Saturday, March 27, 2004
Hangin' out with the band
Today we have met Måns Ivarsson, journalist at Expressen. His colleague Mats Bråstedt was prevented from coming, but we'll interview him in April.
Måns saw his first Springsteen concert in Copenhagen in 1981. He thinks that the heart of Springsteen's production is centered around the albums Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River, and he ranks the tour in 1981 as the best he has seen.
Måns thinks that the reason Springsteen is so popular in Sweden is that he is so genuine, a "bluecollar rocker, a nice working class guy". That appeals to the swedish audience, because Springsteen personify pretty much the same ideals as were developed in the socialdemocratic People's home.
In 1992 Måns was invited to Hollywood to attend the rehearsals before the Human Touch/Lucky Town-tour. Ivarsson spent four days together with Springsteen and the members of the new band Bruce had put together after the break with the E Street Band.
"That was very exciting, the new band sounded very promising, but later on the tour Bruce didn't manage to use their capacity. They ended up sounding like a bad version of the E Street Band because Bruce didn't have the nerve to let go of the E Street-sound and try something completely different", Måns told us.
Micke, preparing to shoot.
In 1992 Måns got a personal interview with Bruce in Hollywood. That also happened in Stockholm, just before the world premiere of the HT/LT-tour. "I was at the Globe arena, watching the soundcheck, when the manager came up to me and said 'There's somebody who wants to talk to you'. I went to check who it was and there to my surprise, Bruce sat, waiting for me. It was great to interview him. There are few artists who can really express their musical achievements in words, but Bruce and Keith Richards are two of them. Bruce is very intelligent and has a great verbal ability."
Since 1981 Måns have seen most of the shows Bruce have played in Sweden. "Unfortunately I think he have become boring over the years. He doesn't tell these fabulous monologues as he used to do, and he doesn't change the setlists as much. During the eighties you never knew what would happen during a show, today there is less variation in the performances. But you have to remember, even when Bruce is boring he still is better than most artists today."
Måns also thinks that The Gost of Tom Joad and The Rising are bad albums. "They just don't touch me. They are writingtable products. The first is based on newpaper articles about illegal immigrants. I've read somewhere that Bruce tried to write happy songs about a comfortable familylife, but the audience didn't like them. If you want to be cynical you could say that he needed an event like 9/11 to give him something more painful to write about, because he doesn't find that in his own life anymore."
But Måns still has high hopes for the future. He says it would be great with a new album and another tour. "But I do hope it will be more of a garage rock album, with a rougher sound", he said.
We thank Måns Ivarsson for an inspiring conversation. Next interview will be on Tuesday, when we will meet celloplayer Daniel who saw Springsteens first show in Sweden, at Konserthuset in 1975.
Måns saw his first Springsteen concert in Copenhagen in 1981. He thinks that the heart of Springsteen's production is centered around the albums Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River, and he ranks the tour in 1981 as the best he has seen.
Måns thinks that the reason Springsteen is so popular in Sweden is that he is so genuine, a "bluecollar rocker, a nice working class guy". That appeals to the swedish audience, because Springsteen personify pretty much the same ideals as were developed in the socialdemocratic People's home.
In 1992 Måns was invited to Hollywood to attend the rehearsals before the Human Touch/Lucky Town-tour. Ivarsson spent four days together with Springsteen and the members of the new band Bruce had put together after the break with the E Street Band.
"That was very exciting, the new band sounded very promising, but later on the tour Bruce didn't manage to use their capacity. They ended up sounding like a bad version of the E Street Band because Bruce didn't have the nerve to let go of the E Street-sound and try something completely different", Måns told us.
Micke, preparing to shoot.
In 1992 Måns got a personal interview with Bruce in Hollywood. That also happened in Stockholm, just before the world premiere of the HT/LT-tour. "I was at the Globe arena, watching the soundcheck, when the manager came up to me and said 'There's somebody who wants to talk to you'. I went to check who it was and there to my surprise, Bruce sat, waiting for me. It was great to interview him. There are few artists who can really express their musical achievements in words, but Bruce and Keith Richards are two of them. Bruce is very intelligent and has a great verbal ability."
Since 1981 Måns have seen most of the shows Bruce have played in Sweden. "Unfortunately I think he have become boring over the years. He doesn't tell these fabulous monologues as he used to do, and he doesn't change the setlists as much. During the eighties you never knew what would happen during a show, today there is less variation in the performances. But you have to remember, even when Bruce is boring he still is better than most artists today."
Måns also thinks that The Gost of Tom Joad and The Rising are bad albums. "They just don't touch me. They are writingtable products. The first is based on newpaper articles about illegal immigrants. I've read somewhere that Bruce tried to write happy songs about a comfortable familylife, but the audience didn't like them. If you want to be cynical you could say that he needed an event like 9/11 to give him something more painful to write about, because he doesn't find that in his own life anymore."
