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kyburgelanabrooklyn:
oneweekoneband:
One song, originally recorded during the sessions that yielded Nebraska was left off of that album because Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, commented that it was too much of a protest song. That was in its acoustic iteration. The song was “Born in the USA”
The classification of “Born in the U.S.A.” is ironic given that the song, after its release with a full band arrangement, was widely misread and misused by Ronald Reagan during the 1984 election cycle.
The misreading of Springsteen began with an innocent invitation. Springsteen’s drummer, Max Weinberg, asked conservative columnist and pundit George Will to attended a concert on Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. Tour. In the column that resulted, Will wrote:
“I have no clue about Springsteen’s politics, if any, but flags get waved at his concerts while he sings songs about hard times. He is no whiner, and the recitation of closed factories and other problems always seems punctuated by a grand, cheerful affirmation: ‘Born in the U.S.A.!”
This is perhaps one of the most fundamental misreading of Springsteen every committed to writing. The entire point of Springsteen’s recorded output up to and including Born in the U.S.A. the album, was that the world that had been offered to Springsteen’s generation had been systematically taken away. That the standard conception of the American Dream, based in the idea that hard work would lead to a good life, was no longer available to many Americans. Hard work was no longer enough.
The song, “Born in the U.S.A.” became pervasive during the presidential election of 1984. The song itself is the story of a Vietnam veteran who, upon returning from the war, cannot find work. The verses are scathing indictments of the state of the American economy, and the choruses, more than “cheerful affirmations” are bitter accusations that being “Born in the U.S.A.” no longer means what it once did to the narrator. Will continues, using the E Street Band as his model for the future of America:
“If all Americans – in labor and management, who make steel or cars or shoes or textiles – made their products with as much energy and confidence as Springsteen and his merry band make music, there would be no need for Congress to be thinking about protectionism.”
This quote indicates one of the bases for Will’s misreading: the method of performance. While “Born in the U.S.A.” was a protest song in its acoustic form, once it was given a full band arrangement and put in the context of a stadium rock show, the meaning was obscured. The lyrics of the verses pale in comparison to the bombast of the chorus.
Springsteen, in the mid- to late-1980s was a cultural icon who symbolized an image of working class America. Ronald Reagan, and many of those close to him, wanted Springsteen’s endorsement or, at the very least, to link Springsteen to the President and his campaign.
Reagan himself echoed Will’s sentiment saying at a rally, “America’s future rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire, New Jersey’s Bruce Springsteen.” Springsteen, while in opposition to Reagan’s policies did not become involved in electoral politics at the time. The strength of Ronald Reagan, as a political communicator and salesman meant that, even if Springsteen had gotten involved, it may not have mattered.
Reagan’s vision of America in the 1984 campaign was one of hope and a better future. Springsteen’s music contained elements of this, but the thrust of his output at the time, coming directly after the release of Nebraska, was a diagnosis of the current economic climate, and the effect it was having on working class Americans. Reagan’s campaign slogan – acknowledging the hard times and expanding beyond them – was “It’s Morning in America Again.” Reagan appropriated “Born in the U.S.A.” disingenuously, but was never politically hurt for doing so. As Gil Troy states in his book, Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s:
“Even Bruce Springsteen was no match for Ronald Reagan and the Republican image-makers. Before the rocker knew it, the song [Born in the U.S.A.] became a virtual Republican theme song, a celebration of all that was good and virtuous and true in prosperous America. In 1984, anyone who could best ‘the boss’ was unstoppable.”
Springsteen did not actively support another candidate, despite his opposition to Reagan. He and his management did, however, insist that the Reagan re-election campaign refrain from further uses of “Born in the U.S.A.” at campaign rallies.
During the 1990s, Springsteen, influenced by the widespread misreadings of his music, set out to more explicitly articulate his political position, whatever the impact on his popularity. He began performing “Born in the U.S.A.” on his own, even during shows with a full band, and introducing it with a contextualizing speech:
“This is a song that, after it came out, nobody knew what it was about…I guess if it is true, it puts me in the great rock and roll tradition of “Louis Louis” or “This Land is Your Land”…If there were any misunderstandings out there my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, and my children thank you…But a songwriter always gets another shot to get it right.”
George Will is an idiot and we are living in his idocracy.
I hate liberals who say “oh Will is an honest conservative. Will is intellectual.” No, he supported W so he’s not honest. And if he can spot satire he’s an idiot.
I love that Springsteen has become such a constant voice on the left. I wish he’d responded to Reagan back then but he was young and maybe didn’t understand the power he had then.
