From: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org (LuckyTown Digest) To: luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Subject: LuckyTown Digest V9 #97 Reply-To: luckytown@luckytown.org Sender: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Errors-To: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Precedence: bulk LuckyTown Digest Monday, October 21 2002 Volume 09 : Number 097 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: FW: Bruce Springsteen's New Video "Lonesome Day" Set For Debut ["Kevin Ki] Bruce review. Daily Telegraph - Paris show ["Robert Gower" ] Paris show ,now come on!! ["j.robertson9" ] Fw: Lyrics - The Rising ["Geoff Spurr" ] Bologna show [Roberto Sasso ] Playin' it safe? ["Matej Krajnc" ] Barcelona's Language [] more on Mary's Place [mrchang@it.net.au (Paul & Monika Chang)] Bruce on WFUV on Friday, Oct. 25 ["Jacky Abromitis" ] LTD turns political/Re: Subject: the Bruce Politik [amy w Subject: FW: Bruce Springsteen's New Video "Lonesome Day" Set For Debut From brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen's New Video "Lonesome Day" Set For Debut First video from #1 album 'The Rising,' directed by Mark Pellington. Features new live vocal track. Video has been added to MTV, MTV2 and VH-1 playlists, and is set to begin airing during the week of October 21, 2002. Bruce Springsteen is set to debut the first video from his new album 'The Rising.' The video, for "Lonesome Day," has officially been added to playlists at MTV, MTV2 and VH-1 and will begin airing during the week of October 21. "Lonesome Day" was shot in and around Asbury Park, NJ by director Mark Pellington, known for his pioneering work in music video and film. Pellington has directed landmark videos for Pearl Jam ("Jeremy"), U2 ("One"), Nine Inch Nails ("We're in This Together") and more, as well as the films 'Arlington Road' and 'The Mothman Prophecies.' "Lonesome Day" features a completely new vocal track. During each take, Springsteen performed the vocals live on camera, which 'The Rising' producer Brendan O'Brien edited and mastered for the final cut of the video. "The most striking thing about making this video was the fact that Bruce sang every take live, nailing the vocal take after take, each time," said Pellington. "The final take came 16 hours after the first one, and he never missed a note." The debut of the "Lonesome Day" video from 'The Rising' follows up several other prominent recent television appearances for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The band performed the album's title song at the MTV Video Music Awards in August, and opened "Saturday Night Live's" new season on October 5 with a live performance of two new songs. They are set to play live on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" on December 11. Springsteen's Columbia Records CD, 'The Rising,' his first album of new songs with the E Street Band since 1984, was released July 30, 2002. The record debuted at number one on the album charts in eleven different countries, including the United States, and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA. The band is currently on the European leg of its world tour, and will return to the U.S. with a November 3 show in Dallas, TX. Mark Pellington's breakout video for Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" earned him four MTV Video Music Awards (including Best Director and Video of the Year) and a Billboard Video Music Award. Since then, he has directed a number of trailblazing videos, designed the video backdrops for U2's "ZooTV" tour, and directed two successful feature films: 'Arlington Road,' starring Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges, and 'The Mothman Prophecies,' starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 11:51:13 +0100 From: "Robert Gower" Subject: Bruce review. Daily Telegraph - Paris show The Boss has the power (Filed: 16/10/2002) Neil McCormick reviews Bruce > Springsteen at the Palais Omnisport, Paris > In the rock and roll pantheon, Bruce Springsteen is the Boss. There are no > regal aspirations in this title, despite the perception that Springsteen > is one of the few stars worthy of stepping into the blue suede shoes of > Elvis Presley, the King. > << OLE Object: Picture (Metafile) >> > Sleeves rolled up: Bruce Springsteen justifies his reputation as master of > the big rock and roll show > Bruce is content to be perceived as a working man, albeit one who has > risen to the modest position of friendly foreman of his E Street crew, a > small workforce of dedicated musical mechanics. He arrives on stage with > the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, as if ready to get his hands dirty. > For all that, there is nothing workmanlike about a Springsteen > performance. He is a master of the big rock and roll show: in structure, > pacing, arrangements, passion and sheer, unquantifiable charisma, time and > again he justifies his reputation as head honcho. > His latest tour, which has just rolled into Europe after a stint on the > road in the US (and arrives in the UK next week), opens with The Rising, > the title track of his recent album > . It is a big, climactic > epic of death and redemption that, in any one else's hands, would be a > show-stopper rather than a show-starter. Where does he go from here, one > wonders, as he wrings the last drop of sentiment from this blockbuster? > It is a question you find yourself asking throughout the show, as he > segues from one tour de force to another, detonating potentially > devastating emotional and musical explosions with exhausting frequency. > Yet he always seems to have an answer tucked up one of those rolled-up > sleeves. Judicious sequencing of old and new songs, together with inspired > arrangements that give space for the individual components to breathe, > allows Springsteen to take his enraptured audience on a rollercoaster > journey. > An opening salvo of rockers is a defiant celebration of American values > under attack. Springsteen takes things down for a mournful Empty Sky and > You're Missing, songs that acknowledge the pain of his countrymen in the > wake of the terrible events of last year. He seems wracked with torture > delivering these ballads, yet for the next number he picks himself and > everyone in the arena up with a joyfully bright Waiting on a Sunny Day, > launching into a sequence of pure rock celebration with an enormous smile > on his face. > There is a strong gospel element to much of the new material, which forms > the core of the show. Springsteen often stands hands aloft, like a > lightning rod for the spirit of music, and sometimes implores the audience > to raise their hands, which they do en masse, punching out musical > climaxes. He sings of rebuilding the broken spirit of his people "with > these hands" on My City of Ruins. There are shades of a revivalist > meeting, with Springsteen as the rock and roll minister. > He is, of course, preaching to the converted. His audience, like the > immaculately groomed and much balding band, have mostly settled into > comfortable middle age. When he asks if we want to dance and invites us to > a "house party", he is talking about an old-fashioned front-room shindig, > not a rave full of pumping techno. But any young pretenders to the > showbusiness crown would do well to learn from the Boss. > He may have a gruff voice and work within a quite limited and > old-fashioned range of American musical forms, yet he is among the rarest > of performers: someone who can play for two and a half hours and leave his > audience craving more. And as he stands, drenched in sweat at the end of > the performance, beaming through his exhaustion, you just know he would > give more if he had it. > > [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 10:27:38 +0200 From: "Giorgio Malucelli" Subject: Australian fans alert! Got a chance to talk to Max in Bologna. Said that after this stretch of tour he'll be back with Conan O'Brien for a couple of months, then the band is very likely to tour Australia in March. No worries, Giorgio ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 17:46:40 +0100 From: "j.robertson9" Subject: Paris show ,now come on!! To me, the Paris Show was 1st class - not inch perfect - but that's how a live concert should be; blood, sweat & tears. I will see postings here, soon, of people requesting/wishing that tapes of "The Rising" C.D. be played at the concert's so not one note is missed. If you're at a Bruce concert and listening out for the odd note being missed, give your ticket to a real fan and sit at home and play the album in your front room instead, you will save yourself a lot of stress, personaly i think you're missing out on so ,so much. As for lighting up the old "Cigarette" debate , the last thing i want is someone nearly standing in my pocket for 3 hours blowing smoke down my lungs, so let hope all smoking is banned in London, so we can all enjoy more years listening to Bruce, and i would think the non smoker's in the band would apprecite it as well. non smoker CATFISH Jim see yer in LONDON!! [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 20:02:27 +0100 From: "Geoff Spurr" Subject: Fw: Lyrics - The Rising - ----- Original Message ----- From: Geoff Spurr To: luckytown@luckkytown.org Sent: Sunday, October 20, 2002 2:19 PM Subject: Lyrics - The Rising I've been following with interest the various debates about the interpretation of the lyrics from The Rising since the album was released and decided to send my own thoughts in my first post. Apologies if somone else has already posted similar conclusions. The Rising - I feel strongly that the third verse, although rich in metaphor, describes the actual moment when the fire fighter and the hundreds/thousands around him in the tower die and enter heaven. When the meaning of the lyrics hit me it sent a shiver down my spine. Paradise - at first I felt uncomfortable with two completely different stories in the same song, but then I began to look at it as two equally misguided and false visions of Paradise, from two sides of the fence, the suicide bomber and the victim. The first one is obvious, in the second one the victim's widow kills herself to join her husband in Paradise but she doesn't find peace and the song finishes with her body floating in the river. Does anybody else agree