The police had cordoned off a big swath of lawn on the Capitol Square for the spillover crowd, Meade told me (by phone), but there is no spillover crowd.
Here's the #ObamaMadison Twitter feed, coming from many people on the scene. They are "shoulder-to-shoulder" packed in, they say. Here's the presentation of tweets at Isthmus. I selected these:
O hai black helicopter! #obama #madison
POTUS must be close because there's a Blackhawks helicopter out my window! #obamamadison #theboss...UPDATE: Meade phones: "It was a very subdued crowd." Did they ever use the overflow area? No. Subdued for both Obama and Springsteen, said Meade, proceeding to sing me his imitation Springsteen.
Kind of crazy looking at the tweets from #ObamaMadison. Just 3 blocks away and I can't even tell, except for the circling military choppers
Couldn't those olive drab helicopters have the courtesy to quiet down so we can hear the speakers? #ObamaMadison....
Posts
159 comments:
That's not a helicopter you hear, its a death rattle.
Unverifiable prediction: Most of the hundreds of people that have to support Obama's traveling campaign (pilots, secret service, logistics staff etc.) will be voting for Romney.
Coulda used a few of those choppers in Benghazi. Instead they let people die.
Will meade be able to send any pics? somthing with a cafe theme maybe?
Coulda used a few of those choppers in Benghazi. Instead they let people die.
Come on, man. We can't leave OBAMA behind, and that's why the helos are in Madison to bail him out if necessary.
That is was what is giving me hope for a Romney victory, low enthusiasm for Obama but a lot for Romney. A lot of enthusiasm for Romney is what I'm hearing from the conservative pundits and see for myself on TV but all the liberals think Obama is going to win unless they're spinning.
The only thing that matters is the voting.
We'll know on Wednesday morning, unless it's a repeat of 2000.
Much as I'd love to gloat over the low turnout (and compare it to Romney's numbers in Buck County) -- I suspect this is mostly campaign fatigue.
He's already been to Madison. Lots of people who turned out to see him before are thinking, "Been there. Done that."
Amazing.
Is it true that when O was here last time 80,000(!!!) showed up - or was that for the Kerry show?
Anyway, in Ohio when only 200 people show up to see Stevie Wonder sing songs and talk about Obama it's a bad sign.
I read that the Dems have already dispatched lawyers around the country to dispute the election.
But what about Bruuuuuce?!?
Helicopter? I thought Obama would float in on a cloud.
That is was what is giving me hope for a Romney victory, low enthusiasm for Obama but a lot for Romney.
Early voting numbers in Ohio appear to back up what you want to see. The lower numbers in Democrat votes combined with the increase in Republican votes has apparently wiped out the 2008 margin the Democrats enjoyed.
About 5 times the size of his usual crowd these days, but, again half of what was hoped for (or what the Romster's been seeing on a regular basis).
What is the city's cost per attendee? $15-20? More?
This is always good for times like this:
Nelson - ha ha!
Is it true that when O was here last time 80,000(!!!) showed up - or was that for the Kerry show?
That was the Kerry show on W. Wash. A beautiful fall day, gorgeous fall colors, blue sky. Oh, and Gov Doyle making the beauty drab.
The Bascom Hill thing was 30000.
Romney is not going to sit back and let the Dems just roll over them with the usual legal challenges on election day/night. I'm going to be a poll watcher tomorrow, and my training involved (besides the usual what you can't do) on what exactly we need to be watching for, and several phone numbers to call. Here in the Denver metro area, a Romney lawyer will be there in 5 to 15 minutes.
Wouldn't you expect two popular people to draw more of a crowd than just one. They should have had a Springsteen concert and then brought out Obama as a secret surprise guest appearance. He's killing Springsteen!
The more interesting live twitter feed is #livetoon.
You say goodbye, and I say hello.
What, Obama doesn't think he's already locked up every possible vote in Madison? Shouldn't he be appearing at some place where there might actually be some poachable voters?
And Bill Clinton is making four stops in PA today. Watch out for your mustache, Axelrod!
dreams said...
but all the liberals think Obama is going to win unless they're spinning...
---
They're not spinning. We're in a bizarre time when all the polls are crap -- 9% response rate, remember. There's absolutely no reason at all to believe that the 900 people who answered a poll are in any way similar to the 9,100 who didn't. This problem affects every single aspect of the polling -- independents, gender gap, enthusiasm, party ID, state polls, national polls. Everything.
