Thunder Road runs through Tampa
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jan 29, 2009 
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Bruce Springsteen aficionados know that the man doesn’t do many press conferences. The last one was in 1987. So check out what he had to say today at the Super Bowl.
The mighty E Street Band joined him on stage. Nils, Stevie, Max and Clarence answered some questions along with Bruce.
It’ll be a little weird seeing Bruce limited to a 12 minutes. My guess at the setlist:
Working On A Dream
The Rising
Glory Days
Born To Run (I had Thunder Road earlier in a moment of idiocy)
I still can’t believe the Yankees didn’t get Bruce to do the national anthem at the Stadium last season. He is a Yankees fan, after all. Maybe this year.
————
There’s a great story on Bruce on the New York Times’ site by Jon Pareles. It’s about them rehearsing for Sunday and the new record.
He once bought me a hamburger.
You know, I’ve never “gotten” Springsteen, and I’ve been told many times it’s because I’m not from Jersey. That said, I understand that he has a ton of hits, but given the nature of the event, as well as amping up for Academy Awards, I’ll be pretty disappointed if he doesn’t play, “The Wrestler”.
Bruuuuuuuuuuce….
Thanks for the link Pete!
He gotta do Born to Run.
Gotta disagree with the set list. Here’s mine:
Badlands
The Promised Land
Working on a Dream
Born To Run
Donnie:
I’ve never lived in Jersey a day in my life and I’ve been to 101 shows and have 200+ concerts on CD. Go see him live and get back to me.
Meanwhile, no way he does “The Wrestler” in that setting. Too dark and too acoustic for halftime of the Super Bowl.
come on pete, the setlist has to be
Born to Run
Born in the USA
Thunder Road
The Rising
Reposting:
I bet no one predicted Moose would be the yanks ace last year and win 20 games or that Wang would win 19 in 2006. I also dont think they predicted zero wins from hughes and kennedy combined last year. Those predictions are difficult to take too seriously. They dont account for injury, regression, comeback seasons, career years, etc. for the most part and all that is crucial to team performance. I dont think melky is even our starting center fielder out of ST unless he has an incredible spring and gardner falls off a cliff.
Maybe he should play something off Nebraska. That’ll get the folks all pumped up.
No Surrender
Born To Run
Working On A Dream
Glory Days
Outside of the all star game and the last game, nothing was special about last season really. Of course, they didnt get springsteen. They could have done a million things different last year including not start the season with pavano, Hughes and kennedy in the rotation somehow or do something special each game. Maybe they will be better at it this year. At the very least, they will put out a stronger team and play better than last year.
Pete, you ever listen to The Gaslight Anthem? If not, you should check them out.
Dave, you mean the METLIFE® money-grab, er, I mean button wasn’t special enough for you?
Pete:
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not discounting his appeal. The guy writes really catchy tunes, with often times poetic lyrics. When I think of it that way, it makes me wonder WHY I don’t like him more. I’ve just never seen him as the somewhat “religious” experience that most everyone else does. However, I am NOT saying he “sucks” or isn’t a great entertainer. Just that I never, personally, saw how he got to be the huge draw that he is, with iconic status. I would enjoy going see him in concert at some point, though, and give him the chance to change my mind.
And I dunno, I agree that the song is dark and acoustic, and that the Super Bowl is all…you know…”Up With People”…but it’d be a great song to break up, say, “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark”. Plus, with the “down and out sports star, plugging away for the sake of entertaining and doing what they love”…if that doesn’t scream football, I don’t know what does.
But you’re probably right. Huge longshot.
I don’t know, but I’ve turned off espnews because I got tired of hearing “Glory Days”.
I heard tidbits of Boomer on The Monty Show.
He called Torre “J-Fraud” and said that Torre liked the guys who were easy to manage. But if you were “on the bubble, struggling, or basketcases like me, he didn’t want to have anything to do with you.” He said if you weren’t in the “circle of trust” you were treated like crap.
