Bruuuuce!

Bad hair day but in this weather it would be unreasonable to have any higher expectations. Really terrific interview with Springsteen on Fresh Air this morning. For anyone in the WSUI listening area it should be rebroadcast at 7pm unless there is a P Lights reading. Difficult to believe it's been 30 years since "Born to Run" was released and rock critic Dave Marsh declared (was it Dave?) he had seen the future of rock-n-roll and it's name was Bruce Sprinsteen! Hell, I was down. My mother turned me on to that record and I became a groupie of sorts. Yeah, I got a story or two.

The wonderful thing about today's interview which actually took place a week ago is hearing the mature, wise Bruce. (BTW, is everybody throwing around the word "florid" these days? - I thought that was over in 2002? Oh well, I'm biased it's adorable when HE does it.) The family man who obliquely refers to a time in his past of running head on into his "instincts" and what a train wreck that way of life was. The guy who can laugh at himself, can look back at his old work and admit that it's good just different from what he's doing now. Hey it was was gratifying to hear an old hero talk about being a misfit and finding yourself through art, music, writing, etc.

I was disappointed in a couple of respects in the interview. The primary one, being this - in the discussion of Springsteen's writing of romantic songs, there was no mention of the fact that he wrote just about the most romantic song of the 20th century which is on the Tunnel of Love record - "Tougher Than the Rest". Okay, okay they were discussing earlier work but, man, that song is it. It's the send me no more cowards, anthem. The true definition of what strength and power are in another person.