PardonMyFrench

Bruce Springsteen Still Rocks and Crowd Surfs

My family and friends attended Saturday night's Springsteen concert and it was a great time.   My wife and daughter had seats in the lower level while my son Jacob and I had an awesome time in the pit.  The setlist was great - 28 songs, 3 hours, and cover to cover Born in the USA.  It wasn't the best concert I'd ever seen (that's either closing night of the reunion tour in MSG or Atlantic City on the Rising Tour), but I'd give it a solid B.  Bruce was awesome as usual as well as Nils, Roy, and the Mighty Max.  A couple of quick observations:

1. Even Bruce must agree with my post that Working on A Dream is one of the worst if not the worst Springsteen album of all-time.  Why else does Bruce only have two songs in the setlist at this point?  Compare it with the end of the Magic Tour where about 4-6 songs still remained in the tour.
2. Watch the youthful 60 Bruce Springsteen crowd surf.
3. The pit procedure was quite reasonable - especially because Jacob and I got a bracelet and were about 15 deep in front of the stage.
4. Jacob wants to see him again in the pit - how about Buffalo?

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Bruce Springsteen Working on a Dream Is Wretched

I've been a Springsteen fan since 1983 when I picked up Nebraska and then I got Born to Run; the rest was history.  I became hooked and just in time for the Born in the USA tour.  I've seen Bruce 40 times including at the Stone Pony.  My eight year old son Jacob has seen him 4 times.  Unfortunately, we won't be seeing Bruce on the first leg of tour because this CD is probably the worst collection of songs that Bruce has ever released.  We'll wait for the second wave which should be his typical Greatest Hits tour.

Most USA fans consider Human Touch Bruce's worst release and then probably Ghost of Tom Joad (not a rock CD) or Devils and Dust.  Me?  Human Touch by far even though I never bought GOTJ (my friend Frank B bought it for me as a joke) and I don't own Seeger Sessions (couldn't see celebrating Pete Seeger).  Anyway, Working on a Dream makes Human Touch look like a Springsteen masterpiece.

• Bruce's voice on WD sounds truly tired.  Most readers will think he never sounded good, but as a fan, Bruce's has hit a new low on this CD.  On Human Touch his voice is very strong and near peak performance.
• The whistling on Working on a Dream is an all time low for corniness.  It used to be Man's Job.
• Queen of the Supermarket is absolutely a ridiculous song.  My 8 year old son can't even sing it.  The song reminds me of Car Wash from Tracks but Car Wash is infinitely better because Bruce had the good sense to only release it with a collection of songs that never made official releases.  Seriously can you see yourself singing these lyrics?

I'm in love with the queen of the supermarket
As the evening sky turns blue
A dream awaits in aisle number two
With my shopping cart I move through the heart

• Back to Working on a Dream as the title song.  Compare it to Human Touch.  Which one is a better opener and title song?
• As storytelling goes even Outlaw Pete is horrible.  The CD with the exception of The Wrestler blends together.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of diversity in the music or the sound.  Again Human Touch has a much more diverse sound and lyrics.
• Is Surprise, Surprise the most repetitive song since I'm Going Down?  However, unlike I'm Going Down, Surprise, Surprise has next to ZERO unique verses in it and it is about surprise, your birthday. UGH
• Yes The Wrestler is a good Springsteen song.  Good as in good/not great, but it wouldn't make the final cut on Nebraska, Devils & Dust, or Ghost of Tom Joad.  However, for this release it sounds good, the lyrics are up to Bruce's standards, and the music has a decent beat.

It really pains me to write this, but Working on a Dream is not even a half-hearted attempt by Bruce to put out decent stuff.  It seems that he was in a rush to put this out in time for Obama's inauguration to capture whatever momentum he thinks he would get from it (my opinion is none).  Bruce shows that he is even more disconnected from his fanbase than he ever has been. Surprisingly the media gives it a decent rating, but you can't trust these people anymore.

His fans grew up with his rock sound and then learned to love his stripped down music like Nebraska where it really was about the lyrics and the story telling.  However, songs like Working on a Dream, Surprise, Queen and the rest of this wretched release (exception The Wrestler) shows that Bruce really has no clue about what his fans want or who we are anymore.  Maybe he never cared which is cool, but to expect the fans to keep taking crap like this year over year is very sad.  Working on a Dream should have been set aside for the next release of Tracks.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

 

No Buzz At The Jersey Shore for Springsteen?