The top lines of the polls and the internals are telling completely different stories. National polls and state polls are telling completely different stories. The party ID in basic polls and in specific party ID polls are telling completely different stories.
And all of those stories -- the ones we like and the ones we don't -- are based on the assumption that the 9% who respond to polls are exactly like the 91% who don't.
It makes it really easy to only see the data that you believed before you looked at the data.
Tomorrow night we'll find out who was right. If it's us -- and I think it will be -- let's try to avoid the Nate Silver mistake of believing that our way of reading the polls lets us extract valuable information from garbage.
My daughter is up there and tweeted that the person next to her didn't know who Bruce Springsteen was.
It is to weep.
It's pretty clear that both sides think that they're going to win, and win big. Somebody is clearly wrong, and somebody is going to have the shit shocked out of them by Wednesday morning.
"It is to weep."
I find it refreshing. He's been overrated for way too long. My kids, born in the early 80s, were interested in the Beatles and other old pop stars but never in Springsteen.
Seriously, he's not that good. If he was the soundtrack of your teenage years, you're going to feel different about him.
MadisonMan said...
My daughter is up there and tweeted that the person next to her didn't know who Bruce Springsteen was.
I've heard of him, but I think he's pretty old.
@ MadisonMan
As the Strolling Bones sang, "What a drag it is getting old!"
For kids today, Springsteen is an oldies act. Almost all of his hits were written a quarter-century or more ago. And I have to admit, I was glad when the baseball postseason got to the World Series and they quit playing his lugubrious songs in favor of the equally superannuated The Who. I had Bruce-fatigue by the time the LCSs were over.
He's killing Springsteen!
That's funny, but, if it were true, Springsteen would deserve it.
Since Obama is visiting a college campus, does that fall under "tax payer gets the bill"?
I was a teen during his peak popularity, but never really cared for his stuff outside of maybe one song.
Then as I became an adult and listed to his lefty claptrap, I cared even less.
I'd rather go watch a garage band practice than see Springsteen.
My comment was not knowing who he was. How can someone be so insulated? Not necessarily on the goodness of his music.
I mean, I knew who Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters were when I was my daughter's age.
Is Bruce Springsteen the same guy that did the Born to Run album in the 70s?
I loved that guy. Nice to see he is still around and rocking.
John Henry
And this is not to say that I don't like Springsteen's older music, but he jumped the shark after 9/11. He went one way and I went the other, and we'll never meet again in this veil of tears.
I find it refreshing. He's been overrated for way too long
I thought Springsteen was more the New Jersey blue-collar working man type. Putting him at a university campus made about as much sense as Harley-Davidson having Elton John as the mystery guest at their centennial celebration.
My daughter and son in law there, my daughter called me just now, she says they are shoulder to shoulder.
I am shocked at the turnout--it's Bruce Springsteen! They should have held it over the noon hour so all of the state employees could have come--maybe they can drag it out until noon, although Bruce is singing right now. Parking shouldn't be what's keeping people away when you have thousands and thousands of state employees within walking distance of the rally. However, they did close some of the parking ramps that are used by state employees, so maybe there aren't as many state employees at work today as usual either. I don't see many college students either.
I notice he has his teleprompters this time, unlike on Bascom...
My daughter is up there and tweeted that the person next to her didn't know who Bruce Springsteen was.
It is to weep.
hard to believe a regional band from 30 years ago isn't what the excites the youngsters these days. the boss of what?
For Springsteen and Cat Stevens, the albums I like are far better than the men they became.
But each year, they tarnish their work, becoming like Wagner, where separating the music from the ideology becomes ever more difficult.
I must remind myself that "Scriptures teach that the Lord is not too fussy about how clean his tools are."
So beauty can even arise from the most hateful of creatures. I can accept that.
Is the E Street Band unionized?
Obama in Madison on the day before the election is sure a sign of weakness. Is Romney in Indiana today?
Romney is going to bookend Obama's Madison trips with two whippings: the Denver debate before the first trip, and a 52-47 popular vote victory after the second trip.
@Pogo,
I must remind myself that "Scriptures teach that the Lord is not too fussy about how clean his tools are."
But remember the injunction from Deutoronomy: "Thus saith the LORD: Wearest ye always the cleanest of undergarments. For in this matter your mother is right -- ye knownest not what might just happen."
9% response rate, Clint???
Have never thought much of Springsteen.
