What I DO have a problem with though is dishonesty. From The River on, Springsteen has devolved into the cheapest kind of lowest common denominator commercial calculation, while [here is the crappy part] pretending to be above all that. He is an ARTIST, indeed the greatest working artist in pop music.

The really contemptible part, though, is Springsteen's obvious dishonesty with HIMSELF. He makes a big stupid commercial record- The River- then follows it up with a non-commercial throw-away like Nebraska. See, he's an ARTIST, not a commercial whore. Besides re-charging his credibility as a pure artist [a good commercial hook] unconcerned with the commercial consequences [cha, right!], he assuages his own liberal hypocrisy. Then he looks for another big lumbering stupid pop record, like Born in the USA.

Springsteen is a big brand name. Problem was, by Y2K the lines on the graph were getting low. How to make that comeback? What would be the bold, visionary stroke to recapture the public imagination?

Then a convenient unifying [if cataclysmic] moment came along which presented the trademarked Springsteen brand name a perfect and unique marketing opportunity. 9/11 was an absolutely GOLDEN opportunity, and the Boss wasn't about to let it get away from him. If there was anyone who could capture the pain of the common man, the everyday heroism of firemen brought to the fore, it was the self-appointed spokesman for The Working Man. Catch The Rising pile of predictable pre-fabricated crap.

What a sniveling piece of shit Springsteen has devolved into. He's using all the forces of the corporate world to harness the emotions of our great national tragedy for his personal glory, exploiting people's deepest feelings to sell a crappy album. This is contemptible. His cowardice to admit this even to himself is even worse.