In Springsteen's universe, life's "losers" always retain their dignity. Their choices have immense moral consequences, and are seen on an epic and anthemic scale.

What a monster. I learned fuck-all about the Boss from Brooks's column, but I did learn a lot about David Brooks:

For reasons having to do with the peculiarities of our civilization, we pay a great deal of attention to our scholastic educations, which are formal and supervised, and we devote much less public thought to our emotional educations, which are unsupervised and haphazard.

I went to the same school as David Brooks, and learned a lot about my emotional education (I even took a class about rock 'n' roll!). I suspect that that's the case with most people who go to college, save for weird robot assholes like David Brooks.

The only consolation is that hopefully the ghost of Allan Bloom will haunt his dumb ass.

I learned a great deal about hygiene from Bobby Darin songs.

Just like people completely misunderstand the words of the Christian Bible (or any other religious volume) and misappropriate the lessons contained therein to validate their own views, so does Brooksy completely screw the pooch by claiming he and The Boss are soulmates. Wonder how Britney's "In the Zone" CD completely altered his life and worldview.

It's a basic part of Brooks' schtick that he understands and speaks for the average person out there in Mid-America. it helps to reinforce his belief if he can tell himself something like "I like to sing along with the chorus to 'Factory", I must really understand these people."

He doesn't, of course. One of the things that makes Bruce Springsteen a great artist is that his interest in and affection for the characters in his songs is obviously honest and genuine. David Brooks' attempt to claim the same for himself is, in contrast, a self-deluding conceit.

Excellent article - Personally I hated the Brooks article and BTW I live in Ireland and I am a Springsteen fan

Marie Antoinette kept a little house on her estate complete with a tiny barn and some sheep so she could play at being a shepherdess.

I think the same forces may be at play here.

This article is outrageous. A man says he likes Springsteen, and you attack him saying he's not worthy?? Who the fuck are you?? You have every right to your opinion and to print your opinion, freedom of press. Nonetheless, this article is absolutely fucking ridiculous. I'm sure YOU have gone through everything Bruce Springsteen's characters have gone through. You honestly think one person has more right to enjoyment of a artist then another? What a blindside hit. He was sitting there talking about how he loves springsteen. I've seen 4 shows. I listen to bruce a TON. I bet i can name 98 percent of his songs within the first 3 seconds, and know all the words to 99 percent of his songs. His music speaks to me. Or is that all a lie because i beleive extending healthcare to 30 million people will very temporarily help the nation, and in the long run completely make us 5-10 times worse? I've experienced the joy of springsteen in his shows, or is that all fake because i haven't actually worked with my dad in a factory, or messed with real racial issues? Seriously Ray whoever you are, email me. Remember freedom of speech? I have some liberal ideals, but id be lying if i didnt say that i was probably 75-35 percent conservative-liberal. You just gave liberals a terrible terrible name IMO. Really, attacking someone for an OPINION that doesn't affect you?? WOW. High class.

Trey, you couldn't possibly have picked a worse musician to make a last stand with--Springsteen is, at this point, well-known for his liberal politics (and good for him):

"Because of his support for the presidential campaigns of Senator John Kerry and Senator Barack Obama, Springsteen has gradually become identified with liberal politics." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen )

I'm glad Springsteen's music affects you--as it does me--but for a major conservative columnist to write about Springsteen without mentioning his politics would be like me writing about how much I like, say, Ayn Rand without *ever mentioning her politics.* Springsteen's music, and his songs about union workers and the little guy are directly relatable to his politics. You can't really have one without the other.

That being said, Roy, a world in which David Brooks wrote columns about pop culture without ever mentioning politics would be a good thing, and good behavior deserves to be rewarded. Maybe we can send him some gerbil pellets or something.

True art transcends party politics. Or is this the only dimension you see people in? I'm not trying to attack you personally, that was supposed to be a legit question, sorry if it comes off as more then that, i could understand if it did. I think to say that you have to have been through something his characters have been through to understand him and his music. When i tell people about Springsteen, one of the last things i mention is his politics, because it doesnt at least to me make up that important of an aspect that it deserves comment. Yes, if that's what your looking for, you can talk about the politics found in 'The River', and the immigration ideas presented in 'Matamoras Banks'. You can see those issues though without thinking oh yeah, he's liberal. You don't have to mention his politics when you say you like him. Would you write a column about Luke Wilson without saying he's liberal? Yeah, you probably would, because while it's a big part of who HE is, you can enjoy his work no matter what your political affiliation is.(for the record, im not 100 percent sure luke wilson is liberal. its just an example to make my point)

I bet i can name 98 percent of his songs within the first 3 seconds

See, that would be a trick.

Imagine if David Brooks listened to such classic songs like "Bums In The Street" or "Destination Nowhere". The problem with that though, is they weren't good enough to be played anywhere.

Seriously Ray whoever you are, email me.

I dunno, maybe it's only because it's a slow day round here but I love this line. I want it to be in a movie.

Ye-Gods! Imagine what Brooks must have been like before he was "...indirectly and unconsciously educated."

I pretty much ignored pop music in the 70's, and just encountered Mr. Springsteen's music last year. Lucky Me!

You know, Trey, you sound an awful lot like I'd imagine David Brooks sounding if he had a snootful of liquor and someone in a bar laughed at him when he told them that he thought that he and Bruce were soul mates. Ignoring the politics in Springsteen's songs makes about as much sense as feigning shock and dismay when someone mentions that the Boss' songs often mention cars.

Oh, and by the way, it's Roy, not Ray. Right there at the top of the post.