But Måns still has high hopes for the future. He says it would be great with a new album and another tour. "But I do hope it will be more of a garage rock album, with a rougher sound", he said.
We thank Måns Ivarsson for an inspiring conversation. Next interview will be on Tuesday, when we will meet celloplayer Daniel who saw Springsteens first show in Sweden, at Konserthuset in 1975.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
From small things...
Today we have met Andres Lokko, who work as a music critic at the eveningpaper Expressen. Andres is also a scriptwriter for Killinggänget, a group that have made a number of humoruos tv-programs and films.
Andres saw hist first Springsteen concert in 1981, at Hovet, Stockholm. As he knew only one song (Hungry Heart) he was completely surprised by the intensity and energy, and he still ranks that show as one of the best he has seen. Since then he hasn't seen that many Springsteen concerts, he didn't feel that was necessary since it would be almost impossible to top the preformance in 1981.
"What makes Bruce Springsteen a unique artist is that he has the ability to merge serious monologues about his upbringing or political statements with tremendous partyrockin'. He is also one of the very best actors in the musicbusiness, because his performances are very carefully staged to make people feel that they are taking part in a onetime experience. This night he is singing for them only, and that kind of spontaneity can only happen in a very carefully directed show."
Andres also told us that one of the reasons the swedish media, and especially the eveningpapers Aftonbladet and Expressen, write so much about Bruce when he comes here is that the papers have developed a style which is centered very much around events. This started in the mid eighties and have reached it's peak today when the papers writes endless articles about the Eurovison song contest or what happens in the most popular reality show. It's also Andres opinion that this "eventjournalism" has created the use of stars, bumblebees or other symbols for rating the concerts, instead of longer articles that analyse the show in a deeper way.
Andres also said that the reason Bruce have gotten so big in Sweden is that swedes are suckers for melodies. And Bruce knows how to turn out songs that get you straight in the heart. "Take a song like Drive All Night, it's so beautiful in it's simplicity. Here Bruce manage to combine an extremely romantic ideal with very ordinary things. In the lines 'I swear I'll drive all night just to buy you some shoes' the man isn't giving his girl diamonds or pearls, just a pair of shoes. That's very moving."
If Bruce has one hidden tallent that is seldome noticed, Andres like to point out his ability to write very simple about complicated things.
We also talked a bit about the fact that Bruce has become almost as untoucheable as Ingmar Bergman in Sweden. It's very hard to write a bad word about Bruce. This may be the result of the swedish music critics beeing rather hesitant about Springsteen's performances during the late seventies and early eighties. "Now they regret it and give him high ratings on old merits rather than on what he actually performs today", said Andres.
We thank him so much for a very interesting interview and move on to our next meeting with critics Måns Ivarsson and Mats Bråstedt on Saturday.
Andres saw hist first Springsteen concert in 1981, at Hovet, Stockholm. As he knew only one song (Hungry Heart) he was completely surprised by the intensity and energy, and he still ranks that show as one of the best he has seen. Since then he hasn't seen that many Springsteen concerts, he didn't feel that was necessary since it would be almost impossible to top the preformance in 1981.
"What makes Bruce Springsteen a unique artist is that he has the ability to merge serious monologues about his upbringing or political statements with tremendous partyrockin'. He is also one of the very best actors in the musicbusiness, because his performances are very carefully staged to make people feel that they are taking part in a onetime experience. This night he is singing for them only, and that kind of spontaneity can only happen in a very carefully directed show."
Andres also told us that one of the reasons the swedish media, and especially the eveningpapers Aftonbladet and Expressen, write so much about Bruce when he comes here is that the papers have developed a style which is centered very much around events. This started in the mid eighties and have reached it's peak today when the papers writes endless articles about the Eurovison song contest or what happens in the most popular reality show. It's also Andres opinion that this "eventjournalism" has created the use of stars, bumblebees or other symbols for rating the concerts, instead of longer articles that analyse the show in a deeper way.
Andres also said that the reason Bruce have gotten so big in Sweden is that swedes are suckers for melodies. And Bruce knows how to turn out songs that get you straight in the heart. "Take a song like Drive All Night, it's so beautiful in it's simplicity. Here Bruce manage to combine an extremely romantic ideal with very ordinary things. In the lines 'I swear I'll drive all night just to buy you some shoes' the man isn't giving his girl diamonds or pearls, just a pair of shoes. That's very moving."
If Bruce has one hidden tallent that is seldome noticed, Andres like to point out his ability to write very simple about complicated things.
We also talked a bit about the fact that Bruce has become almost as untoucheable as Ingmar Bergman in Sweden. It's very hard to write a bad word about Bruce. This may be the result of the swedish music critics beeing rather hesitant about Springsteen's performances during the late seventies and early eighties. "Now they regret it and give him high ratings on old merits rather than on what he actually performs today", said Andres.
We thank him so much for a very interesting interview and move on to our next meeting with critics Måns Ivarsson and Mats Bråstedt on Saturday.
