Dancing In The Dark

Its not the same without Courtney Cox dancing but this is still a good cover of Dancing In The Dark by Tegan and Sara - originally by Springsteen of course



Sadly Bruce wont let me embed the original but you can see it on You Tube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx05LgzpDdM

Once in a while I catch myself dancing like Bruce in the video ... trust me its not pretty.

Bruce Should Be Working Harder On A Dream

Bruce continues his streak of terrible album covers representing terrible albums

I didn’t write the paragraph below, but I certainly could of (at least I could have evoked the spirit, not so sure I could match the elegance). Andy Whitman from Paste stole these words right out of my mouth in his recent article:

“I've been forcing myself to listen to Bruce Springsteen's latest album, Working on a Dream. I keep hoping that my initial dismay will pass. So far, it's not working. Those of you who know me know that I love Bruce Springsteen. I would hop in the car with him and drive off down Thunder Road, pushing Mary out of the front seat if I had to. I would walk through Jungleland with him, braving the gang warfare. I would go through hell and back for Bruce Springsteen. But I will not listen to this new album another time. It's too painful.”

I agree, it's way too painful. Not just because the album is terrible (and trust me it is), but because its sad when you see one of your all-time favorite artists go down a path that just makes you shake your head. As you may know, I was baffled by the critical acclaim Springsteen received for his last album “Magic”. That was a not a good record. This one is worse. Things have gotten so bad between me and Bruce that I haven’t gone to see him the last two times he’s been in town despite the fact I have friends here who went. This time I decided it was going to be a fun night out and I would just go to the bar and the bathroom when he played the new songs. You know, just like people do when Keith Richards gets his 10 minutes to sing at a Rolling Stones show. (As my Dad says “you can hear the toilets flushing” as soon as Keith gets up to the mic.) Anyway, that all changed when I heard the new album. I was going to skip Springsteen again…. But then he rocked the Super Bowl and I was back in. I was out, then in, then out, then back in.

Unfortunately, we got shut out of tickets to the show thanks to Ticketmaster scamming everyone by redirecting most of the tickets to a legal scalping site… which oh by the way they OWN. Fortunately, Bruce is on the side of the people as always and fighting Ticketbastard Eddie Vedder style. From Bruce via his website:

The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you. We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours.

Awesome – you tell ‘em Bruce!

So there you have it, everything I love and hate about Bruce Springsteen.

I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again

Everybody loves the joy of pulling out of a car dealership with a brand new car. Unfortunately, as soon as you do that your car just dropped in value by thousands of dollars. This is something that really grinds my gears. Considering that for many people the car you buy is the second largest purchase you'll make, behind your home, it almost seems foolish to do this. That is why I like to buy very nice used cars, which I otherwise could not afford new anyway. This weekend Mrs. Hops and I did just that (you can send me congratulatory emails if you want). This process reminded me of Bruce Springsteen's "Used Cars" and my annual listening of Nebraska and realizing how great Bruce can be.

"Now, the neighbors come from near and far
As we pull up in our brand new used car
I wish he'd just hit the gas and let out a cry and tell 'em all they can kiss our asses goodbye

...Now, mister, the day my numbers comes in I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again"

Listen to "Used Cars" by Bruce Springsteen (mp3)
Buy Nebraska here

Realize I made the same post two years ago here

The Jersey Devil

Bruce Springsteen - "A Night With The Jersey Devil" (Mp3)

The Results Are In

The results are in - after posing the question "Who Should Bob Dylan Play Pickup Basketball With" you chose Bruce Springsteen (45% of the votes). Just slightly edging out Johnny Cash (36%). Neil Young was only able to garner 18% and sadly no one thought Mick Jagger could throw down.

The Dream Team

Who Should Bob Dylan Play Pickup With?

Read the post below - now in the article it says that Bob Dylan played Cheech AND Chong in a game of pickup. This made me wonder: who played with Bob?

If you had to pick Bobs partner who would it be? See the poll at the right side of the screen. Would it be:

Neil Young: Big guy who works well one-on-one and with other players. Could be a monster rebounder but is probably pretty slow.
Johnny Cash: Strong and REALLY tough but strong headed. He definitely would play hard but would he lose his head?
Mick Jagger: Tall, athletic and full of energy... but do Brits really know how to play basketball?
Bruce Springsteen: A work horse who will leave it all out on the court. Strong and and athletic but not very tall.

