How can he be singing the songs of the common working man when hes so well off?
He’s earned his money, and I can’t think of a $100 I’d rather spend than to go to a Springsteen concert. Sure, he’s well off– rich, even. But he remembers where he came from, and he has kept faith with the people of his class. I grew up in a similar kind of working class family, and I’ll tell you, Springsteen captures that experience (the limited horizons; having to go off to a body-wrecking, mind-numbing job, day after day; the rage that simmered so often, just beneath the surface– but also, the sense of neighborhood and community and the power of those other “ties that bind”) with such authenticity and honesty, that I know this isn’t just an act for him. He remembers. Do artists have a responsibility to discuss current events in their songs? Why or why not? What about if an artist you like takes a contrary position to your own? I think it’s up to the particular artist (as it’s up to any of us to choose how we are going to act and take part– or not– as individual citizens). We hav
