← The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers
The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers
150 - Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town - Rob Lowe
02:10:17
Josh dives deep into Rob’s lifelong love of The Boss and one of the most important albums in his catalog.
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- [00:01]
Josh Adam Myers
Next Chapter Podcasts.
- [00:07]
Rob Lowe
When you think about.
- [00:08]
Josh Adam Myers
Businesses that are selling through the roof like Aloe or Allbirds, sure you think about a great product, a cool brand and great marketing. But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business making, selling and for shoppers buying. Simple. For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify. Nobody does online business better than Shopify. It's home of Shop Pay, the number one checkout in the world. You can use it to boost conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts going abandoned and way more sales going through. To checkout, sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com income all lowercase go to shopify.com income to upgrade your selling today. That's shopify.com/income on WhatsApp, no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone. This show is brought to you by Distrokid. Bring your music to the masses. The 500 the 500 JM been walking us down through that 2012 edition so it ain't nothing to you. Hundreds more to go and in need of a friend. The King of peace for angelo Talking the 500 until the end Talking the 500 until the end with my man JL on the 500 Talking the 500 until the end well if she wants the swimming you can tell us. On the edge of town There's a darkness on the edge of town that is Darkness on the Edge of Town from the album of the same name by Bruce Springsteen. And it's number 150 out of 500 on the 500 with Josh Adam Myers. We have broken into the 150 belows. Is that a thing? Is that even a monumental occasion? Either way, I am a comic and I am going through Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums. We're counting our way down to number one. May 31, 2028 this Mama Jam is over. Thank you Fleece army for tuning in. This is a special episode. If you've seen who the guest is, which I'll get to in a moment. But I am leaving on Tuesday for London. I will be doing shows at Top Secret Comedy Club almost every night except for the nights I'M going to see Oasis, which is Saturday and Sunday. Come one, come all. I'll be at the Comedy Store too. And then I'm going to visit Jeremiah. And it be that, it be that. I think we're going to do Ayahuasca, Ibogaine, who knows. And then I'm going to go get lost in Europe. I might do shows in Paris and Amsterdam. I'm figuring this out as we speak. But then when I get back, I will be at the Plano Mic Drop Comedy Club in Plano, Texas. So all my Dallas fans, all my Fort Worth fans come out, I'll have my buddy from the Whiskey Boys on guitar and then I'm on the road for pretty much the rest of the year. Check my website Josh Adam Myers.com and go to Josh Adam Myers on all social media. Want to watch the podcast? Well, there are two ways you can watch it every week we drop the episodes on YouTube every Thursday. And if you want to, and I mean if you want to help us out, subscribe to the Patreon. For $5 a month you get the episodes early, you can ask questions to the guests, and for 25amonth you get cool merch. So rock out in the 500 fleece army tees or sweatshirts that you can wear at a concert and 45 to 65 year old guys will see it and go, oh, I listen to that show too. All right, what do we got coming up? You know what, let's just get to this episode. So I think this is our fourth or fifth Bruce record on the Pod man. We keep getting great guests for Bruce. He's a special guy, he is a special musician and he's still probably one of the hardest working men in show business. And today we got another great the one and only Rob Lowe. And if you don't know who Rob Lowe is, you are a Katuki Youngblood. I can't believe I didn't bring up Youngblood to him. I should have talked about that big shout out to Greg Chait who helped me with this episode. As long as not as long as well as DJ Morty Coyle always helping me. But Greg is such a big Bruce fan, gave me some things to say. That being said, Tommy boy, the it's just this guy is he's one of my favorite actors right now. He's currently the host of the Floor on Fox, which season four kicks off Wednesday, September 24th. He's got his own podcast called Literally with Rob Lowe. Check all that out and make sure comment on this episode Share this episode Let everybody know that you're listening to the 500. You're a part of the Fleece Army. This was a gift from Emily Kagan. I love you. Thank you for getting the gifts of these guests that we get. And man, it's just getting better and better as the list goes down. Rate, review and most importantly, subscribe to the 500 and listen free on all platforms or anywhere you get your pods. Leave a 5 star rating if you're living list if you're lifin if you're listening on Apple follow me at Josh Adam Myers on all social media Follow the podcast at the 500 podcast. Email the podcast@500podcastgmail.com Follow the Facebook group run by Crazy Evan. And for all things 500 go to our website the500podcast.com well, nothing left to say but here we go with number 150 out of 500. This is my Bruce with There's a Darkness on the Edge of Town. That's I'm singing Hungry Hard for some reason. It's Darkness on the Edge of Town by the Boss, the patron saint of New Jersey, Mr. Bruce Springsteen. Are we rolling? Are we rocking and rolling? Are we saying on the edge of town? We are, dude. I'm wearing my this is a true story, Rob. Is that I wasn't. By the way, I'm Josh. It's so nice to meet you. I'm a huge fan and when this came up I literally was super excited. Your code red on the Emily Kagan our Booker meter. So you're like, she's been trying to get you for a long time. So big shout out for Emily to try to make this happen. I, I guess the only way to start this is because I always, you know, I never specifically dress up for a certain show. Which I don't know if you'd call this dressing up, but I went to go see my buddy Greg Chait. I'm going to, I'm going to give him his last name too, whose dad was a huge Bruce fan. Took us to when I was like 12 years old to go see Bruce during the Lucky Town. Was it Lucky Town and Human Touch, the two albums. Am I getting one of them wrong? But he did those double records his dad brought us there. I think he was drink drinking the entire way to the Capitol center. And then he dropped us off and went like he was with this girl and he was like, so you guys got your own tickets. I'm up front. And then me and Greg, a 13 and like a 12 year old. Just got lost in the arena at the capitol center in D.C. and this is back during my stealing days. I saw a crack in one of the. In one of the merch windows and I pulled the. I pulled two shirts out, lost it. And then maybe two months ago, I refound it at a vintage store. Not the exact shirt, but literally the same. The exact shirt with the date on it and everything. So I felt this was apropos. I don't have any other Bruce clothes.
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Rob Lowe
Yeah, that's good swag, man. Really good swag. So.
- [08:57]
Josh Adam Myers
So I. I'm not gonna sit here and lie to you and say that I am this. Been this lifelong Bruce fan. I am a huge Bruce fan. But it's really developed more. That concert, though, was this. This huge, huge thing for me because I think it was actually the first concert I went to by myself. Well, not by myself, but, you know, sans my parents bringing me to Peter, Paul and Mary. So when did you get into Bruce?
- [09:25]
Rob Lowe
I got into Bruce when I went to see a concert film called no Nukes. And I went because I love Jackson Brown. And it was an. You know, it was in the days when we thought nuclear power plants were going to end the world.