Bruce Fights Commies, Rocks The People

I saw an interesting piece today on MSBC.com about Bruce Springsteen (click here to read the article). Apparently in 1988 after Bruce got special permission he made this statement:

“I want to tell you I’m not here for or against any government,” Springsteen said, as he pointedly introduced his rendition of the Bob Dylan ballad “Chimes of Freedom.”

“I came to play rock ’n’ roll for you East Berliners in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down.”

The concern apparently signaled a shift that the Government was caving in to the people's thirst for freedom and the basic human rights they were owed. I didn't realize Bruce had that type of influence on people outside of Jersey! The article goes on to state that "He [Cherno Jobatey, now a well-known German TV anchorman] said the concert probably affected East Germany more thoroughly than the 1969 Woodstock Festival did America."

That is pretty amazing. Read the rest here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25696021/page/2/

Also check out the new tour highlights EP Springsteen put out. There is a fantastic track (you could also buy the video) of him and Tom Morello (aka The Nightwatchman) doing "Ghost of Tom Joad". I'd post it here for you since its so fantastic, but the proceeds from the sales go to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund so you're just going to have to take my word for it and buy it.

And for those who have never heard Bruce's version of "Chimes of Freedom" here you go:

A Young Man's Perspective

I just did a Google search and found this post:

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 20:52:25 -0600

Subject: Younger perspective

About a month ago I stood up for the younger fans on the digest by declaring our legitimacy as Bruce fans. I got tons of positive responses from younger fans on the Digest. All the discussion of us being younger (myself being a 20 year old college student) has led me to wonder if we have a different perspective on Bruce. For example, I don't listen to Greetings and Wild and Innocent in context. They aren't the first two Bruce albums I owned and I don't have any nostalgia attached to them. I just hear a Bruce that is slightly different from the Darkness sessions. The release of Tracks and my own collection of Brucelegs have allowed me to hear the different stages of Bruce's career in a different perspective. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Does Tunnel of Love sound different to me because I don't remember what Bruce's personal life was like at the time? I am able to group Nebraska with Tom Joad because I bought them within months of each other. I can't listen to Nebraska and remember the stark contrast to Darkness and his other albums of the time. I think (and hope) that my later introduction to Bruce has let me listen without many of the biases of an older fan. Do you agree or disagree?

And do you know who that astute author was? It was none other than your truly, Hops. As you can read it was written when I was only 20 – once I turned 21 and could legally drink beer I had no reason to completely geek out and post on a Bruce Springsteen discussion board (or as they called them back then Zines). But back then it seemed like a good idea.

Despite by nerdiness I still think I made an excellent point. Music can really be interpreted differently when you have the perspective of where that artist was in their history. For instance much of early rap music, like everyone’s favorite tune “Rapper’s Delight” or even the Beastie Boys, they seem really silly today. The lyrics are bad and it all comes off a bit juvenile. However, when you consider that those songs were written at a time where a music art form was emerging then they suddenly have a lot more value. It’s not a coincidence that rap music became a full force in both the music industry and pop culture.

When you don’t have the perspective of the time and place an album was recorded you have the opportunity to listen to the music without bias. I remember getting Wilco’s Summerteeth album before I was really into the band. I thought it was fantastic – I was talking about it to my roommate, My Buddy Brad, and he told me it was a disappointing record (something he later took back by the way). The reason was that it was the follow-up to the epic Being There – and frankly it was hard for them to really top that album. This was the point I was making in my post way back on those Springsteen boards.

Now with the perspective of a man in 2008 I realize that I was a pretty smart kid back in 1999 – I just needed to go out more.

So which is better? Hearing the music the first time in the context of its time and place. Or hearing the music as it stands on its own without the bias of nostalgia?

Bruce and Bernie

If you're Springsteen fan...but also a Red Sox or Mets fan would you cheer? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Patty Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen and Bernie Williams

Is Philly Really Sunny?

Last weekend I was in Philly for a good friend's wedding and next weekend I'll be there again for a family function. Couple that with the premier of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" this week and it got me thinking about the City of Brotherly Love.

When I think of music in Philly it starts and stops with the old days of American Bandstand and the generation of that time which included Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Chubby Checker (all three went to the same high school by the way). Speaking of American Bandstand did you know the Mama Hops and her brother once were on the show? I bet you didn't. But then again how could you know that?

Once you get past American Bandstand what is left to represent the city? There are songs about Philly - most notably Streets of "Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen and "Philadelphia Freedom" by Elton John - but neither are natives. And does this video really capture the spirit of the city? I don't think so.



