Thank you, Julian

Early this morning (South African time) I had the pleasure of listening to Julian Garcia mentioning this blog on his programme Groove it al night on Home Grown Radio New Jersey, where he plays two hours of Springsteen every second week. It just made me even more aware of the tremendous power music (and particularly Bruce’s music) has in bringing people together across all kinds of barriers.

Diary of a depression fighter … Why?

The idea for this has been haunting me for some time now. (If you are not yet aware of the link between my personal fight against depression and my love for Bruce’s music, do read about my  own journey at https://marilebetterdays.wordpress.com/these-are-better-days/ and https://marilebetterdays.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/out-of-the-badlands-into-the-promised-land/).  I have started a diary about depression on my personal blog.  (in Afrikaans, my home language) after having some success with my diary of a romance writer. My first post has created so much reaction that I decided to

Two hours of nothing but love

Much as I had looked forward to Julian Garicia’s programme of love songs for Valentine’s Day, I came out a little disappointed. Although it was certainly still worth getting up at 4 a.m. it did not live up to my expectations. (Which just shows how easily high expectations can lead to disappointment!) Also, really listening carefully to Jersey Girl for the first time, made it worth it. Actually quite a few of my own special favourites were there, as beautiful as ever. I will only mention three of them here.
Two hearts: A song I have only recently discovered on Live in NYC. I just ove the interaction with Stevie.
… Alone buddy there ain’t no peace of mind
That’s why I’ll keep searching till I find my special one …
Tougher than the rest: Wonderful to see him

Lines to remember …

Well now on a summer night in a dusky room
Come a little piece of the Lord’s undying light
Crying like he swallowed the fiery moon
In his mother’s arms it was all the

Best rock song of all time?

Here is the view of a fellow blogger:
And the number one classic rock song of all time is …
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen – Bruce scored big with the title track to his third album, released in 1975. This song is almost beyond words, as Bruce is such a master lyricist that he sums them all up for us. Nothing we can say or think is original, because Bruce already sang it. This song is perfect – partly because Bruce and the band spent six months working on this song to make it so – in every way: its lyrics, which speak of escaping a town that rips the

Tips for entrepreneurs

Short and to the point: Five (but actually four) things entrepreneurs can learn from Bruce. What would you make the fifth?

http://blogs.forbes.com/carminegallo/2011/01/28/what-steve-jobs-and-bruce-springsteen-can-teach-entrepreneurs/

 

The promise: Racing in the street

Click here for a wonderful post about this song and what Bruce said about it: http://www.chimesfreedom.com/2011/02/16/song-springsteen-children-know/#comment-244
As usual, he succeeds in expressing things that others can only feel …

A love song for Valentine’s day

Contrary to what you would expect from a person who makes a living writing romantic fiction, I don’t like the idea of Valentine’s day very much. Well, nothing wrong with the idea, but come on, whose smiles are even bigger than those of the girls being treated by their loved ones? The business people, of course.  Still, nothing wrong with that. What I have against Valentine’s Day is the expectations which are raised for ordinary people. The same

The wrestler

As with Philadelphia, it was Bruce Springsteen’s music that brought me to a movie that I missed at its time. As with with Philadelphia, The wrestler (Working on a dream album) turned into an unforgettable movie experience for me. And – I must add – I have no interest at all in wrestling, in fact, I hate every form of violence (Which poses a problem concerning rugby, the king of sport in my country!)
It was definetely Mickey Rourke who did it for me. His portrayal of the aging sportsman with all the burned bridges behind him, just touched me from the first scene to the last, heartbreaking moment. The loneliness, the financial problems, the brotherhood of the ring, the humiliation,

