Bruce Works It Out

"Millworker" by James Taylor from the musical "Working"

I was obsessed with this song in highschool. Not really James Taylor's particular version, though I was/is a fan of his, but just the song in general. I never have had a lot of faith in my singing abilities (for good reason...good god good reasons) but I had a voice teacher in highschool who knew, because I wasn't tone deaf...just tone challenged, that I could do it. For myself and very few other people, I did. And I LOVED singing this song.

And I LOVE this particular version...naturally...my small highschool obsession was an indication of the tsunami that followed.



(PS I do indeed think it's fucking lame that they blanked out the phrase "goddamn awful." Uhhhhh...thanks lptv.)

Bruce Springsteen will always remain a prevalent artist (in my mind...and many many others out there) because he is willing to reinvent himself. His voice changes, it gets older, and he maybe can't sing those powerhouse ballads that made him famous with the same buoyancy he once did. So he writes and/or performs a different type of song. And he does it with as much strengh and depth as he ever did, but it sounds a bit more gravelly. Often times, I think that gravelly translates to a richness that only comes with age. It sounds as if he has really experienced what he sings about. Just listen to that 2:42 point on...C'MON!...DON'T YOU SEE IT?!?!? It's like he almost starts sobbing from the weight. (Or is that me?) Plus, he plays the SHIT out of that harmonica.

Then again, I also believe Bruce has more rock n' roll arena shows left in him. I mean, Christ, he's got the body of really hot, taut manboy and, not too long ago, flipped upside down on the mic stand like all those agile pole dancers. And The Seeger Sessions were a raucous good time that still left us with those three hour concerts he's infamous for. I don't know if the entire E Street Band has it left in them (keep on trucking, Clarence) but there has to be at least one more tour with all the family. There just HAS to be.

What I've learned in my almost six year obsession is that Bruce will play whatever the fuck he feels like playing, be it an all out rock n' roll "Born to Run" for an entire stadium of people in Queens to a hushed version of "Incident on 57th Street" in a smallish theatre in Chicago. A version that left me actually grasping at my heart. And I will listen. Maybe it means I've drunk the kool-aid. I don't care. Because it tastes like the sweet sweet nectar of KICKASS!

I mean, I'm just saying. He has still got the soul. That's my tribute.