A few days ago I was reading a blog post on NJ.com called Bruce Plays Hope Show in Redbank NJ and I read a paragraph that sums up the current marketing of my rock star Bruce Springsteen: 

There was very little buzz around the Jersey Shore about Bruce playing this show this year.  He did play it in 2006, did not play it last year, and most people I talked to didn't even bring it up that we would see him this year. Of course it was a possibility, but when a friend called me at 5 p.m. today and said "Bruce is playing tonight" I was genuinely surprised.

I've been a little critical of my rock star as of late, but hey I can have my own opinion right?  I guess what bothers me the most is that there seems to be extremely little marketing to support his music, even if it has taken a turn for the worse.  Basically, I believe that Bruce on his own has hit his base of support too many times and that he is doing precious little to get them back or embrace new technology.  Simply here's what I think has happened to his fan base.

• The real oldtimers are well pretty old right now.  If you were a fan say going back to 1975 you are probably in your mid-50s and maybe even 60.  How relevant is Bruce in your life now?  How often are you going to just go out and follow him around like you used to?  10 years ago you and the second group were the buzz down the shore.
• If you are like me and joined the Springsteen fan base in 1984, you are now in your 40s and less likely to follow him around blindly or just go out and purchase music that just doesn't seem as good.
• Since Born in The USA Bruce has seemed to go out of his way to not embrace his fame, following that album up with Tunnel of Love (a great CD but not something that's going to increase a fan base).  Bruce then fires the E Street Bad, moves to LA, and produces Human Touch and Lucky Town again not exactly CDs to grow the base.  Then Greatest Hits and Ghost of Tom Joad.  Basically, other than The Rising and the E Street Reunion Tour, Bruce has done little to add new fans into a base that is growing older and moving on.
• Human Touch tour in MSG for a benefit show Bruce calls some fans that boo a bunch of rude mother fuckers when a different singer is brought up on stage.  That show ends abruptly at 3 hours but you leave that show knowing that Bruce was pissed at a vocal minority and probably cut it short (I was at that show).
• Speaking of Ghost of Tom Joad, that became known as the shut the fuck up tour because Bruce demanded that the concerts be quiet as he sang.
• At a Rising Show in Atlantic City Bruce tells fans that a few of them are crazy with the way they could interpret songs like Empty Sky (I was at the show).
• At a Devils and Dust show in NJ Bruce talks back to fans when one of them tries to yell down that the speaker is out.  Bruce thinking back to GOTJ believes he is being heckled and is rude back; I never noticed or heard an apology when Bruce is told what was really happening.
• Bruce than supports John Kerry and Moveon.org in 2004, pumps out a tribute CD to a known communist, and then releases Magic with its political tones and supports Obama.  Also, let's not forget the preaching from stage.  Finally following the Obama win, Bruce is now excited to put out more political music - witness the following from a memo found on his site 

Some notes on the beginnings of Working on a Dream. During the last weeks of mixing Magic, we recorded a song called "What Love Can Do." It was sort of a "love in the time of Bush" meditation

Basically, Bruce has not had a serious infusion of diehard fans since the Born in the USA days and has done much to hit back.  Plus by being so one sided in political viewpoints, you will eventually marginalize your available base of people to draw fans from and take away some of the passion from your die hard Republican fans.  Look no matter how impressive Obama's win was, roughly 50% of the people voted for him and 50% did not.  Plus the older you were the less likely you were to vote for Obama.  B

ruce has turned off large percentages of diehard fans and not replaced them.  This is similar to what happened with my favorite Christmas Tree Farm when they couldn't plant replacement trees.

What can Bruce do?  Well perhaps put out music that appeals to all political views but if that isn't in him, he needs to embrace the younger generation of fans and use the internet to communicate with them.  That means less emails and more social networking outreach.  That means widgets and more YouTube videos.  Seriously Bruce if you're really committed to your liberal side, stop trying to fake that your music is apolitical.  Just become the Keith Olbermann of Rock Music and market yourself that way.  Go after the Obama voters with new internet marketing tools.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Springsteen Helping Obama - He's The Nothing Man

My long time readers are probably waiting for this post.  Ever since Bruce Springsteen announced that he was hosting rallies in support of Barack Obama including a show with Billy Joel, I've actually been snickering a little.  You see it amounts to nothing. 

Bruce is preaching to the converted.  According to Rasmussen (looking at just national polls for this quick post) as of October 5, 45% say they will definitely vote for Obama, 38% say they will vote for Senator McCain, 13% say they will change their mind and 4% are undecided or will vote for a 3rd party.  Cross that with Springsteen's dwindling fan base and really Bruce's best shot is that he is preaching to Obama supporters - WOOT.

