I'll see you in my dreams.

It's been a few days huh? Since the concert I mean. The Boss in Vienna. I've been meaning to write a couple of words but life got in the way. As usual. Natural disaster after natural disaster. First it was massive storms, then it was a tornado, then it was an earthquake and now it's ended (hopefully because I'm not ready for locusts) with Biblical floodings. I don't know who hates us, well actually lots of people hate us lately, but the fury mother nature unleashed on us in the past couple of days…it's unseen. At this point, if any of my fellow citizens are reading, guys stay strong, we can get through this together. 

Now first things first, y'all know I love Vienna, it's my favourite place right after Italy and our seaside. It always feels like returning home when I'm there. Sorta. I know the city by heart, I love it, I love it's streets, I love it's vibe, the history, the culture. I love everything about it. And I love going to all the places I don't have at home, you guys know me, bookstores and Starbucks. Guys! They renovated Thalia book shop on Mariahilferstrasse and you know what?! It literally has a cafe inside, you can get coffee, a snack and read in peace! I think my brain exploded upon seeing that. Also, let me point out that I shouldn't be allowed unsupervised in a bookstore with my boyfriends credit card. Just saying. Also he shouldn't be as kind as he is saying ''buy as many as you want baby''. What did I do to deserve him? Also I did buy as many as I wanted…and would probably buy more but who's going to carry all that? Oh the boyfriend duh! That's why we have them to pay and carry bags, am I rite ladies? Lol just kidding, I know he's reading this, I'm sorry babe, you know I love you. 

Side note, extremely excited for the new Ali Hazelwood, though when will I get to read it? Who knows, as I keep saying, book buying and book reading are two completely different hobbies. Now lets get back to the Boss. This concert was sold out within minutes, and there were no tickets to buy anywhere, can you imagine? No scalpers to rob you of your money, shocking but also…so humbling in a way. I think everyone understands the scale of this show. The scale of the man. He's an amazing musician and there aint nobody like him out there. I'm not just saying because I'm quite literally obsessed with him but because it's the truth. There is just one ''THE BOSS''. I literally fought to get tickets, I bought them a minute after they were put on sale almost a year before the show and I think it was literally hunger games to get them, because we all feared it might be his last tour. It might be. It might not be. Rumors are spreading for both. I understand if he'd wanna quit touring and focus on things he loves like the Broadway or podcasts or books, but also I'd have a hard time accepting never seeing him live again. If this was my last show…that's a hard pill to swallow. The entire vibe of the show felt sorta final you know, a lot of talks about dark thematics, death, endings, sadness, with uplifting moments in between. And on the other hand on the last concert of the tour he said ''we'll be back'' so…who knows really besides the Boss?

First things first let me complain for a quick second, first time I saw him at this stadium,that was in 2012, the concert was 3 hours and 41 minutes long, like police came to shut down the power long. It was the ''Wrecking ball'' tour and my first time seeing him. Of course you never forget your firsts. It was an amazing experience and one of my favourite concerts as is. And also he did one of my fave songs then which is ''Waitin on a sunny day''. It's no secret though that while I love Vienna my favourite concerts are actually Italy and if Milano was on this tour I'd rather be there. Nothing beats Italian fan actions, temparament and just Italy in general. Oh! Guys you know I am obsessed with these cups you can now buy on stadiums right? Obsessed, and of course I had to get one here as well, even if water costs 8 euros, which is absurd and should be either holy water or Bosses sweat and tears to make it worth that price. Just saying. But like….look at it! Perfection.

The tickets! Expensive as fuck but so worth every cent, first row, almost down on the grass of the stadium. If you think I didn't cry over my tickets you are wrong. Thank you goes to a friend of mine who made sure I get the best tickets, who in turn as a gift got my tiny drawing of Bruce, which he absolutely loved. Made my whole day, week, month, maybe even year. I honestly am so grateful to have him, to know him, and to make someone who makes me so happy, SO happy in return, that means the world to me. Yes I want to be a paid artist but believe me guys, no money is better then genuine happiness you can give someone with your art.  

