February 23, 2021

"In our own ways, Bruce and I have been on parallel journeys trying to understand this country that’s given us both so much. Trying to chronicle the stories of its people. Looking for a way to connect our own individual searches for meaning and truth and community with the larger story of America."

Said Barack Obama, quoted in "Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen Join Many Men Before Them, Launch a Podcast" (NY Magazine).  

... journeys... stories... a way to connect our own individual searches for meaning and truth and community with the larger story of America... 

I don't know. That must appeal to some people but it sounds perfectly silly to me. 

 I love the photograph, which I'll copy because it's Spotify's picture (by Rob DeMartin) and they seem to be trying to promote the podcast, so I'm only helping them:

The 2 men and their environment are so ideal... and yet... where are the masks? Did they really do the podcast there on abutting sides of that delicate table? Does Bruce really use wheelie chairs on those loose, blanket-like rugs? That's not going to work. Did they just happen to cross their arms and legs in the same way? More importantly, do this guys have a good podcast-y way to talk back and forth? 

ADDED: I am actually going to attempt to listen to this. I'll let you know how it turns out.

UPDATE: My effort ended 14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever.

157 comments:

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...


Barf.
Two rich white progressive phonies.

tim maguire said...

Joe Rogan does podcasts with different guests with no masking. He figures lots of testing and a bit of isolating is good enough. As with professional sports.

Nonapod said...

I can feel the sanctimony radiating from that picture like waves crashing on a beach. I'm probably being unfair, but I can't imagine a more out of touch couple when it comes to chronicling the stories of the people of this country.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Such Podcasts are tales told by self-styled sophisticates full of happy talk and mirthless humors signifying nothing.

Joe Smith said...

Biggest blowhard on the planet (pick which one).

Obama did nothing in his life and still became the most powerful man on earth in the most racist country on earth.

Wonder how that could possibly happen?

Gunner said...

I am so sure that Dubya doing a podcast with an old drunk driving conservative famous guy would be treated this delicately by lefty media

tim maguire said...

Good luck making it through a whole episode. I can't imagine anything less interesting. And right now I'm sitting alone in a car in the cold while my wife with her broken foot sees a doctor.

Todd said...

In our own ways, Bruce and I have been on parallel journeys trying to understand this country that’s given us both so much.

Must fight gag reflex....

Great idea for a pod cast! To wealthy liberals trying to "understand" America. One has been touring the country since the last ice age and the other was POTUS. At least they have a clue that there is MUCH they don't understand about America. Shame they will continue to learn the wrong lessons...

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The phrase "Personal journey" is more ....BARF.

Bill R said...

Thank you for listening. I always admire people who step up to do the unpleasant and boring jobs so someone else won't have to.

Mr Wibble said...

They're gonna start a podcast where they discuss homebrewing, shitty indie music, and unsolved murders in the midwest.

farmgirl said...

I already know - you’ll love it

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Bruce always bored me to tears with his stories between songs. Those legendary 3-hour shows woulda gone quicker without 90 minutes of blather. Cant imagine voluntarily submitting to a podcast of his bullshit. Obama has always noted me as well. No one in American life has ever said so little of note and yet used so many words. Mostly words that start with i me my.

Nonapod said...

They're gonna start a podcast where they discuss homebrewing, shitty indie music, and unsolved murders in the midwest.

But isn't the like 99% of the podcasts out there?

Heartless Aztec said...

I liked the skinny shore Jersey guitar greaser better. But we all grown and change. Some not for the better.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

ADDED: I am actually going to attempt to listen to this. I'll let you know how it turns out.

No sarcasm: That's taking one for the team. Good luck!

Leland said...

The great things you do for us so we don’t have to.

rehajm said...

My bet is on Spotify deplatforming Rogan if/when he doesn't promote the narrative to the left's satisfaction...and don't try to tell me they wouldn't blow $100 million to do it. I suspect it is not Spotify's money they're spending to do it anyways...

Mr Wibble said...

They're gonna start a podcast where they discuss homebrewing, shitty indie music, and unsolved murders in the midwest.

But isn't the like 99% of the podcasts out there?


EXACTLY! It's sure to be a hit!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Obama has always BORED me as well.

That’s what I wrote above twice. Both times the iPhone changed it. No criticism of obama allowed.

