EppsNet Music Review: Springsteen Halftime Show

 
Greetings from Asbury Park album cover

What year did Asbury Park come out — 1973? Man, that was a great album. So Springsteen must be what now — 60?

He looks great, with his hair transplants and cosmetic surgery, shilling his new album on the Bridgestone Halftime Show.

Bruce Springsteen — authentic blue-collar friend of the American working man!

I couldn’t even watch it . . .

  12 comments for “EppsNet Music Review: Springsteen Halftime Show

  1. MS
    MS
    3 Feb 2009 at 12:06 am

    59, and don’t even badmouth Bruce. He’s still the hardest working man in showbiz. It must kill you inside to see someone like him become such a huge success, what with no competitive honors classes under his belt and no degree from a prestigious university. How can that be possible?

    I’ll be seeing him soon at the LA Sports Arena, and I can’t wait. I imagine it will be every bit as good as the last time I saw him live, over 20 years ago. I wish I could say the same for The Police’s disappointing recent merchandising tour. Overpriced and overhyped…Bruce will put on 6x the show for 1/6th of the price.

  2. PE
    PE
    3 Feb 2009 at 9:35 am

    Love his music…I too saw him at the Sports Arena 20 years ago. Great show!

    I’m also a big Tom Petty fan and I don’t mind that he played at the Super Bowl because Tom Petty never positioned himself as a blue-collar working-class kid from Jersey. Tom Petty doesn’t get involved in politics. Tom Petty doesn’t bash Walmart.

    Why is Bruce Springsteen bashing Walmart? It’s a capitalist operation — just like him! If you want to bash Walmart, don’t play at the Super Bowl.

    He’s been invited to play at the Super Bowl for years and always said no. Now here he is, teabagging everyone who thought that guy on the album covers with the blue jeans and leather jackets really had some integrity, sincerity and authenticity, that he wasn’t a pandering song-and-dance man.

    As far as I can tell, most Springsteen fans, like yourself, don’t feel abused by this. Like battered spouses, they’ll take it and stick around for more…

  3. MS
    MS
    3 Feb 2009 at 12:20 pm

    But he was a blue-collar working-class kid from Jersey. And there’s no comparison between Walmart and the Super Bowl halftime show. The high cost of low prices doesn’t apply to the Super Bowl in any way, shape or form. His bigger mistake was letting his minions sign some deal with Walmart to exclusively sell one of his CDs. That’s a huge oversight, and I applaud him for making a note of it and apologizing. I hate Walmart…

    As for pandering, let me know when you hear one of his songs in a commercial on TV. I love The Who, but they’ve been commercially pimping their songs for as long as I can remember, and I still think they’re great. I still think he has integrity, sincerity and authenticity. I fail to see why you don’t…

  4. PE
    PE
    3 Feb 2009 at 1:35 pm

    “Oops, I forgot! I’m supposed to be *against* Walmart. Let’s blame that one on the minions.”

    And blue-collar guys from Jersey don’t get facelifts.

    The Who: “Hope I die before I get old.” Now they *are* old. Again, lack of integrity.

    Kidding on that one 🙂 They’re the best band ever.

  5. s
    3 Feb 2009 at 6:29 pm

    why did he say no to superbowls before?

  6. PE
    PE
    3 Feb 2009 at 7:11 pm

    Think about it…

    I’m not going to tell you because you keep putting bogus URLs in your comments. Just leave it blank! (I delinked the last one.)

  7. MS
    MS
    3 Feb 2009 at 10:12 pm

    You know, a Google search of “Bruce Springsteen plastic surgery” results in so few relevant results, your blog post shows up in the top 10.

    I said he “was” a blue-collar guy from Jersey. He has enough money now to have his own minions, so he’s not so much blue-collar himself. And “blue-collar” doesn’t equal “not-vain”. There are plenty of vain mechanics, ditch diggers, assembly line workers, and of course musicians, successful or not. Vanity isn’t exclusive to office workers.

    Besides, I’m not all that convinced he’s had any done, besides maybe some dental work. Blue-collar workers from New Jersey are allowed dental visits, aren’t they? Or does that somehow equate to a lack of integrity on their part?