Maybe you want to see Bruce and Billy Joel in the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC.  Sounds like an 80s retro dream concert right?  Well if you go to order the tickets online you are plunking down $2,500 to $10K per ticket on Obama's website.  Oh and in case you didn't read the fine print, the first $2,300 goes to Obama and the rest of the money goes to the DNC.  At those amounts of money plus the fact they are political donations once again means these are hard-core supporters.  If you are going to give $2,500 you are definitely not undecided.  The nearest toss-up state to NYC according to RealClearPolitics is Virginia proving once again that Bruce is "helping" out in states that don't need his help.

At least Bruce got it right this time.  He didn't corrupt his regularly scheduled concert this time around like he did towards the end of The Rising Tour and he didn't hook up with those lowlifes at MoveOn.org like he did for the Vote for Change Tour.  So, I have no ill feelings towards my rock and roll hero trying to help Obama out. 

It is just one of those moments like when your crazy Uncle Herman shows up at a neighbor's house for Thanksgiving and even though he doesn't recognize anyone he says "Hello I'm your Uncle Herman".   You just say to yourself, that's my Uncle Herman, now pass the damn turkey.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Using Springsteen's The Rising At Political Rallies

I've long since given up on my rock and roll hero when it comes to politics.  I'm not in the "shut up and play Bruce" mindset, but I definitely don't appreciate being preached to at a rock concert where I'm going to be entertained or released. 

However, one constant and core to Bruce and his music is his protection of the music.  I was in Atlantic City on The Rising tour when he decided to explain to the audience and people that heard the bootleg what Empty Sky meant especially the line that says "I want an eye for an eye".  And with Bruce going out of his way to endorse candidates, it isn't surprising to me that they'd use his songs.  I just wish they'd listen a little more closely to Bruce and his music....

The Rising isn't some song where it is open for interpretation as to what Bruce meant by writing it.  He performed it on VHI Storytellers and I of course have a copy of it on DVD.  To paraphrase my rock and roll hero as he goes through verse by verse of the song:

• It begins in the netherworld where all he has connected is what happened in the past or what will happen in the future (note it begins in the netherworld and after the subject DIES)
• Also the netherworld is a place you (as the listener) has never been to (obviously)
• I have a job to do and the tools I need to do it (the subject has the tools when he's thinking about what happened or what will happen to him)
• It's about transformation and something that's about to happen (the subject is about to die or enter the afterlife)
• Bells, sirens - fire alarms, bells of transformation, church bells, alarms (you kind of get the idea these aren't happy sounds unless you are celebrating that the subject is entering the afterlife)
• Wheels of fire - part of what you must do
• You are guided by people that have come before you
• Surrounded by sacred things, missing being physical with Mary (or whomever)
• Missing life, life, life on the edge of something else (death or transformation)

Now while there are images of transformation and Bruce does speak about transformation in the explanation on the song, I can't get past that this is a song about a person who was doing his duty (probably on 9/11 and most likely a fire fighter) and died; these are his last thoughts on his way into another world, dimension  = the afterlife.  There is just a) too many words to suggest this and b) too much explanation from the song writer to ignore these facts.   Yes it is a catchy tune and I personally believe this is a song for the family members of the deceased to let them know that the subject is fine and ok with their transformation; they are also prepared to move on with whatever lies on the other side.

The Rising is an odd song for a political rally - John Edwards, Clinton, or Obama.  It deals with death and the only thing the subject is rising to is transformation into the afterlife.  After someone close to you dies, it takes on an even stronger linkage that the person is better where they are and that they are ok with the transformation into the afterlife.

Bruce has always been protective of his songs and even through this is being used by his Democratic Party, you'd think those folks would give him the courtesy and the respect he deserves to use better songs.  You want happy, sing along songs - try Waitin' On A Sunny Day or even Mary's Place (there is a depressing side of that one).  You want a rally song about the country, war hero returning home - Born in the USA or even No Surrender.  Working class songs - plenty of them there - try Promised Land.  You want something new that speaks about working class and the American Dream - go play American Land.   

There are plenty of great songs in Bruce's catalog to play for the Democrats, but The Rising as catchy as it is, just isn't one that should be played at political rallies.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Springsteen's Decline in US Popularity Shouldn't Surprise You

In this Sunday's Star Ledger there was an article called For a pair of giants, still a lot of magic in the twilight which profiled Bruce Springsteen's latest tour and the end of his Giants Stadium shows.  The article was of course well written, but what surprised me the most was the following section:

Springsteen is still a stadium-level attraction in Europe: He just completed a successful stadium tour there. But in the States, he mostly plays arenas. On the leg of his tour that begins tonight and ends Aug. 30, in Milwaukee, he has booked only one other Giants Stadium-sized venue: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Aug. 2.The Giants Stadium concerts, with a capacity of 55,000 per night, did not sell out immediately -- a rarity for home-state Springsteen shows -- and there may be empty seats at some of them.That doesn't mean he can't play a Jersey stadium again. But he may think twice about it.

