From: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org (LuckyTown Digest) To: luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Subject: LuckyTown Digest V9 #27 Reply-To: luckytown@luckytown.org Sender: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Errors-To: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Precedence: bulk LuckyTown Digest Wednesday, July 3 2002 Volume 09 : Number 027 NOTE: Sale/trade posts should be emailed to luckytown-ads, *NOT* to luckytown. That includes tix wanted/tix grovels, post them to luckytown-ads, please. Contents: "private performance" 7/26 in Asbury Park? ["Kevin Kinder" ] "Rising" interpretations [MRWTRW@aol.com] what is "the rising?" ["Mitchell, Todd" ] Etched in soup............... [OmanIV@aol.com] The Rising [JZellers@dhhs.state.nh.us] Arlen Schumer's Post [Kevin Compton ] The Rising/Music ["Eric Douglas" ] The Rising Lyrics ["Meagher, Bill" ] The Rising and September 11 ["Eric Douglas" ] The Rising and September 11 [Esther Beck ] The Rising ["ALewis" ] Heard it for the first time! [Olli Pekka Haapakangas ] Greetings from Ashbury Park? [GBPianoMan@aol.com] "Sad Eyes" cover [CGreg96244@aol.com] Concert Tickets ["Linda Blue" ] Springsteen Reference - Pete Yorn on Carson Daly ["Ron Cecchini" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 19:43:51 -0500 From: "Kevin Kinder" Subject: "private performance" 7/26 in Asbury Park? Saw a pointer to this at Backstreets (www.backstreets.com , magazine subscription highly recommended): LA radio station Star 98.7 has a contest to win tix and travel to a private performance in Asbury Park on Friday 7/26. See http://www.star987.com/brucespringsteen.html . Given that Bruce is doing the Today show from the Convention Hall, one would think that's the venue. This seems to be in alignment with rumors that the rehearsal shows' audiences will be populated by radio contest winners, but time will tell. Nothing about this yet on brucespringsteen.net which the radio ad links to, so possibly the radio station jumped the announcement gun. - ----- Kevin Kinder kinder@luckytown.org [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 16:57:48 -0400 From: "Philip Hausler" Subject: The Rising and firefighters As a volunteer firefighter from Kinnelon, New Jersey, I thought I'd clarify a couple of points regarding "The Rising." First, the "sixty pound stone" Bruce refers to is an air cylinder and harness that is part of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). It's pretty heavy and bulky. Full turnout gear, including SCBA, boots, bunker pants, coat, and helmet, weigh around 50 lbs. Second, the "chain that binds me" and the "half mile of line" both refer to hose. Hose is usually carried into a building on the firefighter's shoulders in a line. Thus, the hose serves as "chain that binds" one firefighter to another. The importance of the hose cannot be understated to a firefighter. It provides the obvious water to attack the fire, but in a fire incident, it is literally the lifeblood of the team. When entering a building, each person on the hose has a clear role and responsibility. If you are on the hose, you have an immediate sense of where you are. When leaving a building, especially in an emergency situation, the hose can be "followed" out to safety. For high rises and other tall structures, often hose is carried in "rolls" by individual firefighters; however, Bruce is not describing that here. Third, the "cross of my calling" is the international insignia of the fire service, the Cross Pattee-Nowy, otherwise known as the Maltese Cross. It is a badge of courage and honor that symbolizes a firefighters willingness to risk his life to save others from the ravages of fire. The fire service borrows the cross from the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, a charitable, nonmilitary organization that existed during the 11th and 12th centuries. Look closely next time you see a firefighter wearing a dark blue tee-shirt representing his/her fire department. Over the firefighter's heart is usually a Maltese Cross. When I read the lyrics for the first time in New Jersey's Star Ledger, I was so moved by how hauntingly Bruce captured the firefighter's job, including the optimism, fear, confusion, faith, and hope. I have taped the lyrics, including the photo of the FDNY from 9/11, on the wall behind my turnout gear. Every time I go on a call and pull down my coat from the hook on the wall, I tap the picture and lyrics, and say a short prayer before heading out. