Lyrics Spotlight - Point Blank

"It's one false move and baby the lights go out"

--Point Blank, The River

Last year at this time, I was able to write a glorious post-Super Bowl tribute to my beloved New York Giants.  This year we were treated to an entertaining, albeit frustrating, game.  I had no real dog in this fight, as the arbitrary reasons I had for rooting for the 49ers (NFC team, black quarterback, and hating Ray Lewis) were equaled out by my reasons for rooting for the Ravens (underdog, Rutgers' Ray Rice, and older brothers sticking together).  What most casual fans will take away from this game was the 34-minute blackout during the game.  

While frustrating at the time, I feel, in the long run, the blackout was a net gain for the Super Bowl.  First, it turned the momentum from Baltimore to San Francisco, as the game was getting out of hand.  Who wants to see a blow-out?  Secondly, it gave everyone in America an extra half-hour of drinking, which is a perfect addition to any party.  Finally, the most important aspect of the blackout is that it was a litmus test to see how strong your Super Bowl party was.  As someone at my party said, "Woah, it's already been 27 minutes?  You people are pretty entertaining!"  If you found yourself drinking, joking, and switching to the Puppy Bowl as you waited for the game to restart, congratulations!  You were at a great party!  However, if you found yourself falling asleep or pulling out your hair waiting for the game to restart, you may want to go to a different party next year.  

Finally, there were a lot of "blackout" lines in Bruce songs I could have chosen, including whole songs such as "Shut Out The Light" and "When The Lights Go Out".  However, I picked "Point Blank" to reflect the accuracy of my Super Bowl prediction.  Last year, I nailed the final score exactly, and this year I was the only Legends of Springsteener to pick the Ravens, and was off on the final score by just 3 points for each team.  Loyal readers, make sure to check back next February to see if I can keep my streak alive.

Book Review - Springsteen: Point Blank by Chris Sanford

Knowing that this was a limited-access biography written over 10 years ago, my expectations were not high. However, there are certain celebrities that are so fascinating that you'd really have to work hard to make them seem uninteresting - The Beatles, Stan Lee, Michael Jordan, etc. I was hoping Springsteen would fall into this category. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Sanford's book begins with a catty tale about Bruce dumping a girlfriend after a concert in 1979, and really doesn't rise much above that. He claims he is attempting to be "iconoclastic" and present the "real" story of Springsteen, but the book is filled with anonymous quotes from former bandmates and lovers, with occasional shots at Dave Marsh. It even has the audacity to lift stories straight from Bruce's Live 1975-85 album (did you know that Bruce's parents wanted a lawyer or an author, but had to settle for rock and roll?). The author takes gossip and draws ridiculous interpretations about Bruce and his songs - he repeatedly calls Springsteen "schizophrenic" to the point where I was thinking, "I don't think you know what that word means" (ala Mandy Patinkin). Furthermore, the writing is verbose, clumsy, and often non-sensical. For example, "Whatever his shin-guard flaws, they were more than matched by his academic scrapes."

Sanford is in his element when he is sticking to the cold hard facts. He does a fine job outlining Bruce's rise to fame. I've never been quite sure how people make the leap from local stars to rock stars, but this book immerses itself in the details. Bruce's decline is the 1990s is an interesting read as well, as it proposes Bruce not really "caring" about his music at that time. It isn't quite as ludicrous as Sanford's other theories, and it will be interesting to read about if Bruce ever does his own tell-all book.

Overall, I cannot recommend any use their time on this book. Even the die-hards will be left cold by this. I give Point Blank 1 out of 5 right between the eyes.