Blog Updates: New Banner!

You may have noticed something new when you logged onto Legends of Springsteen this weekend.  That's right, in an effort to make this mom-and-pop blog look legitimate, we've updated our banner!  The new banner design is courtesy of Justin Piasecki, the visionary mind behind Harrison Quest.  Harrison Quest is a radio soap opera podcast that follows the exploits of a group of die-hard Harrison Ford fans as they attempt to deliver Harrison a script that will ensure that he wins an Oscar.  If you are a fan of this blog, you will no doubt love that podcast.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about a group of fans obsessing over a masculine sex symbol who was big in the 70s and 80s that I can really relate to.

Additionally, we have been opening up Legends of Springsteen for submissions from guest contributors.  We are open to any type of submission, from song or lyric spotlights to random stories about how Bruce Springsteen has affected your life.  However, concert reviews have been the most popular articles, so with the new tour coming to America, we'd love any of those.  If you are interested in contributing, please e-mail LOSpringsteen@gmail.com.

Finally, if you'd like to support the blog in a more passive way, you can always subscribe to our Twitter feed or become a follower on Google.  Thank you for your continued support!

Great Moments In Springsteen Fandom: The MSG Beer Incident

So this is a new idea I had for a series of posts.  Basically these are just going to be true personal stories from my life that revolve around the benefits of being a Bruce Springsteen fan.  And yes, there are many benefits!  For example:

On April 6th, 2012 Rory and I went to see Bruce at Madison Square Garden.  I was really excited for this show for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, I was seeing Bruce Springsteen, the greatest concert performer there is to see.  Secondly, it was a Friday night after a very long work week, plus the concert was in New York City (where I live), so I wouldn't have to worry about traffic or parking.  Third, I was going with one of my best buddies and we had really good seats.  This was going to be a great night!

I met up with Rory at Mustang Sally's on 7th Ave, just a few blocks away from MSG.  We sat down, had a few beers but all we kept talking about was...Bruce.  He was as pumped as I was, so we headed to the show.  We got there about 45 minutes before Bruce went on.  We were on the floor, but had assigned seats in the back, not in the GA area.  We took our seats and continued talking about whatever, when the two gentlemen who had the seats next to us took their seats.  We politely introduced ourselves and exchanged pleasantries before Rory and I went back to our individual conversations.

That's where this story picks up...

One of the gentlemen politely tapped us on the shoulder and said he was going up to get some beer, would we want any?  We gladly said yes, reached into our back pockets to get money, when he said "Nah, this one is on me guys."  What a nice fellow.  We thanked him and assured him we would get the next round.  This was great, I always prefer the "buying rounds" system so that way I'm not constantly getting up to buy my own beers, and someone doesn't cheapskate me and constantly ask for a beer while I'm up.  He came back and we thanked him and toasted to Bruce.  Cheers!  We finished our beers, with still about five minutes to go before Bruce came on, Rory and I both gave each other a look and knew we would go to grab one more before Bruce took the stage.  We asked the two guys if they needed another one, and they said "No, but here you go let us buy you beer."

He handed us a $20.

Stop it.

Really?

Yes, this guy was for real, and insisted on buying us beers the entire night.  And Rory and I are pretty big drinkers, so he went through quite a bit of money.  At least 7 rounds.  We tried everything, but he wouldn't hear of it.  He even ran out of cash at one point, so he gave us his credit card.  To which his friend correctly pointed out this was crazy, and you shouldn't just give your credit card out.  And then his friend gave us a $20.  And by the way, later that night, he actually did give us his credit card.  It took all of my will and moral fiber to not go to the merchandise stand and buy one of everything.  Even if I did, I don't think this guy would have minded.  But luckily for him, we stuck to beer.

This was a relatively young guy, in his early 40's I would say.  He put his arm around us, and said "When you get to be my age, make sure you do this for a couple of kids too."  Rory and I were 27.  We had good jobs, and could buy our own beer.  Did we look like were 16, and needed someone to buy us beer?  No...well maybe Rory, but not me!  Most of the times we went up, we bought them beers too.  It was the least we could do with their money.  Unfortunately, during the first song of the encore, "Rocky Ground" I believe, these two gentlemen drunkenly stumbled out of The World's Most Famous Arena, and we never saw or heard from them again.  I will stay true to my word though, and when I'm 45, and Bruce is still touring, I will absolutely buy some random strangers beer all night.  Stay tuned for that post in 16 years.

