WE? I want to Barf!
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> Thought I was in for a feel-good read. Until I came across the
reference to
> Asbury Park as "a town of losers." Guess I'm not thick-skinned.
Feel free
> to educate this guy via the comment box or letters link.
>
> Anyone get what he means by "horizontally inclined"?
>
> =============================================
>
> From Duke University's The Sandbox - Recess
> at http://tinyurl.com/6m3ccx Posted: 12/4/08
>
>
> We New Jerseyans have thick skin about most offenses to the Garden
State.
> (Just to be clear: It doesn't smell like garbage, I don't find it
ironic that
> our state nickname invokes beauty and if New Jersey is the armpit of
America,
> our glob of a country sure is horizontally inclined.)
>
>
> We'll tolerate most barbs, but don't you dare demean Bruce
Springsteen,
> because The Boss is ours. He's stitched himself into the fabric of
New Jersey,
> and by this point he's as culturally ingrained as diners, Tony
Soprano and the
> neon lights on the boardwalk's tilt-a-whirls down the shore.
>
>
> It doesn't matter that Springsteen became rock and roll's future by
yearning
> to leave New Jersey and find himself on the open road, to quit the
boardwalk
> scene and pull out of a town full of losers, because even though he
left...
> well, he never really did. He still plays rollicking shows in Giants
Stadium
> on every tour and, with the E Street Band, awes crowds with rumbling
sets
> that include the same hits from those iconic 1970s albums.
>
>
> The state's true poet laureate is now a revered social critic, and
his music
> reflects his age and political activism-and from a selfish
standpoint, it's
> simply not as fun to blast the new stuff and sing along even though
you can't
> hear your own voice, because it's not that type of music anymore.
There are
> no more Thunder Roads for Springsteen to find, only 41 shots for him
to riff
> on.
>
>
> Except, that is, for about one month every year, when radio stations
hide
> Born in the U.S.A. or The Rising and pull out a dusty track that
hasn't been
> played in 11 months.
>
>
> Roy Bittan starts by tickling the piano to conjure bells, and the
crowd
> roars in hysterical approval. Clarence Clemons does his best
impersonation of
> Santa Claus and then, beautifully, Springsteen comes in with the
simple words
> we've all memorized on the notes we all know are coming, yet somehow
feel fresh
> every year: "You better watch out/You better not cry/Better not
pout/I'm
> telling you why."
>
>
> Then it's the crowd's turn, a reincarnation of the call-and-response
> Springsteen uses in all of his live shows now. It doesn't matter if
you're in the
> car alone or if you're surrounded by thousands at the Stone Pony in
Asbury
> Park; you yell, "Santa Claus is coming to town!" as loud, as
hoarsely and with as
> much holiday fervor as you can. Max Weinberg ratchets up the
percussion,
> Miami Steve croons in the background, Clarence solos on the
sax-it's familiar,
> but invigorating.
>
>
> It's the best Christmas song of all time, because it captures the
spirit of
> the holiday season. Find the bells and let loose. Embrace the
company of
> others. And for goodness sake, fuhgeddabout the Jersey sneer, and
be thankful the
> state is, indeed, not a glorified parking lot.
>
>
> We have, after all, given even the naughtiest of you the gift of
Springsteen.
>
> =================================
>
> Happy Thankshallowistmas
>
>
>
>
> **************Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and
> favorite sites in one place. Try it now.
>
(http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010)
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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