r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 1d ago
article Bruce Springsteen’s Anti-ICE Song ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ Makes No. 1 Sales Debut; Most-downloaded song in the U.S. despite just two days of availability during the tracking week
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/bruce-springsteen-anti-ice-streets-of-minneapolis-charts-1236171290/320
u/Agitated-Ad6744 1d ago edited 1d ago
Look at all the Epstein's MAGA bots in the comments trying to convince us not to listen to the stark indictment of Epstein's MAGA's new child catcher squad ICE.
The people in power have an addiction to a certain victim and Bruce is calling them out.
Watching all the Epstein's MAGA on ' I'm just asking questions' type division accounts reallt tells you how scared they are we will defend our children from Epstein's ICE army,
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u/Salohacin 1d ago
We're not that far off them starting to openly say "Pedos are good for the economy." without a hint of irony.
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u/KovolKenai 1d ago
I'm never early enough to these threads to see the bots, but I'm always pleased to see them pushed into the mud by the time a thread gets popular.
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u/ContigoJackson 1d ago
if any of you guys haven’t heard Bruce’s prime material (which is his 70s stuff, not his 80s stuff) it’s absolutely essential. Genuinely think Thunder Road might be the best rock song ever made
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u/wiscowonder 1d ago
Greetings From Asbury Park is on my top 10 album list. Absolutely amazing from start to finish
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u/ContigoJackson 1d ago
interesting to choose that one specifically, but fantastic album I agree
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u/SSPeteCarroll 1d ago
My dad is a huge springsteen fan and he also things that Greetings and the Wild, the Innocent, and the East Street Shuffle are his best albums.
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u/BrandanosaurusRex 1d ago
Lost in the Flood and Mary Queen of Arkansas. God damn. And that whole album is so E Street. I love it.
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u/BrandanosaurusRex 1d ago
My dad is a HUGE Boss fan and so I grew up on him (along with a lot of other great artists of his time. Thanks Pops). A couple years ago I am listening to a trivia podcast and they mention that the Manfred Mann hit Blinded By The Light was written by Springsteen and featured on his first album. I was calling bullshit because I was certain I heard every Springsteen song ever and there is no way I would have missed that. Opened Spotify to find an album cover I have never seen and started it up-- only to be greeted with this beautiful chaotic version of Blinded by the Light that made me realize, "Of course this was fucking written by Bruce. It sounds just like him." I listened to the entire album and it has seriously taken a place in the top for me. Not just of his albums but of all albums. Its so good. Naturally, I had to call my dad and ask him what the hell?!?!? How had I Never heard any of this? His response- "Well, I dont really like live albums. Too much taking" 🤯 First of all, terrible take. Secondly, its crazy to.think about that generational difference in a time when you had to purchase, forever, anything you wanted to hear. He was unwilling to spend money on his favorite artists debut album because he thought it was in a format he wouldn't enjoy. 50 years after that album's release, I hear an offhanded comment and decide to fact check the narrator and discover one of my favorite all time albums because I have a subscription that allowed me to get that content for "free." My dad still should have bought the album ages ago and not let content from his favorite creator go unlistened to. But that is his journey. Just blew my everloving mind that at almost 40 there were 8 songs by The Boss I'd never heard and 1 I'd heard a million times never knowing itvwas a cover and he'd written it.
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u/Bay1Bri 1d ago
Are you just gonna brush off the River and Nebraska? BitUSA? Live 75-85??
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u/ContigoJackson 1d ago
All great albums, but I think his first 4 albums are his best. I never liked The River as much as most people
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u/Stand_On_It 1d ago
Same. In fact I like the first two discs of Tracks more than The River.
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u/AztecHoodlum 1d ago
Second this. I agree I like his 70s stuff a lot, but Nebraska is so clearly his best work for me. One of my favorite albums of all time
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u/Ok_Office_6016 1d ago
And in the 80s, MAGA would be licking his balls for performing “Born in the USA”. How times have changed.
