Dave Marsh was presumably there for the whole thing and has conveyed in "Glory Days" the following inaccuracies
"Mansion On The Hill" was the first song that Bruce wrote and it was actually done on the 1981 tour
Jon Landau actually threw in the towel and said that the Nebraska tapes should be released as is, not Bruce. This made sense since Landau had much longer folk music experience
That transcendent performance of "Born in the USA" was AFTER they had spent two weeks doing the "Nebraska" songs with the band and had given up but they had the studio anyway and might as well try some things. The second take from that session is the one on the record.
It seems as if that song came out of nowhere but Bruce had actually done a benefit for Vietnam Veterans of America that kept the organization going the year before
I guess this is after the time period of the movie but Bruce continued to fool around with "Nebraska" type songs after he moved to LA and was finally coaxed to come back to the East Coast to record by the idea that he might never record with the E Street Band again
I watched "A House of Dynamite" this weekend and was kind of disappointed they ended it where they ended it, but also was disappointed that they made the government seem less inept than I think they actually would be at this point. Not the military, but the civilian government. Would they care if Chicago got hit? Probably not.
It seemed like this was made in the Biden era when there was an assumption of competency that doesn't exist currently. Now if they did it using the current administration, that would be 1000x more frightening.
I read a review that said that was the show runners point. Even with the most competent, compassionate, thoughtful, educated people at their jobs it's an insanse decision and situation to be in. The chance for success is low.
My favorite thing to do during the movie was to look at my husband and say cool. Now imagine Trump in this situation. Then Hegseth. Super great to feel that anxiety just ratchet on up because that's our world.
I also then did a deep dive and leaned that that Carter is the last president to actual play the presidents part in the simulations they do every year for this excercise. Most don't even workshop it because they either think it's too far fetched or they don't want to live in that headspace. I'm not entirely sure which it is.
Same. My wife and I kept saying aloud, at each turning point..."Could you imagine if Trump were President and this happened?" We would all be dead. The fact that despots like Putin and Kim Jong Il; and fools like Trump hold the fate of the world in their hands is simply unimaginable.
I’ll have more on this point on The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood this week with Tom Nichols. But I actually appreciate the film imagining a competent presidency if only because having a bunch of idiots mucking things up would obscure the dangers the film depicts.
Another movie club recommendation (inspired by Rounders and keeping with the theme of making Sarah watch bro movies): Casino.
As in Rounders, the core conflict in Casino is between the opportunity to make boatloads of money forever within the rules of a more or less orderly system, or break the rules to make more money, at the risk of everything going to hell. In Rounders, that conflict takes place at the personal level. In Casino, it happens at an institutional level, and is shockingly relevant to our current political situation.
Plus Sharon Stone's portrayal of Ginger McKenna is amazing, the polar opposite of Gretchen Mol's paper-thin Jo.
Caught The Grahm Norton Show the other night with all around rock deity Springsteen and his celluloid avatar White as guests, both chatting about the new movie and its production. Seemed a totally bizarre concept to me to have an actor portraying a more than famous and successful living singer / musician / performer and singing and playing the works of same while the subject of his portrayal lounges around the set and takes it all in. I can't imagine having been in White's shoes. But then I can't imagine being in Springsteen's either...
I've been a dyed in the wool fan of The Boss, the E Street Band and their music from the jump. But I never knew or cared much about Springsteen's personal life, background, etc. as celebrities' private lives haven't been of much interest to me. Especially *living* celebrities. I'm glad they have their talents that can enrich our lives, but beyond that, it's pretty much...meh. What I know about them is almost always learned by accident, like reading the review of the movie or watching that show.
My impression of Springsteen, with so little knowledge of anything about him other than his music, has always been the quintessential blue-collar / working class compliment from my 5 decades of working in that milieu: Yeah, I'd buy that guy a beer. How could any working guy not, after the tribute he's paid to a couple of generations of them?