Iman said...

Tweeter and teh MomJeansMan?

Sydney said...

Gross. I saw this advertised on Spotify and thought it was some guy’s podcast talking about these two. Had no idea it was actually them podcasting. Even less interested now. As others before me said....BARF!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Bruce needs to stop going to Bob Deniro’s plastic surgeon.

Sebastian said...

Will they say a single honest thing? Let us know!

Mr Wibble said...

Iman said...
Tweeter and teh MomJeansMan?


I hate you for thinking of that before I could.

rehajm said...

I can't wait for when they have Harry and Meghan on. I'm sure that'll be fabulous...

Eleanor said...

You don't have to watch on my account.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

UPDATE: My effort ended 14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever.

LOL so about the length of the average Springsteen rant between songs.

Yancey Ward said...

"Where are the masks?"

Now that was funny shit.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

RECALL a few years ago when Bruce's phony "every-man" scheme was revealed to be bullshit. Now - off you go, Bruce, to your multi-million dollar pony stable.

wild chicken said...

Only thing like this I'll watch is Robert Wright and Mickey Kaus. That's usually a pretty good convo, though they take some pretty nasty shots at each other sometimes.

I figure it's just how guys talk when they're not worried about some woman's feelings.

Calypso Facto said...

Iman said..."Tweeter and teh MomJeansMan?"

Snooty and the Blowhard. (you get to decide which is which)

Skeptical Voter said...

The multimillionaire "blue collar guy"--and the world class bloviating college sophomore (a few years down the world) BSing together. I'm surprised our host could hold out for almost 15 minuhtes.
"

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

I would say in 2008 I was somewhat biased in favour of Obama. I thought the race between him and Hillary was great, and I wasn't impressed by McCain. A new hope for America, and all that. I believe it has been said even by Obama's friends that his great speech-making stopped with his election. Neither inaugural address was notable, etc. He made that stupid remark about unemployed Pennsylvania voters--later known as Trump voters, parallel to Romney's stupid remark about voters who are dependent on the welfare state. Obama and Hillary destroyed Libya, I'm not sure why. Obama did a foolish thing, not speaking well of him at all, when private citizen Trump showed up at the Correspondents' Dinner (invitation wangled by Obama?), and Obama put him down with some unfunny jokes. Did Obama do as much as any single person other than Trump to get Trump elected? And then these interviews--Letterman, Seinfeld, whomever. I've tried to tell my son and daughter-in-law that Obama isn't funny or interesting at all. They won't buy it. He reminds me of the period when TV weatherpersons got two segments of time instead of one. Suddenly they were philosophers: you know, a day like this makes me reflect that there's so much more we can do, both for ourselves and others .....

Skeptical Voter said...

The multimillionaire "blue collar guy"--and the world class bloviating college sophomore (a few years down the world) BSing together. I'm surprised our host could hold out for almost 15 minutes.
"

Temujin said...

I repeat my comment from your earlier post today on Joe Biden's immigration coverage: We are in the Age of Ipecac. An era of nausea inducing, self-congratulating, virtue signaling statements that say nothing, and mean less.

Like the world has been waiting for a podcast from Chauncey Gardiner. Sure it has.

LA_Bob said...

"a way to connect our own individual searches for meaning and truth and community with the larger story of America..."

"I don't know. That must appeal to some people but it sounds perfectly silly to me."

Yep. So much pablum, so little time.

cubanbob said...

... journeys... stories... a way to connect our own individual searches for meaning and truth and community with the larger story of AmeriKKKa... or are they Lost In AmeriKKKa?

LYNNDH said...

I find neither of these man boys interesting.

Breezy said...

Um, if you want to chronicle American life stories, maybe talk to real everyday Americans? Just a thought. Get off your high horse while you’re at it.

PS “Age of Ipecac” is priceless, Temujin!

DarkHelmet said...

I'm sorry, but I won't have time for it. There's some fresh paint on the wall that I must watch very carefully as it dries.

Until our new masters make it required listening. Which could happen sooner rather than later.

Unknown said...

Sounds like Springsteen is having some kind of late life crisis. I hadn’t heard of him in ages and suddenly he’s everywhere. Getting arrested, making commercials, and now political podcasting...

Jokah Macpherson said...

