Listen To Your Boss

I find it genuinely surprising, in looking back, that in 11 plus years, I’ve never posted about Bruce Springsteen. I mean, sure, I’ve mentioned Bruce in passing –- usually in regards to my lack of affinity for his earnest, saxophone-laden fare or his professed fandom for NYC proto-punk outfits like Suicide and the Dictators -– but I’ve evidently never devoted an entire entry to the subject. Sorry, Boss-man.

To be fair, this post isn’t necessarily totally about him either. With scant few exceptions – maybe “Ties That Bind,” “I’m On Fire” and “Atlantic City” – I still find his music needlessly histrionic and sonically overblown. It’s just not my bag. That all said, I have nothing against Bruce Springsteen. I’ve always considered him to be a genuine, affable and thoughtful guy. So, while I don’t think his Jersey bar-band fare is the bee’s knees, I do have a great amount of respect for the guy.

More recently, however, my esteem for ol’ Bruce has seen a dramatic uptick, as he’s been increasingly more pointedly outspoken in the face of the looming Trump Administration. I’ve also quite enjoyed how his refreshing lack of anything even remotely charitable to say about the President-Elect has confounded large swathes of his sizable fan-base. I appreciate that Bruce simply DOES NOT GIVE ONE SINGLE FUCK about potentially alienating those folks. This has predictably been met by dismissive Trump-apologists who ultimately feel Bruce should “know his place” as an “entertainer” and just “shut up and play his guitar.”

That particular refrain has always perplexed me. With the exception of my own stubborn tolerance for KISS (I was indoctrinated at an early age), I’ve never been able to really divorce my perception of an artist’s personal sensibilities from their art. I could never understand how, say, GOP Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was such an avowed fan of Rage Against the Machine. I just can’t understand willfully ignoring whole aspects of the content. I suppose it’s ultimately a matter of interpretation, but it strikes me that Paul Ryan virtually EMBODIES everything Rage Against the Machine hates. How does he manage to overlook that and still enjoy their music?

Governor Chris Christie had a similar quandary with his afore-cited idol Bruce Springsteen. Despite Christie very publicly professing his lifelong fandom for Bruce, to say Springsteen has never capitulated and requited that adoration is putting it mildly. That’s gotta sting.

Personally speaking, the moment I hear an artist I otherwise admire say something hateful, deliberately untrue or idiotic, I’m usually pretty much out of there. To that end, I haven’t been able to enjoy listening to Megadeth ever since hearing of Dave Mustaine’s on-stage allegation that Obama covertly orchestrated the Sandy Hook school shootings as a justification to amp up gun control. I similarly lost a lot of interest in X upon hearing that Exene Cervenka had become a chemtrail-counting, false-flag flying conspiracy theorist. Now, granted, Jaz Coleman, from my long-beloved Killing Joke, is no stranger to bug-eyed conspiracy theories that are indefensibly asinine from time to time, but then, he’s ALWAYS been that way (i.e. kinda nuts). That’s just his thing.

As far as KISS is concerned, even if you excise Gene Simmons’ political views from the equation (he leans to the right, in case you understandably had better things to pay attention to), they are pretty flatly indefensible on more levels than can be quantified. By the same token, KISS has never been a band designed to be taken very seriously, so it’s easier to do what many have sought to do with Springsteen and reduce their non-musical statements to those simply of slack-witted “entertainers.” I mean, that is indeed what they do – that is all they do –- entertain.

Springsteen, however, to my mind –- and this from a mind that doesn’t even really appreciate his music -– is more than simply an “entertainer.” Yes, he does that (and laboriously well, as his multi-hour concerts handily demonstrate), but he’s also a bona fide spokesman for a generation. He’s a revered songwriter on par with Bob Dylan (another artist I respect, but whose music I simply do not enjoy). To try to pass off Bruce as just another preening rock star just doesn’t work. He’s an elder statesman. His opinions do matter… whether you happen to espouse them or not.

Trying to discredit Bruce’s statements, actually, is tantamount to what Trump and his acolytes are trying to do to Meryl Streep in the wake of her eloquent Golden Globes speech. Resorting to his tired playbook of infantile defensiveness, Trump retaliated over Twitter by suggesting that Streep is “overrated.” Given the long and distinguished list of Streep’s unparalleled accolades, Trump’s petulant retort packed all the merit of a damp fart. Much as with Bruce, what Streep has to say DOES matter. She’s earned her place on the platform to say it, and it has validity.

Here’s hoping more follow suit.

Comments

[David George]

I have always had a certain ambivalence toward Springsteen, particularly after his first couple of albums when he really hit it big. I like his music a lot more when he was relatively obscure. ("The River" was an exception for me.) Maybe my lack of interest had to do with how over-the-top WNEW-FM was for him that drove me over the edge or possibly it was the 'BRUUUUUCE' chanting idiots I witnessed at one of his shows in the late 90s. I just never bought into all the car-talk in his lyrical content. However, I have always respected him from the standpoint of a songwriter, but like Dylan, aside from that he really isn't that accomplished: like Dylan he can't really sing and isn't much of a guitarist. But like Dylan, his overall value transcends those limitations. I have been keeping an eye and both ears on him with delight in terms of how he has been going after the pussygrabber. And I give him a lot of credit for ignoring the fact that it's likely that a sizable portion of his devotees did vote the wrong way.

[Was Proxy]

Well Bruce's new book does entail his battles with mental illness - I suppose that would explain his campaigning for Hillary. Still a hypocrite though.

And you are right, singers are there to entertain me. And actors? Same as singers. But even less worthy. They aren't real. They make their living playing pretend. Their opinions are less than meaningless.

[Alex in NYC]

Ah, Mr. Proxy -- I can't always count on you to provide some counterpoint. Happy New Year.

[was proxy]

Same to you Alex !