Springsteen: Silence Is Unpatriotic

Rock Star Answers Critics Who Say His Anti-War Album Is Unpatriotic

(CBS)  Humor helps if you’re an E-Streeter, because in the 1980s, Springsteen walked away from them after more than 15 years together. He wanted to play with other musicians, and sometimes with none at all.

"How was the news broken? Did Bruce tell the band himself? Tell me about it," Pelley says.

"I think Bruce picked up the phone and called everybody. And I think everybody was shocked and, I'm hurt. And just felt really abandoned," Bittan recalls.

"Was that hard? Was it heartbreaking? You say, 'Look, I'm going on. I'm leaving you behind,'" Pelley asks Springsteen.

"Well, I didn't exactly put it like that," Springsteen says, laughing.

Asked how he put it, Springsteen says, laughing, "I soft-soaped it somehow. Or I tried, you know? And, you know, everybody had different feelings. I mean people were mad or angry and suddenly they're okay. I wasn't going to be any good to them at that moment. You know? And I think what happens is sometimes you got to break your own narrative."

"We all have stories we're living and telling ourselves," he says, laughing. "And there's a time when that narrative has to be broken because you've run out of freedom in it. You've run out of places to go."

The split forced the band to find other places to go. Van Zandt joined the mob on "The Sopranos" on HBO, and drummer Max Weinberg joined Conan O’Brien on NBC. But they always drop what they’re doing to return to Springsteen.

60 Minutes watched the band do a small rehearsal out of the new material before an audience of 2,000 or so in Asbury Park. There’s something special about a Springsteen audience: they know the words, and the stories they feel in themselves. This was the day after Bruce’s 58th birthday, and Pelley found him immediately after the show, wringing wet.

"What did you learn about the band tonight?" Pelley asks.

"We made fewer screw ups than I thought we might. The main thing you learn is not so much the band, because the band will just play better from tonight on out. You know? But you learn a lot about the set, you know, you're trying to work your new things in. You're trying to get in what you're trying to say. You're trying to get people just to rock. You know, to go crazy and have fun. It's ultimately sort of supposed to be a bit of an ecstatic experience," Springsteen says.

Was it?

"And we got there a few times. It's pretty good," Springsteen says, laughing. "And so, you're trying to figure out, 'Okay, now how do you take it up to a certain height? And how do you get there?'"

"Pretty good for 58," Pelley remarks.

"Oh. That's nothing. I'm still a chiseled hunk of muscle so…I guess I'll keep going for a while," Springsteen says, laughing.

Springsteen's music career began over four decades earlier as a teenager in Freehold, N.J.

"I was probably one of the smartest kids in my class at the time. Except you would've never known it," Springsteen says, laughing. "You would've never known it. Because where my intelligence lay was not, wasn't able to be tapped within that particular system. And I didn't know how to do it myself until music came along and opened me up not just to the world of music but to the world period, you know, to the events of the day. To the connection between culture and society and those were things that riveted me, engaged me in life," Springsteen says. "Gave me a sense of purpose. What I wanted to do. Who I wanted to be. The way that I wanted to do it. What I thought I could accomplish through singing songs."

"It's not just the singing. It's the writing, isn't it, for you?" Pelley asks.

"Of course. Every good writer or filmmaker has something eating at them, right? That they can't quite get off their back . And so your job is to make your audience care about your obsessions," Springsteen says.

His recurring obsession is the life that he knew as a boy, the harsh relationship with his working class dad who didn't think much of a rock and roll son.

"It was a tough, struggling household. People struggled emotionally. People struggled financially to get through the day," Springsteen remembers. "Small town. Small town world which I continue to return to. It's like when I went to write, though, I put my father's clothes on. You know the immersement in that world through my parents and my own experience as a child and the need to tell a story that maybe was partially his. Or maybe a lot his. I just felt drawn to do it."

"Your dad wasn't all that proud of you as a young man?" Pelley asks.

"Oh, he was later. When I came home with the Oscar and I put it on the kitchen table, and he just looked at it and said, 'Bruce, I'll never tell anybody what to do ever again,'" Springsteen remembers, laughing. "It was like, that was his comment. So I said, 'Oh. That's okay.'"