Rend thine undergarments cleanly, shouldst EMT's, first responders, doctors, nurses, and passersby think uncleanly thoughts of thy mother's soul in coming to thy aid.
Inga, you idiot. My GF will be here tomorrow and like your daughter in Madtown we will be 'shoulder to shoulder'--but deep in the swamps of northern Wisconsin, lol. And yes--we will be surrounded by 'LOVE'.
Original Mike said...
9% response rate, Clint???
By the pollsters' own admission.
Keep in mind, a lot of people say, "No", when asked to participate.
"Seriously, he's not that good. If he was the soundtrack of your teenage years, you're going to feel different about him."
I hate his politics and was never a big fan, even though he was a big part of the soundtrack to my early years, but I still think his music was very good.
Me and Ann don't agree much on art or politics, because I tend to feel my art and think my politics, and I think she does the opposite, yet we have some overlap, mostly just on the politics though.
Original Mike said...
9% response rate, Clint???
11/5/12 11:11 AM
Yep.
See here.
I'm surprised how little it's been discussed.
In the late '90s it was 35%+.
In the '80s, it was well over half (I can't remember where I read that).
And it makes all of the obsessive poll watching (of which I'm far more guilty than most) a bit silly.
Holy Moly! To think that the self-selected 9% sample is representative of the parent population is quite a strech.
Frank, you weirdo, am I supposed to give a rats ass what you do up north in your swamp with your "GF"? LMAO, whata dumb thing to say.
Bored in the USA.
Here's a YouTube from this morning:
Springsteen: The First Debate Really Freaked Me Out
"I thought Springsteen was more the New Jersey blue-collar working man type. Putting him at a university campus made about as much sense as Harley-Davidson having Elton John as the mystery guest at their centennial celebration."
Yea, this is probably it. When I was in college Springsteen was very popular with my blue collar friends back home, but not much with my college friends who were more into The Grateful Dead, The Stones, and a lot of tangents like John Coltrane. It was great to span all that, and I liked it all - anything to avoid the disco that was ascendant at the time.
"I find it refreshing. He's been overrated for way too long. My kids, born in the early 80s, were interested in the Beatles and other old pop stars but never in Springsteen."
One of the few things I don't find appealing about Chris Christie is his Springsteen worship. His music had a moment but doesn't translate well now. And it's certainly not an upbeat kind of music you want for an incumbent in the economy we have now.
RE: 9% participation, here's a good take on polls:
Voters Have Not Been Kind To Pollsters Since 2002
"...said Meade, proceeding to sing me his imitation Springsteen."
Oh yeah, I almost forgot about John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band.
Was it "On the Dark Side", or "Tender Years"?
Springsteen needs to do something to help his home folks in New Jersey. Being a Obama Chauvinist now is too little too late.
Forward!
Inga, you idiot. My point was your comment from your daughter's 'observation' that she was 'shoulder to shoulder' implying there were as many people at Zero's last hurrah as there are at a normal lunch crowd at a Chick-Fil-A is stupid.
was Hugh E. Lewis unavailable?
Well, it may only last a day, but I think I'm a little less despondent. I'm been looking at the polls and thinking, "It sure looks to me like Obama will win."
I can't wait 'till it's over.
CNN has the race tied at 49-49, nationwide.
The party ID? D+11.
Seriously?
...Meade, proceeding to sing me his imitation Springsteen.
I'm thinking,
'Boring in the U S A
Boooooring in the U S A....'
(Or would he avoid that song, due to the 'birther' allusion?)
It's long been clear that this election will swing D+25.
That means each Democrat has 25 Franken units* to stuff into the ballot box.
*(1 trunkful =1 FU)
"CNN has the race tied at 49-49, nationwide.
The party ID? D+11.
Seriously?"
Well, of course. Can't you FEEL the excitement among Barry's voters?
[Yes, I know it's 'born'.]
Read the tweets dumbass Frank.
My favorite ever Springsteen comment came from, of all people, Larry Bird. Bird attended a Springsteen concert after winning the NBA title one year and was interviewed. He was asked "How did you like the show?" or words to that effect. His response: "You have to admire a guy who sweats that much for his fans" or something like that.
I have always thought that was one of the most brilliant back-handed compliments I've ever seen from a public person.
And it more or less reflects my opinion of Springsteen. I definitely put him in the list of my "most overrated performers of all time" list. He, along with Madonna and Bob Dylan, typify to me the profound shallowness of modern culture. Their work simultaneously insults and condescends to their audience, but their audience laps it up.
