The Wrestler
Over the years, the Boss has been very selective about his contributions to motion picture soundtracks. I can only count three off the top of my head: “Streets of Philadelphia” (from the Philadelphia soundtrack), “Dead Man Walking” (from the Dead Man Walking soundtrack), and “Secret Garden” (from the Jerry Maguire soundtrack). Film director Jonathan Demme asked Bruce for “Philadelphia”. I’m assuming Tim Robbins or Sean Penn asked for a contribution to Dead Man Walking; and I’m not sure about Jerry Maguire, but director Cameron Crowe has a way of compiling some outstanding soundtracks. I’m sure he heard “Secret Garden” on Bruce’s Greatest Hits
compilation and asked for it to be used in the film.
Darren Aronofsky’s new film, The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, features a new contribution from the Boss: “The Wrestler”. It’s a slow acoustic tune that reminds me of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” with some of its lyrics.
Have you ever seen a scarecrow filled with nothing but dust and wheat?
If you’ve ever seen that scarecrow then you’ve seen me
Have you ever seen a one-armed man punching at nothing but the breeze?
If you’ve ever seen a one-armed man then you’ve seen meReminds me a little of Bruce’s quote in “Tom Joad” from The Grapes of Wrath…
Now Tom said “Mom, wherever there’s a cop beatin’ a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there’s a fight ‘gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I’ll be there
Wherever there’s somebody fightin’ for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin’ hand
Wherever somebody’s strugglin’ to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me.”If I was in college, I’d write a paper about the contrasts and similarities between Tom Joad and The Wrestler. But suffice it to say, the character in the “The Wrestler” is a signature Boss character – a man beat down, hanging on to life by a thread, only to rise again. I’ve only listened to the song a few times, and I’ve already managed to make comparisons to other songs, but I know it will grow on me like they always do, and forge an identity of its own.
It turns out Mickey Rourke reached out to Bruce…
In an interview with Uncut, Mickey Rourke stated, “I wrote Bruce a letter, because we’ve known each other over twenty years, and he knows what I used to be, or whatever. Where I went. What I’d been reduced to. I told him how I felt lucky now and didn’t have to end up being this guy, being Randy (character from The Wrestler). A while later I got a call in the middle of the night: he said he’d written a little song, for nothing. It’s fucking beautiful, right? I was honored he took the time, because he’s a busy cat. I mean, I’m so goddam proud of this magical movie and to have Bruce’s input… ain’t nobody in Hollywood with all their millions can just ring the man and he’ll do a song, y’know?”
Spoken like only Mickey Rourke can.
I can’t remember the last adult movie I’ve gone to the theater to see, but I’m going to make some time over the holidays for this one. Here’s the whole song on YouTube…
The single is now available on iTunes. Click little Mickey down there to check it out and buy.
The song will also show up on Bruce’s new album, Working on a Dream
, due January 27th.
Check out the trailer for The Wrestler here. It premieres in NYC and L.A. today (Dec. 17th), with a wider release coming soon. Find out when the movie will open near you.
Working On A Dream’s Album Cover
Boss fans: How does this make you feel?
I have to admit, I’m pretty lenient when it comes to album covers from my favorite artists. I think it goes back to Lovesexy – possibly the most embarrassing album cover of all time. Regardless of one’s opinion, you’re gonna be spending a fair amount of time with the record, so you may as well learn to get along, right? As an 18 year old kid, I stepped into the record store, grabbed a copy of Prince’s new album, and with as much masculinity as I could muster, placed this on the counter and paid me my money down…
Nowadays we buy most of our music behind the anonymous curtain of the internet. In MY day, you suffered for your music!
Santa Boss is Coming to Town
No holiday season on Ickmusic (and we’re in our 5th!) is complete without some holiday Boss. Give me the two Bruces (Cockburn and Springsteen), and it’s enough to ride me through the holiday season for sure – enough to ride me through a lifetime, come to think of it. Here’s a nice little collection I stumbled across a few days ago, featuring some holiday-style Bruce through the years.
It’s followed by Bruce and the Band’s appearance on Conan, back on December 12th, 2002. Bruce is in a giving mood, handing out a blow-up doll for Max, and a George Foreman grill for Conan – two items sure to warm any cold winter’s night.
Bruce Springsteen
Santa Boss Is Coming To Town1. Jingle Bells (Christmas Holiday Night, Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ – 12/18/2000)
2. Blue Christmas (Christmas Holiday Night, Convention Hall, Asbury Park – NJ 12/18/2000)
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town [mp3] (Winterland Night, Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA – 12/15/1978)
4. Merry Christmas Baby (Nassau Night, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY – 12/31/1980)
5. The Wish (Freehold Night, St. Rose of Lima School, Freehold, NJ – 11/8/1996)
6. Pilgrim In The Temple Of Love (Sydney Night, Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia – 2/12/1997)
7. Run Run Rudolph (Christmas Holiday Night, Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ – 12/18/2000)
8. Deck The Halls (Jingle Bell Night, Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ – 12/7/2001)
9. Jingle Bell Rock (3:38) Jingle Bell Night, Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ – 12/7/2001)
10.Christmas Baby Please Come Home (Jingle Bell Night, Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ 12/7/2001)
11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Christmas Holiday Night, Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ – 12/18/2000)It’s My Lucky Day
The holiday season is upon us, and the Boss is like Santa Claus – the gift that keeps on givin’. This week, he unleashes another new song from his upcoming release ‘Working on a Dream’. This one’s called “My Lucky Day”.
Bruce Springsteen’s new song “My Lucky Day” – from the album ‘Working on a Dream’ (January 27 / Columbia Records) — will be available on AmazonMP3 and MySpace Music for one week starting today.
