Darkness At 30

Darkness At 30

Originally uploaded by Phil At Sun

On June 2, 1978 Bruce released Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Radically different from the romantic, word-drunk mini-operas of his first 3 albums, this album was lean and mean. The bittersweet nature of life was openly admitted and the music became more focused–no
jazzy experiments, no bar band by the sea funkiness. The music hinted at folk and country, while packing a sonic boom of rock guitar.

This anniversary also marks my conversion to the Church of Bruce. Thirty years ago I sliced off the cellophane wrap on my vinyl copy of Darkness and all truth was revealed. I joke, but the album did make me a diehard fan–a Tramp. (you know–Tramps like us . . .). I hadn’t bought any of the early albums, my teen ears were more attuned to Skynyrd, Aerosmith and ZZ Top. I thought Bruce was too soft. Boy, Darkness certainly buried that notion.

I may have been impressed as a youth by Darkness and its musical power, but as a Boomer rapidly approaching middle age, the power in Darkness is even more in the lyrics. My favorite Springsteen lyric still rings true:

some guys just give up living
and start dying, little by little, piece by piece
some guys get home from work and wash up
and go racing in the streets.

The power of Darkness is not the belief that everything will work out fine. Its power is in acknowledging that we may be screwed, but persevering anyway.

Before going off to play the album, check out this essay by the critic Joyce Millman, who maintains that Bruce found his adult political voice on Darkness. Also, dream about being at this recent show: the entire E Street Band, in a theatre show, playing all of Darkness (and all of Born To Run) in album order.

R.E.M. Cool, Again?

Andrew Leonard writes the “How The World Works” blog for Salon.com. His writings are generally about economics and globalization. His most recent post is a meditation on the evanescence of hipster street cred, as demonstrated by the career of R.E.M.

Andrew Leonard is obviously around my age, able to remember the amazing impact that the albums Murmur and Reckoning had on fans (and the Chronic Town EP for the really plugged in.) The band became a huge international success, selling boatloads of albums and playing concerts at the Enormo-domes. But their hipster street cred was lost relatively quickly. Mr. Andrews points to the ubiquity of the “Losing My Religion” single. I think the Top 40 breakthrough of “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” probably sealed the deal for the cool kids and moved them off of college radio.

Hey, Microsoft offered them bazillions to use “End of the World” to launch the advertising campaign for Windows (to their credit they refused–and the Rolling Whores added to their bottom line by selling out “Start Me Up”. A lousy song for a lousy product.) But even though they produced several more very fine albums: “Green”, “Out Of Time” “Automatic For The People”, the band was not the same.

For fans, the fun of discovering and championing a new band ends in one of two ways–in the immortal duality posed by Neil Young in Rust Never Sleeps: burn out or fade away. Burn out spectacularly and you can remain an indie cult icon forever (Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith). R.E.M. is still plugging along, but they are fading away in terms of relevance. If everyone knows the band, it’s no fun spending your time discussing their music with your friends. It doesn’t seem as compelling.

In his post, Andrew Leonard pointed out that the new R.E.M. album was being played on his local college radio station, and they have made the full circle from hip to hype and back again. I hope so, but I’m not so sure. As Bill Wyman definitively shows on this post from his blog Hitsville, rock critics have been writing ad nauseam that the “new” R.E.M. album is the return to form and former glory that their fans are desperately hoping for. I have the feeling that we’ll never feel the same about R.E.M. as we did back in the day. But we’ll still have our memories.

Bruce and Little Steven Listmania

Time Magazine has named Bruce one of the 100 most important people of 2008. He’s one of only three musicians, the others being Miley Cyrus and Mariah Carey. It’s a weird kind of tribute. Sean Penn’s written profile is almost unreadable:
“In the chain of our responses to the most influential art, or artists, of our day, there is a link for most of us, an image. One could describe it as a honey-drip, slow-motion picture. We see one hand passing a baton into another, the influences of the influential. And in that rite of passage, Bruce Springsteen is no exception.”