It took me a long time to realize that their audiences LIKED being insulted and condescended to.
"In the shummer of shixty-nine!"
and AA was 18.
Lost track of Bruce after the Nebraska album. I guess I liked him better when he was a low life surfer musician from the Jersey Shore.
Madison.com image gallery from Obama Rally today
I liked Pink Cadillac, but yeah, it's partly because I associate it with dancing to it with a dreamy guy way back when. It's not on my iPod.
Also, I never found Springsteen attractive and I also associate that with a memory - am I wrong, or did he have an album cover photo closeup of him with greasy hair and dandruff? Eww. I remember it, real or imagined. Greasy hair and no attempt to hide the dandruff.
Dreamy.
I'm not sure how the pollsters work. I think they keep calling the same people over and over. I have lived in Michigan 5 years now and have never been called. My next door neighbor reports he is called on a daily basis; sometimes more than once a day. Do they ever try to call other people?
@surfed - exactly, Nebraska was great and he lost me after that. Then I found out about his politics and I Tom Hank'd him right out of my listening world.
_XC
Inga, you idiot. I read your tweets. Like I said--stupid.
If I'm wanting a spokesman/mascot for New Jersey I'd take Bon Jovi anyday over Springsteen. Why in the world would you rather be "Dancing in the Dark" than being "Wanted Dead or Alive"?!?! Dancing in the Dark is Courtney Cox. Wanted Dead or Alive is Deadliest Catch! Enough said.
Lotta women in the pictures on CNN. Guess they only let the homely ones off work. Typical for Madison.
I hope Bruce's handlers keep him away from these comments.
Frank, you didn't read MY tweets, they were the tweets Althouse provided a link for, you are too weird to respond to any further.
it's easier for the dems to get dead people to vote then to get them to show up at rallies.
Inga said...
My daughter and son in law there, my daughter called me just now, she says they are shoulder to shoulder.
Even two people can be shoulder to shoulder. Try again disseminater of lies.
Cosmic Conservative,
You shouldn't lump Dylan in with Springsteen - Springsteen had three good albums between 1973 and 1975, but he's been recycling the same old shtick ever since. Dylan, on the other hand, has never stopped being innovative and has made essential albums in each of the last five decades (although he's also put out some crap in each of those decades).
Speaking of Dylan, he's also playing tonight in Madison. I don't expect him to make any political announcements, although you never know when he'll say something cryptic.
u mad oop?
Where's the free stuff?
It's supposed to be BREAD and circuses, not just circuses!
I find it refreshing. He's been overrated for way too long. My kids, born in the early 80s, were interested in the Beatles and other old pop stars but never in Springsteen.
Seriously, he's not that good. If he was the soundtrack of your teenage years, you're going to feel different about him.
Born 1955 -> HS bands
Beatles (of course)
Cream (and everything else Clapton)
Grateful Dead
CSNY
Had an epiphany in 1973. Bought shirts with a collar and Khaki pants and TopSiders at Univ. of Virginia (the clock stopped there in 1964 and didn't start again for ten years). Long mid-70's stretch of 50's and 60's Sorority House dance Motown.
Didn't see Springsteen until 1983 and I wasn't impressed even then - lotta noise and loud sax - and off key. A small Biden bfd.
Seriously, he's not that good. If he was the soundtrack of your teenage years, you're going to feel different about him.
Yeah.
As a teen in the 80s, into hard rock like Queen and Foreigner, I heard about Springsteen the "rocker" and his great "rock" classic, "Born to run".
Then I heard it, and rather than sounding like it had anything to do with running, it sounded like an accompaniment to somnambulism. The keyboards were louder than the guitars! How can that be a "rock" song???
From the radio shows I've heard discussing Springsteen's mumbled lyrics, most people think the song goes "wrapped up like a douche, a real runner in the night." And they think that means something profound. Obama is wrapped up like a douche--so Springsteen was the perfect escort. And this time it does mean something profound. America's future just got a lot brighter.
Allie keeps posting about how many people are there..."shoulder to shoulder" and the pics of the crowds.
Of course none of this is in dispute. 15,000 people are a lot of people. But NOT the 30,000 that they clearly were hoping for. Which is what this blog post is about.
But this isn't shocking as Ooop is dumb as fucking stump.
