I love Bruce Springsteen’s music, and admire him as a human being (albeit with reservations over some of his personal failings). I regret the increasing sanctimoniousness of his music since The Ghost of Tom Joad, however, which I suppose was foreshadowed by everything since the release of Darkness on the Edge of Town (a terrific album, btw) and the song “Seeds,” Nebraska and all that. As for the new single? It rocks! While perhaps a bit too reminiscent of Sandy Shaw’s “Always Something There to Remind Me,” The Icicle Works’ “From a Whisper to a Scream,” and an opening straight from Belly’s “Cannonball,” the Boss’ knack for constructing head-banging anthems is preserved. The song’s lyrics, however, are problematic — at least to this writer — and I discuss why on my latest blog post for the Acton Institute. Herewith a brief excerpt:

“‘We Take Care of Our Own’ just doesn’t pass muster with the information readily available on any given day in any reputable news source.

“At some point in the past few decades, Springsteen began patterning his songwriting on the supposed social consciousness of folksingers Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. Ochs once recorded an album titled All the News That’s Fit to Sing. Springsteen would perform a tremendous favor to the better-informed members of his enormous fan base – this writer included – by actually reading a newspaper.”