Articolo su Springsteen tratto da un numero di Rolling Stone del 1990.
On the night of November 5th, 1980, Bruce Springsteen stood onstage Tempe, Arizona, and began a fierce fight for the meaning of America.
The previous day, the nation had fateful corner: With a stunning majority, Ronald Reagan – who campaigned to end the progressive dream in America – was elected president of the United States. It was hardly an unexpected victory. In the aftermath of Vietnam, Watergate, the hostage crisis in Iran and an economic recession, America developed doubts about its purpose and its future, and to many voters, Reagan seemed an inspiring solution. But when all was said and done, the election felt stunning and brutal, a harbinger of years of mean-spiritedness to come.
The singer was up late the night before, watching the election returns, and stayed in his hotel room the whole day, brooding over whether he should make a comment on the turn of events. Finally, onstage that night at Arizona State University, Springsteen stood silently for a moment, fingering his guitar nervously, and then told
his audience: “I don’t know what you guys think about what happened last night, but I think it’s pretty rightening.” Then he vaulted into an enraged version of his most defiant song, “Badlands.”