Inga, that's moderately impressive. Until you realize that the big crowd scene's been chosen to find the best angle, and that we're looking at a campus full of kids with typical too-much-time-on-their-hands in one of the bluest college towns in the country.
Yesterday's Romney rally in Bucks County, PA was nowhere in particular, on the edge of the vital Philly suburbs, which is a classic suburban swing district. And the Bucks County rally apparently was twice as big.
I'm starting to feel good about tomorrow. State College, PA has an almost ghost-town affect, politically speaking. In 2008 even the frat boys had gone full-on Obama fanboy. Nothing now.
Salt Trucks! (from Inga's link)
The only Springsteen songs I like are "Pink Cadillac" and "Glory Days". The fact that the latter was a song about reminiscing of youth, and was written 28 years ago, is all you need to know about Bruce and today's youth.
LarryK, my problem with Dylan is that he expresses a faux profundity that only impresses the shallow thinker. His lyrics over his career are four miles wide and three inches deep.
But that's plenty deep to impress most of a nation that has lost the ability of critical thinking.
Paul Simon is infinitely more profound than Bob Dylan.
Honestly, I used to always participate in polls when called.
Not this year. I have both screened via caller ID and refused to participate on both my cell phone and BOTH of our landlines, and I've gotten multiple calls on all three over the past couple of months and three or four just in the past couple of weeks. My husband, I think, agreed to participate in only one on his cell phone (it's possible he's done more during the time he's been gone this past week; I didn't think to ask him). So maybe there are a lot of people out there who just don't want to bother anymore.
---
On a separate note, there five--count 'em, five--get out the vote messages on one of my landlines from just this morning, and three on the other. I just checked the voice mails a few minutes ago. Three calls came in on my cell phone this morning (I had the cell with me and am answering today, out of curiosity).
That's 11 calls so far today. It is just 12:30 p.m. in Iowa. And that is JUST today; the calls have been coming in thick and fast for days and days and days now.
(And I haven't even checked in with my husband yet today; while he's out East, his cell phone is still an Iowa number.)
We've always gotten a lot of calls around elections, but this? I HAVE NEVER, EVER EXPERIENCED THIS BEFORE.
Just, wow.
Spend the money on a non-published landline. It might cut back on the calls.
The handsets for our landlines happen to be located in the room where my son does his homeschool work. He's been given permission to ignore all phone calls until Wednesday. But still, even he--normally a laid-back sort--is complaining about the distraction.
I may have to declare a school holiday until Wednesday if this keeps up!!
(Yes, yes, there are other rooms in our house--but either we've already removed the desks and tables or the horizontal surfaces are covered with boxes or items in process of being packed for the move or being readies to give away to Goodwill or whatnot.)
Inga, you idiot. Did you read AA's post? Small [less than planned] crowd? The combined forces of state, local, education drones were no more than you would find sperm in an impotent ejaculate. Talk about shooting your wad, lol.'Subdued' I believe is the operative word. But hey--Bill Clinton is criss-crossing PA as we speak, lol. Thus ends Inga--stuck on stupid.
About the calls we received:
Today--and the following has not been true *every* day over the past or so--today seven of the calls were from the Republican party or surrogates, and three were from the Democrats or surrogates, and one was just a general "do you know where your polling station" is. If the trend changes as the day goes on, I'll let you know.
Spend the money on a non-published landline. It might cut back on the calls.
Oddly enough, one of them IS unpublished, supposedly. The other is the one we use for business (my husband's a telecommuter, and so we have a dedicated line normally used only for that).
For a college campus I'd think Katy Perry would be more appropriate, but again, Obama's instincts have always been poor.
If it was just Meade calling the crowd "subdued", I might be skeptical. Meade is, after all, hardly an unbiased source.
But we also have Meade saying that a police officer told him the crowd was only 15,000 people AND we have Meade saying that one of his friends was the first car in the garage this morning!
Obama had better be afraid. VERY afraid.
LOL!!! Just read Clint's link in his 11:11 coment.
I am the 91%!!!
But, apparently, not my husband since he at least participated in one. Gonna have to talk to that boy. ; )
I had always avoided Bruce, but then listened cover to cover to 'Ghost of Tom Joad' - went on to add a couple from there to my guitar repertoire ('Straight Time' and something else I can't remember, which must mean it's no longer on my repertoire - pity)
Loved that album. Never listened to any Springsteen besides that before or since.