Additionally, Amazon.com, Inc. and MySpace today exclusively debuted the music video for “My Lucky Day,” the first time that the two sites have collaborated on streaming video. Fans can visit the Amazon Bruce Springsteen Artist Store, http://www.amazon.com/brucespringsteen, and the MySpace Bruce Springsteen Artist Profile page, http://www.myspace.com/brucespringsteen, to watch the video and download the new single. As an added bonus, fans can also check out an extra two-minutes of behind-the-scenes footage of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band preparing to record the song.
Springsteen’s new album ‘Working on a Dream’ has been set for January 27 release on Columbia Records. ‘Working on a Dream’ was recorded with the E Street Band and is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O’Brien, who produced and mixed the album.
Stream the Dream
Last Sunday night, “Working on a Dream” showed up on Sunday Night Football in heavily butchered form. Well now on New York’s Q104 web site, you can hear the song streaming in all its glory. Stream it here.
Dream Baby Dream – Speaking of dreams, for anyone who saw or heard anything from Bruce’s Devils & Dust tour a few years back, you’re familiar with his cover of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream”. It was a haunting and beautiful finale to many of the D&D shows – just Bruce and his pump organ.
Recently released on the Blast First Petite label is a 3 song EP that features one of Bruce’s live versions, one live Suicide version, and “Mr. Ray” by NYC’s Beat the Devil. I’m not sure what the connection is with Beat the Devil. Beats the devil out of me. Anyone?
Click the album cover to check out the EP on Amazon.
Tom Jones – “The Hitter”: And speaking of Devils & Dust, Tom Jones covers “The Hitter” on his new album which comes out this Tuesday in the U.S. Listen to part of it on the handy widget below. Mr. Jones hath set forth a different arrangement! Interesting…
“Outlaw Pete” and Other Songs – New Boss Album Due January 27th
Fresh off the heavily edited debut of his song “Working on a Dream” during last night’s Sunday Night Football half time on NBC (almost in the “why even bother” category, imho), there is great news from the East this morning… a new Boss album, a release date, and a track listing!
Much to my delight, a song named “Outlaw Pete” leads off the album! I’m glad Bruce finally took the time to sit down and capture my essence. It’s an honor really, and I look forward to hearing it.
So mark your calendars. It’s January 27th, the Tuesday before the Super Bowl – where we’ll all watch Bruce and the E Street Band tear it up during the half time performance. The title of the album is ‘Working on a Dream’, and has 12 new tracks and 2 bonus tracks. Here’s the listing…
1. Outlaw Pete
2. My Lucky Day
3. Working on a Dream
4. Queen of the Supermarket
5. What Love Can Do
6. This Life
7. Good Eye
8. Tomorrow Never Knows
9. Life Itself
10. Kingdom of Days
11. Surprise, Surprise
12. The Last CarnivalBonus tracks:
The Wrestler
A Night with the Jersey DevilLife = Good.
More info from the press release…
Bruce Springsteen’s new album “Working on a Dream” has been set for a January 27 release on Columbia Records. “Working on a Dream” was recorded with the E Street Band and features twelve new Springsteen compositions plus two bonus tracks. It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O’Brien, who produced and mixed the album…..
…Bruce Springsteen said, “Towards the end of recording ‘Magic,’ excited by the return to pop production sounds, I continued writing. When my friend producer Brendan O’Brien heard the new songs, he said, ‘Let’s keep going.’ Over the course of the next year, that’s just what we did, recording with the E Street Band during the breaks on last year’s tour. I hope ‘Working on a Dream’ has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we’ve ever done. All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes, and we all had a blast making this one from beginning to end.”
“Working on a Dream” is Bruce Springsteen’s twenty-fourth album and was recorded and mixed at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, GA with additional recording in New York City, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.
New Boss Tune To Debut During NFL Game Sunday
Election Day is Here – so is a new Boss tune
And so here we are. The day I’ve been looking forward to since Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004, when John Kerry conceded to George W. Bush. Tomorrow, my country will elect a new president.
My vote was mailed in early. There will be no long lines for me. I am feeling cautiously optimistic that Barack Obama will be our new president – my caution firmly rooted in the fact that I live in a country that re-elected Bush.
We all have our opinions, but the important thing is that if you’re eligible to vote in these United States, that you get out and vote tomorrow. If you don’t, you’re a turd.
Yesterday at an Obama rally in Ohio, the Boss brought his wife Patty up on stage and debuted a new tune: “Working on a Dream”. Check it out here, and I’ll see you on the other side!
Tom Jones – 24 Hours
On his new album due out November 25th (the 17th in the UK), Tom Jones covers “The Hitter”, one of my favorites off Springsteen’s Devils and Dust record. So I went to Tom’s web site to track it down. It’s not available yet, but I was quite taken with the title track, “24 Hours” – a very dark, somber track. It brings to mind a couple of tracks dealing with life’s finality from the perspective of Death Row – Bruce’s “Dead Man Walking”, and Steve Earle’s “Ellis Unit One“.
I’m not positive that the subject of “24 Hours” is a death row prisoner, but it sure seems that way: ‘I’ve got one more minute, 24 hours to go..”
Great song, and now I can see exactly how “The Hitter” will fit into the album, and how I’m confident that Tom Jones will do it some serious justice.
Check it out…
Update: And here’s “The Hitter”:
The Brimstone and the Boss – Happy Halloween
The Boss hath treated us to a cool Halloween treat. A new song and video, “A Night With the Jersey Devil”. Hop on over to his site to watch the video and download a free mp3.
Bruce as a possessed preacher. Recommended viewing!
Bruce Springsteen – “A Night With the Jersey Devil”
Happy Halloween…
