Waitaminnit, the Boss is whaaaat?!

[uwe]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/may/31/bruce-springsteen-fans-trump

The mind boggles, how ignorant do you have to be to not have already realized in the past that Bruce is an old-fashioned bleedin' heart lefty and social justice warrior/activist? He's never made bones about that. More urban-minded people who thought his music unfashionable and uncool while being lefty-liberal themselves (most Lou Reed and John Cage fans don't really appreciate Springsteen 😎) have been making jokes about his savior stance for decades.

That a Springsteen tribute has to suffer for him being outspoken ... Will now all those high school marching bands have to cease playing Gary Glitter's Rock'n'Roll Part 2

so that they are not perceived as advocating sex with minors? 🤯

[Dave W]

Next you're going to tell me that Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger were liberals. 

Taco Man likes the Village People, no wonder his followers don't like Bruce Springsteen.

[4stringer77]

The left right dichotomy is a deception. Rick Derringer liked Taco man by the way. Does this mean you think less of him now? There are bigger issues at play than the societal ones we quibble over. Both sides of the aisle are responsible for horrible things. For example the chaos Libya descended into could be laid at the hands of so called leftists. On the other hand, the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria which was in no small part enabled by those on the right has led to many horrible outcomes like ethnic cleansing. I don't trust any governing body no matter who is in charge.

[uwe]

I wonder what would have happened if in a blue town a venue owner would have stopped the local Ted Nugent cover band  (let's call them "The Motor City Stormtroopers") from performing? I would have found that just as bad.

Rick Derringer being MAGA or not bears no relevance for his guitar playing and music for me, I own all albums by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rick Springfield, Alice Cooper and Jack Blades's Night Ranger, each one of them a card-carrying Republican and likely Trump voter. All albums of Ted Nugent btw as well.

US foreign policy of the past (let future historians judge on the current one) has generally never been better under a Democratic administration than under a Republican one and vice versa. The US is a superpower with classic spheres of interest/imperial thinking, it comes with the size and strength of the country (and is not based on perceived character deficiencies of its inhabitants). Richard Nixon for all his flaws was likely a better foreign policy maker than many other Presidents before and after him. I don't see and never saw much of a difference between the US', Russia's and China's foreign policies on an ethical meter, those countries differ as regards their domestic liberties - or at least used to! 😑

[Dave W]

The left right dichotomy is a deception. Rick Derringer liked Taco man by the way. Does this mean you think less of him now? There are bigger issues at play than the societal ones we quibble over. Both sides of the aisle are responsible for horrible things. For example the chaos Libya descended into could be laid at the hands of so called leftists. On the other hand, the downfall of the Assad regime in Syria which was in no small part enabled by those on the right has led to many horrible outcomes like ethnic cleansing. I don't trust any governing body no matter who is in charge.

How on earth did you get that from anything I said? I've never judged any performer's music (or acting, etc.) based on their politics.

[4stringer77]

Well you did make a slight at people who enjoy the village people. The overpoliticising of everything just gets tiresome. Like Uwe was saying, my interest in Springstein's music isn't really effected by his views and that cover band shouldn't have to be collateral damage in the culture war either.

[uwe]

I like the Village People too and if Dave scoffed a bit then it was because he doesn't find their brand of disco meaningful, the guy by his own admission doesn't even like most of Motown for its lack of guitar! At least he used to.

I do find it noteworthy though that of all songs Trump picks an unabashed gay lifestyle hymn/anthem, this from a man who likes to dogwhistle an anti-LGBTQ tune to parts of his audience. Not because he shares that stance - he's too New Yorkerish for that and basically doesn't give a damn -, but because it secures cultural outrage and corresponding votes. Yet I remember him saying on the 2016 campaign trail that there are "perhaps more important issues than which toilet someone likes to use". Amen to that, freedom of leak.

Anyway, I like YMCA, Stranglehold + Hungry Heart and support worldwide freedom of performance venue for all Village People, Ted Nugent and Bruce Springsteen tribute bands!

[Ken]

I like the Village People too and if Dave scoffed a bit then it was because he doesn't find their brand of disco meaningful, the guy by his own admission doesn't even like most of Motown for its lack of guitar! At least he used to.

I do find it noteworthy though that of all songs Trump picks an unabashed gay lifestyle hymn/anthem, this from a man who likes to dogwhistle an anti-LGBTQ tune to parts of his audience. Not because he shares that stance - he's too New Yorkerish for that and basically doesn't give a damn -, but because it secures cultural outrage and corresponding votes. Yet I remember him saying on the 2016 campaign trail that there are "perhaps more important issues than which toilet someone likes to use". Amen to that, freedom of leak.

Anyway, I like YMCA, Stranglehold + Hungry Heart and support worldwide freedom of performance venue for all Village People, Ted Nugent and Bruce Springsteen tribute bands!

There's nothing genuine about Trump. It's all a TV show for him.