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 21:32:45 EDT From: MRWTRW@aol.com Subject: "Rising" interpretations Since my first listen to "The Rising," I have thought it evoked 9/11 and have been enjoying the discussion going on in the digest about how others have interpreted the lyrics. While reading the post from the subscriber in Australia (sorry, can't remember the name) in which she questioned the 9/11 angle, I was taken aback by what seemed to be her opinion that we in America automatically assumed the song is about 9/11, in what she seemed to say was a typically "Ameri-centric" way of thinking. Without intent to flame, may I respectfully suggest that if she lived here in America, she may have jumped to similar conclusions. We have all been living in varying degrees of shock since 9/11, looking for a way to deal with and process the events of that day. How many of us can say we have truly come to terms with it? I think that one way we as a culture deal with tragedy is through art. When I heard "The Rising" for the first time last week, I felt as if I had finally started to believe that we can heal, we will heal as a country. Art/music is one way to filter such events, put them into a perspective where we can think about them, talk about them, learn from them at a safe distance. Repeated listenings to the song have brought me to tears in way I have not allowed myself to feel since the telethon in September. I certainly prefer Bruce's approach to this subject to the knee-jerk reaction of "we'll put a boot in your ass, courtesy of the red white and blue" type of song that is already out there. Where is that attitude going to get us? Leave it to Bruce to strip out the politics and get down to the shared humanity of a situation. Thank God for people like him who can put into words and share what the rest of us struggle to come to grips with. Just my two cents....counting down to 7/30 with tour to follow! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 21:50:39 -0400 From: "Mitchell, Todd" Subject: what is "the rising?" great analysis on "the rising." the stuff i've read really puts the song into perspective and has made it, to me, a much more powerful and meaningful song. however, i've yet to read (or figure out) what exactly is "the rising?" is it "resurrection?" "insurrection?" is the chorus the Lord greeting those lost at heaven's gate? i am looking for more insight..... ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 04:02:19 EDT From: OmanIV@aol.com Subject: Etched in soup............... In a message dated 6/29/02 12:39:13 AM, owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org writes: << I'd like to know where it is carved in stone that this new song is ABSOLUTELY and EXCLUSIVELY about 9/11. >> Gee, Cheryl, you know, stonemasonry and stone carving are kind of a dying art; there was a program to teach promising teens and older from Harlem the craft to be able to work on the "eternal" (construction of) St. John the Divine Cathedral up by Columbia under the turillege of old Italian scultors. I understand they went down one day and chiseled it into the stone exterior of "Black Rock" the CBS headquarters on Sixth Ave. in NYC. :-) No one ever suggested that the Rising was abs. & exclu. about 9/11. or 911. (or .81, the decimal equivalent of nine elevenths ;-)) But according to (here's where the brain gets fuzzy about who but not what) Bruce or Steve or the Columbia press release, it rose up out of (you're going to get really tired of this phrase, hopefully, Bruce) the events of 9/11 and America's (and the world's) ability to deal with the impact it had on our lives. And here's my comment about what Arlen Schumer said. He was "Happy" with the lyrics of the Rising, but to me, the Rising is made from a slightly different cookie cutter in the same set that made "My City In Ruins". And as such, neither are going to have a major impact on my life. I'm still playing the song, and to me, it has it's own musical identity: I like the lead guiter for some reason, it's quite "listenable" if you don't hope for too much, and I never played MCIR more than a 'coupla times" (incl the TV version). "Code of Silence" , on the other hand, incredibly paralled, within days, something similar in my own life, and Bruce's ability to "observe" (without, of course, ever having any real knowledge of my life.) and articulate the situation, played a definite role in the events, and my decision to do what I did. How the hell did he know...... Well this is Weird New Jersey (If you've never seen it outside of NJ, WNJ's a GREAT magazine . Check out: << www.weirdnj.com >> and have fun. Don't forget to wave to Willie!!) