MetaChat - I've been listening

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14 June 2008

I've been listening to this song repeatedly tonight. →[More:]

It hits me on so many levels that it's not even funny. One, it amazes me that a multi-millionaire rock star can still communicate this level of existensial loneliness 30-odd years on into his career. Plus, I've been in the place he describes so often in my life. Back when I was 21 and working a night shift job in a supermarket bakery and commuting to work at 1:00am with the radio on for company. I remember visiting the part of Jersey where Bruce comes from and thinking that this song resonates most deeply in places like that. Of course, it also perfectly sums up the state of modern radio, too. But great songwriters like all great artists are at their best when they express what seems to be just beyond articulation and this is a prime example of that.

Forgive me. It's been a tiring week and I've had a few drinks.

post by: jonmc at: 22:30 | 12 comments

Come to think of it, this song could describe what's behind people posting to the internet, too.

posted by jonmc 14 June | 22:37

The only thing behind me right now is a pillow. :)
Srsly, terrific song. Enjoyable both as a rock song, or a rock song that has meaning.

posted by Joe Invisible 14 June | 22:41

Huh. I've never really been a Springsteen fan, but I really like the song, kinda lo-fi/loud/messy sound. Think I'll listen to it a few times and then go hunt down the lyrics. Thanks jon.

posted by Zack_Replica 14 June | 22:57

Zack: when the man is on, he's on, you know. But he's so very different from most rock stars. When I went to see him live, the vibe was so much different from every other show. He's the singer for the guy who's assistant manager at the copier store, but in a good way, is the only way I can put it.

posted by jonmc 14 June | 23:05

I usually ignore the whole rock star label, and look at what they've done and what they sing about. Like Tom Waits channelling a noir film for Rain Dogs, I see Springsteen channelling the factory worker and singing of and to that ideal, and perhaps becoming (an icon of) that. Same reason I like Big Country's Steeltown, as, in that song, they do a similar thing - take a snapshot of that life and distill it into poetry. As you say, in a good way. It's a hard thing to get that feeling off to someone who's never experienced it, and when it's done right, it goes to the bone. Sure anyone can *try* (and the list is very long), but to hit the right chords and the right words at the right time is nothing less than magic.

posted by Zack_Replica 14 June | 23:22

When I went to see him live, the vibe was so much different from every other show. He's the singer for the guy who's assistant manager at the copier store, but in a good way, is the only way I can put it.

Steve Earle used to represent the redneck South in this way too - he was the singer for the guy who works at the Texaco plant in a job he hates but can't leave as there's no other work. But in recent years, and particularly since he moved to NY to become a 'serious artist', he's become pretentious. His last tour was just him, his wife and a DJ who mixed beats behind him. His efforts to be hip were embarrassing at times and the political rhetoric he spouted has worn thin.

Bruce has always managed to avoid pretention, even with The Seeger Sessions, which had massive potential for him appearing to say 'Look, I'm Being Really Earnest Here' but which, in his hands, were awesome and utterly sincere.

And HOW does Bruce still manage to look so hawt?

posted by essexjan 15 June | 01:27

I don't know if I've ever mentioned to you when we've talked Jon, but I'm a huge fan of Bruce, and this song resonates with me on all kinds of levels too, mainly from knowing the loneliness of living in Small Town, Massachusetts.

"Born in the USA" was the first music album I ever bought, and he was in the first rock concert I ever went to (India, eighties, the Human Rights Concert. You must understand that back then, we were about a decade behind you guys in American music and pop culture).

It also doesn't hurt that that Youtube video is serious Springsteen-porn if you happen to think he's hot. Which I do.

posted by Lassie 15 June | 01:29

Shit, I knew that was going to happen. I'm failing at the internets tonight, sorry. If a mod feels like helping out, I'd be eternally grateful. Also, Jan, jinx on the hotness of Bruce. Three times, apparently.

posted by Lassie 15 June | 01:35

I love me some Bruce. But The Husband is a true, true, fan. I got him that latest cd, jon and he loves it - his favorite is "I'll work for your love."

I like "Girls in their summer clothes" too.

posted by rainbaby 15 June | 03:55

That is a great song. Bruce has indeed stayed real to the working folk. He's got a firm grip on the human condition.

posted by chewatadistance 15 June | 07:36

I saw Bruce for the first time ever for this tour, down in Boston. He wore me out - he played longer than I could deal with it.

Name me one other rock band that can play longer than their audience can keep up. He's 58 fucking years old.

Bruce is IT for American Rock. No one can come close.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 15 June | 08:55

I make mixes for work, and without fail once a day dad puts the mix with this track at the front in. I don't even think he knows who it is (I've never asked) but the voice takes him back, that much I'm sure.

posted by nola 16 June | 22:52

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