As Bruce Springsteen currently tours the UK, he has been making the news with a frequency that you might not expect of a septuagenarian playing a career spanning show with no new music to promote (not counting the seven previously unreleased albums that are about to land). The spotlight has fallen on Bruce right from the opening night in Manchester when he made a couple of on-stage speeches establishing his critical stance against the current Trump regime in America. He really went for it too, in a manner that few artists, especially of such high profile, ever do by using words like “corrupt” and “incompetent.” If this made President Trump unhappy, it is strange that he did not rationalize that it would blow over in a few days but instead gave it a whole lot more oxygen, attacking Springsteen in response as an over-rated irritant and even more bizarrely mocking his skin complexion.

This only served to make the episode quite funny so maybe as a tactical retort he feels it worked, for Bruce was not being flippant or playing this for a laugh, The Boss is hurting at the state of affairs in the USA he has written about for fifty years. Maybe too he is sick of being misrepresented, being the man who wrote one of the most devastating take downs of life in his homeland with ‘Born In The USA’ only to watch it be adopted as a jingoistic anthem by multitudes who obviously could not look beyond a four word chorus and understand what the song was actually about. Springsteen has always been on the side of the worker, a left-leaning humanitarian painting broad pictures of everyday US life by homing in on the minutiae of the folks living on those streets, in those towns and working in those factories. Still, it is clear even this front-page detail can escape the casual observers as offended right wing Donald supporters took to social media and accused Springsteen of never having stood for anything.

I did like the tone of Springsteen’s speeches, he definitely wanted his position to be understood and seemed prepared to accept that his core fanbase, especially in the US, might take a hit or even diminish rapidly. He is also having to deal with the blatant threat in the president’s social media post of trouble waiting upon his return. But he appears to have tempered his expectations of what can be achieved in posturing and rally-call announcements, Bruce knows there are always going to be large numbers on the other side of the political and humanitarian fence but his words reflected just that, quoting James Baldwin with “in this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there is enough”. Bruce is reaching out to those ready and able to hear and understand. My monthly playlist may not feature enough, or any, Bruce this month (I figure that with those seven albums coming out there will be a fair few Brucey bonuses later in the year) but it is presented for those ready to listen with the usual range of sounds and evolving styles to keep one entertained for a good five hours or so…