Bruce having trouble with selling out stadium shows in the US but not in Europe doesn't surprise me at all.  This stadium run is the first one where I didn't actually have tickets for.  I called in to get tickets the day they went on sale, but I got lower levels that weren't close to the stage so I tossed them back in.  While Europe still packs them in, the audience in the US has become fickle.  It just isn't one thing but a series of blows to the US fan base.

1. Springsteen has always been an artist where you wanted to be close to him.  In his early days he only played small venues and in fact after opening for Chicago he swore off big arenas (he swore off only for a few years).  Sitting in the 300 section at Giants Stadium watching him on the big screen while some drunk spills beer on your girlfriend isn't so much fun any more.
2. The audience according to quantcast skews older, with kids, and is more affluent so obviously they can afford the ticket prices which is still very reasonable.  When you go to Springsteen concerts however, there are more kids with their parents in the audience.  I'm of course one of them, but when you take your family it adds up in price and again you don't want the drunk around your kids.  Europe's audience based on videos skew younger.
3. The US fan base has taken a beating from his music since Tunnel of Love with The Rising and possibly Magic as the only ones that really deliver the sound the US fan base wants.  Ghost of Tom Joad, Devils and Dust, and Seeger Sessions are perfect examples of what the US fan base doesn't want.  Europe on the other hand loves this crap.   While the US base shrinks from years of non-rock CDs, the European base grows.
4. Bruce has been very political especially since about 2003.  This doesn't sit well with the very educated, affluent, older fan base who can think and reason for themselves.  I was listening to a bootleg from The Rising Tour's Atlantic City show where Bruce decided to explain a line from Empty Sky to the audience.  He basically calls fans psychopaths that believe an eye for eye means going to war.  That basically alienated a percentage of his base, although they probably didn't actually hear those words (I was there).  However, quickly on those heels comes his endorsement of John Kerry, Vote for Change tour, political emails, Seeger Sessions tour, Devils and Dust and finally Magic.  While Bruce could care less about the size of his audience, these are shots to a large part of the fan base that are just weary of the political messages.  One person thought the reason I didn't have a ticket is because of my work for the GOP and McCain.
5. You can't be a rock star and release 3 out of your last 5 studio albums as folk music.  Bruce's US fan base was not built on folk music.
6. As of late Bruce seems to have a love-hate relationship especially with his Jersey fans.  This started on the Ghost of Tom Joad tour which was nicknamed the "shut the f up" tour because his fan base wanted him to rock out which he didn't and only allowed clapping at certain points during the tour.  This style continued in Devils and Dust when in a Continental Arena show Bruce thought fans were heckling him about playing "quietly" when in fact the sound went out in their section and they tried to notify arena staff unsuccessfully so they shouted down to Bruce (I witnessed this). 

I'm planning on still trying to score 4 tickets because this leg of the Magic Tour like all recent Springsteen tours has now turned into a Greatest Hits show and I promised my daughter that she would see the E Street Band once.  My son Jacob has already seen Bruce and the E Street Band 3 times.  However, we American fans shouldn't be surprised that Bruce can't sell out three nights in Giants Stadium any more.  He's lost a lot of his US fan base over the years and they probably aren't coming back.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

ION Turntable Might Bring Your Records Back to Life

So after my son had a travel soccer game in the rain (Long Valley Nitros won 2-1), we were home bound so I decided to crack open one of my Hanukkah gifts  - an ION USB Turntable.  And you know what - it actually works if you have a clean record.

The instruction manual could have been a little clearer with better tips on the different weights on the needle (yes I wrote a needle).  I'm still not sure how much to put on and lets not forget the balance on the bottom of the turntable.  I wasn't even sure it was there until I got desperate and moved it.  However after about 1 hour of playing with it I was able to get my record going.  The record I pulled out was Gary US Bonds' Dedication which has Bruce and the E Street Band on it and included hits like Jole Blon and This Little Girl.  The record played well and the software that came with it was very easy to use.

