Bruce
Interview with Blogness on the Edge of Town
Blogness on the Edge of Town — “The Best Springsteen Blog on the Internets” — published this long conversation. Enjoy Part One here and Part Two over here. Thanks again, Pete!
BRUCE: The reviews are pouring in!
“Carlin’s exhaustively researched portrait of rock and roll’s working-class hero delivers everything a fan could wish for.”
—PEOPLE
“Interviews with bandmates, family members and exes paint an unflinching portrait of the rock icon. … Dives into Springsteen’s personal life in unprecedented depth. … No previous biographer has uncovered as much about Springsteen’s family.”
—ROLLING STONE
“An astute, engaging account.”
—USA TODAY
“BRUCE delivers. … Carlin gets across why Mr. Springsteen has meant so much, for so long, to so many people.”
—NEW YORK TIMES
“An honest portrayal of the rock & roll legend.”
—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“Carlin delivers the book Springsteen fans have been waiting for.”
—NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
“Do we need another Springsteen biography? The answer, here, is yes, thanks in large part to Carlin’s tireless reporting, which helps straighten out some of the lore-laden stories of Springsteen’s early years in New Jersey, and further illuminates his later struggles with depression.”
—BOSTON GLOBE
“There are probably more books about Bruce Springsteen than there are about any other rock star of his generation. But until one comes out with the words ‘By Bruce Springsteen’ on the cover, BRUCE will be the definitive one.”
—STAR-LEDGER (NJ)
“The Boss comes into human-scale focus.”
—VOGUE.COM
“You can pretty much sweep all those other Bruce books to the side. This one is the real deal. … A fascinating and even inspiring read … buoyed by personal interviews with, well, everybody.”
—BLOGNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
“Not just must reading for Springsteen fans but anyone who appreciates music. It is meticulously researched and highly readable. It is essential and a definitive insider look at one of the most complex and intriguing artists in American music.”
—TUCSON CITIZEN
“Definitive in its scope and detail.”
—KANSAS CITY STAR
“Carlin is an effective, unstuffy storyteller.”
—SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
“The definitive story of his life. … A detailed rendering of the man rather than the icon, with all his flaws and strengths.”
—TOLEDO BLADE
A little New Jersey love for BRUCE
Jay Lustig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger says, “There are probably more books about Springsteen than there are about any rock star of his generation. But until one comes out with the words ‘by Bruce Springsteen’ on the cover, BRUCE will be the definitive one.”
Thanks, Jay! Read more of what he has to say here.
Bruce and Barack: the beginning of a beautiful friendship
Now barnstorming across swing states to lend his support to the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen’s public advocacy of the nation’s first African-American president dates back to the spring of 2008. How did that come to happen? What kind of relationship have the two men had ever since? Here’s a new BRUCE video trailer that describes it all.
BRUCE: Where to Purchase
Click your preferred bookseller to order BRUCE:
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BRUCE: Advance Praise
“There are many things I could and should be doing right now, but I am not… I am reading and rereading this book. Why did you do this to me?”
— Jon Stewart
“For all those of us who grew up on the Jersey Shore, chasing Bruce and the band every weekend: the chase is over. It’s all here. Everything we didn’t know then — we’re surprised to learn now. It’s close, it’s intimate — the master of introspection allows some full-on inspection of his life.”
— Brian Williams, NBC News
“An epic look at the man and his music.”
— Kirkus Reviews
BRUCE news (Updated with foreign publisher news)
BRUCE, my biography of Bruce Springsteen, will be published by Simon & Schuster on either November 6, 2012 (according to what I hear from the publisher) or on October 30 (according to Amazon). If you know for sure, please let me know.
One way or another, there will be a book. It will include many new, intimate details about Springsteen’s life — many provided by Bruce himself, along with his mom, aunts and sisters, childhood friends, bandmates, Jon Landau, the occasional U.S. Senator and virtually every living member of E Street Band, past and present. and more. Here’s what the cover looks like.
BRUCE will also be published, at various times and in various languages, in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Greece, France, German, Japan, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Finland. That list may grow in the next little while.
There will be more to talk about, book-wise in the near future, but for now here are a few notes and links.
First thing: I’ll be appearing — and previewing sections of the book — at the Bruce Springsteen symposium held at Monmouth University in mid-September. My presentation is on Sunday, September 16, just after lunch. You can learn more, and register to attend, right here.
USA Today ran a preview about the big music biographies coming in the fall, and included BRUCE on the list. They note that the book is being “buzzed-about,” which is always nice to hear. The buzzing. Gives me a buzz. Whatever, you can see it for yourself here.
Also, New Yorker magazine editor David Remnick wrote a nice profile of Springsteen for his publication. I spoke to him a bunch when he was doing his research and he quoted from BRUCE in his piece. You can read it here.
Finally, this entire site will be redesigned, re-tooled and even reimagined in the next few weeks. We’ll re-launch in mid-October looking way sharp and cool and ready to blog consistently (I swear this time) even better than ever before.
I might blog more between now and then. But ya never know.
Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball”: Previews of the Reviews
Let’s just get this out of the way right now.
Bruce Springsteen’s 17th album, “Wrecking Ball,” is set to be released on March 5th. The record’s first single, “We Take Care of Our Own” emerged two days ago, and quickly stirred up a tumult of confusion, anger and political/cultural analysis. And given the content of the album it’s safe to say that the debate about this album is only getting started.
And given the content of the discussion so far — is “WTCOOO” a stirring affirmation of American values or a bitter denunciation of them?
Whose politics does it support, and whose does it denounce? What gives him the right to say any of this, or not say something else entirely?
I predict we’ll be reading and hearing about this stuff for months. And just to save you the time and angst you’d otherwise spend listening to the sturm and also possibly the drang, here’s a preview of who’s going to say what, where and why.
Conservative op-ed columnists: “Wrecking Ball” is actually a denunciation of the Obama’s inability to cure the economy, and a testament to the up-by-the-bootstraps career Springsteen built for himself — without the help of food stamps, by the way. Either that, or a pathetic attempt to blame George W Bush and the Republicans for ongoing problems that nobody cares about anymore, anyway. Springsteen’s airing out the typical whining from the Blame America First crowd.
Far Left bloggers: Springsteen is pathetic, but that’s because he supports a president who has been selling out the left since the day he took office. Also, his use of loops, electronic rhythms and other hip-hop-esque techniques is precisely the cultural pillaging that rich white entertainers have done ever since Elvis Presley ripped off Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup, and on and on.
Bill O’Reilly: Springsteen is a limousine liberal who has no business speaking for — or even about — the sort of right-thinking working folks that he, Bill O’Reilly, grew up with in good old Levittown. And if Springsteen feels so bad about poor people, why doesn’t he give them all his money? Huh? What a hypocrite.
Some mainstream political blogger based in Washington, DC: You can sum up the point of the album in one word: Michigan. Because if Obama doesn’t carry that state in November it’s lights out for the Democrats. And if you don’t think “Death to My Hometown” wasn’t written specifically to appeal to voters in the industrial midwest — particularly those with two working parents and incomes in the $42k-to-$52k range with socially conservative values and some college education, then you’re obviously not paying attention.
Glenn Beck: If you add up the number of songs, which is 11, then add the two bonus tracks from the expanded edition, which makes 13, then all you need to do is multiply that number by 17, which is the number of albums he’s released, extend it out to ten decimal places and do you see that number? That is the actual home address of George Soros. Do you see where this is heading?