So this show was quite a bit shorter, about 2 hours and 30 minutes, he opened with ''No Surrender'' and closed with ''I'll see you in my dreams''. Patti was not present like she wasn't most of the tour unfortunally. And there was another ''first'' on this tour which is that most of it with slight deviations was identical. Meaning all shows the same in setlist. People complained about it but you know what? I actually like that because then I don't have to mope and complain how some people get a better setlist than I. Yes I am looking at you Guns n' Roses, two shows and I didn't get ''Don't cry''? Guess what? I am fucking crying over that. People also complained about the actual setlist because there were less big hits but a mix of everything. I honestly wouldn't even mind if all he sang was the last album and those are all covers. Just sayin. 

As you can imagine I completely fucking lost it three times, ''Letter to you'', ''Nightshift'' and ''The River''. Shrieking hysterically, amusing everyone around me because yes I was the youngest on my part of the stadium and probably the most excited. Like I may chuck my bra on stage type excited. I noticed less talking between songs too, I mean there was hardly a pause in between, he hardly took a deep breath to carry on with the next song after one ended. 

Here's the deal, in between, he takes time to give a little speech about his joining the band in the mid 60s and then 50 years later about the death of his friend George Theiss who was actually the person that hired Bruce as a guitarist, when he was still a teen. He talked about how final death is and that's what I meant with the somber atmosphere, it was quite…dark. To say the least. And it made me feel a bit unsettling. Like…this is final. Like he's talking about death because this is also the death of the band. Which means at the end, the last song, darkness, the cell phone lights, ''I'll see you in my dreams''? The waterworks came on. Like a whole bunch, like sleeves caked in black makeup waterworks. Last time this happened this bad, we were in Italy and Bon Jovi were singing ''Always''. I'm never getting over that one. 

I have a different complaint tho, not about the setlist but about merchandise prices, like, sweetie, honey, are you fucking insane?? What were those prices? 30 euro tote bag? 50 euro shirts? Which obviously means I had to get two. Am I also insane then? Probably but guys…look at my prized possesions…

I'm not going to spam you forever, I'll make this short. For once. If I don't this will turn into a Bruce blog at some point. Basically all you really need to know, this was an absolutely amazing show, and if you've never seen him live. You have too. Because there's musicians and then there's Bruce. And there's concerts and then there's Bruce. There's nothihng like him and nobody like him. Point is. I absolutely love him and I hope I can end this post with ''until next time, Bruce, thank you, I love you''. 

I wouldn't have it any other way.

First things first did y'all see Adam Lambert on Capital's Summertime Ball? Oh.My.Gods. You guys! That makeup! I honestly wanted to toss my laptop aside and go draw him ASAP. It's insane and I absolutely will go draw him right after this. I'd draw the same makeup on myself but believe me, my family does not appreciate creativity or independence. Oh my god what will the people say? Jesus fuck the people who cares. Also Adam changing Chers ''Believe'' into ''Do you know the muffin man?'' it's kinda totally hysterical and I'm so here for it. I only saw him with Queen, but he seems like a great preformer on his own, even if I'm not all into his solo stuff. Allergic to pop music and all that. Second thing is that while I'm here rubbing my hair with a towel because it never stops fucking raining and filling out my book wishlist (I am telling you guys book reading and book buying are two separate things) let me just say how desperatelly I'd need a glass of Chardonnay (or make that a bottle od Hamptons Water, got a taste to it now) to finish up this lengthy post that follows. 

Alright I'm really here for a record review for a change. Y'all know I love everything Bruce puts out right? Like there aint his music that I wouldn't like, but what does it say about me, if I say that I absolutely adore this album, and songs aren't even his? I mean...gods. Everything he does is perfect, but guys this is so flawless. It's just...oh my god. Like...I can't. I can't put it into words, from the first second you put that record on...and it starts with him just talking which softly trasits into a song...my god. What the hell is going on with this man? How can each album he puts out top the one before? I tell you what, if you were to look up the definition of music? This is it. He is it. This album is IT. Look no further, it's perfection on a freaking ginger vinyl. 

Alright lets start with this, if you don't like this album we can not be friends. Literally that's it. Game over. Because that's the negativity I don't need in my life. I need friends that understand and appreciate perfection. Second thing not me turning this up, while washing the car outside in my bikinis and howling along (mostly to the dog, nobody else will listen). Yes summer is back in the Balkans and it seems like we're all either melting or drowning. Second is more like it though because in between smothering heat there's  so much rain (or frozen rain) you'd not believe. 