Much more interesting is Little Steven’s profile of Alex Rigopulos & Eran Egozy, the creators of the video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band:

“The record business is over! there’s no new rock ‘n’ roll on the radio! Kids couldn’t care less about music! Quick, somebody call Alex and Eran. Yes, I mean Alex Rigopulos, 38, and Eran Egozy, 36, the Batman and Robin of Harmonix, who, with the video games Guitar Hero and now Rock Band, may have saved classic rock for generations to come . . .Just when it looked as if a generation of teenagers might grow up without falling in love with Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Who or the Rolling Stones, Rock Band has pulled them back into the musical gumbo that ate their parents (and perhaps their grandparents). Vive la Rock Band!”

In an article titled the “Best Of Rock”, circa 2008, Rolling Stone noted what we’ve always known, Bruce & The E Street Band are the best live performers in rock.

They also noted that the best punk band is Against Me!, giving them some street cred with oldsters like myself by mentioning that Bruce is a big fan.

Other opinions to which I found myself nodding my head vigorously in assent:

Best Forgotten Seventies Rock Genius: Lowell George (forget, like hell. “I miss Little Feat more than I miss being seven years old”–Bonnie Raitt)

Best Reunion: Led Zeppelin

Best TV Theme Song: “Way Down In The Hole” The Wire (but which of the 5 different versions?)

Best Bar Band Poets: The Hold Steady

Rolling Stone also asks Little Steven to pick the best garage rock of all time–he goes for two vets and two newbies: The Shadows of Knight, The Pretty Things, The Len Price 3 and The Chesterfield Kings (from Rochester–the band he thinks the most of right now.)

Life Continues On E Street

From Backstreets.com:

APRIL 22, TAMPA: “BETTER GET THIS RIGHT…. SOMEBODY’S WATCHING”

And the show goes on. Eight days after their last performance, five days after the passing of Danny Federici, and just one day after the funeral service, Bruce and the E Street Band took the stage in Tampa. There was no question that they’d be honoring Danny’s memory tonight. The real question might have been, how would they do it? The answer: by acknowledging the magnitude of the loss, by embracing Danny’s contributions to the band, by tapping a deep well of emotion and playing their hearts out all night.

The night began with a film montage. Bruce and the E Streeters came out and turned to watch the screen behind Max’s drums, standing stone-still as archival footage and stills from Danny’s life (remember that long, flowing hair?) played out across it, set to “Blood Brothers.” Patti was there, too, for her first show of 2008 — the E Street Band out in full force. A spotlight, meanwhile, lit up Danny’s organ riser (where his accordion was propped, too), and remained shining on the empty station for the band’s first song of the night, “Backstreets.” Bruce gave a raw and emotional howl at the end, and as he pointed to the organ, the light faded.

After the poignant opening, Charlie Giordano came out to join the band from “Radio Nowhere” on, remaining as subtle and discreet as you could possibly imagine on this night, while doing his job and doing it well. But emotional — even emotionally draining — as it was, it wasn’t a somber occasion. This was an intense performance, with each member of the band electrified. Solos — Max on “Badlands,” Steve on “Gypsy Biker,” Roy on “Racing in the Street” (yes, they did “Racing,”) Nils on “Because the Night” — burned even brighter. And Bruce himself put it all out there, starting with a thematic setlist clearly tailored to recall Federici’s place in this band of brothers and the impact of his musicianship on Springsteen’s work.