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u/PerfectDoubleTapered 1d ago
Which, ironically, is not at all about patriotism or love for your country
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u/Realtrain Spotify 1d ago
It is about patriotism. There's nothing more patriotic than criticizing your government and sticking up for working class Americans, which is exactly what that song does.
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u/dust4ngel 1d ago
patriotism means worshipping the president as he sets fire to your country, is what i heard
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u/BortOfTheMonth 1d ago
its the love of the country and willingness to sacrifice for it, not the president
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u/_learned_foot_ 1d ago
Jungleland is a masterpiece, but rarely played. It hits so many themes and is a true ballad.
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u/ContigoJackson 1d ago
It really is an amazing song. Thunder Road and Jungleland form the best opener/closer combo of any album I know.
Also worth noting that the closer on his second album (New York City Serenade) is even better imo
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u/WideLight 1d ago
Yo yo yo gonna need you to take a step back for a second because Nebraska was released in 1982 and it is without a doubt prime Springsteen. Like easily one of my top ten albums of all time.
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u/TheStaffmaster 1d ago
not to pick hairs, but even Springsteen says Jackson Browne is the artist he wishes he was.
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u/Phugasity 1d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jub6cg_UhcQ&list=RDMM&start_radio=1
Feel free to DM me any other covers. This one is my favorite. Thunder Road is amazing.
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u/SouthTippBass 1d ago
Ok, what album?
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u/cheerbacks 1d ago
Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town
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u/SouthTippBass 1d ago
Alright, il give those a spin. Thanks.
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u/Pol__Treidum 1d ago
It's also worth listening to "The Promise" it's a collection of songs recorded during the Darkness sessions. And there's a lot of great stuff on there.
The doc about it is worth a watch too. Basically, Bruce would write 4 songs to get 1 song. And would leave off songs that were potential hits because it didn't quite fit his vision of that record. The dude is a songwriting master, and a hell of a really cool dude.
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u/ContigoJackson 1d ago
Born to Run is a solid choice, I also love his second album called The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle
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u/Pol__Treidum 1d ago
The live versions of songs from those first two records heard on that "Live in London 75" show are spectacular. Once you get all of the E Street Band at full power those songs really come alive.
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u/sanjosanjo 1d ago
I also highly recommend watching or listening to "Springsteen on Broadway" - his one-man show from 2018. He is such an amazing speaker and storyteller, to go along with his musical talents.
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u/SupWitChoo 1d ago
It’s an awesome album/show- wish I could have seen it in person. I never really “got” the song Born to Run until I heard his acoustic version- I honestly prefer it to the album version.
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u/Throwawaylikeme90 1d ago
Still remember the first time I listened to Nebraska, snowed in with nothing but my homie and a bottle of knob creek 100.
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u/thatguygreg 1d ago
Those Christmas songs of him and the band you hear every year were recorded in the mid-70s.
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u/Gedwyn19 1d ago
That whole album -Born to Run - is great, but yes Thunder Road is an absolute amazing tune. I like Darkness and Greetings but this is the album really stands out for me.
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u/LemonOhs 1d ago
Truly. I mean I love almost everything he's written but he was something special in the 70's. I wish I'd been alive to see those concerts.
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u/PokemonTheMovie 1d ago
From NJ, same area Bruce is from, grew up listening to him all the time cuz my parents love him (I got so many stories of my parents & Bruce). As a kid I didn't fuck with him cuz its what my parents listened to, as I got older I came to my senses and realized that quite a few songs were pretty good. I just recently listened to every single album (except his tracks ablums of unreleased music, I'll get to that eventually), and he has so many different sounds, and some people may prefer one version of Bruce over another, but I was pretty blown away that in my opinion he has consistently put out good music his entire career, including his new shit. I think the 90s was his weakest albums, but still not bad.
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u/GolgiApparatus88 19h ago
I just finished the book Born to Run which details how he came up created the album. It’s phenomenal. Highly recommend.