Everyone always talks about what a great speaker Obama is but I was never very impressed. He has a good voice that makes him sound competent and on top of things but the actual content is always boring and empty, even on topics that could be interesting.

If he was a good speaker he could hold a podcast together.

chickelit said...

Each man is incomplete. Each man has only ever seen and expressed ONE side of every political conflict in America. Each man is hopelessly partisan in his own way. Each man is incomplete. I pity them, really.

Achilles said...

Trying to normalize a fascist tyrant who sent the IRS after Americans who disagreed with him and used the fbi and cia to spy n his political opponents.

Obama is a terrible person and so is anyone who supports him.

Breezy said...

I suggest Obama talk to the black pipeline workers that just lost their jobs via a signature on an EO.

chickelit said...

Trump -- for all his faults -- was never hopelessly partisan. There was a "liberal" side to Trump as well as a "conservative" side to Trump. Show me that breadth of political character in Bruce Springsteen or Barack Obama. I think that they both fear to live fully and to experience the other side. That or they were both henpecked to death by their wives. I suspect the latter.

Chennaul said...

Did the have a beer and go for a ride?

Critter said...

Two mediocrities with mundane opinions. Springsteen has tried to become the new Dylan for his entire career......and failed miserably. I can't listen to more than 3 or 4 of his songs. Famous as a guitar guy, but watch him on stage with real guitar greats (e.g., Dylan's 30th special) and you'll see that he's more motion than talent.

Water reaches its own level. Such is life for Obama since he was praised for every move and utterance. Now that he needs to stand substantially on his own, he has reached his own level.

Who approved this project? He/she/it is in a real bubble.

D.D. Driver said...

"In our own ways...

Is this shorthand for "if you look really hard we have something in common."

But I do think they have the same underlying phoniness. Both have made a career peddling the fiction that they are working class heroes. I'm reminded of the times that Obama tried to act like a normal person and he didn't really know how. Like the time tried to prove he was White Sox by bragging how many times he attended "Cominsky Park." That feeling is how I feel about Springstein's entire career.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Please - run out and buy your copy of 'Obama- the man you will be forced to worship.'
there are stacks at the local book stores.

Nonapod said...

Jokah Macpherson said...Everyone always talks about what a great speaker Obama is but I was never very impressed. He has a good voice that makes him sound competent and on top of things but the actual content is always boring and empty, even on topics that could be interesting.

That's always been my sense as well. He has a good speaking voice. His cadence matches somewhat with a minister or pastor, emphasing certain words and phrase and the like. He has good public speaking mannerisms. But in terms of what he's actually saying, it usually strikes me as generally either tediously banal or insultingly pedagogical. He is either speaking in generic progressive talking points or setting up predictable straw men (his perferred rhetorical tactic). So I'm either falling asleep or infuriated at his insulting presentation.

chickelit said...

But in terms of what he's actually saying, it usually strikes me as generally either tediously banal or insultingly pedagogical. He is either speaking in generic progressive talking points or setting up predictable straw men (his perferred rhetorical tactic). So I'm either falling asleep or infuriated at his insulting presentation.

Could that be because he's not writing his own stuff but rather being used like a ventriloquist doll?

Narr said...

Two of my least favorite famous people, together at last! I would not have known, if not for the Prof.

Obama's public speaking style is quasi-ecclesiastical, with the churchman's little finger lift. I can see why he wowed the easily impressed, and give him credit for having the IQ to walk through the doors that opened up for him all his life.

Smooth and soothing delivery of empty platitudes has never taken a mediocre person higher.

Narr
Springsteen? Meh.



Paul Zrimsek said...

I thought I understood my country pretty well until it produced this.

Wade Phillips said...

Like Althouse, I found the rugs in that photo incredibly distracting! We're all working from home, we're all keenly aware that office chairs are not going to work on rugs like that. Plus, they look like crap. Come on guys!

Titus said...

Obama looks hit in that pic. Shirt shoes, jeans...all working.

Totally would do him.

William said...

Stepping up to fill the void left by Rush Limbaugh....Actually. I miss the in depth analysis that Rush would offer on this show. It begs for mockery, but only Rush would do it properly.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I have the Springsteen channel pre-set on my car's Sirius. It's one of my favorite music stations. And yeah I get it - that makes me a bad music lover. But I can't stand the Boss's personality and his politics. He is such a phony moron. I dislike him almost as much I dislike our Affirmative Actio president.