The frustrating thing is, was that the manufacturer focused on the software and not with actually playing the record.  I mean it has been 20 years since I played a record.  How do you clean it?  How perfect does the record need to be?  So I called my father who gave me some advice on how to clean it (I just used water and a t-shirt) and then I started to play it again and I got all the way through Jole Blon and then about 3/4 of the way through This Little Girl and it started to skip.  And then it skipped throughout the rest of the first side.  Dad called back and asked me how I did so I told him.  His advice - toss the record out because it is scratched.

So after about 3 hours I'm stuck.  A record with a scratch, software that works, and a properly balanced turntable.  My other records in the house are way more scratched than this record so they aren't even worth trying.  However, if you have clean records and want to transfer them, the ION USB Turntable works great.  Thankfully we've moved past vinyl technology even though the music from records sounds better - they'll sound better if you can actually get them without scratches.  OK - now onto another project.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Exhibit A For Why I See Multiple Springsteen Shows

I get asked this all the time.  Why do you see Bruce multiple times on the same tour and as I've frequently done when I can afford it, multiple times within a few weeks span (I saw him 4 times the previous 3 weeks)?  Here's why, you never know what The Boss will play.  This from Backstreets regarding Night #2 in Chicago:

Clearly about to play "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," Springsteen called quite an audible to lead off the encore instead. The change of heart came from seeing some kids right up front in the pit: "There are a lot of young folks up here tonight," he said, switching guitars and calling out (an un-soundchecked) "Thunder Road" to the band. "Last time we played this was five years ago... but we played it for 35 years before that, so maybe it'll balance out." It did -- well-rested, with Bruce clearly wanting to play it rather than feeling obligated, it was the best "Thunder Road" in recent memory.

Add 6 songs not played the night before including Tunnel of Love and Spirits in The Night proves why you must see Bruce multiple times and even back to back nights when he is in town.  As my Uncle Gary who has seen The Who, The Grateful Dead, The Stones, Hendrix, and other various classic rock bands has said after every Springsteen concert I've taken him to, "Bruce Springsteen is Still The Greatest Live Performer Ever"

PardonMyBruccccce,

Eric

Springsteen's Jungleland

I just got back from my 4th Springsteen concert since 9/28 (yes that's 4 shows in 21 days) and Bruce really is hitting his stride.  The MSG show from last night rivaled Night 2 in Continental Airlines, but this show featured 5 songs from Born to Run and the duo of Meeting Across the River into Jungleland.  The Big Man hit every note in Jungleland and even The Boss was in awe of The Sax solo.

During Livin' In The Future Bruce launches into a talk about what is good about America and then some questionable tactics we've been employing since 9/11.  People ask me all the time what I think of that and I actually lean towards Bruce, but I just don't think it is that simple.  Then friends bring up my working on the McCain campaign and think that's a contradiction.  Not so fast....

This morning I was sent copies of a speech John McCain is giving today.  Inside the speech contains this language:

I am not naive. I know very well the tools some governments have resorted to when threatened: indefinite detention without trial, torture of prisoners, and a belief that anything is permissible in dark places where power is the only law. But these tools are not American tools, and the easy way is not the American way.

Here's what Bruce's rap is before Livin' In The Future...

"things that we look at as American" like "hot dogs, hamburgers (from the Windmill!)" and added to the list "illegal wiretapping, torture, suspension of Habeas Corpus, voter suppression."

The two are verrrryyyy similar, no?  See a good conservative Republican can enjoy a Springsteen concert!

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Springsteen's Magic Is Sneaky Good

I've been listening to Bruce Springsteen's new CD Magic for a little more than a full week courtesy of Q104.3 and will buy the new CD tomorrow while I'm traveling.  I also had to attend the final rehearsal show at Continental Airlines Friday night with my son (it was his second Bruce concert).  It was really one of the greatest concert moments I've ever attended as we were two of about 3K at the show and pretty much had the run of the entire venue.  We could move around so my son had an unobstructed view and danced on the floor to Waitin' on a Sunny Day and Thundercrack, and we screamed during Born to Run.  The show was unbelievably good and I don't even remember paying 3 times the face value to a couple of other fans from South Jersey.  I've also already downloaded a copy of a bootleg from the 2nd rehearsal how in Asbury Park.

I've read a ton of articles and interviews with Bruce on the new CD because it is a complicated one.  This is also the first CD that I had to research from Bruce because past ones usually dealt with simpler, overt messaging - girls, beaches, cars, the working life, and etc.  Magic is definitely not overt and as far as I can tell deals with two main themes: relationships with people and relationships with your country.

The people relationship ones come out loud and clear on songs like Girls in Their Summer Clothes (really a classic Springsteen tune) and I'll Work for Your Love.  The rest of the CD is not so easy and if people tell you that it is NOT political they are really spinning some Magic on you.

