Flashback: Why do you think they call him ‘The Boss’?
Written on March 24, 2008
“There are nights when I think Sal Paradise was right.
Boys and Girls in America have such a sad time together.
She was a really cool kisser and she wasn’t all that strict of a Christian.
She was a damn good dancer but she wasn’t all that great of a girlfriend.
She likes the warm feeling but she’s tired of all the dehydration.
Most nights are crystal clear
But tonight it’s like it’s stuck between stations
On the radio…”
-The Hold Steady - “Stuck Between Stations” 
In the autumn of 2002, S’s friend E. from Australia came to stay with us for six weeks while she did some work at the University. She was a wonderful, boisterous person with that irrepresible Australian spirit. Among other things, the three of us took a weekend trip to Memphis for the girls to see Graceland. I had no interest in The King’s home, so I watched the Georgia-Vanderbilt game, which wouldn’t have been on at home in Misery, on the TV. That night we went out for great BBQ and music. We met up with E in London last week, which is why she was on my mind today, and she’s still the energetic Aussie that I met five years ago.
One of the things that E did for me was to convince me to give Bruce Springsteen the respect that he was due. We were both music fans, she introduced me to The White Stripes and The Eels as well, so I had respect for her taste. One day she mentioned Springsteen and I scoffed. She said something to the effect of how does an American not like Bruce Springsteen?
Good question. I listened to Bruce growing up - “Born in the U.S.A.” came out when I was thirteen and I wore out the casette. But I never really got what he was trying to say. I only really listened to the chorus, I could relate with the Reagan-esque patriotism of singing along “Born in the USA” over and over, but as a middle class child of the suburbs, didn’t get:
“Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just covering up.”
As I said, I wore out this album for myself so when my musical taste drifted towards R.E.M. and U2, I just thought of Springsteen as a hackneyed relic of the Reagan era. To my credit, I never listened to any other Springsteen - “Nebraska” or “Born to Run”, though I don’t know if it would have made a difference. When E declared herself a huge fan of The Boss, I was slightly confused. How does “Born in the U.S.A.” play in Oz? She introduced me to Springsteen’s “Red-Headed Woman” which has charming lyrics like: “Well I don’t know how many girls you’ve dated, man/But you ain’t lived til you’ve had your tires rotated/By a red headed woman…” Need I say more?
And since then I’ve had the great pleasure of rediscovering Springsteen. Albums that every music fan should know and love were new to me. I heard songs like “Reason to Believe” and “The River” for the first time and realized that I had probably missed out on one of the best American songwriters since Dylan. It was when I heard his excellent album “We Shall Overcome” last year that I really “got” Bruce Springsteen. If you’ve not heard this album, it’s all covers of Pete Seeger songs, with a great country-folk backing band. Listening to this album, sounds like a back-porch jam session, the spontaneity and joy of it is infectious. I challenge you not to sing along to “Old Dan Tucker” or “Jesse James”.
But The Boss is not what inspired this post, I was listening to The Hold Steady’s 2006 album “Boys and Girls in America” yesterday and when the excellent opening track quoted at the beginning of this post roared into my headphones, I thought this is the best Springsteen song that he never wrote. It is all power chords and classic rock bravado. Craig Finn’s narrative songwriting is sharp and witty, if a bit druggy. And tell me, if you’re in your mid-thirties, how do you not like a rock band that looks like these guys. This album peaks with the opener, but is still one of the best of 2006. Tracks like “Citrus” and “The Chill Out Tent” are nearly as good as “Stuck Between Stations”. Their previous albums “Almost Killed Me” and “Separation Sunday” are excellent as well.
At a dinner party a few weeks ago, a friend was comparing Arcade Fire’s recent release “Neon Bible” with their previous album “Funeral”. Now, this band is so good that they deserve their own post, but what brings them up in my mind today was my friend’s statement - “I like ‘Neon Bible’, but it sounds a bit too much like Springsteen sometimes.” “Hey”, I exclaimed, “there’s nothing wrong with Springsteen, why do you think they call him ‘The Boss’?” It took an Australian to show me how great an American icon was. Least I can do is pass it on to the Brits.
I love this song from the 9/11 inspired “The Rising”:
“I need you, but love and duty called you someplace higher
Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire.
May your strength give us strength
May your faith give us faith
May your hope give us hope
May your love give us love…”
Filed in: American artists, Canadian Artists, flashback.