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 09:40:36 -0400 From: JZellers@dhhs.state.nh.us Subject: The Rising After a few more listens I have to agree, in general, with Arlen regarding the predictability of The Rising. Something has been bothering me about the song; and I thought it was just the "la-la-la"s. Even some lyrical variation to the chorus would have added something, I think. I will say, though, that I like the way Bruce did the last verse, including the "dream of life" responses. And that lyrical references like "garden of a thousand sighs", when understood, do add significantly to the power of the song for me. I am trying to keep an open mind, as I have still not heard the song on a good stereo system. My hope is that there is more subtlety to the sound than I realize so far. I'm also hoping the rest of the album's songs will surprise me, as Bruce's music has in the past. I also agree with the person who disliked the album cover (I also didn't like the Tom Joad cover). I like the orange vertical title, with the letters becoming more translucent going from bottom to top. Very effective. I don't "understand" the photo, though. Or why it includes an out-of-focus picture of Bruce. Is this supposed to symbolize that he's confused, in shock, stunned, out-of-focus because there was an explosion as the picture was being taken...something else? In any case, it "doesn't work" - for me. John ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 10:02:10 -0400 From: Kevin Compton Subject: Arlen Schumer's Post Greetings all, Mainly a lurker, but Arlen's interesting post urged me to respond. There's many points to Arlen's argument that are surely debatable, I won't attempt to do so, as I'm sure many others will. Besides, he's just as entitled to not care for the new song as someone who likes it is entitled to do so. However, what jumped out at me more than his bashing of "The Rising" was the comment: "I only hope that maybe this, the title song, is not the strongest cut on the album, much like the rest of Bruce's albums with title cuts; with the possible exception of "Born to Run," you'd be hard pressed to claim the title cuts on any of Bruce's albums since to be the best cuts on their respective albums." Everyone think about that for a moment. He's referring to the songs "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "The River," "Nebraska," "Born in the USA," "Tunnel of Love," "Human Touch," "Lucky Town," and "The Ghost of Tom Joad." If my memory serves correctly, only Nebraska and Tunnel were not played on the last tour. Four of the tunes could have been considered regulars. Darkness, River, and BIUSA are three of the songs Bruce is most famous for. Tunnel and HT were both hits. I'm not saying that the title tracks are particularly my favorites on each album, however, an argument could be made for any of the above songs. It's not like Bruce has put out albums titled "Real Man" or "Crush on You." A person certainly wouldn't be "hard pressed" to lobby on behalf of any of the title tracks as among Bruce's best songs, much less the best on their respective albums. My personal opinion is that River, Tunnel, HT, LT and GOTJ are the best songs on their albums. A case could certainly be made for the others as well. My .02, Kevin PS: For the record, I wasn't quite sure what to make of The Rising on my first listen, which is often the case for me with a new piece of music. Every listen since has me more and more eager for the full album. - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.280 / Virus Database: 147 - Release Date: 09/11/2001 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 21:30:47 -0700 From: "Eric Douglas" Subject: The Rising/Music I agree with those who have said that as inspired as the lyrics to this song are, the music is equally uninspiring. Bruce's "dream of life" echoes at the end seem like afterthoughts, kind of annoying tags onto the end of the lines, especially after the first 3 or 4. The drums are good for about the first minute after they kick in, but the drumming under the guitar solo and the "spirits above and behind me" verse is particularly boring. But even more than that, if this song is about September 11, then some of the music seems incongruent. Exactly where does "li li li" fit into this context? In this context, most of the lyrics evoke hope among desperation, but the music seems a little too triumphant for that emotion. I think the music hints that while this song was inspired by that day, Bruce is intending for it to be about something larger than that - Badlands for the 50-somethings, if you will. Eric. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 06:10:06 +0200 From: "Meagher, Bill" Subject: The Rising Lyrics Here is my take on The Rising: This is a song of a NYC firefighter who dies in the WTC on 9/11. In the 1st verse, the firefighter is climbing the stairs of the WTC. He can't see anything in the smoke and is not sure where exactly in the building he is. The "60-pound stone" is his oxygen tanks and the "half-mile of line" is the fire hose. The 2nd verse is a flash back to how his day started. "Wheels of fire" refer to his fire engine speeding toward the WTC. In the 3rd verse, the firefighter has died and he is seeing the souls of the other 9/11 victims. In the 4th verse, his wife is standing at his grave. He wants to hold her and he his very confused about what has happened. "A dream of life" comes to him which helps simplify and clarify his situation (like how the simple joy of catching a fish can put our over-complicated lives in perspective). At first he views the loss