Tenbatsuzen
08-01-2002, 08:02 AM
Some of the phone calls during R&F's Springsteen break last night really annoyed me. Before I go into this, let me launch a disclaimer:
Yes, I'm a big Bruce fan. No, I didn't call in last night. However, instead of being a blind Bruce fan, I try to stay informed.
I'm not going to get into the whole 41 Shots part of the conversation, because people know my opinions on that. Shit happens. Bruce wrote a song about it. Right or Wrong, the cops fucked up and killed an innocent man. Same thing with Kent State and CSNY's "Ohio". You don't like it, too bad. It's what you get for being misinformed.
What annoyed me is that people were calling Bruce opportunistic and a hypocrite. THAT set me off.
I don't understand how someone can call an artist who has pretty much done incredible amounts of local charity work and actually got his hands dirty "opportunistic". Someone who charges 300 dollars for Concert Tickets is opportunistic *COUGH ROLLING STONES - EAGLES - CHER COUGH*.
I simply don't get it. And a lot of the charity work Bruce DOES do is kept on the downlow, that we don't even KNOW about - hell, Smoking Gun had to dig up tax documents to show Bruce donated 50K to save one persons' house - god knows how much he's given to various 9/11 charities, etc.
As for Bruce being a hypocrite... No matter HOW many members of the police and firefighters are on this board, one of the big reasons Bruce wrote an album like this is because he saw how many people who died were fans of his. They weren't playing "Wild Horses" or "The Space Between" at funerals, they were playing "Born to Run" or "Thunder Road".
41 Shots has nothing at all to do with this album. He condemned race riots - yet he has a black sax player. Does that make him a hypocrite? It's the same argument.
I also don't want to hear the fact that he's trying to make money off 9/11 - I'm sure with the money he made from the 99/00 tour, he's just hurting for cash. [/sarcasm] Money comes from touring, kids - not record sales. Besides, "The Rising" isn't exactly a commercial album.
It seems to me that R&F were trying to stir the pot and not doing a very good job, because Ron himself was wavering between being anti-Bruce and Pro-Bruce the whole time. I mean, they brought in Earl as an "expert" and even *HE* admitted he had only heard the album once. One listen does not make you a critic of the album.
Just my .02 cents, and just waiting for Chris to jump at me...
<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/indysig.jpg">
Yes, I'm a big Bruce fan. No, I didn't call in last night. However, instead of being a blind Bruce fan, I try to stay informed.
I'm not going to get into the whole 41 Shots part of the conversation, because people know my opinions on that. Shit happens. Bruce wrote a song about it. Right or Wrong, the cops fucked up and killed an innocent man. Same thing with Kent State and CSNY's "Ohio". You don't like it, too bad. It's what you get for being misinformed.
What annoyed me is that people were calling Bruce opportunistic and a hypocrite. THAT set me off.
I don't understand how someone can call an artist who has pretty much done incredible amounts of local charity work and actually got his hands dirty "opportunistic". Someone who charges 300 dollars for Concert Tickets is opportunistic *COUGH ROLLING STONES - EAGLES - CHER COUGH*.
I simply don't get it. And a lot of the charity work Bruce DOES do is kept on the downlow, that we don't even KNOW about - hell, Smoking Gun had to dig up tax documents to show Bruce donated 50K to save one persons' house - god knows how much he's given to various 9/11 charities, etc.
As for Bruce being a hypocrite... No matter HOW many members of the police and firefighters are on this board, one of the big reasons Bruce wrote an album like this is because he saw how many people who died were fans of his. They weren't playing "Wild Horses" or "The Space Between" at funerals, they were playing "Born to Run" or "Thunder Road".
41 Shots has nothing at all to do with this album. He condemned race riots - yet he has a black sax player. Does that make him a hypocrite? It's the same argument.
I also don't want to hear the fact that he's trying to make money off 9/11 - I'm sure with the money he made from the 99/00 tour, he's just hurting for cash. [/sarcasm] Money comes from touring, kids - not record sales. Besides, "The Rising" isn't exactly a commercial album.
It seems to me that R&F were trying to stir the pot and not doing a very good job, because Ron himself was wavering between being anti-Bruce and Pro-Bruce the whole time. I mean, they brought in Earl as an "expert" and even *HE* admitted he had only heard the album once. One listen does not make you a critic of the album.
Just my .02 cents, and just waiting for Chris to jump at me...
<img src="http://tenbatsuzen.homestead.com/files/indysig.jpg">