- [09:41]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, the day after. Yeah.
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Rob Lowe
And everybody went. Everybody was at the concert. I had not heard. I hadn't even heard of Bruce. And in the movie they keep talking on, when's Bruce coming as Madison Square Garden? Bruce, Bruce, Bruce this, Bruce that. And then he comes out and he does Thunder Road and the river. And I sat in the theater, it was in the Cinerama Dome. And I. And I literally was like struck by a bolt of lightning when Bruce came on. And I remember exactly, it was Thunder Road. When he said the lyrics, you know, is a dream alive. It don't come true. Or is it something worse? And also, that's the river, actually. But anyway, those two songs were. Just blew me away. And I became a Bruce fan literally overnight. And then my first Bruce show was the 1981 the River Tour. And I've probably seen him 30 times plus all over the world. I just saw him two weeks ago in Milan.
- [10:54]
Josh Adam Myers
I saw my bunch of my friends went to that, which looked amazing, man. How was it just. It was incredible.
- [11:00]
Rob Lowe
It was great. And afterwards, Bruce said it was one of the best shows they've ever done. So for, you know, for Bruce to say that, you know, it was a.
- [11:09]
Josh Adam Myers
Good show also, are you. With your level of fame also, you probably get to go to the right side of the stage at some point and go, this is we're gonna take you down to meet Bruce, and you get to, like, just like, dude, it was great, and blah, blah, blah. And I mean, have you been able to develop, like, a relationship with the guy at this point? You've seen him that many times and you've been famous probably just as long as he's been famous?
- [11:29]
Rob Lowe
Well, it's funny. The way I first met Bruce was I went to Giant Stadium during the Born in the USA tour, and I had a. I had, at the time, the number one movie out that weekend called St. Elmo's Fire. Or no, no, before St. Elmo's Fire. But I had a big movie out, and everybody in the stadium was calling out to me, and it was causing kind of a commotion.
- [11:53]
Josh Adam Myers
Sure.
- [11:54]
Rob Lowe
They brought me backstage, like, went alone, and I just got a ticket and went. And they. To help me get protected, I went backstage and met everybody then. And that's how I met Bruce. So, yeah, over the years, I've had a lot of. A lot of great conversations with him, usually pre or post show.
- [12:12]
Josh Adam Myers
Has he given you. I mean, this is, like, so jumping ahead of probably one of the questions I want to ask, but has he ever given you just, like, a Bruce line? Just like, in a conversation that you're like, oh, my God, like, it's a lyric right here, and he's explaining it about my career and what I need to do.
- [12:28]
Rob Lowe
Yeah, I mean, it's. Bruce was part of a very, very specific moment in my life, and that's why I'm a huge fan, is because his music has always spoken to me at every. You know, Bruce is. You know, he's cycling a generation ahead of me, so he's going through and writing about stuff that I'm about to enter in my own life always. I can remember when I was. My wife and I, she was pregnant with our first kid, and I was wondering what that was going to be like and going through all the stuff about it. And I remember I might have even said a little prayer about guidance and show me a sign and whatever, and went to lunch that day at the Sunset Marquee, which is where they always used to stay. And there's Bruce, the next table with his newborn and timing. No, it was unbelievable. And so there's my guy, my North Star, with his newborn. After I've been asking about guidance, and he had a great conversation with me about what it is to be a young father. And that's just one of the things that, over the years, Bruce has talked about. And now I'm 61. And Bruce is singing about mortality and what are. What we're meant to do with this part of our lives. And it's just as meaningful for me as when. When it was, you know, what it meant to be a. I'm not a boy, I'm a man. And then, you know, I'm okay now I'm a father. And he's just always been right there for so many of us.
- [14:05]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, my God. I've seen the, the. The love that the people that love Bruce.
- [14:11]
Rob Lowe
Yeah.
- [14:12]
Josh Adam Myers
Have for Bruce, whether it's my friend Greg. There's a producer for True TV, Maureen Taran. I think she's seen him 50 or 60 times. And, and even when like we. Because we've done on the podcast, this is usually Bruce is one of the people that has been like, fought over and fought over, you know, for when we're doing these records. We've done. We did the Rising, we did Tunnel of Love, which. Which really was, I hate to say it, besides Born to Run and Born in the usa. So Tunnel Love was my first real from start to finish. Listen. And I mean, what is it? I'm not. I want to. The title. What is it? Beautiful, beautiful disguise.
- [14:56]
Rob Lowe
Brilliant.
- [14:57]
Josh Adam Myers
Brilliant disguise. Thank you. That, I mean, there, there's. There's so many great songs on that. When I listen to the Rising and hearing the actual song, the Rising, I don't think there's ever been a more beautiful way to honor the people that died during 9 11. And I mean, listening to it, even with this record, it was like there were moments in it where I really started getting choked up because. Because of the lyrics that. I mean, it's, it's. He kind of early on, and we're going to go through his history just to catch people up that might not know. But early on, kind of got. Got called, which is basically the kiss of death, which is the new Dylan. And, and, you know, and he really, instead of like, I don't want to say fighting that, you know, really was able to separate himself. And I think the reason why so many people love this guy. And I know you're. You're from. If I'm not wrong, you're originally from Dayton, Ohio. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm not from a small, small town, but I'm from the suburbs of Washington, D.C. but, you know, he's really that hero for so many people that grew up with nothing. Worked his ass off in the bar scenes, you know, had an. You know, what we don't know as an abusive father, but you know, probably like mine probably wasn't the nicest guy in the world, you know, and, and, and literally like, you know, picked himself up from his bootstraps and just built this incredible career while still keeping the authenticity. And I think that is what it is when you're talking about going through those hard times when you have someone that. Because so many rock stars, I mean, it's hard to like look at like Robert Plant and be like, yeah, you know what I mean? I identify with everything when he' a kielbasa in his pants.
- [16:38]
Rob Lowe
Exactly.
- [16:39]
Josh Adam Myers
But it's, but there's something about, you know, even Dylan, where Dylan, you, you get it. But he's just so cool. And you're like, I don't know if I could have Dylan's.
- [16:47]
Rob Lowe
Dylan's super inaccessible.
- [16:49]
Josh Adam Myers
Yes, yes.
- [16:50]
Rob Lowe
And, and Bruce is nothing but accessible.
- [16:53]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [16:54]
Rob Lowe
And, and you know, when he did his one man show on Broadway and revealed that other side of himself that we didn't even know existed, which is the depression, the true manic depression that Bruce suffers with and has been very public about. And you. He's sharing like himself and, and, and, and people need that. People want it. In an era where there's less and less authenticity, particularly in music today, to have a singular voice that's honest is, is very, very rare.
