Home› Other Music

I just don't get the fascination with...

ARazorbackguy1ARazorbackguy1 Posts: 456
edited July 2009 in Other Music
Bruce Springsteen.

I went to the Rock Hall of Fame this past weekend and they have a huge limited time Bruce part of the museum. As I stood there watching one of his live concerts, I just didn't get the fascination or fandom with him. What is it about Bruce that people love so much? His songs seem very boring and are much like telling a country type story. I am not trying to upset anyone or anything like that, just want to know what I am missing with the Bruce fascination.
Straight down the center for a hot chicken dinner!
Post edited by Unknown User on
«1

Comments

  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,567
    I dont really know anything about his music so my friend gave me his Madrid DVD, its okay but i dont quite get him too. If i remember correctly some songs were rather rather cheesey.
  • weenieweenie Posts: 1,623
    ARazorbackguy1 wrote:
    Bruce Springsteen.

    I went to the Rock Hall of Fame this past weekend and they have a huge limited time Bruce part of the museum. As I stood there watching one of his live concerts, I just didn't get the fascination or fandom with him. What is it about Bruce that people love so much? His songs seem very boring and are much like telling a country type story. I am not trying to upset anyone or anything like that, just want to know what I am missing with the Bruce fascination.


    I don't mean to insult anyone either, but I totally agree. There are a COUPLE of really old songs that I like fairly well, but I find the lyrics very high schoolish, the music uninspiring and his voice bad. Sorry folks :?
    ~I want to realize brotherhood or identity not merely with the beings called human, but I want to realize identity with all life, even with such things as crawl upon earth.~
    Mohandas K. Gandhi

    ~I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulette I could have worn.~
    Henry David Thoreau
  • mindimindi Posts: 1,862
    Add me to the not getting him list.
    To 10c; "Your PJ tshirt should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady." - bionicamy
  • None2Fragile10None2Fragile10 Posts: 31
    agreed, i just cant get into him
  • haffajappahaffajappa British Columbia Posts: 5,955
    because he's the BOSS.



    or at least that's what i'm told.
    hahaha, i don't know much other than that...
    besides the fact you can't start a fire crying with a broken heart.

    which is pretty much one of the only songs i know.
    i don't listen to him enough to know about his music... but his butt looks good in tight jeans. (so my friend tells me)
    live pearl jam is best pearl jam
  • rawpixelsrawpixels Posts: 912
    Some of his older stuff was excellent, but overall, he pretty much sucks. :)
    One man stands alone awaiting
    for her to come home
    eyes upon the horizon
    in the dark before the
    darkness leaves the dawn
  • ARazorbackguy1ARazorbackguy1 Posts: 456
    rawpixels wrote:
    Some of his older stuff was excellent, but overall, he pretty much sucks. :)


    LMAO!!! Eddie apparently doesn't think so
    Straight down the center for a hot chicken dinner!
  • ScrapeMySkyScrapeMySky Posts: 426
    Saw him last week. I have to say that the show really rocked. (And the man has seen a lot of moons!) But let me tell you, the audience REALLY made me proud to be a PJ fan! It was almost embarrassing. Still love his music, though. Well... Most of it anyway.
  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,567
    ARazorbackguy1 wrote:
    rawpixels wrote:
    Some of his older stuff was excellent, but overall, he pretty much sucks. :)


    LMAO!!! Eddie apparently doesn't think so

    And that matters becuase? ;p
  • springsteenfanspringsteenfan Posts: 383
    Bruce Sprinsteen is good. Magic was the best album of 2007.
  • rawpixelsrawpixels Posts: 912
    ARazorbackguy1 wrote:
    rawpixels wrote:
    Some of his older stuff was excellent, but overall, he pretty much sucks. :)


    LMAO!!! Eddie apparently doesn't think so

    Eddie isn't always right. Like I said, I love some of Bruce's older stuff, but over the past 15 or so years, I hated 99% of what he's put out. Just my opinion.
    One man stands alone awaiting
    for her to come home
    eyes upon the horizon
    in the dark before the
    darkness leaves the dawn
  • hopethatuchokehopethatuchoke Posts: 2,927
    Add me to the list. I haven't listened to any of his recent albums (10-15 years) in detail but from what I have heard of the radio singles, his work has been unoriginal and pretty stock. I like some of his older stuff but I really don't get the worship he gets.
  • littlewingfridayslittlewingfridays Posts: 242
    I am not really into him either but def check out :