It’s gonna be:
1. Born to Run
2. The Rising
3. Born in the USA
4. Glory Days
Donnie said:
“That said, I understand that he has a ton of hits, but given the nature of the event, as well as amping up for Academy Awards, I’ll be pretty disappointed if he doesn’t play, “The Wrestler”.”
Bruce didn’t get nominated for Oscar, for some bizarre reason.
Working On A Dream
Hungry Heart
Glory Days
Born To Run
Classical music is about beauty and virtuosity, jazz is about innovation (which means discovery for the musicians and surprise for the listener) and that ineffable quality known as hipness, while pop music is about inducing emotion, usually crowd emotion. Some people aren’t into pop music at all, and a lot of the ones who are get their emotions exercised by a different sort of performer.
To me it is odd than anybody would cross the street to hear Springsteen, but I realize that it’s not because he’s bad at what he does — merely that as a jazz fan I’m in a different musical universe.
More power to those who enjoy Springsteen since apparently there have been at least 200 opportunities to do so, but I thank divine providence that the sacred farewell to the Stadium was not at any point turned into a Springsteen concert.
looks like zell has some new photos up…
http://zellspinstripeblog.com/.....-update-4/
Tom,
Oh yea, i forgot. Maybe last season was special, even magical. iM JUST glad i got to go to the last game – the only magic that season was that the yanks pulled out of the stadium by winning the last game in style among all the greats. iF I did not have the opportunity to go to that game, i would have preferred to skip the entire season last year. Hell, even going to the last game i would have chose to skip the entire season if i could.
M,
That is kind of how i always pictured torre – choosing favorite, leaving people out of the loop, pushing little cliques. i DONT know why but i always got that impression or at least the last few seasons he was there. Everyone always said he was not the best in-game manager but overcame it with his excellent personal skills. I guess this book took a little something out of that overhyped characteristic no? I also thought the media gave him soooo much slack just because he was joe torre and they all loved him.
Now, it seems the media is out for torre’s blood. I think its an exciting turn of events. I hope the book is everything it is said to be although i doubt it. He deserves all the negative attention for being stupid enough to write a book like this while still managing with a lot of his old players still playing. And that is all I got to say about that.
On the Dan Patrick Show today, he was talking about how he had the job of presenting the Lombardi Trophy…and that duty also included getting pulled up on stage during the half time show and dancing like Courtney Cox.
I kind of agree with Donnie about Springsteen. I don’t dislike him, but I really have never gotten what the big deal was with him.
Of course, lots of people say that about the Grateful Dead, who to me are what Springsteen is to Pete.
dave,
I think the media bit their tongue for years. Not wanting to be given the death stare. You have to give respect to earn it.
That Curt Schilling is one chatty cat. From MLBTR:
7:58pm: Alex Speier of WEEI provides us with a Varitek-relevant quote from Curt Schilling’s appearance on the Big Show:
“I’ve talked with Jason a couple different times about this. I think there’s probably some discussion going on around the parameters of a deal since it was put on the table. In fact, I know there (has been). I think you’re going to end up with a deal that nets Jason the $10 million over two years, somehow guaranteed or tied into some incentives, that keeps him here, or I think he might end up taking the one-year deal. I’m not positive, but at the end of the day I think it’s going to be Jason Varitek catching for the Boston Red Sox, which is really all I care about.”
Unless you’ve seen Bruce live – you don’t really understand Donnie.
It’s like trying to explain to someone why Yankee Stadium is special. There are thousands of ballparks, and the bases are the same distance apart at each one – but Yankee Stadium is unique – and so is the Boss in concert.
Yea, I mean who wouldn’t want a 220 hitter back on the team as a starting catcher? ummm everyone?
M,
you really think so? I got the distinct impression that the wide majority of the media loved torre up until this book and saw him as a victim when he left NY with an offer from the yanks in hand. I could be wrong but it seemed to be the general opinion. Now, not so much. And it is not that the media will pretend to love managers or anyone just to get good interviews. I definitely think the wide majority of the NY media gave off the general impression that they did not like girardi last year or at least stayed neutral on the subject.
i dunno if anyone posted this or cares but there is a ton of info on the book here:
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....#more-2109
Is Jeter’s interview worth watching? Or is it the same old vanilla answers?