- [17:32]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, totally. I don't, I really don't know. Like, is there someone that's taking the torch from Bruce? You think that that is. You know, it was like I asked that question. It's like, so this is where we were and like, where are we going? Like, who are the people picking it up? And you've seen insta. You see the people that like wear Bruce on their sleeve. Like the Killers. Like the Killers, they, they, I mean, love the Killers. You know, I, I don't think there's as much. I'm not gonna sit there and say they're as authentic as they are being themselves. But there is that thing where it's like, yeah, the lead singer of the Killers kind of grew up Mormon. I think he had money and he's kind of more of like in Las Vegas showman, where Bruce, you know all those. Dude, I was watching that old video from him during the Born to Run tour, like from 75 in London where he's wearing the big. Like that, like cool. Like, I mean, he literally looks like a barista in Brooklyn, but he's just murdering it. And it's like, you look at him, you're like, no, I know that guy. That guy works at an auto Shop like, he changed my oil. And now he's on stage rocking and rolling. I think there's not many people out there that are doing that well.
- [18:35]
Rob Lowe
Also they have the self awareness to. In tunnel of Love, just to write the lyric, you know, about how hard it is to be a rich man in poor man's clothes. Or even Bruce realizes, yeah, he was that. But meanwhile he's now flying around in private jets.
- [18:54]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [18:55]
Rob Lowe
And to be able to be that self aware that, you know, he may have been a man of the people, but now, you know, he's out on Geffen's yacht. He's owning it. You know what I mean? He has a way of owning the fact that his life is blessed and at the pinnacle of everything and with access to everything, yet he can still speak to people who will never come close to living that kind of a life.
- [19:26]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, dude, it's. It's one of the frustrating things that I love and I love about music I also hate, which is so many bands, it's like, of course they're going to be successful if they're good and you can't get mad at them. It's what they do with that success and still help people or bring awareness. Like one of my favorite bands, Rage against the Machine. And so many people are like, they're charging this much for a ticket. It's like, they're now the machine. And you're like, but they're still. They're giving away. They just gave away like $10 million, you know, for. From the five shows they did at Madison Square Garden, you know, to all these. To Amnesty International, to all these things. It's like, of course you're gonna become successful. We bought the record and we're just one of 20 million people. You think they're just gonna go, nah, it's not. Money's not for us. I didn't do this. I did this for the art. There's art, but there's also, yeah, dude, sometimes you want to have a nice steak dinner, you know?
- [20:17]
Rob Lowe
Well, and that's the thing that I learned about Bruce in his book and in the One man show. And frankly, I had a conversation with Patty once, his wife, Patty Scalfa, who said, you know, people forget is Bruce is the most ambitious person I've ever met. And he's a showman.
- [20:37]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [20:38]
Rob Lowe
He knows exactly what he's doing. One of the great bruises that I ever heard was when Patty originally was a background singer and tambourine player, and Bruce told her that he'd like her to Play guitar on the new tour and the Tunnel of Love tour. And she says, I don't know how to play. And he goes, well, you're going to practice every day, but you're going to practice in front of a mirror because 80% of it is posing. And I thought, I fucking love this man so much. I mean, what a. I mean, how, again, the self awareness to. To know that showmanship sure is just. And that's, I think, the. The part the Killers get. The Killers embrace the showmanship. They do as well. And then I'd say there's a band called Dawes.
- [21:31]
Josh Adam Myers
Yes.
- [21:31]
Rob Lowe
That I love. I love those guys.
- [21:33]
Josh Adam Myers
We've had Taylor on the podcast, too. He did, if I'm not mistaken. Raindogs, Tom Waits. So, yeah. So love Dawes.
- [21:41]
Rob Lowe
So the Dawes guys remind me a lot of Bruce in a way. They're a little more like. They sound a little bit like Jackson Brown's backup band, which is a high compliment with a dash of Springsteen. So, you know, I think the legacy is out there, but, you know, writ large. I feel like the line that Bruce founded and came from has kind of been discontinued. You know, it's like a car that you don't see on the road anymore.
- [22:13]
Josh Adam Myers
No. But, you know, every so often, music kind of turns itself over and you. You find something. It's just. It's kind of what's going on in the world. And I think with the story that I'm about to read to catch everybody up, you know, which feel free, by the way, to jump in at anything that I say, because it's just kind of like. Just to catch everybody up. I mean, don't forget, man, he's. He's coming in and getting started right after the Vietnam War. I think, at the beginning. He's probably starting during the Vietnam War, you know, because he gets signed in the early 70s. Oh, and by the way, I'm gonna say this now, just so you. You think I'm even cooler, is I got to jam with Jackson Brown and my friend Taylor, sorry, Tall Wilkenfeld at her house, and we did a couple songs. We did Helter Skelter and I sang. And then afterwards, Jackson came up to me and he was like, dude, you're a monster. So that's, you know, that's my little thing. You got your. You got your. Your. Your. Getting ready to have a kid talking to Bruce. I got Jackson Brown.
- [23:11]
Rob Lowe
Yeah.
- [23:11]
Josh Adam Myers
Nicest dude in the world, man. And because of this podcast doing, like, the Pretender, I mean, we did it.
- [23:19]
Rob Lowe
You know, John Landau, Bruce's longtime manager.
- [23:22]
Josh Adam Myers
Sure. The track the Pretender, and that episode that we did, which it's, it's. It means so much more to us and to the f. Did that episode with Bob Saget and dude, he got so, like, up because he loved that record and the emotions that it brought up. And a couple times we both got choked up. And then of course, with him passing, it's such a special moment that I got to be able to share with him. So, so great music, like I said, even this with Bruce and then with. With. Whether it's with Jackson or with Radiohead and the people that I've had on. This is just a gift. So. So just to catch everybody up. Let me, Let me, Let me see if I can skid doodle through this pretty quick. So we get signed in the early 70s. He gets the kiss of death being called the new Bob Dylan. He has greetings from Asbury park, by the way. He's cut his teeth as a bar band. But that's not an insult because he knows. And if you've ever. And I know you've seen a million bar bands. Were you ever in like a bar.
- [24:19]
Rob Lowe
Band or anything like that, Somehow I missed that. But, you know, it's never too late being.
- [24:25]
Josh Adam Myers
You should start now, dude. Start right now. When you're done with the floor, go right into that. Okay, but, but, but the thing is, and this is what makes sense is that you as a bar band, dude, you're literally disturbing these people's Good night. They do not give a. That you're there as a comic. I've done that a million times where it's just like, they didn't come here for comedy and I gotta try to get them. So what that does is just like you said, what he taught Patty is it taught him. It's like, dude, we've got to put on a show to get these people to pay attention. And so it's, it's.
