a reflection of his underlying mediocrity. Still, every once in a while Bruce has managed to put out something worthy of those earlier canonical releases (1995's "Streets of Philadelphia", 2005's Seeger Sessions album, last year's song from "The Wrestler" etc). There's usually been at least a few songs of merit even on weakest albums.
Anyway I can't speak for others but when I am opining on the brilliance of Springsteen, what I'm specifically referring to are those seven albums (Greetings, The Wild, the Innocent..., Born to Run, Darkness, The River, Nebraska, USA). I will fight you to the death if you find fault with any of those works. A decade + of sheer awesomeness, not to mention the legendary live performances.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:04 PM ^
The Boss doesn't much appreciate mouth-breathing abortion survivors. Go away.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:19 PM ^
If you're going to criticize a man's politics, which is probably not the best idea on these walls, it serves you better to articulate them more coherently. Democratic views can apply to both parties, since we, well, live in a democracy (technically a constitutional republic and representative democracy, but I digress).
You should try to use more discreptive terms with which you may be more familiar:
Socialist
Left wing tree hugger
Hippie
Surrender Monkey
I think any of these terms more accurately capture your disdain, however misplaced, for Springsteen.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:41 PM ^
He made up for it by playing impromptu versions of "Ramblin' Gamblin Man" (Seger cover they haven't played since 1992) and "Detroit Medley." He laughed at himself for the mistake. Amazing show, I was in the front row and will never forget it.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^
Reminds me of John Kerry's "I just go for Buckeye football" line when he was in Taylor.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:52 PM ^
...we're not in Jersey anymore
November 15th, 2009 at 2:01 PM ^
...it is hard for one school to court Bruce Springsteen AND sell "Harvard, the Michigan of the East" t-shirts.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:01 PM ^
He showed up to promote Kerry in the south Oval at OSU and he talked about how much he liked the school and blah blah blah so, yeah, I guess I'm surprised it took this long for people to figure out he's a buckeye fan.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:11 PM ^
google "Bruce Springsteen football"
first thing that shows up is "Bruce Springsteen Knows Absolutely Nothing About Football "
and the third is "Bruce Springsteen Doesn't Know Much About Football"
i think its safe to say it was a mistake along the lines of asking a girl if she's pregnant, but she's not. (looks can be deceiving, don't ever ever assume, because this is a potential fatal mistake)
November 15th, 2009 at 2:56 PM ^
Right, look it's a 60 year old guy who spends whole years traveling and trying to keep where he is straight. And the idea that Bruce gives two shits about sports is funnier, most rock stars couldn't care less.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:17 PM ^
you got it all wrong!
Singers wanna be athletes and athletes wanna be singers and rappers.
ESPN has covered this multiple times.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:25 PM ^
There are exceptions, especially in the rap world, but most classic rockers were artsy types.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:12 PM ^
It's "democrat" not "democratic". One's an American political party, the other is a political theory of governance.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:14 PM ^
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democratic
"of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Democratic party."
November 15th, 2009 at 2:44 PM ^
You can write (small-d) "democratic" if you want to refer to the political theory and (capitol - D) "Democratic party" if you want to refer to the party.
--
It's accepted usage to speak of a member of that party as "a Democrat", but "Democrat party" isn't correct. It is a phrase that is insistently used by certain opponents of the Democratic party - I have no idea why - but the usage is basically schoolyard namecalling, on the same juvenile level as those people who call the Republican party "the Repukes" or "the Publicans".
November 15th, 2009 at 3:40 PM ^
And the deliberately incorrect usage "Democrat Party" leaves the listener/reader with the impression that the speaker/author employing it is either uneducated or wishes to be seen to be.
This impression is correct, on one count or the other, and it is sad that the maneuver, no doubt the product of costly polling and consulting firms, is effective enough to have become a standard in this country.
Some people sympathize, consciously or not, with the candidate that best butchers the language. That's just swell.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:31 PM ^
"Some people sympathize, consciously or not, with the candidate that best butchers the language. That's just swell"
ZOMG that's a good one, and so true!
November 15th, 2009 at 2:43 PM ^
I am a huge Bruce fan and was at the show at the Palace Friday night, and yea he fucked up but he apologized and made a good joke out of it.
He said hes had nightmares for 40 years about screwing up what city he was in, and now "the nightmares will finally stop!"
As a Bruce fan and a Michigan sophomore, I was a little pissed, but the show more than made up for it. The dude is 60 and he went out and played for 3 hours.
If its any consolation, the crowd booed loudly.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:51 PM ^
Glad they booed at him and let him know that he effed up. Also a great move on his part to play a few more songs.
Here's a video the MGoBlogger Circle jerkers will enjoy.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:11 PM ^
...but was it worth missing the hockey game??
November 15th, 2009 at 4:03 PM ^
Side note: it's funny that the whole "Hello, (geographical place)" shtick is such a necessary part of performing live. Do fans really take that much pride in hearing this? In all likelihood, the artist can hardly tell one location from another.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:17 PM ^
Reminds me of when Bart went to see Spinal Tap, and they taped "Springfield" behind the guitar to remember where they were.
"Hello, Springfield!" (cheers)
"They told me they knew how to rock in...Shelbyville!" (boos)
November 15th, 2009 at 6:11 PM ^
Springsteen senator and Bruce Springsteen would never be a Buckeye fan."
November 15th, 2009 at 7:07 PM ^
It's already up on dime.
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=276537