In what way is he arrogant? What makes him a clown? As for his albums, continuing to do political material would have made him a bore. Don't get me wrong, I of course agree that branching out and doing interesting work as an actor is completely unacceptable.
Arrogant or not is of course a matter of opinion. For the last 10 years (give or take a couple) I have found him arrogant and full of himself on twitter and in interview remarks on different subjects. When he's playing live with The E Street Band I get the impression that he's ill prepared.
On Steven - At the time I prefered Men Without Women over Born in the USA. On the following albums I thought the music took a back seat for the politics but it was still ok. Then came the Sopranos. Steven got fat and lost all political interest what so ever. Today, he's an arrogant clown in my eyes. It's hard to believe it's the same person.
I'm guilty of having lost track of Steven's work. But I saw a live show from a recent tour on TV a few months ago, and it was a lot of fun. And I still enjoy listening to Men Without Women and, especially, Voice of America.
I don't think I am terribly keen on anybody mentioned in this thread, Bob Seeger being the one exception, although I haven't listened to him in years. Either I have never really listened to them, John Mellencamp, am indifferent to, SSJ and SVZ (apart from when he"s with ESB, obvs) or actively dislike, U2, Bon Jovi, The Killers and was Billy Joel mentioned somewhere?
I am actually beginning to feel as if my tastes are too narrow!
Of those listed above, I’ve always struggled with U2, but I love Seeger, Mellancamp, Southside and SRV. Completely indifferent to Bon Jovi and The Killers.
I can't stand The Killers save for a couple of tunes but one band Bruce fans seem to really love that I wasn't keen on but growing into a bit of a fan is War On Drugs. The more I hear some of the non-radio tracks the more I hear the greatness.
@Bill Zebub Pleased to hear this... He has released many great records over the years but I absolutely concur that Life, Death, Love and Freedom is a recent near masterpiece. One of my top 3 of his for sure. Must have been a great show. He is not Bruce on stage, for sure, but as you say his band is superb, many (the guitarist for one) having been with him for decades and it's all about the music for him. No fancy lights or theatrics.
Going way back, I had no use for Mellencamp. But in 2009 he and Willie Nelson were the opening acts for a Bob Dylan show that took place in my hometown of New Britain, CT. He played for about 45 minutes, and was funny and self-deprecating. His band was hot, the show was well-paced, and while he could easily have burned through 45 minutes of hits, he featured songs from his most recent album. The album was Life, Death, Love and Freedom, and when he mentioned that it was produced by T-Bone Burnett, I decided to buy it. The next day I drove around listening and shaking my head. I not only bought a 'Cougar' album but was really enjoying it and relating to it? Yow. I didn't go back and explore the back catalog, but I have respect for the guy.
Mellencamp in interviews make me laugh my ass off, he is so freaking funny. And self-deprecating is right, makes fun of himself all the time. The sincerity of it all makes it funnier.
In what way is he arrogant? What makes him a clown? As for his albums, continuing to do political material would have made him a bore. Don't get me wrong, I of course agree that branching out and doing interesting work as an actor is completely unacceptable.
On Steven - At the time I prefered Men Without Women over Born in the USA. On the following albums I thought the music took a back seat for the politics but it was still ok. Then came the Sopranos. Steven got fat and lost all political interest what so ever. Today, he's an arrogant clown in my eyes. It's hard to believe it's the same person.
I'm guilty of having lost track of Steven's work. But I saw a live show from a recent tour on TV a few months ago, and it was a lot of fun. And I still enjoy listening to Men Without Women and, especially, Voice of America.
I'm just gonna sit over here with my Seger, Mellencamp, Southside Johnny and Little Steven records and glare at a few of you.
I don't think I am terribly keen on anybody mentioned in this thread, Bob Seeger being the one exception, although I haven't listened to him in years. Either I have never really listened to them, John Mellencamp, am indifferent to, SSJ and SVZ (apart from when he"s with ESB, obvs) or actively dislike, U2, Bon Jovi, The Killers and was Billy Joel mentioned somewhere?
I am actually beginning to feel as if my tastes are too narrow!
Of those listed above, I’ve always struggled with U2, but I love Seeger, Mellancamp, Southside and SRV. Completely indifferent to Bon Jovi and The Killers.
Bob Seger has been mentioned before but I'd like to mention him again to rub it in. Then Southside Johnny of course.
I can't stand The Killers save for a couple of tunes but one band Bruce fans seem to really love that I wasn't keen on but growing into a bit of a fan is War On Drugs. The more I hear some of the non-radio tracks the more I hear the greatness.
@Bill Zebub Pleased to hear this... He has released many great records over the years but I absolutely concur that Life, Death, Love and Freedom is a recent near masterpiece. One of my top 3 of his for sure. Must have been a great show. He is not Bruce on stage, for sure, but as you say his band is superb, many (the guitarist for one) having been with him for decades and it's all about the music for him. No fancy lights or theatrics.
Going way back, I had no use for Mellencamp. But in 2009 he and Willie Nelson were the opening acts for a Bob Dylan show that took place in my hometown of New Britain, CT. He played for about 45 minutes, and was funny and self-deprecating. His band was hot, the show was well-paced, and while he could easily have burned through 45 minutes of hits, he featured songs from his most recent album. The album was Life, Death, Love and Freedom, and when he mentioned that it was produced by T-Bone Burnett, I decided to buy it. The next day I drove around listening and shaking my head. I not only bought a 'Cougar' album but was really enjoying it and relating to it? Yow. I didn't go back and explore the back catalog, but I have respect for the guy.
SteveInJoburg
A bit surprised about Seger and Mellencamp. I confess to being a big fan and appreciator of both. Where are you on Petty?
I like Petty.
I meant SVZ.
Bob Seger. John Melloncamp. Bon Jovi. Billy Joel. And SRV.