“These Two Lanes Will Take Us Anywhere”- Themes from The Boss in Your Career

Image from Last.fm

Not-so-little-secret: I love Bruce Springsteen.

John Stewart introduced Bruce Springsteen when he received his Kennedy Center Honors in December 2009 and said, “I believe that Bruce Springsteen is an unprecedented combination of lyrical eloquence, musical mastery and sheer unbridled, unadulterated joy.  Exuberance in the act of telling stories so familiar, stories that have never been told so well or so uniquely.”

That sums up Bruce’s music making in two simple sentences.

I’ve been a fan of Bruce Springsteen since before I can remember.  Since seeing him live for the second time this past October, I started appreciating his music for more than its amazing music and simple, yet powerful lyrics.  The beauty in his songwriting is the fact that anyone can relate to the story he tells.  The songs tell stories of everyday people.  So I thought, How can I relate these themes to myself as a professional? In no particular order, I chose five songs and this is what I came up with (lyrics from brucespringsteen.net):

[DISCLAIMER- in no way am I demeaning the powerful songwriting and story telling of Bruce Springsteen.  Just a fun post to kick off the new year (: ]

“Oh oh come take my hand/We’re riding out tonight to case the promised land…It’s a town full of losers/And I’m pulling out of here to win.” -Thunder Road (from Born to Run, 1975)
The first song on one of the best albums of all time (in my opinion), Thunder Road describes the freedom and romance of the open road, which could also be the freedom in your career.  The “road,” or specialization, you choose in your field will take you wherever you want to go, which is something important to remember.  Where is the Promised Land?  Wherever you feel comfortable and where you can make a difference in your field of work.  Never settle until you get to the Promised Land.

“I work five days a week girl/Loading crates down on the dock/I take my hard earned money/And meet my girl down on the block/And Monday when the foreman calls time/I’ve already got Friday on my mind.” -Out in the Street (from The River, 1980)
This one is a little more obvious.  In the song, Bruce works hard so he plays hard.  This goes for professionals as well.  If you work hard all week, you should what you want and take your girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other/friends out for the night for a good time.  It’s a great reward for being dedicated to your job, and you deserve it.

“There was nothing left to say but I hated him and I hated you when you went away.” -Backstreets (from Born to Run, 1975)
This is probably my favorite song by The Boss.  You may ask, “Why?  It’s heartbreaking and sad!”  True, it is very much so.  Backstreets so full of passion and emotion though, let alone the piano in the beginning gives me chills.  It reminds me of when a client leaves an agency for another after a meaningful relationship.  More specifically, it made me think of the episode of “Mad Men” when Conrad Hilton moves his account away from Don Draper and Sterling Cooper to another agency.  The anguish and failure in Don’s eyes was heartbreaking, much like the lyrics of this song.  This obviously happens a lot in advertising and public relations, as it does in our personal lives as well.

“They say you gotta stay hungry/Hey baby I’m just about starving tonight” - Dancing in the Dark (from Born in the USA, 1984)
One of the reasons (among many) why I love this song because Courteney Cox is in the music video, which I think is awesome.  I feel that Dancing in the Dark is about never settling in your life.  Bruce is clearly restless about something in his life when he wrote this song and he’s trying to do something about it.  So should you as a professional.  Think your job is boring?  Try to find a new one.  Want to change your career path?  Go back to school.  If you’re not 100%  satisfied with your life, the only way you’ll be truly happy is if you make some changes yourself.  No one else can do that for you.

“Come on up for the rising/Come on up, lay your hands in mine” - The Rising (from The Rising, 2002)
The Rising was released in 2002, right after 9/11.  Obvious motifs of this album include community, rising up, and pulling through together.  To me, this song represents an office, department, or team working together on a big project.  Perhaps the project hasn’t been going according to plan, and the team needs some rallying and motivation.  That’s what The Rising is about- when all else seems lost and forgotten, if we come together, we can make anything happen.  While independence is great at times, you need to know how to work as a team and help out others when they need it.  I think that in Communications and Marketing- hell, in life- if you don’t have this quality, you will only go so far in your career.

How did I do? Do the songs I wrote about have different meanings to you?  What other songs would you have liked to see here?

Seeing Bruce Springsteen Live is Like a Religious Experience

Bruce Springsteen performing “Backstreets” 10/08/09

Try to argue with that.  The passion in Springsteen’s voice, the brilliant music- especially the piano solo for the first 45 seconds of the song- and heart wrenching lyrics.  And to sing with such passion still, so long after the song’s first release in the early 80s.  This song gets me everytime, yet I listen to it on repeat constantly?  Bruce has that effect on you.

I was in this crowd when he performed this very song- this video was from the night I saw him as one of the last shows at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.  I wish there were bands around now who would still be this passionate about music with they’re 60 and spent 35 years in the business. Hands down, “Born to Run” [the album where you can find this song] is one of the greatest albums of all time [and I saw it played live in it's entirety].  The end.