In late 2008, Springsteen was riding high. He just helped Barack Obama win the presidency. He had just completed Working On A Dream, and would be starting a new tour. He would soon play the Super Bowl, where he could finally finally complete his life's mission of telling America to put down their chicken fingers. For any artist, that'd be quite a run, but in the midst of all this, he somehow earned himself his yet another Golden Globe award for his song "The Wrestler".
The stage was all set for this run to culminate in Springsteen's second Academy Award. But, fate, the fickle mistress that she is, spit in his eye.
Now, granted, I'm not here to rag on the music of Slumdog Millionaire. But, not only did Springsteen not win, he wasn't even nominated! In fact, only three songs were nominated. Generally, there are five songs nominated each year, although that can vary. However, up until that point, there had only been four prior years since 1934 where just three songs were nominated! (Just to be thorough: in 2011, two songs were nominated. That still makes it just five times in 82 years.) My conspiracy theory is that they wanted Springsteen to perform the song himself, but Springsteen declined (perhaps due to a scheduling conflict), so the Academy kicked him to the curb. Do I have proof? Of course not. Regardless, it robbed Springsteen of his chance to go down in history as a musician to win two or more Academy Awards, and, today, it officially goes down as a Great Moment in Springsteen Snubs History.
Showing posts with label The Wrestler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Wrestler. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Friday, February 1, 2013
Sporting With Bruce Springsteen
They always say that people should write what they know, so in the tradition of drinking with Springsteen and gambling with Springsteen, I present to you: Sporting with Springsteen!
The Super Bowl is this Sunday. Last year around this time, we looked back on Springsteen's epic performance at the 2009 Super Bowl. If you haven't read that, make sure to click that link; it will be much more entertaining than the article you are currently reading. This year, we will take a look at how the world of sports has crossed over into Springsteen's song catalog.
Looking for Springsteen songs about or referencing sports is a difficult endeavor, as the man does not seem to be a sports enthusiast. While he did play a little baseball in his youth, his adolescence revolved around making those guitars talk. However, there is one Springsteen song that I'm sure jumped to everyone's mind as soon as they read the title, so let's jump write into it:
Glory Days
This Youtube video even claims that it is the greatest song about baseball (John Fogerty must have turned over in his luxurious bed). And despite Bruce's baseball ignorance (a "speedball"), I'm inclined to agree with that assessment. Sure, taken in its entirety, the song is a melancholy look back at faded youth. It's a wistful song dedicated to the memory of a bygone era. That, to me, is baseball all over.
For example, football is a high-stakes world of advanced warfare, always being the first sport to adopt new technology, constantly improving their equipment, and making their players bigger and stronger. Basketball has always been strongly in step with the youth culture; in every generation, there's at least a few stars who set fashion trends (Michael Jordan's long shorts/shaved head in the late 80s, Allen Iverson's "gangsta" look in the late 90s, and the James Harden/Russell Westbrook "hipster" look today). Baseball exists in a world sepia-toned photographs of chubby men with funny mustaches. You sit down with any baseball fan, and they'll talk to you more about retired players than current ones. One of our writers, OB, is a lifelong Mets fan whose favorite player is Gary Carter - who left the team when OB was four years old! Baseball is Abbot & Costello, peanuts & crack jack, and "Glory Days".
Wrecking Ball
This song has just a vague reference to the New York Giants, but that's enough to make it into this article. "Wrecking Ball" was written in 2009 when they were tearing down Giants Stadium. It goes with the notion mentioned before that football is all about the future, as old stadium as torn down in favor of new, state-of-the-art designs. These stadiums may have the largest digital screen displays in the western hemisphere, but they do not have the character of the old stadiums. While paving over the past is not a problem unique to football (and nostalgia is not unique to baseball), it tends to be more associated with the culture of the sport.
While the previous two songs dealt with sad subjects draped in upbeat, toe-tapping tempos, the next two songs will deal with sad subjects in an appropriate somber tone. Furthermore, while the previous songs dealt with team sports and the ideals behind them, the next ones focus on individual sports and the tolls they take on those who choose them as a career path.
The Hitter
This tells the story of a tough boxer who works his way up from the dockyard, earns fame and glory, takes a dive, and finds himself back in the docks again. The story is very similar to "Workin' On The Highway", although told through Devils & Dust's barren acoustic sound, rather than the bombastic Born in the USA style. It illustrates the perils of success, and uses brutal imagery to show how rough a living it is. The narrator throughout is singing the song to his mother, showing that beneath the tough exterior he just wants the comfort of home and love to get him through his rough life.
