This might have been a huge hit for Bruce Springsteen, but I could have done without it. At least … that’s how I felt back in the day.
The dance-oriented nature of the song just did nothing for me. The weird thing is that I’ve seen him play this live many times since then and have always enjoyed it. I suspect that crowd involvement has a lot to do with it. And then there was the night that he brought him mom up on stage to dance. You might have to be dead inside to not appreciate how cool that moment was.
“Dancing In The Dark” had a huge presence on MTV. It felt like the video was in heavy rotation for the better part of a year. At that point, I’d only seen Bruce live once (on The River tour), but what struck me about the video was that Brian de Palma had performed something of a miracle — he made Bruce Springsteen look uncomfortable on a stage. I hated it.
Yeah, yeah, the Courtney Cox bit was kinda fun (even if we didn’t really know who she was yet), but that couldn’t win me over. Bruce looked like he didn’t belong up there. Truly an amazing feat for the hallowed director.
Up next: My Hometown
- How Talking Heads’ ‘Fear of Music’ Opened Up a World of Art and Sound - August 5, 2024
- How Deep Cuts Propelled Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ - June 4, 2024
- How Eric Clapton’s ‘Me and Mr. Johnson’ Made the Case for British Blues - March 20, 2024
