Monday, March 3, 2008

Bruce Springsteen




Flipping through USA TODAY, my eye was caught by this photograph of Bruce Springsteen by Danny Clinch. It’s been interesting to watch Springsteen age both as a musician and a performer because he’s managed, not unsurprisingly given his integrity and his genius, to remain his own person. Sartorially and cosmetically he’s made adjustments – the only place I’ve ever seen him in the flesh other than at concerts is at Barneys – but thank goodness he’s refrained from dyeing his hair, getting a face lift, etc.. I particularly liked the mood this picture caught and the fact that while Springsteen isn’t trying to look young, he’s still cool.

Then there was an unexpected bonus! The article promised that if you clicked through to the paper’s website you would see the Boss’s playlist. Unfortunately the link they gave didn’t work, but after much digging and more hard work I found it. So for all Bruce Springsteen fans, here it is:

Alan Vega - Dujang Prang
Amos MilburnChicken Shack Boogie
Antony and the JohnsonsMy Lady Story
Beach BoysSloop John B
Beau Jocque & the Zydeco Hi-RollersJust One Kiss
BeausoleilChez Seychelles
BeckHe’s a Mighty Good Leader
Beth OrtonShe Cries Your Name
Big Mama ThorntonBumble Bee
Bluerunners Ghost of a Girl
Voodoo Mens & Voodoo Dolls
Big Head
Bob DylanDear Mrs. Roosevelt
Grand Coulee Dam
Blood In My Eyes
Diamond Joe
Dixie
Lonesome Day Blues

Bob Dylan & Mavis Staples
Gonna Change My Way of Thinking
Bob Dylan and The BandMillion Dollar Bash
Bob NeuwirthBeautiful Day
Everybody’s Got a Job to Do
Sweet and Shiny Eyes

Bob Neuwirth with Peter CaseTravelin’ Light
Bobby “Blue” BlandIf You Could Read My Mind
Bright Eyes and Emmy Lou HarrisWe Are Nowhere and This Is Now
Bryant’s Jubilee Quartet I’ll Be Satisfied
Bukka WhiteFixin’ to Die Blues
Bull Moose Jackson I Know Who Threw the Whiskey (In the Well)
CalexicoAcross the Wire
Guero Canelo
Charlie RichLife Has its Little Ups and Downs
Chris Whitley Living With the Law
Big Sky Country

Chuck BerryI Got to Find My Baby
Too Much Monkey Business (Live)

Chuckwagon GangAs the Life of a Flower
Clara Ward Packing Up
Creedence Clearwater Revival Cotton Fields
Midnight Special

Dave Van RonkSpike Driver Blues
David BaerwaldWhy
The Crash

Dixie Hummingbirds City of Gold
Doc Watson Tom Dooley
Doc Watson and Frosty Morn Working Man Blues
Dock BogsPretty Polly
Dorothy Love Coates Strange Man
Evan Dando Hard Drive
Francesco Di Gregori Non-Dirie Che Non-E’ Cosi
Gary DavisSamson and Delilah Reverend
Gene Vincent Baby Blue (Live)
Green On RedSea of Cortez
Hamell On Trial Oughta Go Around
Hank Dogs Hollywood
Hank WilliamsLost Highway
J.D. Crowe and the New SouthLong Journey Home
Jackson BrowneLinda Paloma
James McMurtry Out Here in the Middle
Jawbone Get Rhythm
Jay Farrar Feed Kill Chain
Barstow
Jeff Tweedy, Jay Bennett, and Roger McGuinnEast Virginia Blues
James Alley Blues

Jesse MalinQueen of the Underworld
Jim White Static On the Radio
Jimmie DriftwoodBattle of New Orleans
Jimmie RodgersMy Blue Eyed Jane
Jimmy CliffTime Will Tell
Sufferin’ In the Land
Jimmy MartinHit Parade of Love
Jimmy Reed Take Out Some Insurance
Joan Baez with Bob Dylan It Ain’t Me Babe
Joe ElySaint Valentine
Ranches and Rivers

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Ramshackle Day Parade
Coma Girl

John CaleThings
John Jackson John Henry
Frankie and Johnny

John Lee Hooker – Jump Me One More Time
John Prine Clay Pigeons
John Sebastian & The J Band with Geoff MuldaurMinglewood Blues
Johnny Cash I Hung My Head
Kate & Anna McGarrigleWas My Brother In the Battle
Kate & Anna McGarrigle with Rufus WainwrightBetter Times Are Coming
Kermit RuffinsBlack and Blue
Kris Kristofferson Loving Her Was Easier
Me and Bobby McGee

Lee Williams & The Spritual QC’sWhen You Gonna Wake Up
Leonard CohenEverybody Knows
Linda Ronstadt & Emily Lou Harris Valerie
Link Wray Black River Swamp
Take Me Home Jesus

