Finally, I can say it and not feel alone

I was on Facebook this morning browsing around and like 95% of you who read this, I checked out status updates ( I do this a lot but thats a different blog that I'll get to later). As I was browsing I came upon my friend Alison who I know from back in the Boston days (wonderful Simmons girls!). I was intrigued by her status update that read "Alison doesn't like Bruce Springsteen. Or Bob Dylan. There I said it". At that moment I felt a sense of relief. There was someone out there, who thought like me, but was able to actually say it out loud.

I don't like Bruce Springsteen. Or Bob Dylan. I never have and most likely never will. I know people will ridicule me and discuss how they are such amazing songwriters and storytellers and how Dylan influenced so many and blah blah blah. I don't care how many musicians cite them as being the reason they got into music. I don't care how many records of theirs are on Rolling Stones top albums of all time. I don't like them.

First off Dylan's voice is shit. It is. He cant sing for shit. Its annoying. "Its his style and no one else is like that..." is what people like to say. Really? His own style is a mixture of a 115 year old lifetime smoker, a dying cat and William Hung (yes I really did just make an American Idol reference from 2004). Sure, his words may be "inspiring" and "transcends the era" but really, just write for other people or become a poet (I know a musicians can be considered "poets" anyway, but you catch my drift). The only song I can think of that I like by him is "Hurricane" and I think thats only because it reminds me of the movie staring Denzel (just like, Im close enough with Clint Eastwood to call him Clint, Denzel and I are pretty tight). I will also give Dylan "All Along the Watchtower" which is one of my favorite all time songs. When done by Jimi Hendrix or Dave Matthews (I know I 'll get shit for listing DMB as a favorite while ridiculing the song bird of the the 60's but oh well). 

Now Springsteen isn't as revered I think in our generation as much as Dylan is. I think Dylan is supposed to be the "cool" thing to like. Like guys think it'll be cool to tell people they listen to Dylan or can play it on the guitar. I've been surprised by how many young people really like Springsteen. I figured his fan base was the same he had 25 years ago. Suddenly he is all over the place. Inauguration. Super Bowl. Its out of control. It would work better if it were 1981 and Reagan was being inaugurated and the Oakland Raiders were playing the Philadelphia Eagles.

The guy has one song that I like and thats "Streets of Philadelphia", again from a movie. The song is amazing and I think it brought him some kind of renewed success and ever since he won an Oscar for it, all his shit sounds the same like he's just trying to get another soundtrack deal and win another award. Know why I know the chorus to "Dancer in the Dark"? Because we all remember how Courtney Cox was in the video. Thats it. Because its a useless piece of pop culture. How do we know some of the members of the E Street band? Because the majority of us like watching Conan O'Brien and see Max every night, and because we all loved the Sopranos and seeing little Steven with a horrible hair piece. 

Now we have to deal with him being on during the Super Bowl. Let me guess. We will hear a medley of sorts like the past few acts (Prince, Tom Petty, other horrible choices). Born in the USA will be played. Born to run. Thunder Road. Maybe The Rising. He'll take out his stupid harmonica, dance around on stage like hes 19 as opposed to his real age of 59. Little Steven will have his bandana on and the commentators will commend him for a wonderful performance. 

Ick.

I understand that the NFL has had some making up to for the whole Janet Jackson thing, but please.  Since then we've had Paul McCartney (living legend but not the same without the other 3 fellas although "Hey Jude" was a good move), The Rolling Stones ( a collective age of 258 years old [which would be acceptable with a 10 person band]), Prince (cause he's been relevant this whole decade) and Tom Petty (he did play "American Girl" so I wont be harsh on him). Now Bruce Springsteen. Next year I am guessing we will have Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond or the Four Tops (if they are all still a live). 

I went off on a tangent there a little bit but to wrap this up let me say this. I don't like Bruce Springsteen and I don't like Bob Dylan and if I had a choice to meet either of them, I'd tell Dylan to just go away already and Bruce to stop dying his hair.