DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski, Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe. So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs!
With Gratitude For Gena Rowlands, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Quarry, Leo Gorcey, Arthur Alexander and Joey Heatherton, Your Splendid Bohemian, Rich Buckland.
DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE - THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS OFFER A REVIEW OF THE FILM ALONG WITH TUNES THAT ACKNOWLEDGE THE BOSS'S INFLUENCE AND INFLUENCES, WITH PETE SEEGER AND RYAN ADAMS.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is one of the best depictions of the creative process that I’ve ever seen, exploring where an artist’s ideas come from: those sources, personal and environmental that are processed via one’s family history, dreams, desires - and are then delivered through said artist’s private relationship with their tools - (in this case the Tascam Portastudio, Echoplex reverb unit, and a water-damaged boombox). I was thrilled by that examination, and by Bruce’s steadfast protection of his lo-fi masterpiece when it was being threatened by corporate pressure to compromise.
Jeremy Allen White is one of America’s finest exemplars of smoldering emotion, and the close ups on Springsteen’s anguished face were a tour de force of inner conflict. The protean Stephen Graham as Bruce’s complicated monster of a father found vivid expression with just a smattering of dialogue. And, Jeremy Strong - an actor capable of the deepest levels of immersion portrays Bruce’s guardian angel of a manager, Jon Landau with such grace, and generous restraint that it made me cry. Kudos to all.
The pace is pokey, and I personally could have done without the manufactured love story in which the actress, Odessa Young has the unenviable task of having to deliver clunky exposition, notably when she psychologizes Bruce for us.
But, all in all, for a story that chronicles depression and child abuse, the darkness is mitigated by the knowledge that our hero emerges from this crucible to become a happily married family man and cultural hero, and create a timeless work of art.
The Splendid Bohemians are honored to feature a couple of tributes to The Boss, which recognize his influence and influences: First, a duet with Bruce and Pete Seeger, the Patron Saint and Johnny Appleseed of folk music, singing Bruce’s still relevant- (sadly)- homage to John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath: The Ghost of Tom Joad. And, we’ll close with Ryan Adams’ honorable rendition of Nebraska, the title song from those sources which are celebrated in Warren Zanes book and Scott Cooper’s film