Tidbit from site above:
“The Yankees should have talked to Tim Raines before signing Carl Pavano. Raines, the former Yankee who was coaching with the White Sox when Pavano signed, had played with Pavano in Montreal. During Pavano’s first Yankees season, Raines told Borzello: ‘He didn’t want to pitch except for the one year he was pitching for a contract. I’m telling you, he’s not going to pitch for you.’”
Good stuff, good stuff.
jennifer,
you should watch it. don’t take mlb network for granted. not everyone has it.
speaking of. is there a website where they archive content or have video clips?
here is Jeter’s interview:
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.....1293784002
ennifer
January 29th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Is Jeter’s interview worth watching? Or is it the same old vanilla answers?
Vanilla. Spend the time listening to Boomer Well’s on the Kay show. That one is Cherry Garcia topped with Tabasco sauce.
m
You watching the Orlando/Cleveland game?
Looks like Orlando will beat them.
I heard the Wells interview. Some interesting tidbits in there. Apparently Gabe White was around for a while before any coaches or Joe came to speak to him?
And….I believe he said that Tino wasn’t close with Joe. That kinda shocked me.
Joe better watch, when more players get their hands on this book, they’ll let the gossip fly. And he brought it upon himself. So no sympathy for him. As it has been said he had no business bringing up Johnny’s personal issues. When Johnny left st in 2007 (?) all we were told it was for business and personal reasons, no one really knew why. We didn’t need Joe to tell us.
ray,
I’m following it. What happened? It got really out of hand. Looks like C’s, L’s, & Cavs will be tied in the loss column, no?
Looks like Orlando will beat them. Ya think? Although Duke came all the way back to tie it up near the end.
The Wells interview can be found here…
http://sports.espn.go.com/stat.....id=3870612
m- http://mlb.mlb.com/network/ seems to have todays clips. I don’t see an archive though…
Just heard a clip of Derek saying we’ve already addressed it and we seem to talk about it year after year. Well call up Mr. T and complain to him. If Mr. T didn’t write his book, we would have entered ST talking about all our new toys.
m
Cleveland did almost nothing in the fourth quarter until five minutes left. Up to that point in fourth quarter Orlando outscored Cleveland 22-2!
Just heard a clip of Derek saying we’ve already addressed it and we seem to talk about it year after year. Well call up Mr. T and complain to him. If Mr. T didn’t write his book, we would have entered ST talking about all our new toys.
———————————————
By the time ST starts, hopefully no one will even be thinking about this stupid book.
We got all those new toys to unwrap!
No Born in the USA for an event that is Americana?
Shame on you Peter.
I guess this is Boras’ best negotiating tactic when everyone knows no one else wants him. lol
Facing a Friday deadline to accept the Red Sox’s contract offer, Jason Varitek is considering sitting out the 2009 season or even retiring, according to the Boston Globe.
Chad Jennings has another good post on our minor league pitching depth.
http://community.thetimes-trib.....depth.aspx
Tom,
Thanks for that. This is what I got when I clicked on “More MLB Network video”:
Lots and lots of clips. With Jeter and Joba in living color.
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.....LB+Network
jennifer,
toys? For Jeter that could be a new girl. Oh he meant the pinstriped gifts they got!
“Facing a Friday deadline to accept the Red Sox’s contract offer, Jason Varitek is considering sitting out the 2009 season or even retiring, according to the Boston Globe.”
Obviously I could be wrong, but I will be shocked if Varitek sits out the season or retires. I just don’t see that happening.
m, thanks.
m
I didn’t mean to make it sound like Derek said about going into st and talking about our new toys. I said that. All he said was we’ve talked about this already.
I wonder if he is going to get mad at Alex for it, like he has in the past.
