"Hunter of Invisible Game" - Short Film / Music Video

After just remarking a few weeks ago that the music video for “I’m on Fire” contained the closest thing to acting that we’ll ever get from Bruce Springsteen, The Boss goes ahead and creates this short film / music video for “Hunter of Invisible Game.”

Seemingly inspired by the films of Terrence Malick and Beasts of the Southern Wild (and perhaps even Sony PlayStation’s The Last of Us), this 10-minute short depicts a future where the world has been ravaged by an undisclosed calamity. As expected, Bruce takes center stage in this lyrical, expressionistic video that also includes a heavy focus on nature and wilderness. The second half of the video is a more traditional music video. I think it would have been more powerful if it had eschewed lip-syncing like they did with “I’m on Fire” but it’s definitely worth a watch for some great location shooting and Bruce’s solemn expressions. Gotta give credit to Bruce for constantly experimenting like this.

Song Spotlight - "I'm on Fire"

Key Video



For this song, I eschewed the live performances in favor of the official music video. I’ve always wanted a reason to highlight this video, which in some ways is my favorite Bruce Springsteen music video. As far as I know, it’s the only video of his that doesn’t contain any instruments or lip-synching. Instead we see Bruce A-C-T-I-N-G! With the exception of his on-stage theatrics and storytelling, this is likely the closest we’ll ever get to see Bruce Springsteen act. Yes, he has a cameo in High Fidelity, but it’s more of a direct address. This video features facial expressions that are meant to convey inner emotions. In the end, he’s not doing that much. But for what it’s worth, I think he’s pretty good in it. It’s also worth noting that celebrated indie filmmaker John Sayles directs the video. He shoots it almost like a David Lynch movie, with mysterious lighting and shadowy set design that perfectly complement the song’s uneasy feel.

Key Lyrics

“Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
I'm on fire”

There are very few lyrics in this song, but each one is incredibly powerful and instantly memorable. But if you have to isolate one set of lyrics, it’s hard not to go with this bold opening. The song grabs you by the throat and lets its intentions known with no ambiguity. I remember one time asking my Mom what she thought was the most memorable Springsteen song. She quickly responded, “I’m on Fire”. I was surprised to hear this and when I asked her why, she referenced the song’s fierce sexuality. That was quickly the end of that conversation. But I can see what she means.

Overall

This is one of Bruce’s most beautiful sounding songs, and simultaneously also one of his creepiest. It sounds so haunting, like the feverish dream the narrator references. It’s the kind of song that appears deceptively simple on the surface, but burrows into your psyche and never leaves. I have to side with my Mom, this is one of his most memorable songs.

Video Spotlight - "Forever" by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul

Last week, I spotlighted the solo work of Clarence Clemons.  Today, I'll set my sights to probably the most successful E Street alum, Steven Van Zandt.  His band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, wrote several albums, which sold solidly.  The song above, "Forever", is from their debut album, Men Without Women.  While the song is a catchy toe-tapper, I just can't take my eyes away from this video.  It shares many qualities with Clarence's video:

• I refuse to believe that's Little Steven's voice.  I'm not saying it's a bad voice, it's just that you don't expect that man to open up and start singing with an Elvis Costello-esque warble.  

• There is a lot of man in this video.  Everywhere I look, it's shoulders and chest hair.  Prominently featured is a shirtless man in a Raiden hat on bongos.  Do you hear bongos in this song?  Neither do I.  The video, dripping with the raw sex appeal of the Disciples of Soul, helps answer the main question of the song.  "If I give you my heart, will you love me forever?"  With that chest?  Yes! 

Clearly, with many of these videos, nobody suspected that anyone would still watch it over 30 years later.  And thank goodness for that.  But, I can't help but wonder if the videos from our time won't be equally embarrassing in 30 years.  Wait, what am I talking about: they already are!

Breaking News - "High Hopes" Video Released, New Album Announced

Well, once we were treated to a fantastic studio version of "Dream Baby Dream", the rumors started to swirl.  Today, everything became official: a video was released for "High Hopes", and an album by the same name was announced for January 14th.  Like Wrecking Ball, it's a not-quite-E-Street album, featuring a lot of Tom Morello (he's listed on eight of 12 tracks).  Upon first listen, "High Hopes" has that same "angry mob" sound that characterized Wrecking Ball stand-out tracks such as "Death To My Hometown" and "Shackled and Drawn".  While it isn't as catchy as "We Take Care Of Our Own", this song, as well as the aforementioned "Dream Baby Dream", have me very excited for the new album, and, more importantly, the (potentially) forthcoming tour.

