This was originally a reply to Joan's post, but I decided to put it here too. This also covers comments in a couple of reviews of the show I read.
I don't understand the criticism of Bruce's halftime show that I am reading this morning. Bruce had 12 minutes to play to a world-wide audience . Of course he played well-known oldie standards to reach the broadest possible audience. I exepcted nothing more. I was even surprised when he played a portion of Working On A Dream, and it was hardly a promo.
The Superbowl is not the place for political statement-making. I am very pleased he did not make it so. If anything, I thought he might mention how great it is to have Obama as President in some manner. He didn't even do that. It was 100% apolitical. That was hardly pandering.
We need to be able to tune in to one uniquely American tradition for the sheer fun of it and not hear a political word uttered. To mention Pat Tilman, or any other number of currently unpleasant topics we are dealing with, would have created a more somber mood, and America and the World deserved to be spared that for one carefree night this winter.
Some say it was hokey - I'll give ya hokey - but I enjoyed seeing my old buddy in that different hokey-for-America role :-)
Here's what I saw: Bruce is happy. He did a fine job of imparting that happiness and his energy to the entire audience. It was uplifting, fun, easy, and hopeful. It was a full Bruce concert show packed into that tiny time. I got the message - and it was a happy, hopeful one.
Yes, I am a devoted fan of Bruce on many levels.
Working On A dream
Out here the nights are long the days are lonely
I think of you and I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
The cards I've drawn's a rough hand darlin'
I straighten my back and I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
Though sometimes it feels so far away
I'm working on a dream
And how it will be mine someday
Rain pourin' down I swing my hammer
My hands are rough from working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
Though trouble can feel like it's here to stay
I'm working on a dream
Our love will chase the trouble away
I'm working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm working on a dream
And our love will make it real someday
Sunrise come I climb the ladder
The new day breaks and I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm working on a dream
And our love will make it real someday
I'm working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm working on a dream
And our love will make it real someday
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Still4Hill
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Comments
WOOF
Mom and Sheldon, thanks for posting too. I needed some validation this morning!
Howdy Lauren and Gracie - whoo-hoo to bruce (I was actually choked up and teary throughout even)
He was definitely the highlight of the Super Bowl for me. Thanks for the post!
"Born to Run" was phenomenal.
(rated)
How far has this stuff come? I asked *my* teenagers (not Classic Rock or Springsteen fans, but musically open-minded): "on a scale of 1-10, how cool is Bruce?" and got back an average of 8. Compare that to the Up With People-type shows that I saw when I was a kid!
I agree, which is why I was so displeased to see Petraeus there in a prominent role.
kym: I have to admit I did not see the general part. But if I had, I might have let it pass as a nod to the military personnel watching aorund the world (?)
Yay Joan!
Greetings From Asbury Park? Solid debut.
Tunnel of Love? Outstanding and multi-faceted look at the human heart.
Nebraska? Brooding, stark and haunting.
The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle? The best body of work in his career with a perfect balance of lyrics and musicianship and a masterful dynamic. I believe it to be one of the best albums of the 1970s.
The rest of his catalog is hit and miss to me. A lot of stuff I once loved, has now grown old with bits and pieces of various albums that can still capture me beyond a nostalgic realm.
I guess I’m firmly in the camp that believes Springsteen has become a caricature of his Top 40 persona. His singing, once nuanced and rich, has become laborious. His songwriting seems formulaic.
The Springsteen I still like is the one found on the Hammersmith Odeon footage included with the Born To Run anniversary edition. THAT Bruce, that band, kicked ass!
Hearing the current E Streeters trying to run through classics like Thundercrack and Kitty’s Back these days just seems plodding and kind of sad.
I read an interesting book a few years back entitled Mansion On the Hill that looked at the careers of Springsteen and Neil Young and analyzed how one started out wanting to be an artist and became a pop star while the other intended on being a pop star and became an artist. I would recommend it for others like myself who believe Springsteen’s big turn toward mediocrity came when Jon Landau saw “the future of rock and roll” and sought to interject himself straight into it.
Sorry but I was mostly nonplussed by the halftime show.
Of course, I wish the NFL would forego such midgame spectacles and get back to a standard length halftime instead of these interminable breaks that basically kill most of the momentum from the first half.
Can't it just be about the game anymore?
I think the reasons for becoming and remaining a devoted fan are different for different people. I am fairly unsophisticated musically, but I am a devoted fan of Bruce for other reasons too. I am not a "fan" of many, never mind a devoted one!
I will also agree that the show was great and what it needed to be.