Pete,
You know there is actually a line in Vegas on Bruce’s Set list…Unbelievable what you could bet on on the Super Bowl
jennifer,
Nah. Jeter can’t treat Alex like a little kid anymore. He’ll just go play with the new kids on the block.
Besides, even Jeter has to feel a little sympathy for Alex.
Tino- caught off guard. Surprised he wrote a book, loved playing for him.
Derek
Initial reaction, wait till you see the book to comment on it. Let Mr T comment on it.
Knew he was writing a book.
Curious to see the book…a lot of things addressed in the past, gets to the point where you say let it go.
Let Alex address before anyone else does.
interesting read on the Torre mess from the LA perspective –
http://www.latimes.com/sports/.....5398.story
“The Dodgers recruited Torre — and rewarded him with the highest managerial salary in the game — to shepherd the young players and blend them into a smooth clubhouse fabric. What could be more toxic to clubhouse chemistry than Russell Martin and Matt Kemp and James Loney wondering whether their every word and action might be used in another tell-all book, by the manager they are supposed to trust?”
” The Dodgers brought two dozen top prospects to Los Angeles this month, not only for workouts, but to instill the concept that their players are expected to contribute on the field and in the community.
Martin will join the caravan next week, and so will Kemp and Loney.
Torre won’t be there.
He’ll be appearing on David Letterman’s show, pitching a book about the Yankees.”
the bottom line is the last few years or so torre couldn’t get it done.he made some terrible decisions the last few years also.
it seemed like he ran out of gas mentally.a manager that had those negative feelings & emotions is not the right manager for the yankees.
it is like he accepted the original team because they were their first or some players who were young & impressionable & he accepted a few players after that,that’s it.
he has to understand that people are different & it was his job to push the right buttons with each player to get them to perform at their highest level.
that look he had on his face the last few years makes sense now,he looked miserable.
DT,
Looks like Joe T. didn’t get the memo that they don’t train in Vero Beach anymore. He thought he could do the east coast swing.
I think he’ll just play Thundercrack- the 12 minute version.
Just kidding.
My guess,
The Rising
My Lucky Day
Born to Run
and if there is time left over I say he goes into Backstreets/ Sad Eyes.
Giambi to be called at Bonds trial.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01.....38;emc=rss
I think this quote by the real Mr. T sums up the final 5 years of Torre’s run with the Yankees:
“For 5 years Mr. T disappeared. Fools went unpitied and Jibba-Jabba went unchallenged!”
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mr._T
I’m sure the Yankees no longer miss Joe the celebrity. Instead of being with the team getting ready for the start of ST, he’ll be doing interviews and on his book tour.
I’d be willing to be that Joe is already in Tampa or getting ready to go.
Joe T became way to complacent since 2000.
That’s right m. I forget that. No more Vero Beach. I guess Joe can push books on the Cactus Circuit – Verducci can do the Grapefruit League.
I really had not thought of this from the Dodger perspective but that writer made a great point.
“By violating both of those covenants, by sharing clubhouse secrets and by upstaging the team that employs him with a book tour to talk about a team that does not employ him, Torre has left the Dodgers in an awkward position on the eve of spring training.”
The dodgers organization HAD to know he was writing a book about the yankees. How could he not let them know? It is extremely relevant and most likely detrimental to the dodgers franchise.
I can’t remember where I heard this line, but it was during his last few years with the team and I always thought it was right:
“Torre wants to be the manger of the Yankees, but he doesn’t actually want to manage the Yankees.”
Gaslight Anthem is good stuff, saw them with the Souls at Convention Hall (or well, the long hallway where they set the stage up among all the bars). I once saw Bruce at a show I went to at the Stone Pony. My cousin pointed him out and he walked, I said, “no way that’s Bruce Springsteen, that dude looks waaay tooo young!” Bruce shot a look at me and then walked out. Pretty funny stuff, I think it was ’98 or so. The big dude behind him was Clarence.