- [24:58]
Rob Lowe
We're going to talk about Darkness on the Edge of Town. And one of my favorite lyrics as a young performer, young actor, doesn't matter what you do. He. In Racing in the Streets, he says, I want to blow them all out of their seats.
- [25:09]
Josh Adam Myers
Yes. And that's what you have to do.
- [25:11]
Rob Lowe
And, and, and when he sings that lyric in. In. Sorry. It's Racing in the streets. That's the song. When he sings that lyric, he. It always. You knew he meant it.
- [25:24]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, you could tell. You can see it from those early shows. He's a guy that really had People not wanting to pay attention, so he had to do everything. And I think it's with all the touring also, don't forget he's doing a lot of this in the, in Jersey area, in the Jersey shore. And dude, I was just there recently at Vinnie Brand's comedy club. They're not the easiest people to perform in front of. I mean, they, they're really changed over there a little bit.
- [25:48]
Rob Lowe
Yeah.
- [25:49]
Josh Adam Myers
But he drops his second record. Oh, by the way, he gets a big hit. Not by him, but he wrote Blinded by the Light, which is covered by Manford Man's Earth Band. Relentless touring. His second record comes out wild and it's in the East Street Shuffle. It does okay, but no radio hits. Basically the studio says it's make it or break it. We, you know, we love this record, but there's six minute songs here. There's nothing for the radio. You know, we, we, you know, he doesn't play them, they don't play them on the radio. But the word on the street is that this infectious live show exists. And now his name is out there, but the record company wants hits. And so then you get Born to Run, where he merges the Dylan with Phil Spector's wall of sound. And where as the first two are great, but there's thin production, you get this incredible sound that captures not only but also the, the musicality and, and the songwriting. I mean, the lyrics, everything about it. It's the most. It's the most. Thunder Road is the most Bruce of Bruce. It's everything you love about him. Cars struggle, the girls. Let's get out of here. The rallying cry of every man America. I mean, what a better line than you ain't a beauty but hey, you're.
- [27:04]
Rob Lowe
All right Roll down the window Let the wind blow back your hair the night's busting open these two lanes will take us anywhere. I mean, yeah, if you don't like Thunder Road, you don't like Bruce, you don't like music.
- [27:16]
Josh Adam Myers
Dude. You're like Thunder Road, dude. Something's wrong with you. But this is his time to shine. And like we said, the live show's killing it. But now he's got the hits to match. And on the record Born to Run, he's still playing all the guitars. He doesn't have the fully street band. He's got Clarence. But we think the east reband only comes along for the Born To Run tour, so they're starting to join in later. This is huge. This record's, you know, everywhere. He's Touring non stop. Bruce is a sexy blue collar monster on stage. But then. And this is where it starts getting finicky. His manager, Mike Appel, wants him to do a live album, but Bruce wants to. Bruce starts realizing he doesn't like the contract that he has with the manager that he signed a bad deal. Plus, people, this is where it gets weird too. People are now critiquing his authenticity because they think his lyrics aren't as dense and maybe he isn't the new Dylan. They. They think the popularity of Born to Run might just be hype and, you know, or it's like he's been blowing smoke or something.
- [28:20]
Rob Lowe
Well, he was on the. He was on the COVID of Time.
- [28:23]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [28:23]
Rob Lowe
And Newsweek on the same week.
- [28:26]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [28:28]
Rob Lowe
And you know, people don't like having stuff jammed down their throat.
- [28:35]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [28:36]
Rob Lowe
And. And that, in retrospect, was. Was maybe the worst thing that ever happened to Bruce in terms of the perception because was easy if you weren't paying attention to think it was a hype machine as opposed to being driven by talent.
- [28:51]
Josh Adam Myers
Sure. But they, you know, they have those first two records where you feel really showcase how great he is and, and the energy and everything. And now Born To Run is just a more polished version of that. But like you said, he's, you know, even Nirvana, Pearl Jam, I had friends that were like, they suck, man. You know, it's like, dude. But they're. They're the most. They're some of the coolest music out there right now. They're super popular, but they were on Time. And it's like once you get on a. On Time magazine, it's almost the kiss of death for like being a cool rock star. But with the, but with the. The live records, you have Frampton and Kiss alive that both come out. They became huge. So the management is hoping that if you play those songs from the first two records, put on a live record, then maybe we'll buy. People will buy those earlier records. Then with Born to Run, he's John Landau, who co produces it. He wants to bring him back. He goes back, looks at his contract and realize it isn't fair he gets into a legal battle in 76.
- [29:47]
Rob Lowe
Well, we have to. We have to quickly introduce John Landau. So John Lando was a preeminent music critic when, when. When critics really meant something. And he saw Bruce in a club in New York City and published his critical review, I think in the Village Voice. And it remains to this day the single greatest, most famous opening line of any review ever. And John wrote I've seen the future of rock and roll, and its name is Bruce Springsteen.
- [30:17]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, I knew of that, but I didn't know that he wrote that line. Dude, that's so badass. Those are the pressure that's on this guy, though, too. It's like when you're getting all the people, the new Dylan, the future of music. I mean, it's. It's got it, I think. Well, basically, I think that's what happens and gets us to this record.
- [30:36]
Rob Lowe
Well, look at how many people. Look at how many people have the sophomore slump. Sure, I don't want to name names, but there are so many great albums out there. And then you realize that was all they had in them. That was it. It was a whole lifetime of bar banding and gigging and writing. And, you know, they've got a catalog, and they put. So they put their 12 greatest songs on an album, and that's it. And we're sitting here doing this podcast today. I'm in my car, riding in here, listening to seven unreleased albums. Seven that Bruce just put out.
- [31:13]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [31:16]
Rob Lowe
It'S amazing.
- [31:16]
Josh Adam Myers
How bad do you want to hear the Nebraska with the band? Would it ruin it for you?
- [31:22]
Rob Lowe
No, I cannot wait.
- [31:24]
Josh Adam Myers
You think he's going to release it?
- [31:26]
Rob Lowe
I hope so. I think he will, because the band version of Atlantic City has become a focal point of every concert when he plays it. And I'm told that in the new Springsteen movie, which is about the making of Nebraska, that one of the high points is the band version of Atlantic City.
- [31:47]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. That trailer looks incredible, dude. It gives you chills.
- [31:51]
Rob Lowe
Can't wait.
- [31:51]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, it really gives you chills. It looks like they're going to be doing it right. Perfect director, I think. Perfect casting. The guy playing John Landau, he's. He's. He's got it dialed in within. And then I saw John.
- [32:05]
Rob Lowe
I saw John at the concert, and I took him aside, said, johnny, you ready to be famous?