Daniel Jackson said...

"Two rich white progressive phonies."

Two MULTI-MILLIONAIRES! N'importe quoi.

In working class digs no less.

Gag Moi.

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JML said...

Both are drunks-one with booze and the other with power.

Gusty Winds said...

I’d rather listen to a podcast with nursing home killer Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the New York celebrities who blew him in the Emmy Award video.. Includes Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal, Ben Stiller, Billy Joel, and Rosie Perez.

If you’re going to make something this bad, make it really bad.

chickelit said...

Critter said...Springsteen has tried to become the new Dylan for his entire career......and failed miserably.

Well put. I'd add that it was largely because Bruce was always the first to show up at one side's political rallies. You always knew where Springsteen's politics were. Dylan famous never showed up to the rallies (per Joan Baez: "Where's Bob?, they'd say"). Dylan kept people guessing and to this day I'm not sure what Bob Dylan's politics are -- much like Althouse's. Springsteen always wore his politics proudly on his sleeve -- almost like an armband. This automatically put off half of America. Springsteen has always been predictable and thus a bit boring; Bob Dylan has not been.

Francisco D said...

UPDATE: My effort ended 14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever.

I appreciate what you do for us, Althouse.

There was no way I was going to listen to those two boring narcissists talk about how wonderful they are.

chickelit said...

Springsteen has tried to become the new Dylan for his entire career......and failed miserably.

Springsteen had a clear choice between Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan and he chose Pete Seeger.

Yancey Ward said...

In preparation for that photo-op, both watched videos of men doing an oil change.

chickelit said...

Yancey Ward said...
In preparation for that photo-op, both watched videos of men doing an oil change.

LOL. Kinda goes with Titus's comment.

boatbuilder said...

Bruce has got that Megan McCain stocking-over-the-head look going.

Ya think either of them is going to talk about how Ted Cruz screwed up, but privately as a famous person they can see how these things happen?

Sure. Just a couple of guys being honest about things. Count on it.

Kevin said...

You want a good podcast?

Swap out either of them for Mike Rowe.

Achilles said...

The left requires infantile garbage like this be held up and respected.

Because their ideas do not hold up in adult conversations.

Mark said...

14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever

That's about 14 minutes and 25 seconds longer than I can listen to the always tedious Barack Obama.

Wince said...

Looks like they want to play footsie with each other.

Chennaul said...

Shit I went to the link.

Story below it. Hillary retires to mystery books. Co writing a book coming out October 12th.

State of Terror....

Chennaul said...

Almost willing to bet the terrorists will be “home grown” white guys. They might even say.....the word!

chickelit said...

Springsteen has tried to become the new Dylan for his entire career......and failed miserably.

Bruce Springsteen never disappointed his base whereas Dylan did this numerous times throughout his career. In other words, Dylan constantly challenged his fan base to think more deeply or at least differently. Springsteen is still very much stuck in the 1970's with the same fanbase recalling drinking warm beers in the sun on the hood of a dodge. Springsteen is all about nostalgia; Dylan not so much.

Chennaul said...

Okay maybe not homegrown but White Russians...perhaps.

Hillary Clinton is teaming up with the award-winning thriller author Louise Penny to write an “international political thriller” in which a secretary of state joins the administration of “a president inaugurated after four years of American leadership that shrank from the world stage”.

Axios reported on Tuesday morning that Clinton and Penny, who are friends, had signed a deal to publish State of Terror in October. It will see a female “novice secretary of state” begin working for the president, who was once her rival. Terrorist attacks then throw “the global order into disarray, and the secretary is tasked with assembling a team to unravel the deadly conspiracy, a scheme carefully designed to take advantage of an American government dangerously out of touch and out of power in the places where it counts the most.”
. (The Guardian)

Mark said...

You know, we had all that fun with Rush being an "isolate."

But didn't we miss the big discussion about people who know Obama revealing that he doesn't really like people? And that's the reason that he never had Joe over to the residence for a beer.

Chennaul said...

Come on Althouse, take one for the team and read it!

It will be — Better than Bill’s!

Deb said...

"a way to connect our own individual searches for meaning and truth and community with the larger story of America..."