I’m certainly no expert on Springsteen but I know that “Born in the USA” is not supposed to be an “American” rallying cry.
The Wrestler could be fitting for Kurt Warner as the film sort of mirrors his career.
And Bruce would have brought the house down closing out the old Stadium. Yanks hierarchy did a piss-poor job of celebrating the closing of one of the country’s most prolific buildings of the 20th century. Shame on them.
Bruce Springsteen is horrible.
bob,
I think everyone in the world would take being rich and famous for doing absolutely no work whatsoever. He should have appreciated the fact that he was doing a crummier and crummier job of running the club each year finishing worse while still maintaining the highest managerial salary in baseball. He is also lucky that George became incapacitated or his butt would have been out on the street waaay sooner.
I just watched Jon Heyman on the MLB channel. Did he make a stop at Giuseppe Franco and darken his hair?
Glad to see the Super Bowl is continuing its long line of terrible and/or incredibly old acts (besides boobs). Guess I, once again, will find anything else to put on besides this
If I had to choose 4 songs for him to do it would be…
1. Rosalita
2. Born to Run
3. Badlands
4. Glory Days
Pete, I hope I get some sort of prize if I guess the set list right.
I thought tom petty and the heartbreakers were absolutely horrific – maybe its because i am 24 and have no appreciation for such music but they were unwatchable and I was with people from 3 to 60. Not a single person in that room watched that halftime show. Springsteen is just a much better act IMO. i Dont think almost anything could be worse than that halftime show in the near future.
Pete
People have been questioning Torre’s decision/ethics about writing the book but Bondy’s Blahg today seems to raise questions about Verducci’s decision too:
“Verducci is a fine baseball writer for Sports Illustrated and I’ve always thought him a fair read. But when a reporter co-authors a book with an active sports participant, it is hard to see how that relationship won’t taint his future work. It also brings up the thorny question of whether the writer had curried favors from this source, in order to land the contract in the first place.
This is a world full of cross-promotion and multi-media synergy, yet there are still lines that shouldn’t be crossed. The next time Verducci writes an article for SI about Alex Rodriguez, we must all wonder whether the viewpoint is his own or Torre’s.”
Having 0% Journalism background, is Bondi off-base with this?
Would the Journal News have to approve a project similiar to a book like this if you were involved with it?
pat,
Verducci & Torre had to have known that this wouldn’t be a walk in the park. They had to have expected that it would be thorny. But I don’t think they’d figure to be pecked to death by bloggers.
oops… looks like Pete might be wrong. (a first?)
All these halftime shows have not been live before!!
This ruins my Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction memory for me now.
“At Sunday’s Super Bowl, Springsteen is breaking from tradition by insisting that he and the E Street Band perform live. Often Super Bowl half-time show performers record the music for the notable performance in advance to prevent technical mishaps, but Springsteen made it clear that he and his band would not follow suit, E Street guitarist Nils Lofgren told the Associated Press.
*Lofgren also said the band has not made a set list, but expects the song “Born to Run” will be included in the 12-minute performance.”*
http://www.rep-am.com/articles.....394695.txt
david well ripped torre big time on the michael k show.
mk asked wells what would you say to him if you saw him & wells said i’d probably knock him out & then said he would probably just laugh at him.
wells said he got fined 167,000 dollars for writing his book.was told he’s tarnishing the yankees image.
wells said if you were not torre’s boy he would treat you bad or not talk to you.it sounds like torre has a bigger problem than the one he accused arod of having.
arod might be different or strange or has a tough time trying to fit in but he treats people with respect & cares.it sounds like torre was a bad person too a lot of people.
m
One would think the media savvy Torre and Verducci would have anticipated it. Maybe they thought the third party narrative thing was the get out of jail free card since that seems to be the angle they are pushing.
Either that or the publisher tossed them a curve by leaking content on them to jumpstart pre-sale. The NY Post and Daily News pointed out all the tidbits rather than people discovering them slowly by themselves.
Ouch. Bloggers? Much angrier than ducks.
