I Don't Get the Springsteen Worship
1980. I was in the 8th grade (graduation year in my grade school), the 7th graders produced a booklet with something like a bio on each of us in the graduating class. The girl who wrote mine got some facts right, then apparently made up the rest. She wrote that my favorite thing to do was to eat pizza, drink Sprite, and watch SNL. As off as that was, I could live with it. But I'm still in counseling because of her blasphemy. She decided that I loved Bruce Springsteen. [shudder]
She said my favorite song was "Refugee" by Tom Petty. Not true, but at least I like Petty. The Springsteen line, however, was too much.
If you don't know, Bruce is ENORMOUSLY popular in the Philadelphia area where I grew up. But every time someone asked me if I liked him, I could not express to any satisfactory degree how much I did not.
She said my favorite song was "Refugee" by Tom Petty. Not true, but at least I like Petty. The Springsteen line, however, was too much.
If you don't know, Bruce is ENORMOUSLY popular in the Philadelphia area where I grew up. But every time someone asked me if I liked him, I could not express to any satisfactory degree how much I did not.
As I watched The Great Muppet Caper the following year (1981), I found a voice in Michael Robbins' security guard character. When a pizza he is told he ordered is delivered, he sees it has pepperoni on it. He continually objects by saying "But I hate pepperoni!" He never ordered that pizza, nor would he, because he hates pepperoni. You can tell me all day about Bruce's "deep, working-class, Jersey shore" lyrics and his 19-hour concerts... in the end... "But I hate Bruce Springsteen!"
Bruce is part Italian. You would think that would help. But, hey, we have our embarrassments as much as anybody. I'll take part-Italian Neal Schon (Journey) six ways to Sunday over Bruce. He's a better songwriter and a better guitarist. He's even a decent singer (Steve Perry making his lead vocals unnecessary).
I'm not a casual pop fan. I get why Pink Floyd is great (and I'm a big fan too). I get The Stones. Not a big fan of Led Zeppelin, but, my goodness, Page, Jones, and Bonham are lights out! From Clapton to Hendrix to Queen to The Police to Michael Jackson to The Temptations... I like them to varying degrees, but I get while all of them are considered great. I don't get Bruce.
There are artists I don't particularly like, but I get it. As noted, I'm not much of a Led Zeppelin fan, but I get it. Deep Purple, Allman Brothers, Squeeze, Byrds... same sort of thing. Don't mind them, I get it, just not a huge fan. I get Hendrix as a guitarist,just not my thing. But Springsteen? Particularly considering the "god" status he has, baffles me. Duran Duran is far better. Heck, Jim Croce is a better lyricist.
He can't sing (when I first heard “We Are the World,” I was begging somebody to out that poor creature out of its misery). His melodies are mediocre (such as they are), and his lyrics are somewhere on the Pretentious to Bad spectrum. He certainly can't dance (have you seen the videos?) His Magnum Opus, Born to Run, is mediocre. It is both pretentious and bland. It calls to mind the Robin Williams bit where every Springsteen song story ends with "so here's another song about a car." I get it as possibly a movie soundtrack entry for some 70s Jersey timepiece, but as a standalone, it's just OK. Good production is the only thing that saves it (and I do mean "good," not "great").
Rick Springfield's "Bruce" is better than most of Springsteen's catalog (that's meant as an insult).
I guess the problem is primarily his status. If he was at, say, Bruce Cockburn level, I could understand it. But, no, he has Rock God status. It's not that all his material is horrible, it's just that, on the whole, he's Bon Jovi at best.
My two favorite Springsteen songs had to be filtered through other artists. "Blinded by the Light" is almost universally known through Manfred Mann's Earth Band. I also like "Sandy," as filtered through The Hollies. Even so, The Hollies have far better material. Heck, the Air Supply version of "Sandy" is better than the original.
I watched the trailer for the Springsteen-inspired movie "Blinded by the Light." I like the other 80s music they play better than his material. I'll admit I have probably wasted too much time and brain power on pop music over the years, but as a substantial consumer of the genre, Springsteen-worship makes my head hurt.
Two movies out now, the aforementioned "Blinded by the Light" and the RomCom "Yesterday." The former seeks to exalt the music of Bruce Springsteen. The Latter is built around the music of the Beatles. There isn't much sense left in the universe, but I take some solace in the fact that BBTL is tanking while Yesterday has been an enormous success.
There are artists I don't particularly like, but I get it. As noted, I'm not much of a Led Zeppelin fan, but I get it. Deep Purple, Allman Brothers, Squeeze, Byrds... same sort of thing. Don't mind them, I get it, just not a huge fan. I get Hendrix as a guitarist,just not my thing. But Springsteen? Particularly considering the "god" status he has, baffles me. Duran Duran is far better. Heck, Jim Croce is a better lyricist.
He can't sing (when I first heard “We Are the World,” I was begging somebody to out that poor creature out of its misery). His melodies are mediocre (such as they are), and his lyrics are somewhere on the Pretentious to Bad spectrum. He certainly can't dance (have you seen the videos?) His Magnum Opus, Born to Run, is mediocre. It is both pretentious and bland. It calls to mind the Robin Williams bit where every Springsteen song story ends with "so here's another song about a car." I get it as possibly a movie soundtrack entry for some 70s Jersey timepiece, but as a standalone, it's just OK. Good production is the only thing that saves it (and I do mean "good," not "great").
Rick Springfield's "Bruce" is better than most of Springsteen's catalog (that's meant as an insult).
I guess the problem is primarily his status. If he was at, say, Bruce Cockburn level, I could understand it. But, no, he has Rock God status. It's not that all his material is horrible, it's just that, on the whole, he's Bon Jovi at best.
My two favorite Springsteen songs had to be filtered through other artists. "Blinded by the Light" is almost universally known through Manfred Mann's Earth Band. I also like "Sandy," as filtered through The Hollies. Even so, The Hollies have far better material. Heck, the Air Supply version of "Sandy" is better than the original.
I watched the trailer for the Springsteen-inspired movie "Blinded by the Light." I like the other 80s music they play better than his material. I'll admit I have probably wasted too much time and brain power on pop music over the years, but as a substantial consumer of the genre, Springsteen-worship makes my head hurt.
Two movies out now, the aforementioned "Blinded by the Light" and the RomCom "Yesterday." The former seeks to exalt the music of Bruce Springsteen. The Latter is built around the music of the Beatles. There isn't much sense left in the universe, but I take some solace in the fact that BBTL is tanking while Yesterday has been an enormous success.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Blinded by the Light"
The Hollies "Sandy"
Rick Springfield "Bruce"
"Blinded by the Light" movie trailer
"Yesterday" movie trailer
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