Reactions to the Kennedy Center Honors

So CBS just aired the Kennedy Center Honors (which honored Springsteen) and since I wasn't at the event (obviously, unfortunately) this was the first time I saw it. A few brief reactions (spoiler-alert, sorta?):

- John Stewart's opening speech was very funny and spot on, and was a very good explanation of what makes Springsteen's music so personal for everyone.

- John Mellencamp's "Born in the USA" wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever seen, but I really liked how it combined both the slower acoustic and Rock version of the song in a single rendition.

- Sting was awesome for The Rising. My aunt pointed out that he needs a facial trim though, right now he looks like the Colonel.

- It was great seeing the huge crowd of distinguished politicians and celebrities all getting up and rocking out to "The Rising"... also great hearing all them go "Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuce"...

Springsteen and "Gypsies"

I've always wondered about Springsteen's obsession with singing about "gypsies" in his lyrics.  I don't think the term or imagery here is used in a particularly derogatory way (many argue the term "gypsy" is a politically incorrect term to describe the Roma)*.  The idea of ghosts/spirits is obviously something that would be an attractive image for Springsteen's lyrics (for one example of a lyrical theme where this would be appropriate, see Lorraine Mangione and Susan Keady. “Spirit in the Night” to “Mary’s Place”: Loss, Death, and the Transformative Power of Relationships.  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. 2007, Vol 1, No. 4, pp. 179-189 *).

I was unsure if maybe I was just over-analyzing a few infrequent uses of the term in his songs.  But then I used this cool tool on Springsteen's website where you can search the lyrics, and found that its used in 9 songs, spanning his entire career from Greetings to Magic.  Searching for "gypsy" returned results for 9 different songs:

GYPSY BIKER
Our Gypsy biker's comin' home
Our Gypsy biker is comin' home
My Gypsy biker is coming home.

BRILLIANT DISGUISE
the gypsy swore our future was right
Well maybe baby the gypsy lied

SOUL DRIVER
I'll be your gypsy joker your shotgun rider

OVER THE RISE
I walk along the levee to see the gypsy man

MY LOVER MAN
Was it a gypsy's curse or a hex sign

SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT
We'll pick up Hazy Davy and Killer Joe and I'll take you all out to where the gypsy angels go
So we closed our eyes and said goodbye to gypsy angel row, felt so right

LUCKY MAN
I went to see the gypsy the other night

BETTER DAYS
Now my ass was draggin' when from a passin' gypsy wagon

LOCAL HERO
I woke to a gypsy girl sayin' "Drink this"

In all of these, the term is used either casually to describe a "spiritual type" character, or it's used very clearly to make clear an image of a ghost or similar concept to grapple with death or lost company.   While the purpose of this image in his lyrics makes sense to me, I couldn't find a compelling explanation anywhere for why this specific term to describe this thematic image is so prevalent in Springsteen's lyrics.

Please, I invite your suggestions or ideas as to what makes this particular lyrical devise so attractive to Springsteen!!!!!

*I am aware that the term "gypsy" is probably being used by Springsteen to describe "spiritual types" rather than, specifically, people who are ethnically Roma.  I also recognize that some would argue that this makes the term more offensive...

**Thanks Dad!

Encore Songs

A while ago I posted about what songs were the most played encore songs. My friend Scott pointed out that a better measure of encore appearance would be the percentage of times that a song was played in the encore out of the total number of times a song was played overall. In other words, a better ranking would rank the probabilities that if a song was played, that it would be played in the encore rather than the regular set. Here, I rank the songs by this measure (omitting songs played less than 4 times overall):

