THAT MAKES TWO AND A HALF OF US
The always astute Bill White announces his lack of understanding of the cult of Springsteen and links to an excellent article by MARK GAUVREAU JUDGE to back up his opinion. Having been a Springsteen fan since 1975 - when he was sticking to his promise of only playing small venues and a ticket could be had for less than $10 - I have a few things to add:

*Bill and I live in the same state. This automatically puts him on my list of suspects of who stole my Greetings From Asbury Park towel. A gift that my sister bought for me when we saw Bruce again back in 2000. Knowing where he stands on Bruce, I guess I can take his name off the list. I really liked that towel. It had great sentimental value. And because my children consider the Boss to be too outre, I thought they wouldn’t be caught dead borrowing it. As if borrowing a used towel wouldn’t be repugnant enough. It went missing between washings. ICK.

*The night in 1975 when I took my little sister to the Uptown Theater in Milwaukee to see Bruce was the greatest. No other concert before or after has been as good.

* Born to Run was the last Springsteen album I bought. (I bought it again on CD) By the time Born in the USA came out, Bruce was starting to look like his working class clothes came from Banana Republic and his haircut was $90. Born to Run was his best album. After that................

*I still listen to the old Springsteen stuff. Loud. Usually when I’m home alone (which isn’t often.....) - no one else understands.

*His rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town is one of the best secular Christmas songs (along with White Christmas - Bing Crosby; The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole; Little Saint Nick - the Beach Boys)

*I guess I’m a grown-up now. Didn’t have time for the Koppel interview. Opted for morning Mass instead of staying in bed to watch the Today show performance. Haven’t given a thought to buying The Rising - haven’t even heard it on the radio.