After “Gypsy Biker,” Charlie moved over to the piano as Roy strapped on the accordion for “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).” “We want to thank you for all your prayers and condolences,” Springseen told the crowd. “Roy, you better get this right — somebody’s watching.” Soozie and Patti offered beautiful harmonies, and it was a magical performance of “Sandy.” Bruce wiped away tears and gave Roy a kiss. “One more fairy tale,” he said, leading the band into “Growin’ Up.” That song recalled the old days in more ways than one, as Bruce began a little story during the instrumental break with that familiar phrase, “There we were…”

“There we were, on the highest hill in Flemington, New Jersey… It was a sunny, hot summer morning… and the preacher said… ‘I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere…’”
“Thank you so much for coming out tonight and helping us through,” Bruce said as they came out for the encore. And he wasn’t just talkin’: the crowd — unusually full for a postponed show — was there at every turn, giving the energy back on sing-alongs like “Badlands,” “Out in the Street,” and “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.” For the first encore song, Bruce pulled out the premiere of an old gospel standby, “I’ll Fly Away.” This one went out to Danny, of course, and everyone came down front — even Max, on tambourine — for a rousing rendition with a Seeger Sessions feel. Bruce called it “New Jersey bluegrass.”

A few songs later, “Spirit in the Night” was setlisted, but Bruce chose to replace it with one of the only unplanned songs of the night — “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out.” It was a fine choice, recalling the formation of the legendary band that Danny Federici was a part of from the beginning, its lyrics equal parts exasperation, determination, and celebration. Teardrops on the city, yes… and tonight they busted it in half for Danny.

Danny Federici, 1950-2008

Danny Federici, organist and (occasionally) accordion player for the E Street Band, died Thursday afternoon following a three year battle with melanoma (skin cancer). “The Phantom” played with Bruce for over 40 years.

Check out this video of
Danny playing accordion with Bruce and Nils playing acoustic guitars on “Fire.”

The Springsteen song that most comes to mind now is “Mary’s Place” from The Rising. The narrator wonders how, given the sadness and grief caused by the loss of a loved one, you can “live brokenhearted.” Amidst all the religious symbolism of the song, what really seems to pull the narrator through is the power of music, especially the music shared with the departed:

Seven days, seven candles
In my window light your way
Your favorite record’s on the turntable
I drop the needle and pray
Band’s countin’ out midnight
Floor’s rumblin’ loud
Singer’s callin’ up daylight
And waitin’ for that shout from the crowd . . .

Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up.

Donations may be made to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

God Speed Danny

God Speed Danny

Originally uploaded by Phil At Sun

Photo Credit: A.M. Saddler/Backstreets.com

Saturday April 19th Is Record Store Day

The rise of downloaded music has not only made iTunes the number one music store in America and threatened the entire business model for corporate record labels, it has put a horrific beating on record stores–chain and independents alike. While many chains (Tower Records, Sam Goodies) have already bit the dust, many independents are still managing to hold on.

A recent article on the Princeton (NJ) Record Exchange profiled a proud independent that is making a go by catering to audiophiles that prefer vinyl records, employing insanely knowledgeable clerks and being a cool place to hang. Independents may have a better chance than chains to be the last holdouts for boomers that prefer to buy records rather than download mp3 files. All the chains can offer is a huge selection–but that’s the internet’s main advantage. Literally anything can be found online. But you can’t feel like part of a community, get a cup of coffee and discuss the merits of dub v. dancehall reggae online. Well, you can–but it’s not as satisfying.

A coalition of independent record stores have designated April 19th as Record Store Day and hundreds of stores across the country are participating with sales and in-store performances. So, on Saturday, go check out the best local record store: Soundgarden on Walton St. in Armory Square.

I will be celebrating all the memorable record stores that I’ve hung out in in my life:

Camelot Music in the Fayetteville Mall. In the 1970’s they ran a discount promotion for an album of the week if you brought in three candy bar wrappers (feeding two of my addictions.)

Gerber Music, a store that I spent a goodly amount of money in at all of their locations, but who fired me from their Fairmount Fair location for my persistent inability to run the cash register and for turning up the volume on Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” to earbleed level.

Plastic Fantastic on the Penn campus where I trolled the used bins every week.

Spectrum Records at S.U., especially when it was located in a since demolished house on University Ave., for making me feel like a sophisticated and cool college student, even when I was a wannabe high schooler.