American Land	100.0%
Hard Times	100.0%
Land of Hope & Dreams	100.0%
Twist & Shout	100.0%
Dancin' In The Dark	95.2%
(Your love can take me) Higher & Higher	90.9%
Rosalita	88.6%
Bobby Jean	87.9%
Glory Days	87.5%
Detroit Medley	81.8%
Kitty's Back	77.8%
Rockin' All Over The World	75.0%
Born In The USA	57.1%
Tenth Avenue Freezeout	55.8%
Seven Nights To Rock	50.0%
Thunder Road	47.1%
Jungleland	44.4%
Mony Mony	33.3%
Ramrod	28.6%
Girls In Their Summer Clothes	25.0%
This Hard Land	25.0%
Cadillac Ranch	16.7%
Growing Up	14.3%
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town	14.3%
For You	14.3%
Surprise Surprise	12.5%
The E Street Shuffle	12.5%
No Surrender	11.9%
I'm Going Down	7.7%
Hungry Heart	6.8%
Wrecking Ball	6.7%
Spirit In The Night	4.8%
Raise Your Hand	4.5%
Waiting On A Sunny Day	3.7%
Born to Run	1.2%

This ranking is useful because it shows which songs are real "encore songs."  So even if a song was lower on the absolute-times-played-in-encore ranking because it was only played 5 times the whole year, this ranking would show you that it's still an "encore song" if it was played in an encore each of those 5 times.

Here, I do the same ranking for the albums:

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E. Street Shuffle 67.6% Cover 57.7% Born in the USA 51.2% Born to Run 20.5% Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ 7.1% The River 4.6% Tracks 4.2% Magic 3.2% The Rising 1.6% Working on a Dream 0.4%

It's pretty expected for covers to be encore songs, given the request portion of many shows (during which a stump-the-band request generally occurred) was during the encore.  It's also not surprising that Born in the USA is such a big encore album, given the number of big-crowd pleasers (mainstream hits) on the album.  Same for Wild, Innocent... only because of Rosalita's traditional role as a closer.

It's also interesting that (remember, as a percentage) albums that you would expect to be big pleasers for the real die-hard crazy fans (containing more rare and obscure hits) generally weren't a part of the encores.  Tracks makes up the bottom of this ranking (and Greetings and the River which both contain many gems for the hardcore fans also had very low percentages), only outdone by the three other rock albums from Springsteen this decade.  Why were those not in the encore?  Again, it seems like the encore is more reserved for general crowd pleasers, and let's face it, casual fans come to Springsteen concerts to see Born to Run, Glory Days, and Dancing in the Dark, not The Rising, Long Walk Home, or the Wrestler.

I suppose you can't be too hard on Springsteen for this (and it's not necessarily a criticism), considering that overall he still plays more obscurities and rare hits than any major artist (and possibly any artist at all) in the world.

* Thanks to Scott for the suggestion! 

Statistics from the same source as always.

Springsteen for Dummies

The idea of Rock and Roll fans who aren’t Springsteen fans blows my mind.  Here is a suggested play list for folks who know the greatest hits and that’s about it.  These aren’t necessarily the best “non-greatest hits” but I think these tunes are good for getting Springsteen-skeptics hooked because they are catchy.

The play list:

1. Prove it all night

A great way to open a play list (or a concert!).  A powerful intro, heavy on the piano, a great Clarence sax solo, and a catchy melody.  Normally if I were posting a video for “Prove it” I’d default to the 78 extended concert version, but for non-Bruce fans I think its better to just cut the chase for the first time they hear this one…

2. Candy’s Room

An outstanding song… this was picked by many as their favorite Springsteen song on 101.9 RXPs best-song-ever poll.  A great song, and one that was definitely meant to be heard live.  Like many Springsteen songs, I heard the live version before the album version, and, also like many Springsteen songs, it sounds a million times better live.

3. Sherry Darling

Complete with Party Noise, I don’t know if a better frat-rock-song exists.  It’s a good counter to the occasional (ill-informed) criticism that Springsteen doesn’t have a sense of humor.  I couldn’t find a live version I was happy with for a first time listener, so for this one the studio version will have to do.  I will say the one time I got to hear this live, it was outstanding, and the audience definitely becomes part of the song with the party noise!