[jimycrakhorn]

America has been conscripted by zionist jews who could care less about America as long as they get what they want, money, land, power. Just check out the enlisted ranks and find out the ratio of enlisted servicemen who are of Jewish faith. Hardly one, kind of like Arabs.

[jimycrakhorn]

Just go to an airport and watch all the goons wearing badges and guns staring down travlelers, frisking them like criminals, and rifling through people''s belongings, America is rotting from the inside out!!!!

Anyone who would give in to this kind of authoritarian overreach in the name of safety deserves neither safety nor freedom to walk out the front door. We the people are the ones who should rise up and confront the DHS and TSA because our congressional leadership has abjegated their responsibility to defend the constitution thanks to security and defense industry grafting through political contributions

[rob91325]

Bruce Springsteen (and Democratic politicians) tells us %u201CI think that we''ve seen things happen over the past six years that I don''t think anybody ever thought they''d ever see in the United States%u201D - you would think George Bush had signed Executive Order 9066 %u2013 oh wait %u2013 that was a Democratic president that signed it and a Republican president %u2013 Ronald Reagan %u2013 that apologized for it. Google it!

[sweetlife743]

I have been a Springsteen fan, E-Street Band fan for 32 years and do not agree with (most of) his opinions regarding the war in Iraq. I know that every concert I go to will include some "agenda" that I am most likely on the other side of the argument and that is okay with me. I am grateful SOMEONE is brave enough to put it out there, I am grateful to live in a country where we have the freedom to express unpopular opinions. I find him to be an intelligent person who has every right to use his music, his songwriting talent, and his stage to express what should be food for thought for all of us. He chooses to use his millions to speak out; get a message out there that many Americans DO agree with. How many of us truly put our money where our mouths are? Our freedom of speech allows Bruce to give his opinion, via music or 60 minutes or whatever, and, for those of you who you disagree, to give your educated opinion. Using your freedom of speech to call him (or others names and drug addicts, etc.) is really pointless and just illustrates a lack of respect for others and, in my opinion, a lack of intelligence.

[greybeardvet]

What''s not to love about this fabulous spirit? He''s not only a fabulous entertainer but a fabulous story teller in the best sense of the word; a story teller on a par with Guthrie and Seeger who keeps the populist dream alive by telling the truth about the corruption and greed of Bush''s ruling class.

Take a close look at the creeps that call him unpatriotic, 99% of them have not sacrificed a thing for this country, all they do is swindle and cheat and send working-class kids to kill and be killed on foreign soil.

[aaabee-2009]

i just dont understand springsteen, mellancamp, bono and the like always popping off about topics their drug addled brains know nothing about. Posted by URSODUMB at 09:15 AM : Jul 28, 2008

I must ask about Talk Radio and the national forum those people are given to do exactly that, pop off on subjects they have no real expertice in.

What inside-the-beltway experience does Limbaugh, Hannity, or Savage have? What political education do they have, or political experience, yet they have the national ear for their personal points of view.

Is it because Springsteen''s point of view is a more liberal one that people here are complaining?

Political statements and art have never been strangers. Art, such as music, sculpture, or the written word, is exactly the right forum for the expression of all human feelings and points of view. Art imitates life, after all.

Bruce Springsteen is an artist. He must be allowed to project life through his art, his music. He must be allowed to speak on the same exact premise as Talk Radio hosts are allowed and for the same reasons.

Where do you feel censorship starts?

Censorship is dangerous. It is a knife that cuts both ways. It silences the speaker and it denys the listener new information. Censorship silences diversity, it silences communication and it silences freedom of expression. Without those things, how much less humane would we all be?

[oneamerican_]

Liberals are just plain idiots - and Bruce Springsteen is no exception.

His son is right - Springsteen is a self-centered egomaniac, and his music reflects that.

[xyno-2009]

The troops are helping corporations execute a land and oil grab

Posted by brianbwb at 12:55 AM : Jul 28, 2008

====================

Well that would explain why gas prices are so cheap here in the U.S. right now.

