The Lost Art of Conversation

You have to take your mind there

And hope that your ass will follow.

You’ve got to imagine that person first

Before you become him.

Once you have the ability to do it,

Then you need the skills

To become that person.  

-Bruce Springsteen

It is not my responsibility to recruit subscribers for the corporate overlords who operate SiriusXM.  That being said, if you are not a subscriber then you have likely missed out on what was nothing short of an extraordinary couple of hours of live radio on Monday morning.  

For the first time in their respective careers, Bruce Springsteen sat down face-to-face with Howard Stern on Monday morning at the SiriusXM studios in Manhattan.  If I understood correctly what Rob had told me a couple of weeks ago, Monday marked Howard’s first time in the studio since the pandemic began in early 2020.  He spent more than two hours conversing with Bruce.   To my ear, it was nothing short of sensational.  My great friend Lynne used the word “historic” to describe it.  I am inclined to agree with her.  

The two discussed pretty much anything and everything you could think of during the two-plus hours they spent together, during which Bruce played acoustic versions of several songs including “Thunder Road”. He and Howard both spoke of their strained relationships with their late fathers.  Bruce reacted with genuine sympathy when Howard told him that his dad had died this summer.  They bonded as well over their respective self-identifications as a Mama’s boy.   

It was an extraordinary listen.  If you have the chance to hear it, then I hope you avail yourself of it.  We live in a day and age where we talk at, around, and over one another with alarming frequency.  It was nice to be reminded, instead, of how enjoyable it is - and how much can be learned - when we talk to and with one another.  

-AK