with me? Just got back from the Paris and Barcelona shows and was genuinely shocked at how much they exceeded my expectations. This is an amazing tour. [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 16:32:52 +0200 From: Roberto Sasso Subject: Bologna show Wow! It's impossible to describe a show like this! The interaction between Bruce and the audience was unbelievable. When we heard Night and Something In The Night as third and fourth song, we knew we were in for a special night. Just a few notes: - - the slow songs (Empty Sky and You're Missing) were very moving, and Bruce easily obtained the necessary silence, after asking for it in Italian (Bruce also said "Mi mancano i fans italiani" - I'm missing the Italian fans"). You're Missing was dedicated (in Italian) to Francesco ("we'll miss him"); probably Bruce was referring to Francesco Virlinzi, an Italian promoter who died recently - - Waitin' On A Sunny Day was a party: at the beginning of the song all the audience started singing, and Soozie had an astonished look; at the end, Bruce was forced to start a reprise, as the crowd was still singing along after the song was over - - during Mary's Place, Bruce said: "Are you ready for a house party? NEW JERSEY STYLE! But if you wanna have a house party, the music's got to be..." then Bruce stopped and let the audience shout "RIGHT"! Later in the song, he asked for silence but he couldn't get it completely, so he gave up and said "Tutto bene" ("All right"). - - The planned solo song was Lost In The Flood, according to the handwritten setlist. Bruce chose to play For You instead, and asked Patti and Soozie to join him, catching them by surprise; after a moment of hesitation, Patti and Nils joined in (Patti gave Bruce a "you're crazy" look), to sing some back vocals at the end of the song; beautiful rendition. - - Before starting Born To Run, Bruce repeatedly shouted "All aboard", making the gesture of a train whistle, promptly imitated by the audience. Elliott Murphy joined in, for the second time after Paris (this time he knew the chords...) - - Stand On It was awesome: Roy played a looong solo, then Bruce and the band entered the stage hiding themselves, and Bruce appeared behind Roy, patting his back as if to say "OK Roy, you can stop now" - - the collective "butt shaking" by the band during Ramrod was hilarious; Bruce even put a rose in his mouth, and wore a hat launched by a guy in the audience - - Born In The USA was introduced in Italian (translation: "I wrote this song about the Vietnam War; I am singing it tonight as a prayer for peace"). The song featured an extra long solo by Bruce - - after Thunder Road was over, the house ligths were on, but the crowd started singing the melody of the sax solo. Bruce came out and played the piano for one more priceless minute. Great show, great Bruce, great E Street Band! All aboard, next stop London (for me). CIAO! Roberto Sasso "Faith will be rewarded" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 14:05:28 +0200 From: "Matej Krajnc" Subject: Playin' it safe? Hi, this is just to support the ones thinking that Bruce did not at all want to play it safe and "just sell records". He just has a different songwriting approach and aspect than Earle. Both CDs are great and revealing. Bruce's is more on a "healing" side, while Steve's is more on a "finger-pointing" side, I think. We need both sides. And, besides that, it's interesting to see how two great modern songwriters handle the theme. I'd like to see and hear another aspect: the one of the great Tom Waits. But he probably felt that the market is full of this. Well, in a way he did write his own aspect of it; listen to some songs on his Blood Money CD. His statements "there is nothing kind about men" and "everything goes to hell anyway" are not about the Event itself, but they speak both ways - Earle's and Bruce's. Matej from Slovenia ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 06:26:38 -0500 (CDT) From: Subject: Barcelona's Language Just for the information of the non-local fans all over the world who had the opportunity of watching the Barcelona show on MTV, the language Bruce used between songs was Catalan. Catalan is the language spoken in Catalonia, an ancient nation oppressed by the Spanish Empire since too long ago. Actually, one of our presidents was executed 62 years ago by the Spanish army right next to Palau Sant Jordi, where the concert was cellebrated. I just want to thank Bruce for respecting our language and culture, and also for giving us the opportunity to experience such an amazing concert. COME ON UP FOR THE RISING, Adolf Ferreres P.S. king of spain's daughter was between the audience, and seemed to really enjoy the show. They still may have an opportunity... