Blogness on the Edge of Town

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Posted on July 4, 2009 by Pete
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Sandy the fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Forcin’ a light into all those stoned-out faces left stranded on this Fourth of July
Down in town the circuit’s full with switchblade lovers so fast so shiny so sharp
And the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers along the shore
Chasin’ all them silly New York girls …

Springsteen 4th of July Weekend Link Roundup

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Pete
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For those of you who shell out for satellite, don’t forget to tune into E Street Radio tomorrow, when they’ll feature highlights from tonight’s show in Frankfurt and “archival Springsteen concerts recorded on July 4 of years past.” For those of you who refuse to pay for radio — you know who you are — maybe the below will hold you over.

• From the Telegraph: “Michael Jackson v Bruce Springsteen.” Not literally. A Celebrity Deathmatch would be very tacky.

• Carnival Saloon blog has a good roundup of UK Springsteen coverage, including mp3 of Joe Strummer’s original “Coma Girl.”

• Greasy Lake has some nice pit video from Bern, and points us to this footage of “Pretty Woman” in Munich in honor of Roy Bittan’s 60th birthday.

• One Poet’s Notes blog revisits Springsteen’s East Berlin “Chimes of Freedom” from 1988.

Springsteen Cover of the Week: Completely Different Edition

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Pete
Filed Under Covers, MP3 | 1 Comment

And now for something completely different … Friend of Blogness Dave P. from the U.K. was nice enough to share two Springsteen covers that immediately shot right up my list of favorites, just because there aren’t enough people doing Bruce covers that are either a cappella or sound like Pat Boone. I wonder why that is?

The first is by the California band Big Daddy, who were known for covering modern songs in ’50s musical styles. In the mid-’90s they put out the entire Sgt. Pepper’s album done that way, and yes, I went out and bought it. Apparently I was their target audience … who knew?

Anyway, I’d never heard their Boone-ish version of “Dancing in the Dark” (from their long-out-of-print Meanwhile … Back in the States — check out full discography here) until now … And I think it’s making fun of Pat Boone more than Bruce. But not by much. British audiences apparently didn’t care; according to Dave P., it went to No. 21 on the singles charts there in 1985. I’m reasonably sure that’s a much better showing than “They Call Me Bruce.” I’m just saying.

The second is a take on “Factory” by British a cappella group The Flying Pickets, from their album Lost Boys. Check out their albums here, and if you don’t think a cappella groups are manly, well, there’s nothing on that site to disprove your theory. If these guys showed up at the factory in that mesh shirt, the other guys would give them noogies and steal their fois gras out of their lunchboxes.

Meanwhile, Dave tells me that somewhere out there is a version of “Born to Run” done by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. If I’m ever about to listen to that, please knock me unconscious with a flying picket.

“Dancing in the Dark,” Big Daddy

“Factory,” The Flying Pickets

Springsteen is smokin’, baby, yeah!

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Pete
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Is it me, or is the WOAD tour shaping up to be the most-recorded in Springsteen history? Not just the shaky, noisy YouTube videos taken from the 300th row, but also the pro-shot footage by the BBC and others. (It must be easier to come up with those contracts in Europe, since it seems much more common over there — guess they’re all liberal and loose about that kind of thing, like they are about covering up their torsos then go to the beach.)

I’m expecting a recording of much of the Glasto show from a Friend of Blogness across the pond, but meanwhile there is a fair amount out there on the Web. For instance, much has been said about Springsteen’s literally steamy performance of “The River” at Glastonbury, but I thought it was being exaggerated until I watched the footage. Starting at 1:59, it literally looks like the man is about to burst into flames.

I believe this proves what many people have believed all along: that Springsteen is actually powered by a small nuclear reactor. It would explain a lot.

SPRINGSTEEN WEDNESDAY NIGHT LINK ROUNDUP:

“TicketsNow to Pay $50,000 Fine.” Plus $28,000 in convenience charges.
Nice setlist for Bern, Switzerland — “Downbound Train” feels Bernish to me.
The Big Picture Blog offers an amazing spread on Glastonbury: Springsteen, Tom Jones, Spinal Tap, mud, wine pouches, girls with blow-up mattresses — it’s all there!

‘Hey Bruce, should I come out yet? Isn’t the curfew coming up? Bruce?’

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Pete
Filed Under Blogs, Concerts, Opinion/Reviews, Press | 3 Comments

Of all the great stories that came out of Springsteen’s weekend in the UK, none can quite match the mental picture inspired by this one, regarding an alleged almost-guest spot at Hard Rock Calling by none other than Jon Bon Jovi that was scuttled by the broken curfew:

“Jon was waiting at the side of the stage, ready to go, but when the plug was pulled it was just too late … Bruce and Jon were gutted.”

