Introduction
I already wrote a blog that went on for 30 entries about music. I looked at them but I didn’t write about all the music of the sixties and seventies. So I may repeat myself but it can’t be helped.
Bruce Springsteen and the E street band–what they mean to me.
From the first album–Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ–I became an instant fan. This music was visceral; I can never really put into words what Bruce does to me. The lyrics–pure poetry; Bruce’s guitar playing–out of sight; his way of writing and putting together songs–nobody does it like he does. And his band; I have this strong fantasy of the E street band all loving Bruce, being devoted to him and the message he puts out. I saw him play in Philadelphia and Michael interviewed him twice for the Pitt News. Michael told Bruce that his mother loves his music and sings it all the time and Bruce simply said “Thank you.” Michael was impressed by his quality of being down-to-earth. He sat patiently, answering Michael’s questions, not rushing him, and when Michael was done Bruce said “Do you have anything else you’d like to talk to me about?” In Michael’s words: Bruce treated him like a real person, not just a school newspaper writer.
Carl Jung wrote about the fact that every woman and man has her or his counterpart. For women the male aspect is called the “animus.” There’s no doubt that Bruce is my male counterpart. For one thing, I’ve noticed that every love song–every one–has a story about a man being in love with a wonderful woman, no cruelty, no “Under My Thumb” stuff. That’s who Bruce is.
Another factor in all of this is that Bruce comes from working class people. Now, I didn’t come from working class people but my mother’s family was, and when I had to
use my hands to make birds in our business, I had no trouble seeing myself in this way. So I identified.
And you can’t ignore the friendships within the band. Bruce and Clarence Clemmons, the saxophone man, were together from the beginning of the E Street Band and “Stevie”–I forget his last name–was also. Similarly Max Greenberg was the drummer since the beginniing. It’s loyalty.
Bruce has been awarded a Medal of Freedom–I think that’s the right one–and he deserves it. He’s done so much for others, both individual people and groups. I wrote a novel called “An Unfounded Door” and Bruce is a big part of it.
lgmwriting 