Record Theatre on both the SU campus and on Erie Boulevard. They used to give out trading stamps that you pasted into a booklet that gave you a discount on completion. Wednesday’s were always the day to go, because it was “double lick” day, twice the normal number of stamps!

As If I Needed Any More Convincing . . .

In a piece of news that is probably more important to this blog than any other in America: Bruce Springsteen has formally endorsed Barack Obama for President.

Summing up his feelings with a quote from his song “Long Walk Home” Bruce writes:

“LIke most of you, I’ve been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest. He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that’s interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where ‘…nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.’ “

The New York Times notes another positive by-product of this endorsement. Now Hillary will have to stop playing “The Rising” during her campaign appearances.

Apple iTunes Now #1 Music Store In America

According to research by the NPD Group, the research firm that tracks U.S. music sales, these are the top selling music stores in America, by percent of overall sales:

iTunes Store 19 percent
Wal-Mart (stores and online) 15 percent
Best Buy 13 percent
Amazon 6 percent
Target 6 percent

The death of the CD is upon us. Recently a friend gave me an iTunes gift card as a birthday present–I’m still using it as a bookmark! I’m sure I’ll get around to using it, but I’ve since bought albums at Soundgarden, including one I had to special order. I’m a Boomer Luddite–my technology, my music.

Open Letter To Larry Hoyt: Top 10 Reasons Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music

Larry Hoyt, the host of the Common Threads folk music show on WAER FM 88 , wrote a comment on my last post: Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music.

Before I launch into this diatribe, I urge everyone to tune into Larry’s show on Sundays beginning at noon on WAER FM 88. It’s great.

In his comment, Larry thought my prior post was harsh, inaccurate and painted the failures of Syracuse radio with too broad a brush. Guilty as charged, Larry. That’s blog writing for you, intemperate and wildly biased.

However, I’m unrepentant and still believe what I wrote. So I give you the Top 10 Reasons Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music:

1) Syracuse radio hates cool music because it only lets it come out and play at odd hours. The cool shows are segregated from the regular fare and largely on the weekends. Why should I have to choose between Tom Townsley (blues) and Bill Knowlton (bluegrass) on Sunday nights?

2) Syracuse radio hates cool music because there are whole genres of cool music missing from the airwaves in Syracuse: reggae, ska, punk, power pop etc.

3) Syracuse radio hates cool music because no station will play anything off Bruce Springsteen’s album Magic–even though the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard and whose single won best rock song at the Grammys.

4) Syracuse radio hates cool music because it took an organizing effort by the CNY Friends of Folk just to get your amazing show on the air.

5) Syracuse radio hates cool music because any station could have created the exact same format that WAER is now paying to simulcast on its HD 2 station.

6) Syracuse radio hates cool music because WAER yanked the “Cool Runnin’s” reggae show off the air many years ago–the last time we got to hear old school reggae in the ‘Cuse.

7) Syracuse radio hates cool music because too many of my friends have the same opinion expressed by Nat in the comment right before yours: “I didn’t realize that you could hear good music on the radio anywhere in the world until I left CNY.”

Syracuse radio hates cool music because the only world beat show on Syracuse radio comes on after my bedtime on Sunday night–I’ve got to work on Mondays!

9) Syracuse radio hates cool music because the local “community” radio station is only on the radio in your “community” if your “community “ happens to be in DeRuyter.

10) Syracuse radio hates cool music because too many of my friend ask me to play the following Buck-o-nine song :

What Happened To My Radio?

oh no, not again, please tell i’m wrong
it’s been ten minutes since they played this song
or is it the band with the one word name
I get so confused it all sounds the same.

the dj must think i’m crazy
or maybe just an idiot
last week he was spinning country
now alternative rock is the shit.

just who do they think they’re fooling
with this backwards regimen
they shove it so far down your throat
it’s swallowed with an english accent

what happened to my radio?
it used to be cool
now it just blows