Disrespectin The Boss

Jackson Doofster · Post by **Jackson Doofster** » Fri Jun 20, 2003 4:04 pm

Ok. So I'm behind the times. I bought The Rising last week.

I'd read mixed reviews and I'd heard people commenting that it 'sucked' and worse, that it was exploitative. Excuse my french...but.....What absolute bollocks!

I cannot believe that anyone can diss an album that has songs like these. I mean,

..the beauty of Paradise...

..the rock n roll of Further on up the Road

....the simplicity (simple is very hard to get) and fun of Sunny Day and Mary's Place (my kids love them two)

...the hymn like structure of City Of Ruins

....the power of Empty Sky.........and most,most, most of all...

...The terrible beauty of You're Missing.

The latter is one of the saddest songs I have ever heard. It made me think more and more about the people left behind, not just in NY, but whenever innocent people die. In the middle east, in Bali, on the roads, in hospital...wherever. It is just plain sad when children grow up without parents and partners lose the loves of their lives. Was this album exploitative ?? Of course it wasn't. Does Bruce Springsteen have to make money out of this suffering? He's a millionaire several times over. He has a proven track record in writing great music since 1973. He's probably been one of the more consistent stars over the years. If you can't use events like 9/11 for inspiration, then what can you use?

I really don't give a fuck if he kept all the money and gave nothing to the various charities on offer. It is his talent and his money. Do we want artists to ignore one of the the greatest and most overwhelming events of our generation ? The man writes songs for heaven's sake. That's his job. IMO he does it very well indeed.

Now I'm no massive Springsteen fan and I don't have what is regarded as his best stuff. I own and love Nebraska, The River and my favourite, Tunnel of Love. IMHO, People have it in for Bruce in the same way that they had it in for Elvis in the mid-late 80s. He was cool and they wanted to kick him down when he became an icon.

Well, I love The Rising (despite the dreadful title track and the very trite Into the Fire). I think that people frquently misunderstand him and he gets wrongly labelled 'jingoisitc'. People shoulf open their minds, stop following like sheep and read the goddamn lyrics for themeselves..

nuff said.

The Doofster

A rope leash · Post by **A rope leash** » Fri Jun 20, 2003 4:17 pm

Is he talking to me?

girl out of time · Post by **girl out of time** » Fri Jun 20, 2003 8:14 pm

hey doof....i couldn´t agree more with you when you single out songs like missing and empty sky......they are definitely the best tracks on that album.....as for the rest of the songs they just didn´t do it for me....
i´ve been a boss fan since i was 13 years old and even though i have a certain preference for his earlier records i have never been completely dissapointed by his work.....he´s a committed artist and i totally respect what he stands for....to label him or his music as exploitative it just doesn´t make any sense...people should listen more carefully to his songs

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Sat Jun 21, 2003 12:38 am

Amen, Jackson

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Jun 21, 2003 10:22 am

His work also means a lot to me.

Some backlash from the ignorant* is understandable, but in the end it's irrelevant.

* I'm not saying this is you Rope, I suspect you said "the Rising sucks" in jest after the grammys, and haven't even heard the album...

Post by **BlueChair** » Sat Jun 21, 2003 10:31 am

The Rising is a great album, though I do think there are a few soddy tracks on it. I still can't get myself into the title track for instance, but I do love many of the albums other tracks.

Five Essential Springsteen Albums:

1. The River
2. Born To Run
3. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
4. The Wild, The Innocent, The E-Street Shuffle
5. Nebraska

A rope leash · Post by **A rope leash** » Sat Jun 21, 2003 10:35 am

I've never heard anything from "The Rising" except the song "The Rising". I listen to an awful lot of FM radio, up and down the band, and on down the road. If the album is so good, why aren't they playing it? To make room for "Walk this Way" one more time?

Now, when I first ejected my bile on this subject, back during Grammy time when Bruce stole all of Elvis' awards, I made it very clear that it was the SONG, "The Rising", that I felt and still do dearly feel sucks and verily so.

Indeed, I know that Bruce Springsteen is a fair artist and can write a good pop tune. But the song "The Rising" is just another rehash of his typical New Jersey marching anthem, like "Born in the USA".

