Lyrics Spotlight - "When You're Alone"

"I knew some day your runnin' would be through
And you'd think back on me and you
And your love would be strong
You'd forget all about the bad and think only of all the laughs that we had
And you'd wanna come home
Now it ain't hard feelings or nothin' sugar
That ain't what's got me singing this song
It's just nobody knows honey where love goes
But when it goes it's gone gone gone

When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone"


Happy Valentine's Day!  I know this isn't so much a spotlight, as it is a full verse spotlight, but I really wanted to include the entire thing and it's my post so I'm doing it!

I love that we run the gamut here at LOS.  Steve is happily married to his beautiful college sweetheart and expecting a child in a few months.  Rory is in a commited relationship and living with a wonderful girl he met post-graduation.  And me?  Well, I live the rugged bachelor life and couldn't be happier about it.  Now, on to the day at hand.  You're either with someone you love or you are not.  And if you're with someone you love, cheers!  Stop reading this blog right now and go do something special with them.  I promise, we will still be here tomorrow.

However if you're alone today, it's only natural to do a little soul searching.  And you'll think of a certain person, and realize "Ah, you know what?  They weren't that bad... I don't even know why we broke up.  Come to think of it, things were pretty great!"  DON'T DO IT!  I promise you, even if it's not immediately apparent, it ended for a reason.  The temptation is strong, I know, believe me I've done it too many times.  Rory suggests immediately deleting the phone number of a significant other when things end, to avoid embarrassment, and he's probably right.

Listening to this song the other day made me think of all the awful, half-assed attempts I made to rekindle flames that weren't lighting in the first place, only for me to end the night asking myself "What in God's name am I doing?"  It's not worth it.  I couldn't be happier for my best buddies Steve and Rory for finding their loves.  But if you're like me and you are single today, don't feel the pressure, don't call up exes, just enjoy being alone!  And I mean that in the best way possible.

Video Spotlight - Bruce Springsteen & Chuck Berry - "Johnny B. Goode", 1995

Bruce has played duets with many musicians, but I've never seen the man more upstaged than in this clip above.  In it, we see Chuck Berry getting the crowd to sing along, embellishing the lyrics, and dancing across the stage, while Bruce hangs in the background, awestruck.  Clarence's sax work here is a fantastic addition to the song (I had to go back and listen to the original to see if there had been a saxophone part there originally).  Chuck Berry, who is currently 87 years old, is still performing to this day; hopefully, Springsteen was able to glean a lesson or two about maintaining his endurance for the next decade.

US Tour Dates announced!

It's been a busy morning of news!

Anyway, the first leg of the US tour was announced. Hope Bruce is coming to a town near you. We will keep you posted as new dates are posted.

http://news.radio.com/2014/02/10/bruce-sprinsteen-2014-tour-dates-united-states/

Bruce covers AC/DC in Australia!

Ok so maybe it is not one of the metal songs I wished Bruce had covered, but it's close enough. 

As a massive AC/DC fan, I can't even begin to say how much I love this. First and foremost, it's Bruce playing a song he has never played live before. Secondly, not only is he covering one of my all-time favorite groups, but Bruce is branching out and trying something new. Third, it's just awesome. Seriously,  covering AC/DC in Australia might sound cheesey, and if another artist did it, it might come off that way.  But this is just pure kick ass rock and roll. Here's to hoping this is just the first of many surprises on this tour. 

Entire Bruce Springsteen setlist: February 8th, 2014. Perth, Australia.

The Lost Boys - Affection

I first heard this song in an episode of The Sopranos (hands down, the greatest TV drama of all time in my opinion).  In the episode, Tony's mistress is searching the radio for a song to do a seductive strip tease to and comes across this song.  She asks Tony "What do you think of of him?", to which Tony replies "Eh, he's alright."  Of course, this is a wink to Van Zandt's role as Silvio Dante on the show.

I love this song; it's got a total old-school, classic rock sound while still being totally identifiable with the E Street sound.  The beginning has a very Tom Petty-ish sound and it keeps going even when Van Zandt's unique vocals kick in.  I've really come to respect Van Zandt's musicianship and singing the more I learn about which songs he had the most influence on.  See Disc 2 of Tracks and The Promise for some of his best work.

Unfortunately this song was never officially released, as The Lost Boys have never released their album.  The song did find a home on a compilation of songs heard on The Sopranos entitled Peppers and Eggs.  If this is only a sample of what they are capable of, I would love to hear some of their other work.

Duke Street Kings at Mayne Stage (Chicago) on Feb 14

Looking for something to do this Valentine’s Day? What better date than seeing The Duke Street Kings perform an All-Springsteen show at Mayne Stage in Chicago?

Mayne Stage:

The Duke Street Kings celebrate the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with spirit, energy and passion! But this isn’t a tribute band, it’s Chicago’s own Michael McDermott, whose own original music, songs and performances have often been compared to Springsteen. Michael brings the Duke Street Kings to life only a couple of times a year to create a party-like sing- along that pays tribute to The Boss in his own original and personal style. Journey back to the shores of Asbury Park with The Duke Street Kings as they perform the best of The Boss’s classic albums from Greetings From Asbury Park to Born to Run to The Rising and Born In The USA.

Legends of Springsteen will be in attendance, stay tuned for a review of the show.

Latest on Clarence Clemons Stamp Petition

A few weeks ago we reported that Backstreets.com was working to get Clarence Clemons on a stamp. Here's an update from Backstreets.com on the current status of the petition...

NOW WE WAIT FOR THAT CHANGE TO GET MADE UPTOWN…
The Clarence Clemons Stamp Petition Drive Closes
Our online petition to honor Clarence Clemons with a U.S. postage stamp is now closed. In just over a month, we gathered more than 5,500 signatures, including hundreds of additional paper-and-pen signatures collected at this past weekend’s Clarence Clemons Day events in New Jersey. While the drive didn't reach its (admittedly ambitious) goal of 15,000 signatures, we still remain hopeful that Big Man will get this honor. After all, a Johnny Cash stamp was issued after the submission of one online petition with only 1,335 signatures. In any case, it now moves out of our hands: with our high hopes, copies of all signatures will now be sent to the U.S. Postal Service’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee for its consideration/approval. This won't happen overnight, of course. The Committee meets quarterly, receives thousands of written requests each year for various stamp subjects, and reviews them all. In general, it can take about three years from the submission of a request to the actual creation of a stamp, if the request is approved. Check in with the Clarence Clemons Stamp Petition Facebook Page and/or Backstreets.com for any and all updated news on this front as it occurs. And thanks again to everyone who signed and supported this effort!

You can also track their progress on the Facebook page.

Springsteen and Advertising

While I was watching the Super Bowl, I was depressed to see Bob Dylan in a truly awful commercial for Chrysler. What was worse? The shot of him looking at his own album or the casually racist ending? I wasn't alone in my distaste for the commercial.

It struck me that you would never see Bruce in a commercial like this. Even though most music scholars would say that Bob Dylan is the more artistically accomplished of the two artists, you have to give credit to Bruce for never doing something this shamefully commercial. Yes, Bruce may lend his music to MLB commercials and debut his songs on The Good Wife, but he wouldn't debase his star persona like this.