there are two new albums (records, lps, whatever the kids call them today) i've been listening to a lot lately.jeff ircink and brian grabowski will appreciate my somewhat limited return to writing about music, by the way. they were around for the glory days of "off the record" (or was it "on the record"?) back at the high school newspaper. they were also around for the layout parties in my parents basement.
i'll eventually get back to the whole "favorite albums of all time" thing that i started back on tony-clements.com. but for now, i just wanna say that i think the new springsteen (magic) and the new annie lennox (songs of mass destruction) are pretty darn great.
i'm big on phases. i've been thru repeated elton phases. mccartney phases. i'm deeply entrenched in a springsteen phase now, thanks to this new music. it means i pull out all the old stuff, and gain a new appreciation for it. i heard the lyric "i wanna die with you wendy on the streets tonight in an everlasting kiss" this last week, and -- i think it's an age thing -- i had to stop my ipod and just sit and think about how amazing that line is.
Hi Tony. I've been in my Bruce phase for 32 years now. Early in 1975, I was a typical teenage aspiring piano player in New Jersey, and Elton John was my idol. My brother Bruce told me about this guy Bruce Springsteen who I had never heard of. He told me confidently that within a year or two, he would be "bigger than Elton John," which was unimaginable to me.
ReplyDeleteI remember listening to the single "Born to Run," on the radio for the first time with my brother, and I remember buying the LP (still have it!) on the day it came out.
In the fall of that same year, I ran away with my girlfriend on a Trailways bus. We made it to Nebraska before being gathered up by the authorities.
jimmy, we have the same idols.
ReplyDeleteSo, I guess I gotta respond to this.
ReplyDeleteYou know me, long time blog reader, occasional responder...Hey, lurking in the shadows, but it's great to read how you're doin, you know? Love the blog...but this needs a soundtrack.
So, Tony, when are you going to write some music, rather than just write about music? Back in the day, did we really need Springsteen? Man, he was about life, the angst, and the almighty struggle, you know? (sure you do!). We listened, but beyond chanting "Wisconsin nights", I don't think we needed him then. We were sorting through pearls, but it was hard to appreciate the timelessness of it. How could we? We were pups! EJ, the Beatles, the B-52's - we were all just Shiny Happy People back then, weren't we? Pretty much wide open skies back then.
Now, Springsteen kind of hits me right between the eyes. I re-visted the NYC concert video DVD the other night. Damn, it just rivets you. Paralyzed to the remote. Yes, the new CD is great, but it doesn't pull me in the same way the timeless classics you mention do...how could they? Maybe in 20 years or so.
On the broader issue. You. All you've done, all you've seen, all you've experienced - wow, it's amazing. I want to hear the soundtrack, with some rip-roaring commentary. Is it time yet?
I hope you're well. Thanks for the flashback via honorable mention! Let me know the next time you're spinning records in the basement...
Brian
P.S. I dig Feingold as well. Wish he would have run in 08. Not to win, but to put the discussions in the right track. Really tired of white/black/woman/insider as the attributes of debate.
I remember a pretty cool Halloween party in that basement..."turn me on, dead man." Yikes!
ReplyDelete