1. Magic (the song) is about the ability for the media or politicians to turn truth into lies or lies into truth.  It reminds me of a lot of the posts I've made on understanding the writer's or reporter's point of view and that you should look at both sides of a story for the truth in between.  Bruce also mentioned in the introduction to the song in AP that "we are living in Orwellian times" and that we should "ask John Kerry".
2. Radio Nowhere to me on the surface is the blandness is today's pre-programmed radio stations, but if you scratch the surface, I believe Bruce is warning us how the media if controlled by a few companies (News Corp?) will result in a lack of real debate.  What we'll be left with is a homogeneous media with no real insights
3. Livin' In The Future is one of the most daring songs of the CD.  It is the catchiest tune on it and guaranteed you'll be tapping your feet and singing along without even realizing it.  It reminds me of Born In The USA not because of the words, but because of the message.  BITUSA was hijacked by the media and the anti-war message was lost, but not Livin' In The Future.  Bruce as he introduces the song talks about what America stands for and that now includes "illegal wire-tapping, torture, suspensions of Habeas Corpus" and he refers to 6 years which is a shot against the Bush Administration.

I could go on and on, but I have multiple day jobs and you should get the idea.  As Bruce warns in Magic, you need to spend some time with the lyrics of these songs and understand what you are singing about.  Magic is anything but a non-political CD and as I wrote in the title is sneaky good. 

Instead of being overt in campaigning against what Bruce thinks is right or wrong, he is doing it in song.  I think he is still stung by his entrance into the 2004 election and the subsequent Kerry loss, but that campaigning person is really who he is now.  He can still pump out music, song, and concerts better than anyone alive, but read what you are singing; nothing is what it seems on the surface anymore even from your Rock and Roll hero.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Springsteen's Radio Nowhere is Everywhere but The Radio

On my favorite Springsteen fan site Greasylake the rumors were running everywhere about NY's Q104.3 (yes that old classic rock station is back) playing Springsteen's new song Radio Nowhere.  Sadly, it didn't occur on Monday but they were able to play the song on Friday.  In addition to that, Little Steven's Underground was also supposed to play it tonight, but even though I registered for the site to listen on the web, I'm not tuning in.  What gives?  Have I become disappointed with Bruce and the band?  Heck no, I'm even more Badlands fist pumping excited over a new E Street Band CD and tour to follow.  I just think the folks at Springsteen Inc ought to have a New Media Strategy.  You see relying on radio stations to debut a song is a waste of time for Bruce and a waste of time for you when you can easily find it on the net.

Late last week, you could have downloaded the song from BitTorrent, but let's say you are like me and don't really want to leave a footprint.  Sure I'll trade bootlegs because Bruce and the Band have given their blessings over the years (bootleggers start your tapes), but downloading a studio, copyrighted song, no way.   However, about 2 days ago you could have found the song uploaded on YouTube which is really the uploader's and YouTube's problem.  As of this writing, approximately 45K plays of the song has occurred on YouTube.  That's 45K times that a listen occurred without a radio station.

Now of course I benefited from not wasting my time listening to commercials and songs that a DJ or program director thought I should listen to and for that I'm thankful.  It just points out the sad state that radio is in especially classic rock stations when a classic rock star like Bruce puts out a new song and they can hardly cash in on it.  Does Bruce have a new media strategy?  I don't know and I'm not sure if he cares.  The folks that posted it don't look like they are official types, but who knows maybe the song was leaked to them.  Will he lose sales from posting like this?  Sure, but I don't think anyone should cry because a tour to follow up the release plus merchandise will guarantee Bruce and the Band hundreds of millions of dollars.

If the song was leaked, then why not cash in on the search activity and runs some pay per click ads to drive even more traffic.  How about a free download of his site?  Perhaps he can't because of his contract and if that's the case will Sony now come after YouTube?  It clearly points out that a rock star like Bruce, even with an aging audience has to have a new media strategy.  Anyway, I L-O-V-E the song; nothing is better than listening to a new song by Bruce and The E Street Band to make you feel new again.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

What's Springsteen's Magic Marketing Plan

As you can tell from some of my past link posts, I'm a huge Springsteen fan.  I've seen him over 35 times since 1985, own every one of his releases except for the Seeger Sessions (like Barry Bonds' HR "record" I like to make believe it never occurred), have plenty of signed pictures in my office, and boxes and boxes of bootleg CDs traded over the internet.  Plus, I made sure my son saw him on The Rising Tour even though he was 3 and I plan on taking the whole family to one of the shows.

