Rockol exclusive: The Boss on his new album

Rockol exclusive: The Boss on his new album

Paris, Marigny Theater. On the last notes of "We are alive" the lights are turned on and Bruce Springsteen enters the room. He's smiling in his black jeans, black boots and black jacket, with the air of who's fighting against a vicious jet-lag. He's more than willing to answer our questions on his new album "Wrecking ball", always witty and kind. Here are some excerpts of our long chat.

THE GENESIS OF THE ALBUM
"Actually I was working on another album, something that never came out. It happens. Ron Aiello came to help me and he had tons of innovative ideas, fresh sounds. He had a whole library of loops, beats, effects, some hip-hop stuff too. Working with him was really something different. We recorded everything in a home studio. Every single song started as a folk song and then took its final shape gradually".

WRITING SONGS
"I don't write regularly. I write when the sparkle starts the fire. I usually write in my free time: at home there's a lot to do, you know... bring someone somewhere, pick up your son at school... and this happened for the songs on 'Wrecking ball' too. 'We take care of our own', 'Shackled and drawn' and 'Rocky ground' came almost all at once, like a gospel. The others came later".

THE RAGE
"Be mad. When you're mad, in rock'n'roll, you can't be wrong. "Wrecking ball" was born after 2008, when the financial crisis exploded in the USA. It was the beginning of a devastating period, in which we have really nothing to count on. I saw many friends losing their job and their home, but there was no guilty part to be found, no one was going to prison".

THE TITLE
"'Wrecking ball' is a metaphor. It's the image of something that is destroyed, leaving room for something new. This, for me, is the metaphor of the consequences of 30 years of deregulation, during which the political class led us to this point".

PRESIDENT OBAMA
"Obama did many good things, from the public health care plan to the help to Detroit. He made some changes and he killed Osama Bin Laden. I'd have expected him to be less involved with corporations and I'd have loved to see more middle class people in his administration. And Guantanamo should be closed. But I keep on supporting him".

OCCUPY WALL STREET
The power of Occupy Wall Street movement was the ability to switch the focus of the debate in the USA. Economic equality?!? It was at least 20 years ago the last time we heard about this in the USA.

ROCK AND ROLL
"Rock and roll is all about symbolism, but it's great fun too".

MY JOB
"My intention is to do for my audience what Bob Dylan did for me: make them think, reflect, act, evolve, react. This is, basically, my job description. As a matter of fact, people is wiling to pay only for what can't be bought. They pay for something that can only manifest itself and be shared".


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