Springsteen

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I read Warren Zanes' NEBRASKA book over the weekend. Mostly in one night. He's a good writer and took his experience as a rock n roller into the telling in a way you or me couldn't. Good book.

[Edgy MD]

Fifty years ago yesterday, Billy climbed into the back seat of his Cadillac.

[Frayed Knot]

I read Warren Zanes' NEBRASKA book over the weekend. Mostly in one night. He's a good writer and took his experience as a rock n roller into the telling in a way you or me couldn't. Good book.

Yeah, real good. It's also cool to discover that a book got written that you previously had no idea needed writing.
I think I may have learned more about Bruce Springsteen from this shorter and more narrowly targeted book than
I did from reading Bruce's own much longer and life spanning auto-bio several years back ... or maybe that's just
a false assessment because this one is fresher in my mind.

[Edgy MD]

I like that I posted "New York City Serenade" and there were no other posts for two days. Is there a longer studio cut in the Springsteen canon?

[A Boy Named Seo]

It was cool this Beatles track "Now and Then" came out right after I'd finished that Nebraska book. It was impossible not to reflect on Bruce and Landau trying to export that TEAC cassette anywhere else to clean up the recording, and made me wonder if the AI that was used on this Beatles track was available, what might've happened to Nebraska. I would think Bruce wouldn't be into it, but they tried everything under the sun back in '82, so who knows. Thank god for shitty, 80s analog tech.

[Fman99]

I played "Spirit in the Night" at my gig last night and it went over pretty well with only a few minor hiccups on my part. I did drop it down a few steps for my own vocal comfort (the song is in Em but I transposed it to Bm). Because I was playing for my run club the audio of my gig will be mostly loud and obnoxious.

I have a non-run club gig next Wednesday where I plan on playing it again and should have more legible audio to share. I thought it played pretty well plus it is a fun one to sing and play.

[Edgy MD]

That song is also long enough to pretty much fill a set on its own.

It's also for mature audiences only. Lots of filthy, dirty sexin'.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I played "Spirit in the Night" at my gig last night and it went over pretty well with only a few minor hiccups on my part. I did drop it down a few steps for my own vocal comfort (the song is in Em but I transposed it to Bm). Because I was playing for my run club the audio of my gig will be mostly loud and obnoxious.

I have a non-run club gig next Wednesday where I plan on playing it again and should have more legible audio to share. I thought it played pretty well plus it is a fun one to sing and play.

Noice. Did you do the call and response solo?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

yeah, way to go. No Clarence accompanying you neither

[Fman99]

I played "Spirit in the Night" at my gig last night and it went over pretty well with only a few minor hiccups on my part. I did drop it down a few steps for my own vocal comfort (the song is in Em but I transposed it to Bm). Because I was playing for my run club the audio of my gig will be mostly loud and obnoxious.

I have a non-run club gig next Wednesday where I plan on playing it again and should have more legible audio to share. I thought it played pretty well plus it is a fun one to sing and play.

Noice. Did you do the call and response solo?

I did for some of those refrains, but for others, I sang the first part, and kind of let the chords/guitar pop a bit as the refrain, and that also worked. I think the key is to get it so that it's right at the high end of where I feel comfortable because that's how that song sounds on the album version. Like it's work to hit those notes.

[Edgy MD]

I like that song. There are at least 10 different chords, but nothing too exotic, which you can't say for a lot of the Swingsteen-era Bruce songs from the first two albums. For instance, I can't play "For You" without breaking my hand, with multiple sections seemingly in different keys. "Spirit in the Night" is more honest to the cover artist. If you find the groove of the swing, you can play it.

Now, playing it without the cheat sheet in front of me is a different story.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Steven Hyden is a favorite rock writer of mine and I loved his books on Radiohead and Pearl Jam. I just preordered this Springsteen book he announced today.

https://www.amazon.com/There-Was-Nothin ... 240&sr=8-5

[Edgy MD]

Look at all that finish his Telecaster used to have.

[kcmets]

Born in the USA might be the stupidest mega-hit song in the entire
history of stupidest mega-hit songs. I mean, good golly. song sucks.

[Fman99]

My take on Spirit in the Night here. It's a fun one to play and it's staying in my current set list for now.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Go on, Fman!

BTW - I saw this amongst my Spotify new releases today. Looks like a collection of Bruce songs on piano only? I haven't given it a run yet.

https://brucespringsteen.lnk.to/SOKAN?u ... s_playlist

[A Boy Named Seo]

I just finished Holding the Note by David Remnick. It's a book full of vignettes of music legends who are, or were in the last chapter of their life and music career (among them Aretha, Leonard Cohen, Mavis Staples, McCartney, Dylan and a pretty great takedown of Keith Richards).

One of the chapters, maybe the longest one, is on Bruce. The quotes from Bruce on why he does what he does, the working dynamics of the E Street Band and Bruce's battles with depression and loss and death were all wonderfully presented.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book ... d-remnick/

[A Boy Named Seo]

Since music biopics are apparently the new superhero movies, there is naturally a rumored Springsteen Nebraska-era biopic (link).

Who would you get to play the Boss? I submit Timothée Chalamet. Who you got?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Frenchy Springsteen

[Edgy MD]

I have a lot of antipathy for Timothee Chalomet, and the guy has already been cast as Dylan, for Pete (Seeger)'s sake.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I completely missed that. Another Dylan movie!

Ok, who ya got?

[Edgy MD]

This is actor/musician Malcolm Hoyt. My advocacy for him has nothing whatsoever to do with him being my nephew and godson, and me getting in free to all his shows.

Similarly, my antipathy toward Chalomet is utterly unrelated to Malcolm going to school with Timothee and demonstrating twice the talent, but (like so many in the family) none of the capacity for self-promotion.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I've no doubt your nephew's got the good and could pull it off, but I just saw this pic of Dominic Sessa from the Golden Globes (he was great in The Holdovers) and am adding him the pool. Though he's young for a Nebraska-era Springsteen, I think he could pull the look and demeanor off. Or just play Dylan in the next Dylan movie.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Craig Roberts?

[MFS62]

Every time Springsteen's name comes up, my wife says, "I don't like him. He looks dirty".
And since I can't come up with a logical response, I just walk away.

Later