4. Loose Ends

Like many Springsteen songs, this one’s pretty dark lyrically, but’s got a very fun upbeat tempo.  Don’t mind the video, it’s the one I could find with the Tracks studio version of the song…Super super catchy….

5. Janey Don’t you lose heart

This is just a very pretty song, with a very good use of the “sha la la’s.”  This live version isn’t my favorite, but it’s pretty good…. There’s many songs from Track’s that baffle my mind that they didn’t make it on to earlier albums, and this is definitely one of them.

6. Be True

Another incredible song that shocks me it got leftover… I’ve never met anybody who has heard this song and claims to dislike it.

7. The Ties that Band

Great song, great opener to the River album.  Saw this at the River concert at MSG this year and the energy it brings is unreal.  I think this is a good song for getting people hooked… it’s very British Invasion and a lot is borrowed from the Beatles here (and any serious Rock and Roll fan has to love the Beatles).  Plus, everybody loves singing along to the Ties that Bi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yiiiiiiiiiiind….

8. Bobby Jean

Some die-hard Springsteen fans claim to find this song annoying… I think that’s ludicrous.  It’s incredibly powerful and the beat could not be more addicting.  It’s ten times more powerful when your aware of the lyrics, but it’s not even all that necessary in order to be feeling this song.

9. Jungleland

This list has been very heavy on the catchier tunes from later (or at least, not early Greetings through Born to Run) albums.  And I think those songs are all excellent and are key to getting people hooked on Springsteen.  But once you’ve caught their attention, you’ve gotta get them to give Jungleland a try.  I firmly believe that you can’t be a true Springsteen fan if you can’t appreciate this song, which embodies so much of what made Springsteen great and embodies so much of what defined his sound (particularly as he transitioned from the more care free and young songs of Greetings and the Wild, Innocent to the darker and more serious albums that came as Springsteen grew older).  The later portion of Clarence’s epic saxophone solo here is incredible, and the magic of the climax of that solo is simply undeniable.  And while this song is less suitable for mass pop consumption than the tracks above, it’s a better song: if you can’t like this song, you aren’t cut out to be a Springsteen fan.

10. Rosalita

For years this is how Springsteen ended all his concerts.  I think that makes it an appropriate way to end this play list.  It’s full of fun and energy, and captures a lot of what was so good about the early Springsteen sound, the jazzier Van Morrison influenced songs especially on the Wild, Innocent…

*Bonus Track: Thundercrack

Before Rosalita was Springsteen’s default closer, there was Thundercrack.  It’s a great song, and is incredible live.  Almost 40 years later, and he’s still got this same energy live….

Well the cops finally busted madam marie...

I've been thinking a lot about what makes the Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle such a special album... and while this post will not be dedicated to making the case for WIESS in words, I think this video makes the case for me...

"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from the 1978 Passaic Concert (believed by many to be Springsteen's greatest concert)



This song only makes my favorite half of the album on a good day, but its just so good live...

The Northeast

Tonight's post is about which songs and albums Springsteen preferred to play and not play in the Northeast*.  Out of the 85 concerts from this year, 33 were played in the Northeast.  These concerts were roughly equivalent in length to the average concert (the average concert this year played 27 songs, and the average Northeast concert had 27.27 songs).  However, there are some songs that were played particularly often (or unoften) in the Northeast.

