The Boss is dealing with a lot of emotions right now

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Bruce Springsteen went full-on political in the 1980s during the Reagan years and continues to write songs about the downtrodden, oppressed and disillusioned three decades later (even though he’s now been a millionaire for better than half of his life).

You might say he’s a very “fortunate” son? Which is why I’ve always found his darker musical themes to be more than a little ironic, and irony was on full display during last night’s controversial performance with Dave Grohl and a Zac Brown band member at HBO’s “Concert of Valor” on the National Mall:

CCR’s “Fortunate Son” is a war protest song like the Boss’s “Born in the U.S.A.” Both tracks have great riffs and upbeat tempos which belie their serious theme: war sucks, the people who start wars suck, and war does bad things to the people in them. Overly simplistic? You bet! But the American people are, at their heart, a peaceful people as are most residents in democratic nations. The pacifist ideal appeals to us.

Here’s the uncomfortable part: besides being overly-simplistic, the Boss and his cohorts continue to direct their lyrical fire at the wrong targets. His own signature work laments the poor treatment of Vietnam vets. Admirable. Were the mobs spitting and shouting vile words at returning veterans wearing ‘Goldwater for President’ or ‘Vote for Nixon’ pins? Did the VA hospital scandal go down on Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush’s watch? Someone needs to explain to the concert performers that Barack Obama has now bombed more countries than his GOP predecessor, and with ‘advisers’ heading to Iraq (Vietnam echoes???), there’s no end in sight.

One more thing: it’s a Concert for Valor. Their valor. Not your valor, Bruce. We’re trying to focus on the good THEY did, not the bad you think politicians perpetrated or the “courage” you think it takes to sing about it for millions of dollars on tour. A little self-centered? Ya think?

At the end of the day, I suspect Bruce is like most other liberals: dealing with a LOT of emotions after last Tuesday. The lefty web traffic junkies over at Huffpo ran a piece titled She Looks Black, but Her Politics Are Red: What Mia Love’s Victory Means for the Face of the GOP; not to be outdone, the reliably miserable Katrina vanden Heuvel penned a piece promising, in its headline, that Republicans will now taste their bitter harvest. I’m not even sure what that means but it sounds nasty.

The Boss, to his credit, suppressed those hysterics and simply indulged a little nostalgia during his time on stage for an era when his politics were a little less stale (though no less contradictory).

 

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8403 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

4 Comments

  1. He still sucks, has sucked for a long time and will, no doubt continue to suck. I left him when he left his band mates behind.

  2. I agree, Matt. This was a “Concert for VALOR:” valər/noun great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. So, Dave Grohl, Bruce, and Zac Brown chose the wrong forum for their whiny, liberal views. The Vietnam War draft is over, guys. We have an all volunteer military and their performance was a slap in the face to every veteran proud of their service. And yes, Matt, I’d like to hear Dave (Obama is the best president ever) Grohl’s take on his boy Obama sending 1500 troops to Iraq for a poorly defined mission. That should work out really well – not to mention WE (not Iraq) are paying for it.

  3. No, I heard about it, it for the reason you share that I have not listened to ANY of them for a long time. I watched about the Navy Seal that got Osama Bin Laden. Riveting.

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