Springsteen just announced a new studio release slated for October 2nd and it also is an E Street Band CD which is the first one since The Rising.  That is huge news, but besides his dwindling fan base (more on that in a second) does anyone else think it is huge news?  The two major fan sites Backstreets and Greasylake saw huge spikes in traffic with the news, but that is probably fans that have only just started to return from Bruce's E Street Band hiatus (I've been missing since Seeger).  You see, Bruce followed The Rising with Devils and Dust which was mostly an acoustic CD and then toured solo.  He then returned with the folk CD of non-Springsteen covers called the The Seeger Sessions and then toured with a non-E Street Band.  So, it has been a while in between Bruce's rock sound.

So on Friday I looked around the internet to see what buzz I could find and for a while I was excited.  In the middle of the day searches for Bruce Springsteen Magic peaked to 91  according to Google trends, but by the end of the day, Bruce faded away and was no longer in the top 100 searches.  Who ended up ahead of Bruce for the day?  How about?

• John Blewett
• Zach Efron
• Wily Mo Pena (that's pathetic)

Then while experimenting in Facebook I clicked on one of those polls that runs in the margin and decided to construct my own.  So for fun I constructed one on Springsteen to see if Facebook users were excited about the new CD.  Even though it cost me $50, I wanted to test out the Facebook survey service.   Here are the results:

• 8% of users will buy the CD and about 7% might download a song
• 20% don't know who Bruce is
• and 66% said they were not excited about the new release

I don't know if those numbers are good or bad because I've never run a music survey before, but what surprised me the most were the 20% of users who didn't know who Bruce is.  The people that didn't know were more likely to be younger  (13-24 years old), but if you looked at the # of people that are excited they are also more likely to be younger (the chart adds to 100% by age group not by answer) followed by the oldest group of responders.  Clearly there is an opportunity to capture both sets of age groups on the internet.

Clearly with a great sounding CD Bruce can grab tons of fans that can be introduced to him for the first time.  And, if the CD works its Magic Bruce can bring a lot of old fans back into the fold.  I'd love to see what his marketing plan looks like and whether he will use some of the tactics he used the last time for The Seeger Sessions which included music downloads, concert footage, as well as email blasts. 

If I had to guess, Bruce goes out like he has done in the past and tours behind the release, hoping that the greatest live performer in Rock History lifts sales.  However sometime in 2008, Bruce can't resist another Presidential Election and jumps in to support the Democrat Nominee which really introduces him to a new, younger audience that doesn't know who the Boss is; that's the boost to his CD sales.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Marketing Rapid Fire 3-01-07

Hey, it has been a while since I did a marketing rapid fire, mostly because I use the tag posts for you readers.  Anyway, a couple of random observations from the last day or two...

• On a subway train today I saw an ad for MSN Direct's coffee maker which I found surprising.  Not that I thought they shouldn't advertise, but that it was on a subway train which is pretty much not targeted.  Plus, I found it interesting that the product does NOT connect to the internet for data but to FM.  Interesting that MSN's brand to me stands for computers and connecting to the internet and this product doesn't do that. Heck, I might have bought it if it connected to my home network.  How hard could that be for Microsoft?
• Speaking of Microsoft, I've had a lot of problems with their search platform lately.  Not the results reporting but what seems to be an over zealous editorial team rejecting words left and right.  And, to top it off a new mantra to differentiate their marketing campaigns from Yahoo and Google.  Not sure what they mean, but with their low search volume, I think they should be more forgiving to marketers hanging in there with them.
• Speaking of search there were two small, but very good articles today in The Wall Street Journal.  First, Yahoo Ad-Ranking Tools Clicks With Online Users which shows the success that Yahoo is having with their new search algorithm for displaying ads.  Basically, there new model positions ads based on cost, click rate, and relevancy (and others) and this is generating more clicks for them.  And, in a related article a Federal judge ruled that Search Engines Can Legally Decline Ads which allows them to continue this practice.
• Staying in the search mode, quite a few search queries have ended up at my website from the search terms "Springsteen social security number".  1) This is scary that people are trying to do that 2) Shows how natural search isn't always reliable because that is just a concatenation of two mutually exclusive posts.  I of course have no access to that type of data.
• Finally, people still consistently search on my website for results on the crappy Lowermybills.com ads which no matter how they dress them up with presidents, people shaving copy into their hair, are just plain the worst banner ads I've ever seen.  And, judging by the traffic, you readers agree too.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Born to Unsubscribe

Tramps like us, baby we were born to....unsubscribe?  Yes, Born to Run happened over 30 years ago and I was only 8 when it came out.  I remember the music as it was my camp song at NJ Y Camps in PA and I still think of escape, long summer nights, the beach, and friends.  What doesn't come to mind is politics. 