The Wrestler
This has to be one of my all-time favorite Springsteen songs. I remember watching The Wrestler in the theaters with fellow blog writer Steve, and when this song came on at the start of the credits, it was like a punch in the gut. While the story of both the movie and the song can be applied to nearly any profession where you have to push your body physically and mentally into dangerous territory in order to succeed, it definitely works best in the context of professional wrestling. Like "Streets of Philadelphia" only vaguely referencing AIDS, there is no obvious mention of wrestling in this song, aside from "blood", "bruises", and "broken bones". However, the story here is one of the dozens of professional wrestlers whose life and careers were cut short as they pulled out all the stops to "make you smile". The question at the end is a dark indictment of the fans of many sports, as they often do ask for more, taking for granted the sacrifices of the performers.
Well, that's a pretty depressing place to end the article. So, to lighten the mood, here's a rant about being a sports fan:
A lot of people often make fun of sports fans based on their lowest common denominator. You know who that is: the fat guy who paints his face, gets too drunk at games, and yells profanities at opposing players. There are plenty of reasons to mock sports fans, and I'm sure I create more reasons every time I go to a game. However, one joke that I can't stand is when people criticize sports fans for saying "we" when referring to their favorite team. Critics will point and laughing, saying "Do you actually think you are part of the team?" Actually, newsflash: I don't. I just understand how pronouns work. If I'm talking about the Giants, my favorite team, playing the Cowboys, do you know how confusing it would be to refer to multiple teams as "they"? "They need to stop their defense because they are fighting them for a playoff spot." Say what now? I can't believe I have to explain this to non-sports fans in the year 2013. Couldn't they (meaning people who make that dumb criticism) have learned about pronouns by now? We (meaning sports fans who understand how to use the word "we" and myself, not the New York Giants and myself) figured it out long ago.
Now that my ranting is done, how about that Super Bowl? Last year, I predicted the exact final score of the game, can I pull it through again? Here's what the football experts at Legends of Springsteen think will happen Sunday:
OB: 49ers 27, Ravens 17
Rory: Ravens 31, 49ers 28
Steve: 49ers 35, Ravens 30
Have a great weekend, everyone!
The Super Bowl is this Sunday. Last year around this time, we looked back on Springsteen's epic performance at the 2009 Super Bowl. If you haven't read that, make sure to click that link; it will be much more entertaining than the article you are currently reading. This year, we will take a look at how the world of sports has crossed over into Springsteen's song catalog.
Looking for Springsteen songs about or referencing sports is a difficult endeavor, as the man does not seem to be a sports enthusiast. While he did play a little baseball in his youth, his adolescence revolved around making those guitars talk. However, there is one Springsteen song that I'm sure jumped to everyone's mind as soon as they read the title, so let's jump write into it:
Glory Days
This Youtube video even claims that it is the greatest song about baseball (John Fogerty must have turned over in his luxurious bed). And despite Bruce's baseball ignorance (a "speedball"), I'm inclined to agree with that assessment. Sure, taken in its entirety, the song is a melancholy look back at faded youth. It's a wistful song dedicated to the memory of a bygone era. That, to me, is baseball all over.
For example, football is a high-stakes world of advanced warfare, always being the first sport to adopt new technology, constantly improving their equipment, and making their players bigger and stronger. Basketball has always been strongly in step with the youth culture; in every generation, there's at least a few stars who set fashion trends (Michael Jordan's long shorts/shaved head in the late 80s, Allen Iverson's "gangsta" look in the late 90s, and the James Harden/Russell Westbrook "hipster" look today). Baseball exists in a world sepia-toned photographs of chubby men with funny mustaches. You sit down with any baseball fan, and they'll talk to you more about retired players than current ones. One of our writers, OB, is a lifelong Mets fan whose favorite player is Gary Carter - who left the team when OB was four years old! Baseball is Abbot & Costello, peanuts & crack jack, and "Glory Days".
Wrecking Ball
This song has just a vague reference to the New York Giants, but that's enough to make it into this article. "Wrecking Ball" was written in 2009 when they were tearing down Giants Stadium. It goes with the notion mentioned before that football is all about the future, as old stadium as torn down in favor of new, state-of-the-art designs. These stadiums may have the largest digital screen displays in the western hemisphere, but they do not have the character of the old stadiums. While paving over the past is not a problem unique to football (and nostalgia is not unique to baseball), it tends to be more associated with the culture of the sport.
While the previous two songs dealt with sad subjects draped in upbeat, toe-tapping tempos, the next two songs will deal with sad subjects in an appropriate somber tone. Furthermore, while the previous songs dealt with team sports and the ideals behind them, the next ones focus on individual sports and the tolls they take on those who choose them as a career path.
The Hitter
This tells the story of a tough boxer who works his way up from the dockyard, earns fame and glory, takes a dive, and finds himself back in the docks again. The story is very similar to "Workin' On The Highway", although told through Devils & Dust's barren acoustic sound, rather than the bombastic Born in the USA style. It illustrates the perils of success, and uses brutal imagery to show how rough a living it is. The narrator throughout is singing the song to his mother, showing that beneath the tough exterior he just wants the comfort of home and love to get him through his rough life.
