Two intrepid Bruce fans (“Tramps”) from the U.K. decided to get 1,000 fellow acolytes from the Church of Bruce to answer the age old question: “what’s your favorite Bruce song?” This led to a survey on the discussion board of the popular Bruce site/magazine Backstreets. The result is the All Time Top 100 Bruce songs list. (h/t to Josh Shear for this!)
To compile the list, fans were asked to list their Top 20 songs. These are mine–with the Backstreets rating noted after.
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This is starting to look like trouble. I hope I don’t have to write up a blog post for every damn list that pops into my head. But here’s another one. I saw a little video piece online where Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers describes his 5 favorite books about rock ‘n’ roll. Now this makes sense because Hood’s most recent solo album “Heat Lightning Rumbles In the Distance” started life as a book–until the songs he wrote as marginalia took over. So he gives us his choices for top 5 rock books.
Now, I know you need to listen to music to fully appreciate it–not just read about it. But the rock books I enjoy take a stab at relating a big slice of the musical sub-culture (and perhaps just our general culture) along with the “which-band-played-which-show-when-which-album-hit-the-charts-with-who-was-sleeping with-whom-while-taking-which-drugs.”
So by all means, play the appropriate music in the background while reading my favorite rock books: Continue reading
According to a story on NPR this morning, the medium through which we listen to music changes about every 20-30 years. It does so largely because corporations want to sell us a new (and hugely profitable) piece of hardware on which to play the new medium for the music. So Edison’s cylinders were replaced by Victor’s 78 RPM shellac discs which were replaced by 33 1/3 rpm vinyl discs which were replaced by Sony’s compact discs which were replaced by Apple’s MP 3′s.
And every change was adopted by customers more interested in convenience than the sound. Continue reading
You’ve seen the title of this blog. You’ve weathered all the posts on albums and concerts and other doings in the E Street world. I’m a Tramp–an insane Bruce Springsteen fan. So how was the show last night at Vernon Downs–you know, the first show in the Syracuse area since 1996–the first with the E Street Band since 1985?
I did not go, life got in the way. A very ill relative, my own health issues, the expense of the tickets and a wife who said: “but you just saw him in April . . . ” I bit my lip, said a prayer of contrition to the Church of Bruce and said . . . no.”
Update: and no: I will not be going to the just announced Rochester show in October either!
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Those were Bruce’s first words after he took the stage–as the E Street Band filtered onstage to the theme from “The Magnificent Seven.” 25 songs, three tour premieres and a little under 3 hours later I was wandering, dazed, through the streets of Albany–pondering what I had just experienced.
(Bruce In Albany photo A.M. Saddler Backstreets.com) Continue reading
“Let’s get one thing straight: These shows aren’t possible. I just don’t know how else to put it. Yes, as Bruce puts it in the main set’s penultimate song, our bodies may betray us in the end. And, I get it: he can’t promise us life everlasting. But he is delivering life, right now. He’s on that hill with everything he’s got. And the really good news is, he’s got a lot. The E Street Band is tighter than ever. Max Weinberg played last night like a man possessed. The “extra” players — horns, percussion and vocals — complemented the basic E Street sound seamlessly. The energy from the stage seemed boundless.”
Update: 4/16 concert: 25 songs total. 16 of 17 automatic songs played (“Shackled & Drawn” replaced “Easy Money” in new album songs) 3 tour premieres: “Darlington County”, “Downbound Train” and “Janey Don’t You Lose Heart” 5 non-premiere, but not every night tunes: “Badlands”, “Out In The Street”, “Murder Incorporated”, “Backstreets”, “Lonesome Day”
My FB friend and the former dean of CNY bloggers, Ellen Edgerton posed an interesting question via Twitter recently:
Open question: You, a time machine and Woodstock. But only for one day.Which day would you pick?bettylou.zzruss.com/woodstock.htm(me: Day 2)
— Twentyfour01 (@Twentyfour01) March 26, 2012
OK–What do Syracuse, Bruce Springsteen and community organizing have in common? Me!
SUN is a member of National People’s Action, one of the main organizations behind the 99% Spring. This coalition is sponsoring a massive nationwide training on non-violent, direct action protest. I’m helping to put this training on in Syracuse. Bruce Springsteen lent the tune “Land of Hope & Dreams” to a video promoting the training. Continue reading
Despite the two public preview shows (for Sirius radio at the Apollo Theatre and at South by Southwest in Austin)–last night was the real opening night of the new tour–Atlanta won the honor. Here’s the setlist:
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