    We Shall Overcome : The Seeger Sessions
    Nebraska
  • quelquefoisquelquefois Posts: 209
    i think he's SO big because he sort of captured the voice of working-class white men (at least in the 70's and 80's). and he did it in a really authentic and sympathetic way (which is not the easiest thing to do). just my opinion, of course... but i think this track sums it up... the preamble plus the song is pretty classic (it's audio only)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj9pxmtjy4E
  • SVRDhand13SVRDhand13 Posts: 26,522
    Go see him live- you'll get him pretty fast. I was about 10 feet away from the stage when he played the IZOD center in May and it was an incredible 2 and a half hours.
    severed hand thirteen
    2006: Gorge 7/23 2008: Hartford 6/27 Beacon 7/1 2009: Spectrum 10/30-31
    2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
    2013: Brooklyn 10/18-19 Philly 10/21-22 Hartford 10/25 2014: ACL10/12
    2015: NYC 9/23 2016: Tampa 4/11 Philly 4/28-29 MSG 5/1-2 Fenway 8/5+8/7
    2017: RRHoF 4/7   2018: Fenway 9/2+9/4   2021: Sea Hear Now 9/18 
    2022: MSG 9/11  2024: MSG 9/3-4 Philly 9/7+9/9 Fenway 9/15+9/17
    2025: Pittsburgh 5/16+5/18
  • KinseyKinsey Posts: 197
    You should give him another chance. Have you sat down and listened to albums like Born To Run, Darkness or The River as they were meant to be heard? Side A then Side B? They tell a story - absolute works of art.

    I listen to Springsteen because the energy and emotion in his work is outstanding. He regularly plays three hour sets these days, despite the fact he is 60 this year. He also tours extensively. Born To Run, Darkness and his first two albums are classics that everyone should give a chance, while Magic and Devils and Dust are easily the equal of anything PJ have done this decade.
    When we found the things we loved,
    They were crushed and dying in the dirt.
    We tried to pick up the pieces,
    And get away without getting hurt,
    But they caught us at the state line,
    And burned our cars in one last fight,
    And left us running burned and blind,
    Chasing something in the night.
  • Get_RightGet_Right Posts: 13,494
    springsteen was good up until the river
    after that, I have not been impressed

    but if you want to understand what the hype is all about, watch the hammersmith odeon show from 74 (75?)

    its an amazing performance
  • reflectedfromafarreflectedfromafar Posts: 235
    This post is dead on - Bruce is a guy who has always had the balls to live with his heart on his sleeve - it's a level of authenticity that few can understand anymore. And fewer actually put out there.

    He was the start of the best week of shows I saw last year (or in many years): Bruce, Ed (twice, including row 2!), The Buttless Chaps, Ladyhawk and Black Mountain. He might not have the same draw he once had, but he's a guy who still throws %100 of himself into his shows.

    The portion of the song linked, The River, from 8:08 to 9:10 is heartbreaking. And the line "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse" I think is as profound as anything ever put in a song.

    NothingIsEverything. wrote:
    i think he's SO big because he sort of captured the voice of working-class white men (at least in the 70's and 80's). and he did it in a really authentic and sympathetic way (which is not the easiest thing to do). just my opinion, of course... but i think this track sums it up... the preamble plus the song is pretty classic (it's audio only)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj9pxmtjy4E
    There's a lot to be said for nowhere...
  • ZodZod Posts: 10,746
    Born in the USA was my first album I ever owned.. I still think its awesome to this day. I liked some of the rest of his 80's stuff and really liked the Rising.