of his life with great sadness ("blackness") and "sorrow". But then his life flashes before his eyes: good times ("love") and bad times("tears"); his triumphs ("glory") and failures ("sadness"); his faith/God ("mercy") and his "fears"; his memories and the things/dreams left unfullfilled("longing"). He realizes that in life there is always something missing ("emptiness") but that life after death/ heaven is complete ("fullness) and "blessed". Although I think the song is meant to be a remembrance of those lost in the WTC, it is really meant more as a celebration of life and faith that there is a life after death ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 21:09:28 -0700 From: "Eric Douglas" Subject: The Rising and September 11 > But isn't The Rising full of as specific references to 9/11 as American Skin > is to the Diallo shooting? I think that while The Rising does indeed make > direct refernce to 9/11, it could be seen to be a song about struggle in > general, about "rising" above terrible things, whatever they may be. But it > uses countless references to 9/11 and there is no doubt in my mind that it > does draw its inspiration from 9/11. > Granted, there are lines that evoke specific images. But nothing as explicit as the repeating phrase "41 shots" or "is it a gun/is it a knife/is it a wallet". One of the incredible things about the lyrics of The Rising is Bruce's ability to evoke different images for different people. The 60 pound stone, the garden of a thousand sighs, these can be different things - metaphorical half mile of line that ties us to our past, for example. The only phrases that I think unequivocally point to that day is the line "on wheels of fire I come rolling down here". The "cross of my calling" is decidedly vague - is it a cross, a fireman's helmet, or even a guitar? I agree that Bruce intentionally evokes 9/11 in this song, but I don't necessarily think it is a song only about that. Eric. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 11:10:02 -0400 From: Esther Beck Subject: The Rising and September 11 Bruce's lyrics are always open to the interpretation of the listener. You bring your own baggage to the hearing of any poem. So you can start with the understanding of what the poet wrote and where it came from and then open it up to the bigger picture. In that context I see The Rising as unquestionably about the events of September 11, spoken by one of the firefighters. When everyone was leaving the buildings, the firefighters were going in and climbing up, carrying heavy gear on their backs and hoses on their shoulders, among them Father Mychal Judge wearing the cross of his calling, riding the wheels of fire and rolling down to the disaster site. With that frame of reference you can expand the meaning of the song in any way you want. I believe that when Bruce wrote The Rising and many of the other songs we will soon hear he was devastated by the events of that horrible day and that is what he was writing about. I am a New Yorker - our lives in this area were changed irrevocably on September 11 and the effects remain with us. I heard that loud and clear in the lyrics of the song and in the sound of Bruce's voice when he is singing those words. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 08:02:26 -0400 From: "ALewis" Subject: The Rising I'm surprised to read a criticism of the song on construct. Bruce: "I don't really have a desire to to experiment for the sake of experimentation, because mainly what I'm trying to do is get an idea across. I wanted our thing to be content-oriented." (Glory Days) On that scale, I think the song is a magnificent success. I also agree with the others who have stated the need to be open-minded to different meanings. Bruce writes in intentionally open symbolic language, and anytime you're interpretting that, you make a big mistake by taking any line and saying it means ONLY one thing. There is no mistaking that this song is full of religious imagery, and 9/11 imagery as well. Anytime you see a reference to a mother Mary, you can be sure one meaning is religious. [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 14:05:39 +0300 (EET DST) From: Olli Pekka Haapakangas Subject: Heard it for the first time! Just heard "The Rising" for the first time and I must admit that I liked it, actually very much. I've been very sceptical about the E Street-Reunion, because I think the new material we heard in the last tour wasn't exceptionally good. I wasn't very enthusiastic either when I heard that most of the songs deal with the 9/11 tragedy. But this one... the composition is nice. Bruce really knows how to make good melodies with just two chords. I don't know how he manages to write songs like this and still sound original. Chorus is very effective and the "Li li li" verse sounds great. I really the harmonies in that song, plus the baritone guitar. I didn't like the "Dream of life" part, but