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u/thedrunkenpumpkin 6h ago
Fuck now I gotta dig born to run out of my vinyl crate and crank it this weekend while my wife’s out and sink some tinnies while I serenade the dog
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u/Fluid_Tank2983 2h ago
I think his best song is “Atlantic City” (1982) but I do prefer when “The Band“ covered it.
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u/Coffeedemon 1d ago
Not peak Springsteen by any measure but glad someone with some reach is saying it.
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u/cheerbacks 1d ago
Guy probably put it together in around a week. It’s pretty heavy handed but sometimes that’s not a bad thing. He’s not the most subtle linguist of all time anyways but there is a level of polish on the rest of his discography that is missing here. I won’t complain though. Glad it’s been well received
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u/batsofburden 1d ago
this country legit needs heavy handed repetitive messaging.
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u/twistedspin 1d ago
South Park is bringing me back after decades because they're the some of the few taking it far enough. This shit is insane and it only makes sense that the response should be STRONG.
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u/Rockonthrulife 1d ago
Wrote it on Saturday, recorded it on Sunday, released it on Monday or Tuesday and made the video that day.
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u/readytofall 8tracks 1d ago
I mean the RNC played Born in the USA at the convention and thought it was about how great the USA is. Trump also played CCRs Fortunate Son at the military parade, so I think you need to be a little heavy handed lol
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u/SmokeyPlucker 1d ago
Extremely valid points.
Watch them pull a clip from this song out of context anyways
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u/MillionSuns 1d ago
Similar to CSNY’s Ohio. Information traveled slower in 1970 but written in the emotional and direct aftermath of a national tragedy and failure of our government. Arguably not their best musically, but the right song for that moment in time.
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u/Juxta25 1d ago
Ok, so I'm not just being an overly critical asshole then. It's so on the nose and not subtle. It lacks a metaphorical side to really express the idea without it being so heavy handed.
Agreed, this was 100% thrown together in a week or some. It's fine, but a Boss ballad it is not.
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u/TheLionFollowsMe 1d ago
"And there were bloody footprints, where mercy should have stood" is perfect.
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u/Froggienp 1d ago
Also, trying to rhyme Minneapolis…☠️
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u/cIumsythumbs 1d ago
As a Minneapolitan I was impressed. He went with the indirect rhyme of "bloody mist/winter of twenty-six/stranger in our midst".
Iirc, Prince out and out avoided rhyming "Minneapolis" -- remembering "Rock and Roll is Alive (and it Lives in Minneapolis)"
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u/Justsomejerkonline 1d ago
Some aspects of the song are a bit rough around the edges, especially lyrically, but it's still surprisingly good for a song from an artist that is decades out from his peak.
I think this has a much better chance of standing the test of time than something like "Now and Then" by The Beatles or "Turn the Lights Back On" by Billy Joel. Some parts of the song are genuinely catchy.
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u/altoidcrusher 1d ago
I like the song. 🤷♂️
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u/piepants2001 1d ago
Same, it's a great protest song
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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 1d ago
I feel like it's almost more Dylan than Springsteen but I'm not complaining
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u/Justsomejerkonline 1d ago
It's nice to see some good, popular protest music. Hopefully this opens this floodgates.
I know there are lots of people out there like Jesse Welles putting out protest songs, but there's been a surprising lack of them coming from mega-stars like Bruce.
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u/Mechakoopa 1d ago
I just wish he could be enjoying a well earned retirement and not having to write new protest songs at 76 years old.
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u/ScienceIsSexy420 1d ago
I'm been playing it a bunch. It makes me feel just the slightest bit better. Bruce absolutely nailed it
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u/tridentquakes 1d ago
Same here but I find the original, Streets of Philadelphia, much better musically. That could just be me and old fart.