    Been wanting to see him live since I was a kid.. finally got a chance last year, but was dying of bronchitis and was on the floor with a bigass fever.. ugh

    good show though.. allthough because my favorite springsteen albums are spread out.. only got to a hear a few of my most favorite springsteen songs.

    must be what its like when a not to familiar with pearl jam fan feels like at a pj concert.
  • ScrapeMySkyScrapeMySky Posts: 426
    reflectedfromafar wrote:

    The portion of the song linked, The River, from 8:08 to 9:10 is heartbreaking. And the line "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse" I think is as profound as anything ever put in a song

    That album is what got me into his music. Just an outstanding classic.
  • choopchoop Posts: 1,060
    i was at the h.o.f. on monday on the way back from rothbury. it was awesome!

    it took me a long time to get into springsteen, but one day it sort of clicked. seeing him play with phish was awesome too!
    "If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music." KV Jr.
  • TallGuyCMTallGuyCM Posts: 328
    I saw him live because people had said "oh, man, you gotta see Bruce live to really get it." And granted, it was a good show. I love some of his songs like I'm On Fire that are I guess some of his lesser-known hits. But songs like Hungry Heart and Dancing in the Dark and Glory Days are so cheesy that it makes my skin crawl.

    I mean, really. How many songs can you write about "the blue collar workin' man, just tryin' to make a livin'"? Hundreds, I guess. :roll:
  • red mosred mos Posts: 4,953
    seeing Bruce live is what got me into liking his music. Had the Essential disc before seeing him live and aside from a few songs I was like meh. Not sure how it happened but seeing him live was amazing. I finally understood the whole obsession. Now I didn't go out and buy every Springsteen album, but I have a whole newfound respect for his music. Loved WOAD the album was great. Sometimes it takes seeing an artist live to get that extra punch of what they are all about. He does put on a hell of a live show though. Sometimes a dvd or live album won't do justice. Like I said I'm not sure, watched a dvd- was like "cool" but not blown away. Seen him live twice- and blown away twice. :D
    PJ: 10/14/00 06/09/03 10/4/09 11/15/13 11/16/13 10/08/14
    EV Solo: 7/11/11 11/12/12 11/13/12
  • musicismylife78musicismylife78 Posts: 6,116
    Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town are two of the best albums ever created.

    I think bruce really put everything he had into those two.
  • the wolfthe wolf Posts: 7,027
    i didnt get him for a looooooong time. then all of a sudden he just started sounding really great to me.

    it like PJ so many people dont "get" them. and way more people "get" Bruce than PJ , so maybe we are the strange ones. :D

    anyway, to each their own.

    side note thumbing my way, and off he goes, and quite a few other PJ / Ed songs are very Bruce sounding in ways.

    thats the beauty of music, not everyone has to like the same shit. its all good.
    Peace, Love.

    "To question your government is not unpatriotic --
    to not question your government is unpatriotic."
    -- Sen. Chuck Hagel
  • CHANGEinWAVESCHANGEinWAVES Posts: 10,169
    I was brainwashed as a child... same thing I did to my cousin with Pearl Jam :D
    "I'm not present, I'm a drug that makes you dream"
  • Pepe SilviaPepe Silvia Posts: 3,758
    "Our love is like a Bruce Springsteen concert--it's not that great, it's really long, but 'Wow-what energy'/Our love is like my parents' love--the only difference is I won't wait till you die until I leave you"
    don't compete; coexist

    what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?

    "I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama

    when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
    i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
    I've listened to his music since I was a kid in the seventies, mainly because my brother was a fan. However, I find a lot of his stuff since The River to be very chuggalong and pedestrian. He can still knock out the odd good song, but there's too much filler such as "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" in the meantime.
  • libragirllibragirl Posts: 4,632
    I like his older stuff mostly.
    These cuts are leaving creases. Trace the scars to fit the pieces, to tell the story, you don't need to say a word.
  • pearljgirl2010pearljgirl2010 Shillington, PA/Tuckerton, NJ Posts: 3,428
    i didn't get it either, until I saw him live...one of the best concerts I've ever seen. I don't think i have ever seen a band have THAT much fun on stage--it was incredible.

    (and, Cover Me and I'm Going Down are 2 of my favorite songs :-) )
    Need a tour Travel Agent??? Pick me :-)

    Whatever you are, be a good one --Lincoln
Sign In or Register to comment.