[mythoughtsr]

Yeah yeah we know all the warmongers and haters will come here to comment, but despite all the logistics of this war, the greed, the lies and what have you, it does boil down to the fact that there are HUGE numbers of people over there who are working full time to kill you and your family. No doubt about it. I do not subscribe to either party (Dem or Rep); they are all nut cases and I believe the government is full of greedy liars but I understand why they are over there and I don''t much care if you agree or disagree with me.

There are plenty of lunatics on this board. Just read their yawn-inducing comments about kool aid and seig heil and other assorted nonsense. They don''t make any points other than cementing their lunacy but they will never understand how speaking like that makes them look. Bruce Springsteen can speak out because he''s famous. I for one don''t give a da.m.n about what he has to say. Just because he''s rich doesn''t make him right and nothing he sings will bring those men and women home.

[brianbwb-2009]

"...Whether you approve of the Iraq war or not, there arelots of american young men sacrificing their life to protect that of Mr. Springteen of his chidldren..." Posted by apiallat

BS, pure and simple.

The troops are helping corporations execute a land and oil grab, nothing more, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has nothing whatsoever to do with protecting the US, in fact, they are creating more resentment, which makes it even more difficult for non-oil American businesses to do international business.

[brianbwb-2009]

Mr. Springsteen got one over on the Republicans, who chose his song "Born in the USA" for one of their campaigns a while back, thinking it to be just more silly fake patriotism, but when they actually read the lyrics, they realized too late that it was actually a protest against the kind of American injustice they advocate.

Not a fan of his music, I lean more towards instrumental mastery. But I do enjoy how the neocons squirmed, because they could not disparage such a popular artist, but also would not admit their mistake, so without announcement, they dropped the song, tails tucked firmly between their legs.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Democracy in Iraq is just horrible. Bring back the tortures and free rapes by Saddams sons, the gas used on the Kurds...." Posted by john97068

So I take it that you think it is OK for the US to kill, torture and rape Iraqis, and allow the Turks to bomb the Kurds, as is happening now?

[apiallat]

I am disapointed by Mr. Springsteen. He should stick to songs and stay out of politics. I guess his ego has taken over. Whether you approve of the Iraq war or not, there arelots of american young men sacrificing their life to protect that of Mr. Springteen of his chidldren. I wonder how he woul feel if his family was harmed by terrorits.
Scott pelley , in his reporting, was disapointing too, as he was star struck and unable or unwilling to ask hard questions of Mr. Springsteen.
This was a sad piece of journalism!

Alain Piallat

[nodnylx]

Even life-long devotees of the artistic talents of this doubtful artist must finally realize he has now past from art to socialistic politics and is using his millions to push his political agenda that will, if successfull, ironically, kill his own voice and the freedom of his/our nation.

[jasarack]

"To remain silent when they should protest makes cowards of men." Abraham Lincoln

Bruce Springsteen should not be silent about the disasterous decision by the Bush Administration to go to war against a country that had nothing to do with 911 and presented no immediate threat to us.

The devastation and bloodshed visited on the Iraqi people by an impetuous and wreckless President needs to be spoken to directly. If it isn''t, the blood is on YOUR hands.

[red164]

Hopefully some of the people who were in this discussion early on will post again. Things are just getting silly now.


Posted by otrem72 at 04:37 PM : Oct 10, 2007


You sure aren''t the solution to getting this board back on track.

[leonoel1]

Such a high level of discourse on this message board...reafffirms my contention that America''s collective mentality is at about a fifth-grade level...

Hooray for The Great Dumbing Down!!!!

[otrem72-2009]

Hopefully some of the people who were in this discussion early on will post again. Things are just getting silly now.

[terrorislam1]

THEY ARE LOSING

Last letter from doomed Al Qaida chief: "We are so desperate for your help"
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2007/ss_iraq_09_30.asp

Iraq insurgency: People rise against al-Qa''eda
Damien McElroy spent a week in the heart of the insurgency in Anbar province in Iraq. In the second of seven exclusive reports he describes how peace and prosperity have returned to a town formerly riven by sectarian killings.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/08/wanbar308.xml

[menofoz]

Posted by terrorislam1 at 01:55 PM : Oct 10, 2007

It''s called a civil war why can''t you get just one story correct?