Who knew Bruce Springsteen was such a Halloween fan? To make up for not having a Halloween display this year, The Boss has handed out a surprising treat, "A Night With the Jersey Devil," a harmonica-filled blues-stomper, to his fans, making it a free download on his website.
Tributes for Danny Federici, keyboardist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band who died Thursday after a three-year battle with melanoma, are now set.
The funeral will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center through a memorial website for Federici, thedannyfedericimelanomafund.com. The site also includes statements from Federici and his son, Jason, who writes about his father's last performance with the E Street Band.
"The feeling of the evening was electric," wrote Jason Federici, of his father's performance in Indianapolis on March 20. "The visible bond between the fellas was so special to watch. Nils spent most of the night next to him, Clarence kept turning around to give him props during the night, and Bruce was so visibly happy to have him there."
PHOTO: Danny Federici and Max Weinberg by Danny Clinch for Columbia Records.
Fan tributes are starting to come in on YouTube. A couple of them sent in by a Newsday reader and fellow Federici fan follow.
Will Bruce Springsteen's endorsement of Barack Obama carry weight on the streets of Philadelphia? I guess we'll find out.
In a statement on his website yesterday, The Boss made his support for the nation's next boss official. "After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans. Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President."
Springsteen lent his support to John Kerry in 2004, heading up the Vote for Change tour and even trying to sway voters in Ohio with an Election Eve concert in Cleveland, though, in the end, Kerry came up short.
In the meantime, maybe his new video will make you feel better.
Bruce Springsteen, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes"
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will play Giants Stadium on July 27, 28 and 31. Given his history of selling out that place for long stretches of time, further dates may be announced soon.
Tickets are $95 and $65 and go on sale Dec. 15 at noon through Ticketmaster, 631-888-9000.
In other Springsteen news, he has announced that "Girls in their Summer Clothes" will be the next single from "Magic." The video for the song was directed by Mark Pellington.
PHOTO: Springsteen by Danny Clinch / Columbia Records
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band announced 28 new tour dates for 2008, including a show at Nassau Coliseum on March. 10. That marks the Boss's fifth date in the New York area on the current tour in support of his new album "Magic." Tickets for the Nassau show go on sale Jan. 19.
Check out www.brucespringsteen.net.
Like so many struggling businesses these days, the music industry is all about outsourcing.
When a veteran hits a rough sales patch or an artistic drought, the fixers pair them up with younger artists or hot producers to modernize the sound and raise the radio-friendliness. After all, it's generally easier to renovate a previous star than to build a whole new one.
Well, Bruce Springsteen is one boss unwilling to outsource his own issues. He and the E Street Band can handle it all internally. On their new album, "Magic" (Columbia), they inject energy into their classic sound by embracing elements of the alternative rock movement - which was, in part, a rebellion launched against Springsteen's domination in the "Dancing in the Dark" '80s. And it certainly seems to agree with them.
Not only is "Magic" Springsteen's most accessible album, start to finish, since 1987's "Tunnel of Love," it is closest thematically to "Born in the U.S.A.," a slice of American life and its mix of ups and downs. The first single, the straightforward rocker "Radio Nowhere," is a strong example of Springsteen's game plan for "Magic," with its '80s alternative rock guitar riffs and its search for desire.
It's a switch from his recent work, where Springsteen has had more pressing concerns. "The Rising" was his attempt to make sense of the Sept. 11 attacks and do his part to begin the healing process. "Devils and Dust" was his way of protesting the direction the country was heading, as well as the war in Iraq. And "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" was a way to show how history could be applied to the present.
On "Magic," all that is pushed aside. It's about more leisurely pursuits - about "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," working for your love and all that entails.
If the previous albums were about effecting change in the country, "Magic" takes that change as a given. That allows Springsteen the chance to focus on the music again, as well as the lyrics. It lets him experiment with new sounds (well, new-to-him sounds) to update his more classic themes.
PHOTO by Danny Clinch / Columbia Records
The verdict? It's looking pretty great so far.
"I must really want to sell some records bad to be up here this early singing these songs," Springsteen jokes. "It's a little desperate but it's all right."
See all the videos here. (Sorry about the embedded commercials.)
As much as people are hailing Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s new single "Radio Nowhere" as "a return to form," (which I see as code for "not super-political," but whatever) did the song’s video have to be a return to the ‘80s as well?
The clip for "Radio Nowhere" combines performance footage with what looks like stock footage of people on the streets of New York – a window washer, people walking, taxi cabs. They shouldn’t have bothered with that stuff, especially when it doesn’t add anything to the theme of the song.
Fans want to see Springsteen & The E Street Band – an extraordinarily compelling band to watch – performing together again. Why cut away from Springsteen and Little Steven singing harmonies together to show people walking? And why on earth can’t we see the end of Clarence Clemons’ sax solo (arguably, the emotional climax of the song)?
What makes it even more maddening is that the performance footage is shot well, in moody lighting, but with enough movement and cuts to match the energy of the song. Maybe a new "director’s cut" version is in order?
The video premieres on Amazon.com today before wide release tomorrow. [Click on pic to watch]
Bruce Springsteen's next album is said to be a return to form, but The Boss is pursuing a new-fangled marketing plan with his first single, "Radio Nowhere," available today as a free download through iTunes.
Of course it's been leaked -- perhaps officially -- to various places. A station in Youngstown, Ohio, was reportedly the first to air the song last Thursday (Columbia Records immediately told the station to stop) and the tune also made its way onto YouTube. Some YouTube links work fine, like the one below, but at least one link was apparently halted by the RIAA. (Does that mean one link is officially sanctioned, but another wasn't? Or did the RIAA just give up?) In the UK, the newspaper The Guardian is offering it as a free download, but it doesn't work -- you can only stream it.
"Magic," Springsteen's first disc with the E Street Band in five years, is due Oct. 2 on Columbia Records. The group plays Oct. 9-10 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ, and Oct 17-18 at Madison Square Garden. Tickets go on sale Sept. 10.
Here's the YouTube posting:
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