Off-Topic Alert: In 1984 I was an in-my-prime townie in New Orleans. I started a wholesale business. I spent 10 years going to trade shows selling to retailers all over the US, Europe, and South America. I imported housewares of my own design inspired by my then-famous collection of circa 1900 New Orleans food can labels. The products were a hit in chic shops all over the country. Fabled Labels® was a member of the Museum Store Association. My collection and products made news. Lots of news. The exquisitely detailed fine porcelain mugs and bowls were manufactured in Japan. My passions for design and travel were satisfied in those years. But my tiny enterprise had no influence on global events. Suddenly the dollar took a dive against the yen and costs doubled. I went broke and deeply in debt. I landed in the gig economy as a self-styled software developer. The good old days. Here's a number to call: 1-800-BOO-HOOO
So brilliant. Thank you for this heartfelt analysis. I so enjoy learning about your love of music. During my teen years of was in survival mode and quietness was my refuge, not music. I needed peace, the peace you must have gotten from being able to identify with and access the music. So now, in my sixties, I catch up a bit on what I “missed” by reading your “love notes on rock’n’roll” (my name for your wonderful musings) and get to double back and catch up. I’m not in my teens or twenties, but I can imagine how I might have loved this music more then had I not been so intense. 🦋
"I cranked the volume to the max and sang along as loud as I possibly could, cathartic tears rolling down my cheeks."
My such moment circa 1968: I had just indentured myself for 36 months to buy my first car for $1800. It was a navy VW beetle with chrome trim. A buddy and I hit the road. When Brother Can You Spare A Dime (https://youtu.be/Jwx6mlqI6Ng) came on my tiny radio, Tim and I burst into hedonic song. On "s-l-o-g-g-i-n-g through hell" I punched the line — and my windshield — and shattered the damned thing!
Sorry, Greg. Motown/R&B and Soul Music on Soul Train are what gets my foot to tapping. No innuendo for me. Sing it like you want it to be. While you're at it, gimme some Bob Marley, too!
Everyone has a Bruce moment. I used to travel full-time for 20 years and was a Project Manager/Analyst for healthcare computer systems and had to go to Petersburg Alaska for a week in February. Not only did I think we were going to die on the flights in that stopped in Wrangell and Ketchikan but a snow storm came in that week and the fog closed the airport and all sea traffic. There was no way in or out.
There were two other co-workers and we were in a small hotel with no restaurant so we trudged into town in knee deep snow and found a pizza place open. The only album they had was Born to Run and they played it nonstop for hours. We sat and played cards and drank beer and had the time of our lives. I now can't hear a song from that album without thinking of being marooned in Alaska.
The best thing Bruce ever wrote, in my opinion. “When you let that genie out of the bottle - bigotry, racism, intolerance - they don’t go back in the bottle that easily if they go back in at all. Whether it’s a rise in hate crimes, people feeling they have a license to speak and behave in ways that previously were considered un-America and are un-American. That’s what he’s appealing to. My fears are that those things find a place in ordinary, civil society.”
When I read this, around Feb, 2018, I felt that he was prescient in a way that few were at the time.
Not that I don’t love your post and your analysis of Rosalina, he is so much more than a rock star. His autobiography is top notch also. Great read…
Yes. The impulsive young man dares to ask. In a way he is asking Fate to be with him on his journey.
Thanks, Greg, I am a medium sized Bruce fan myself. But c'mon, fifty years of DSOTM; that's where I've been this week. Buuut, I have been trying to win tickets to see the Boss live in Philly in August, even though I live in New England, so I cannot deny the draw... thanks again!
Thanks for this. My beloved late husband’s favorite artist. And you nailed it, as usual, in that he gave my Bergen County Jersey boy worth. Robert said Bruce changed his life and that’s exactly what he meant by that. Back in the Stone Pony days, Robert had a press pass and would often watch from the wings, camera in hand. Heady days.
Shot (photographed) Bruce a few times, covering bands, large and small was my job. On one occasion, I was totally booked, choosing what I thought qualified apprentice, who loved the Boss,his golden career moment! The gig was in a large venue with a boom set high above the masses, for what should have been sublime pics. IIRC the show was an amazing experience for everyone, sans the apprentice! Who had a touch of either being too high (smoke certainly rises) or after summarizing his logorrhea, acrophobia!Thus, rendering his thought process useless! Aperture, shutter speed, film speed and available light left him shooting hundreds of chrome exposures that were essentially dark enough to ward off a solar eclipse! I spend a day push-processing, coupled with animated masking to secure two excellent pics, both of Clarence,hundreds of others pretty much useless. Time has passed, I now laugh at the silvery-est lining of the episode... but damn I remember the tongue lashing I received from producer.
I enjoyed the evolution of Bruce over the years, but being a jazz-blues Kat, I loved watching Clarence’s interactions best of all!