This gets my "Who gives a sh*t?" tag.

FullMoon said...

.. our own individual searches for meaning and truth and community with the larger story of America...

Ya know, I was planning on doing that myself, but with supporting a family and paying bills and working and worrying, never quite found the time.

chickelit said...

Hillary Clinton is teaming up with the award-winning thriller author Louise Penny to write an “international political thriller” in which a secretary of state joins the administration of “a president inaugurated after four years of American leadership that shrank from the world stage”.

The soap opera women will love that! She does know her audience.

PM said...

When I first heard Thunder Road in the 70s, I played it incessantly. He was a great songwriter. Is he more than that - no, but that alone ain't bad.

Arashi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FullMoon said...

Bruce Springsteen never disappointed his base whereas Dylan did this numerous times throughout his career. In other words, Dylan constantly challenged his fan base to think more deeply or at least differently.

Has Dylan done rap music yet? Folk, rock, country, christian,protest, easy listening..

Chennaul said...

The young vivacious Secretary of State ordered sternly—“Set up my email server in the closet and bring me a White Russian— hold the Kahlua!”

boatbuilder said...

Or even tell "Asshole Ted" stories? I might listen to that--at least they would be honest about things.

Arashi said...

So two rich old white guys get together, not over beer, and discus their journey to discover America? Will it end like Captain America and Billy, on a road down south somewhere at the end of a shotgun? Or maybe in the Hamptons over a nice merlot and some cheese? Or maybe at the Jersey Shore with some big hair bimbos?

Who knows. Who cares. As long as my tax money is not getting spent to produce or advertise it, let them have their continued 15 minutes in the sjw limelight.

Chennaul said...

As she spun around her pantsuit— whispered.

(Okay I think I’m done)

lgv said...

They understand exactly "this country that gave them so much". That is why they are both rich. When Bruce started it was only going to be small venues, but they all say that. He's went full corporate with the progressive pose. Obama was just another deal making Chicago politician getting his riches once he left office along with all his book deals.

Ken B said...

I am not sure I know for certain any Bruce Springsteen songs. I know there’s a big one, and I would recognize it I am sure, but I cannot think what it is.
I feel no desire to remedy this ignorance.

Louie the Looper said...

“[T]he deadly conspiracy, a scheme carefully designed to take advantage of an American government dangerously out of touch and out of power in the places where it counts the most.”

I presume that place is Texas.

Interested Bystander said...

Two guys I never cared for.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

2 aging elite boney-assed white rich progressives - queuing up the worhsip session for the hivemind.

Jupiter said...

It's a dick thing.

Unknown said...

Two of the world’s most uninteresting guys talking to each other. Neither exactly known for their senses of humor. Pass.

MJB Wolf- go see Dead and Co., exactly zero patter between songs, “ We’re gonna take a short break” at the end of the first set; and either “Good night everybody” , “thank you, and good night, or “good night everybody, see you all later on” at the end of the show or encore.

Oh and two summers ago at Wrigley after second set opener “Scarlet Begonias” Bob Weir asked the crowd “ y’all havin’ fun?” The crowd roared, and Bobby answered “us too”

I'm guessing adding all the many times I saw Dead and Dead related acts there was not enough banter to fill up one Springsteen between song ... I dunno what to call it exactly...

Ken B said...

This is cringe.

Lurker21 said...


Two guys who are hard to take separately, but absolutely insufferable together.

*

In the future, defeated politicians will be given a virtual realm to rule, sort of like Madam Secretary for Hillary or The West Wing in the Gore/Kerry days.

Todd said...

Chennaul said...
Shit I went to the link.

Story below it. Hillary retires to mystery books. Co writing a book coming out October 12th.

State of Terror....

2/23/21, 12:40 PM


That is so weird?!? I heard it was a murder mystery and the working title was:

"She swallows... His lies".

MadisonMan said...

UPDATE: My effort ended 14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever.
I am not surprised. They worship each other too much. A good podcast back and forth needs tension. B&B can't provide that.
I'm sure Hillary!!'s books will have all the heft of the Murder She Wrote paperback that is somewhere in the house. Hilariously bad writing.

Lurker21 said...

Two unemployed guys with a lot of time on their hands.

Bruce uses it to work out.