The Wrestler
This has to be one of my all-time favorite Springsteen songs. I remember watching The Wrestler in the theaters with fellow blog writer Steve, and when this song came on at the start of the credits, it was like a punch in the gut. While the story of both the movie and the song can be applied to nearly any profession where you have to push your body physically and mentally into dangerous territory in order to succeed, it definitely works best in the context of professional wrestling. Like "Streets of Philadelphia" only vaguely referencing AIDS, there is no obvious mention of wrestling in this song, aside from "blood", "bruises", and "broken bones". However, the story here is one of the dozens of professional wrestlers whose life and careers were cut short as they pulled out all the stops to "make you smile". The question at the end is a dark indictment of the fans of many sports, as they often do ask for more, taking for granted the sacrifices of the performers.
Well, that's a pretty depressing place to end the article. So, to lighten the mood, here's a rant about being a sports fan:
A lot of people often make fun of sports fans based on their lowest common denominator. You know who that is: the fat guy who paints his face, gets too drunk at games, and yells profanities at opposing players. There are plenty of reasons to mock sports fans, and I'm sure I create more reasons every time I go to a game. However, one joke that I can't stand is when people criticize sports fans for saying "we" when referring to their favorite team. Critics will point and laughing, saying "Do you actually think you are part of the team?" Actually, newsflash: I don't. I just understand how pronouns work. If I'm talking about the Giants, my favorite team, playing the Cowboys, do you know how confusing it would be to refer to multiple teams as "they"? "They need to stop their defense because they are fighting them for a playoff spot." Say what now? I can't believe I have to explain this to non-sports fans in the year 2013. Couldn't they (meaning people who make that dumb criticism) have learned about pronouns by now? We (meaning sports fans who understand how to use the word "we" and myself, not the New York Giants and myself) figured it out long ago.
Now that my ranting is done, how about that Super Bowl? Last year, I predicted the exact final score of the game, can I pull it through again? Here's what the football experts at Legends of Springsteen think will happen Sunday:
OB: 49ers 27, Ravens 17
Rory: Ravens 31, 49ers 28
Steve: 49ers 35, Ravens 30
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Counting with Bruce Springsteen
As this blog continues its quest to cover all Springsteen minutiae, we'll turn now to the particular way Bruce starts his songs. Take a listen to this:
Did you notice it? It begins with Bruce's classic count-off to four. While it is rare that his count-offs make it onto a studio track, like in "Bobby Jean", it is a staple of Bruce's concerts. A quick burst of syllables that sound like numbers, and you know you are in for an epic song. While it didn't make it on to a studio cut, I'll always believe "Badlands" starts with a resounding "ONE TWO!"
Bruce is not just a one trick pony with his counting. He will sometimes use this trick to bring it down a little, as seen in more somber songs like "The Wrestler" and "All I'm Thinking About Is You":
It may seem like we're digging a little too deep here, but Bruce's countdowns have been noticed in other segments of pop-culture. For example, Bruce was a fan of the 70s punk rock band called The Dictators. In 1978, as Bruce's popularity was rising, he took time to make a guest appearance, providing his classic countdown for the opening track of their album Bloodbrothers:
And finally, this post wouldn't be complete without another nod to the inspiration for this blog. A true fan knew from the beginning how we'd be ending this post. Ladies and gentlemen, here is "Counting With Bruce Springsteen":
Monday, June 4, 2012
Springsteen Video of the Week - The Wrester
"The Wrestler", Working On A Dream
I would hardly call myself a movie expert. In fact, I don’t even know most award winning films exist until The Academy Awards. And even then I don’t see 90% of them. No I’m no film-buff, that’s Steve’s territory, however I do have expertise in another area: Pro-Wrestling.
Yes, at 27 years of age, I can admit I still watch the occasional pro-wrestling match. It’s not nearly like when I was a kid and felt like my life was over if I missed 1 minute of it. It was even worse than I am today with Bruce Springsteen. I watched it on TV, I read about it, and would attend as many live matches as I possibly could. And a number of times, I saw some of my old childhood-heroes, that could barely walk and had myriad health problems, come out and wrestle. I’m no film-expert, but I can easily say that Mickey Rourke’s performance in The Wrestler, is one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen in one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. And that’s thanks in no small part to music, of none other than Mr. Bruce Springsteen. Bruce’s song, captures Rourke’s character, and in essence the entire pro-wrestling industry, in one simple, sad, but incredibly satisfying song. Originally just released for the movie, it later found a home as an iTunes exclusive deluxe version of Working On A Dream.
I know Bruce has won The Academy Award for his song “Streets of Philadelphia” for the movie Philadelphia, but the fact that he didn’t win it for “The Wrestler” is just criminal. However, Bruce does get recognition from this fine blog, and isn’t that much more satisfying than an Oscar?
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