This album is a cover album I already mentioned above, and it's a volume 1. apparently a part two follows. Oh! So exciting! Also side note but the original songs we all know I hope? I mean...nothing but mad respect to the original musicians, writers, singers, etc, but y'all know this is better right? First song I heard was ''Nightshift'' and I knew this is going to be huge. These are soul songs but somehow Boss manages to put even more ''soul'' into them. A whole new meaning, life, vibe...every single smallest detail, in the band, in the music (that guitar in ''When she was my girl''? Lord have mercy I need to fan myself, it's so perfect), and the voice? The voice! Orgasm material. The crooning, the growls, the bluesy sound. The fact that you hear rain in ''I wish it would rain''? Jesus take the wheel I can't take it. 

Here's the deal there's only two ways Boss does things, first it's hours upon hours in the studio, perfectionism and endless nights, doing things over and over till they are perfect (don't I understand that). Or he gets a sudden flash of creativity and basically does an entire album in a week, without going back and doing anything again, like he did ''Letters to you''. Then you got this one ''Only the strong survive''. He created this album in the early days of the lockdown (who said lockdown was useless? I did many times I know but still.), when he had too much time on his hands and went to do covers of his favourite songs. Let me point out that my man has flawless music taste, not that I'd expect anything else. 

I know what y'all are thinking though, that Springsteen just pulled a Rod Stewart with this album but it aint that way. Boss doesn't just do a static cover, he takes a song and makes it his own, stadium song, he shows us how the song makes him feel not just telling us he likes a song by making a cover of it. Also there's been covers on his concerts forever. I remember he did a cover of ''Shout'' on my first concert of his (OH MY GODS! Concert nr. 3 fast approaching and I don't know what to do with myself, about jumping out of my skin from excitement here, lol). 

Maybe what's surprising the most, the begining ''Only the strong survive'', modified a little (I love that little chuckle in between), but else just note per note the same, a wonderful tribute to Jerry Butler. But also the selection of songs on it's own, ever thought about that? Probably you have, but let me tell you how I feel about it regardless, aside from having multiple orgasms while listening of course. Lol. You got some serious classics on here like ''Turn back the hands of time'' but you also have something more ''modern'' like ''Soul days'' which is funny I was just raving about Dobie Gray or better Joe Elliott singing few lines, or better the title of the blog below is Gray's song. Imagine Boss covers that song, my mind might actually explode, or should I say implode? A little submarine joke for y'all. Then there's also 80's gems like ''Nightshift'' and ''When she was my girl'' (fun fact I actually love the Four Tops). And honestly it's not even surprising Boss is drawn to these songs is it? We both love that minor to major uplift, the soft build up, the gospel, the blues, the soul, the hope and the dreams you hear in the songs. God. And songs about lost love, and summer nights, and backroads and tragedy. I get that. I know that. I relate to that. I love that. 

To be honest even if he'd wanna modify the songs to make them his own, what would he even have to do? These songs are him in the end. This is him. Should we also point out how the music sounds like there's a 20 piece orchestra behind him, the entire freaking E Street band at least, but really it's just one man? Mr. Ron Aniello. WHAT?! How?! This is...woah. Mind blown up like that one emoji. You know which one. I mean okay, he's been a collaborator for ''Wrecking ball'' and ''High hopes'' both amazing albums, and it seems to me that with him there's this...how to put it, style? Perhaps that's the word. Style of music, or rather sound, that they've been exploring together. Maybe Ron was a push out of the comfort zone to do more exploring with his sound. A bloody brilliant push out of the comfort zone too.

I heard someone say that this is a very feelgood album about feeling bad. Fair point. Vulnereability is a common streak in this album, but it's presented in a more positive way, instead of everything being doom and gloom. If I understood it right though Rob and Bruce started recording this album and they named themselves the ''Night Shift'', probably working into late nights and that naturally progressed into the song ''Nightshift'' which is and will remain my fave on this album. Though, honestly, picking a favourite is so hard because all songs are fantastic. 