Barack doesn't.

Dave Begley said...

As a person who has written two scripts (with the best one being "Frankenstein, Part II"), I can tell you that "journeys" are a genre in the trade.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

If self-regard were a commodity, those two would have cornered the market.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I wonder if Bruce's daughter's $600,000 dressage horse debacle will come up?

tim maguire said...

Agreed on Obama's talents as an orator. When he's speaking, he sounds like he should be moving, but within minutes of him finishing, you can't remember anything he said. Because he didn't say anything worth remembering.

Obama always struck me as a thoroughly mediocre man with a very pedestrian intellect. His only real talent is getting influential people excited about him. Which says more about them than about him.

He is the real Chauncey the gardener.

Springsteen is a great performer, and like most great performers, his politics are infantile. Passionate but without intelligence.

TML said...

14 minutes in is impressive. I never even heard The Boss speak as I bailed at 2:19 with this gem from the Droner:

“….another tragic reminder of how powerfully racism continues to stain so many aspects of American life.”

Nonapod said...

Springsteen is a great performer, and like most great performers, his politics are infantile. Passionate but without intelligence.

Being a rock star means you never have to grow up. You can mentally remain 14 years old forever, like some sort of entitled Peter Pan but with more drugs and sex and adulation.

Known Unknown said...

"Story below it. Hillary retires to mystery books. Co writing a book coming out October 12th."

If I Did It

Rabel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rabel said...

Obama has several pages of notes typed up in an organized format on the table in front of him (I found a higher def picture). Bruce's are handwritten.

Did it sound like Obama was reading from a script?

Rabel said...

The rugs have been there for a while. Probably to deaden echos off the hardwood floor in his studio.

tim in vermont said...

Spotify is great, I never listen to to the podcasts though. You also have to pick your own music, because they push out their politics in their music choices too. If you went by Spotify you would think that the only song Joni Mitchell ever wrote was environmental anthem “Big Yellow Taxi” and that the transgender featuring “Take a Walk on the Wild. Side” and “Lola” were the main songs that people listened to in the seventies when really it was artists like The BeeGees, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and K.C. and the Sunshine Band.

Still, it’s worth the money even if they do seem to have ripped off the artists. But I guess that the artists have the option to pull their stuff if they don’t like the deal.

tim in vermont said...

It was good to find out from the Springsteen Super Bowl ad how much Jeep hated me before I spent the money on a new Wrangler to flat tow.

Heywood Rice said...

Listen here
Every man wants to be a macho man
To have the kind of body always in demand
Joggin' in the mornings, go man go
Workouts in the health spa, muscles grow
You can best believe me
He's a macho man
Glad he took you down with anyone you can
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Macho, macho man (macho man)
I gotta be a macho man
Macho, macho man
I gotta be a macho
Macho, macho man
I gotta be a macho man
Macho, macho man (yeah, yeah)
I gotta be a macho
Body, body, it's so hot, my body
Body, love to pop my body
Body, love to…

Bilwick said...

"Say, Bruce, isn't statism great?"

"Sure is, Barry! All these whiners complaining about 'loss of liberty' just don't appreciate all Big Brother does for them."

"They need some appreciation beaten into them good and hard."

"F@#$in' A, Barry--f@3$in' A!"

Just John said...

I don't care for either of them both have gotten so much yet remain ungreaatful and both feel right at home pulling the ladder of opertunity up behind them.
For a truely great comparison of BRUCE! to Chucck Barry look for it on You Tube by Blue collar Logic.

zipity said...

Nothing appeals to me more than listening to a couple of insanely wealthy Socialists navel gaze about how flawed America is.

ESAD guys.

TML said...

Everyone in America will be fawning over this even though they'll all watch 7 minutes and bail, too. Now if Trump and Alex Jones did the same thing, a LOT of people would listen to every minute and it would be wildly successful, though, of course, properly tut-tutted and condemned by our betters

Ann Althouse said...

“ Has Dylan done rap music yet?”

I Shall Be Free #10

tim in vermont said...

The really sweet thing about Spotify is that you can listen to albums in the same way you listened to them on vinyl in the same order. Sometimes it’s tricky to get the settings right to get that to work though. I was just on a long drive and I listened to Blood on the Tracks and what the hell was The Ballad of the Thin Man about? Sounds like a visit to Plato’s Retreat.

tim in vermont said...

