John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

The Boss and Jimmy Fallon on the Chris Christie affair

In late 2010, Bruce Springsteen dressed up as a 1970s version of himself to sing a dead-funny cover of the Willow Smith girlie hit Whip My Hair on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, with Fallon nailing a 1970s incarnation of Neil Young. 

Last week, Springsteen revisited his bandana-and-jeans look to remake Born To Run with Fallon, this time as a topical dig on New Jersey governor Chris Christie's widening scandal of political vindictiveness. I don't know what Fallon has planned when he takes over the Tonight Show in a few weeks, but I hope he brings over his knack for parodies, and getting stars to poke fun at themselves and their best-known work. 

 

A new take on Dancing on the Dark

A random tweet about this song came across my view yesterday: a cover of Bruce Springsteen's megahit by a singer I had never heard of. And what a voice. A little Googling shows that Andrea Begley may have no profile here, but she's much better known in Britain; she won the U.K. version of The Voice a few months ago. I've never seen an episode of the U.S. version of the show, let alone from across the pond, but I can see why Begley did well. 

When I Leave Berlin

Bruce Springsteen played Berlin last night. It's a city that's had a special connection for Springsteen; the Boss played in the former East Berlin in 1988, as the movement that led to the bloodless overthrow of 1989 was gathering force. That concert has been noted as being pretty influential.

To mark this week's concert, Springsteen reached into the record bin and pulled out a 1970s gem by British folkie Wizz Jones, and got something of a singalong going.

We Take Care of Our Own

It says something about Bruce Springsteen's enduring stature that people get excited about an advance single for an album that doesn't come out until March. We Take Care of Our Own sets the table for an election-year album with political-sounding tunes; the song itself brings up images of Katrina and patriotism and values and conflict. An interesting mix for a messy year ahead. 

Candy's Room

For a while, this was my favourite Bruce Springsteeen song. It still reminds me of listening to records in my room in the late Seventies, either studying or poring over album covers. Candy's Room is pretty propulsive for Springsteeen, and a tribute to Max Weinberg's peerless drumming. This performance is from a couple of years ago. 

Melissa Etheridge knocks Born to Run out of the park (or concert hall)

When Bruce Springsteen was included in the Kennedy Center Honors a couple of years ago, Melissa Etheridge was asked to perform Born to Run, perhaps the Boss's signature tune.

She delivered ... with the help of a crack band. (As an aside, I loved catching Barack Obama nodding his head to the beat, evidently hampered by his instinct to do a lot more.)

I think The Rising is one of Springsteen's best songs, and a candidate as a standard, one that lends itself to covers and flexible enough to various interpretations. Sting was asked to sing it at the same tribute; his version starts light and builds to include an enormous choir.