HOW A CULT OF PERSONALITY FORMED AROUND ROCKER BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

La versione originale dell’ articolo la trovate qui.

Buona lettura.

When one thinks of religion, rock ‘n’ roll music usually does not come to mind. However, Bruce Springsteen’s music forces some to rethink this very notion.  At 5 p.m. April 14 in Wingate 202, the Departments of Religion, Anthropology and Music co-sponsored a discussion titled “Religion and Bruce Springsteen.”

Wake Forest alumna Linda Randall and author of Finding Grace in the Concert Hall led the discussion. Randall received her Master’s degree in Religion and Culture and is now a professor at the Empire State College.  Her book began as her major thesis after her adviser told her to follow her passions.
Randall was first introduced to Springsteen in 1975 when she was 24-years-old, but did not see him again until 1999. Randall went to her fourth Springsteen concert alone, and it was the first time she had attended any event alone.  She wanted to see if the feelings she first experienced upon viewing Springsteen live could be reproduced. “What I felt was not a rock ‘n’ roll concert,” she said. “I felt like all my sins in life were forgiven.”

To date, and just over the course of nine years, Randall has seen 70 shows and has traveled to Northern Ireland, Australia, Italy, France, New Zealand and many other countries.

Randall has seen the way people are connected with each other and she has observed the calls and responses between Springsteen and his audience, and has been left continually amazed. Initially, Randall was sure not to confuse her emotions for contagious enthusiasm and said, “I’ve never been a joiner. I don’t join clubs or organizations, but still when I was at the show, I felt that I was a part of something.”
All of Springsteen’s songs have a thread of redemption and hope and Randall finds his honesty and sincerity very appealing.  The topics of his songs also include justice, friendship and honesty. “He believes what he writes and he writes what he believes,” she said. After “coming to Bruce,” Randall started to surf the Internet and found an entire community of Bruce fans who were both welcoming and tolerant of other people’s opinions.

Fans often refer to themselves as the Springsteen Nation or the Church of Bruce.
Randall spoke of a time when she solicited money for a food bank and within 20 minutes, she received $3,000 from the online community of Bruce fans, who completely trusted her with the belief that she was a fan and therefore would never deceive them.
Randall found that these fans do not look to Springsteen as a god. Rather, listening to his music provides them with a religious experience.
Though Springsteen usually does not disclose information about his philanthropic efforts, Randall said that Springsteen has made many contributions to the Kristen Anna Carr Fund, the Community Foundation of New Jersey, the City of Hope, the Second Harvest Food Bank, amongst many other organizations.

According to Randall, Bruce Springsteen is the closest thing many people have to religion.
The church is no longer the sole medium to supply religious fervence nor is it the sole medium through which people experience spirituality.
Randall adds that for many, organized religion no longer provides inspiration and enlightenment, however, music has provided such fulfillment.
Chris D’Auria, Wake Forest fellow of the Catholic Campus Ministry responded to the event.
“I always find it interesting when elements of religion are discovered in secular sources,” D’Auria said.
“After hearing the lecture, I would love to experience this firsthand, sooner rather than later.”

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A LONG WAY FROM THE BOARDWALK 03.05.1981

[post aggiornato]

Ascoltato nel fine settimana questo triplo bootleg in CD di Springsteen intitolato A Long way from the boardwalk registato a Gothenburg il 3 maggio 1981 durante il leg europeo del tour di The River.

Un paio di bonus track del 1975 sul terzo disco.

La scaletta:

Disc (73:47)
1. Run Through the Jungle (4:25)
2. Prove it all night (5:45)
3. The ties that bind (3:44)
4. Darkness on the edge of town (5:41)
5. Independence day (9:43)

6. Who’ll stop the rain? (3:26)
7. Two hearts (3:03)
8. The promised land (6:06)
9. Out in the street (6:17)
10. This land is your land (5:31)
11. The river (7:17)
12. Badlands (5:59)
13. Thunder road (6:45)

Disc 2 (67:28)
1. Cadillac ranch (5:20)
2. Sherry darling (5:43)
3. Hungry heart (4:42)
4. Because the night (6:07)
5. You can look (but you better not touch) (4:08)
6. Wreck on the Highway (4:38)
7. Racing in the street (8:05)
8. Backstreets (8:49)
9. Candy’s room (3:02)
10. Ramrod (4:33)
11. Rosalita (Come out tonight) (12:15)

Disc 3 (36:09)
1. Can’t help falling in love (2:37)
2. Born to run (4:32)
3. Detroit Medley (12:24)
4. Rocking all over the world (5:13)

BONUS TRACKS from 21 Nov 1975 Stockholm, Sweden;
5. Thunder road (5:17)
6. Lost in the flood (6:02)

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RISE LIKE THE RAIN 04.04.1976

[post aggiornato]

Rimasterizzazione di EV2 (ma quante ne ha fatte ormai?) della registrazione della serata del 4 aprile 1976 alla Michigan State University.

Sul secondo disco sono state inserite come bonus quattro canzoni suonate da Springsteen e la E-street band fra il 1975 e il 1977 tratte da vari bootleg.

Disc One:

01 Night
02 Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
03 Spirit In The Night

04 It’s My Life
05 Thunder Road
06 She’s The One
07 Born To Run
08 Frankie
09 Meeting Across The River
10 Backstreets
11 Growin’ Up
12 It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City

Disc Two:

01 Jungleland
02 Instrumental Intro
03 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
04 Raise Your Hand
05 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
06 The Detroit Medley
07 Quarter To Three

08 Rendezvous – Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario February 13, 1977
09 Something In The Night – Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario February 13, 1977
10 Action In The Streets – Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario February 13, 1977
11 Lonely Night In The Park – Born To Run Studio Outtake, 1975

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