Here are how many times each song was played in the Northeast:

American Land	33
Born to Run	33
Working on a Dream	32
Waiting On A Sunny Day	31
The Rising	30
Badlands	29
Outlaw Pete	26
The Promised Land	25
Lonesome Day	23
Rosalita	21
Thunder Road	21
Hard Times	20
Dancin' In The Dark	20
Johnny 99	20
Raise Your Hand	18
Hungry Heart	18
Seeds	18
No Surrender	16
Land Of Hope & Dreams	16
Out in the Street	16
Radio Nowhere	16
She's The One	15
Tenth Avenue Freezeout	14
Kingdom of Days	13
Wrecking Ball	11
Spirit In The Night	11
The Ghost of Tom Joad	11
Bobby Jean	11
Jungleland	10
Glory Days	10
Long Walk Home	9
The Wrestler	9
Backstreets	9
Night	9
Kitty's Back	8
I'm Goin' Down	7
Prove It All Night	7
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher	6
Meeting Across the River	6
Growing Up	6
For You	5
Seven Nights to Rock	5
The E Street Shuffle	5
Candy's Room	5
I'm On Fire	5
My Love Will Not Let You Down	5
Twist & Shout	5
it's Hard To Be A Saint In The City	4
Jackson Cage	4
Born In The USA	4
The Ties That Bind	4
Ramrod	4
Adam Raised A Cain	4
Something In The Night	4
Cover Me	4
Detroit Medley	4
Darlington County	4
Working On The Highway	4
Last to Die	3
Thundercrack	3
Human Touch	3
My Hometown	3
Downbound Train	3
Mony Mony	3
Two Hearts	3
Racing In The Street	3
Sherry Darling	3
Surprise, Surprise	3
Atlantic City	3
Darkness On The Edge Of Town	3
Cadillac Ranch	3
Youngstown	3
The River	3
Because The Night	3
Blinded By The Light	2
I Wanna Marry You	2
Independence Day	2
Mountain Of Love	2
The Fever	2
The Price You Pay	2
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)	2
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?	2
Good Eye	2
Jersey Girl	2
Streets Of Fire	2
This Life	2
Girls In Their Summer Clothes	2
Incident on 57th Street	2
Point Blank	2
Rendezvous	2
Rockin' All Over the World	2
Be True	2
Factory	2
Good Lovin'	2
Murder Incorporated	2
Santa Claus is Coming to Town	2
Trapped	2
My Lucky Day	2
All Shook Up (wow)	1
Crush On You	1
Expressway To Your Heart (by the Soul Survivors	1
Fire	1
Give The Girl A Kiss	1
Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes	1
Hava Nagila	1
Heat Wave	1
I Ain't Got No Home	1
I Wanna Be Sedated	1
I'll Work For Your Love	1
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide (Z.Z. Top; first time since '87!)	1
Jailhouse Rock	1
Like A Rolling Stone	1
Little Bit O'Soul	1
Little Latin Lupe Lu	1
Mary Queen Of Arkansas	1
Mary's Place	1
Merry Christmas Baby	1
Mustang Sally (w/ John Eddie)	1
My Generation	1
New York City Serenade	1
Restless Nights	1
Save The Last Dance For Me	1
Seaside Bar Song (Wow! First time w/ E Street since 1973)	1
Sha La La La	1
Stand On It	1
Stolen Car	1
Streets Of Philadelphia	1
Sweet Soul Music	1
The Angel	1
The Last Time (Rolling Stones)	1
What Love Can Do (first time played)	1
When You Walk In The Room	1
Wild Billy's Circus Story	1
Wooly Bully	1
Boom Boom	1
Burning Love	1
Can't Help Falling in Love (the Elvis song)	1
Drive All Night	1
Fade Away	1
Hang On Sloopy	1
If I Should Fall Behind	1
I'm A Rocker	1
Janey Don't You Lose Heart	1
London Calling	1
Lost In The Flood	1
Red Headed Woman	1
Summertime Blues	1
Tougher Than The Rest	1
Wild Thing	1
Wreck On The Highway	1
You Can't Sit Down { info }	1
You Never Can Tell	1
So Young and In Love (with Dropkick Murphys)	1
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)	1
Into The Fire	1
Loose Ends	1
Pink Cadillac	1
This Hard Land	1
American Skin (41 Shots)	1