fortunately it won't last long. So maybe we haven't lost Springsteen yet. Maybe it is time for the rising. Olli ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 04:44:09 -0400 From: GBPianoMan@aol.com Subject: Greetings from Ashbury Park? I was just on cdnow and noticed a new release in 2002 called (this may be a typo, if so, it's not my mix-up) "Greetings From Ashbury Park". I haven't seen this recording in any of the record stores I've been too and this is the first I've heard of it. The description says it contains 3 discs, all containing various Bruce songs which have been released before, mostly from the "early days" before The River album. Is anyone on the list familiar enough with this new release to know if it's a live recording or just a compilation of album tracks (a greatest hits album of sorts)? Not really worth buying for me if all it is, is a compilation of album tracks which I already have? Thanks for the help in advance! Brendon M. Carey ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 14:49:08 EDT From: CGreg96244@aol.com Subject: "Sad Eyes" cover If it's a female voice, it would be Trisha Yearwood. It's on her "Real Live Woman" CD. An excellent CD if you go for that kind of thing (I do). She has a great voice. Speaking of Springsteen covers by female artists, check out the new CD by Patti Griffin, 1000 Kisses, where she covers Stolen Car. It blends in seemlessly with her original material, which is, as always, excellent. In case you're wondering, Griffin does not change gender. It's still a "little girl" that the singer met and settled down with. Chip Gregory [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 22:38:18 -0400 From: "Linda Blue" Subject: Concert Tickets A friend and I need advice on the best way to get good seats for Bruce concerts when the tour starts. When and where should we start looking for tickets? Who will share some tips? Linda lndbl@carolina.rr.com [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 02:17:22 -0400 From: "Ron Cecchini" Subject: Springsteen Reference - Pete Yorn on Carson Daly (don't laugh, i don't watch Carson Daly ... it was on in the background in the next room ... when, amidst all the buzz & noise, my spider- like "Bruce senses" perked up (i hadn't even consciously heard/processed anything yet), i listened more intently, & i heard someone asking someone whether or not they were a Springsteen fan ...) (in paraphrase) Daly: "I thought if you were from Jersey you pretty much *had* to be a Springsteen fan?" Yorn: "No, I didn't even like Springsteen." Daly: "Who'd you listen to?" Yorn: "I grew up listening to Metallica, Judas Priest, Dokken ... I was a bit of a metal head. Then I got into The Smiths, The Cure, Joy Division - all that British romantic stuff. Then Springsteen." (which i thought was way cool, as i haven't heard of too many other people like myself who, while worshipping Springsteen, are also former/current metalheads as well as goth/ romo/new wave/synthpop weenies ... usually the 3 are pretty much mutually exclusive.) Anyway... He played his cover of "China Girl", & another tune whose name escapes me at the moment. Ron (who wishes he paid more attention last year at the Pony & went indoors to listen to "that Pete Yorn guy ... who is he again?") ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 04:52:20 -0400 From: Tom Ross Subject: A&E Greetings, I have seen it suggested on here lately about the possibility of Bruce doing the A&E show Live by Request, while I think this would be great, and fully support the drive to get people to push this idea, the A&E show I would really like to see do an episode on Bruce is Biography. I have seen so many far lesser artists profiled on this show, I think it is about time for Bruce. For my next suggestion, The Kennedy Center Honors, but ....well later on. Tom in Vegas ------------------------------ End of LuckyTown Digest V9 #27 ****************************** ********************************************************************* ** LuckyTown WWW URL ** The LuckyTown FAQ, back issues, web-based subscription/unsubscription, and many other things can be found on the LuckyTown WWW Page: http://www.luckytown.org ** LuckyTown mailing list addresses ** You can send email to go into the next LuckyTown Digest to: luckytown@luckytown.org You can send email to go into the next LuckyTown-Ads Digest to: luckytown-ads@luckytown.org Any questions for the list admin should be emailed to: owner-luckytown@luckytown.org To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@luckytown.org with message body: unsubscribe luckytown-digest To get further information on how to subscribe/unsubscribe/change your subscription address, as well as the other available commands, send email to majordomo@luckytown.org with message body: help ********************************************************************* The contents of this digest are not necessarily approved by the list admin.