Why is Bruce Springsteen so important? Don’t get me wrong, I really like him as a musician, but why is he seen as being so important? Like how Rolling Stone magazine called him “the voice of the '80s.” Of course, my only memories of the '80s consist of The Gogos and the B-52s, so maybe someone else can tell me why Springsteen means to much to people?
Maybe because most of his songs were about unemployment, economic depression, corruption, domestic strife, crime, and good ol’ boys messing around. Protest music you could rock out to. I’m not a particular fan; that’s just how I perceive his music.
Well, this won’t answer your question, but I’ll say it anyway:
There is no feeling like heading down the shore on a hot summer day with the sunroof open and the radio blaring and having Born to Run come on the radio.
It is pure, unadulterated, New Jersey-ness.
Goddamit I love this state!
I certainly wouldn’t call him the voice of the 80’s. My favorite of his albums is Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ–circa 1973, if I’m not mistaken.
The reason I like him is that his lyrics have incredible depth and sincerity, and he puts so much energy into his performance. (If only I’d had the $75 to plunk down for a ticket on this tour!) As to why he’s so important, I think he was a working-class hero at a time when we needed a working-class hero.
Of course, “Born in the USA” is a very misunderstood song–was it Bob Dole that wanted to use it in his campaign? Uh, he’s not saying good things about the USA, Bob.
Dr. J
I’m not a huge Springsteen fan, but anyone who writes gems like The River and Brilliant Disguise is simply a great musician.
You remember folks in the 70s and early 80s who said they would like him but they couldn’t stand his voice? My recollection is that, despite the Time/Newsweek covers, he was not hugely popular until at least “Darkness”, and more probably “The River”, (which at the time I considered a pretty big disappointment. Now I feel it would have made a pretty kick ass single album). Of course he went off the scale with “Born in the U.S.A.”
Who else owned and loved early bootlegs, but was astounded by the crappy live album? Owned it briefly, taped it, sold the album, recorded over the tapes.
And how many folks sing his praises nowadays, but never heard his quirky, hysterical monologues. My favorite was when his dad thought everything he owned was made by the same company. “Turn that goddamn radio down.” “You playing that goddamn guitar?”
Or, “Wanna buy a duck?”
Man, I gotta dig out some vinyl and put a new belt and cartridge on the old turntable. I wonder when I last saw him live? Maybe 84. I remember being in the 20th row on my 20th birthday on November 20 a few years earlier than that, and thinking that was pretty cool. Now doesn’t that makes me feel old on this grey rainy Friday!
This is one of my all time favorite pieces. Done to “Growing Up” with the piano playing lightly in the background during his monologue. I love how the piano rises as he nears the end and crashes back into the song with “What they didn’t know was…I wanted it all.”
(or something like that…been a while.)
I love Bruce. In my opinion there are few performers who can entertain like he does. I think one of the reasons he is considered one of rock’s greatest is not his music (which I think is great), but his showmanship. I saw him in 1985 on his Born in the USA tour. He came on stage and gave the impression that he was just like anybody in the audience, except he had a guitar. He then gave everything he had to please the crowd. He told stories and joked around with the band. He seemed to get personal with the audience. It was a great show. This is one of the reasons I like his bootleg albums so much as they capture some of this energy whereas the studio cuts don’t.
John