Sure, a seasoned Springsteen fan may argue that some of his music has political undertones (Factory, Born in the USA, No Surrender, Devils and Dust), but the majority of his base of music was around those themes plus working class struggles.  When Springsteen went on the Vote For Change Tour I turned my back, when he campaigned for John Kerry, I tuned him out, and finally when the Peter Seeger Sessions came out I did the unthinkable - I didn't buy a Springsteen CD.  However, I still held out hope until today.

Yes.  Today is the day that I've given up.  That doesn't mean I won't buy older Tracks 5 or a new E-Street Band CD, but being that crazy Springsteen zealot is over.  Today, Bruce jumped the shark when he used his email base to send out a political email (I'll post the image tomorrow).  I signed up to receive Springsteen news and information not an email on which way I should vote or articles I should read.  What makes a musician think they no more about politics than me?  Here's the line on their website as to why you should sign-up for Springsteen email "Join Bruce Springsteen's mailing list to stay up-to-date on all the latest news, tour info, and more!"  More shouldn't mean more political news.

This isn't a left/right issue.  If you are into politics and follow the news, the last thing you need or want is an aging rock star pointing out some interesting articles you should read just in case you missed them.  And, if you are not into politics perhaps you should talk with someone closer to you than a stranger on a CD for political news or viewpoints.  I found the email insulting so I unsubscribed.  Unsubscribing when you get an email like that is the only way to send a message to the sender - any email marketing novice knows to track unsubscribes.

I know you share my pain.  It isn't right that because you wrote music that appealed to a wide range of political views and made millions that now you can try and use that base to influence people to vote the way you think people should.  The only people that will actually click and read the links are people that would have voted your way anyway.

Well, at least we had a good run, but unfortunately I have to fade away.  One of the great things about music is that I can listen to the glory days over and over again.  And, with all of the high quality bootlegs I have, there is always a great Springsteen concert on in my house - from the 70s of course when he just cared about paying for food...

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Springsteen Gets Hitwised

So, if you haven't figured out by now I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and have been for a long time (1983).  However, with Bruce's change in music direction to a folksy one with the release of the We Shall Overcome:The Seeger Sessions, I found myself on the outside looking in on this Springsteen period.  Gone are the rushes to the store to buy the CD before its official release, the endless games of trying to score good tickets, and the hours spent on my favorite Springsteen fan site Greasylake.  Almost all of my friends feel the same way and then I started wondering, what impact this change in direction has had on the rest of Springsteen's fan base. So, I went about this the way I could using whatever online data I could find at my fingertips.

My first visit was to Google Trends to see what the search activity looks like. However, because the data only goes back to 2004, I can't see what the long term trend looks like.  However, judging from what is there, it looks like Bruce's trend has been level except for the Vote for Change Tour and the recent spike around the Seeger Sessions.  One thing you can see is that the recent spike is not as large as the VFC one and now looks like he is returning to normal levels. 

Next visit was to Alexa to look at reach of the three best sites  - Greasylake, Backstreets.com, and brucespringsteen.net.  The Alexa data was a little more interesting because I can track back to 2002.  What does it show?  Well for Greasylake, Backstreets, and  brucespringsteen.net it shows a drop off in traffic with the most pronounced dip on backstreets.com which looks like a Roger Clemens split-finger fastball falling off the table.

Ok, so the traffic is definitely lower on all of the main sites and one could assume so is the search activity.  However, I was still missing the final piece of the puzzle which was whether there was a change in the fan base.

Enter my final stop which was Bill Tancer over at Hitwise.  I asked Bill to take a look at the data hoping he was a Springsteen fan (or at least a casual fan) and you know what, Bill published a great report over at his blog called Springsteen: The Boss Goes Folksy. I won't steal Bill's thunder too much, but he looked at Backstreets.com's website visitor profile from last year and compared it to this year.  He found that Springsteen's fan base has indeed shifted from an Urban Core profile to an Elite Suburban/Midtown Mix.  Very interesting.

So, traffic is down across the board as is search activity for the change in music direction.  Also, it appears that the current fan base is not made up of the working class people and is more elitist.  My guess is that the activity drop-off was probably planned, but what shocked me the most was the shift to the elite suburban mix due to folk music.  I guess the people that enjoy folk music are not the down to earth people you would have guess and instead seem to have a lot of money.  Hmmm, I wonder what their political profile would be???

PardonMyFrench,

Eric