At the Cinema - August 2019

Blinded By The Light – 10

I came late to Bruce Springsteen.  More on that later.

Hollywood has a new trend, to go along with the tedious special effect extravaganzas based on comic books.  They’ve discovered rock n roll.  Queen, Elton John, and even the Beatles have been featured in hit movies of late, ranging from great to acceptable.  It’s hard to mess up rock and roll.

For me, the best of those movies is Blinded By the Light, which features the music of Bruce Springsteen, represented here only through his music.  I doubt this will be a hit.  The appeal is pretty narrow.  But, this is a great movie.  It’s not a perfect movie.  Those are very rare. (Casablanca?)  But this is a movie that will freeze a smile onto your face.  It’s sentimental and philosophical, and full of softly pedaled lessons that can certainly be applied to today’s world.

Javed is a Pakistani Muslim young man whose father has moved the family to a South England hell hole called Luhdite.  Javed is miserable, but talented, and is trying to express himself as a writer.  His teacher sees some talent and encourages him to expand his writing, but he knows that his father has his life all planned out.  "Don’t worry about girls.  You’ll meet your wife on your wedding day."  "Study economics, not English or writing.  Work, and pony up your earnings to the family."  All these unpleasantries are exacerbated when his dad gets laid off in the middle of the recession.  And this is just at home.

At school, he’s an outsider, and on the streets he’s in danger from the anti-immigrant movement sweeping through Britain.  Just like in every school, the music of the day is what the kids lean on, if one can lean on the superb stylings of Tiffany.  Javed needs more than the pop of the day, and he gets swept away by the music of Bruce Springsteen.  It speaks to him, the way “you-know-who” spoke to you when you were a kid.  Viveik Kalra, who plays Javed, and Khulvider Ghir, as his father are just terrific as they display the eternal father-son conflict – the conflict that Javed can only drown out with his walkman.

The movie lovingly underscores the music of The Boss.  But, you need not be a Springsteen fan to get swept up in the story.  Rock and roll is here to stay.  The story is wonderful, and anyone who grew up with that one rock group that got you through, will relate. 

Yes, I came late to Springsteen.  My musical taste would best be summed up in the recent remembrances of 50 years ago and Woodstock.  Along with the Beatles, the Stones, and Elton John to name a few, I’ve just never let go of that music.  Yes, I always liked Springsteen and certainly enjoyed his hits, but he was just one of many rockers.  Then, I took a closer listen.

Our next door neighbors in Maryland were ape-shit over Springsteen, guitars and posters in the basement and all that.  And it was the whole family, all five of them.  I started noticing the intensity of his fans about his concerts.  It was cultish, like the Grateful Dead.  Since we’ve never stopped going to see live music, I thought it was time to check out Bruce.  When we first saw him at the then New Orleans Arena around 2003, he and the E Street Band blew us away.  Then in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina had ravaged our area, he brought his Seeger Sessions Band to the New Orleans Jazz Festival and everyone in attendance that day (we weren’t) says it is the most memorable performance in the Jazz Fest’s 50 year history.  He has recently released his entire performance on youtube as Vevo videos and they are pristine.  Even he says he has not forgotten the weight of Katrina and that year’s trip.    https://brucespringsteen.net/news/2019/jazzfest-2006-on-youtube

So, in 2014 when he returned to the Jazz Fest, it was as a local legend, whose “My City of Ruin” which had been written after 9/11, now applied equally to the Crescent City, and he had also written “from the shotgun shack to the Superdome….we take care of our own.” 

What’s different about a Springsteen concert?  First it’s a marathon and you will get your money’s worth.  Remember when James Brown was the hardest working man in show business?  Well, Springsteen could be called that today. The concerts approach four hours, and each one is a spiritual experience.  He weaves a spell like no one I’ve ever seen.  The crowd knows every word of every song, many of which you may be hearing for the first time.  They sing and dance at full throttle, going home as drenched and exhausted as he is.  Here’s another difference:  when he says he’s going to play a new song, the crowd is thrilled because they know he is still producing great vital music.  This is not an oldies act.  He and his fantastic E-Street band, which started as a bar band on the Jersey shore, can play just about anything, so they may even take requests. The lyrics are dense and complex and there's a lot to digest. 

It’s 2019 and all Bruce has done is finish a Tony-winning one-man show on Broadway, and release two albums, one of which, “Western Stars,” he’s made into a full-length feature film.  He’s 69 folks, and he’s not done yet, much less resting on his laurels.

So, here’s my answer to the question.  Yes, he’s best concert performer I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot, from Sinatra to Jagger.  I’ve seen hundreds and I was going to list them, but that’s a project that could take weeks.  But, I will give you my top ones that I enjoyed the most.  And, remember when acts would come out and play 90 minutes and split?  That’s just not the case anymore, and I believe it’s because Bruce has set a new standard.  Here are my favorites, in a very approximate order of my level of enjoyment.  If I’ve seen them more than once that number is in parenthesis. 

Bruce Springsteen (3), The Who (2), Elton John (3), Karla Bonoff (4), Kenny Loggins (2), Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Chicago (3), The Carpenters, Santana, Carole King, Billy Joel,  I know, my tastes are definitely MOR.

Next time Springsteen tours, I hope you’ll join me.  But first I hope you’ll be Blinded by the Light.

Scanning the Satellite

Hitsville:  The Making of Motown – 10

Just before I regretfully pulled the plug on Showtime due to the ever escalating cost of Directv, I caught this magnificent documentary.  Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson are the narrators, and they weave their way through the songs, the artists, the hits, the misses, and the drama of the legendary Motown.  This story has been told many times and in many ways, from anniversary specials, to broadway plays.  There are a few surprises here, but for the most part it’s the same old story.  Good thing it’s such a great one.