Emmylou Harris on Patti Scialfa and her song “Spanish Dancer”:

I became a fan of Patti Scialfa’s album that this song is from — it’s called Rumble Doll and I believe it might be as old as 20 years. The album just absolutely floored me. Patti’s voice. Not all great harmony singers — which she is — are good solo singers, but she definitely is. She is an exquisite writer. She writes about the female heart, the poetry of being female in a way that it just — every singer-songwriter, female artist that I know loves this record. It never got the attention it should have. I suppose it will always be overshadowed because she’s, you know, Bruce Springsteen’s wife, but it doesn’t take away from the art, her artistry.

Stephen Colbert on the parallels between Elvis Costello’s relationship with Bruce Springsteen and Colbert’s relationship with Jon Stewart:

[Elvis Costello] was trying when he was younger to try to write Bruce Springsteen songs — and that he really liked Bruce Springsteen’s sound. And he said, but then he eventually stopped doing that because he would try to write these songs like Bruce Springsteen and he would end up writing things that were a little bit wry, sardonic or even character-based. And they didn’t have that sort of sincere, anthemic quality that Bruce’s songs sometimes have. And that kind of blew me away, because he’s describing his relation to Bruce Springsteen kind of like my relationship to Jon Stewart. And Jon’s favorite artist is Bruce Springsteen, and my favorite rock artist is probably Elvis Costello. So there’s an odd parallel between Elvis’ evolution from what he was trying to do like Bruce and my evolution from what I was trying to do when I worked with Jon.

Stephen Colbert on the parallel between Elvis Costello’s relationship with Bruce Springsteen and Colbert’s relationship with Jon Steward:

[Elvis Costello] was trying when he was younger to try to write Bruce Springsteen songs — and that he really liked Bruce Springsteen’s sound. And he said but then he eventually stopped doing that because he would try write these songs like Bruce Springsteen and he would end up writing things that were a little bit wry, sardonic, or even character-based. And they didn’t have that sort of sincere, anthemic quality that Bruce’s songs sometimes has. And that kind of blew me away because he’s describing his relation to Bruce Springsteen kind of like my relationship to Jon Stewart. And Jon’s favorite artist is Bruce Springsteen and my favorite rock artist is probably Elvis Costello. So there’s an odd parallel between Elvis’ evolution from what he was trying to do like Bruce and my evolution from what I was trying to do when I worked with Jon.

Who’s The Boss? Springsteen’s back, with a universal, original ‘Wrecking Ball’

Audio for Bruce Springsteen’s conversation with Ed Norton is now up. Enjoy!

Some of the greatest blues music is some of the darkest music you’ve ever heard. And I had maps. Obviously, Dylan had come when I was 15, and obviously I listened to his music first, and his music contained a lot — I used to say when I heard ‘Highway 61,’ I was hearing the first true picture of how I felt and how my country felt. And that was exhilarating. Because I think 1960s small-town America was very Lynchian. Everything was there, but underneath, everything was rumbling. … I think what Dylan did, was he took all that dark stuff that was rumbling underneath, and I think he pushed it to the surface with irony and humor, but also tremendous courage to go places where people hadn’t gone previously. So when I heard that, I knew I liked that, and I was very ambitious, also.

— Bruce Springsteen, on dark elements in music, in a conversation with Ed Norton at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010.

Bruce Springsteen, in a conversation with Ed Norton, on the timing of Darkness on the Edge of Town’s release:   “I think Darkness came out of a place where I was afraid of losing myself. I had the first taste of success [with Born to Run], so you realize it’s possible for your talent to be co-opted and for your identity to be moved and shifted in ways that you may not have been prepared for. I was the only person I’d ever met who had a record contract. None of the E Street Band, as far as I know, had been on an airplane until Columbia sent us to Los Angeles.”

Monday: Springsteen

erikayes:

Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark

Monday’s guest: The Boss (You can still listen to his new album The Promise on NPR Music until next week!)

Music For Your Monday Morning: NPR Music is streaming 15 tracks from the new Bruce Springsteen album, “The Promise” until November 16. Enjoy!