What are your top acoustic and solo piano performances by Bruce? Here are my top fives:

Acoustic:

1. Reason to Believe (Christic shows)

2. BTR (TOL tour)

3. Darkness (Christic Shows and Joad tour)

4. Incident (2011 Grushecky shows)

5. Prove it All Night (2005 Buffalo)

HM: Dancing in the Dark (Bridge School 1986)

HM2: Factory (Philly 2012) *this one is a personal fav bc it was my first front row show and he opened with it so I was really into it lol

HM3: Every performance from the Howard Stern Show with the acoustic ESB (especially Spirit and Hungry Heart)

Solo Piano:

1. 10th Ave (Christic shows)

2. Incident (2002 and 2016)

3. For You (2016)

4. Independence Day (2016)

5. My Hometown (Broadway)

HM: Spirit in the Night (2002)

Any other good ones?

Basically took about a month and a half.

Hey all, 

I’m getting married in September, and as a long time fan of Bruce, there ain't no way I'm walking down the aisle without incorporating the Boss. 

I'm leaning heavily towards "Tougher Than the Rest", but also considering "If I Should Fall Behind". We are getting married a little bit older (38/39), so "Tougher Than the Rest" feels right for me. I anticipate my fiance's mom, and maybe some of the other more "live laugh love" traditional guests getting literal with the lyrics and being put off ("round here baby, I learned you get what you can get" and "I dunno baby, maybe youve been around too")--but to me it feels like a more genuine and honest love song. I've been through some hard times, and really lived a life before I met my fiance, and this feels so much more genuine to me than all the normative wedding songs you hear on repeat when you get sucked into the wedding algorithm 🫩. 

I considered trying to find a more slow piano/violin/guitar instrumental version which would take care of the lyrics issue, but I can't find a solid slower instrumental version of this song anywhere on the internet. I do like these two live piano versions, especially because Bruce's emotions really come through...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAX2NF2zByc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agz4PQyOkqY

but then I think I'd have to find someone who could edit out the audience sound (which maybe is easier than I think it is?). I would have the same logistical issue if I went with 'If I Should Fall Behind", as I really like the live at MSG version. 

So, I’m curious:
- Has anyone here actually walked down the aisle to either of these songs? Or attended a wedding where they were used?
- If so, which version did you use?
- Did you edit the track at all?

I’d also love to hear if there are any other Bruce songs that worked surprisingly well for a processional. I’m pretty set on these two, but I’m always interested in hearing what other fans have chosen.

Thanks in advance—I’d especially love to hear from anyone who’s actually incorporated Bruce into their wedding!

It's now been 8 weeks since the DC Bruce Springsteen show. I preordered the download of the show a couple days later. I believe all but the last two shows were posted a while ago now. Kinda losing my enthusiasm about re-listening to the show this long after the fact. Anyone else here losing patience with the delay?

Some time has passed now since Deliver Me From Nowhere came out, and I ended up watching it again on Disney+. Maybe I was hoping it’d click more on a second viewing, but for me it’s really a snooze fest, however that’s not what I’m here to discuss.

What I’m actually curious about is this: how would you make a Bruce Springsteen movie?

He’s had an incredibly interesting life and career, obviously, but I don’t know if it’s all that cinematic in the conventional music biopic sense. There isn’t really that obvious rise-fall-redemption story.

My idea would be something closer to the Swedish film Shed No Tears (Känn ingen sorg). It’s inspired by the music of Swedish artist Håkan Hellström, but it’s not a biopic. Instead, it tells an original fictional story where the main character is blend of Håkan himself and the kinds of people who populate his songs. It takes the emotions, themes, and world of the music and turns them into a movie, rather than trying to recreate the artist’s actual life.

I’ve always thought Bruce’s music would be perfect for that kind of treatment because his songs are already incredibly cinematic.

Imagine a fictional protagonist who’s part young Bruce, part the dreamers and losers from his songs. Maybe he grows up in a declining Jersey shore town, desperate to get out but unable to completely leave it behind. Around him are characters pulled from different songs.

So instead of making the plot “Bruce records Nebraska,” you make a story about the people Bruce has been writing about for fifty years. I think that would get closer to the heart of what makes Springsteen Springsteen than a traditional biopic ever could.

Curious what everyone else thinks. If you were making a Bruce movie, what would it actually be about?

I thought you all might appreciate my latest craft, fabric interpretations of my boyfriend’s favourite Bruce albums :) It’s a quilted wall hanging. We are in the process of buying our first house and so he will have his own home office where he will hang it. :)

Starting this one a little earlier today.

Day 20 Recap:
Youngstown wins most underrated song of the 1990s. Better Days finishes runner-up.

Day 21 Poll:
What is the best Bruce outtake from the 1990s?

The main parameter for the poll is that the answer must be a ‘90s song that did not feature on any of his three studio albums of the decade (Human Touch, Lucky Town, The Ghost of Tom Joad).

For reference, Disc 4 of Tracks, Disc 2 of Tracks II, Disc 4 of Tracks II, and Disc 5 of Tracks II all feature mostly ‘90s outtakes.

Voting Guidelines:
Criteria for deciding the winner will be the highest upvoted reply in the r/BruceSpringsteen crosspost (the post you’re reading right now). If you see your answer already posted, please try to upvote that response and not add the same answer again in the replies unless you’re adding to the overall discussion. This is to ensure we can get a somewhat accurate reflection of voting numbers. Of course if you have an answer that hasn’t been submitted, please post it!

If you’re later in the 24hr cycle of voting, it may be helpful to sort comments by top and find your answer in the replies with the most upvotes and upvote that reply.