Never link a man with his music - or as my dad (RIP) always (incorrectly - it was actually DH Lawrence) quoted Dylan 'Trust the tale, not the teller'. Hmm - Dylan probably stole the quote - which is another example of the above. Actually Dylan stole it from Dave Knopfler who got it from Lawrence.
Ah music - as Guthrie said when someone pointed out that his music was ripped off by some imitator - 'it's okay - I stole from the best of them'... or as Pete Seeger so lovingly said 'we don't call it stealing, we call it the 'folk tradition'
Okay - enough meadering... But back on the topic of not linking the man with his music... it can all be summed up in two short words...
- Neil Young.
"Paul Simon is infinitely more profound than Bob Dylan."
Good grief. I am sorry, but this comment is on a par with "Obama is the equal of Lincoln." Dylan and Knopfler are our age's Herman Melville and William Shakespeare. Springsteen and Simon are 3rd rate. Johnny Cash, Emmy Lou Harris, Allison Kraus, to name three, tower above them.
Jon... lol, I suppose time will tell who is right.
It is highly likely in 200 years that the only real "geniuses" of the latter half of the 20th century music were a couple of guys named McCartney and Lennon.
Springsteen is my era, but despite of couple of notable exceptions, I mostly could take him or leave him. However, I lived in a place where his music was ubiquitous and I knew, and know, boatloads of Springsteen fanatics. I did attend one of his concerts live at the Spectrum (up in Philly) way back in the day, and I must say, it really was one heck of an experience. That man gave it his all for something like 4+ hours! Impressed the hell out of me--though it didn't inspire me to go on and buy his albums or anything. (I have Born to Run on vinyl, bought when it came out, and a small handful of songs purchased via iTunes in more recent times, and that is all.)
... or as Pete Seeger so lovingly said 'we don't call it stealing, we call it the 'folk tradition'
that old commie fuck stole Wemoweah from a black man, Solomon Linda, in South Africa who died in poverty and paid him zero while Seeger made millions from it. Ol Pete, stealing from those with abilities according to his own needs.
Frank and Inga remind me of Dan Ackroyd and Jane Curtain doing "Point Counter Point".
Here and here.
Shouting,
The only thing that matters is the voting.
No. The only thing that matters is the counting of votes.
I was on the road three days last week and heard Rush say at least twice that early voting was where Democrats won elections.
I was disappointed in Rush; most of the rest of us know that the LATE vote (votes "found" after the polls close) is where Democrats win elections.
In broad daylight. And for some reason we put up with this shit.
Pogo,
But each year, they tarnish their work, becoming like Wagner, where separating the music from the ideology becomes ever more difficult.
The difference is that with Wagner his ideology is what you bring to his music.
Wagner was supposedly a vile anti-Semite (I don't know and don't trust the people who assure me he was), but when I listen to the overtures from Die Meistersinger, or Lohengrin, or Tannhauser I can't hear ideology. I only hear great music.
Springsteen's ideology is right there in your face, in his lyrics.
"I thought Springsteen was more the New Jersey blue-collar working man type. Putting him at a university campus made about as much sense as Harley-Davidson having Elton John as the mystery guest at their centennial celebration."
I dunno. I grew up in NY in the late 70s/early 80s, in a middle-s class town. "Bruuuce" was big with suburban weenies, but blue-collars went for Led Zeppelin and southern rock - Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, etc - or disco.
Darkness on the Edge of Town and Nebraska are great albums.
Sane Voter, thanks for the laugh, that was hysterical! Yeah, Frank is a sexist racist pig!!
bagoh20 said...
"I thought Springsteen was more the New Jersey blue-collar working man type.
Kinda funny since his father was some kind of executive type. He grew up wanting for nothing. Like Dylan, Springsteen is from solidly middle class stock.
Billy Corrigan(?) and Bob Seeger(?) actually worked blue collar jobs for a living.
'I find it refreshing. He's been overrated for way too long. My kids, and everyone I know who is not an aging baby boomer, were interested in real music and other stars but never in Dylan.
Seriously, he's not that good. If he was the soundtrack of your teenage years, you're going to feel different about him."
Fixed.
Went out to run errands and discovered on the way back the entire eastbound side of the Beltline was shut down for the motorcade. It only added 7-8 minutes to my drive, but annoyed me.
Wagner was a genius. Springsteen is not. Nobody's going to be listening to Springsteen records in 150 years.
