The Lint Screen, Satire/Humor/Etc.

Tag: Bruce Springsteen

  • The Second Pick In The Great Album Game

    The Second Pick In The Great Album Game

    darknessontheedgeoftown_albHe lost his money and he lost his wife, those things don’t seem to matter much to him now.

    While “Born To Run” was the album that made Springsteen a sensation (he was on the covers of TIME and NEWSWEEK, not too shabby), this one is my favorite one.

    It’s dark, bleak, brooding, introspective–– with glimmers of hope, optimism, and determination to carry on. It’s a young man struggling to find his way (don’t we all?).

    When he toured for this album, I somehow wrangled my way into working security for the show at The Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland. I then talked my way away from the duty of inspecting women purses to being a security guard guarding the seats behind the stage and making sure no one sat in them.

    I did my bouncer duty before the show, then plopped my ass in a seat to the side of the stage. I then enjoyed an incredible four-hour show.

    The songs on this album are all emotional lightning rods. They strike to the dark places within, the yearning that’s hungry to be satisfied.

    Years later, Bruce would confess he deals with depression issues. He does so through his music. This album is a prime example. It’s therapeutic, cathartic. As The Boss bleeds, strap into your car and enjoy this emotional roller coaster ride (please keep your arms inside the car for safety’s sake).

    Here he is performing the title track at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

    Enjoy.

  • Bye Bye Big Man


    Clarence Clemons is dead at age 69. Nicknamed The Big Man, he stood 6′ 5″ and weighed-in at 270. Pity his pall bearers. Pity us fans.

    His mighty lungs were the engine room of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. When he picked up his mighty tenor sax, the walls of Jericho protecting the human core shook and crumpled as emotions were laid bare and spirits were lifted to the heavens. The solo Clarence plays in “Jungleland” is testament to his greatness.

    With breath and finger movement, he picked our bones clean.

    I had the pleasure of seeing him perform with the Boss at least 10 times. Over the years the band lost some of its intensity, but the E Streeters always delivered the goods. Front and center in my memory banks is the band in its glory days on the “Darkness” tour, playing Richfield Coliseum outside of Cleveland. I managed to get free admission to be a security person for the show. Originally, my task was to check purses for booze and weapons, but I talked my way into a better detail– guarding the rows of seats behind the stage to keep fans away.

    As the concert started, I settled into my post in one of the seats on the edge of the vacancy zone and watched the show. Springsteen and the E Street Band were at their peak, and I had a fabulous seat.

    And Clarence, Clarence just blew us all away.

    Thanks, Big Man. With your lungs, I doubt you’ll be issued a harp in heaven.