There's a joke here somewhere
When music dorks rehash the Dylan-vs.-Springsteen argument, they rarely bring up the circumspection (circumspectitude? circumspectedy?) of each performer’s advisors. Somebody somewhere, whether Jon Landau (bastardized among Springsteen aficionados as the dude who sees everything in terms of dollar signs) or whoever, impressed it upon Bruce not to release the “demo” video of DITD shown here (as well as to keep mid-’90s effluvia like Trouble In Paradise, a song so upsettingly mechanical that nobody has immortalized it on YouTube, off an “official” album). Dylan, by contrast, thrust Wiggle Wiggle and Hearts Of Fire onto an unsuspecting public without much warning. Nobody thought to pull him aside and say, “Bob, you’re the man and you electro-folkified a nation and you awakened our minds like Elvis awakened our loins and all, but maybe this time it’s best not to follow the muse.” Anyway.