So which bands really represent Philly? I couldn't think of many musical groups even from there. Marah, G Love, The Disco Biscuits, Hall & Oates. Not exactly the guys you'd put on the tourist brochure. I'd buy the argument that that Boyz II Men might be the group most associated with the city but I don't think of Philly as "Has Been Central" - that title I leave to Atlantic City. Therefore, my choice for Mr. Philadelphia has to be Will Smith. Not only does he come from Philly, but he got famous rapping about Philly. Congrats Big Willie.

This should make all Philadelphians proud:


So Will Smith is the man - but I think the tide might be turning. I found a great video on the Interweb with this guy from Philly displaying some sick air guitar skills. Philadelphia - here is your new anthem:

Happy Labor Day Weekend America

This video speaks for itself. For more in the same vain see Episode 6 of All You Need Is Hops - my Labor Day Hopscast from a year ago. Also check out the latest Episode, America The Beautiful, which had the same spirit (at parts).

Also, you should re-read my review of the Nightwatchman show in Seattle where I mentioned the very "Springsteen-esque" introduction to the exact same song.



I'll slow down with the Bruce videos ... I promise.

New Bruce

I'll keep it with the theme of my previous post and give you some new Bruce Springsteen. Discuss amongst yourselves.



The new album comes out October 2nd

Well the highway is alive tonight

Since I saw Tom Morello when I was in Seattle a few weeks ago (read the concert review here) he’s been popping up in my consciousness. I played Rage Against the Machine on Episode 17 of All You Need Is Hops and have been listening to The Nightwatchman’s One Man Revolution a few times. So when an interview with Morello appeared in Glide Magazine it made sense that my interest would be peaked. The article talked a lot about his decision to start a solo project, his experience with Rage Against the Machine and his political thoughts. It was interesting, but this one response specifically caught my attention:

At what point did you get the idea to do a solo project?

The first time I ever got the idea to stand on a stage alone and sing songs was on Bruce Springsteen’s Ghost Of Tom Joad tour when he came through Santa Barbara. I was kind of overwhelmed by the impact, and by how heavy that kind of show could be. A couple of months later, I MC’d a Thanksgiving talent show at a teenage homeless shelter called Covenant House in Hollywood. There was this kid who sang a couple of songs. He had a real down and out story, and a really hard life. So he got up there with an acoustic guitar, he didn’t have the greatest voice, but he sang with more conviction then I’ve ever seen. So I thought, “I’ve got an acoustic guitar, I’ve got a couple of ideas in my head, why am I so scared to go out and do this?”

(Read the full Glide Magazine interview here)

This reminded me of the fist time I got to see Springsteen on the Tom Joad tour. I was a Freshman in college in St. Louis and I manage to score a ticket to the concert and a ride in Normal, Illinois on the campus of Illinois State. The guy who took me was the basketball coach at Webster University and fortunately wasn’t a child molester or total whack job. In fact I remember him being a nice guy and was really grateful to find a ride since normal was about a two and a half hour ride to the middle of nowhere. I had been a fan of Springsteen since high school and that trip was a really big deal to me. Before I even got to school I was trying to figure out ways to make it to Normal. Luckily I did because the show was amazing, everything thing that I had hoped for. Now while it didn’t inspire me to grab an acoustic guitar and sing like Tom Morello, it did help secure my love for music and prove once again that there had to me more out there than MTV and Top 40 radio - and that music had to really mean something in order for it to last.

You might think it’s a bit odd that a guy in Rage Against The Machine would be so fired up about a folk album and Springsteen like me, but it wasn’t just Morello on the Bruce bus. The entire band must have been on board because they did their own version of Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad” - a really powerful folk tune which was the title track to the Springsteen album Morello was referring to. The song was inspired by the title character in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. However, I’ve heard Springsteen talk about how it was actually the John Ford film adaptation that inspired the album. In the story Tom Joad was crossing the country looking for work during the time of the Great Depression. The basic premise is that he vowed to be an advocate for the average working man and woman – very much like the persona donned by Springsteen and The Nightwatchman as well.

The song lyrics:

Men walking long the railroad tracks / Going someplace there’s no going back
Highway patrol choppers coming up over the bridge/ Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge

Shelter line stretching round the corner /Welcome to the new world order
Families sleeping in their cars in the southwest / No home no job no peace no rest

CHORUS

The highway is alive tonight /But nobody’s kidding nobody about where it goes
I’m sitting down here in the campfire light

Searching for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag / Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waiting for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last / In a cardboard box ‘neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land /You got a hole in your belly and gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock / Bathing in the city aqueduct

CHORUS

Now tom said mom, wherever there’s a cop beating a guy / Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there’s a fight against the blood and hatred in the air / Look for me mom Ill be there
Wherever there’s somebody fighting for a place to stand / Or a decent job or a helping hand
Wherever somebody’s struggling to be free /Look in their eyes mom you’ll see me.

