Bruce Springsteen - why I'm on fire over the election
Online article here
Thursday, September 23rd, 2004
On the day he turns 55, Bruce Springsteen is making some fans wish he'd never been born in the USA.
In a scathing interview in the Oct. 14 issue of Rolling Stone, on newsstands today, Springsteen's birthday, New Jersey's bard of the common man discusses why he's playing the anti-Bush Vote for Change concerts in the swing states and supporting Democrat John Kerry — the first time he's ever endorsed a specific candidate.
"I don't want to watch the country devolve into an oligarchy, watch the division of wealth increase and see another million people beneath the poverty line this year," Springsteen tells Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner.
"These are all things that have been the subtext of so much of my music," he adds. "And to see the country move so quickly to the right, so much further to the right than what the President campaigned on — these are the things that removed whatever doubt I may have had about getting involved."
The invasion of Iraq was the turning point. "I felt we had been misled," he says. "I felt they had been fundamentally dishonest and had frightened and manipulated the American people into war. And as the saying goes, 'The first casualty of war is truth.'
"The press has let the country down," too, he says. by taking "an amoral stand" and giving in to the ratings-grabbing tendencies of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
The singer's stance on the election has outraged many of his fans, who posted comments at BruceSpringsteen.net.
"It deeply saddens me that you use music to further your own motives to overthrow President Bush," wrote a Texas-based fan who signed an open letter as William Colley, Jr.
"Regardless of my personal choice of President, I feel using music to promote your propaganda (either truthful or fictitious) is just as wrong as music censorship."
For those who don't agree with Springsteen's newfound interest in partisan politics, the singer has a suggestion: Think of the Boss the way he thinks of the Duke.
"The example I've been giving is that I've been an enormous fan of John Wayne all my life, although not a fan of his politics," Springsteen says. "I've made a place for all those different parts of who he was. I find deep inspiration and soulfulness in his work."
Thursday, September 23rd, 2004
On the day he turns 55, Bruce Springsteen is making some fans wish he'd never been born in the USA.
In a scathing interview in the Oct. 14 issue of Rolling Stone, on newsstands today, Springsteen's birthday, New Jersey's bard of the common man discusses why he's playing the anti-Bush Vote for Change concerts in the swing states and supporting Democrat John Kerry — the first time he's ever endorsed a specific candidate.
"I don't want to watch the country devolve into an oligarchy, watch the division of wealth increase and see another million people beneath the poverty line this year," Springsteen tells Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner.
"These are all things that have been the subtext of so much of my music," he adds. "And to see the country move so quickly to the right, so much further to the right than what the President campaigned on — these are the things that removed whatever doubt I may have had about getting involved."
The invasion of Iraq was the turning point. "I felt we had been misled," he says. "I felt they had been fundamentally dishonest and had frightened and manipulated the American people into war. And as the saying goes, 'The first casualty of war is truth.'
"The press has let the country down," too, he says. by taking "an amoral stand" and giving in to the ratings-grabbing tendencies of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
The singer's stance on the election has outraged many of his fans, who posted comments at BruceSpringsteen.net.
"It deeply saddens me that you use music to further your own motives to overthrow President Bush," wrote a Texas-based fan who signed an open letter as William Colley, Jr.
"Regardless of my personal choice of President, I feel using music to promote your propaganda (either truthful or fictitious) is just as wrong as music censorship."
For those who don't agree with Springsteen's newfound interest in partisan politics, the singer has a suggestion: Think of the Boss the way he thinks of the Duke.
"The example I've been giving is that I've been an enormous fan of John Wayne all my life, although not a fan of his politics," Springsteen says. "I've made a place for all those different parts of who he was. I find deep inspiration and soulfulness in his work."
posted by Joe | 9/23/2004 04:02:00 PM
1 Comments:
I am that Texan originally quoted from brucespringsteen.net that you speak of in this much-dated blog.
By happenstance I googled my name and discovered your blog 3 years too late.
I appreciate you accrediting my words and thoughts, and still stand behind them when its all just "old news."
Eventhough our views might differ, best of luck to you and your blog website... relish in freedom of speech!
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