It's been some memory lane type thing if you look at it that way, wasn't it? Like the last couple of years, there's been old classics on tour, which he always shakes up a bit so not many concerts are totally identical. Picture me jealous over how he played ''The River'' the other day but he surely won't on my date. It's going to be GN'R all over again you guys. Then you got his entire life story in a book, which btw audio book in this case is a hell of a lot better, purely because he's reading it ddd. Then this hit Broadway, anothe thing to paint me jealous over. Can y'all imagine the Boss on Broadway? I'd sell my entire family for that. Not that anyone'd wanna buy them. Any of y'all went to see him btw? I'd not be against a full report. There were songs about old friends, songs about lost friends and of course ''Letter to you'' for which they used some old seventies material to make happen. 

Given that this album in many ways is nostalgic to Boss, revisitng his favourites, songs that mean something to him. It's kinda like...the album starts with the words ''I remember''...and it's a Seventies style album tbh, now think in the Seventies Bruce would of been that fiften yearold kid that just started playing, that just got his first electric guitar and started exploring his sound and place in the world. And now add that line he once said to that ''if you played in a bar on the central New Jersey shore in the sixties and seventies, you played soul music'' that's what this is. Soul. But then again if you think about it Bruce has always been a soul musician, he just never let that voice through, except on specially reserved projects, but here that's a different story. I just love how his phrasing draws out that quiet nostalgia of Dobie Gray (Bruce if you ever sing Drift away, I will die at your feet, just sayin). And the falsetto in the Temptations song, I love it, it's not only him celebrating his own favourites but a celebration of soul music in general.

Like, are y'all aware just how difficult creating cover albums is? There's a thin line between making the album sound like a complete copy, or too far fetched from the original sound and song. You need that right balance to make it perfect, and catching that balance sure isn't easy. At least it wouldn't be easy for me. I look at it from my artistic point of view. I constantly worry about originality of my work. Like the world is so full of music and arts and poetry and everything, it's so hard to be completely original. You're constantly inspired by something and it's bound to bleed into your work. But where is that line where something is inspired and something is copied? That's the tough part. With music it's even more difficult, I think it's safe to say people always prefer the original over the cover. I could probably list about 5 songs that I prefer covers of but that's about it, not me recently discovering a cover of ''Girl got rhythm'' by AC DC that is absolutely one hundred percent better than the original. Lol. Anyone got any good Scorpions covers? It's a recent thing that I despise them but also still love their songs and would rather not listen to them them? Does that make sense at all? 

Anyways back to the point, I don't even think this album was set out to be a cover album, I think it was made as a resurrection, as a way to celebrate old classics that we somehow forgotten or just don't hear much of, but to be fair these are some of the strongest vocalists and songwriters of all time and the songs, covers if you will, or better tributes, they're heartfelt, they're not just static songs, you can tell, and you can feel he loves these songs. You know these are his songs. And what an amazing way to bring a new light to these songs, to make sure they survive, to make sure new generations hear them. 

There's a moment in a song, I don't know if you're paying that close attention but on the ''Don't play that song'' by Aretha and Ben E. King, Boss goes off the charted teritory. He adds ''I remember those summer nights down by the shore, as the band played, with you in my arms, and we moved across that floor''. I mean these are such SUCH Bruce lines, and such a Bruce thing to do, adding up, making things a bit different than the original, saw him do it live twice, and if you think about it just how freaking genius and perfect he is, he is adding a piece of himself, a piece of who he is, essentially a piece of his own soul into something that's already considered living history. I love that. A couple of the greatest, entertwined in history forever. 

Now a couple of words on the album design. Firstly I love the clean black look. Absolute perfection. The man looks sexy as hell, the hand porn? Yeah I die. Did y'all notice the reoccuring car theme? Chapter and Verse, Western stars (back cover and my favourite photo of him, obvious reasons) and now this one? Let me point out that the man and I have absolutely matching car taste. I LOVE all of his cars, well him as well so it kinda fits. Did you notice how many details are put into his records? The inner sleeves, the whole gatefold, the gatefold actually has a car printed on the inside, the entire car theme bleeding on all components? I abolutely adore it. The picture inside the gatefold? Lord have mercy. I love how they added a poster that's a fun detail and I actually have another one from Born to run but that's that. It's funny in a way I'd love a Bruce poster probably framed on my wall, but it's not like I'd ever take it out of the vinyl. And I LOVE the neon orange and the etching of a speed meter. How freaking clever is that. Do you know any other artists with etched vinyl? Let me know, I'd love to hear it. Also the sound quality on this vinyl? It's actually fantastic, dynamic, rich, you can hear each instrument and you can hear his voice perfectly, a completely different experience than digital. 