Best Bruce moment of the decade

Yes, yes, I know the time for looking back to the old year and making New Year resolutions is long gone – and the New Year not new at all anymore …
I entered the world of Springsteen just a few months after the 2009 Super Bowl. It is just one of the many real American things I have learned about recently. And I must admit I still don’t know in which city the event takes place … 🙂
But the concept of a big sports event with a big show in half-time is very interesting to me. And makes perfect sense, come to think of it. And must present a huge challenge to the musicians of choice.
At the time I got the impression that there were mixed feelings about Bruce’s stint at that stage. After Julian (on HGRNJ) chose this event as the biggest Bruce moment of the decade, I took the time to find and watch the complete show on YouTube. My overall impression was one of too much energy in too little space. (Of course the small image that I had to be content with didn’t do any justice to the show.) From Clarence’s book one can form an idea about what a huge amount of work went into those twelve minutes (or is it twelve and a half?). Also of course of the Big Man’s loyalty that got him out of rehab and onto that stage, but that’s another story. I was wondering if people (and Bruce himself) saw the crotch slide that went haywire as a big misshap, or was it just one of the things that sometimes happen? Or maybe even something

Two hours of Bruce on an empty stomach

It is 03:55 on a hot and sticky summer night in SA, a world away from New Jersey where Julian Garcia has driven himself to work through everything wet and cold nature has to offer. I drag myself out of bed to switch on the computer. I am tired, did not get to bed early at all. On the bedside table my book and pencil are waiting, because experience has taught me if I dosed off somewhere during Groove it all night on Homegrown Radio NJ, I do not remember anything that was played before the snooze. But this morning I briefly consider

Out of the badlands into the promised land

Until recently I have concentrated on the positive side of one of the songs of Bruce Springsteen I love best, namely The Promised Land.
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man
And I believe in a promised land …
And then one day I just saw the explanation of years of my own struggle in the rest of the song. I spent years of unhappiness in the wrong career, feeling exactly as Bruce describes here:
I’ve done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start
And all the time I kept

Why I admire Bruce Springsteen (7): The power of friendship

The amazing long-term relationship of Bruce Springsteen with the members of the E-Street Band is one of the things I really admire. I have not read anything nasty, degrading or plain negative that one of them has said about Bruce or any of the other E-streeters. On the wonderful recreation of Darkness on the edge of town in the old theatre it struck me again: The solid wall of support they form behind him, with Clarence and Stevie like two pillars of strength by his sides. And that makes me think of his moving eulogy for Danny Federici: “ … every night at 8p.m. we walk out on stage together and that, my friends, is a place where miracles occur … old and new miracles. And those you are

The blogroll is rolling!

During the past eighteen months or so I have read a great number of really informing articles about Bruce on the internet. With my limited (but courageously growing!) computer skills all I could do was bookmark them in order to be able to revisit. Those were of course in the bad old days before the blogging bug hit me with nearly the same impact as the Bruce bug!
I am now steadily working to sort through those websites and blogs and ad them to my blogroll. Sorry to say it myself, but I think I am building a very nice library of knowledge about him here. Even if nobody else reads it, it will serve as a great passtime when I am one day sitting in the old age home and not being able to do much anymore! (While, I am sure, Bruce will be singing to the folks in his old age home!)
So, if you have a moment to enrich yourself with info about Bruce Springsteen, his wonderful lyrics, his vibrant music, his four decades of dedication to rock music or anything in between – get the blogroll rolling!

Why I admire Bruce Springsteen (6): A song for every emotion

In a previous post I wondered if Bruce has an idea how much his work means emotionally to so many people. Yes, I know there have been numerous programs and books about it, but still, does he understand? CAN he understand, not being a fan, but being the man himself? His work just resonates with so many emotions.
It ranges from the youthful playfullness of Out in the Street, through the anguish of the Darkness album, the beautiful love songs on the new The Promise, the hope and determination to make a better life in Badlands and The promised land, the celebration of

Live in New York City: Youngstown

Here in north east Ohio
Back in eighteen-o-three
James and Danny Heaton
Found the ore that was linin’ yellow creek
They built a blast furnace
Here along the shore
And they made the cannon balls
That helped the union win the war

If you did not know it is a Springsteen song, it just as well could have been the beginning of a short story or an historical novel. But in his hands it becomes a seering lamentation about the greed of men and

Why I admire Bruce Springsteen (5): A man who can multi-task!

