4/18/15 Bruce Springsteen

[Tyler Zahnke]

What is your favorite Bruce Springsteen song?

[fluffy]

Born In The USA, for two reasons:

1. It's the only one I know
2. Everyone completely misunderstands the point to the song and thinks it's patriotic

[glennny]

I like him a lot more than his music. He's a very cool rock star. I don't think he makes good albums. However he has some good songs over the years. Everyone says he's one of those artists that make a lot more sense live than on record.

I like Atlantic City a lot, but I'm on Fire is probably my favorite.

[josh]

I got a real soft spot for "The Boss". I'd like to sound cool and say "Atlantic City" or "Meeting Across the River" (both of which are amazing)... But really it's "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run"

[user]

Born In The USA, for two reasons:

1. It's the only one I know
2. Everyone completely misunderstands the point to the song and thinks it's patriotic

This reminds me of an old Levi's jeans commercial featuring the blistering and straightforward "Fortunate Son" by CCR, with the severely out-of-context lyrics "Some folks are born, made to wave the flag, ooh that red white & blue" and showing a bunch of jeans-clad teenagers waving the flag. It came on not long after 9/11. I'm sitting there watching it thinking Jesus, don't you people understand anything?? Is the Levi's co. that stupid, or just so condescending to think their customers are that stupid? This is one reason I won't buy Levi's.

Anyway I was never that into Springsteen. I'll go with "The Ghost of Tom Joad". It's actually pretty good, and I like it better than the Rage Against The Machine cover that led me to it.

[johndisk0]

"I'm on Fire" for sure. Absolutely not "Glory Days". That song sounds like he's singing the same note over and over and over...

I like his biography of why and how he got into music. It's very motivating.

-jd0

[Niveous]

Honorable mentions to "Blinded by the Light", "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "The Streets of Philadelphia". My favorite Springsteen song is "Working on a Dream".

[Billy's Little Trip]

The only thing I like about Bruce Sprignsteen is Steven Van Zandt. Not only a good guitar player and that he played two of my favorite mob characters with zero acting experiance, Silvio from the Sopranos and even a better role as Frank “The Fixer” Tagliano in the show Lillyhammer, which is a show on Norwegian television. I read about it in SPIN and found the series on netflix. Put it on your list, it's great!

Not only that, but he has a radio show called the Underground Garage. It's on siriusXM satellite radio, but I listen to the recorded shows and podcasts. It's great! http://undergroundgarage.com/
He has a record label that helps bands get started to self produce or go to a major label and handles their negotiations for them so they don't get screwed over like he did as a young musician. He's a human rights activist which I admire immensely, he funds music programs in schools through his "rock and roll forever" foundation. Which not only teaches music, but teaches the history of music and instruments.

His philanthropist stuff makes him a great human. But the thing that gives him the ultimate cool points in my book of coolness is that when he married his wife, reverend Little Richard married them and Bruce Springsteen was his best man AND Percy Sledge asked to personally sing When A Man Loves A Woman at the wedding, which of course little Steven said yes to.

So yeah, Steven Van Zandt is baller status!

[fluffy]

Born In The USA, for two reasons:

1. It's the only one I know
2. Everyone completely misunderstands the point to the song and thinks it's patriotic

This reminds me of an old Levi's jeans commercial featuring the blistering and straightforward "Fortunate Son" by CCR, with the severely out-of-context lyrics "Some folks are born, made to wave the flag, ooh that red white & blue" and showing a bunch of jeans-clad teenagers waving the flag. It came on not long after 9/11. I'm sitting there watching it thinking Jesus, don't you people understand anything?? Is the Levi's co. that stupid, or just so condescending to think their customers are that stupid? This is one reason I won't buy Levi's.

Remember when this happened?


And then 6 years later,


(then again, Apple used You Me and the Bourgeoise as their iPhone jingle for years, which is similarly hilariously tone-deaf.)

[Chumpy]

It's gotta be Spirit in the Night. Song makes the back of my neck tingle. He might be channeling Van Morrison, but whatever. Manfred Mann didn't capture the same feeling in their cover, but I feel like their version of Blinded by the Light is better.

[JonPorobil]

I wanna pick a deep cut like "Darlington County" or "Downbound Train," but really it's gotta be "Born to Run."

[wadewalbrun]

Gotta be Backstreets and Somewhere in the Night and of course The River for me. I can't seem to warm up to his new stuff, still the guy is a great live act.

[JonPorobil]

Gotta be Backstreets and Somewhere in the Night and of course The River for me. I can't seem to warm up to his new stuff, still the guy is a great live act.

I actually really liked High Hopes, the one he came out with last year. It had an awesome redux version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad," featuring Tom Morello on lead guitar...

In fact, now that I think about it, can I switch my answer to "The Ghost of Tom Joad?" Please and thank you.