Mick Jagger, who at 82 years old still has more energy than most people half his age, has weighed in on Bruce Springsteen's habit of turning his concert stage into a political soapbox. And the Rolling Stones frontman was not exactly supportive of The Boss's approach.
As The American Tribune reported, Jagger appeared on a New York Times podcast where correspondent David Marchese brought up Springsteen's ongoing practice of hammering his audiences with anti-Trump commentary at every live show. Marchese noted that Springsteen "clearly sees his job as engaging in a meaningful back and forth" with his fans. Which is a generous way to describe a millionaire standing on an elevated platform yelling his opinions at thousands of people who cannot respond.
Jagger, to his credit, handled the question with the diplomacy of a man who has been dodging controversy since the 1960s while still making his point crystal clear.
"The bottom line of my thing, really, is that my job in the live music world is [for] those people that come is to have the best time they possibly can," Jagger said. "For two hours or whatever it is, to forget all their problems and the problems of the world and their mortgages and whatever, just to give them the best time they can have."
He compared concerts to sporting events, where everything else gets tuned out. "You're just watching who's going to win. You're not worrying about everything else," Jagger explained. Then he delivered the quiet knockout punch: "You don't want to lecture them."
Meanwhile, Springsteen has apparently leaned all the way into being a political commentator who occasionally plays guitar. During a May concert, the New Jersey rocker reportedly called Trump and his supporters "racist" and "treasonous," and has taken to reading lengthy written diatribes during his "Land of Hope and Dreams Tour." He has also declared himself a true "patriot" for his opposition to the president.
So let's recap. You pay several hundred dollars for concert tickets. You fight traffic, pay for parking, stand in line, and find your seat. And then a 75 year old man reads you an essay about why you should feel bad about America. That is not a concert experience. That is Thanksgiving dinner with your most opinionated uncle, except this uncle charges you $400 and plays "Thunder Road" between lectures.
Breitbart's Warner Todd Huston noted there is not much actual "back and forth" happening at these shows, which is accurate. It is hard to have a dialogue when one person has a microphone and a sound system capable of rattling teeth and the other person has an overpriced beer.
Look, artists can say whatever they want on their own stage. That is their right. But when Mick Jagger, a man who has seen literally everything rock and roll has to offer over six decades, tells you to maybe cool it with the sermons, it might be worth listening. The guy did not become a legend by reading position papers between songs.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
