Music is always in my life. If you are a regular reader you will know I have my iPod with me wherever I go: I listen to the radio quite a lot, mostly, but not always BBC radio 2: my colleagues and I can often be heard humming along to ourselves whilst tapping away on the keyboard and sometimes I even wake up with a song already in my head. Yes music is with me all the time but usually in the background.
The only time we really settle down to listen to an album is when a new Bruce album comes out. This is an event in our house. We sit down together probably with a glass of something and really pay attention. We might not speak at all during the first play through but then discuss our initial impressions before listening again. The album will then follow us around for a week or two. It'll be on in the kitchen whilst I'm cooking, it'll be on in the car, it'll get loaded up to iTunes and the iPods. It will be played in isolation and in order. Then it's likely to be put away on the shelf and I'll only hear a track if it comes up during my IPod shuffle.
Someone on Greasy Lake said they like to be in control of their music so shuffle isn't an option for them. I'm the opposite. I don't like to know what is coming up next. I think that's why I still find the radio so interesting. I like to hear new songs, artists I've never heard of and I like to hear an old song that I'd forgotten about. If a Springsteen song comes on the radio it absolutely makes my day!
We have a radio or CD player in every room in our house but only two TVs. Perhaps if we had a TV in the kitchen I might watch that but as it is we have a radio/CD player. The radio goes on as soon as I get downstairs in the morning and often at night whilst I'm cooking tea. The exception to this might be if we have a new album by somebody other than Bruce. This, of course, doesn't require as much attention as a new Springsteen release so it's usually a background thing.
I mention all this because this week I suddenly deviated from the norm and got an old Bruce album out of the CD rack to play in the kitchen. This really is unusual and what's even stranger is that I chose Lucky Town. Now I have a soft spot for both Lucky Town and Human Touch. They weren't the first albums we bought - that predictably was BITUSA - but significantly the HT/LT tour was the first live show we saw. As we all know once you see the man live you are hooked for life.
Well I bopped around and sang along and really enjoyed hearing this for the first time in it's entirety since... well it must be fifteen years! I gave myself a telling off for bowing to what I perceive to be pressure from the Bruce community to dislike this album. OK so it's not the E Street Band - in fact according to the sleeve it's mainly Bruce. It's a great, uplifting, hopeful album and - yes - I like it.
I haven't played Human Touch but Man's Job is a guilty pleasure and Human Touch (the track itself) includes one of my favourite lines - You can't shut off the risk and the pain without losin' the love that remains.
There aren't many songs from these albums that we hear live nowadays. Human Touch pops up from time to time and I think Bruce gives us Living Proof on occasion. If I Should Fall Behind crops up a fair bit and I was surprised to find that the recorded version sounded sort of unfamiliar. Bruce has obviously changed the rhythm and emphasis of the song over the years. I've probably become accustomed to The Live in NYC version.
I remember someone saying once that their favourite version of Thunder Road was the original recording because they didn't like the way Bruce changed the emphasis of the words. Is it called the cadence? I had the same problem with the acoustic version of The Rising. I couldn't get to grips with the melody at all.
Last week Sting was 60 and we all know that our man did a bit of a turn.
Now his voice is great and I must say I really like it but he's certainly changed the lilting melody of the original. Here's Sting's version for comparison.
Here in the UK we have had a bit of excitement this week because Jessica Springsteen is riding at The Horse Of The Year Show. Sadly we have felt compelled to watch the TV coverage on the off chance we might catch a glimpse of dad and to cheer on Jessica - not very patriotic of us!
I have an excuse as I used to follow show jumping when I was younger. I've actually enjoyed catching up with the sport and I think Mike is getting quite into it now.
... So off to watch Jessica in The Leading Show Jumper Of The Year competition.
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