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 04:07:14 +0800 From: mrchang@it.net.au (Paul & Monika Chang) Subject: more on Mary's Place Hi all, From the first time I had a close listen, I've always interpreted MP as a song about a party/rememberance, days after the departed ones, well, departed. One big, rollicking rememberance party to remember the departed. It's held at Mary's place, the singer's lost partner. When I originally posted this to RMAS a couple of months ago, I described it as a "wake", and someone said that you can't have a wake without a body. However, tell that to the many people who have lost loved ones and had rememberances without the body being there. Here's why I think MP has many layers and isn't just a simple good-time R&R song: 1st verse: 7 pictures of Buddha, angels, mentions of prophets, "pullin' all the faith I can see" --> all of these references seem to me that the singer is organising a big party, one where all faiths are catered for. The narrator is the one still here on earth because "my heart's dark, but it's rising" - he's the one who is missing Mary. 1st chorus: the refrains of "let it rain" seem to me a call to let out all of one's emotion that one might have over their departed friends. "How do we get this thing started?" --> How do we liven up the rememberance so that all of the good things about the departed get remembered and celebrated? 2nd verse: familiar faces, laughter, loving grace surrounding me, everybody's here --> all of Mary's friends gathered to remember Mary (and perhaps anyone else who is lost and missing). "Furniture out on the front porch", "music's up loud" --> that's how "you get this thing started": Rock 'n roll! 2nd chorus: the key line of the whole song to me is "Tell me how do you live broken-hearted?" --> As one who remains in this world, dealing with one's loss, how do we get on with our own lives after such tragic loss? 3rd verse: "I got a picture of you in my locket, I keep it close to my heart" "leading me through the dark"--> the singer's memory of the lost loved one is giving him/her the faith to go on. "seven days, seven candles in my window lighting your way" --> aren't rememberances usually held about a week or so after the person departs, or in the case of when something catastropic happens, when one gets _confirmation_ that someone close has departed. The seven days, seven candles lighting your way are there for the spirit of the departed; a signpost even. "your (Mary's) favorite record's on the turntable" --> singer's calling out another source of faith, one more secular than the ones mentioned in the first verse: the all powerful faith in Rock 'n Roll to lift the spirits! Excellent! 3rd chorus: "turn it up" so that everyone's spririts are lifted at Mary's place. Let's remember the departed. Like I said, MP's works for me, interpreted as a song about a rememberance party to remember the departed. On more than a few occasions, I think of my departed dad when I've listened to this song. Cheers, Paul ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2002 20:04:26 -0400 From: "Jacky Abromitis" Subject: Bruce on WFUV on Friday, Oct. 25 http://www.wfuv.org/wfuv/listings/index.html FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25 * 6 AM-8 PM, City Folk: We spotlight a remarkable career - Bruce Springsteen. * Noon, Under the Covers: Cover versions of songs written by Bruce Springsteen. You kind find the link to listen to WFUV from their home page at http://www.wfuv.com/. Jacky Readington Twp, NJ [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2002 11:22:51 -0400 From: amy w Subject: LTD turns political/Re: Subject: the Bruce Politik I don't believe I'm alone in saying that Bruce's music, inherently personal and universal, is innately political. That much has been said before on the digest. Both GOTJ and The Rising were both advertised and reviewed in The Nation. His work is treated by the likes of EL Doctorow (NYT) among other political observers and social critics. Not to mention Alterman's (nation columnist) book. It is all the more interesting that Bruce does not come out overtly on issues (maybe that is becoming less so) but forces fans and critics to locate him politically, ideologically--letting the songs speak for themselves. There are many readings available. Nothing new with respect to the civil liberties admonition that serves as intro to BITUSA. Therefore, I have to respectfully but vehemently disagree with Jon Mendez' response (in LTD #94). He wrote: > Subject: the Bruce Politik > > Paul Fischer's question as to Bruce's comments forced me to respond in LTD to > what I feel is out-of-line in Bruce's dialogue with his crowds. At the Philly > show Bruce was talking about how it is necessary and we should demand for our > country to hold debate about going into War (Iraq). His words and tone of > voice > basically implying that this debate was not happening. Well either Bruce > hasn't > read the papers lately or he is misinformed. The debate he's calling for is > exactly what has been going on in Congress the past week. > I feel that it would be out-of-line for Bruce *not* to say *something*. This debate is *not* happening, except at the grassroots, where it is not covered. Worse, it is being suppressed. I didn't go to Phil., but I have been alert to these speeches since opening night. At Boston, where one of the largest cheers came on the heels of "an eye for an eye," he expanded the content to encourage thoughtfulness about the situation building from within the top tiers of our government toward Iraq. I think his cautionary stance is very