Quick Takes - You've Got It

Whew.  After my last two reviews ("Easy Money" and "Death To My Hometown"), it is a relief to listen to a sweet, simple song.  Unfortunately, there isn't much to say on this song.  It is what it is - a straight-forward love song, and chances are that your first impression of it will be your last.  It will be interesting to see how it works in the context of the whole album, as thematically, it sounds more like a leftover song from Lucky Town, and doesn't sound like it belongs with the other politically charged anthems on the new record.

Springsteen Lyrics of the Week - Car Wash

“Well my name is Catherine Lefevre
I work at the Astrowash on Sunset and Vine”
- Car Wash, Tracks (Disc 3)


The narrator in this song, Catherine, views her identity as tied to her profession and is unable to distinguish between the two. She dreams of being a professional singer instead of her current job at a car wash and can't imagine doing both simultaneously. She complains about her boss and views work as “doing her time.” She’s stuck in a dead end job and doesn’t have the drive to change her lot in life. It’s familiar territory for Bruce Springsteen. But what is so surprising about “Car Wash” is that Bruce chooses to sing from the perspective of a woman.

It’s not unusual for Bruce to sing about a woman, as he does in “Queen of the Supermarket” for example, but it’s hard to think of other cases where Bruce sings from the perspective of a woman. He does it for a verse in “American Skin (41 Shots),” but in that case he’s quoting rather than inhabiting character. Gotham Gazette notes that “Into the Fire” is sung from the perspective of a fireman’s widow and while the song suggests its from the perspective of a woman, the gender is not made explicit as is the case with “Car Wash.”

Gender-reversal between performer and narrator is a rare occurrence in general, especially in pop music. But it feels extra startling to hear a first-person female character coming from Bruce's ragged baritone. Perhaps the Bruce of “Hungry Heart” would be less jarring but there's no attempt to neuter his gender here (besides, we’re still not convinced Bruce actually sings “Hungry Heart.”)

“Car Wash” was originally written for Born in the U.S.A. As with several Bruce songs from the era, it's possible he originally wrote it for a female performer like he did with “Because the Night” and “Fire.” But even if that was the case, he could have easily swapped the gender when he performed it himself. Instead, he sings unambiguously from the perspective of a woman. Why does Bruce do that? Perhaps it's a bid for equal opportunity. Perhaps it's to change routine. Perhaps there’s something deeper.

Personally, I find “Car Wash” to be a very moving character study and feel like Bruce really does get in the head of his character, Catherine. Does the gender-reversal have an affect on your appreciation of the song? Would it have been too experimental for Bruce to put it on an original album? Are there other notable songs where the gender of the singer doesn’t align with the narrator?

Springsteen Week on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

For Jimmy Fallon and company, it is "Springsteen Week".  For all of us here at Legends of Springsteen, this is what we call a "week".  On Monday, Bruce showed up to play two hits from the new album, "We Take Care of Our Own" and "Wrecking Ball".

 

 

Both performances showed the Boss is in game shape for his upcoming tour.  This week will also feature Kenny Chesney, Elvis Costello, and John Legend covering Springsteen songs, before Bruce comes back on Friday.  Regardless of how the album eventually turns out, it has been fun to see Springsteen back in the national spotlight these last few weeks. 

Quick Take - Wrecking Ball

Unlike many, I wasn’t bowled over (sorry) when I heard “Wrecking Ball” first performed on September 30, 2009 (although I am appreciative I was there to witness its debut).

To me, “Wrecking Ball” sounds overly repetitive and yet all over the place. The upbeat rootin’ tootin’ barn burnin’ instrumental sections feel dissonant to the lyrics in the surrounding verses. I can accept the music as a symbol of standing strong in the face of adversity but there’s something about it all that doesn’t mesh together for me. It feels hurried and discordant.

The album version does a slightly better job of tying things together and deserves credit for making the song simultaneously about a moment in time (razing Giants stadium) and a rally call to defense (fitting in with the album’s overall themes).

I’m still not completely sold on the song, but this is definitely an improvement.

Quick Takes - This Depression

Upon the first listen, I can't say I'm a huge fan of this song.  The territory of the song - someone is down and out, and he needs someone to get him through - has been well explored through rock music, and especially by The Boss himself.  The guitar solo in the middle, with long, sad notes meant to convey the singer's despair, comes off as slow and uninteresting.  And, while Springsteen's use of the first-person in this song does not necessarily mean he is singing about himself, I find it tough to buy in to someone, who has had 40 years of critical acclaim, singing that he's never been this down or low before.  I'm probably coming off as a bit harsh, but this is one song I'll probably be skipping over. 