Hungry Heart - Pitch Re-Adjusted to the Key of C

Ah, good old "Hungry Heart".  A Springsteen staple that's universally accepted by his fans and casual music listeners as "pretty good".  I believe a key to the enduring power of the song is the plethora of trivia that is associate with it, such as being written for the Ramones, being Springsteen's first top 10 hit on the Billboard chart, and being sped up to the point that the song didn't sound anything like Springsteen.  Well, while we will never hear the Ramones cover the song, nor find out why "Born To Run" never cracked the top 10, we can now hear how a studio version of the song would sound with Bruce's normal voice.  While nothing can top the version with the crowd sing-a-long on Live 1975-85, the pitch-adjusted version still beats the recording released on The River.

7Lions - "Born 2 Run"

Disclaimer: This video has nothing to do with the Bruce song, and is only serving as fodder for me to go off on a rant.

So I first noticed this song in 2012 when the LA Kings were in the Stanley Cup against my beloved New Jersey Devils.  Whoever won or lost that year is irrelevant (Hint: the Devils did not win), but whenever the games were being played in LA, I noticed this annoying song playing in the background.  It stunk.  I didn't think much of it, cursed the Kings for winning The Cup, and went about my day.

Then about a year later, I noticed that the new theme song to the World Wrestling Entertainment show, WWE Smackdown! sounded familiar.  After a few listens, I soon realized it was the same annoying song from the Kings Stanley Cup run.  Now I had to find out what this song is.  Sure enough, the song was called "Born 2 Run" by 7Lions.  After a little research I learned that the song has also been used by the NFL, MLB and NASCAR.  So good for them for getting their song out there.

But seriously?  Naming your song after one of the most iconic rock songs is so bush league.  It's not like they named it "Yesterday" or "Satisfaction", which I would give them a pass.  Hell, even "Born In The USA", would be fine because it's such a generic term.  But what does it even mean to be "Born To Run"?  You know it will never be as big as the original song, so why would you always want to be "the other Born 2 Run".  Clearly they knew what they were doing, and my guess is that in this age of one button purchases of music on phones and tablets, they hoped to make money off people buying their song by accident.  Like the time I accidentally played a song called "Guns N' Roses" on a jukebox, when I wanted to play music by the iconic rock band.

And when all is said and done, when I'm alone in my apartment  I find myself humming both this and the Guns N' Roses song to myself.  Damn their catchy choruses!

Lyrics Spotlight: Long Time Comin'

“I reach beneath your shirt, lay my hands across your belly
And feel another one kickin' inside
And I ain't gonna fuck it up this time”
- Long Time Comin’, Devils & Dust

I am very blessed to share that my wife and I are going to have our first child in just over a month’s time. We were both hoping for it to happen and couldn’t be more excited. But even when it’s something you’ve so hoped would happen, it’s still natural to feel moments of anxiety (the baby books have confirmed I’m not alone on this). In the first few days after I found out back in August, the above lyrics rang through my head frequently.

I’m fortunate that I haven’t lived a life with the kind of distraught family unrest that the narrator describes in this song. But like everyone else, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. At times when I feel uneasy or uncertain about my ability to be a good father, I think of these lyrics and remind myself that this is one thing I’m not gonna fuck up.

Great Moments in Springsteen Television History - Bruce Fallsteen In Jem

In continuing our thorough examination this week of Bruce Springsteen parodies in 1980s pop culture, here we see a shot from the classic Jem episode ""In Search of The Stolen Album".  I assume it is a classic, I actually haven't seen it.  However, as you can see, a musician named "Bruce Fallsteen" is number three on the charts.  In case you didn't realize, that is supposed to be Bruce Springsteen, but they changed it from "Spring" to "Fall" because fall is the opposite of spring when it comes to the seasons of the year.  If you need further help understanding the joke, please let me know in the comments section below.  

That's it for this Great Moment In Springsteen Television History.  Bruce Fallsteen does not appear anywhere else in the episode; in fact, the Great Moment is entirely captured in the screenshot above.  Was this a waste of time?  Perhaps.  But check out those other parody band names: The Moss Covered Stones!  The Roomoans!  Tom Potty!  As always, Jem is truly outrageous.

