Last night Bruce Springsteen played the Superbowl halftime show. He played "10th Avenue Freeze Out," "Born to Run," "Working on a Dream," and "Glory Days." While filled with the Boss's signature energy and stage magic (including an awkward slide into the stage camera), the performance might have represented the end of era for Bruce Springsteen: the era of independent, Man-fighting rock n' roll righteousness. To see him on television axing for a nation that only knows three of his songs broke my heart. The Superbowl has come to represent all things popular, yuppie, and middle/upper class. Why, oh why, would the voice of rock n' roll purity, the man who gave soul to the working class in the 1970s and true coolness in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, play a venue that will encourage 14 year-old girls to download his ringtone today? It seems as if instead of remembering his core fans (the men and women of America's hardknock cities and towns; think Cleveland, Newark, Detroit, etc.), he has opted to give his music filled with words for those born in "deadman's town[s]" to folks who will think that losing their 401K or their Jaguar equate to life kicking them in the junk.
Some might say that by agreeing to perform in the Superbowl in America's hour of need he has reached out to an America hurting the way it was when his "Born to Run" and "Born in the USA" albums debuted. Maybe these folks will say that by playing at the Superbowl, Springsteen garnered a pulpit for himself that reached the maximum number of his core fans. If that is true, then answer me this: why have Springsteen's ticket prices ($139 a pop) risen to the point where they now exclude those folks who made him great?
I apologize if my words are out of line. But I speak as a Cleveland native who grew up hearing from friends, family, and the ever-present radio that true freedom lies in living life with the abandon that Springsteen's music represents. Hopefully the Boss's night hooking up with pop culture is just a one night stand. Hopefully he will press on and continue to produce music that speaks to the soulful wanderer in all of us - the teenager deep down inside who wants to grab his motorcycle and leather jacket and ride through the chilly summer air.
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