Well, I’m sure Jon was gutted (whatever that means). As for Bruce? “Man, Jon, I would have loved to have you come out — but you know, the curfew! And I really wanted to do that duet on ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ too. What? No, Stevie’s not snickering … he always looks like that.” [Photo: NJ.com]

SPRINGSTEEN TUESDAY NIGHT LINK ROUNDUP:

The Gaslight Anthem team-ups prompt the Onion AV Club to propose a “Boss-Fest,” featuring the likes of Marah, The Arcade Fire, The Hold Steady, The Constantines and The Killers, in addition to the G.A. I am all over that. Who else would you invite? The National, Jesse Malin, Alejandro Escovedo and Pete Yorn come to mind. As for Jon Bon Jovi … Sorry, curfew.
Addicted to Vinyl pits “Pink Cadillac” against “Little Red Corvette” for today’s Cage Match. It’s debatable, but in the meantime, do you know what I found out? Both of those songs are about sex! Nobody tells me anything.
A well-done Telegraph column draws convincing parallels among Michael Jackson, Springsteen and Bono. Really.

Springsteen Post-UK Link Roundup

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Pete
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the 59 sound - bruce springsteen & gaslight anthem( glasto )
by runawaydream

Swamped this week (darn that day job), but here’s some post-UK required reading and viewing as we get ready for tonight’s show in Switzerland. I hear the crowds are very neutral there.

You can start with the 11-minute BBC interview with Springsteen and his absolutely smoking guest spot with the Gaslight Anthem, above. If you troll around you can find some more nice pro-shot video from Glastonbury, although the BBC has apparently pulled much of it off YouTube. There’s been some controversy over the BBC’s decision to cut away from its live Bruce coverage to go to Franz Ferdinand (although admittedly, that Franz Ferdinand lobby can be pretty persuasive), but it broadcast enough of the audio of the concert to get Springsteen trending on Twitter. (This prompted @kylemayne to note, “You don’t have to die to get on that list!”) More on the BBC’s troubles here.

Also worth checking out:

Bruce Springsteen makes surprise appearance with Gaslight Anthem at Glastonbury
Glastonbury fined $A6,105 for Springsteen’s overtime set. I think “A” means American.
Sirius July 4 special to feature songs from July 3 Germany show & classic July 4 concert reruns.
Young, Springsteen give Hyde Park rock masterclass

Springsteen joins the Gaslight Anthem! (for 1 song)

Posted on June 27, 2009 by Pete
Filed Under Video | 1 Comment

More to come, I’m sure:

GA setlist here.

Springsteen London Calling Friday Night Link Roundup

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Pete
Filed Under Brucenalia, E Streeters, Opinion/Reviews, Press | Leave a Comment

If you read one essay about Bruce Springsteen prior to his Glastonbury and Hard Rock Calling shows this weekend, make it this one from The Independent, defending him against the Sean Lennons of the world who question his inclusion.

No other stadium-stuffing star of Springsteen’s magnitude – not U2, not Radiohead, certainly not Prince or Madonna – would take the kind of risks he does: racing along runways into the crowd, shaking hands as if with old mates, falling to his knees as their hands paw over his body and guitar. He’s also less restricted than other acts, including the Stones, whose sets have to follow the sequence programmed into the computers … To use a football analogy, this is no fancy-dan show-pony reliant on a few slickly choreographed feints and step-over moves, but a real box-to-box dynamo whose legwork is made possible by the sheer size of his heart.

I like the segment at the end also, where UK stars explain their favorite Springsteen tracks. Wish I could be at one of the shows, but I hope to have a first-person report from a Friend of Blogness across the pond — stay tuned! [Photo: The Independent]

In other Springsteen news:

• I think the guy is probably drunk: Wimbledon commentary using only Springsteen song titles?

• As if that wasn’t weird enough: “Wu-Tang Battle E Street Band in Ultimate Fantasy Baseball Game.”

• On a heavier note: The Oregonian opines that Michael Jackson would have been wise to follow Bruce Springsteen’s lead.

• Stevie talks Hard Rock Calling on video for Classic Rock Magazine; I think he had a few of whatever the Wimbledon guy was having.

• Finally, have you wondered how Max manages to straddle between his two worlds? Conan sets the record straight:

Springsteen Cover of the Week: And there’s about 40 more where that came from

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Pete
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You’ve read in this space before about the planned 38-track Springsteen tribute album from the WIAIWYA label (a.k.a. “Where It’s At Is Where You Are,” which is indubitably accurate). Apparently they’re still putting the finishing touches on the double disc, but in the meantime they’re offering a little something to whet your covers appetite: four songs that apparently didn’t make the cut, available for free download complete with CD label and sleeve and a poster for the album launch concert happening tonight at the Buffalo Bar. (Which is apparently in London, not in Buffalo. Boy, did I find that out the hard way.)

Anyway, the four songs offered up — covers of “Bobby Jean,” “Atlantic City,” “I’m On Fire” and “Raise Your Hand” (not technically a Bruce song, but OK) — probably won’t make you forget the originals, but they’re solid efforts. And for that price, who can complain?

“Bobby Jean,” The Neath Street Band