My set list guess:
My Lucky Day (for the Cardinals)
Hungry Heart (for the coach)
Glory Days (for K. Warner)
Born To Run (for E. James)
oh yeah – Arizona 24 Pittsburgh 16 (if you couldn’t guess).
It sounded like Tino was sore about being benched in the WS. Unless Joe handled it badly, I can’t lay that on him. The benching of Tino (for Fielder) ended up being the right move……..
Jennifer, why would Jeter get mad at A-Rod? This isn’t Alex’s fault and besides, they get along just fine these days…….since at least last year. There are pics of them recently partying it up in the Bahamas. If Jeter is annoyed, I think it’s because the clubhouse stuff HAS been taken care of. He won’t let us see it, but I suspect he’s at least a little annoyed at Joe.
As long as he doesn’t play Dancing in the Dark. There’s something about that song that creeps me out.
DT, thanks for the link -well, Joe brought it on himself, but the Dodgers didn’t deserve this. Think Tommy Lasorda is happy? This is not the “Dodger way”………..lol
Not only did all these tidbits come out via media outlets but think about the timing. Football season has its little break before the superbowl and baseball has yet to begin. That is the week that the publishers decide to release some info – they knew they were going to get a ton of reaction and top the bestsellers list. i DOUBT they thought it would be this negative however. The fan brought up the point that they may edit out some of the really controversial content before the book actually hits stores after realizing how negative it is being taken – i dont think they have the time however.
1) Radio Nowhere
2) Born to Run
3) My Lucky Day
And if time 4) Badlands
Joe don’t bleed Dodger Blue!
I didn’t know the Dodgers did all that, by the way, for their community; it’s a terrific idea. Too bad Joe won’t be around…….Ironic that he and his buddy claim that Alex has a SWF obsession with Jeter because it looks like Joe has a SWF obsession with the Yankees. The best revenge for him would have been to completely turn his back on the Yankees and not show he cared about them at all anymore. Instead, in his quest for revenge, he has injured his own reputation and brought distraction to his team. Good job, Joe!
No doubt Springsteen is an immense talent but I am down on him for striking an exclusive deal for a greatest hits album with Walmart when he has this I’m-for-the-working-man image. He already made a greatest hits album, and they sell it at Walmart and everywhere else. The Boss is in it for the payday just like everyone else. He just pretends he isn’t.
p.s. – If he wasn’t in it for the marketing, he should just do a 12-minute version of the Detroit medley!
If Torre cares anything about his image at all – he’s going to have to go into major PR spin mode.
The best thing to do is to apologize for any derogatory or negative comments about players in the book (while also giving the lame third party excuse) – and then saying any royalties from the book will go to the Safe at Home foundation. (he already has the up front book money)
There’s a thin line between love and hate… that old saw seems to be appropriate in this Torre book. Though without reading it we are only going by what others have said.
Seeing things in person, then listening to the media tell about it, I have come to understand first hand that it is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to “unbiased” reporting. More time than not, you hardly recognize the event that you were at when you hear what is reported.
Agendas, bias, personal experiences, all these play a role in how they see and report on things.
That said, the same can be for Torre. In the years we saw the interaction Torre had with A-Rod, it seemed pretty clear that Torre wasn’t going to do ANYTHING to back up A-Rod. Who knows the reason… Jeter’s relationship with A-Rod, A-Rod’s attitudes and dealings with Torre, whatever. Given that, is it really all that surprising that A-Rod gets ripped a bit according to these reports?
Torre had good years with the Yankees, and I believe he enjoyed many of them but the “love affair” wore down and got old. It turned from a positive relationship into one where Torre felt scorned and the Yankees felt the effort wasn’t there.
It no shock to see that there are bad feelings. Its not that long ago and hits to your pride are tough to take.
It why the book idea at THIS time was a poor one. Still too fresh a wound to view it objectively.
Mrs. Kekich – (or is it Mrs. Peterson? – I always get confused)
In the Times link Pete provided – Bruce discusses the Wal-Mart deal – saying it was a mistake.