Well the highway is alive tonight / But nobody’s kidding nobody about where it goes
I’m sitting down here in the campfire light / With the ghost of old Tom Joad

Here is a video of Rage Against the Machine covering “The Ghost of Tom Joad” live in 1997:

And just to give you a comparison to the original Springsteen version here is Bruce performing the tune on a 1998 television special:

(hey that’s not Max Weinberg on drums! Imposter!)

Big Poppa Hops says "I told you so!"

Last night the Rutgers Scarlet Knights beat the #3 in the country, Louisville in a college football game. This has nothing to do with music but I figured I would write about it anyway. You see my dad, Big Poppa Hops, has been a season ticket holder for the worst college football team in history for about 15 years. I remember going to games in less than half full stadium hoping they would only be down by 20 or so at half. They lost to some teams I didn’t even realize had football teams. To say they were bad would be an understatement. So if you said that only a few years after that they would be undefeated, playing in a packed stadium and would beat the #3 team in the country I assumed we would be talking about their new 5,000 seat stadium they built once they decided to drop down to Division III. But Big Poppa Hops always had faith, always knew the "sleeping giant" would one day wake up. I just never really believed it would.

The game and crowd were amazing. RU battled back from 25-7 down and won 28-25. They even turned the Empire State Building red before the game in anticipation of the game. Amazing. And to honor Big Poppa Hops commitment to watching them (and making the rest of us watch them) I bring you songs inspired by Rutgers:

This Never Happened Before by Paul McCartney: It was the first time RU beat a ranked team since 1988, and the first time Rutgers has played in a game with two ranked teams … ever…. And they played in the VERY first college football game.

Better Days by Bruce Springsteen: WAY better days… and of course Bruce HAD to make this list.

Nice Dream by Radiohead: Big Poppa Hops has been talking about this day for years… a day where fans actually came to the game. There were more students at the game last night than I saw combined in about 10 RU games I had been to. I bet he still thinks he’s dreaming.

Mind by The Talking Heads: “I need something to change your mind” sings David Byrne over and over. And RU changed some minds last night!

Jokerman by Bob Dylan: “A woman just gave birth to a prince today and dressed him in scarlet.”

Keep The Faith by Bon Jovi: I am not really a Jovi fan, but you know the RU fans will like this one.

I’m A Believer by The Monkees: I am sure Big Poppa Hops still was worried that the old Rutgers would show up and get blown out by 50 points. It looked like they actually might when they were down 25-7.

UPDATE: I guess I jinxed them as they ended up losing the next week. Sorry Big Poppa Hops!

Mixing politics and music

I got this message in my inbox this afternoon. It is from Bruce Springsteen. Obviously it was not a personal email to me….that would be awesome. Instead it was an email encouraging me to vote with some articles that are obviously trying to get me to vote Democrat. Now what if he had sent an email urging me to vote Republican? Would his fans get angry? Do you have to be a Democrat to enjoy his music (for the record I’m a huge fan… and an Independent).

My point is I don’t like my artists imposing their politic beliefs on me to this degree. Now if they want to do this in a song that is one thing. I can choose to listen or not or interpret the song in any way I please. But I have been more and more annoyed when you hear artists spewing politics in concert (see Bono). I know people will argue it’s always been part of their music and their image, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. However, once you start sending me emails that are completely out of the context of your music or one of your concerts I think it crosses the line. It doesn’t matter if I agree with what the artist is pushing or not, it just doesn’t sit well with me. I can think for myself.

The email from Bruce:

To the attention of our fans,

Use your voice. Vote on Tuesday.

Here are three newspaper articles that we hope you will find interesting. The first is a column from the New York Times by esteemed writer Thomas Friedman, the second is a first hand account of a Naval medic tending to a fallen Marine, and the third is Sunday's editorial from the New York Times.

• Article 1: Insulting Our Troops, and Our Intelligence
• Article 2: Tending a Fallen Marine, With Skill, Prayer and Fury
• Article 3: The Difference Two Years Made

Let me know what you think.

So Misunderstood

Does Heather Graham hate America? Or is she just dumb?