Guys! Oh my god! The next post might actually already be the concert review given by how much I actually write lately. I am SO excited you have no idea! It's been far too long from the River tour which was my favourite tour to date. Another local concert tomorrow, we all know how much I love those right? Nothing like drunk kids and being spilled on and walked on. Fun times. But ya know, free tickets that come with a free drink coupon? This girl has her priorities sorted and knows you do NOT turn that down. Now if y'all excuse me I have about 13 drawings to finish up, poor time managing skills and simply putting things off each time there's a little sunshine outside (can ya blame me though?) led to that. Here's to early weekends! Enjoy guys. 

Thunder road

It's been a while since I wrote about the love of my life. I know you're about sick of him at this point but then, do I really care? About as much as I care about people complaining over black background and moving pictures at the side.

It's barely Monday morning and I am already done with this week. Not feeling so great, dealing with people that make you want to tear all your hair out, sigh, it's been a lot of crap lately. So instead of moping about it I decided to put on an album, by my favorite guy and just tell the world to fuck off. Like All time low sing ''paint the walls black and scream fuck the world cuz it's my life...'' or something along those lines. Though to be honest I haven't felt like it's my life in a while. Everyone else is running it these days but me.

So the album is meant as a book companion. I was over the moon when getting it because one of my favorite songs is on ''The River'' and you don't want to see the actual condition of my The River album or the scrapes on it. Severly overplayed. Like, it's been through a couple of storms okay, it's got some history, but I love it just the way it is. Even if I had to scrape my mom's ex boyfriends name off Bruce's Cheek. What kinda animal writes their name on record sleeves in the first place? Or let me phrase that better, what kinda animal signs their name over the entire face of the musician instead of putting it in a corner or some shit?

So the book, I read it of course, twice, once in English and then later the translated version too. But my favorite is actually an audio book. I know I know, I keep saying that those are no books but honestly, the audio book is read by the Boss himself so excuse me if I'm enjoying it a bit too much. That voice! I am done for. Very calming if you're stressed and can't sleep. It's hogging a huge portion of space on my iPod but you know what the hell, it's worth it.

I loved the book from the first moment I picked it up. Of course not just because of the previously unseen pictures (given that my family always asks me how can I be reading a book with no pictures, ha ha, very funny guys) but also because there's something so relatable in it. Bruce's fight with depression, an on going battle really, and the effect that music has had on him. Bruce described his depression with “My depression was spewing like an oil spill over the beautiful turquoise green gulf of my carefully planned existence,” and that was a really brilliant way to put it, it really does feel something like that. That was back in the 80's and given how these stories end up these days we can only thank god for his very blunt manager, Jon Landau who without sugarcoating told him that he needs professional help.

Random but did you know he actually hates the name ''Boss''? I always found it amazing, I mean just look at it, how many musicians out there are called ''the boss'' or have as much influence and respect as he does? Or can write song lyrics that are basically a movie script on it's own? Or even preform for up to 4 hours per night? Probably not that many huh.

I've been gritting my teeth with jealousy these days watching him on Broadway (nevermind how badly I'd want to see Bruce Springsteen on Broadway live but the fact that it's in New York aside fucking tickets go from 851 to 2039 euros on a local web site? What the fuck?) meeting fans after the show, taking pictures, hugging them, talking to them. Must be an amazing feeling no? I'd give just about anything to meet him even if for just a minute. Given that I wouldn't completly choke up or make a complete idiot of myself.

There's another quote on depression he writes about, well there's plenty of them really but there's a few that stuck out to me, he is writing about a road trip with a friend, stopping at a small town fair, when, “From nowhere, a despair overcomes me; I feel an envy of these men and women and their late summer ritual, the small pleasures that bind them and this town together. Now, for all I know these folks may hate this one-dog dump and each other’s guts and be screwing one another’s husbands and wives like rabbits. Why wouldn’t they? But right now, all I can think of is that I want to be amongst them, of them, and I can’t. I can only watch.”. So relatable, I find myself watching people, people I know nothing about, people that seem to have it all and seem happiest they could be and I feel despair because I know that will never be me. That will never be my life.

