Just One Song

Starbucks has decided not to sell Bruce Springsteen's latest album, "Devils and Dust," due to the explicit lyrics of one of the songs, titled "Reno," according to this NYT article. One song, out of the entire album.

Of course, they probably wouldn't have sold any of his other albums either, including the ones with songs about murder ("41 Shots," "Nebraska," "Johnny 99") or the sad case of Vietnam vets who sacrifice everything for their country, only to come back to bitterness and hatred ("Born in the USA"), or perhaps infidelity and betrayal (songs on "Human Touch," "Tunnel of Love," and "Lucky Town"), not to mention songs of leaving town and never looking back ("Thunder Road," Darlington County," "No Surrender"). "Streets of Philadelphia" (an Oscar-winning song, btw) is about struggling and living with AIDS. Do they think that "Dancing in the Dark" means actual dancing? What about "Secret Garden" or "I'm on Fire"? All of those songs are about SEXXXXXX!

Get a clue, people. The man sings about real life.

That's fine by me. There are no Starbucks around here, although I hear there might be a few soon. Good thing I don't like coffee. I bought my copy of "Devils and Dust" at my local record store anyway. Support your local record stores!