I give him points for admitting that.
DT,
Torre does care, but he won’t do anything. He’ll see this exercise through, the book junket and what not. The book will come out and all the indignation will disappear. Once people get over the shock and accept that Joe isn’t what we thought, it’ll be old news.
10 years from now, Joe can come home. The next 9 years he’ll hide out in Maui. I can forgive, but I’ll never forget. haha.
http://www.northjersey.com/spo....._fate.html
This is great stuff, lol…
From Moose:
“Joe has started something that a lot of people are going to have to answer to,” Mike Mussina said by telephone on Thursday. “Joe’s going to have to answer to it too, but it won’t be as bad for him because he’s with the Dodgers now. But it’s going to be bad for the guys he left behind.”
***Moose is exactly right….although I think the Yankees can put it behind them by telling the media that they will have to go to the source if they have any questions. The story is now in Dodgertown because (a) the Jeter/ARod thing is over with and (b) all anyone is going to care about are the new guys.
here are more good quotes from the above article.
Mussina said, “it’s not just what goes on in the clubhouse, it’s sitting on the bus, or if you’re out having lunch. As a ballplayer you need to know who you have to watch out for and who you can trust. First and foremost, you should be able to trust your manager.
“I mean, people knew that Brown was out there, and that Randy was ornery all the time. And Pavano is whoever he is. But if you’re their manager, you can’t go out and write about them like that.”
Is it possible for Bruce to play only 12 minutes?
“Pavano is whoever he is”? LOL Classic Moose…..
Thanks for the link Betsy – that was a good read.
You’re welcome, DT!
The idea of mocking someone’s insecurities and problems……so unseemly. I love that Joe has to face Randy Johnson so many times this year. More precisely, the Dodger players are going to have to take hits for Joe’s book. Lucky them, huh?
from the previous thread: “Has anyone checked out nj.com lately? It is a shame what it has turned into. All they do is “report” what other people write. Next we’ll read Nick in SF of lohud.com says ……”
Ha, talk to my agent! I’m already propping up LoHud, I can’t be giving it away to nj.com too.
I would like to hear Bruce play:
Atlantic City
Stolen Car
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Born to Run
But that ain’t gonna happen. So:
Badlands
Working on a Dream (gotta plug the new product)
Radio Nowhere (catchy and also pluggable)
Born to Run
Glory Days is fine and all, but if I never heard it again, that would be ok.
FWIW regarding Springsteen, I am from New Jersey, I have seen Bruce live more than once, and my sisters kids go to the same school as his kids, yet I still don’t get it either. Granted he does put on a very good live show (minus his mood killing and self righteous diatribe about 2/3 of the way through), but the way people worship him you’d think he cured cancer. That I do not get.
I’ve never liked BS either. I get that he’s a great entertainer, but his voice grates on my nerves and his songs just aren’t that pleasant to listen to.
Beyond this, I find his whole blue-collar everyman schtick weirdly anachronistic. He may be in the artistic tradition of guys like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan, but that tradition just isn’t very relevant to American culture in 2009. It’s all very backward-looking. Songs about factories closing or people losing their farms were a lot more cutting edge 30-70 years ago than they are now. I get the impression Bruce sees himself as some sort of tribune of the “working class,” but his vision of America seems to be stuck in about 1970.
I’m also turned off by the insistence of his kool-aid drinking fans that one has to see Springsteen live in order to appreciate him. I’m not sure why that is given that these same people presumably have all of his music on their IPods. Clearly, they must find his music enjoyable outside of the concert setting, and if I DON’T, it seems unlikely that I would suddenly start to like it by forking over hundreds of dollars to attend one of his shows.
Jumping right down to the bottom here.
Thanks for the links, Pete. There were a couple of stories in the Star Ledger this a.m., but I see you’re on top of the situation – no surprise there!
I can’t wait for halftime on Sunday, for sure. My husband said this morning that there is no discussion – he MUST do “Born to Run” last (I agree, but one of my absolute favorites is “Thunder Road,” so I do understand your equivocation, Pete. 