- [32:10]
Josh Adam Myers
What do you mean?
- [32:11]
Rob Lowe
I said, you're. I mean, look, everybody in Bruce world, you're. You're Obi Wan Kenobi, but you're about to be famous to the world.
- [32:20]
Josh Adam Myers
That's so awesome. But that's what. That's what makes this so special, because he, you know, he's dealing with John. He wants to get back to working with John, but he's got to finish this legal battle with his management. He settles in 77, pays a lump sum. Yeah, it takes two years, but. But basically nothing. He's.
- [32:39]
Rob Lowe
He's barred from Recording.
- [32:42]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, I didn't know that. He's barred.
- [32:44]
Rob Lowe
So he toured, he toured relentlessly, but he was physically barred from recording until this legal battle was done. So as the legal battle finishes, he can finally get back into the studio. And in the studio, he makes Darkness on the Edge of Town, which is, is.
- [33:06]
Josh Adam Myers
Is. So how Bruce has changed. It is not the optimism. It is not the young man looking to get laid. This is a guy that has been through. This is an album, you know, finally with the E Street Band. He came in there with about 70 songs, supposedly up to about 70 songs. He had the titles before some of the lyrics. He wanted to call it Badlands, but then found out somebody else had named it Badlands. He's writing this record with a chip on his shoulder and it reflects exactly what he's gone through. And I think, you know, with what we do with this podcast, you know, Rob, it's like, before we dive in, I just want to put it out there. Like, we both know this record, Darkness on the Edge of Town. It is heavy on themes of struggle, hardship, and perseverance. Well, I'm gonna do my best to keep this light hearted, but it's like. Because I know you've got such great comedic chops, but it's like if it gets into anything deeper, don't worry, I will pull us out with something fun.
- [34:08]
Rob Lowe
Don't. Don't you worry. I live for this. When I. When I do E Street Radio and I get to pick my set list, which I've done twice, and talk about the songs, it's some of my favorite things I've ever done in publicity. And I would say three or four times a month, somebody will come up to me at a Starbucks or somewhere and say, your set list is sick. So this is. This is in my wheelhouse. I'm psyched to do it.
- [34:37]
Josh Adam Myers
Is this. What is this? If you have to put this in your. I don't know if I'm asking this too early. I maybe ask it at the end about. If you. This is one of your. Is this like, where does. Where does Darkness on the Edge of Town end up in your favorite Bruce records?
- [34:52]
Rob Lowe
So it's Is certainly one of my favorites, if not possibly the. And the reason is it's got. Without Darkness, Bruce has no concert. Every concert you go to will have most of Darkness on the Edge of Town played live. Whether it's, you know, I. And I have my. Let me go to my notes here. I mean, you know, it's got promised land. Prove it all night Badlands just. That's three songs right there that are in every show. I think it's his best album in terms of writing both moody emotional stuff and then anthems, stadium anthems. Because really Born to. On the first two albums, there are no anthems. And on Born to Run, there is Born to Run and I guess Jungle Land. But this is where he finds his concert voice. The other thing I love about this album is my favorite version of Bruce. And Bruce, we all grow up and we get mellow and Bruce is now kind of America's happy grandpa. But I liked Seething, rageful Bruce.
- [36:27]
Josh Adam Myers
It's so not you, though. That's so. Everything I know about you. Is that not you? Is that why you love it so much? You get to take out all your. On this?
- [36:35]
Rob Lowe
No, it's. It's true. I mean, when you would see. You don't. You'll see it every once in a while when he's in the right mood today. But for the most part, between therapy, age, perspective and meds, rageful, seething Bruce is dead. And it is alive and well in darkness at the edge of town.
- [37:03]
Josh Adam Myers
Sure. This is. There's. I don't think there's any record of his, you know, that is up into this point especially, there's nothing this dark. And I don't think after this, you know, I. You felt this. You felt certain sadness and tunnel of love because he was going through the divorce. And I think in the Rising, it's really the hurt of the city.
- [37:22]
Rob Lowe
Yeah.
- [37:23]
Josh Adam Myers
And the ghost of Tom Joad. I mean, there's. There's some real, you know, he's singing about, you know, the Everyman and. And very Arlo Guthrie type stuff. But. But this is. Like I said, this is. This is not the brute, the bar band Bruce. This is an angry dude that's been through and I think it kind of trails into a little bit with the next record, you know, because it's not. It's not the same. But it's definitely still not Born to Run. I mean, it's got. What is it got Hungry Hard on that.
- [37:52]
Rob Lowe
On the River. The river, yeah, the river is. Is a very like. And I don't mean it in a bad way, kind of unfocused. It's got bar band, Sherry Darling, but it's got the river on it, which is maybe my all time favorite Bruce song. It's kind of all over the place. But this, this one is. This one has no Sherry Darlings on it. This has no Mary's Place on it. This Is this is a super gnarly Bruce album.
- [38:24]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. And it starts with the opening track with the title taken from the 73 Malik film.
- [38:30]
Rob Lowe
Oh, wait, how about this? This is what I just learned. I just learned this week. Bruce. And this is Scott Cooper told me this, who directed the Bruce movie.
- [38:39]
Josh Adam Myers
Exclusive.
- [38:41]
Rob Lowe
Bruce, when he wrote Badlands, had never seen the movie Badlands.
- [38:47]
Josh Adam Myers
Really? He just liked the title or he just saw the vibe of it, and.
- [38:51]
Rob Lowe
I always assumed he had. When he did see Badlands, it rocked his world and he became obsessed with the story of Badlands, which is the story of the character that later he inhabited in Nebraska. So Badlands made him right in Nebraska, notwithstanding the fact that he'd written the song Badlands years and years and years and years before.
- [39:20]
Josh Adam Myers
That's crazy, because it almost feels like this song could be written to fit the movie. Almost. That's right. But yes, if you haven't seen the Terrence Malick film from 73, with melodic inspiration from Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by the Animals and some lyrics lifted from King of the Whole Wide World by Elvis Presley from his movie Kid Galahad, the second single is still a powerhouse that's in most live sets. I mean, I know this is. I don't think he wrote this lyric, but, you know, poor man want to be rich Rich man want to be king and a king ain't satisfied till he rules everything I. I just. It's like. Just gives you chills listening to this song. It sounds more upbeat than lyrically what it is, and I think that's what I kind of love about it.
