WHAT IF 'BRUCE' WROTE A DAMN GREAT FLASH?

I think it was around 1997... That's when I started thinking about 'voice' in relation to fiction and storytelling. I was barely developing mine at the the time but I do remember that I was reading Bernard Malamud and listening to a bunch of Bruce Springsteen. Something brewed in me. And mind you, it wasn't the rah-rah "Born in the USA" Bruce but the quieter tunes from his solo discs like "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad." I was on vacation in Florida and kept playing "Johnny 99" over and over on CD and in my head. Something struck me about that particular tune.

Now while I was always a fan of 'The Boss,' I was starting to discover his incredible penchant for storytelling through lyrics and words -- and sometimes the lack of them.

Flash-forward around 13 years.

Driving to work today I was listening to "Johnny 99" again after not hearing it for quite some time and damn if it didn't drum up those same feelings of awe. Fuckin' guy is great, I thought, and after visualizing the words I'd say "Johnny 99" makes for a stupendous piece of flash fiction.

So that said, check out Springsteen's tune reconfigured in narrative form and see if you agree... The video -- with that classic era Bruce -- is also embedded below if you wanna hear the tune.

* If you enjoy the tune, I recommend snagging a used copy of the Springsteen book "Songs" on Amazon if you want a collected copy of all his lyrics. They're sheer poetry. Gritty and gorgeous.

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JOHNNY 99

Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month. Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none. He came home too drunk from mixin' Tanqueray and wine. He got a gun, shot a night clerk, now they call him Johnny 99.

Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop, Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top. When an off-duty cop snuck up on him from behind -- out in front of the Club Tip Top -- they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99.

# # #

Well the city supplied a public defender, but the judge was Mean John Brown. He came into the courtroom and stared young Johnny down.

"Well the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crime. Prison for 98 and a year and we'll call it even Johnny 99"

A fist fight broke out in the courtroom and they had to drag Johnny's girl away. His mama stood up and shouted "Judge don't take my boy this way."

"Well son, you got a statement you'd like to make before the bailiff comes to forever take you away?"

"Now judge, I had debts no honest man could pay. The bank was holdin' my mortgage and they were gonna take my house away. Now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man,
But it was more `n all this that put that gun in my hand.

...Now your honor, I do believe I'd be better off dead. So if you can take a man's life for the thoughts in his head. Then sit back in that chair and think it over, judge one more time. Let `em shave off my hair and put me on that killin' line..."

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SPRINGSTEEN SAYS GOODBYE TO GIANTS STADIUM

Earlier tonight, The Boss took the stage and started a last string of dates at Giants Stadium, slated to be demolished. He debuted a new rousing new tune for the event called "Wrecking Ball" and offered up his memories of the Meadowlands ("where mosquitos grow as big as airplanes," he sang) and asserted that life will go on when "all our youth and beauty have been given to dust," and "all our little victories and glories have turned into parking lots."

Great tune. Enjoy.

Rock's Steinbeck says Goodbye to Giants Stadium

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ROCK'S STEINBECK TURNS 60

I've long said that had Bruce Springsteen not been a rock god of the highest order, he'd surely make a fabulous showing as a poet extraordinaire. For proof, I suggest snagging a copy of his lyric book "Songs" at Amazon.

In any case, The Boss turns 60 today and my colleague Stan Goldstein wrote a fabulous piece on his 60 favorite Bruce moments. Check it out HERE.

You can also enjoy this classic Bruce video to a classic Bruce song... Happy Birthday Bruuuuuuce!

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S 'WORKING ON A DREAM' REVIEW

My colleague, Jay Lustig just published his review for Bruce Springsteen's new disc "Working' On A Dream" and gave the disc Three and a Half stars (out of four). Here's an excerpt of what he said:

Working On a Dream" is Bruce Springsteen's "White Album. Like The Beatles' 1968 double album (officially titled "The Beatles"), it's full of surprises, covers an exceptionally broad range of musical styles, and is both deeply serious and, occasionally, whimsical.

To read the rest of the piece, click HERE.

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SPRINGSTEEN'S STARK AND HAUNTING 'ATLANTIC CITY'

Atlantic City could be a haunting place. Amid billion dollar casinos, glitz and bright lights, lies a level of poverty, decay and urban blight rarely seen in modern US cities. Enjoy the video and lyrics to Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City," a haunting ode to the ultimate downtrodden seashore town and it's once glorious past as "America's Playground."




'ATLANTIC CITY'
Well, they blew up the chicken man in philly last night
Now, they blew up his house, too
Down on the boardwalk theyre gettin ready for a fight
Gonna see what them racket boys can do

Now, theres trouble bustin in from outta state
And the d.a. cant get no relief
Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade
And the gamblin commissions hangin on by the skin of his teeth

Well now, evrything dies, baby, thats a fact
But maybe evrything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in atlantic city

Well, I got a job and tried to put my money away
But I got debts that no honest man can pay
So I drew what I had from the central trust
And I bought us two tickets on that coast city bus

Now, baby, evrything dies, honey, thats a fact...

Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
But with you forever Ill stay
Were goin out where the sands turnin to gold
Put on your stockins baby, `cause the nights getting cold
And maybe evrything dies, baby, thats a fact
But maybe evrything that dies someday comes back

Now, I been lookin for a job, but its hard to find
Down here its just winners and losers and dont
Get caught on the wrong side of that line
Well, Im tired of comin out on the losin end
So, honey, last night I met this guy and Im gonna
Do a little favor for him

Well, I guess everything dies, baby, thats a fact...

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SPRINGSTEEN - ROCK'S STEINBECK

I've long said that had Bruce Springsteen not been a rock god of the highest order, he'd surely make a fabulous showing as a poet extraordinaire. For proof, I suggest snagging a copy of his lyric book "Songs" at Amazon.

As an example, here's the lyrics for "The Ghost of Tom Joad," an ode to Americana, hard times, and the open road and where it may brings you -- be it a soup kitchen or a bread line.

The first video for the tune is a quiet, solemn version Bruce did in the studio. The second video is an electric version and a truly fucking amazing duet with Tom Morello that was shot live... Holy shit, the guitars!!!

THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD
Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the bridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin' 'round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars in the Southwest
No home no job no peace no rest
The highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and gun in your hand
Sleepin' on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city aqueduct

The highway is alive tonight
Where it's headed everybody knows
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Waitin' on the ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight against 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 a decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad

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