Posts Tagged ‘Bruce Springsteen’

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“Drive all night” or just text ‘em?

Monday, June 28th, 2010

I just found Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 song “Drive all night” on YouTube (from an ‘08 performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI0fbp9uM6Q&feature=PlayList&p=6F507FE6577B7B94&playnext_from=PL&index=1&shuffle=110&playnext=2). I always loved this song and its sentiments. That’s why I found the comment from someone about the video so interesting. He (I’m guessing it’s a he) writes: “We used to love like this in 1980, for better or worse. Do people drive all night for anybody these days? Or just text em and go clubbing?”

I was just talking with my BFF about that — how “these kids today” have most of their relationships via text messages. What a shame. Not only does that not really give them an opportunity to have a deep discussion, but they’re also missing all that makes face-to-face communication so powerful — the inflections, the body language, the softness of someone’s voice. Now they call people their ”boyfriends” or “girlfriends” but they don’t know the simplest thing about them. “When we were young” (yes, I know I sound like an old-timer) we used to talk on the phone, or in our cars, or at restaurants, for 2, 3, 4, 5 hours at a time. That was usually the best part of a relationship, the “getting to know you” stage. And really, what a life lesson it was to learn how to break up with someone in person well. But hey, the divorce rate of our generation is what, 50%, so maybe our way wasn’t so good after all. But I still can’t help but think kids of today are really missing out on something special …

P.S. The Swell Season has an EXCELLENT cover of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MZMIYIVLtA

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It may be excessive …

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

but I am NOT changing the station yet!!! Last night my husband came home from work a little(!) cranky. I asked if he were going to go work out. He said, “Yes, anything to get away from this Bruce Springsteen music!!!” He said it was a bit much that I keep his XM radio on “E Street Radio” when we drive in his car, I have my Bruce Springsteen YouTube playlist playing on the downstairs computer as background music and it’s usually on the CD player when YouTube starts doing its weird stop-and-start thing. “It’s everywhere!!” he exclaimed. I can see where he might think it’s a bit excessive, but it IS Bruce Springsteen we’re talking about here. Hello!! To me, his music is just like chocolate and Coca-Cola and sunshine — it just makes me feel better. So why would I turn it off??? (especially when “Do You Love Me?” is playing on my YouTube right now …)

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“The Last Carnival” – simply a beautiful tribute …

Friday, April 16th, 2010

to the late Danny Federici, longtime organ player for the E Street Band, who died in 2008 of melanoma. The song is considered a sequel to an early Springsteen song, “Wild Billy’s Circus”; the metaphors express the loss of Federici. Checking out Springsteen videos on YouTube a couple weeks ago, I came across one for this song, which simply features a trapeze artist swinging back and forth. Despite the fact that I’ve heard the song many times since the “Working on a Dream” CD came out last year, since watching that video, the heart-breaking lyrics and beautiful melody haunt me. Today I found the “official” video for the song, which cuts between imagery of a moving train, a circus, and closeups of the (aging) band members. As someone with several people in my life who I can’t imagine living without, it’s very hard to listen to the song without choking up.

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My own Bruce Springsteen YouTube concert

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

A few blogs ago I mentioned that I just discovered a ton of Bruce Springsteen videos on YouTube (yes, I do live in a cave). So today I signed up for YouTube using my Google account and did a quick search for some Bruce videos. I created a playlist which contains, right now, 15 videos, and as I write this, I am listening to “If I should fall behind.” So if I want, I can watch the video, or if not, I can just hear the songs playing in the background. (I hit “play all” so they just start one after another.) The challenge, of course, is deciding which ones to add from the tons available (some songs have 12 versions to pick from). I also like to read people’s comments, some as current as an hour before, some in a different language, a few with political overtones. But most express a very passionate devotion to their man. I understand!! (P.S. Just try to watch his version of “Twist & Shout” without tapping your toes, smiling and maybe even throwing your arms in the air.)

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Posted in Free or Nearly Free, Music | No Comments »

Bruce Springsteen exhibit extended at Rock Hall

Friday, February 26th, 2010

If you haven’t seen the exhibit yet but want to, you should know it’s been extended until the end of 2010. As you know, I’m a big Springsteen fan. And although the Rock Hall of Fame is only about 45 minutes from me, I haven’t been there yet. Basically because I need a time to go by myself. I’ve only been to the museum twice, but I don’t feel it’s very kid-friendly. And if my husband comes with me, we’d need to get a sitter, which would make the already pricey admission ($22 for adults, or $18 if you’re a Northeast Ohio resident with ID) even more expensive. I’m curious what fans think of it …

Speaking of Springsteen, the other night I was in my husband’s car (with the XM radio which he did renew after the initial 90-day free period, which helps feed my Springsteen fix) with E Street Radio on of course and I heard the Bob Dylan song “I want you.” I actually sat in the car until the song finished. I swear I hadn’t heard that song in well over 20 years yet I still remembered half the words. I immediately came home to see if I could download it on iTunes, which I couldn’t, but I saw it was on YouTube. I rarely visit YouTube so I was surprised and delighted to see so many rare Springsteen songs there (I can’t actually call them “videos” because, for example, “I want you” shows only a picture of Springsteen from the ’70s while the song plays — but hey, that’s good enough for me!). I haven’t had time to watch/listen to the other ones, but I’m sure looking forward to doing that!!