- [40:06]
Rob Lowe
It's the first song I ever heard Bruce play live. It is. Badlands remains one of my favorite songs ever to see Bruce play Badlands, as good as it gets live. I mean, the other thing I'll say about Darkness is Bruce was still figuring out the production, and it very famously. If you've ever seen any of the many documentaries about Bruce in the studio, there's the very famous story about how he could never get the drum sound right and spent months and months and months, literally months, trying to get the drums to be bigger and bigger and bigger, until he realized that, sonically, there's only so much you can do. And I'm not a engineer, so I don't really know what the intricacies of it are. But the remaster of Darkness, which came out about 10 years ago, is remasters for the most part. For me, I can't really tell the difference. The remastered Darkness is a revelation because they got those drum sounds to sound the way they finally wanted. Because I don't love the production on Darkness. I love, love, love the songs, but every single song on the album is exponentially better live. Sure, when I listen to Darkness, I'm reliving those songs live, but they don't exist live unless they're on the album in the first place.
- [41:37]
Josh Adam Myers
Do you think? Not to. Not to. Not to, you know, disagree with what you're saying, but. Because if you don't like it, you don't like it. Do you think that. I think he probably made that choice because he didn't want it to sound like Born to Run. He wanted this to be a singular record. So I know you like the live versions more, but it's. It's the grittiness of the record. I think that that leaves it. And then, and then on top of that, for them to have the remaster and re release. Do you like that? You like that version better or.
- [42:02]
Rob Lowe
Oh, the rear. The remastered re release, I love.
- [42:05]
Josh Adam Myers
Okay, good. I love it.
- [42:06]
Rob Lowe
I love it. It's in. It's purely. Bruce never got the sound he wanted. He talks about it all the time.
- [42:12]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [42:13]
Rob Lowe
And with technology and, and learning, you know, whatever, five, 10, 15 years ago, he was able to remastered. He finally got the sound he wanted. You should hear Max's opening drum fill remastered on Badlands. It's sick.
- [42:28]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh God, I missed him. I was in Europe when he was coming around here, so I will catch him soon. Maybe, maybe next time I get the invite to Milan Rob, you know, I got miles on Delta dude, and there's a hub there. I think so. All right, so if Born to runs opening track, Thunder Road Rage. With blue collar optimism in the face of adversity, Badlands acknowledges the warning of things not being as great as they might have seemed. Even though it has a bleakness to it, Bruce still imbues it with a defiant hope that is typified or typified by his list of beliefs in love, faith and hope in the lady by his side. And as he says, it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive. I wanted to ask you, talking about inspiration, like, what was your inspiration to get into acting. Like, how. How did that, that start? Where did that nugget of a fire come from?
- [43:21]
Rob Lowe
Well, that's. You've hit on exactly why as a young man, I fell in love with Bruce because I think all young men feel like they want to have something to prove and they all want to be seen and, you know, I want to find One face that ain't looking through me I want to find my place I want to spit in the face of these Badlands. I mean, if you're not a young ambitious male and you don't relate to that, then I don't know what to tell you. So that he. Again, he was writing for exactly where I was at that place in my life. And just specifically about Badlands, the song, the guitar solo that Bruce plays. Bruce is a really underrated guitarist. People won't talk about Bruce guitarist a lot, and he's very. He reminds me a lot of Neil Young. He's not a technical virtuoso, but he's got such emotion and feel. And Bruce's guitar solo in Badlands that melds into. For sure. Clarence Clemens, one of his best sax solos, is just my favorite. My favorite thing about that song and.
- [44:42]
Josh Adam Myers
What'S so cool is like. Like I mentioned earlier is he played guitars on all of the first three records. So, yeah, he. He definitely has a sound. And I love that you mentioned the Neil Young sound too, because I hear that especially on stuff like Lookout Joe. It's a very similar. But also, I think, you know, he's probably very influenced by. By Neil Young. I mean, he's the way the killer is dug on Spruce. I could see Bruce digging on. On Neil and. And like we said, like the. The Animals and the. Yes, the Box Tops. Just Alex Chilton, so many. All right, let's dig. Let's dig into a heavier track. Adam Ray's, Kane Bruce's.
- [45:23]
Rob Lowe
That's the one that really. That's what really. That. To me, Adam raised a cane. The. The guitar solo on that is a Neil Young guitar solo. I mean, Neil Young will sometimes play one note as the solo unapologetically. And if you listen to Bruce's solo on Adam Razor Cane, it's. It's an actual Neil Young solo. And the lyrics, the themes in Adam Razocane are the wellspring of all of the themes that Bruce would write about for the ensuing 20 years. It's.
- [46:05]
Josh Adam Myers
It's.
- [46:06]
Rob Lowe
It's an amazing. Angry. Angry in his vocal is just. Next level.
- [46:13]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, I. I did a little bit of research and I. And you could see it kind of in the trailer for the movie of the relationship he had with his dad. You know, and his dad wasn't the main breadwinner. Had a lot of emotional problems. Problems. Douglas comes to a passionate head. His relationship with his father on this biblical barn burner. We now know that Douglas, often unemployed, alcoholic, also diagnosed later with Paranoid schizophrenic and all of that definitely did a number on Bruce. But by the time this came out, Bruce had already had huge success. It was essentially a superstar. So it wasn't like he needed to prove anything to his father not to strike too close to home. But his family left Jersey and moved to California when Bruce was a teenager. But Bruce stayed back in his town of Freehold. This song is, is, is very, it's. I'm not gonna sit here and say it's hard for me to listen to, but it's like even reading that sentence of how lucky Bruce was knowing that, you know, his father had all these problems and his father got to see the success. Me, on the other hand, you know, my dad died in 2010 before I had all of my success. And even if he just would have seen the beginning of it, like me just building a friendship and performing at Garrett Morris's comedy club in downtown la, my dad would have lost his, you know, so, so, you know, familial relationships are often fraud anyway, but every man is in a, is in somehow a reflection or a reaction to the relationship to their father. Often different versions of that throughout their lives. And you have been very open about when your parents relationship ended when you were young, you, I saw that your dad had left the family. You also ended up in California with your mom and brother as a result of that, clearly you've had a decade long of successful marriage and you've become a great dad. I mean, I think you're probably one of the better dads in Hollywood with everything that you've done with your sons because you hang out, you work with them. You know, my writer Morty, he has a 14 year old that he hopes to live long enough to be a cool dad again. So you turned out well. Did you get an opportunity to express things to your dad or.
- [48:25]
Rob Lowe
Yeah, I'm still my dad, God bless him, still alive. He's 85 years old, you know, and, and you know, as a dad should be my, my biggest fan, you know, I, I once asked Bruce, of all the songs he wrote about his dad, was there anyone in particular that his dad liked? And Bruce said he liked all of them. Bruce's dad's favorite songs were the songs about him.
- [48:56]
Josh Adam Myers
I love that.
- [48:58]
Rob Lowe
They're all kind of gnarly. That's what's amazing. It was like, dad, thank you so much.