Bruce Springsteen is six or seven on my list of greatest heros in pop music. He just doesn't have the balls that Elvis Costello has, or the intellect.

I like that song "Workin on the Highway".

Post by **BlueChair** » Sat Jun 21, 2003 11:06 am

They play "Raining On A Sunny Day" a lot on British radio. That's a much better song.

SweetPear · Post by **SweetPear** » Sat Jun 21, 2003 3:44 pm

A rope leash wrote:I've never heard anything from "The Rising" except the song "The Rising". I listen to an awful lot of FM radio, up and down the band, and on down the road. If the album is so good, why aren't they playing it? To make room for "Walk this Way" one more time?

Now, when I first ejected my bile on this subject, back during Grammy time when Bruce stole all of Elvis' awards, I made it very clear that it was the SONG, "The Rising", that I felt and still do dearly feel sucks and verily so.

Indeed, I know that Bruce Springsteen is a fair artist and can write a good pop tune. But the song "The Rising" is just another rehash of his typical New Jersey marching anthem, like "Born in the USA".

Bruce Springsteen is six or seven on my list of greatest heros in pop music. He just doesn't have the balls that Elvis Costello has, or the intellect.

I like that song "Workin on the Highway".

Ditto, Rope. Except for the part about listening to FM radio. Radio sucks. If I've got the radio on, it's talk radio where I prob get alot of my news (b/c with four kids going everywhere under the sun, I'm in the car a great deal) or a good college station, if you can get one.

Doof, I love Tunnel of Love!!

(the Dire Straits one too)

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 12:37 am

BC,

I think it's "Waiting on a Sunny Day."

Post by **BlueChair** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 2:21 pm

Yep, my bad.... I was too lazy to actually look at the CD.

Plus I kept hearing The Jayhawks "Save It For A Rainy Day" in my head..

Jackson Doofster · Post by **Jackson Doofster** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 3:17 pm

However.................it must be said that Raining on a Sunny day would have been a better title..

girl out of time · Post by **girl out of time** » Sun Jun 22, 2003 3:44 pm

top 5 records by the boss

born to run
darkness on the edge of town
the wild the innocent & the e street shuffle
nebraska
the ghost of tom joad

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:42 am

I never liked the BOZZ....Just a couple of his tunes that were good..BUT I saw him on stage and thought he was mega cool....He loves to jam and do his thing, you gotta love the man for that....you don't feel cheated when you see his concerts. THen again, he has two hot guitar players....and a solid band behind him...Max is a dork...but keeps a steady beat.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 11:37 am

Raining on a Sunny Day WOULD be a better title. I thought when I read it that it might have been the real title and felt like a chiump for having had it wrong all along. When I saw the correct title, I confess I was a bit disappointed.

Could have had that whole "Shadows in the Rain" vibe going for it.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 6:48 pm

I'm with you, Doof, and what a shame we didn't have more time for a droolsome conversation over this great LP. I agree You're Misssing is sad beyond sad, and it was incredibly powerful live. I disagree with Into The Fire, it's every bit as sad and direct as You're Missing, and it was just amazingly inspirational to see him, eyes closed, 100% lost in his own intensity, singing 'Up the stairs, into the fire/May your strength give us strength, may your hope give us hope'. Waiting On A Sunny Day, sung to a lovely sunny London evening, was great fun. I love Perfect Day too. As a journalisst here said, when he sings 'It's alright, it's alright, it's alright'... you just believe.

I never really got/bothered with much of BS (too much of what ARL cruelly calls the NJ Marching Anthem factor listening to Born In The USA), but am getting more and more into him. I have Asbury Park, Born To Run, Tunnel Of Love (great!), and The Shining. I want all the ones you list above. And the rest!

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:43 pm

I have to admit that I was a huge Bruce fan in the late 70's/early 80's. My friends and I took turns waiting in line for seven nights waiting for Bruce tickets when he came to our university on The River tour in 1980. The seats and the show were brilliant. Sometime after the Born in the USA overkill I slowly began to lose interest. I only listened to Tunnel of Love a couple of times before giving it away (big mistake!) A couple of weeks ago I bought Tunnel of Love for $2.50 on eBay and have found it to be among his best - and clearly most underrated - albums.