From walking in with is “pencil in his hand” to

“You’re a cow!
Give me some milk or go home!”

Iman said...

Some of you sit there
Pencil in your hand
Don’t get you nowhere
You slick MomJeansMan

Rabel said...

Also, plastic straws.

Shame.

Iman said...

Blogger Titus said...
Obama looks hit in that pic. Shirt shoes, jeans...all working.

Totally would do him.


At this point, that last sentence goes without saying, Titus.

GDI said...

Two man circle jerk.

Jim at said...

Sounds like a joke.

So a choomer and a drunk driver started a podcast ....

John Cunningham said...

I had to quit after 7 minutes. Enough to gag a maggot.

GingerBeer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Njall said...

“Has Dylan done rap music yet?”

Subterranean Homesick Blues

Ken B said...

Someone mentioned rock stars. Check out MC Hammer on Twitter today! Yes, that MC Hammer.

Or Brian May of Queen, PhD in astrophysics.

So, not all noodle heads.

Leland said...

UPDATE: My effort ended 14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever.

15 minutes of "I always admired you" or as GDI said at 3:48.

Anonymous said...

One night, my buddies and I were wandering around Asbury Park, NJ. We were from the town next over. Towns at the Shore are small. I grew up in a township. Asbury Park was the biggest town around.
There was a club called the 'Upstage'. Hole in the wall kinda place. You go into the entrance, and climb a narrow staircase, and then get into a theatre. Not big. Hole in the wall kinda place. Some band was playing, and there might be girls there.

The Act was Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. I did not know where E-Street was. Still don't. I was a teen-ager and Bruce Springsteen was all about teen angst. I dug it.

There was this guy in the band who played the saxophone, Clarence Clemmons. Had a solo. Mesmerizing. Easily the best part of the set.

Then I joined the Army, and Bruce cut an album while I was overseas. 'Greetings from Asbury Park'. When I came back I was not a teen-ager anymore. Had no time for teen angst.

But...every year new teen-agers are being minted. Bruce made a career out of it.

I couldn't vote at 18. The teenagers vote now. There was a reason for the voting age to be 21.





Narayanan said...

calling Body language experts >>> what do you see for us to learn from you?

crossed arms = honest and open or dissembling liars?

walter said...

Both are double-crossers.

Terry Ott said...

Too bad you quit at 14+ minutes in, Ann. At 16:00 there is 30 seconds of silence where the Jeep ad used to be. Then, a couple minutes later there was the recorded promo re: Barack’s upcoming autobiography, “Me Again, Take #6”: Previously Forgotten Details"

Paul said...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. And uh, podcast? Who. where? Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Tomcc said...

So, that's what's going on at the Jot'em Down store!

FullMoon said...

I know something is happening here but I don't know what it is..

Lewis Wetzel said...

How come my country did not reward me as much as much as it has rewarded Springsteen & Obama?
What did I do wrong?
I guess it comes down to popularity. I should have tried harder to make rich people like me.

Markoni said...

Dems will pass a bill allowing pets to vote, soon. Inclusivity is everything.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Why am I supposed to view Springsteen and Obama as successes?
Sure, they have money -- much more than I have -- but I'm doing okay. Retired on capital & a retirement plan at sixty years old.
If you only have middlin' wealth in your peer group (as I suppose Springsteen and Obama have) it must chafe when you hang out with the real wealth. Your betters invite you to stay for a weekend or longer on their 300' yacht, while their own yacht is a mere 100'. "Stay as long as you want to! I hardly ever use this! Cook is great with lamb and veggie smoothies!"
The implication is that you are still impressed with yacht sizes and a private cook who makes great smoothies.
But Obama's popinjay act probably grows old, fast, and Springsteen is really only a singer, and so is more like the hired help than a peer.

FunkyPhD said...

I'd sooner stick white-hot forks into both of my eyes than listen for one second to these insufferable posers.

LakeLevel said...

