Bruce Springsteen may be keeping somewhat mum on the subject, but his regular producer of late, Ron Aniello, has been scattering crumbs about Springsteen's upcoming new album release on his Instagram account. Of particular interest is the one from a few weeks back featuring a prominent recording studio "THRILL" button.
Being a recording ignoramus I'm not sure what a THRILL button does -- maybe it's exclusive to Springsteen's Thrill Hill Recording studio, or maybe it's a Snoopy reference. Either way, it gives me the tingles, as is appropriate. (More recently Ron shared this cool acoustic guitar shot, although we'd also like to see Bruce's Fender make an appearance soon.)
Of course, the as-yet-unannounced album is No. 2 on Rolling Stone's list of the 70 most anticipated albums of 2020, because Rolling Stone. (No. 1? The Biebs!) But that's not to say there hasn't been other Springsteen news as we prepare for what will hopefully be an eventful year:
• For you vinyl hounds (you [we] know who we are), there was much rejoicing this week at the news of five reunion-era vinyl reissues coming Feb. 20: "18 Tracks," "The Rising," "Live in NYC," "Devils and Dust," and "Live in Dublin." Apparently an "Album Collection Vol. 3" isn't in the cards, since these are just coming out as individual releases. How we'll live without the booklet is beyond me.
• Who's up for the 2020 International Male at the BRIT Awards? This guy!
• Bruce presented the National Board of Review’s Icon Award to Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in NYC last week, noting that "they have been my artistic role models since my youth, my mentors at a distance, guiding me in the principles of doing my work." Read his complete remarks here.
• According to uset.org, "Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa will join honorary chairmen Lou and Joan Jacobs as chairs of the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation’s Take Me To Tokyo gala, to be held on Friday, January 17, in Wellington, FL." Which, if you're Lou and Joan, has got to be a little surreal, let's face it.
• New Jersey celebrated "Clarence Clemons Day" this weekend. We still miss you, Big Man!
• In case you're wondering whether Stevie ever regretted leaving the E Street Band in 1984, he did.
• National Review (of all places) has a hot take on Springsteen's cover of "Rhinestone Cowboy."
• Looks like President Obama's plug got Bruce some serious streams.
• ICYMI: Back in December, Bruce reviewed a movie for some reason.
• This is absolutely, positively, the best "Born to Run" harp cover you'll hear today.
• And finally, you can now watch Springsteen's Carousel show in its entirety on YouTube -- enjoy!