Springsteen Video of the Week - Bruce Wins an Oscar

At the 84th Annual Academy Awards last night, we saw a mere two nominees compete in the Best Original Song category. The category has been in a major decline for many years now due to ridiculous eligibility requirements and voting processes as well as an overall decline in heavily marketed original power ballads (Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” was nearly 15 years ago).

But instead of getting angry, let’s think back to a simpler time. March 21, 1994, to be precise, the day that The Boss became Oscar-winner Bruce Springsteen. The video above features Bruce’s Oscar performance of “Streets of Philadelphia” from Philadelphia followed by his win (announced with limited enthusiasm by Whitney Huston) and his moving acceptance speech laced with humility and praise for the power of popular art.

[Note: The only video I could find includes a Spanish commentator translating. Be not afraid, Bruce’s voice dominates.]

Springsteen Reflections: Born in the U.S.A.

Legends of Springsteen is delighted to present a guest post from James Layman – lawyer in training, friend of the blog, and North Jersey native. Here, James reflects on a defining experience with Born in the U.S.A.

Anyone familiar with the 1990 Dodge Dynasty can share with its hallmark characteristic: the engine was too powerful for the chassis, the handling, and indeed, the entire car. Any significant pressure on the gas would produce a vibrato so commanding that the steering wheel would shake. By the time you hit 80, the entire frame was trembling, threatening to self-destruct into a thousand smoldering pieces on the freeway.

I drove one in the spring of 2004, delivering pizza in North Jersey. I was seventeen.

While iTunes and digital downloads revolutionized music in the latter part of the last decade, something was lost in the subversion. Single hits now exist on their own, outside the context of an album, like single chapters in a book. Digital downloads may have ushered in the death of the narrative, so I feel privileged to have been part of the last generation of listeners to appreciate an album as a story. And “back then,” we all had a story - something encapsulating an age, a season, a mood, or a place. A freeze frame of a halcyon era we could never return to, but never really escape.

In the spring of 2004, my story was Born in the U.S.A. The album was a 12-track epic about making peace with the love, loss, disillusionment, and despair of a stark American era. I’ll admit I couldn’t relate to all of Springsteen’s characters - the plight of a Vietnam Veteran returning home or the deterioration of a young man’s hometown were foreign to me, especially at seventeen. But beneath Springsteen’s earnest and painfully wrought portrait of American life was the constant need to escape. Characters stayed awake at night talking about “getting out.” They drank too much, chased old flames, and raised hell in Darlington County - always dreaming of an open highway to greener pastures somewhere far beyond. The theme wasn’t just definitive of Born in the U.S.A., but of Springsteen’s entire catalogue.

I used to get out of work sometime around midnight, and drive the Dynasty down my block to where it met Route 17, a highway that ran from East Rutherford up through New York State. I traced the road back to where it met the horizon, clinging to a romantic notion of where it might lead. I had four wheels beneath my feet, nowhere specific to go, and all the time in the world to get there.

Come graduation I left, like most of us did. Many to college, some to the military, and others to God knows where. At long last, honoring the relentless pursuit of our own stories and our own endless roads. It’s a natural part of growing up I suppose - rumbling forward with a purpose too big for your hometown and a heart too powerful for your body, into the great and wonderful beyond.

Quick Take - Death To My Hometown

Steve: When I saw the title “Death to My Hometown,” I assumed I knew exactly what the song would be – a soft lament somewhere in between “My Hometown” and “My City of Ruins.” I was worried it would be too familiar, too predictable. But I was wrong. The pulsing beat caught me completely off guard, as did hearing Bruce’s voice at its most powerful. This is a really interesting song and upon first impression, I like that Bruce is finding a new way to explore a familiar theme: the disillusion of one's hometown as a place of safety.


Early analysis from The Guardian is comparing the new album to Woody Guthrie and other folk music. “Death to My Hometown” certainly fits that description and aligns with “We Take Care of Our Own” and “Shackled and Drawn” in its anthemic sound and almost militant lyrics. Wrecking Ball is quickly feeling like a more aggressive version of the Seeger Sessions and a catchier Devils & Dust. No complaints so far.


Rory: Bruce channels The Pogues here, and creates an awesome song.  This song, like "Easy Money", shows a different aspect of Bruce.  Instead of the soul-searching songs by Bruce that we're all used to hearing, Bruce identifies the enemy.  The closing stanza:


Send the robber barons straight to hell

The greedy thieves who came around
And ate the flesh of everything they've found
Whose crimes have gone unpunished now
Walk the streets as free men now
is about as direct a message as Bruce has ever sent.  There's no vagueness about this song whatsoever.  I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but is that the sound of a gun being locked and loaded at the 2:42 minute mark of the song?  When word got out that this would be Bruce's angriest album yet, they weren't kidding.