Leave it to old Jann Wenner. The Rolling Stone founder and now memoirist sat down for a public chat at NYC's 92nd St. Y with his old pal Bruce Springsteen Tuesday; there, he took some gentle ribbing from the Boss over not putting him on the cover after "Born to Run" came out, and the pair discussed life on both sides of the music journalism line. (It's coming to E Street Radio at some point, but in the meantime Variety has a nice rundown.)
But it was during another interview that Wenner made much spicier Springsteen-related news. Talking to Billboard about what he's been listening to, Wenner dropped that "There’s a new Bruce [Springsteen] record coming out this fall, which is stunning. I’m listening to that." Of course you are, Jann.
We can safely presume this is probably the double album of soul covers that has been scuttle-butted about as of late, and that many Blogness readers are very much looking forward to, according to our recent poll: Half of the more than 600 respondents were unabashedly excited, with 34% reserving judgement and just 16 percent saying the idea left them cold.
Of course you'll hear from us as soon as we get official word about a release (and the rumored small number of subsequent shows Bruce reportedly has in the works to support it). In the meantime, here's some Springsteen news that IS official, to tide you over:
Bruce is coming back to Stand Up for Heroes on Nov. 7, this time with the Lumineers.
Far Out magazine has assembled a 74-track playlist of all the non-Springsteen songs Bruce mentioned in his memoir.
Speaking of playlists, Springsteen makes the one of the "Top 10 Heartland Rock Songs" assembled by American Songwriter, which apparently considers the Heartland to include New Jersey, Florida, and Canada.
Springsteen turned into Woody Allen for a day, it was weird.
Also, Rita Wilson (yes, that Rita Wilson) and Elvis Costello covered Bruce's "Fire" — and it's pretty good! Listen below: