Comments on: Bruce Springsteen and Suicide

By: valiant66

valiant66 — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:22:00 +0000

So do the Cowboy Junkies on their possibly-best-album-name-ever first release: “Whites Off Earth Now.” That version still makes the hairs on my arms stand up.

By: chadmulligan

chadmulligan — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:40:00 +0000

Not many people notice, but I’d bet cash money that “Frankie Teardrop” takes quite a bit from Dylan’s “Ballad of Hollis Brown.” I am a No Wave junkie and Suicide is one of my fave bands but hearing is believing….

By: Gyrofrog

Gyrofrog — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:58:00 +0000

(Maybe you knew this; though I didn’t know about “Shoo Be Doo”)
Ric Ocasek was a Suicide fan and produced their second album, along with Vega’s solo albums. Didn’t Suicide open for The Cars during one tour?

By: Pope Ratzo

Pope Ratzo — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Still have the Serge. Still works & still in use. Filters so resonant it’ll rip your head off. No keyboard, just patch cords and little knobs. No memory. I made up special sheet diagrams so I could remember settings. Used to take minutes for me to switch from song to song, so I came up with long intros.

By: Alex Carlson

Alex Carlson — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:59:00 +0000

Great article, David. I had no idea of the connection either, and now I’ve gone way down the rabbit hole. (And I think it’s about time to start screwing around with my Portastudio again!)

By: orangedesperado

orangedesperado — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Springsteen also covers Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream” using a harmonium. I don’t know if it is on any albums but there is are several live concert clips of this on YouTube.

On the same touched-by-Suicide topic, have a listen to the Cars “ShooBe Doo” from Candy-O:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhSui7Qa6gQ

Suicide was definitely exerting some influence !

By: Abelard Lindsay

Abelard Lindsay — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:07:00 +0000

Yes, great story! What name did you perform under? And what happened to the Serge!?

Only band I remember seeing at Gaspar’s was Barbie Army. Good show, but no Magazine.

By: K Manos

K Manos — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 11:57:00 +0000

Jake, that was actually Highway Patrolman :)

By: RadioSilence

RadioSilence — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:53:00 +0000

Added to my to-buy list, thanks.

By: Jake Sullivan

Jake Sullivan — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 02:12:00 +0000

Tangent – State Trooper was the inspiration for The Indian Runner, a film by Sean Penn.

By: petsounds

petsounds — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 02:04:00 +0000

You do realize Nebraska was recorded on a cassette 4-track? The magic of CD is not going to make that tape sound any better. The vinyl sounds great.

By: darrrrrrn

darrrrrrn — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:34:00 +0000

You might be interested in my band’s cover of Ghost Rider. I emailed Martin Rev about the ins and outs of releasing a cover of his band & was surprised to find he wrote back like a normal person. Not sure what I’d expected.

http://soundcloud.com/ageofconsent/ghost-rider-suicide-cover

By: sdmikev

sdmikev — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:48:00 +0000

Indeed.
Also, Nebraska is pretty much his best work, right along side Darkness on the Edge of Town. Two of the best records ever, and from one dude. Not bad..

By: Fred Talmadge

Fred Talmadge — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:31:00 +0000

An interesting cover of that album is “Badlands” State Trooper is sung by Deana Carter. I especially like Hank Williams III version of Atlantic City.

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:22:00 +0000

Wow, that’s fantastic! Thanks for sharing that story.

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:22:00 +0000

Sure, but the record was only $3. And y’know, as a matter of fact I am into artifacts.

By: Pope Ratzo

Pope Ratzo — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:04:00 +0000

One other thing. In ’77 or ’78, Suicide was on network television on a Saturday night show called “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert”. I’d never heard of them. I was just a kid and it blew my mind.

By: Chesterfield

Chesterfield — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:03:00 +0000

You might want to follow your own link and pick up a copy on CD. Vinyl is nice if you are into artifacts, but the CD version is better.

By: Pope Ratzo

Pope Ratzo — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I saw Suicide play in a small Chicago club back in 1978. There was nothing else like them at the time. The only time I ever feel something like I felt during that show is when I have a very high fever. In a good way.

I had an old Serge suitcase synth at the time, and a little Korg MS-20. I ran out and bought a drum box and spent the next three years playing in joints trying to get that kind of feeling. It never really went anywhere, but I got to open for Bauhaus on New Year’s Eve and for Magazine at a place called Gaspars (which is now a sports bar, I think).

Damn, the Suicide really brought it all back.

By: franko

franko — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 22:17:00 +0000

this is the album that made me love and respect bruce springsteen. such a haunting, brilliant album… still my favorite of his.

By: Chris Green

Chris Green — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:59:00 +0000

This is a pretty cool cover as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kY_zYZyCCA

By: Teller

Teller — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Steve Earle also does a pretty badass version of State Trooper.

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Er… I was trying to claim him as a Jew.

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:12:00 +0000

Wow, that book sounds up my alley!! Thanks!

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:10:00 +0000

I remember hearing about this for the first time years ago too. Mind blown. Especially considering I loved both records/artists.

By: Radiodiffusion Internasionaal

Radiodiffusion Internasionaal — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:10:00 +0000

I just finished reading Will Hermes’ “Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever”. In it, he talks about how Springsteen would hang out at CGBGs with Patti Smith. He supposedly was a big fan of Suicide.

By: lilinski

lilinski — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Bruce Springstein ?!? Damn, beaten to the bush by a minute.

By: Chuck VanWinkle

Chuck VanWinkle — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:02:00 +0000

Springstein??? Mazel Tov to the Boss!!