    So what is your definition of integrity? Someone who plays shows for free and spurns megabucks for a 12 minute gig that will help them promote their new album for more megabucks? Name me a musician that you admire for their integrity, authenticity and sincerity…

    PS-Tom Petty is one of the voices on King of the Hill…I hope you aren’t crushed, because I think he makes money for doing so.

  8. PE
    PE
    4 Feb 2009 at 8:40 am

    TOP 10, BABY! YEAH! EPPSNET SWEEPING THE NATION LIKE NUCLEAR FALLOUT!

    Wait, what were we talking about?

    Oh yeah…I thought Springsteen *was* the guy singing those songs. Now it turns out the singer is a persona and the real Springsteen is another phony celebrity trying to be something he isn’t with the facelifts and hair transplants — like Wayne Newton.

    To me, it makes a big difference. Not to say he doesn’t put on a great show but so does Wayne Newton.

    Musicians I like who’ve been true to their work? I sense a trap but here goes: Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Rickie Lee Jones, Sinead O’Connor.

    P.S. By “bogus URLs,” I don’t mean Springsteen sites. I mean “s” likes to enter just random keystrokes.

  9. MS
    MS
    4 Feb 2009 at 7:06 pm

    Post something with the combination of “potato VCR snorts butler staff members” and see how high you rank then…

    He *is* the guy singing those songs. He’s *not* every guy in every song. More importantly, he’s writing those songs…a modern day poet. My high school AP Literature textbook includes Born to Run in the song/ballads poetry section, along with Willie Nelson’s Heaven and Hell and Eleanor Rigby. And a comparison to Wayne Newton? Seriously…when you think about what you liked about Springsteen before he became a real person and disappointed you, was it his looks? I am guessing not.

    Besides, you know he deserved center stage at the Super Bowl once they started having big name solo performances. U2, Prince, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones…come on. None of the rest of your list would ever be considered. Except for Dylan perhaps, and this year Pepsi seems to have been able to afford his integrity. I admit, it was enjoyable to watch, but did nothing to support claims of integrity, authenticity and non-pandering. It also did not make me want to drink Pepsi.

    PS-I knew what you meant…I was being amusing, at least in my own mind.

    PPS-I fell asleep at an Elvis Costello show once. Who knew he could be so boring live and that the seats in the Universal Amphitheater were so damn comfortable? It was embarrassing…for both of us.

    PPPS-Would you consider someone who changed their name for show business to lack integrity? I only ask because Bruce Springstein, Robert Zimmerman and Declan McManus would like to know…

  10. PE
    PE
    4 Feb 2009 at 8:53 pm

    Oh yeah, I forgot about that Forever Young commercial! That was great! I’m drinkin’ a Pepsi right now! (I poured a little Bacardi in it though. Don’t tell anyone!)

    Dylan’s integrity is beyond reproach…for 40+ years, whenever people started to figure out what he was doing, he did something completely different. He’s as real as you can get. And never had a facelift!

    American icons shouldn’t have facelifts. Have you seen Johnny Cash’s Hurt video? Wow! You couldn’t do that shit with a facelift.

    John Wayne, Clint Eastwood…American icons owe it to America not to pussy out on us. Show us how to get old!

  11. MS
    MS
    4 Feb 2009 at 10:18 pm

    Oh yeah, you forgot…

    I hadn’t seen Johnny Cash’s video til just now, and he does look old. Of course he was over 70 then, not 59. And he also was a serious drug addict in the past, and that doesn’t help to make one look healthy and young And while I like Cash, and that video is neat in a sad, nostalgic way, I still like the original version of that song much better.

    If you think Dylan is above reproach for those reasons, I guess I don’t agree with your definition of integrity.

    And are you certain that Clint Eastwood hasn’t had any plastic surgery? Last time I checked, he was involved in politics. And he’s almost 80…

    What about Tom Petty? New chin? Hair? Hmmm…

  12. daz
    28 Jun 2009 at 9:20 am

    No prrof he’s had hair transplant he had hair gelled back now he’s grown it long, plenty of recessionbnstill there If he had a HT it was a small one looks more like he may try rogaine plus with all the stylists they can use many different products.

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