Last night in Gothenburg, Sweden, E Street Band history was made as Bruce Springsteen performed “Jungleland” for the first time on the new tour without the late Clarence Clemons. But the family name lives on as Clemons’s nephew — and new band member — Jake Clemons carried on the family tradition of evoking the pain and joy of the song. Below is his solo in “Jungleland,” which was the next-to-last song of the night (you may watch the entire song from a much further distance here):
“Jungleland will forever be associated with the Big Man Clarence Clemons, but it would have been a disservice to him to abandon the great song after his passing. Although we already had seen Jake play the song with another band in another setting, Springsteen did the right thing by waiting a short time and then bringing the song back with Jake as an unexpected surprise. As you can see in the video, at the end of the big solo, the crowd shows its appreciation. It was a bittersweet moment, as everyone was happy for Jake but also sad to be reminded of Clarence’s absence.
There is only one thing to do in the face of such sadness in life. Pause for a moment, and then get up to dance to the show closer “Twist and Shout.”
What do you think of the new “Jungleland”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Check out this music from Ariel Abshire, a young singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. Her website puts her in the “Americana” genre, noting some similarities to the likes of Jenny Lewis, Neko Case, and Nicole Atkins. She’s performed at shows that also featured Jerry Jeff Walker and Robert Earl Keen. Her voice has appeared in movies, video games, and even a cartoon. Give her a listen and decide for yourself. On the following tracks, you might hear a little high lonesome sound on “Nothing New,” while “No Great Pretender” evokes the pop sensibility of some of Jewel’s best songs.
Her debut album Exclamation Love (2008) came out when she was seventeen, and her second album came out last year, Still So New (2011). Check out Abshire’s website for more information and videos, which you can also catch on YouTube, like this live performance of Lady Gaga’s “Speechless.” The blog Cat 5 has a good article about her too. Keep an eye out for this rising star.
What do you think of Ariel Abshire’s music? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Singer-songwriter Greg Trooper is giving a free download of his Popular Demons (1998) CD with your email request. You can also stream the album. If you download, be a good sport and make a small donation of a few bucks on NoiseTrade to help keep him in business making great music.
The album has been out of print for awhile, so it is worth grabbing up. {March 2013 Update: The Popular Demons download was only available for a limited time but Trooper periodically is making other albums available for free download, so you might see a different album from him displayed. Whatever album is available for download, give it a listen.}
Greg Trooper is a great talent, and I have previously praised his song about Muhammad Ali. Popular Demons has some great songs, so even if you do not go the download route immediately, give a listen by pressing the play button.
Trooper’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Keep It With Mine,” with a little help from Steve Earle, ranks with some of the best Dylan covers out there. “Lightening Bug” is a fun song too, and Emmylou Harris duets on “Bluebell.” Check them out, and if you like the music, download and send $5.00 to Mr. Trooper.
What is your favorite Greg Trooper song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Like the rest of us, comedian Tim Heidecker (of the comedy team Tim and Eric) is intrigued by the news that Bob Dylan’s upcoming album contains a 14-minute song about the Titanic. Unlike the rest of us, though, Heidecker decided to do something about it and give us his rendering of what Dylan’s new song might sound like in all its 14-plus-minute glory. Check out Heidecker’s “Titanic,” combining a Dylan imitation with some history and near the end, a dash of James Cameron’s movie about the ship.
Heidecker’s “Titanic” is available for download on his website. You will have to wait until September 11 for the release of Bob Dylan’s Titanic song on his new album, Tempest.
How close do you think Heidecker got to Dylan’s upcoming song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
For some reason, I do not remember Tom Petty’s song “Kings Highway” from when he and the Heartbreakers released it in 1991 on Into the Great Wide Open. I did not buy the album at the time, but I do remember hearing other songs from the album, like “Learning to Fly.” Maybe I was out of the loop that year, or maybe it was not played that much on the radio. I only fell in love with “Kings Highway” when a live version was included as a free download when I bought tickets to the Petty Mojotour. Allmusic.com calls the song a “minor gem,” but for me it was like finding a piece of hidden gold in Petty’s back catalog.
Like John Mellencamp, Tom Petty is one of those artists who has been making music that I like for decades, but he sort of comes and goes in and out of my life. There are some artists where I buy every CD they make, but for most artists, it depends on the time and what I think of the latest music. I have never heard a Tom Petty album that I do not like, and I own several of his albums. But I have never felt compelled to own everything he has done, and because of that, I suppose, I have missed some great songs like “Kings Highway.”
I have tried to figure out geographically which Kings Highway appears in the song. There appears to be highways with that name all around the world, and there is even a Facebook page devoted to all of them. Is he referring to the ancient King’s Highway from Egypt to Syria? There is a King’s Highway in Jordan, which reminded one blogger of the Petty song. Maybe he is referring to the 1927 British film, King’s Highway.
Or, more likely is it one of the King’s Highways in the U.S., like the one from Charleston to Boston, or the one in New York state, or the one following the Mississippi River in the South, or one in Pennsylvania or Texas, or one of two in Virginia. Or, most likely, considering he lived in California at the time, it may be the 600-mile El Camino Real in California, which is also called the “King’s Highway.” Perhaps the California connection is why on a recent tour he and the Heartbreakers opened their 2010 Oakland performance with “Kings Highway” (but he’s also used it as an opener elsewhere, like Colorado).
Maybe the apostrophe is a clue. His song is “Kings Highway,” without an apostrophe, while some of the highway names are “King’s Highway.” Several do not have the apostrophe, but the California road does. So, I am back to being puzzled about finding the real Kings Highway. Maybe there is an interview somewhere where he reveals the location.
The song, however, may be less about an actual highway than about a state of mind. In the song, the singer dreams of heading out on the highway with his lover “when the time gets right.” In that sense, it is a classic open road song, like Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” where the highway provides a hope of escape, freedom, and a new life. While Springsteen’s songs in this vein often have a dark undertone, Petty’s “Kings Highway” has a happier tone that focuses on the new life more than the escape part of the open road.
Still, “Kings Highway” is not an entirely uplifting song. The singer fears being alone, and doesn’t “wanna end up someone that I don’t even know.” And, unlike other songs of escape, there is no actual escape to the open road of the song, as it ends with the singer still waiting for the day “Good fortune comes our way / And we ride down the Kings Highway.” I suspect the characters in the song are still waiting. Perhaps, like me, they are still looking for the location of Kings Highway.
May good fortune come your way and you find your own Kings Highway. Where do you find Kings Highway? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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. I did not buy the album at the time, but I do remember hearing other songs from the album, like “Learning to Fly.” Maybe I was out of the loop that year, or maybe it was not played that much on the radio. I only fell in love with “Kings Highway” when a live version was included as a free download when I bought tickets to the Petty 
tour. 