Video Spotlight - Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne in "You're a Friend of Mine"

I'm currently reading Clarence Clemons' semi-autobiography from a few years ago (a review should be coming in the next few weeks), and I've had everything Clemons on the mind.  As I tried to find a clip of Clarence guest-starring on My Wife and Kids (which is frequently referred to in the book), I stumbled across this 1985 video which was previously unknown to me.  And, boy oh boy, is it a gem!  I'm not really sure how to put into words how much I love this video, so I'll list a few highlights:

• It starts off innocently enough, with an infectious 80s beat and Clarence's saxophone solo.  But then, out of nowhere, Clarence starts singing!  It was shocking for this Springsteen die-hard to hear - Clarence's voice will still always be strange to me.
• The decor is classic "this is the first time I'm making a music video" that has come back to haunt many musicians.  It looks like it was filmed in a hotel room in about 20 minutes.  The background is filled with odd objects seemingly placed there at random: a Victrola, a soccer ball, random picture frames, etc.
• Daryl Hannah's there!  She seems to be torn between painting Clarence and Jackson, or filming them with a camera that looks like it weighs about 80 pounds.  Also, I'm not convinced she was actually in the room at the time they were shooting this.
• As for the other participants: Jackson Browne looks very unhappy to be there, the drummer looks ecstatic, and the keyboardist looks jealous of Daryl Hannah's hair

However, Clemons owns this whole video, for many reasons.  First, he reacts to every word in the song as if it were a real conversation.  He hams it up, making large gestures like a Vaudevillian performer.  Furthermore, he is fully committed to the hetero-romance of the song, not being afraid to get as close to Jackson Browne as possible.  This is not a comfortable thing for most men to do (as you can see Jackson squirming to get some personal space); it takes years of being inches away from making out with Bruce to get this naturally close to another man and still be completely comfortable in your sexuality.  Finally, that saxophone, while enormous in any other man's hands, looks like a toy in Clarence's arms.  As he lays down the outro, he swings the sax with wild abandon, and you remember why the E Street Band will never be quite the same again.

Springsteen Video Of The Week- Atlantic City

I had never seen this video before, but I'm really liking it.  It doesn't hurt that this is also one my top five Bruce songs.  But having just got back from AC, and taken an absolutely brutal beating at the tables, I can tell you Bruce's bleak depiction of "The World's Most Famous Playground," is fairly accurate.  Atlantic City is such a strange city.  It's on the water, it has the boardwalk, the casinos, the nightclubs, the comedy clubs, the music venues. It attracts the poorest of bums to the swankiest of high rollers, and everything in between.  And yet in the end, it's just really a dumpy little town that's the definition of corruption.  But people keep coming to it, year round.  When Bruce sings "Everything dies baby, that's a fact but maybe everything that dies someday comes back", he is very much singing about the city itself and its inhabitants.

Springsteen Links - Dancing in the Dark Analysis

Thanks to a faithful reader for passing on this link from Grantland analyzing the "Dancing in the Dark" music video; one in a series of close analyses of popular music videos from the 1980s on the website.

"Dancing in the Dark" is regarded as Bruce's most pop music friendly song which can be a burden. It's easy to dismiss it as pop 40 froth but that's a disservice to the rich lyrics -- some of his best in my opinion. Fortunately, Bruce has embraced the song's popularity and turned it into a signature closer at his live performances that is even better than the studio version but still satisfying in its familiarity.

The music video is often maligned, parodied or dismissed as a 1980s curio. This Grantland writer does all of the above while simultaneously praising the video. Even though much of it is tongue-in-cheek, there is some genuine affection for what Bruce accomplishes in the video. Giving close attention to the way Bruce rolls his sleeves to the way Courtney Cox fixes her hair, this is a very entertaining read:

Grantland: Rembert Explains the 80's: Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing in the Dark' Video

Springsteen Video of the Week - Girls in their Summer Clothes Music Video

Remember watching MTV and VH1 for hours on end waiting for the three minutes of bliss when you could see the music video you loved? The iTunes generation and beyond may never appreciate this pastime. And I can’t blame them. Hours of watching TRL and Morning Buzz could be maddening. You might come across a song you’ve never heard before but in return you’d have the lyrics to “The Thong Song” seared into your memory for all eternity.

The downside of living in an era of instant gratification and music video channels that refuse to play music videos is that we don’t experience the visual impact of pop music anymore. With the release of the “Rocky Ground” music video the other week, I realized that I couldn’t recall that many Bruce Springsteen music videos that vividly. Of course there are the iconic “Dancing in the Dark” and “I’m on Fire” videos but neither were in heavy rotation when I was doing the majority of my music video watching. The only music video I remember seeing on heavy rotation was “The Rising” – and that was a concert video from the MTV Music Video Awards. There was also the “Secret Garden” music video which I saw a few times but more prevalent than that video was the radio version of the song that Z100 used to play with dialogue from Jerry Maguire interspersed through the instrumental sections.

Should an artist with Bruce’s popularity even bother making music videos anymore? Is anyone discovering his music through this format? I’m not certain, but sparked by “Rocky Ground” I started looking through his VEVO channel on YouTube and found this beautiful video for “Girls in their Summer Clothes.” This video could have easily been a parade of bikini-clad supermodels to appeal to teenage boys but instead it’s something much more emotional and lyrical, with girls young and old accompanied by heartfelt imagery. While most fans would have been aware of this song already, seeing the visuals does add another layer for interpretation. In this case, it reiterates the melancholy of the lyrics and suggests that ‘summer clothes’ could be more of an emotional state than a physical appearance.

Rocky Ground Music Video Released

The second single from Wrecking Ball now has a music video. Check out the "Rocky Ground" video below for some soulful imagery and dramatic handwriting.