Well I’ve got this guitar and he learned how to make it talk

AHHHH the memories of listening to Bruce Springsteen as a kid… My mom would put his records on and my sister and I would dance around the room... Mom would sing those lyrics at the top of her lungs… She would go in an almost trance like state… The words spoke to her… And I could see that, however I could never relate to most of what he sang… All I wanted to do was just dance and sing to "Dancing in the Dark" or "Born in the U.S.A"…


It would be later in my life that I would come to realize that this was the music that has accompanied my mother through every transition in her life…Bruce has over the course of his life, written the soundtrack that is my mom's life…highs, lows, divorce, job loss... Real issues…Ok here is how he has become a soundtrack to mine… It was right after I graduated high school I gave my mom's worn out Born to Run cd a chance… As I listened I was amazed this album deals with the themes of teenage rebellion, youthful hopes and fears, escape the "death trap of a town", and longing for freedom… The album to me sounded something that was written today not 30 years ago... Ok, maybe the youth of today might not be listening to Roy Orbison anymore… But cars to many of us still equal independence... Dreams are still big… Life is still dramatic and adventures epic…. Love still feels like a matter of life and death… Every moment is filled with the possibility of something...


Now let me "bring it all home" on why I am writing this… I watched The O'Reilly Factor last night… It was about Bruce Springsteen's views on the Bush administration's handling of homeland security and the war in Iraq… Here is what upset me O'Reilly went so far as to saying Bruce was "using his music and his talent to try and persuade people that his view of the world is right, and that can be dangerous in the war on terror." He also said that "he is an influence to voters in the 18-35 age groups"… They had some man on to defend Bruce (I think his name is Kinky) and he brought up a valid point and something that I am wondering, as we "the voters in this 18-35 age group," " Have you ever met one politician who's inspired you?"

Here is my view… I have never met a polititician whom has inspired me… and the reason that we look (most of us) up to musicians, and artists is because they do just that inspire us… That is the beauty of art…Words and music are here to paint a picture, to tell a story. Sometimes the music will tell a story of the inequality, the injustice, the anger, the fear, and the struggles of every man… He tells my story… He tells my mom's story too… Politicians only tell me what they want us to hear… What their advisors tell them to say…And granted most of them have a diploma from some Ivy League school…But have they ever struggled??? Do they know what its like to have no money in the bank, work a minimum wage job barely making the bills and two kids??? Show me some pain, show me some anger, and show me that you know what its like to be me… Then maybe you can inspire me…

Bruce is not journalist or a politician… He is songwriter, he is an artist, he is a father, and is American… And the last time I checked we had this ability to speak our minds…

I would like to believe that my generation is a generation of thinkers, movers, and shakers... I would love to believe we are quite capable of making up their own minds on the issues… And interested in just listening to some good 'ole rock and roll music.