Off-Topic Alert: In 1984 I was an in-my-prime townie in New Orleans. I started a wholesale business. I spent 10 years going to trade shows selling to retailers all over the US, Europe, and South America. I imported housewares of my own design inspired by my then-famous collection of circa 1900 New Orleans food can labels. The products were a hit in chic shops all over the country. Fabled Labels® was a member of the Museum Store Association. My collection and products made news. Lots of news. The exquisitely detailed fine porcelain mugs and bowls were manufactured in Japan. My passions for design and travel were satisfied in those years. But my tiny enterprise had no influence on global events. Suddenly the dollar took a dive against the yen and costs doubled. I went broke and deeply in debt. I landed in the gig economy as a self-styled software developer. The good old days. Here's a number to call: 1-800-BOO-HOOO
So brilliant. Thank you for this heartfelt analysis. I so enjoy learning about your love of music. During my teen years of was in survival mode and quietness was my refuge, not music. I needed peace, the peace you must have gotten from being able to identify with and access the music. So now, in my sixties, I catch up a bit on what I “missed” by reading your “love notes on rock’n’roll” (my name for your wonderful musings) and get to double back and catch up. I’m not in my teens or twenties, but I can imagine how I might have loved this music more then had I not been so intense. 🦋
"I cranked the volume to the max and sang along as loud as I possibly could, cathartic tears rolling down my cheeks."
My such moment circa 1968: I had just indentured myself for 36 months to buy my first car for $1800. It was a navy VW beetle with chrome trim. A buddy and I hit the road. When Brother Can You Spare A Dime (https://youtu.be/Jwx6mlqI6Ng) came on my tiny radio, Tim and I burst into hedonic song. On "s-l-o-g-g-i-n-g through hell" I punched the line — and my windshield — and shattered the damned thing!
Sorry, Greg. Motown/R&B and Soul Music on Soul Train are what gets my foot to tapping. No innuendo for me. Sing it like you want it to be. While you're at it, gimme some Bob Marley, too!
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+temptations+my+girl+song&view=detail&mid=B3399746B586534B4A1DB3399746B586534B4A1D&FORM=VIRE0&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dthe%2btemptations%2bmy%2bgirl%2bsong%26qs%3dSS%26pq%3dthe%2btemptations%2bmy%2bgirl%26sk%3dLS1%26sc%3d10-23%26cvid%3dC5116B81A070497FB8470B9D1D8B6FBF%26FORM%3dQBRE%26sp%3d2%26ghc%3d1%26lq%3d0
Everyone has a Bruce moment. I used to travel full-time for 20 years and was a Project Manager/Analyst for healthcare computer systems and had to go to Petersburg Alaska for a week in February. Not only did I think we were going to die on the flights in that stopped in Wrangell and Ketchikan but a snow storm came in that week and the fog closed the airport and all sea traffic. There was no way in or out.
There were two other co-workers and we were in a small hotel with no restaurant so we trudged into town in knee deep snow and found a pizza place open. The only album they had was Born to Run and they played it nonstop for hours. We sat and played cards and drank beer and had the time of our lives. I now can't hear a song from that album without thinking of being marooned in Alaska.
I know what happened to Rosalita. She married a guy I worked with, an art director named Dave, and they settled in the Pacific Northwest.
The Boss is such an icon of Americana that I went out of my way to hike around Asbury Park thirtyish years ago
The best thing Bruce ever wrote, in my opinion. “When you let that genie out of the bottle - bigotry, racism, intolerance - they don’t go back in the bottle that easily if they go back in at all. Whether it’s a rise in hate crimes, people feeling they have a license to speak and behave in ways that previously were considered un-America and are un-American. That’s what he’s appealing to. My fears are that those things find a place in ordinary, civil society.”
When I read this, around Feb, 2018, I felt that he was prescient in a way that few were at the time.
Not that I don’t love your post and your analysis of Rosalina, he is so much more than a rock star. His autobiography is top notch also. Great read…
Yes. The impulsive young man dares to ask. In a way he is asking Fate to be with him on his journey.
Thanks, Greg, I am a medium sized Bruce fan myself. But c'mon, fifty years of DSOTM; that's where I've been this week. Buuut, I have been trying to win tickets to see the Boss live in Philly in August, even though I live in New England, so I cannot deny the draw... thanks again!
I just saw Bruce last week twice - Saturday in Portland and Monday in Seattle. Great shows as usual. He played Rosalita both nights.
Thanks for this. My beloved late husband’s favorite artist. And you nailed it, as usual, in that he gave my Bergen County Jersey boy worth. Robert said Bruce changed his life and that’s exactly what he meant by that. Back in the Stone Pony days, Robert had a press pass and would often watch from the wings, camera in hand. Heady days.
Shot (photographed) Bruce a few times, covering bands, large and small was my job. On one occasion, I was totally booked, choosing what I thought qualified apprentice, who loved the Boss,his golden career moment! The gig was in a large venue with a boom set high above the masses, for what should have been sublime pics. IIRC the show was an amazing experience for everyone, sans the apprentice! Who had a touch of either being too high (smoke certainly rises) or after summarizing his logorrhea, acrophobia!Thus, rendering his thought process useless! Aperture, shutter speed, film speed and available light left him shooting hundreds of chrome exposures that were essentially dark enough to ward off a solar eclipse! I spend a day push-processing, coupled with animated masking to secure two excellent pics, both of Clarence,hundreds of others pretty much useless. Time has passed, I now laugh at the silvery-est lining of the episode... but damn I remember the tongue lashing I received from producer.
I enjoyed the evolution of Bruce over the years, but being a jazz-blues Kat, I loved watching Clarence’s interactions best of all!
Excellently crafted piece Greg!!