Working class kids in NYC went for punk rock or disco not Springsteen.
He is for douchenozzles from the suburbs. Like Bon Jovi another overrated clown.
When you go into a bar and hit the jukebox Springsteen is not what is playing.
The National Review article gives too much credit to the 2004 exit pollsters, assuming they accurately reported what voters told them.
I heard the MSM trumpeting those exit polls and thought, "No f-ing way!" I believe they lied out their asses, hoping to get Republicans to stay home. (Remember how in 2000 the networks called Florida and the election for Gore before the polls closed.)
This business about Lennon and McCartney being century-class geniuses of culture... wow, I just don't know. Is it possible that certain people, having clawed to a certain position in the dominant culture at its peak of influence, channel that power and influence beyond their own native capacity for such work. If the Beatles had missed their chance and remained an obscure ex-pat band touring West European dives, do you think they would have still produced works of world-warping genius? Or was their ascendance as an apex rock band was what gave them the ability to write something like Yesterday or Hey Jude or Tax Man or whatever?
"Crush on You" and "Ramrod" are unbelievable songs. Really.
Every single thing else about him is tired, worn musical hackery of the most revolting kind.
But those two songs...man.
Nobody's going to be listening to Springsteen records in 150 years.
They won't be able to find a working stylus.
so that's why he's called The Boss. everyone hates him.
@ sane_voter: I never called Inga, the stupid idiot, an ignorant slut. Though IIRC, the face looks familiar from closing time, smile.
MadisonMan said...
Nobody's going to be listening to Springsteen records in 150 years.
They won't be able to find a working stylus.
Vinyl has made a huge comeback. It's outselling CDs by a huge margin.
You guys are so old.
Frank you sexist racist pig, you couldn't that get lucky at closing time.
Inga--there you go again. You should know by now NO MAN considers himself 'lucky' at closing time, lol.
After a two-hour period of quiet--I assume due to lunchtime and now also a shift-change--two more calls have come in within the last 15 minutes. For those keeping track (I can't help it, really, at this point), this makes 13 just today...
...so far...
Wheeeeeeeeee!!!
Both of the last two have been from the Republican side of things.
Waitasecond...
Frank, are you a plumber?
Seeing Red,
Unpublished numbers don't do anything to stop a robo-dialer from cycling through your number.
MadMan,
"They won't be able to find a working stylus."
OGG. They'll just download a spec file from the Galactic Wide Web (on their new FTL download speed, it will only take a few nanoseconds) and then print one on their 3-d printer.
Duh.
Huh. My husband has a Maker 3-D printer he's be fooling around with this year. It never occurred to me to ask if he could fabricate a stylus. Probably not advanced enough yet?
OK Frank, I'll concede that point to you, I wouldn't know what sort of female stays at a bar until closing time, I'm usually home long before then, with my date.
Perhaps that's how you met your "GF".
rcommal said...
Huh. My husband has a Maker 3-D printer he's be fooling around with this year. It never occurred to me to ask if he could fabricate a stylus. Probably not advanced enough yet?
Not unless he can print in metal.
Those are about 10 years away for the commercial market.
I'm looking for a 150 watt desktop laser cutter for less than 5 grand.
Just goes to show how little I've been paying attention to that technology around here. It's not his fault: God knows he tries.
I will, however, look forward to 10 years from now. Being able to make one's own metal stuff would be cool.
Inga, small typo in your comment. there is no d or e in cat.
The proper term is 'john". Inga.
X, you sexist racist pig, you want in on mine and Frank's action, huh? No thanks, don't do threesomes.
Livermoron, what? Is it sexist racist pig day on Althouse today? Get in line.
get in line livermoron. she doesn't do threesomes.
Inga says: Oh Frank!!!
Wagner was supposedly a vile anti-Semite (I don't know and don't trust the people who assure me he was)
Das Judenthum in der Musik
Not really. Crowd was 18k or more. Large crowd. Very cold. YouTube it. His previous rallies, some massive, some smaller are due by design. Not all states and cities have the money and resources to accommodate every other week. Most importantly time, smaller venues are easier for secret service to manage. Think about it, there are at least half the nation for him.
@chickenlit, @ Inga [you stupid idiot] I knew a 'hotlips' nurse Major in Korea, embarrassed the hell out of a 17 yr old boy by shouting in front of 150 people "DOES IT DRIP? IS IT SORE?" But we 'made up' later, lol, god she was old, musta been 30, lol. Knew her anatomy though. Good hearted. But I'm partial to nurses who spend their lives in a locked mental ward--gives then a j'ne sais quois, know what I mean?