This doesn't immediately tell us whether these songs were played more or less often than they were ordinarily played.  To measure this, I took the number of times the song was played in the Northeast, and subtracted the number of times you would have expected the song to have been played in the Northeast, based on the probability of it being played at any given concert.  In other words, this score measures how many extra times the song was played based on the average number of times the song was played overall this year).  Here are the results:

SONG	Exp +/-
Long Walk Home	5.5
Wrecking Ball	5.2
Kitty's Back	4.5
Rosalita	3.9
Spirit In The Night	2.8
For You	2.3
it's Hard To Be A Saint In The City	2.1
Jackson Cage	2.1
I'm Goin' Down	2.0
Seven Nights to Rock	1.9
The E Street Shuffle	1.9
Last to Die	1.8
Thundercrack	1.8
She's The One	1.8
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher	1.7
Human Touch	1.4
My Hometown	1.4
Born In The USA	1.3
The Ties That Bind	1.3
Ramrod	1.3
Blinded By The Light	1.2
I Wanna Marry You	1.2
Independence Day	1.2
Mountain Of Love	1.2
The Fever	1.2
The Price You Pay	1.2
Thunder Road	1.2
Meeting Across the River	1.0
Raise Your Hand	0.9
Hungry Heart	0.9
Adam Raised A Cain	0.9
Something In The Night	0.9
The Wrestler	0.8
Backstreets	0.8
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)	0.8
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?	0.8
Good Eye	0.8
Jersey Girl	0.8
Streets Of Fire	0.8
This Life	0.8
Candy's Room	0.7
Downbound Train	0.7
Mony Mony	0.7
All Shook Up (wow)	0.6
Crush On You	0.6
Expressway To Your Heart (by the Soul Survivors	0.6
Fire	0.6
Give The Girl A Kiss	0.6
Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes	0.6
Hava Nagila	0.6
Heat Wave	0.6
I Ain't Got No Home	0.6
I Wanna Be Sedated	0.6
I'll Work For Your Love	0.6
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide (Z.Z. Top; first time since '87!)	0.6
Jailhouse Rock	0.6
Like A Rolling Stone	0.6
Little Bit O'Soul	0.6
Little Latin Lupe Lu	0.6
Mary Queen Of Arkansas	0.6
Mary's Place	0.6
Merry Christmas Baby	0.6
Mustang Sally (w/ John Eddie)	0.6
My Generation	0.6
New York City Serenade	0.6
Restless Nights	0.6
Save The Last Dance For Me	0.6
Seaside Bar Song (Wow! First time w/ E Street since 1973)	0.6
Sha La La La	0.6
Stand On It	0.6
Stolen Car	0.6
Streets Of Philadelphia	0.6
Sweet Soul Music	0.6
The Angel	0.6
The Last Time (Rolling Stones)	0.6
What Love Can Do (first time played)	0.6
When You Walk In The Room	0.6
Wild Billy's Circus Story	0.6
Wooly Bully	0.6
Growing Up	0.6
The Ghost of Tom Joad	0.5
Girls In Their Summer Clothes	0.4
Incident on 57th Street	0.4
Point Blank	0.4
Rendezvous	0.4
Rockin' All Over the World	0.4
I'm On Fire	0.3
My Love Will Not Let You Down	0.3
Two Hearts	0.3
Boom Boom	0.2
Burning Love	0.2
Can't Help Falling in Love (the Elvis song)	0.2
Drive All Night	0.2
Fade Away	0.2
Hang On Sloopy	0.2
If I Should Fall Behind	0.2
I'm A Rocker	0.2
Janey Don't You Lose Heart	0.2
London Calling	0.2
Lost In The Flood	0.2
Red Headed Woman	0.2
Summertime Blues	0.2
Tougher Than The Rest	0.2
Wild Thing	0.2
Wreck On The Highway	0.2
You Can't Sit Down { info }	0.2
You Never Can Tell	0.2
Kingdom of Days	0.2
Night	0.1
Be True	0.1
Factory	0.1
American Land	0.0
Born to Run	0.0
Racing In The Street	(0.1)
Sherry Darling	(0.1)
Surprise, Surprise	(0.1)
So Young and In Love (with Dropkick Murphys)	(0.2)
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)	(0.2)
Cover Me	(0.3)
Detroit Medley	(0.3)
No Surrender	(0.3)
Land Of Hope & Dreams	(0.3)
Good Lovin'	(0.3)
Murder Incorporated	(0.3)
Waiting On A Sunny Day	(0.4)
Jungleland	(0.5)
Atlantic City	(0.5)
Darkness On The Edge Of Town	(0.5)
Into The Fire	(0.6)
Loose Ends	(0.6)
Pink Cadillac	(0.6)
This Hard Land	(0.6)
Working on a Dream	(0.6)
Out in the Street	(0.7)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town	(0.7)
Darlington County	(1.0)
Radio Nowhere	(1.1)
Hard Times	(1.4)
The Rising	(1.4)
Prove It All Night	(1.5)
Cadillac Ranch	(1.7)
American Skin (41 Shots)	(1.7)
Bobby Jean	(1.8)
Outlaw Pete	(2.0)
Working On The Highway	(2.2)
Trapped	(2.3)
Glory Days	(2.4)
Badlands	(2.4)
Tenth Avenue Freezeout	(2.7)
The Promised Land	(3.0)
Twist & Shout	(3.2)
Youngstown	(3.2)
The River	(3.6)
Because The Night	(4.0)
Dancin' In The Dark	(4.5)
Lonesome Day	(5.7)
Johnny 99	(6.0)
My Lucky Day	(6.2)
Seeds	(6.5)