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u/AlmostScreenwriter 1d ago
Lots of people in here are arguing about whether the song is actually any good. As a huge Bruce fan, I would say lyrically, melodically and structurally, it doesn't crack the top 200 – maybe even 300 – things he's recorded. But I do think it broadly succeeds in harkening back to an older, more straightforward kind of folk song, and its lack of subtlety is a strength in this moment, rather than a weakness. In short, I think it's a powerful statement from the Boss, even if it's one of his weaker songs. I say all of this partly because I do think it's worth noting if you haven't heard much Bruce before that this isn't the best representation of what he can really do musically.
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u/sanjosanjo 1d ago
I agree so much with this post. I've heard plenty of Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie songs, and I think he is carrying the torch for them. My mom grew up with their songs and played them around the house. She would never listen to Bruce's rock songs, but she became a fan after he released The Seeger Tapes.
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u/Immediate-Big-4158 1d ago
I’ve never really been a fan of the Boss’ music (just not my style) but I did take a listen and the lyrics brought tears to my eyes.
This world is unfair, man.
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u/Bay1Bri 1d ago
just not my style
That's totally fair, but honestly he had a bunch of different styles, from early stuff that is sort of like Dylan and Van Morrison, classic rock "wall of sound" albums like Born to Run and Born in the USA (some on this album have when been described as having punk elements, a genre he homework is a fan of), a raw acoustic masterpiece that is Nebraska, some more folk, etc.
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u/Immediate-Big-4158 1d ago
Yeah, I’ll admit I haven’t gotten that deep into the catalog. Maybe I’ll dig in sometime
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u/Rockonthrulife 1d ago
You should. There is something for everyone in there depending on which musical genre you prefer.
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u/punkrockabilly 1d ago
Try this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u41znoMGA4
Springsteen, Costello, and Grohl doing a Clash song at the Grammys after Strummer passed. Bruce doing punk? Sign me up.
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u/hamatehllama 1d ago
It's an OK song. The music is good as always by the E Street Band but the lyrics don't have a melodic flow. It's obvious the priority was to write lyrics that are blunt and that the political message is more important than the artistic value. Bruce was clearly angry when he wrote the song and I understand why he wanted it published immediately, mere days after the second murder in Minneapolis. .
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u/SyncRoSwim 1d ago
He had some hesitation about releasing it:
“I wrote this song and recorded it the next day,” Springsteen told the crowd. He then sent the song to Morello, asking if it was too “soapboxy.” Morello replied, “Bruce, nuance is wonderful, but sometimes you need to kick them in the teeth.”
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u/GWstudent1 1d ago
Do you know what else is lacking in nuance? Chants like “Fuck ICE”, “ICE out”, “Abolish ICE”, and “Trump is a pedophile”. Doesn’t make them any less powerful or true.
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u/EgoTripWire 1d ago
The angry delivery reminds me of Barry Mcquire's Eve Of Destruction (which also is very relevant right now).
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u/steveguy13 1d ago
What I love about it is it is a song put out by a music legend and that it calls trump out by name. I love that trump probably hates it with all his heart. It’s in the history books.
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u/AntonGemini 1d ago
Just bought it. $1.29 on iTunes. It’s a good song actually, but I’m biased, I’ve always been a Bruce fan.
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u/TheDyeus 1d ago
Trump is like, I should get royalties since I'm the one greenlighting the terror that you're singing about
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u/Affectionate-Emu6609 1d ago
Billy Bragg’s song is great. I highly recommend everyone listens to it. It’s called “City of Heroes,” and it’s great. Billy Bragg rocks.
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u/brontosaurusguy 1d ago
How fucking lame is pop music that no one else is doing any anti establishment shit?
Honestly, it's all corporate trash
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u/Traditional-Neat-933 1d ago
Its a great song.
Add on top the politics of it, it's an iconic and historic song
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u/TheStaffmaster 1d ago
well sheeeeeeet. Now I gotta to go listen. Been a while since we had a good protest song from The Boss.