And it's just like he said, for all I know they can be the most miserable sons of bitches on this planet but it's the outer facade that's appealing. It's the idea. And it's knowing that you can never be a part of it.

Depression still breathes down his neck though, just as it is on the rest of us. I wonder are you ever completly free of it? Completly cured? Point is, it's music that helps him. Here's where we connect most, his biggest cure it's preforming, my biggest cure is listening to him.

So this album...mostly old songs we all know but it also contains five previously unreleased songs. You can actually see it, first two albums he put out were more young, had this teenage wibe to them, where on ''Born to run'' you can see him growing up and getting further away from teenage topics. Just as Thunder road sings ''Maybe we aint that young anymore''. Did you know I always wanted a tattoo saying ''Thunder road''? I never got it because I'd like it to be in his handwriting and since I never met him I never got the chance to ask him for it. Maybe someday. This album though as a companion album to Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run, had each song handpicked by The Boss himself to represent a different theme or part of the book. Which if you ask me makes Chapter and Verse a bit different them The essential Bruce Springsteen. It's simple to follow the story here too, ''My fathers house'' clearly a song about his difficult relationship with his father which covers A LOT of pages in the book and the happier song ''Living proof'' which makes it clear that his bond with his children will be (and it is) completly different. The rest are more career wise and not so personal but then the line between personal and his music is quite blurred since his songs are very personal.

I guess from ''Born to run'' on music got serious, he sang about politics, war, ''men with death in their eyes'', injustice on this planet, life in general. He's not just a musician he's a poet. A genius. This album represents just that. Not only him as the genius that he is but also his growth as a songwriter as well as an musician from basically a rebelious teen to an adult. I suppose the new five songs make sense you know. It's logical why he never felt the need before to share them, they feel somehow like an experiemt of a sorts. Like Bruce trying out different leather jackets and seeing which one fits best. And of course ''He's guilty'' is a song by his first band called Steel Mill. Would you believe that up untill as recent as reading the book I had no idea there was another band? Shame on me.

It's not that my mind was blown or anything while listening to these songs. I mean they are great no question there but they aren't listening to ''Big guns'' for the first time. Yes my go to reference, because putting on that Skid Row selftitled album for the first time my mind was blown away. I was done for, love on the first note. I was though however really shocked (in a good way) by the song ''Ballad of Jesse James'' that one was woah! Firstly the line ''Don't you wanna be an outlaw, children?'' hah a line worthy of tattooing on my ass right under another musicians name that's already there, don't ask, it really is a dumb story. But also the song is great the way he referenced Jesse James, he knew he's going to be big someday not to mention this song is the closest fitting jacket if you know what I mean. Guitars sound more like they do on Darkness at the edge of town (which I still don't have wtf?).

So the album could really be called a compilation, that is as well as a compilation of songs as is a compilation of events past to present an overview of the Bosses life. Od course if you own ''Growing up'', ''My fathers house'', and ''Wrecking ball'' (honestly most of us big fans do, don't bother asking how many CD's I own, too many, only missing more of his work on vinyl) you pretty much have this entire album.

The only difference here is of course that if you want to find out if the album actually represents what is supposed to be the story of one of the greatest songwriters ever then you'll actually have to read the book. Hah. Bruce you smart devil. Though, I know my opinion is biased being slightly in love with the man and his work, I can tell you the book is one of the best autobiographies I've read and I've read plenty of them. One of which I enjoyed so much was also Sebastian Bach's, jeesh that man used to be all kinds of crazy. Gotta love him though. The chapter on Moscow peace festival? Yeah that one was great. Or him getting stoned with Lars Ulrich and forgetting to meet his grandmother that comes to pick him up then at Lars' house. Histerical. Bosses book isn't funny like that but it's honest and emotional and raw and it makes you understand the man behind the music that much more.

And who knows maybe you learn to love him at least 20% as much as me. Enjoy the rest of your week guys, hope it's better then mine is turning out to be. Here's a piece of my art from 2 years ago. Lord knows lately I haven't been able to put a decent drawing together, so enjoy this one instead.

P.S. How amazing are those inner sleeve pics? I want them ALL on posters. Hah.