Comic Book Review - Transformers #14: "Rock And Roll-Out!"

FYI: Click on any image to enlarge

Has Bruce Springsteen met the Transformers?  Of course not, you idiot.  However, in the mid-1980s, legendary Transformers comic book writer Bob Budiansky tackled the question that has plagued us all: what would happen if Bruce Springsteen met the Transformers?  The answer lies in issue 14 of the original Transformers series.  Should you be unable to attain a copy for yourself (I mean, an issue this rare is trading on Amazon for $0.75!), please make due with my humble recap.

Let's hit the basic plot points first: the book opens with Jetfire becoming an Autobot (yay!).  Then, a machine is used to revive five old Autobots back to life (yay!).  Next, we peak into the nefarious Decepticons, who are looking to steal energy (boo!).  Now, let's rejoin the story, as the newly revived Autobots hit the town to learn the customs of the humans.

As the Autobots pull into the gas station, they are immediately greeted by the pleasant tones of Bruce Springste--er, I mean, Brick Springstern and the Tenth Avenue Band.  Of course, the blue-collar gas station attendants would listen to nothing else.  Springstern's hit song "Dancing in the Night" is playing, and one of the Autobots (I believe his name is Skids, so let's go with that) takes an immediate liking to the tune.

At this point, Optimus Prime chimes in, and explains the plot (for those of us still confused).  Basically, the Decepticons are stealing sonic energy, or something like that.  Where are they going to get said sonic energy?  Why, through the sonic energy produced by mister Brick Springstern and the mighty Tenth Avenue Band!  We are treated to one more Springstern classic, "Born To Ride", and off the Autobots go into action.

Finally!  By page 15, we get our first view of Brick Springstern, whose has ditched the "stern" and now goes by Brick SpringHORN.  He's in the middle of his classic anthem "Born In America", and the gang is all there: a hefty black saxophone player, some guy with a hat, some other guy with sunglasses, and the blue-haired drummer!  I have to say, I'm mildly disappointed it that there were 14 non-Brick Springsternhorn pages before this.  However, this little dialogue exchange is exactly what I wanted:

Skids: My analysis indicates a rhythmic tonal quality, Tracks, that positively stimulates the cerebro-circuitry.

Tracks: Which means--?

Skids: I like it!

Tracks takes one or two other digs at the Boss throughout the issue.  I wonder if Springsteen did get a copy of this comic book, read it, and was so bitter that Tracks wasn't a fan that he later named an album Tracks just to spite him.  Anyway, here's another panel, featuring the hit song "Margarita":

The Autobots find some power cord that the Decepticons are using to steal the sonic energy, and mayhem ensues.  During the chaos, the lighting scaffolding above the stage breaks, but fortunately, Autobot Hoist is there to save the day and repair the scaffolding.  Obviously, 40-foot robots attacking each other in an 80,000 seat venue could cause a panic, but that's where Brick Springhornstern comes in: he keeps playing.

It really is a Sophie's choice that I believe we have all wondered: if giant robots from outer space are attacking each other during a Springsteen concert, do you run for your life or stay at the show?  Who am I kidding, I know we'd all stay at the show.  

The good robots eventually chase the bad robots away, to battle again in next month's issue.  And, on a non-Springsteen related note, did you know that there was supposed to be a Captain America Broadway musical?

Now, according to my extensive Internet research (also known as the first link I see after I Google something), the musical never happened.  But, this magnificent advertisement still lives!  I love everything about it: Cap's top hat, his wiggle, the guilt trip message at the bottom ("You wouldn't want to let Cap down, would you?").  Unfortunately, Cap let us down by never making it big.

While this comic is no Watchmen (nor is it Wings for Wheels, a fantastic Springsteen-based comic), I still enjoyed it for what it was: 20-odd pages worth of classic 80s goodness.  I'd give it 4 out of 5 Bricks, and definitely worth a couple bucks to add to your collection.  Play us out, Brick!

Bruce Covers Lorde's "Royals"

Another day, another out-of-nowhere cover from Springsteen.  He's already covered metal, 80s pop, and disco, so why not move on to indie hits?  Going from Australia to New Zealand, he opens the show with a cover of the latest (only?) New Zealand pop star, Lorde, and the result is fantastic.  I do hope the "covering bands from the region he's playing" trend continues, just to see what song he picks when he finally arrives in New Jersey.