much in line. First, if people on this list know that Congress is engrossed in this issue, I think we can be sure that Bruce is probably pretty well informed on the subject matter and the fact that Congress is --what word do I use, because deliberating and debating is really not that accurate. All but a few senators and representatives who feel "safe" enough (electorally, etc.) to vote their conscience (or have the knowledge, intelligence, and experience to analyze and separate the bundled issues) read *canned* speeches tailored to the midterm election polls or their larger political aspirations (and I'm very much a defender of democratic government, but...). Real debate on this topic has not happened. > Bruce should have couched his comments differently and he wouldn't have > sounded > so foolish. What about saying how great it is that our country IS debating the > issue. First, I think because he voiced a social concern as broadly as possible--be vigilant about our civil liberties and attentive to civil rights violations (paraphrased), he did not come off as pedantic, patronizing, or otherwise foolish. Second, Jon, I think your argument really misses the point if it questions *Bruce Springsteen's* *patriotism*. Yes, as someone else has pointed out in another post (on the Steve Earle song), he probably does not want to alienate Republican consumers. But that likely applies to political ideas as well as pop music. I think the last thing B.S. the artist wants to do is make or change people's political opinions. he is less polemical for commercial, as well as logical/stratig/stylistic, reasons. Maybe he even hopes to expand his listeners' (and his own) viewpoints, flesh out various perspectives they may not be able to see from their (or his own) vantage point. Or maybe he does want to "convert" Republican buyers. >Why the negative tone to his comments? Why all the talk about how bad > this country is? > I did not hear anything in his tone, and none of his words said or alluded to anything negative about this country--not even the negative aspects of overconsumption and a lifestyle (which includes putting on and attending rock concerts) that exerts negative economic and health effects on people from other countries, not to mention cultural violence to ways of living that may differ. I also think it is false and off the mark, at cross purposes if you will, to bring in the "blame-America-first" argument that many critics (generally on the right) have carefully (and passive-aggressively) crafted to aim at people who have called for self-reflection and a level playing field ever since (even before) 9-11. Every person and community needs to individually and collectively address the issue of how the way we live impacts other countries and foments anti-(U.S. North) American sentiment abroad. The whole "America-is-#1" premise (Reagan, Bush I) does not work here. I doubt that anyone that has called for self-reflection thinks or has said this country is bad. Critics of the current and previous administration, point to a whole host of problem--from voting rights infractions to executive privilege abuses (e.g., gutting the freedom of information Act), to Operation Tips and the rising McCarthyism, none of which are driven by public opinion and all of which are the product of an administration that did not get the majority of votes--in an act of patriotism. Questioning government authority is as pariotic as it gets. Our country was founded on questioning government. You can agree in the final analysis, or speak out. But assuming that the leadership is right without thinking about it independently is dangerous. Seems like that was also a famous intro that Bruce once used to War. Such criticism does not state or imply that our country is bad. But seeks to make it a better (fairer) place. Bruce's politics are "nobody wins..."--clearly, an anti-elitist, popular democratic point of view. Inclusive logic. >You want talk about "civil rights" Bruce? Why not mention > the > rape, torture and murder of Iraqi citizens that dare speak out against the > Iraqi regime? While I think Bruce is talking about global (human) civil rights, it may be useful to remember the context. He was introducing BITUSA--vigilance and dissent are the natural domain, "it comes with the turf," when you are born in the usa, he said. He reworked the song in a subversive way last tour to show that the songwriter gets the last laugh (or something pretty close). He introduced a (politicized) tune at a time of growing anxiety--and polarization. Urging fans to think about the situation we have gotten ourselves in--or that our government has gotten us into--is so American I thought that was beyond mention. While we are all concerned for not just Iraqi dissidents but human (and nonhuman?) rights everywhere, it is pivotal to look at what is happening here right now. As Dave marsh's post stated more eloquently than I, dissent in this country is squelched and consent manufactured. After 9/11, we indulged in new SUVs, rather than move to an energy based on renewable, domestic sources--can't we sacrifice one extra trip to McDonald's or the grocery store rather than ANWAR's caribou