# Bowie v. Boss **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724 "2010-07-14T22:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/1 "2010-07-14T22:47:06Z")
David Bowie v. Bruce Springsteen ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/2 "2010-07-14T23:36:33Z")
Springsteen rules! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/3 "2010-07-14T23:41:31Z")
A difficult choice. Bowie has shown the better songwriting chops, while Springsteen is a better lyricist. I went with Bowie because he’s not afraid to keep redefining himself. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/4 "2010-07-14T23:42:31Z")
Bowie flamed hot at his peak, but that peak was frustratingly short and aside from fun appearances in _The Prestige_ or _Extras_, he’s been pretty irrelevant in the pop culture scene for ages. Springsteen is a completely different animal, stylistically and aesthetically, so comparisons are largely apples and oranges. But he’s had more good albums over a much wider span of time, and he’s had a working class spirit that hasn’t really been diluted by fame and fortune, which speaks for a genuine integrity in his artistry. Plus he even has a well-deserved Oscar. Bruce by a couple of lengths. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/5 "2010-07-14T23:43:49Z")
Let Bruce get a kewl knife named after him, then we’ll talk. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/6 "2010-07-14T23:48:04Z")
Ziggy all the way! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/7 "2010-07-14T23:52:16Z")
Difficult choice. I figured Bowie would be the obvious choice, but had to go with Springsteen, since he hits my heart more than Bowie. I think Bowie was the more interesting of the two, but I could just never quite get into his work. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/8 "2010-07-15T01:23:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I went with Bowie because he’s not afraid to keep redefining himself. I don’t know, Springsteen has a large body of work, and most albums are large departures from what came before. He’s in my top list of artists who release drastically different sounds from album to album. These guys are both top notch in my mind, but since Springsteen is my all time #1 favorite, I’ve gotta go with him. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/9 "2010-07-15T01:49:58Z")
They’re roughly equal in my mind but Bowie has more songs I would deem “amazing” thus he wins. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/10 "2010-07-15T01:54:45Z")
“The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” is in my top 10 of albums. Springsteen wouldn’t make it into my top 30. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/11 "2010-07-15T02:04:30Z")
Easy. Mr. Bowie. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/12 "2010-07-15T02:35:50Z")
As a vocalist, Bowie kicks Springsteen’s ass to Mars and back. On other criteria, I’m not fit to judge, since I can’t stand Springsteen’s singing enough to give him a fair listen. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/13 "2010-07-15T02:36:06Z")
If you ever got sick of Bowie’s shtick, he would change his persona at some point. Bruce is always blue-collar guy from New Jersey, who is having trouble getting by. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/14 "2010-07-15T03:52:07Z")
Conjecture: Bowie has greater international appeal. My vote: Bowie. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/15 "2010-07-15T04:11:27Z")
I could never get past Springsteens voice enough to enjoy anything done by him…so I had to vote for Bowie. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/16 "2010-07-15T06:08:38Z")
This was the first one of these that was difficult. Two artists of almost equal stature. I went with Bowie in a photo finish. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/17 "2010-07-15T06:19:43Z")
Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce! I loved him at seventeen and still do at forty-five. That doesn’t happen often. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/18 "2010-07-15T08:45:13Z")
You’ve chosen two artists who epitomize the different lyric styles of their times - Bowie, the enigmatic, deep, lyrics of the '70s, and Springsteen the straight-shooting, “everyman’s” poetry of the later '80s. Both are excellent at what they do. But I’d have to go with Bowie for the aforesaid ability to re-invent himself. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/19 "2010-07-15T09:01:02Z")
Another vote for Bowie. His diversity makes him far more likely to have influenced more people than Springsteen ever could, especially musicians. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724/20 "2010-07-15T10:17:58Z")
I’m not American. I think that might be why I actively dislike Bruce Springsteen’s music. He’s a brooding droning murmurer with a narrow style. Bowie constantly re-creates himself, and sometimes hits it out of the park. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bowie-v-boss/546724.md?page=2)