In a sure sign a Bruce Springsteen tour will soon be in the offing, the Boss is suddenly, seemingly, everywhere. Canoodling with Colbert! Chumming things up with Barack Obama! Singing for veterans! (Granted, that's a November perennial.) Even being analyzed on staid old CNBC, thanks to news that Bruce will likely be selling off his catalog to Sony, a la Bob Dylan.
We won't comment on that last one beyond saying if it's good enough for Dylan, who are we to judge? (Although if "Letter to You" winds up in a commercial for the U.S. Postal Service ... That would be kind of cool, actually.) And we know Bruce has some product to move, namely his "Renegades" book with Barack and the upcoming "No Nukes" concert album and film, coming Friday. But being in the public eye also never hurts when those tickets go on sale, amirite?
While we're waiting, here's a chance to catch up on any appearances you may have missed or that you want to relive, along with the latest news links tracing all things Springsteen. Starting, of course, with Bruce's almost-annual appearance at "Stand Up For Heroes," (this was his 14th time!) complete with dirty jokes. Fortunately for us, all four of the songs he performed were expertly captured by the extremely dedicated Ken Rosen of the E Street Shuffle site.
Check them out here:
Springsteen also had a memorable sit-down with Stephen Colbert, with three segments — plus a performance of "The River" — that were so good he aired another one a week later. Check out all five in the YouTube playlist below:
Of course the "No Nukes" release wouldn't be complete without some advance teasers and videos; you can watch the YouTube playlist below for the trailer and the official videos for "Sherry Darling" and "Badlands," which are guaranteed to both a) make you sweat and b) make you look really, really forward to this Friday. (As for those people who got to watch it early with Bruce in New Jersey ... We shake our fist in jealousy in your general direction.)
UPDATE: And now, we also have a "making of" video, featuring a bunch of old guys sitting around talking! (It's more interesting than that sounds.)
Not one to rest on his laurels, Bruce has also been out plugging away for his book with Barack Obama, whom you might remember as the former former guy. Here, the pair visited with CBS News to walk around a car. (And other stuff too.)
But that's not all! While he may not have been personally involved, the spirit of Springsteen surely hovers over the below project, in which a puppet Springsteen sings about Boston's transit system for some reason. (We have made it our mission at my day job, at the news site Boston.com, to track down Jef Czekaj and find out everything you might want to know about this, and possibly some things you wouldn't. Stay tuned!)
Need some more Bruce to keep you busy? Look no further than these links:
Asbury Park Press goes to town on BTR: "Born to Run: Here’s what the classic Bruce Springsteen album means to fans, song by song"
American Songwriter gives us another list to argue about: "The Top 10 Bruce Springsteen Songs"
Oakland Press acknowledges the 25th anniversary of "American Babylon": "Bruce Springsteen’s ‘career-saving’ solid for Joe Gruschecky, 5 Things to Know"
NJ.com is apparently trying to kill Bruce with an insane proposed setlist: "Springsteen’s perfect 2022 concert setlist: The 34 songs he should play, in order"