Author: Dom

Bruce Springsteen: Letter to You

Wow.

I mean it.

Wow.

Now that it can’t get out on tour, the Springsteen industry has turned to film to get the word out. It’s the same sort of idea they had with the excellent Western Stars, but this, amazingly enough, is even better.

Music is a serious business . . .

Shot entirely in black and white and on location in a New Jersey studio, Letters To You packs ninety minutes with new songs, and others that while still being new, hark back to Springsteen’s early songwriting days. Weaved throughout the film, Springsteen’s poetic monologues reflect on his early career, his deep relationship with his band, and his sadness for the friends he’s lost along the way.

Yes, they’re looking old, but the enthusiasm, love of the art and their commitment to perfection still shines through – and I say this as someone who’s not really a fan.

If you are a fan though, you don’t need me to tell you to see it any you can (at the moment, I think it’s only showing on Apple TV).

If you’re not a fan, you should see it anyway, just to experience the words and music of someone who’s dedicated their entire life to the pursuit of one single goal – even if he’s still not sure what that goal is.

Book review: The Bionic Man

Ah, the seventies: flared trousers, flammable nylon, in-your-face racism and school custard with the consistency of skimmed milk. But you know what; it wasn’t all bad, because on Saturday nights (having spend the day bouncing off the walls after Tiswas) we had the Six Million Dollar Man: the story of Steve Austin, astronaut and test pilot, horrifically injured in a plane crash and rebuilt as a cyborg to be better than he was before; better, faster, stron—anyway, even if you don’t remember it I’m sure you get the idea. As entertaining as it was ridiculous, the Six Million Dollar Man ran for five seasons and spawned a reasonably successful spinoff (The Bionic Woman) that ran for another three. It was also the forerunner for just about every cyborg-related super-hero/villain you’ll see today; some we love (Inspector Gadget), and some we hate (The Terminator). Over the years, there’s been talk of a movie revival (I think Will Smith was mooted to play Austin one point), but nothing every came of it.

Well, actually it did: not a movie, but a comic series – and I had no idea. It’s been out for a couple of years, and I only found out when I stumbled across a picture from one of the comics on the interweb:

And on the strength of that, I bought the first omnibus, and I can tell you, it’s been an absolute treat. Kevin Smith (is that the same guy with the baseball cap?) deserves a comic oscar or something for this.

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