Support for the Democrats in the 2008 election campaign.
(Photo: Corbis / Getty Images)
One of the dialogues in Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen’s new illustrated book goes like this:
Obama: “Oh‧oh.”
Springsteen: “It’s okay. You’re doing fine. Just give it a little gas. “
Obama: “Oh.”
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Springsteen: “You just have to accelerate. Turn left here. This baby drives well. ”
Obama: “It purrs, man. Softer than I expected. The Secret Service is behind us now. I’m gonna get in trouble but guess what Sometimes you just have to … “
Springsteen: “… do what you have to do.”
Both stars, one ex-president and the other most famous rock ‘n’ roll musician in the United States, take a spin in an old Corvette. Obama seems to have a few problems with the circuit, which is amusing. Most of the conversations between the two men are more substantial, but the scene shows the familiarity of a longstanding friendship.
“Renegades: Born in the USA” is a hardback book of conversations and almost 350 photos, based on the podcast of the same name that Obama and Springsteen put on the air in the spring. In eight episodes, they talk about everything that moves them: fame, money, wives, music, the American dream after the Donald Trump shock.
At first glance, it’s an unusual format: does the book want to be a transcript of dialogues? A coffee table book to leaf through carefully?
“Renegades” is a mixture of these, with leitmotifs such as racism, patriotism and the status of modern masculinity. For fans of the US icons, the band is certainly a nice collector’s item, albeit with a proud price tag. It contains some previously unpublished photographs, handwritten Springsteen lyrics, and Obama speeches. At the same time, the book is a time travel through US history: from the race riots of the 1960s to the Vietnam War and Obama’s “Hope” election campaign.
Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen: Renegades: Born in the USA – dreams, myths, music.
German translation: Stephan Kleiner, Henriette Zeltner-Shane.
Penguin Publishing House
Munich 2021
320 pages
42 euros.
Obama is still actively supporting the Democratic Party and is present on the world stage. At the weekend he will travel to Glasgow for the UN climate summit. But the real influence of Obama and former First Lady Michelle has long blossomed outside of politics.
The podcast was created through the Obama’s production company, Higher Ground. The company has now also signed a lucrative deal with Netflix. The growing media empire of the Obamas is extremely successful – with millions of biographies, TV documentaries and a foundation.
It would now be easy to dismiss the series of talks as glossy marketing. In fact, you don’t learn anything spectacularly new about the matter, and yet the glimpses of their friendship are fascinating. After all, “on the surface, Bruce and I don’t have much in common,” writes Obama in the foreword.
Bruce Springsteen at the piano, Michelle Obama sings along with it.
(Photo: Obama-Robinson Family Archives)
At first glance, he, the first black president, has little in common with Springsteen, twelve years his senior, hero of the white working class. “But we still share the elementary belief in the American ideal,” said Obama.
Springsteen seems more at odds with the democratic crisis of a polarized nation. The star talks about the origins of “Born in the USA” – the song is still played at Trump rallies to this day. Springsteen explains that his song is misunderstood as a hymn of patriotism. “In truth, it’s a song about pride, but also the pain and shame that American identity brings with it.”
In their conversations, both men allow weaknesses and self-doubt. They remember their childhood and youth when they felt like outsiders and had little contact with their fathers. Obama and Springsteen spent weeks in a converted farmhouse on Springsteen’s property, “surrounded by horses, a pack of dogs and a thousand guitars.”
The environment, as serious as some of the issues are, was evidently inviting for a chat. The timing is probably no coincidence. After the storm of fanatical Trump supporters on the Capitol, there was probably room for reflection, for a reflective look into the past and a possible future. A little beneficial banality can do no harm. A trip in the Corvette is not an option either.
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