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oneweekoneband:
One song, originally recorded during the sessions that yielded Nebraska was left off of that album because Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, commented that it was too much of a protest song. That was in its acoustic iteration. The song was “Born in the USA”
The classification of “Born in the U.S.A.” is ironic given that the song, after its release with a full band arrangement, was widely misread and misused by Ronald Reagan during the 1984 election cycle.
The misreading of Springsteen began with an innocent invitation. Springsteen’s drummer, Max Weinberg, asked conservative columnist and pundit George Will to attended a concert on Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. Tour. In the column that resulted, Will wrote:
“I have no clue about Springsteen’s politics, if any, but flags get waved at his concerts while he sings songs about hard times. He is no whiner, and the recitation of closed factories and other problems always seems punctuated by a grand, cheerful affirmation: ‘Born in the U.S.A.!”
This is perhaps one of the most fundamental misreading of Springsteen every committed to writing. The entire point of Springsteen’s recorded output up to and including Born in the U.S.A. the album, was that the world that had been offered to Springsteen’s generation had been systematically taken away. That the standard conception of the American Dream, based in the idea that hard work would lead to a good life, was no longer available to many Americans. Hard work was no longer enough.
The song, “Born in the U.S.A.” became pervasive during the presidential election of 1984. The song itself is the story of a Vietnam veteran who, upon returning from the war, cannot find work. The verses are scathing indictments of the state of the American economy, and the choruses, more than “cheerful affirmations” are bitter accusations that being “Born in the U.S.A.” no longer means what it once did to the narrator. Will continues, using the E Street Band as his model for the future of America:
“If all Americans – in labor and management, who make steel or cars or shoes or textiles – made their products with as much energy and confidence as Springsteen and his merry band make music, there would be no need for Congress to be thinking about protectionism.”
This quote indicates one of the bases for Will’s misreading: the method of performance. While “Born in the U.S.A.” was a protest song in its acoustic form, once it was given a full band arrangement and put in the context of a stadium rock show, the meaning was obscured. The lyrics of the verses pale in comparison to the bombast of the chorus.
Springsteen, in the mid- to late-1980s was a cultural icon who symbolized an image of working class America. Ronald Reagan, and many of those close to him, wanted Springsteen’s endorsement or, at the very least, to link Springsteen to the President and his campaign.
Reagan himself echoed Will’s sentiment saying at a rally, “America’s future rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire, New Jersey’s Bruce Springsteen.” Springsteen, while in opposition to Reagan’s policies did not become involved in electoral politics at the time. The strength of Ronald Reagan, as a political communicator and salesman meant that, even if Springsteen had gotten involved, it may not have mattered.
Reagan’s vision of America in the 1984 campaign was one of hope and a better future. Springsteen’s music contained elements of this, but the thrust of his output at the time, coming directly after the release of Nebraska, was a diagnosis of the current economic climate, and the effect it was having on working class Americans. Reagan’s campaign slogan – acknowledging the hard times and expanding beyond them – was “It’s Morning in America Again.” Reagan appropriated “Born in the U.S.A.” disingenuously, but was never politically hurt for doing so. As Gil Troy states in his book, Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s:
“Even Bruce Springsteen was no match for Ronald Reagan and the Republican image-makers. Before the rocker knew it, the song [Born in the U.S.A.] became a virtual Republican theme song, a celebration of all that was good and virtuous and true in prosperous America. In 1984, anyone who could best ‘the boss’ was unstoppable.”
Springsteen did not actively support another candidate, despite his opposition to Reagan. He and his management did, however, insist that the Reagan re-election campaign refrain from further uses of “Born in the U.S.A.” at campaign rallies.
During the 1990s, Springsteen, influenced by the widespread misreadings of his music, set out to more explicitly articulate his political position, whatever the impact on his popularity. He began performing “Born in the U.S.A.” on his own, even during shows with a full band, and introducing it with a contextualizing speech:
“This is a song that, after it came out, nobody knew what it was about…I guess if it is true, it puts me in the great rock and roll tradition of “Louis Louis” or “This Land is Your Land”…If there were any misunderstandings out there my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, and my children thank you…But a songwriter always gets another shot to get it right.”
George Will is an idiot and we are living in his idocracy.
I hate liberals who say “oh Will is an honest conservative. Will is intellectual.” No, he supported W so he’s not honest. And if he can spot satire he’s an idiot.
I love that Springsteen has become such a constant voice on the left. I wish he’d responded to Reagan back then but he was young and maybe didn’t understand the power he had then.
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2aTVfmO
via IFTTT