Take My Hand (Precious Lord)
Loretta Lynn Portland Oregon
Los LobosOn a Night Like This
Anse Imo

Los Pregoneros Del PuertoEl Ahualco
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five St. James Infirmary
LoveAlone Again Or
Lucinda Williams Ventura
Mahalia JacksonGod’s Gonna Separate the Wheat From the Tares
Marion Williams I Just Can’t Help It
Maura O’ConnellPoor Man’s House
Mavis Staples Hard Times Come Again No More
Michelle ShockedOne Piece at a Time
Mississippi John Hurt Candy Man
My Morning Jacket Death is the Easy Way
Nas Bridging the Gap
Neko CaseTrain From Kansas City
Wayfaring Stranger
Soulful Shade of Blue
This Little Light
The Tigers Have Spoken

Nick Cave & the Bad SeedsRight Now I’m A-Roaming
Nicky Thomas Love of the Common People
Old 97’sBarrier Reef
Patti Scialfa Valerie
Paul Robeson Joe Hill
Percy SledgeDark End of the Street
R.E.M.Nightswimming
Rainy Day I’ll Keep It With Mine
Ralph Stanley On Death
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott Roll On Buddy
Rance AllenWhen He Returns
Rank & File Lucky Day
The Conductor Wore Black
Coyote

Richard & Linda ThompsonI’ll Tag Along
Robert Mitchum Ballad of Thunder Road
Robert Plant & Strange SensationSomebody Knocking
Rod StewartGirl From the North Country
Rodney Crowell The Rock of My Soul
Roger McGuinn I Dream Of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair
Roger McGuinn with Frank and Mary HamiltonThe Brazos River
Roger McGuinn with OdettaJohn the Revelator
Sail Away Lady
Roger McGuinn with Pete SeegerAlabama Bound
Ron Sexsmith Lebanon, Tennessee
Comrade Fill No Glass For Me

Ry CooderJesus on the Mainline
Sam CookeTouch the Hem of His Garment
Just For You

Setah One More Cup of Coffee
Sleater-Kinney Promised Land
Slim Dunlap Hate This Town
Social Distortion99 To Life
Song Dog Days of Armageddon
Soul Stirrers Jesus Gave Me Water
Steve EarleHardin Wouldn’t Run
Swan Silvertones My Rock
Sweet Honey In the Rock Run, Mourner, Run
T-Bone Burnett River of Love
Annabelle Lee

Tarbox RamblersOh Death
The Band Long Black Veil
Blind Willie McTell

The BlastersHollywood Bed
The Byrds It’s All Over Now
Oil In My Lamp
Chestnut Mare
I Am a Pilgrim

The Chambers Brothers People Get Ready
See See Rider

The Clash This Is England
The Everly BrothersAbandoned Love
The Flying Burrito BrothersSin City
The Handsome Family Far From Any Road
Fallen Peaches

The Jesters Cadillac Man
The NationalAbout Today
The PoguesDirty Old Town
The Body of an American

The Sleepy Jackson Miniskirt
Thea Gilmore I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine
Todd SniderPlay a Train Song
Tom PaxtonPastures of Plenty
Tony Joe White Saturday Night In Oak Grove, Louisiana
Van MorrisonSweet Thing
Victoria WilliamsSummer of Drugs
Warren Zevon My Ride’s Here
Ourselves To Know

WhiskeytownExcuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight
Will T. Massey I Ain’t Here
Wiskey Biscuit Santa Ana River Delta Blues
Wood Straight Lines
Stay You

Woody Guthrie – Hard Travelin’

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A spectacular new book called For You is one of the best Bruce Springsteen books ever published. What's real special about this is that it's all about Bruce and his fans. The 208-page book is a collection of recollections from fans about Bruce from the early 1970s to present. This marvelous collection of hundreds of fan tales, testimonials and memories also features tons of fan photographs of Bruce and the E Street Band over the years. Many of these photographs have never been published. It's the photos that really impressed me. So many great shots of Bruce over the years, from his Steel Mill days in 1970 to even the Magic Tour. Only 2,000 copies of the book were printed.
The stories by fans really capture how Bruce Springsteen and his music has touched our lives over the past 30-plus years. This is a 'must have' for any Springsteen fan."

Anonymous said...

I'm a Bruce fan from way back...much to the incomprehension of my wife. Reading through this list, I have to admit that I'm familiar with only a handful of the songs. I-tunes, here I come! Keep up the good work, Jimmy.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thanks!
(you've got time to do all that?)
it's ok, I like your site.

June said...

That's a striking portrait. It really deserves to be studied for the strength chiaroscuro can give to a portrait!

Anonymous said...

Hate to tell you this, but it is pretty obvious that Bruce got a facelift. His skin looks tighter now than it did when he was a pup, and anyone with any knowledge of aging knows that doesn't happen without a bit of cutting