Here are how many times the albums were played in the Northeast:

Born to Run	117
Working on a Dream	90
Born in the USA	88
Cover	86
The Rising	86
Darkness on the Edge of Town	84
The River	73
The Wild, the Innocent, and the E. Street Shuffle	40
Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ	33
Seeger Sessions	33
Magic	31
Nebraska	23
Tracks	21
The Ghost of Tom Joad	14
Human Touch	3
Tunnel of Love	1
Lucky Town	1

And the scores for how many extra songs were played per album:

The Wild, the Innocent, and the E. Street Shuffle	12.4
Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ	11.2
Magic	6.9
The River	5.7
Cover	3.1
Tracks	2.3
Human Touch	1.4
Born to Run	1.4
Tunnel of Love	0.2
Seeger Sessions	(0.1)
Lucky Town	(0.2)
The Ghost of Tom Joad	(2.7)
Darkness on the Edge of Town	(4.4)
Working on a Dream	(6.2)
Nebraska	(6.6)
Born in the USA	(8.5)
The Rising	(8.6)

I find these results to very interesting...

As far as the songs go, Wrecking Ball is expected (it was written later on the tour, when most of the remaining concerts were in the Northeast).  I am not sure why Long Walk home is so high, thoughts?  The rest of the high scoring songs were from earlier albums (WIESS and Greetings)... which can partially be attributed to the album shows in NYC and Buffalo respectively, but that fully can't account for how high these songs scored (a +1 boost doesn't explain).  Perhaps Springsteen is more comfortable playing earlier songs from these albums when he is played closer to home?

For low scoring songs, again I'm unsure about the reason for "My Lucky Day"... some of the other songs were big on the recession theme (Johnny 99, Seeds), but not so much for Dancing in the Dark.

Not sure also why Lonesome Day were performed so much less in the Northeast - which brings us to the results for the albums - The Rising being played so much less in the Northeast is especially surprising, given its status as the "9-11 album."  Again, the album results verify that Springsteen favored his earlier albums in the Northeast, very high scores for WIESS and Greetings (both with scores greater than the difference that their album shows can account for).

*Northeast is defined as concerts played in the Northeastern section of the country (eg: New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, DC, Baltimore)

**Data source and parameters are the same as mentioned in prior posts, as is the case for data presented in any of these posts.