breeding grounds, off of which indigenous populations still subsist to some extent? Last week, Gephardt came to Maine to campaign for a race here. The Maine State police--in collaboration with Congressional security--walked around photographing anti-war protesters. This attempt to intimidate dissent is rampant. And that's the tip of the iceberg, since polarization about electoral and justice issues follows specific events. What about the steady undercurrent? What about the disappeared generation of imprisoned minorities? I respect Bruce for telling the same crowd that cheered way too loudly for the line "I want an eye for an eye" to think. He didn't tell them what or how. He includes (and legitimizes) that very human emotion, but that's ebcause the person ultimately wants a kiss from her lips... Though I read, I have never been to Iraq. I don't know first-hand what it's like. Will another Gulf War ameliorate the problems its citizens face? A lot of people may have been concerned about the daily problems and indignities its people have suffered since Gulf War I, but it did not make our country's list of urgent foreign policy priorities, stopping sanctions, or going to war again. What about afterward? Our government left its dissidents high and dry the last time around. And we haven't followed through in Afghanistan. Changing the precedent for military deployment seems very short-sighted. But I digress. I did not detect any negativity, or condescension, in Bruce's comments. He is purposefully vague, reminding me of his intro to Dead Man Walking in Atlanta, when there were abolitionist groups making their case in the halls. to make their case at a concert (Atlanta ) on the reunion tour. His comments allow for a continuum of viewpoints based on concrete rationale--and getting the facts straight. > Bruce would be wise to remember that in Iraq and all of the other > dictatorships > and communist countries he would have been throw in jail (or worse) a long > time > ago for not only espousing his political viewpoints but just for singing his > songs! That was not necessarily a long time ago--what about the Egyptian professor recently imprisoned for 7 years of hard labor for raising democratic concerns in Cairo (a country whose leader is an ally of ours). Will staying silent here help improve human rights anywhere? IMO, Bruce's speech only substantiates your argument, by reminding everyone that the government belongs to the electorate, and civil liberties are its foundation. > > No one is attending a Bruce show for a political lesson. They are concerts not > political rallies. Talking about poverty, hunger, people being out of work and > rebuilding run down cities and towns is one thing. But when you start talking > from the concert stage about issues concerning a War that our country is > currently involved due to the murder of 3,000 American's in a single day you > are walking on a dangerous line and you better have your facts straight. No one attends for political purposes, or lessons. But many go for "larger" reasons than a house party (if there are any), investing their own hard-earned money in something that enables Bruce to live as he does, produce more music, and give to causes he chooses. Advocating that people who might not even vote (because they think it's a waste of time) protect this country's core values isn't getting any facts wrong. He simply warns, hey, don't we need to be sure that what our government does it does with the people's consent and in the interest of the greater good--not a narrow circle of elites who live unsustainably and seek to own or control oil fields. i didn't sit down to dinner with Viet Nam in the background, but this country's polarizing a little the way history books and people who lived it talk about it. maybe he's seen enough to be able to say to his "friends" hey let's not let this country be taken over and turned into a dictatorship right before our very eyes. Our elections now require monitoring that we've previously appointed ourselves to oversee in other countries--there is a huge confidence and trust gap between the peopple and government. When do we officially become a banana republic? > > My bottom line is if Bruce feels the need to talk about the War on Terror from > the stage I'd like to hear more positive comments about what makes America > great and how we should preserve those liberties for all generations and help > inspire them for all peoples rather than how awful we are. I'd like to see how much the text of his speech in Philly changed from Boston, where he did exactly that. I am not aware of him downing our country. But IMO, the songs comment about what makes America great--and the whole world listens to him. Time for a major disclaimer--this reaction has been written off the cuff. I hope it does not offend anyone, it's not meant to be personal. It's just my own thinking. Thanks for reading if you made it this far without exploding. Peace, Amy > > ------------------------------ End of LuckyTown Digest V9 #97 ****************************** ********************************************************************* ** 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.