Can somebody explain to me the Springsteen popularity?

The same Jon Landau who, within a year of writing those words, ended up managing Bruce and producing his records starting with "Born to Run," tasks that have undoubtedly made him a very wealthy man in his own right.

A cynic might say Landau didn't see rock's future that night as much as he saw his own future - flush with dollar signs. Things that make you go hmmmmmm......

 

Hell, the Beach Boys even bummed themselves out.

 

But Brian Wilson's crippling depression nearly killed him several times.

 

They took the hit for their fans.

 

A classic concert that has thankfully stood the test of time and is available in fantastic sound on bootlegs.

 

Not really, considering that the story of how Landau became Springsteen's manager has been told and re-told a couple hundred times over the years.

 

Junkie to the white courtesy phone ... Junkie ...

 

Sorry for the confusion, but Landau was a frequent RS contributor.
I was merely pointing out that Springsteen never rose to the Elvis/Beatles/Stones/Zeppelin/Who/U2 stratosphere. Certainly no shame in that. But a lot of his fans bow up when you suggest he's not only that level.

 

I look at Bruce in one of two ways. One one hand he's a solid performer who gives the people what they want in terms of a rock 'n' roll show. Despite his vast sums of money he remains down to earth and continues to engage in matters that matter to those who are regular people. From what I gather he works hard and doesn't rest on his laurels. His bandmates (esp. Little Steven) have a significant appreciation of rock's past and do a lot to boost the profile of certain acts that would be otherwise be lost with the passage of time.

That said, Springsteen hit his stride just as the punk thing in the USA was firing up. While many of the Boss's dark themes mirrored those of the punk persuasion, his music and personality fit nicely into the fat cat burnout FM jock's plans to hold onto this putrid level of classic rock for many decades to come. While many see the above WMMS album as something to champion, WMMS was (and continues to be) a piece of shit station that snubbed and essentially ruined many great local and regional acts in Ohio. The E-Street Band's songs, with its whimsical piano and saxophone parts, were safe and largely non-threatening for the radio. His concerts exciting? Sure...but so were shows from the Clash, Ramones, Dictators and whoever the hell else was changing the perception of what rock was at the time. The E-Street's success was due to a lot of luck. Most fans won't admit it, but if the radio DJs of the 70s had championed the stuff Little Steven does today on his radio show, Springsteen might still be playing halls instead of stadiums.

 

Great rock 'n' roll usually makes you want to break something or throw something. I am not so moved with him.

 

I like Springsteen, but not as much as I feel like I should. I feel the same way about Radiohead -- I like some of it, but I don't get the big deal.