Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy Darkness on the Edge of Truth

by Auxier, Randall E.; Anderson, Douglas R.

• ISBN13: 9780812696479
• ISBN10: 0812696476
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-28
• Publisher: Open Court

Summary

Known as the working man's poet, the Boardwalk prophet, or simply, the Boss. If "love is a banquet at which we feed," Bruce Springsteen has provided much food for thought. In this collection of metaphysical probes, a gang of E-street philosophers will undress Bruce's deeper mysteries like irresistible Jersey girls. Can Springsteen settle the nature-nurture debate through his song "Born to Run"? What do the famous philosopher Ricuoer and Springsteen have in common in their depiction of time? These die-hard Springsteen fans, who just happen to be philosophers, compile an entertaining handbook to the field of Springsteen studies, covering topics like Springsteen's connection to Marx and the proletariat, Springsteen's concept of the soul, and his status as a poet.

Table of Contents

"I Got this Guitar and I Learned How to Make It Talk"	p. xi
Born to Run the USA	p. 1
Prophets and Profits: Poets, Preachers and Pragmatists	p. 3
Who's the Boss? Springsteen on the Alienation and Salvation of Work and Labor	p. 17
They Play Guitars All Night and All Day: On the Ethics of Encores	p. 29
Where Were You Born, Bruce Springsteen, and What Does It Matter?	p. 39
On the Cover of the Rolling Stone: Revolution in the U.S.A.	p. 57
When We Were Wild and Innocent	p. 69
Blinded by the Subterranean Homesick Muse: The Poet as Virtuous and Virtuoso	p. 71
Racing in the Street: Freedom, Feminism, and Collateral Damage	p. 93
An Everlasting Kiss: The Seduction of Wendy	p. 103
The Dark Edges	p. 119
Driving with Springsteen into the Darkness at the Edge of the World	p. 121
Thunder Road	p. 133
Everything Dies: Facing Fatalism in "Atlantic City"	p. 149
Living on the Edge: A Reason to Believe	p. 161
Living in "My Hometown": Local Philosophies for Troubled Times	p. 173
Bruce Springsteen or Philosophy	p. 183
Tom Joad's Ghosts	p. 195
Straight Time: Images of Oppression	p. 197
Whatever You Say, Boss: Or, What the Thunder Road Said	p. 211
A Little of that Human Touch: Knowledge and Empathy in the Music of Bruce Springsteen	p. 223
Socrates the Sculptor, Springsteen the Singer: Philosophy and Art Against the Tyrants	p. 235
Elvis, 57 Channels, and a .44 Magnum: A Cross-Section of Springsteen's Imagination	p. 257
Greetings from...	p. 279
Proper Names in Springsteen Lyrics	p. 281
Hey. That's Me	p. 287
Index	p. 291
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.