In this new promotional video, Bruce Springsteen discusses his new album released this week, High Hopes. In the video, he explains the odd collection of songs that make up the album, how Tom Morello became involved, etc. Check it out.
I am still trying to figure out what I think of the album, although I do know that I love certain moments on the album such as the new version of “Dream Baby Dream.”
What do you think of High Hopes? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Bruce Springsteen once again dug out one of his old outfits to sing with Fallon. This time, the two did a new version of “Born to Run,” poking fun at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s recent Bridgegate problems regarding his administration’s involvement in closing down the George Washington Bridge to punish a New Jersey mayor. “Governor let me in, I wanna be your friend. . . .” Check it out.
It had to be a tough blow for Gov. Christie, who notoriously is a huge Springsteen fan even though Springsteen generally sits on the other side of the political divide. But the song is pretty funny.
What is your favorite Springsteen-Fallon collaboration? Leave your two cents in the comments.
With Nelson Mandela‘s passing, the world mourns the loss of an amazing man. It is hard to comprehend the changes that Mandela helped make in his lifetime. Back in 1985, while Mandela sat in prison and Artists Against Apartheid released the song “Sun City,” one could not have imagined that within a decade Mandela would be president of South Africa. RIP.
Aritsts Against Apartheid was founded by Steven Van Zandt (aka Miami Steve, aka Little Steven) and record producer Arthur Baker. Sun City was a resort in South Africa, and the song called on artists to refuse to play there until apartheid ended. The song and video features such artists as Run DMC, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Hall & Oates, Herbie Hancock, and Ringo Starr.
Only five years after the song’s release, Steven Van Zandt would appear on stage with Simple Minds, Chrissie Hynde, Lou Reed, and others, to sing “Sun City” at a tribute concert for Nelson Mandela at Wembley stadium. They were celebrating Mandela’s release from prison in early 1990.
In announcing his new upcoming album High Hopes on his website, Bruce Springsteen wrote about one of the songs on the album and the inspiration for the song. After explaining that he wrote “The Wall” after visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., he describes how the song was inspired by his memories of fellow New Jersey musician Walter Cichon (pronounced Sha-SHONE). First, Springsteen tells how Cichon played in a local band called the Motifs.
Walter was one of the great early Jersey Shore rockers, who along with his brother Ray (one of my early guitar mentors) led the ”Motifs”. The Motifs were a local rock band who were always a head above everybody else. Raw, sexy and rebellious, they were the heroes you aspired to be. But these were heroes you could touch, speak to, and go to with your musical inquiries. Cool, but always accessible, they were an inspiration to me, and many young working musicians in 1960′s central New Jersey.
Below is a 1966 recording of the Motifs singing “If I Gave You Love.”
But there is more to the story. On his website, Springsteen continues discussing what happened to Walter and how it has affected him through the years.
Though my character in “The Wall” is a Marine, Walter was actually in the Army, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry. He was the first person I ever stood in the presence of who was filled with the mystique of the true rock star. Walter went missing in action in Vietnam in March 1968. He still performs somewhat regularly in my mind, the way he stood, dressed, held the tambourine, the casual cool, the freeness. The man who by his attitude, his walk said “you can defy all this, all of what’s here, all of what you’ve been taught, taught to fear, to love and you’ll still be alright.” His was a terrible loss to us, his loved ones and the local music scene. I still miss him.
Springsteen has played “The Wall” in concert a few times, including this performance below from New Jersey on November 16, 2005. As in Springsteen’s other songs about the Vietnam War, the song captures the complex emotions still attached to the war, just the way that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, i.e. “the Wall,” does. In the song, Springsteen remembers how “Billy” and his band “Was the best thing this shit town ever had.” And he recounts how the war took that all away: “As the rain falls / And apology and forgiveness have no place here at all.” Before playing the song in the video clip, he explains the inspiration further.
You may read more about Walter’s service and disappearance on the POW Network website, and his photo is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website. “The Wall” is a beautiful song, with a touching back story. Like others, we look forward to the official release.
Bruce Springsteen has confirmed that he will release a new album January 14, 2014 called High Hopes. The 12-track album will include new material, covers, and new versions of other Springsteen songs. Yesterday we posted “Dream Baby Dream,” which will appear on the album. The title track is “High Hopes,” a song released by The Havalinas in 1990 (Springsteen earlier covered the song for his EP Blood Brothers in 1996. Here is the new version from the upcoming album.
Here are the tracks on the album: 1. High Hopes (feat. Tom Morello); 2. Harry’s Place; 3. American Skin (41 Shots); 4. Just Like Fire Would; 5. Down In The Hole; 6. Heaven’s Wall; 7. Frankie Fell In Love; 8. This Is Your Sword; 9. Hunter Of Invisible Game; 10. The Ghost of Tom Joad (Duet with Tom Morello); 11.The Wall; 12. Dream Baby Dream.
The E Street Band members play on the album, as does Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. Springsteen wrote one of the songs, “The Wall,” as a tribute to a friend who went missing during the Vietnam War. Springsteen explains more about the album on his website.
Are you excited about the new album? Leave your two cents in the comments.
