The 2005 Bruce Springsteen song too sexy for the public: “An issue”
There isn’t too much throughout many Bruce Springsteen songs that most people would object to.
Even though people can take or leave the moments where he talks about the greater problems with the world when he’s onstage, the reason why all of his songs still work is that he feels like the pure embodiment of what rock and roll should be. This was a genre that was meant to be enjoyed by everyday people, but there were more than a few times when ‘The Boss’ could get a little too hot and heavy for what the mainstream media wanted him to do all the time.
Then again, Springsteen liked the idea of making records that didn’t serve the masses all the time. He didn’t feel completely comfortable with the idea of fame when he first began making classics, and if Darkness on the Edge of Town had a more weary spirit about it when it came out, hearing him make a record like Nebraska was practically his excuse to make an entire album’s worth of songs that had nothing to do with what the radio wanted. These were deeply confessional story songs, and it was going to be a cold day in hell before ‘Highway Patrolman’ was played on the radio.
But Springsteen could still toe that line perfectly, no matter what he did. He didn’t necessarily have to make pop songs that sounded as saccharine as the ones on Human Touch, but even when making heavy records like Tunnel of Love, he always managed to make tunes like ‘Born in the USA’ to keep the passive fans happy. If there’s one word that Springsteen isn’t associated with, it’s sexy.
Sure, he’s not an ugly man, and there are more than a few people who would have fallen in love with that grizzled demeanour, but he was no Mick Jagger when he got onstage, either. He wasn’t going to have the same magnetic stage presence his heroes did, but when he came back to the unplugged world for the album Devils and Dust, there were more than a few times where the record industry came down on him for making songs like ‘Reno’.
The song isn’t supposed to be a seductive song by any means, but when you’re writing a tune that’s all about the life of a sex worker, it’s not easy to talk about those topics without coming right out and saying it. And while Springsteen was glad to make music that was a bit more edgy than usual, that didn’t stop major companies like Starbucks from saying that they would not stock his CD at their stores.
In their mind, the lyrics were too risque, and the company’s president, Ken Lombard, said that there was no use for them making something so explicit one of the main draws in their establishment, saying, “There were a number of factors involved. It [the lyrics] was one of the factors, but not the only reason. While we agreed the lyrics to ‘Reno’ did warrant an advisory, our decision to choose another title to showcase was ultimately an issue of scheduling.”
But it’s not like the song is implying that this sexual encounter with a prostitute is a good thing, either. If you want an actual song about sex from ‘The Boss’, you’re better off going to ‘Pink Cadillac’, because looking at the lyrics here, hearing the more suggestive parts of the song feel more like a laundry list of services since it’s being directed at a former lover that Springsteen had lost touch with.
Sure, the song is meant to be a little bit slimy, but the idea of taking it off the shelves seems to miss the point of the song entirely. In no way is this song saying that having this kind of sleazy encounter with a prostitute was a fun time by any stretch, and the more you listen to it, it seems like even Springsteen thinks that there’s something wrong with someone who finds pleasure in the actions taking place here.