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Kingdom of Days

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Sorry, this is another Bruce Springsteen posting!! But there is a song on his most recent CD called “Kingdom of Days” which I think is such a moving tribute to long-lasting love:

With you I don’t hear the minutes ticking by / I don’t feel the hours as they fly / I don’t see the summer as it wanes / Just a subtle change of light upon your face  …

… When I count my blessings and you’re mine for always / We laughed beneath the covers / and count the wrinkles and the grays / Sing away, sing away, sing away, sing away / Sing away, sing away, my darling, we’ll sing away / This is our kingdom of days  …

Yes, Bruce and his lyrics have definitely matured as he has aged. And they should. And I too, count the wrinkles and grays as I fully realize this is my kingdom of days.

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This is different from Robert Goulet, right?

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

The night my BFF and I went to see Bruce in Cleveland, we were talking about how her teen-aged sons thought she was crazy for being so excited about the show and playing his music in her car all the time. I thought back to when I was younger and my mom would get so jazzed about seeing Robert Goulet or Englebert Humperdink (could that possibly be someone’s real name??) at the Front Row Theater in Highland Heights (Does anyone remember that place? It was built in 1974 and closed in 1993; I was never there — it was mostly nightclub-type acts). I of course thought she was nutty — how could someone so old (she was in her 30s) act that way about a performer? Yet here I am, not even in my 30s anymore, being twice as nuts about The Boss. But it’s not the same thing … or is it???

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The Bruce Blues

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

I’m trying to convince myself that I’m doing the right thing by not trying to travel to Buffalo tomorrow to see Bruce and the band’s last show of most likely EVER. Because I’m already in such a funk about this, I would probably just be too pouty and depressed to even enjoy it – right? I’ve been torturing myself by following the tour on www.backstreets.com and by reading the reviews in the newspapers since the day after I saw Bruce in Cleveland. Although my dear husband did accompany me to the Detroit show a few days later I’m so wishing I could have seen the three shows since (Milwaukee, Nashville and Baltimore) as well as all the other ones too (can you imagine hearing all those albums performed live — me neither!). The shows each have been so different and magical in their own way. It’s funny that no matter what city, the newspaper reviews all end up saying the same incredible things about his shows which just makes it all the sadder that the party should come to an end. I haven’t even been able to write about the Detroit show; it makes me too sad. The one bright spot, though, is that I read on the Backstreets site that there will be a DVD of this tour released relatively soon (though after Christmas). It’s the closest we’ll have to the real thing …

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I’m not sure we’re related …

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

On Saturday I found out that one of my older sisters had also been to the best-concert-ever-for-me Bruce show at the Q last Tuesday. Sharing a loge with some of her co-workers for the show was an early Christmas gift for her husband whose musical tastes are happily esconced in the ’70s. My sister, however, (as far as I know) likes only one group – the TranSiberian Orchestra. She does like food, though, and so her review of the concert had nothing to do with Bruce’s performance and everything to do with what she ate. How could this be?!?

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Detroit Road Trip to see Bruce, Part 2 (or …

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

… Will we ever get there, or will we be stuck at the border all night long??)
There's nothing like waiting in line to re-enter a country you never left!

Our GPS is out to get me, I’m sure (ever since my husband got it, we’ve been in a battle — GPS vs. MRS). It was programmed with a devious mean streak which showed itself on Friday night. My husband and I were making good time on our way to Auburn Hills, MI from our home in Akron. Estimated time of arrival was 6:11 p.m., plenty of time before the concert start time of 7:30 p.m. But then, as we were going through some construction in Detroit, the GPS got confused (yeah … confused) and led us to the bridge across to Canada. At the first stop before actually leaving the country(!) we told the worker that the GPS had taken us this way by mistake and we just wanted to get back on I-75. My husband had to sign a form, then we got a sign for our car that said “Back to the US” and a receipt showing we didn’t need to pay the toll. We were directed to a “holding area” where we would have to wait for another 10-15 minutes for an escort to lead us right back to the highway (or so we thought). We were only at the “holding area” for a minute before another car pulled up behind us (also with a GPS on the dash), then another. Coincidence, or GPS conspiracy?? Meanwhile, I’m watching our estimated time of arrival get later and later. A few minutes later, we were escorted through a maze of barrels and wire fences to the customs line. Yes, we had to wait with all the cars coming from Canada to the U.S. and their 5- or 10-minute-long interrogations to reenter a country we had never left. Meanwhile, tick tock, tick tock goes the clock. Finally, it’s our turn. Despite our paperwork, we were also rigorously questioned. “So what’s your deal anyway?” were the exact words we were asked after having to show our drivers’ licenses, reassert our US citizenship and reassure the worker that our passports were valid. The worker laughed at our claim to be on the way to the Bruce show and we actually had to show her our tickets. It was ridiculous!! But we learned a valuable lesson — if the GPS tells you to take a bridge to leave a country you weren’t planning on leaving, ignore it!!  (By the way, the GPS wanted to take us across the bridge to Canada on our way home too — I’m telling you, that’s one sadistic piece of technology.)

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Posted in Day Trips | 1 Comment »

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