Watching Bruce and The Band onstage (on DVD – never had the opportunity to see him live) I realized that I am watching something very rare – a man who can do quite a few things at one time! In my world, that is a scarce and wonderful gem to find. 🙂
He keeps the band together, he works the crowd and the

HGRNJ – Top 10 for the last decade

Just in case somebody has not seen it yet – here is Julian’s top 10 Springsteen songs for the last decade:

10. Devils and dust
9. You’re missing
8. My city of ruins
7. Outlaw Pete – a surprise to me
6. Working on a dream
5. American land
4. Girls in their summer clothes
3. Long walk home – my personal number 1
2. Lonesome day – a huge surprise to me
1. The rising

Live in New York City!

In an attempt to save a potentially very blue Monday, I grabbed my Live in NY City CD, which I have not really studied before. Yes, the blues are gone … but an itching yearning has replaced it – to see the DVD. Or – of course – to could have been there. I have never in my life heard such a party! It is just crystal clear that they are having the time of their life.

Only now have I read the jacket text, and found the clip from the NY Times, which tells me that this concert happend a year

Bruce on writing for Darkness

Towards the end of his essay on writing for Darkness Bruce wrote these words: “To make “Racing” and those other big titles personal, I had to infuse the music with my own hopes and fears. If you don’t do that, you characters ring hollow, and you’re left with rhetoric, words without meaning.
Most of my writing is emotionally autobiographical. You’ve got to pull op the things that mean something to you in order for them to mean anything to your audience. That’s how they know you’re not kidding.”

As a writer this makes perfect sense to me. If you writing does not really come from inside yourself, it can easily be

HGRNJ – Best of Bruce for the last decade – last ten

Here are Julian Garcia and his panel’s choices for the number 11-20 best Bruce songs for the last ten years. NB. In no specific order.
1.   Mary’s place – The Rising
2.   I’ll work for your love – Magic
3.   Radio Nowhere – Magic
4.   The Promise – The Promise
5.   Waitin’ on a sunny day – The Rising
6.   Kingdom of days – Working on a dream
7.   The wrestler – WOAD
8.   My lucky day – WOAD
9.   Pay me my money down – Seeger Sessions
10.  Save my love – The Promise

Philadelphia: The movie

I have just watched this movie for the first time. Yes, I know, I know … But surely it is a case of better late than never.
Of course I was interested in the film because of the theme song  Streets of Philadelphia by Springsteen. But compelling as it was, it is not the only thing I will remember from the film. I got so much more. The performances by both Tom Hanks and Denzil Washington were some of the best acting I have ever seen.
It is not an easy movie to watch. But it is a movie you must see – in my opinion definetely worthy of the many prizes it won. And of course Streets capture the spirit of the movie perfectly.
Here is Bruce at the Oscar ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeIOtaydCyo&feature=related
Read the lyrics here: http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/StreetsOfPhiladelphia.html
I was bruised and battered and I couldn’t tell what I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
Saw my reflection in a window
I didn’t know my own face …
The night has fallen, I’m lyin’ awake
I can feel myself fading away …
When you  have finished crying, read more about the film at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107818/ 🙂

Why I admire Bruce Springsteen (4) – A well-rounded person

During the last year Springteen’s influence seeped into nearly all aspects of my life. And all of it is positive. I read and listen to his lyrics for inspiration for my own writing, his music fills the times when I am alone/bored/down with power and energy, my daily walk has become better with his music in my ears, I have even started working out on some Springsteen DVD’s.
Does that sound crazy? Obsessive? My family seems to think so, but I honestly don’t agree. I think it is just because there are so many facets to his work that his influence stretches so wide into people’s lives. (If you start reading on the internet, it quickly becomes clear that there are many, many people all over the world who experience this influence on their lives.) He is not a shallow character – like many so-called celebrities – who can do only one thing really well and that is it.  He seems to be a rounded personality who really tries to live his whole life in balance and integrity.
Yes, surely he must have a little weak point somewhere – but who cares? 🙂

