A couple of disclaimers: First, I think artists should make money, even lots of it. And second, I have been a Bruce Springsteen fan for over twenty years. I have seen him in concert about 15 times. I think my concern is warranted and deserves to be considered outside of the circle of die-hard Springsteen fans.

It all started in 2002 when Springsteen appeared on the Today Show to promote his album The Rising. It was odd of Bruce, but I could handle it. After all, The Rising - as was the case with Devils and Dust, Magic, and the Seeger Sessions material - was a masterpiece, equal to any Springsteen greatness of the past. The lyrics were deep and complex. Bruce was living up to the standard he set for himself as America's critical, yet thoughtful social conscience.

Fast forward to 2008/09 and Springsteen's self-generated hype surrounding his recent sub-par release, Working on a Dream. The record itself is as weak as anything in Bruce's catalog. With few exceptions, the lyrics are simplistic. They could have been written by anyone. After the hard-hitting, often scathing social critiques found in the Rising, Devils, and most of all, Magic, Bruce offers little more than the naive notion that all is right in the world since the man he shilled for, Barrack Obama, is President of the United States. In a span of about a year, Bruce went from lamenting the Iraq war dead in incredible songs such as Gypsy Biker and Last to Die to talking about his desire to have sex in a supermarket. What gives?

The dilution of Bruce's lyrics coincides with an uncharacteristic, albeit good appearance at the Super Bowl and an exclusive greatest hits release for WalMart. Bruce has apologized for the WalMart arrangement, calling it an oversight. I find it hard to believe that Springsteen and his management could have possibly glossed over the hypocrisy of doing exclusive business with WalMart, given Bruce's social stances over the years. It seems that he wanted to see if anyone would notice... just strategic planning for the future.

Of course, Bruce can do what he wants... and I don't toss the 'sell out' tag around lightly. But Bruce is not some budding star who needs to make concessions for a platform. He's been there before... I just wish he'd act like it and keep the integrity of his work intact as opposed to rushing a sub-standard record out to the lame marketing machine of the music business.