I Love Rock And Roll

I've been thinking about Bruce Springsteen a lot recently. The most obvious reason for this being that he, along with the E Street Band, is playing at halftime of the Super Bowl. While I don't normally give a rat's ass about who does the halftime show, Bruce is about as good as it gets. Therefore, it's a good bet that this year's halftime will be entertaining, as opposed to unbearable. I still miss the days when shows like "In Living Color" and "Beavis and Butthead" ran original episodes during halftime of the Super Bowl, but even that probably would've lost out to Bruce for me. In case you were wondering, "In Living Color's" Super Bowl content hasn't aged all that well, though I did chuckle at their Bob Griese joke.



The other reason I've been thinking about Bruce is because of a band I've recently discovered called The Gaslight Anthem. Like dozens (maybe thousands) of bands before them, TGA's sound is regularly compared to Bruce's. And really, these guys are like him, and it's not just because they are from New Jersey. As guitarist Alex Rosamilia says of his band, "It sounds like Bruce Springsteen singing for a Cure cover band, with a tinge more aggression." If that description doesn't intrigue you, well then I don't think I like your taste in music.

I came across TGA when I noticed they were playing at Webster Hall with Heartless Bastards, another recent fave. I figured that if they were playing with Heartless Bastards, they must be pretty good. So I read a couple of reviews, and their most recent album, The '59 Sound, was very well-received. And I obviously took notice when I saw a number of reviews compare them to the Boss. I then checked them out on MySpace, and bought tickets to the show after listening to this song.



***On an unrelated noted, I just remembered that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played the halftime of the Super Bowl last year. This is relevant because of how Heartless Bastards got their name. A couple of the members of the band were playing one of those video trivia games at a bar, and the question was, "what is the name of Tom Petty's band?" And one of the options for multiple choice was "Heartless Bastards." That means that the last two bands I've fallen in love with both have direct ties to the two most recent Super Bowl halftime performers. Coincidence? I think so.

Part of what I enjoy about TGA is that they're completely unabashed about their Bruce influence. In fact, I've noticed references to Bruce lyrics in at least two of their songs.While noticing things like that are kind of cool as a Springsteen fan, that's not why I've been obsessed with them for a week. When it all comes down to it, what makes them stand out is that they just rock. They're sound is not really original, but it doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, the true sign of a great rock band is one that make you want to get into a power stance and air-guitar along with them. And it's not necessarily because the guitar playing is transcendent on its own, but because the band has such a feel for the music they are trying to make. That's TGA.

Oh, and I love their attitude. The quote I gave above from Rosamilia comes from some random Q&A I found on a music blog. And I particularly enjoyed this exchange:

Q: You have also been compared to The Killers, does this make you feel any different to the Springsteen comments?
A: I couldn’t care less about being compared to the Killers. I’ve never really gotten into them, and I don’t see the comparison at all. Sorry.

Could this be the start of a Killers-TGA feud? I hope so.

And while we are still sort of on the subject of Bruce, let me just put out my prediction for the four songs he will play on Sunday. My guess is he opens with The Rising, followed by The Wrestler. Then he'll go into Glory Days and finish it all off with Born To Run. Just in case you cared . . .