I like Bruce Springsteen, and had heard that he had come out with his new album, "Wrecking Ball". Sooner or later, I meant to get it, but there was no huge sense of urgency.
So when a friend offered me a ticket to one of Bruce's shows (tonight, May 2nd), it suddenly seemed a lot more important to get the album and get familiar with it, especially once he told me that Bruce plays a lot of songs from the new album. Once it was made clear that I would be seeing Bruce in person again, for the first time in many years, it felt like the level of determination to obtain and get acclimated with the album stepped up quite a few notches.
It is a good album. The title track is perhaps the best known of the songs, and addresses the recent trend of scrapping old and historical stadiums in favor of more modern, and far more expensive ones. Of course, these are always equipped with luxury boxes and the works, to accommodate greed, as is the trend in our country, more than any other right now. History and tradition and winning are all set aside in favor of trying to impress. Arizona builds a stadium that seems to be the wonder of the sports world for a year or two, but it leaves out one of the most important and desirable elements of southern Arizona: the abundance of sunlight. The Cowboys get a new home in the Dallas area, and it has the largest television screen in the world, purportedly.
Now, the old Giants Stadium, one of the "concrete doughnuts" that came into vogue some decades ago, is being scrapped. It housed the New York Cosmos soccer team, who famously had Pele as the star, and won many championships. The New York Giants played there, and three of the seasons while they were there ended up with the G-Men winning the Super Bowl. The Stadium played host to the World Cup in 1994, and hosted many important soccer games, including Brazil versus the World All-Stars of FIFA back in 1996.All that, and numerous huge concerts, and now, the site is part of the parking lot for the new stadium with a $1.6 price tag, at a time when people are truly suffering. Perhaps we do have our priorities screwed up, and Springsteeen gives a moving account of his perspective of this with his trademark lyrics.
"And we're burnin' down the clock
And all our little victories and glories
Have turned into parking lots"
That is just the title track, of course, but there is a whole album's worth of music here. The first track, "We Take Care of Our Own", is a patriotic one meant to rally Americans together, to remind them of how the country has pulled together for others in their time of need.
"Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own."
I am not sure how accurate that is or not, especially in these times, when you see the indifferent approach that millions of Americans take towards healthcare, and when someone yelling out "Let them die" in a nationally televised Republican Debate is met with laughter rather than shock or disgust. Yet it is a reminder that many Americans have indeed done their best to help others when necessary.
"Easy Money" is a more folksy type of song, with Springsteen delivering lyrics in his trademark style, as only he can. "Shackled and Drawn", by comparison, has almost a gospel feel to it at times, and follows up on Springsteen's tendency to address issues like freedom in the age of slavery and/or segregation during the days of Jim Crow. It talks of injustice, and seems to evoke a message of personal strength as an act of defiance in the face of oppression.
"Jack of All Trades" sounds almost depressing at times, yet is also done in a vintage Springsteen style lyrically. Taking the perspective of a do it all handyman, just as such handymen seem to be an extinct species. Never shy to take a political stance, Springsteen addresses politics in this one, as well.
"The banker man grows fat,
working man grows thin
It's all happened before and it'll happen again
It'll happen again, yeah they'll bet your life
I'm a jack of all trades,
Darling we'll be all right."
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