That US athletes are also dominating these Olympics no surprise. And especially after the suspension of many Russian athletes due to the biggest doping scandal since the former GDR and ahead, Lance Armstrong, no more than logical. That those American athletes are also highlighted in the NOS daily talk show is therefore justified. Putting them on screen to the sounds of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. shows laziness and poor listening, however.
Well-known predecessor
Fair is fair, the editors of NOS Sportzomer have a famous predecessor: Ronald Reagan. He likewise listened purely to the chorus and referenced Springsteen in his 1984 election campaign.
Of course, Reagan was distracted by the flag at the beginning of the clip we all know. The version of the song with the major chords and bombastic synth part.
The eponymous album resulted in Springsteen's worldwide breakthrough, and that success was welcome after the desolate and largely acoustic Nebraska, full of characters on the fringes of society.
Time for something positive!
Only: Springsteen wrote most of the songs for Born in the U.S.A. for Nebraska. And changed virtually nothing textually.
Dancing in the dark, with that cosy clip featuring a tiny Courteney Cox, an upbeat song? Think again.
and I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the morning,
I go to bed feeling the same wayBruce Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark
This whole world is out there just trying to score
I've seen enough I don't want to see any more
Cover meBruce Springsteen - Cover Me
And so it goes on, with the title track being the most desperate. Reagan never heard this demo, that much is clear.
Born in the U.S.A. is about a traumatised Vietnam veteran and has nothing to do with patriotism, at most the sort of despite-everything variety.
Born in a southern deserted town
The first blow I got was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that has been beaten too much
Until you spend half your life trying to hide itLyrics.net
Trump learns nothing or everything from his predecessor
US presidential candidates are almost making it a sport to use their songs against the wishes of artists. This is also reported in the Netherlands by NOS. Of course, Donald Trump takes the crown by, among others. Rolling Stones and Queen 'use' unsolicited. Trump responded as expected by fanning the flames even further in the case of the Stones kindle, Queen guitarist in turn backed Elizabeth Banks' parody of Trump.
Number 1
Entertaining, but for NOS Sportzomer, however, all that matters is who is number one and what music we can quickly grab underneath. But just let Springsteen, of all people, criticise this 30 years ago in his response to Reagan's misuse of his music:
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