- [49:02]
Josh Adam Myers
You made me the man I am.
- [49:04]
Rob Lowe
I never heard that Bruce song.
- [49:06]
Josh Adam Myers
Do you, do you, do you. Because my dad, I always can, you know, when I get, get. I don't get mad, but if I ever, you know, think about, like, you know, where my dad was in certain situations, I realized my dad, his father passed away when he was very young, so he was basically learning how to be a father on his own. You know what? You know what, what did you. I'm gonna say learn or have you done differently that you've been able to apply, you know, in your experience being a dad?
- [49:33]
Rob Lowe
It's just the, the what you said. It's the. There comes a moment where you have an epiphany if you have your own kids where you go, oh, they were just making it up as they went along.
- [49:45]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [49:46]
Rob Lowe
Just like I am right now.
- [49:49]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [49:49]
Rob Lowe
And you do the, you do the best with the tools that you're given.
- [49:54]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. 100. Anything you want to add to Adam Razor Cane? Before we moved on to Something in the Night, I know you got your own nose.
- [50:02]
Rob Lowe
No, because Something in the Night is.
- [50:04]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. Dig into it.
- [50:05]
Rob Lowe
Is the. For me, the great forgotten Springsteen track.
- [50:10]
Josh Adam Myers
Thank you.
- [50:12]
Rob Lowe
Thank you. One of my favorites. I love this song, Something in the Night, so much. And as I was prepping to come in and talk to you, I was trying to find a way to articulate why I, I think it's that great thing that people talk about. Feel. The feel is great. I, I love the, the. And by the way, this one, I do think the production is spectacular.
- [50:40]
Josh Adam Myers
Yes. It really. It's such an underrated song, even the build up, but, you know, but giving it time for the piano to breathe eases us into the bathtub. And then. And then it just. And then the lyrics and then the chorus. Everything about this, it says, does he play this live still, or, or is.
- [50:59]
Rob Lowe
This like he, he very rarely plays it live. I've seen him 30 times. I've seen him do it once.
- [51:06]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [51:07]
Rob Lowe
And it, it's, it, I, I don't know. It's the melancholy, the yearning. It, it feels like a companion piece to. As does Racing in the Streets to my. One of my favorite Bruce songs. The Promise. It. It. This is the performance. The vocal is amazing in Max Weinberg's drumming. Simple and so dramatic. I, I, this is a. I think this song's a masterpiece.
- [51:46]
Josh Adam Myers
I do too. I love that you. Because when I was working with my writer Morty, he was like, I just skip over this one. I'm like, what are you talking about? This is my belief. This bike. It's. I think this is low key. One of the best songs on the record. And I love that You. I love that you said the feel, because out of everything, there's a. There is a vibe to this song that really creates the idea that there is something in the night. And that brings me to the question I want to ask you about the feel of what it was like being in something very early on in your career, like the Outsiders. Because essentially all of young Hollywood auditioned for these few roles, these like five or six roles, mostly men that all went on to have huge careers. And we know the story, we know the folklore, but when you were making the movie, how much did you guys feel that what you were working on was going to be this big thing? Because, I mean, it's every single one of you. I was. My choice was between the Bruce shirt or the Patrick Swayze shirt that I got at a vintage store in Atlanta. I chose Bruce. I went with Bruce.
- [52:51]
Rob Lowe
Well, I. We knew we were. Because we were working with Francis Ford Coppola, you know, who done Godfather 1, Godfather, Apocalypse now, which was a seminal moment for me. We knew we were. We absolutely knew we were making something incredibly special. But. But never had the first inkling that it would be the launch pad that it was for all of us. A quick story, Bruce related was the river was out at the time, and we were all Springsteen fans. And we once, Francis Coppola used to like to have us improv as our characters. And so we would go to the house. Where are the three brothers, the Curtis brothers, me, Patrick Swayze, and C. Thomas Howell lived. And he would want us to live in the house, and he would just sit there and watch us for hours. So, like, it's one thing to do an improv. It's of a scene. It's another thing to do an improv for half an hour. It's another thing to fucking sit there and have to improv for, I'm not kidding, hours. He wanted us to do this. And finally we would inevitably run out of things to improv and Swayze would get his guitar and we would end up singing Bruce, no. And whenever we ended up. And so we would sing. I think I remember singing price you pay from the river. And. But when. When Patrick would bring out the guitar and we would start singing Bruce, that was when Francis would say, we're done for the day. And we could all go out and start drinking and chasing girls.
- [54:43]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, my God. I mean, just. Just the collection of, like, the people that are in that film. I mean, it's. It's just did. I mean, the energy just must have been so much fun. Just a Bunch of young guys just super excited. A lot of them getting their first chances. But by the way, I gotta say, they're all Bruce fans. You tell me, Ralph. Is Ralph Macchio a big Bruce fan too? No. Really? Karate Kid.
- [55:08]
Rob Lowe
The biggest. He's the biggest Bruce. In fact, I had him on my podcast literally for the second time just two weeks ago. And I think we talked about Bruce for half the podcast.
- [55:21]
Josh Adam Myers
I love that and I love. I love them. Like, you know, so many have had so many different careers. You've always just had one steady career. But someone like Ralph, who was such a big part of so many of us, Us to have this resurgence again, coming out with arguably the most popular show on Netflix amongst adults my age in their 40s and then young kids. I mean, it. It really is a beautiful thing about. Just like, as long as you never quit, man, you. You're gonna be fine. It's just stay the course.
- [55:49]
Rob Lowe
I always say. Once a star, always a threat.
- [55:56]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. How many times did you go out for auditions with those guys and you're like, it got Swayze's here again. But I've got. I love him as my buddy, but I'm still getting this. I mean, yeah, we.
- [56:04]
Rob Lowe
Those were the days we would. We. And. And you know, my son John Owen is a young actor and it's in. So I get to relive my life through him as one does kid. And, you know, it's the same thing. He's got his. He's like that Austin Butler or whatever. We all have our. Our peers. Right. That we're always like. I was like, ah, that God damn Kevin Baker. That's Sean Penny, you know, and there's. There's room enough for everybody.
- [56:31]
Josh Adam Myers
There is. There is everybody. You guys have all done good. You're killing it, dude. Don't forget, guys, new season of the Floor comes out September, isn't that right?
- [56:38]
Rob Lowe
Yep. New season of Florida. It's the most addictive game ever. If. If you watch, you're gonna end up having to watch every week and play along with your family. I'm just. It's one of the few shows out there that is just. The game is so fucking fun and addicting.
- [56:54]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [56:55]
Rob Lowe
That you can play it along with a 10 year old and you're both equally competitive. It's. It's rare to have something that. That brings families together because I mostly. Now everybody's watching different things on their Netflix queue.
