There's a time in life for Hoagy Carmichael. There's a time in life for Claude Debussy. There's a time in life for Jerry Lee Lewis. There's a time in life for Destiny's Child. All these things have their moment. ~Elvis Costello
“Bruce Springsteen is a bold new talent with more than a mouthful to say,” raved Lester Bangs in his Rolling Stonereview of Springsteen’s 1973 debut, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. “He’s been influenced a lot by the Band, his arrangements tend to take on a Van Morrison tinge every now and then, and he sort of catarrh-mumbles his ditties in a disgruntled mushmouth sorta like Robbie Robertson on Quaaludes with Dylan barfing down the back of his neck. It’s a tuff combination, but it’s only the beginning. Because what makes Bruce totally unique and cosmically surfeiting is his words. Hot damn, what a passel o’ verbiage!”
As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2—known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act—dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry—which is happening as I write—is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.
On opening night of The River Tour 2016 in Pittsburgh, Bruce Springsteen pays tribute to the late David Bowie with an encore performance of “Rebel Rebel”.
Bruce Springsteen: “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” (2007)
Let’s get one thing straight at the outset: Bruce ain’t the boss of me.
The appreciation of an artist can be a very subjective thing, and this man has never really spoken for, or to, me. I can’t quite pinpoint what leaves me cold exactly, except that I perceive him as a guy who can’t get out of the way of his own songs.
But with “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” Bruce did something I can get behind: a Phil Spector homage brimming with nostalgic wistfulness–not to mention a meaty melody. Even the video is wrong, but the song is so right.
She went away/She cut me like a knife/Hello, beautiful thing/Maybe you could save my life
No chance. The song is meant to be a fantasy. The narrator can see the beauty in the aforementioned “girls”, but the look is not returned. It’s a sad thing. And it calls to mind other songs of fading summer and advancing years such as Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” and the Beach Boys’ “Breakaway”. If this type of song doesn’t feel real to you, well, give it a few years.
Every Moment Has A Song 