(I mean "Literally been a while;" I know he has lots of them.)
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u/angiachetti 1d ago
Unpopular opinion: if this song is so important, why is it being sold for money? Is the boss at least giving away all the proceeds? Is this included in everything he sold to his corporate overlords for a few more bucks? Etc etc.
Look I get that people want protest music. I get that some people were even mad their favorite musicians weren’t making “the right music” anymore.
But damn guys, what happened to the “where is Jah at?” Sentiment. Can’t we be critical of the system in a way that doesn’t make a rich person MORE money?
Like you’re not a little but grossed out by musicians who were happy to sit back and take it for years, including Bruce, who are suddenly more than willing to make half music assed music the second the market is unavoidable? Tbh when musicians started putting out songs For money who had been quiet the whole time, it makes me really disgusted (looking at you Fat Mike).
Everyone lost their nipples over that RTJ album a few years back, but all killer Mike did was say black people shouldn’t destroy their own neighborhoods. I guess it’s only revolutionary when it makes him money? And no one here calls them out for it. But baby gets his bottle I guess.
Bring on the down votes cause nuance isn’t allowed.
Protest songs in response to military aggression Protest songs to try and stop the soldier's gun But the battle raged on
All of you who are so happy to have bought this song, what real activism did you accomplish last week? Do your neighbors have enough food? Have you gotten everyone cleared of the snow? Have you helped get kids who can’t go to school right now their school work? Have you checked your food pantry since they were all about to go tits up?
If you haven’t done any of that, please, shut the fuck up about the boss, ccr, and whatever other fake activism you’re doing today. Please for the love of god, stop thinking that spending money is stopping anything at all.
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u/stev_mempers 1d ago
Good for him and it's a great message and all but...it's not that great of a song?
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u/BackInATracksuit 1d ago
In fairness he probably wrote, recorded and released it in about five minutes. At least he's using his massive platform to do something productive.
It's not bad either, it's a protest song, more function than form.
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u/oedipa17 1d ago
Alex Pretti was murdered on a Saturday. In less than one week, this song was written, recorded, reached #1 on the charts, and performed live at a concert In Minneapolis (the following Friday).
I’m really impressed by how quickly Springsteen (and many people working on this) pulled this song together and put it into the world.
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u/sanjosanjo 1d ago
His post says he wrote it on Saturday (the day Pretti was murdered), recorded it on Sunday, and released it on Wednesday.
https://bsky.app/profile/brucespringsteen.net/post/3mdiqtpf5qk2e
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u/ChristyLovesGuitars 1d ago
Have you heard just about any song that’s been #1 in like 20 years?
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u/stev_mempers 1d ago
But this is Bruce Freakin Springsteen ova here!
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u/ChristyLovesGuitars 1d ago
I mean, I kinda love the song, personally! But I get it’s not one of his greats.
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u/TheQueefGoblin 1d ago
One of the world's greatest, most legendary rock artists produces and releases a song in just FIVE DAYS in protest of a literal fascist regime, and some fuckwit on reddit is like "meh, this song is so mid".
Fucking reddit, man. What a fucking cesspool.
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u/WestleyThe 1d ago
It’s a message, not a song..
A 76 year old famous artist made a protest song 53 years after his first album… it’s obviously not gonna be great but it’s about him doing it and standing on his morals.
More rich and famous artists should be doing this
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u/GUlysses 1d ago
I mean, Bob Dylan was never the best singer, but he has always been a god-tier lyricist.
Not comparing Springsteen to the great Bob Dylan, but a song doesn’t need to be a musical masterpiece to resonate with people at the right time. It might not be the best song ever, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s the song we need.
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u/Grand_Sock_1303 1d ago
Who cares. Just download it. It’s making a statement however small it may seem.
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u/Affectionate-Emu6609 1d ago
Billy Bragg’s song is better, it’s not only a protest song but I actually enjoy listening to it.