)
I had the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl in 2005, when McCartney did the half-time show. It was phenomenal. But the people this year, man, they are getting THE BEST. I’m so jealous.
And this is Yankee news how????????
Who cares?
BD -
Well, I’d say songs about factory closing and farms beyong lost are a just a bit relevant right now.
As far as having to see him to appreciate him – it really is true, it’s not kool aid.
I am a long-time Bruce fan. From 1975. I hated – HATED – the first song of his I heard on the radio, which was “Tenth Avenue Freezeout.” Grated on me. But, my boyfriend at the time was going to Seton Hall and Bruce was gonna play there and so I went. If you haven’t been to one, there is no way to do justice to a Bruce Springsteen concert. I became a convert. His voice is not smooth. I hated the Nebraska cd, The River was a disappointment to me. But I love the enthusiasm Bruce and his E Street Band (because they are so much a part of what makes Bruce Bruce) brings to his/their work. And the reason he has lasted so long is because he loves his work and views it as work and not a game. His concerts are not simply a means to the end (selling records, though of course it does that), but a true labor of love.
Plus, his band still sounds great. He is correct in that video Pete linked to; his last three cds have been among his best. The band is still fresh and creative and enjoyable.
lol, they should name a dance after Jetes interview style.
Shoulda got Prince to come back.
I’ve heard the ‘you have to see him live to appreciate him’ before and never bought it. Guess I’ll find out now.
i do enjoy listening to ‘Little Steven’s Underground Garage’ however
4 songs may be too much but if he does that it will be
10th Ave freeze out, Workin on a dream, Glory Days, Born to Run
How many Rumson, NJ mansions does Bruce need? As long as he has a working man’s key chain attached to his pants we can rest comfortably as the millions roll into his various accounts.
Jete’s sure knows how to say a lot of nothing. Wait till his book comes out.
Man, it would have been something if Bruce was there last year for the Giants. I can’t wait to see him on tour this Spring!
If you follow Bruce, it’s fairly easy to see that there are really a very limited number of songs that Bruce would even consider playing on Sunday. He’ll definitely do one from the new album (either working on a dream or my lucky day) to promote it, and 2/3 songs that are instantly recognizable by the vast audience (this means no Badlands or Promised Land), upbeat enough for a huge stadium show (no Wrestler), and short enough to fit into the compressed time demands of TV (no Rosalita).
Finally, while Born in the USA is a definite possibility, I’m not expecting it. Many casual fans and non-fans know him as the Born in the USA guy, but Bruce actually doesn’t play the song all that often.
So, Pete is on the right track. I’d just change the order:
1. Born to Run (will definintely either open or close the set)
2. Working on A Dream or My Lucky Day (Dream fits the post-Obama mood but Lucky Day is more uptempo)
3. Glory Days (this makes sense to close as it’s a great party song and he can jam a bit at the end)
Everyone seems to be assuming four songs, but unless he gets permission to go over 12 minutes, I don’t see how he can do it. He can’t fit in 4 songs in 12 minutes.
Does anyone know where someone outside Vegas can bet on this? The only site I’ve seen requires you to pick one of their inane, predetermined setlists.
Sorry folks, I’ve been a fan of Bruce’s since the original vinyl issuance of the “Greeting From Asbury Park”
He’s a singular talent…the voice of a generation that came of age between the mid 70′s and very early 80′s.
He puts on an awesome live show…but…I think he’s a phony about the Wal-Mart deal.
If he regrets it so much…Wal-Mart should let him out of the exclusivity deal and return all those in-store CD’s to “The Boss”.
It’s ok for the Super Bowl to be fun and hi energy party…play “Rosalita”
Play…”Growin’ Up!
Play “Candy’s Room”
Play “She’s the One”!
That was the most entertaining press conference I’ve ever seen; I never realized how nerdy of a laugh Bruce has. It brings him a bit more down to earth.