The Springsteen Thing

He's beloved by critics and classic rock fans, indie hipsters and Joe Sixpack, liberals and conservatives, the old guard and a new generation of bands.  Yours truly, of course, is one of millions of fanatics.  What is it about Bruce Springsteen? How can so many people (with completely different backgrounds) continue to be drawn to him for well over 30 years now?

The image above (along with Fallon's Emmy skit, Vampire Weekend covering a track off Born in the USA and having listened to several Johnny Cash covers over the past few weeks) is what led me to create this post.  The highlighted quote is from one of my favorite music review sites out of Amsterdam... Subbacultcha!  They NEVER talk of mainstream artists like Bruce, but it's my belief that Springsteen occupies a very rare space in the music world. He's simultaneously one of the most commercially-successful artists of all time and one of the most respected. He's one of the biggest names on the planet, but he doesn't walk around with bodyguards and stays clear of the limelight. He's private, but extremely approachable. He's revered, but feels like one of us. The paparazzi even tend to leave him alone.  He's a difficult cat to categorize.  

It's hard to be "cool" and admit to liking someone so popular.  Even those that confess to being into Bruce will say something like, "I hate Born in the USA, but his early stuff is good - especially Nebraska."  Uh huh. Yeah, well... they like Born in the USA, too; they just prefer to throw out album names that won't cause people to roll their eyes in disgust.  Why, then, is it so hard to embrace popular music?  I heard "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus today and I remember liking it when it first came out.  It's a good song.  We're ashamed to cop to it because, well... it's Miley Cyrus.  Springsteen is somehow able to straddle multiple worlds.  He can pick up an acoustic guitar and sing at a presidential inauguration, headline both the Super Bowl and Bonnaroo and then jam at a local club on the Jersey Shore - sans entourage.