Leave it to Bruce Springsteen to give a gift to us, the fans, on this, his 72nd (!) birthday. He took advantage of the occasion to release the details of his previously announced No Nukes film and recording, coming to us Nov. 16 -- Backstreets has the details, but all you really need to do is watch the trailer to get your heart pumping with excitement over it:
That would seem to confirm what director Thom Zimny told Rolling Stone about the footage:
“The energy of the band that comes across in this film is just incredible,” says Zimny. “You can read about it or hear sonic recordings, but when you see this footage it’s as exciting as seeing the Clash in this same time. This is a band that was exploding onscreen.”
Thanks Bruce (and Thom)! Of course, we'll be repaying Bruce's gift to us by purchasing said gift in any number of formats. It's the circle of life.
Meanwhile, our Merry Brucemas celebration marches on, with outlets of all kinds paying tribute to the man himself -- Twitter even made an event out of it. Including this New Jersey classic:
We had our own annual tribute at the Blogness instagram, of course:
Here's just a few of the links and tributes that have popped up:
• Asbury Park Press: Happy birthday Bruce Springsteen: Celebrating a crazy, busy year for the Boss
• Good Morning America: Our favorite Bruce Springsteen moments for his birthday
• Gothamist: Extra Extra: Bruce Springsteen Was Born To Run Today
• Turns out Bruce Springsteen and The Falcon have the same birthday.
Check back for more as they turn up! Meanwhile, some important links you may have missed, or want to relive, from the Boss's pre-birthday:
• No big deal, just Bruce giving John Mellencamp the Springsteen tour of the Jersey Shore.
• Bruce made Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Songs five times -- NJ.com breaks them down.
• New Springsteen Grammy Museum exhibit a good as reason as any to go to Newark.
• Watch Stevie chat with Bruce, get a book ... what's not to love?
• Pearl Jam Salutes Asbury Park and Bruce Springsteen’s Rich Musical Legacy at Sea.Hear.Now Festival
• Better late than never: Pitchfork gets around to giving "Born in the USA" a 10 out of 10.
• Elvis Costello reflects on cancer scare, 'extraordinary' Bruce Springsteen and new Audible project
• Missed the last Blogness appearance on Set Lusting Bruce: A Bruce Springsteen Podcast? Don't worry, you can listen here.
• An amazing moment at "Springsteen on Broadway" recounted by Bryan Cichon.
And finally, whether you've seen it before or not, Bruce's birthday is a perfect time for another watch of his moving performance for the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in New York City -- the second time he's provided pitch-perfect comfort around the events of that day.