But I'll skip the movie. A clip on the Norton show of White performing in front of a live audience from a scene in the movie really just drove home how strangely this whole project rubs up against my love of the Boss's music. Sometimes the glory days are best not examined too closely to too soon if their glory is to remain undiminished.
I too am a true blue Boss fan for 4-5 decades and was also reticent when I heard of the casting but most of the film is not Springsteen performing and White really knocks it out of the park. It was fascinating to learn what brought Bruce to Nebraska and how it helped him face and deal with his past and his depression. Many of us boomers with working-class fathers went through similar childhoods, so I related to it.
For those of us a "little bit" into gambling, Rounders is one of the most quotable movies of all time. Applicable to nearly every situation. This is noble work you're doing, Sonny!
Hi Sonny. I have a topic for the Bulwark Movie Club that may be of interest. I recently saw both "Chain Reactions" and a restored version of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (on the big screen, oh my god), and there are weirdly a lot of political social ideas that get batted around that I feel are relevant to our times. Wondering if you'd take a look at them and ask the BMC crew if they are interested in doing an episode on these two films together. It reminded me a lot of Joan Didion's essay on Charles Manson's Sharon Tate murders and how it was a pivotal moment in defining the end of the 60s (from Slouching Towards Bethlehem).
I think there's an ongoing cultural chaos in our society that MAGA's managed to nail very tightly to immigrants and antifa and trans, but that Democrats and normie Republicans kind of ignore. What is that chaos? Where is it coming from? Are there parallels between our chaos and the chaos of the late 60s & early 70s? Zombies, cannibalism! What does it all mean? Plus: It's Halloween.
Texas. Chainsaw. Massacre.
Watch it! (and Chain Reactions, watch that too, if nothing else, for the super long list of favorite horror movies of the people interviewed.)
Dave Marsh was presumably there for the whole thing and has conveyed in "Glory Days" the following inaccuracies
"Mansion On The Hill" was the first song that Bruce wrote and it was actually done on the 1981 tour
Jon Landau actually threw in the towel and said that the Nebraska tapes should be released as is, not Bruce. This made sense since Landau had much longer folk music experience
That transcendent performance of "Born in the USA" was AFTER they had spent two weeks doing the "Nebraska" songs with the band and had given up but they had the studio anyway and might as well try some things. The second take from that session is the one on the record.
It seems as if that song came out of nowhere but Bruce had actually done a benefit for Vietnam Veterans of America that kept the organization going the year before
I guess this is after the time period of the movie but Bruce continued to fool around with "Nebraska" type songs after he moved to LA and was finally coaxed to come back to the East Coast to record by the idea that he might never record with the E Street Band again
Otherwise deeply moving movie
I watched "A House of Dynamite" this weekend and was kind of disappointed they ended it where they ended it, but also was disappointed that they made the government seem less inept than I think they actually would be at this point. Not the military, but the civilian government. Would they care if Chicago got hit? Probably not.
It seemed like this was made in the Biden era when there was an assumption of competency that doesn't exist currently. Now if they did it using the current administration, that would be 1000x more frightening.
I read a review that said that was the show runners point. Even with the most competent, compassionate, thoughtful, educated people at their jobs it's an insanse decision and situation to be in. The chance for success is low.
My favorite thing to do during the movie was to look at my husband and say cool. Now imagine Trump in this situation. Then Hegseth. Super great to feel that anxiety just ratchet on up because that's our world.
I also then did a deep dive and leaned that that Carter is the last president to actual play the presidents part in the simulations they do every year for this excercise. Most don't even workshop it because they either think it's too far fetched or they don't want to live in that headspace. I'm not entirely sure which it is.
Same. My wife and I kept saying aloud, at each turning point..."Could you imagine if Trump were President and this happened?" We would all be dead. The fact that despots like Putin and Kim Jong Il; and fools like Trump hold the fate of the world in their hands is simply unimaginable.
I’ll have more on this point on The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood this week with Tom Nichols. But I actually appreciate the film imagining a competent presidency if only because having a bunch of idiots mucking things up would obscure the dangers the film depicts.
