Top 50 Songs of the Decade, #35 - "Dream Baby Dream," Bruce Springsteen

Yes, I know it's a cover song - and yes, I know a lot of people think that Bruce's version pales in comparison to the 1979 original by Suicide.  That's OK.  I wouldn't have any qualms about including this version on a career-spanning Best Of by Bruce. 



But of course it was the video for the song that really connected me with it.  This is the sort of thing that an artist lesser than Bruce Springsteen might not be able to get away with.  But for him, it made perfect sense.  I don't know the full story behind the video, but one has to wonder whether Thom Zimny came up with the concept after turning his camera on the crowd to get their reactions to what they were hearing.

Nearly 40 - Forty! - years ago, Greil Marcus wrote, "The implicit promise of a Bruce Springsteen concert is that This Is What It's All About - This Is the Rock."  Going on, Marcus observes:

Having posited a tradition Springsteen performs as if every bit of it is backing him up - rooting for him.  This allows him to hit the boards as if his status as a rock 'n roll star is both privileged and ordinary, and the result onstage is a unique combination of authority and prank.  It means that at his finest, Springsteen can get away with almost anything, stuff that coming from anyone else would seem hopelessly corny and contrived - and that he can come up with stuff to get away with that most rockers since Little Richard would be embarrassed even to have thought of.

You get a sense of that watching the video - but in the end, it's the song that ties it all together.  Bruce Springsteen has lived a dream, and the rest of us have had the privilege to hop on board every once in a while.

Top 50 Songs of the Decade, #35 - "Dream Baby Dream," Bruce Springsteen.