4/5
Manchester United.
Only yesterday, with what looked like complicity, I talked about how we shouldn't judge Snoop Dogg's new album on the fact that he performed at Trump's inauguration. Part of me felt like a dirty dog doing it, but I can still like Snoop and not how he performs. Besides, reviews are supposed to be fair, balanced and without bias. With that being said, when you come against my Boss, that's another matter altogether. Springsteen said this, "In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration", at a recent concert (May 16th) in Manchester, England. To which Trump replied, "I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he's not a talented guy - Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country."
Erm. First things first, Trump seems to have forgotten he used to play Springsteen's 'Born In The U.S.A.' at his rallies, before he was told to stop, like he never knew what the song was really about. Secondly, let's leave President Biden out of this, who we wish a healthy recovery. And don't get me started on the overrated nonsense. As Springsteen urged us to "rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring." Whereas all Trump had to say was, "This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare. Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!" THAT sounds like a threat. Not just to Bruce's civil rights, but the same freedom and democracy the great America we once knew and still do was built upon. And that comment about the skin, I said I wouldn't do this after my review of 'The Apprentice', but has he looked in the mirror? I know I have...and DAMN! He's just jealous, like I am in Japan, watching my best friend see this show in the city I did some summers ago. Bringing Santa Claus out for an early Christmas coming to town.
Jealous, like Donald's comments about Taylor Swift's "hotness" after he said he hated her. Here's an example of a man taking pride in making comments of hatred about a woman decades his junior. Even if she is much more competent. Neither Springsteen, nor Trump, is backing down in this battle for America's soul. Yesterday, a mere month before he's set to release his unreleased back catalogue for the mega 'Tracks II: The Lost Albums', Springsteen surprisingly released his 'Land Of Hope & Dreams EP' in black and white. Taking that song and his 'City Of Ruins' with some inspired interludes introducing the songs against Trump's influence. They're on the record now. All as Trump hits back with a stupid meme as they both double-down. Hitting him with a golf ball? Now, watch this drive. Just like Springsteen sings on 'Land Of Hope & Dreams', "I will provide for you/And I'll stand by your side/You'll need a good companion for/This part of the ride/Leave behind your sorrows/Let this day be the last/Tomorrow there'll be sunshine/And all this darkness past." That's what the real boss of all bosses and the working class hero has been doing for decades. Can the President really say that?
Springsteen even repurposes his 'Long Walk Home' ode to match the tone of his country, right now. A lot like when pop's perfect Pink made a real exclamation with her political 'What About Us', disguised as a song about broken hearts. Which it still was, in all earnest. The same could be said for 'My City Of Ruins', a song written for all of those who lost their lives in 9/11 as Bruce Springsteen & The E Street band rallied everyone in New York and the watching world to "RISE UP", like they do for their country again now. With these hands, Springsteen writes lines like, "Now the sweet bells of mercy drift through the evening trees/Young men on the corner, like scattered leaves/The boarded up windows, the empty streets/While my brother's down on his knees." Always speaking for the poor and downtrodden under the sneakers that Republicans buy too. Springsteen even brings his cover of Bob Dylan's 'Chimes Of Freedom' back, like the 90s EP of the same name, to finish this extended play, ringing the klaxon again. "Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind/Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind/And the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time/And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin'", Bob, Bruce, and we all should sing. This land can dream of hope again. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Set-list Picks: 'Land Of Hope & Dreams', 'Long Walk Home', 'Chimes Of Freedom'.
Spin This: Bruce Springsteen - 'Chimes Of Freedom EP'.
No comments:
Post a Comment