Bobby Jean

Since I spend most of my day trolling the internet looking for jobs I've had a lot of time to listen to music. My stereo sits in the computer room so I've been digging through old CD's listening to music that's been ignored for way too long. One disc is Bruce Springsteen's underrated second album "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle." Rosalita is the standout song on the album but a bunch of others are real jewels that come to life when Springsteen performs them live.

That brings me to a recent purchase I made. The only Springsteen discs I never purchased besides are the recent Pete Seeger Sessions and "Born in the USA." It was played to death and I just couldn't take hearing "Glory Days" or "Hungry Heart" or the title track, although I must admit a weakness for "Dancing in the Dark." I finally broke down and bought it and rediscovered a jewel that I can't get out of my head, "Bobby Jean."

The song has become especially poignant give the events of the last couple of weeks. It broke my heart that he played it in Tampa a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to go but because of my lack of employment I couldn't justify the cost. Then my good buddy Chris rubbed it in when he told me The Boss cranked it out again last week when he went to see him in Des Moines.

There aren't many bands or people that I will bother to go see live anymore. The crowds, the cost and the other hassles (mostly people talking through entire shows) don't make it worth it. But I think I could be persuaded to take in another Springsteen show.