Think about it, there are at least half the nation for him.
Modern American politics can be succintly summarized as "Halving It All."
This why decisive elections a good thing from time-to-time and they come from both the right and left.
Palladian wrote: Das Judenthum...
That sort of spelling went the way of the Neanderthal...too bad the thinking didn't.
I am as certain of a Romney landslide as I am certain AA will vote for Obama.
rcommal said...
Just goes to show how little I've been paying attention to that technology around here. It's not his fault: God knows he tries.
I will, however, look forward to 10 years from now. Being able to make one's own metal stuff would be cool.
It's awesome. MIT has experimented using sintered titanium to make jet engine turbine blades. right from the 3D machine to the assembly line.
Very cool stuff.
Design your complete machine in Autocad and then print it.
Axelrod tweeted about the respective turnouts in Dubuque, and I replied to him that John Cougar Mellencamp outdrew both of them. Forget all about that macho shit and learn how to play guitar.
If Obama is spending time in Madison at this late date, he is lost......
That's like Lenin not getting a crowd on the Nevsky Proshpekt.
Wow a lot of Springsteen haters out there. I was a small kid when the Born in the USA album came out. My family and I fell in love with that album and it remains a soundtrack for my idyllic childhood. Every song on that album is absolutely incredible. In fact it's been a fixture in my CD player for the last month and I'm disappointed I wasn't able to make it to the rally. I've never seen the boss unfortunately. All the haters on here really ought to give the album a listen before word vomiting. Aside from Glory Days, "Workin' On the Highway" is my favorite song on there. I love Max Weinberg on drums and Clearance Clemmons on sax! Also, who do you suggest Obama get to better identify with America's youth? There hasn't been a good musical act come out since the late eighties.
Richard Milburn said...
Wow a lot of Springsteen haters out there.
Oh I liked him too back then. I first heard of Springsteen from the FM-radio DJs on Radio Free Madison. I still remember the DJs' names: Pete Sherrick, Chris Morris, Rick Murphy. They used to make pilgrimages to NJ to see Springsteen in the early '70s--before "Born To Run" and the Time Magazine hype. I wonder if Springsteen realizes how well he captured the scene on any given weekend night around the Capitol Square in madison where he play today. The Square was the "cruising central" in Madison--the place where girls combed their hair in rearview mirrors and their boyfriends cranked Badfinger on their 8-tracks.
I dislike what Springsteen became later on--not a voice for the American way of life but just a shill for one party. Just like Madonna. It actually pisses me off.
Jon Burack said..."Paul Simon is infinitely more profound than Bob Dylan."Good grief. I am sorry, but this comment is on a par with "Obama is the equal of Lincoln." Dylan and Knopfler are our age's Herman Melville and William Shakespeare. Springsteen and Simon are 3rd rate. Johnny Cash, Emmy Lou Harris, Allison Kraus, to name three, tower above them.
Yep. Agree completely.
Oh I liked him too back then. I first heard of Springsteen from the FM-radio DJs on Radio Free Madison. I still remember the DJs' names: Pete Sherrick, Chris Morris, Rick Murphy. They used to make pilgrimages to NJ to see Springsteen in the early '70s--before "Born To Run" and the Time Magazine hype. I wonder if Springsteen realizes how well he captured the scene on any given weekend night around the Capitol Square in madison where he play today. The Square was the "cruising central" in Madison--the place where girls combed their hair in rearview mirrors and their boyfriends cranked Badfinger on their 8-tracks.
This one's for you, chickelit...
Thanks r,l!
A favorite band and a favorite TV show from back in the day (I'm a 70s not a 60s kid).
Is that Derek Smalls on bass in that video?
Wow I just happened upon this link this morning. Thanks for the great laugh. A disappointing turnout for the Obama rally in Madison, Wisconsin. Too funny, I was at both of them and if you consider more people showing up than the overflow areas could handle disappointing, then I guess I'll just need to consider the source. Actually being the Obama hater that you are I guess disappointing would be the word you would use. He wasn't really my first choice but I backed him completely because your bat-crap crazy Republican Socio-pathic line up of candidates was very frightening. It continues to amaze me how much Republicans hate Obama he's so Republican, I would think you would all love him. But hey thanks for the laugh.
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