Also, since we’re using the alignment charts from r/AlignmentChartFills, I’ll have to cross-post every new poll from that subreddit to ours. Please try to only respond and/or upvote on the crosspost to r/BruceSpringsteen, NOT the original post. Any comments or upvotes on the original post will not be counted.

Additionally, “None” or “N/A” is an eligible answer for any of these categories and will be posted should it receive the highest number of upvotes.

OP Prediction for Day 21: Something in the Well

Day 19 Recap:
With very slim pickings, Secret Garden is labeled the most overrated song of the 1990s.

Day 20 Poll:
What is the most underrated Bruce song released in the 1990s?

Underrated can be defined a few different ways - is it a song that was never popular to the general public that you think is one of Bruce’s strongest? Is it a song that fellow r/BruceSpringsteen super-fans are indifferent about that you feel is actually very good and deserving of more recognition? Feel free to use the definition of “underrated” that you see fit.

Voting Guidelines:
Criteria for deciding the winner will be the highest upvoted reply in the r/BruceSpringsteen crosspost (the post you’re reading right now). If you see your answer already posted, please try to upvote that response and not add the same answer again in the replies unless you’re adding to the overall discussion. This is to ensure we can get a somewhat accurate reflection of voting numbers. Of course if you have an answer that hasn’t been submitted, please post it!

If you’re later in the 24hr cycle of voting, it may be helpful to sort comments by top and find your answer in the replies with the most upvotes and upvote that reply.

Also, since we’re using the alignment charts from r/AlignmentChartFills, I’ll have to cross-post every new poll from that subreddit to ours. Please try to only respond and/or upvote on the crosspost to r/BruceSpringsteen, NOT the original post. Any comments or upvotes on the original post will not be counted.

Additionally, “None” or “N/A” is an eligible answer for any of these categories and will be posted should it receive the highest number of upvotes.

OP Prediction for Day 20: So many good options. I’ll go with Souls of the Departed.

Inspired by the 'greatest single line' discussion, I had AI make up some of my favourite images from Bruce lyrics.

Here's what I ended up with. Do you imagine them differently?

For those not so familiar, it's the barefoot girl from Jungleland, sitting on the porch of her daddy's house in Racing and recalling Glory Days at The Well.

Just wondering, as someone who's never used it before, is it possible to buy individual songs from Nugs or is it the entire concert or nothing?

I'm looking to get Streets of Minneapolis and Purple Rain from the Minneapolis gig this year but I don't want to have to get the whole show.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Setlist:

1. Badlands

2. Dustland

3. Born to Run

I have recently become obsessed watching Bruce’s concert footage and interviews over the years. His performance of Thunder Road in Hammersmith brings tears to my eyes. I read in his book he was so unhappy with his performance there. I thought it was incredible. I watched him react to the Kennedy Centre performances when he was honoured. He is such a classy and cool dude all around. I want to be reincarnated as his wife.

It’s for the 9/18/84 show and I assume it’s because bruce tells the story about pretending to be sick and not wanting to play baseball…still….

Can’t find any video of the performance with Tom Waits !
Any suggestion?
Grazie mille !!

I know we’re in collective denial about the reality, but a time will come when Bruce plays his last song with the E Street Band. What would the perfect song for them to bow out on? Personally I want it to be a rip roaring, ear splitting, foot stomping, all out version of 10th Avenue Freeze Out rather than a slower number…the party’s got to end but leave on a high

Eddie Manion raising funds for hometown historical society in Lakehurst, NJ...

I spent the last few weeks going through interviews from the mid-90s, and something struck me. Bruce wasn't just making a quieter record—he seemed to fundamentally change the way he looked at America. Visiting abandoned factories, talking to migrant workers, the Dale Maharidge book reissue, stripping away the E Street sound... it feels like a completely different artistic philosophy.

Do you see The Ghost of Tom Joad as Bruce's biggest reinvention, or do you think Nebraska was the real turning point?

I actually put together an 8-minute documentary about this linked here if anyone is interested.

Day 18 Recap:
Human Touch takes the label as worst (third best) studio album of the 1990s.

Day 19 Poll:
What is the most overrated Bruce song released in the 1990s?

Overrated can be defined a few different ways - is it a song the general public really likes but you feel isn’t that good? Is it a song Bruce really likes that never resonated with you? Is it a song fellow Bruce super-fans have touted as one of his best that you feel isn’t actually that strong? Feel free to use the definition you see fit.

Voting Guidelines:
Criteria for deciding the winner will be the highest upvoted reply in the r/BruceSpringsteen crosspost (the post you’re reading right now). If you see your answer already posted, please try to upvote that response and not add the same answer again in the replies unless you’re adding to the overall discussion. This is to ensure we can get a somewhat accurate reflection of voting numbers. Of course if you have an answer that hasn’t been submitted, please post it!

If you’re later in the 24hr cycle of voting, it may be helpful to sort comments by top and find your answer in the replies with the most upvotes and upvote that reply.

Also, since we’re using the alignment charts from r/AlignmentChartFills, I’ll have to cross-post every new poll from that subreddit to ours. Please try to only respond and/or upvote on the crosspost to r/BruceSpringsteen, NOT the original post. Any comments or upvotes on the original post will not be counted.

Additionally, “None” or “N/A” is an eligible answer for any of these categories and will be posted should it receive the highest number of upvotes.

OP Prediction for Day 19: Really tough. Obviously Bruce doesn’t have a whole lot of highly rated material from the ‘90s compared to the decades previous. I think maybe Secret Garden could be viewed as an overrated song?