Another movie club recommendation (inspired by Rounders and keeping with the theme of making Sarah watch bro movies): Casino.
As in Rounders, the core conflict in Casino is between the opportunity to make boatloads of money forever within the rules of a more or less orderly system, or break the rules to make more money, at the risk of everything going to hell. In Rounders, that conflict takes place at the personal level. In Casino, it happens at an institutional level, and is shockingly relevant to our current political situation.
Plus Sharon Stone's portrayal of Ginger McKenna is amazing, the polar opposite of Gretchen Mol's paper-thin Jo.
I speak Russian and will never forgive Malkovich for his atrocious, hammy accent. Get Cathy Young to weigh in.
Thanks, Sonny, for the Kanopy mention!
Caught The Grahm Norton Show the other night with all around rock deity Springsteen and his celluloid avatar White as guests, both chatting about the new movie and its production. Seemed a totally bizarre concept to me to have an actor portraying a more than famous and successful living singer / musician / performer and singing and playing the works of same while the subject of his portrayal lounges around the set and takes it all in. I can't imagine having been in White's shoes. But then I can't imagine being in Springsteen's either...
https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/16722/graham-norton-springsteen
But different strokes, I guess.
I've been a dyed in the wool fan of The Boss, the E Street Band and their music from the jump. But I never knew or cared much about Springsteen's personal life, background, etc. as celebrities' private lives haven't been of much interest to me. Especially *living* celebrities. I'm glad they have their talents that can enrich our lives, but beyond that, it's pretty much...meh. What I know about them is almost always learned by accident, like reading the review of the movie or watching that show.
My impression of Springsteen, with so little knowledge of anything about him other than his music, has always been the quintessential blue-collar / working class compliment from my 5 decades of working in that milieu: Yeah, I'd buy that guy a beer. How could any working guy not, after the tribute he's paid to a couple of generations of them?
But I'll skip the movie. A clip on the Norton show of White performing in front of a live audience from a scene in the movie really just drove home how strangely this whole project rubs up against my love of the Boss's music. Sometimes the glory days are best not examined too closely to too soon if their glory is to remain undiminished.
I too am a true blue Boss fan for 4-5 decades and was also reticent when I heard of the casting but most of the film is not Springsteen performing and White really knocks it out of the park. It was fascinating to learn what brought Bruce to Nebraska and how it helped him face and deal with his past and his depression. Many of us boomers with working-class fathers went through similar childhoods, so I related to it.
“Deliver me from nowhere” is a line from Open All Night, which is from Nebraska.
Hey Mister dj
Won’t you hear my last prayer
Hey ho rock and roll
Deliver me from nowhere
For those of us a "little bit" into gambling, Rounders is one of the most quotable movies of all time. Applicable to nearly every situation. This is noble work you're doing, Sonny!
Hi Sonny. I have a topic for the Bulwark Movie Club that may be of interest. I recently saw both "Chain Reactions" and a restored version of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (on the big screen, oh my god), and there are weirdly a lot of political social ideas that get batted around that I feel are relevant to our times. Wondering if you'd take a look at them and ask the BMC crew if they are interested in doing an episode on these two films together. It reminded me a lot of Joan Didion's essay on Charles Manson's Sharon Tate murders and how it was a pivotal moment in defining the end of the 60s (from Slouching Towards Bethlehem).
I think there's an ongoing cultural chaos in our society that MAGA's managed to nail very tightly to immigrants and antifa and trans, but that Democrats and normie Republicans kind of ignore. What is that chaos? Where is it coming from? Are there parallels between our chaos and the chaos of the late 60s & early 70s? Zombies, cannibalism! What does it all mean? Plus: It's Halloween.
Texas. Chainsaw. Massacre.
Watch it! (and Chain Reactions, watch that too, if nothing else, for the super long list of favorite horror movies of the people interviewed.)
Will keep it in mind!