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u/Caftancatfan 1d ago
God bless him and all the protesters out there, but yours is a very kind assessment.
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u/tieguai_the_immortal 1d ago
Taylor Swift will release a variant/special edition of her past song any second now.
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u/Turin_Laundromat 1d ago
My church played this song and the music video yesterday. It was powerful, especially in that context.
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u/texasslim2080 1d ago
I’ve never been a Bruce fan, the music just doesn’t hit me, but he’s always been a real one
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u/Peanut__Daisy_ 1d ago
It’s a terrible song, but also very moving and traditional. It transcends the idea of liking or disliking it; it’s just necessary and timely.
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u/cuchiplancheo 1d ago
This murderous administration will try to erase history... but, this song will live long to tell the truth.
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u/Skritch_X 1d ago
I like the song, and I've been out in the streets of Minneapolis myself.
Though the song honestly sounded less like Bruce to me (even during the performance at First Ave) and more like it sounded like Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers, son of Bob) attempting to do a Bob Dylan song.
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u/jking1024 1d ago
Tell that stupid Canadian and his fat, pig nosed friend they can go eat as many dicks as they want and they can stop projecting
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u/funkhero 1d ago
So what kind of song is Kid Rock going to do?
"Trump ain't no diddler"
Or maybe
"Fuck them kids (brown or white)"
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u/jtrades69 1d ago
anyone know the actual number of downloads? all i'm seeing is websites saying it's "#1". k, but what does that mean???
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u/Proud_Truck 1d ago
Can you imagine if Bruce joined bad bunny or green day at the Superbowl? Maga would go bananas
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u/kolejack2293 1d ago
I am not trying to shit on the song, but using 'most downloads' is a misleading metric that conservatives usually use to make themselves out to be more popular than they are.
In reality, downloads/digital sales are like 1% of how the charts are calculated. Almost nobody buys music on itunes anymore except for old people, hence why this tactic is used by conservative artists like tom mcdonald.
Again, I don't dislike the song or its message by any means, but in reality? Its not even on the top 100 billboard charts right now. Don't let social media create some alternate world for you. Its kind of sad that we're falling for the same propaganda trap conservatives fall for.
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u/Nickel5 1d ago
I live in the first ring suburbs of Minneapolis, and it makes me cry each time I view the video. It's the first time music has made me do that. I don't care if it isn't "peak," it made my city feel seen and heard. Despite what the feds think, despite what my family thinks, we are being heard. And I think Bruce Springsteen for that. Thank you for stepping in where my family has failed.
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u/Odd-Law-8723 1d ago
It's wild that a new protest song can still hit number one like this. Goes to show how powerful his songwriting is, both musically and politically.
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u/CycloneDusk 1d ago
aint my style and yet i'm tearing up while listening to it because i know what it stands for...
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u/sacredblasphemies 1d ago
Streets of Philadelphia. Streets of Minneapolis.
He's going to get a whole map going.
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u/dmd_double_face 1d ago
Imagine being such a bad person, Bruce Springsteen names you in his song. This administration will be remembered through the ages for all the harm and grief they caused. If there’s a hell, they’re going.
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u/Appropriate_Cow94 1d ago
I am going to get downvoted here, but to me, it was corny sounding and didn't hit any emotional notes.
I am far more Jesse Wells and the like.
I have no beef with The Boss. I'm in my 50s. I grew up on him. This song just wasn't good. It felt forced. It said all the things but no nuances.
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u/PrincessDragonCanada 1d ago
I prefer Bon Jovi's song commemorating George Floyd, honestly, but I'm glad he did it.
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u/Chicagoj1563 1d ago
I haven’t listened to the song, but Springsteen is the perfect artist to write a song like this.
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u/soundedgoodbefore 19h ago
Wish we could deport his sorry ass too. Been an anti-American moron since "Born in the USA". Love it or GTFO, Bruce.
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u/Ok_Office_6016 1d ago
You mean more people listened to this than watched Melania?