Local review of The Promise

I was pleasantly surprised to find a review of The Promise (only the 21 songs, not the complete box set) in my local (Afrikaans) newspaper. As I have mentioned before, Bruce is not very well known here. So I was quite apprehensive about this review.
But I was not disappointed. The reviewer was clearly impressed, although he did not seem to be aware of the fact that the two CD’s are only part of something much bigger.
Firstly he mentioned that few young rockers would today worry about becoming too much of a commercial singer and staying true to their roots as Springsteen has done. He lifted Come on, Breakaway and of course The promise out as cuts which should have been on Darkness. (Clearly he does not know that nobody tells The Boss what to do! 🙂 ).Freely translated he says that The Promise investigates the utter necessity, destructive potential and futility of romanticism in classic pop and rock. And that this album  comfirms Springsteen’s scope as singer/songwriter.

Merry Christmas!

To all my readers en fellow Springsteen lovers: May you have a wonderful day and may you experience something of the real meaning of Christmas!

The promise – an impression

For our fortnight on the road Disc 1 of the Lost Sessions kept me constant company on my MP3 player. Most of the songs are among those that had been released on the internet previously, so they were not really new to me and had already grown on me. Maybe this is the key word – grown on me. Yes, Bruce’s music has become part of my life. As people lucky enough to grow up with his music often say: His music is the sounctrack of my life. Well, I am years and years behind – but I am doing my best!
Conclusion? These songs did not make an impression on me. They became part of me. And I feel richer because of that.

My box set has arrived!

Finally – it’s here! We are about to leave on a family road trip, so there is no time for indulging. But I grab every opportunity to watch/listen a little bit at a time.  A real treasure – that is all I can say at this point. What a generous man Bruce is. As usual hy gave us more than we expected.

I will be absent for some time – back soon!

Why I admire Bruce Springsteen (3) – lyrics, lyrics, lyrics …

I am constantly amazed at his talent to marry the depth and scope of his lyrics to the wonderful tunes that make them accessible to thousands (millions?!) of people. Three of the best examples (in my opinion) are Badlands, The promised land and Better days. All of them songs with a profound meaning, but also a whole stadium of people can be reached by the music.

Mistake! I have covered this one already! Doesn’t matter to me, I could repeat this post many times and find something to say about his songs every single time. In short: I have never read song after song of any other songwriter that capture humanity, life, hope, despair and love with so much passion, insight en empathy. They are genuine, the real thing.

Springsteen and Bellow

A very interesting comparison between these two great artists:

… this Thanksgiving, I will be giving my thanks to writer Saul Bellow (1915-2005) and musician Bruce Springsteen (born 1949), two poets who beautifully sing the song of America.
Putting Bellow and Springsteen together may baffle some of you. Their works obviously occupy very different Americas at very different times.
Bellow is the Jewish intellectual chronicling the anxieties and comedy of the cosmopolitan city-dweller in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.
Springsteen is the Jersey guitarist channeling the lost dreams of the working class Everyman in post-Vietnam America.
Read on at:
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2010/11/24/mean-street-thankgsiving-thanks-to-bellow-and-springsteen/

The Rising

I really admire people who have the skills and musical know how to put Springsteen’s work under words. This wonderful review of The Rising is an excellent example:

“Yes, life is very confusing, we’re just trying to get on with it.” — Art Carney as Harry Coomes in Harry and Tonto.
The many voices that come out of the ether on Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising all seem to have two things in common: the first is that they are writing from the other side, from the day after September 11, 2001, the day when life began anew, more uncertain than ever before. The other commonality that these voices share is the determination that life, however fraught with tragedy and confusion, is precious and should be lived as such. This is a lot for a rock album by a popular artist to claim, but perhaps it’s the only thing there is worth anything.
On this reunion with the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen offers 15 meditations — in grand rock & roll style — on his own way of making sense of the senseless.

Read on at: http://classicrockreview.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/bruce-springsteen-the-rising/