Walking past Target Center arena in downtown Minneapolis, we noticed the last of a crowd going into a concert there. The only people left on the sidewalk when we got to front doors were ticket scalpers. They could tell weren't really a Bruce fans so they sold us tickets that were 12 rows up on the side of the stage for $5 a pop. There they were Bruce and his wife and The Big Guy and Max Weinberg. Wow it was bad. There was no effort at Rock Show excitement. They played every song with the house lights turned up, look at us all up here fake smiling and playing and lecturing. We lasted 3 songs before retiring to the arena bar. A fan there almost wanted to fight me when I told him I only paid five bucks for my ticket. I'm so glad I only paid that much because I might have felt compelled to stay longer. ugh.

The Godfather said...

Excuse me for commenting when I haven't read all previous comments -- I try not to co that. But Althouse said, "My effort ended 14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever." With respect to Obama. I've had to listen to him for ages; another 14 minutes would be intolerable and unnecessary. The other guy wrote and sang one good song. He knows sh*t.

Curious George said...

"I Shall Be Free #10"

No.

Jokah Macpherson said...

"Obama always struck me as a thoroughly mediocre man with a very pedestrian intellect. His only real talent is getting influential people excited about him. Which says more about them than about him."

Guessing people's intelligence is hit or miss but I think he is one of the smartest black people period. He's just rather incurious for being so smart, and in fairness, very little in his adult life has put pressure on him to push himself further intellectually. He's sort of like the hot chick that gets adulation just for showing up; she may have the latent talent to learn interesting things or useful skills but what's the point? Everyone already loves her so there's no marginal benefit.

Of the presidents within my lifetime, I actually think Obama would be the most fun to be friends with. He's a chill dude who enjoys basic stuff like watching sports and playing golf and having a beer or two, but he's not going to try to make moves on your wife Clinton-style when he gets drunk. Sure, he gets off on the adulation from these empty, moralistic speeches but he doesn't seem as committed to the cause once the cameras stop. Trump, on the other hand, would make a shitty friend even though I voted for him in both elections.

Anonymous said...

Jokah. Pretty good summation. I have to agree on both those personalities.

Jokah Macpherson said...

I would even add to my previous comment that he's on the higher end of IQ for presidents, who, while not subject to the same minimum level cutoff as particle physicists, still tend to come from the right side of the distribution.

Nonetheless, all wasted. There's plenty of equally smart nerds who have done way more interesting things but no one's ever heard of them because they're not the first black president.

Danno said...

Temujin said..."I repeat my comment from your earlier post today on Joe Biden's immigration coverage: We are in the Age of Ipecac. An era of nausea inducing, self-congratulating, virtue signaling statements that say nothing, and mean less."

Most profound quip ever posted on the interwebs! You rock, Temujin!

Bunkypotatohead said...

Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh

[Instrumental outro until fade-out]

Rusty said...

"ADDED: I am actually going to attempt to listen to this. I'll let you know how it turns out.

UPDATE: My effort ended 14 minutes and 27 seconds in. I found it of no interest whatsoever."
This is why I keep showing up.
Well. That and the rat stickers.

Butkus51 said...

The 2 cons

Lurker21 said...

Supposedly, Obama tells Springsteen that a friend used a racial slur when they were playing basketball and Obama punched him and knocked him over.

I'm calling that bullshit - how come that story had to wait till now to come out? - but Obama has had so much made up about him (good and bad), that I can't entirely blame him for doubling down and adding to the myths.

Obama looks smaller and smaller with each passing week, but he has a cagey, reckless quality, like Cagney or Pacino when he's cornered in a gangster movie, that isn't entirely uninteresting or unadmirable.

Harry Lime said...

Chickelit said: "Dylan kept people guessing and to this day I'm not sure what Bob Dylan's politics are..."

Here's a tip: If anyone in the entertainment industry is described as "apolitical" or "non-partisan" or just politically ambiguous, they're conservative. People always said of Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, etc. that you never knew where they stood politically. If you don't know where they stand, you know where they stand.

Dude1394 said...

Gag me with a spoon.

Tinderbox said...

Either their chairs are triggering body language like that or they don't believe each other's bullshit.

Anonymous said...

"Obama tells Springsteen that a friend used a racial slur when they were playing basketball and Obama punched him and knocked him over."

Obama never had the courage to punch anyone. He's just signaling that's it's ok to do that.

Obama is telling us, that when black people knock out an Asian on the street in San Francisco, it's OK. Just say you were called a racial slur. And...it's white supremacy, or something.