Anyway, I found The Rising to be a mixed bag. 'Paradise' is absolutely stunning; among his best songs ever. 'City of Ruins' and a couple of others are pretty good. The rest seemed trite; haven't listened to it in months.

5 Essential Springsteen albums:

1. The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
2. Nebraska
3. Darkness on the Edge of Town
4. Born To Run
5. Tunnel of Love

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:44 pm

I have to admit that I was a huge Bruce fan in the late 70's/early 80's. My friends and I took turns waiting in line for seven nights waiting for Bruce tickets when he came to our university on The River tour in 1980. The seats and the show were brilliant. Sometime after the Born in the USA overkill I slowly began to lose interest. I only listened to Tunnel of Love a couple of times before giving it away (big mistake!) A couple of weeks ago I bought Tunnel of Love for $2.50 on eBay and have found it to be among his best - and clearly most underrated - albums.

Anyway, I found The Rising to be a mixed bag. 'Paradise' is absolutely stunning; among his best songs ever. 'City of Ruins' and a couple of others are pretty good. The rest seemed trite; haven't listened to it in months.

5 Essential Springsteen albums:

1. The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
2. Nebraska
3. Darkness on the Edge of Town
4. Born To Run
5. Tunnel of Love

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:44 pm

I have to admit that I was a huge Bruce fan in the late 70's/early 80's. My friends and I took turns waiting in line for seven nights waiting for Bruce tickets when he came to our university on The River tour in 1980. The seats and the show were brilliant. Sometime after the Born in the USA overkill I slowly began to lose interest. I only listened to Tunnel of Love a couple of times before giving it away (big mistake!) A couple of weeks ago I bought Tunnel of Love for $2.50 on eBay and have found it to be among his best - and clearly most underrated - albums.

Anyway, I found The Rising to be a mixed bag. 'Paradise' is absolutely stunning; among his best songs ever. 'City of Ruins' and a couple of others are pretty good. The rest seemed trite; haven't listened to it in months.

5 Essential Springsteen albums:

1. The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
2. Nebraska
3. Darkness on the Edge of Town
4. Born To Run
5. Tunnel of Love

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:44 pm

I have to admit that I was a huge Bruce fan in the late 70's/early 80's. My friends and I took turns waiting in line for seven nights waiting for Bruce tickets when he came to our university on The River tour in 1980. The seats and the show were brilliant. Sometime after the Born in the USA overkill I slowly began to lose interest. I only listened to Tunnel of Love a couple of times before giving it away (big mistake!) A couple of weeks ago I bought Tunnel of Love for $2.50 on eBay and have found it to be among his best - and clearly most underrated - albums.

Anyway, I found The Rising to be a mixed bag. 'Paradise' is absolutely stunning; among his best songs ever. 'City of Ruins' and a couple of others are pretty good. The rest seemed trite; haven't listened to it in months.

5 Essential Springsteen albums:

1. The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
2. Nebraska
3. Darkness on the Edge of Town
4. Born To Run
5. Tunnel of Love

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:45 pm

I have to admit that I was a huge Bruce fan in the late 70's/early 80's. My friends and I took turns waiting in line for seven nights waiting for Bruce tickets when he came to our university on The River tour in 1980. The seats and the show were brilliant. Sometime after the Born in the USA overkill I slowly began to lose interest. I only listened to Tunnel of Love a couple of times before giving it away (big mistake!) A couple of weeks ago I bought Tunnel of Love for $2.50 on eBay and have found it to be among his best - and clearly most underrated - albums.

Anyway, I found The Rising to be a mixed bag. 'Paradise' is absolutely stunning; among his best songs ever. 'City of Ruins' and a couple of others are pretty good. The rest seemed trite; haven't listened to it in months.

5 Essential Springsteen albums:

1. The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
2. Nebraska
3. Darkness on the Edge of Town
4. Born To Run
5. Tunnel of Love

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:47 pm

Not sure how I managed to post this 5 times. Sorry.

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Disrespectin The Boss

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