Not a Hater

The title says it all; I feel bad my last post, hating on the Boss and All. I would delete it, but it gave my friend Tim some pleasure to see my getting all worked up for no reason. 


The truth is, there's so much great music to think about that it makes little sense to dwell on the negative. So today, here are some inspirational words from Lewis Shiner's short story, "Steam Engine Time," about a young kid, modeled on Robert Johnson, who invents "blue music." Turns out the world isn't ready for it, and a woman asks the guitarist:


"Was that supposed to be some kind of minstrel song?" ...
"No," he says, "it wasn't no minstrel song."
"Ain't heard nothin' like it before," she says. 
"Not supposed to have. Things everybody heard before is for shit. 'The Little Old Cabin in the Lane.' Songs like that make people the way they are." 

How does Bruce Springsteen Get Away With This Shit?

So: I haven't posted a blog in like, forever.  Now that I'm finally writing a new post, it's not even on topic; in fact, it's just a rant.

Welcome to the Blogosphere, friends.

I heard Bruce Springsteen's "American Land" today on SiriusXM: it's from the new record, Wrecking Ball. How does Bruce get away with this shit? It sounds like he knocked it off in ten minutes: or at least I hope he didn't take longer than that to write it.  It's a tale of immigrants in America, with Bruce singing like he's a Clancy Brother. Except that he's not. It's a second rate rewrite of the Pogues' "Sally MacLennane."  It's official: Bruce now sounds like his copyists. Except that he's not as good. Not only is the song second rate Pogues:  it's second-rate Gaslight Anthem.

Apparently Bruce can get away with all this because he's the Last Rock Populist Standing.

And they call it democracy.

Listen to this instead: