I Just Don't Get It

OK, so one of my favorite shows of the moment is Cold Case over on CBS. Come to think of it, I'm noticing that MOST of the shows I watch these days are on CBS. I like crime shows and CBS has the cream of the crop.

Anyway, so I'm watching Cold Case tonight, and tonight was the big episode that they kept making a big deal about because it featured the music of Bruce Springsteen. Good enough story (as usual), but having to sit through an hour's worth of Springsteen is like being questioned by the Nazi dentist in "Marathon Man".

"Is it SAFE?", I kept hearing in the back of my head. "Oh yes, it's so safe you can't believe how safe it is".

I never understood the psycophantic appeal of Springsteen. As I see it, he's had a handful of decent enough hits (Born To Run, Pink Cadillac, Hungry Heart...and that that's about IT), but I don't get the rabid following of the Bruce Force.

We're talking about a guy who can barely croak, never mind sing. This whole "hero of the working class" act is a big load of steaming dog turds and top that off with a cherry of political idiocy, and what do you have? A no-talent hack to is more of a name than an actual artist.

Look at Springsteen's most accessible work: the 'Born in the USA' period. All the records he put out at that time feature Bruce at his gravely worst ("Baaahhhn in the YOOO ES AYYYY") and are mixed and produced to sound like dental drills (an empty tiled room full of knives comes to mind). Decent enough music, but nothing that makes one pee their pants with glee.

Maybe if I grew up in Red Bank and hung out drinking at the Stone Pony until my tear ducts bled, I'd get it. But as a guy who likes music and appreciates a nice singer / musician, I just don't get.

Probably never will.