I was flipping channels this weekend and luckily found a high def broadcast of U2's Rattle and Hum documentary. The movie follows their Joshua Tree tour almost 20 years ago (1987-1988). I was happy to see the band in their top form, I can't beleive it is almost two decades old. Anyway, they do an awesome version of Sunday Bloody Sunday. Their performance fueled by an act of terrorism in Ireland that morning that got Bono fired up. It made me think about all the times they play that in concert and it's just a drunk sing-along. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but the song is a bit deeper than frat boys rocking out.

This inspired me to come up with a list of the Top 5 songs that are often misunderstood. Here you go:

1) Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen – typically used by politicians as a pro-America song, it’s actually about Vietnam vets. Do people not listen? Amazing. A sample lyric:

I got in a little hometown jam
And so they put a rifle in my hands
Sent me off to Vietnam
To go and kill the yellow man

I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone

2) Short People by Randy Newman – Do you remember hearing this on the Sesame St. Place commercials? Maybe those only aired where I grew up. But Short People is NOT a kid’s song, just like Gulliver’s Travels and Alice in Wonderland weren’t kid’s books.

Short People got no reason
To live

They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

Obviously Randy doesn’t hate short people, but he’s creating a metaphor about bigotry and racism. At least I think he is… maybe he just has some issue with midgets. It’s so simple and clever and timeless. Pure genius.

3) American Woman by The Guess Who – This crappy song is by a Canadian band who should not be confused with The Who. It’s funny because if people realized it was actually an anti-American tune they would ban it (we love to ban stuff) instead of playing it ALL the time. Ok, maybe it’s not anti-American as much as it’s really comparing the state of Canada to the USA when it was written (during the time of the Vietnam draft). The lyrics are telling the US to stop encroaching on the culture and serenity of our neighbors to the North. The song’s meaning seems even more ridiculous when Lenny Kravitz covered it and turned the video into a pro-USA anthem with Heather Graham crawling on top of cars. The Heather Graham part was good, but all the American flags and imagery made Kravitz look kind of like … what’s the word… oh yeah…. like a real hoser. Only in America could we pull that one off.

American woman, I said get way
American woman, listen what I say
Don't come hanging around my door
Don't want to see your face no more
I don't need your war machines
I don't need your ghetto scenes
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else's eyes
Now woman, get away


God Bless America

4) Lola by The Kinks – You know that song you love to sing along with? Maybe you should start paying attention to the lyrics. It’s about accidentally hooking up with a transvestite. Nothing to be ashamed about, it’s happened to the best of us. The singing along part, not the hooking up with the transvestite part. Right?

Well I’m not the worlds most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola
Well I’m not dumb but I cant understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man

Well I’m not the worlds most masculine man
But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo lola lo-lo-lo-lo lola

5) Every Breath You Take by The Police – I saw a great interview with Sting on one of those “Best Songs of All-Time” countdowns on VH1. Sting was mentioning how some people have told him they’ve used this song as their wedding song. Sting’s response, “Good Luck”. They even had Elton John saying what a beautiful song it was and "God I wish I'd written that song". That's why Bernie Taupin wrote most of his lyrics for him folks. Anyway, this song is about an obsessive person who appears to be stalking a woman. It’s got creepy written all over it. It’s definitely not a love song.

Since you’ve gone I been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around but its you I can’t replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, please...

And there it is, you’re Top 5 misunderstood songs. And just so you can be inspired as well, here is U2 performing Sunday Bloody Sunday as seen in the movie "Rattle and Hum:

Had to add one more Passover quote / New Springsteen album

I am listening to a sneak peak of the new Springsteen album of Pete Seeger covers and I had to add one more Passover lyric (listen to the new album here for a limited time)

From Oh Mary Don't You Weep by Pete Seeger (and covered by Bruce Springsteen):
Cheer up, sisters and don't you cry
There'll be good times bye and bye
Didn't Pharaoh's army get drownded?
Oh, Mary, don't you weep

My thoughts on the album so far (i'm only three-quarters of the way through it) are that its way more upbeat and interesting than I thought it would be. Really brings you to another time and place in your mind. I'll have to give it a fairer listen, but I do really like it. That said, unless you're a Springsteen fan AND a folk fan you probably should take a pass on this one.

All You Need This Week...

This weekend I sold my Altima (it will be missed) and bought a brand new used Infinity. It's all very exciting. In honor of my (our) purchase:

Now the neighbors come from near and far
As we pull up in our brand new used car
-from BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S USED CAR off of the Nebraska album