- [57:12]
Josh Adam Myers
Sure.
- [57:12]
Rob Lowe
And very few people of different ages are sharing the same content. And the Floor is one of the few that, that people are sharing and I love that.
- [57:21]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. I mean, I. Me and my girlfriend, we had to stop watching game shows together. Cause we got into a fight over Jeopardy once and that was it. So we, we don't really. We're barely, we're barely hanging on as we speak, so.
- [57:32]
Rob Lowe
Understood.
- [57:33]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. But I'll watch it solo and she's not here. All right. Speaking of women and speaking of rooms. Candy's room.
- [57:40]
Rob Lowe
Yeah.
- [57:41]
Josh Adam Myers
This is likely about Bruce's relationship with Karen Bahari, an artist who. Who also had friendships and relationships with other stars of that era. Yeah. Thoughts on this? Like, you know, because this is, like, this is. We thought this might be about a prostitute or, you know, do you know any of the details? Because we're, we're a little in the, in the fog about this.
- [58:05]
Rob Lowe
I. It's funny. I don't. And I've always wondered because it, it very clearly is about a girl with sugar daddies. I mean, it couldn't be more clear.
- [58:17]
Josh Adam Myers
And.
- [58:20]
Rob Lowe
I, I know. Here's what I know about Candy's Room. It's Max Weinberg's favorite Bruce song to play. I know. That makes sense. The drumming is amazing. It was originally called the Fast Song without a Title. And I. For me, see, we're talking about albums. What I love about the. About talking about albums is that albums are meant to be consumed in the order with which they're presented. That experience is kind of gone today because we just buy songs individually and very few people even put out albums with the intention that the audience is forced to listen to it in the order that you choose to present it. And what I think Candy's Room's strongest thing is is that it is the palate cleanser from something in the night into the all time classic Racing in the street. You could never go from one to the other. But. And I don't mean to sound like I'm diminishing Candy's room, but for me it's there to cleanse my palate, to really enjoy what comes right after it.
- [59:41]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. This is also sort of like a beat poetry where the piano seems to be playing what was likely the original melody. But Bruce doesn't even sing it too. You know that. Yeah. Just tinking along and he doesn't. He's. He's following, but not as much. And, and, and I think like you, you talked about, you know, we don't listen to music the way that we did. This is definitely. This is still during the Four Corner album where you have a beginning of side one. And an ending of side one and then the beginning of side two and the ending of side two, which are basically the bookends of what the album is.
- [60:18]
Rob Lowe
That's right.
- [60:18]
Josh Adam Myers
And I don't know if you know, and I don't see if it's on here. Maybe it's on the Wikipedia, but I don't know if this is the song that would be ending side.
- [60:27]
Rob Lowe
No, it's. I will tell you exactly. No racing in the street and inside one. Yes.
- [60:35]
Josh Adam Myers
Okay, cool. So, yeah, so that makes even more sense then. So this is, this is a nice way. This is the ginger during sushi. It's like, all right, let me just. Let me have the sorbet before you bring out another piece of meal in this French restaurant. Now.
- [60:49]
Rob Lowe
I. I think that Bruce. Bruce's arguably our greatest American singer, songwriter, rock star. But when he's at his best, for me are his mid tempo songs. Because he can write mid tempo ballads and he can write mid tempo anthems. And you have two of the best he's ever written. Something in the Night and Racing in the Street. And in between it, you have what they called the fast song. And I think they called it the fast song for a reason. Because at some point you gotta have the fast song in there. And that's what Candy's room is.
- [61:28]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, I think, I think this is. This is one of the highlights on the record, in my opinion. And I think it's because I love the way that it goes in between these two. And there's some kind of a beauty of that inspires these songs and more. And I want to focus on that word beauty because we have had. And there's no way around this next statement, but we have also had on this podcast, we've had John Stamos, John Taylor from Duran Duran and Neil DeGrasse Tyson, some of the most gorgeous men in the history of the world. All of them have had great careers, but very good looking and of course have matured professionally. We already know that anybody in that era and still to this day, you know that, you know, through teen magazines and the posters on the wall, like how aware of it all that that was going on were you at the time?
- [62:21]
Rob Lowe
Geez, first of all, John Taylor I was super aware of because every girl that I wanted to date love. And you talk about, when you talk.
- [62:30]
Josh Adam Myers
About postering, I just wanted to see Duran Duran. I didn't think anybody could be that sexy playing bass in a pirate costume on Halloween. He is the man.
- [62:39]
Rob Lowe
He's the man. I love me Some John Taylor, you know, he was one of the few people that when he stole my hairstyle, I was okay with.
- [62:54]
Josh Adam Myers
But you guys, all, you guys were all rocking the do, man. That was the do at the time. And also it's like, it's you and John Taylor. I mean, you kind of, do you ever run into him, be like, yeah.
- [63:03]
Rob Lowe
And he's like, oh, yeah, no, for sure. We, yeah, we definitely have crossed paths over the day. I, I, he's a, he's a great dude. He still looks great. Duran Duran, they're still killing it. He's, he's, he's, he's a credit to us all.
- [63:17]
Josh Adam Myers
Do you ever feel like it worked against you? Because in, you know, in your career especially, you know, with a lot of the comedies, like you're, you're, you know, almost having such good looks has like, almost helped you in something like Tommy Boy and in Wayne's World, I mean, where you can get to play, you know, the good looking guy, but also, you know, have that evil arc, you know, too. It's like, how did you, how did you, like, how did you deal with it? And did it ever work against you in certain situations like booking certain roles or whatever? Hey everybody. So you guys have probably heard me talk about how I've been in bands my whole life. I love writing songs and performing in front of crowds. Just like with comedy, as a musician, it can be kind of hard to cut through the noise and really stand out as an artist. I feel like half the music projects I've been in have ended just because we couldn't figure out the answer to that eternal question of how do we get people to hear us? But then again, that that was before there was Distrokid. Distrokid is a digital music distribution service that brings your sound to the masses. It's a one stop shop for getting your songs on itunes, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal, and many more. What's these? I never even heard of Deezer. How many of them are there? I know all that. That's like the holy grail of streaming services though, and, and getting paid. They want to, we want to get you paid for your music. That's huge because a lot of bands go broke before they get big. But Distrokid collects earnings and payments and sends 100% of these earnings to artists, minus banking fees and applicable taxes. And that's just one of the tons of benefits of using Distrokid. You can send big files to anyone with their instant share feature. You can use the Hyper Follow feature to promote your release and get pre saves on your your song. You can even create personal landing pages for yourself, your band, your brand and whatever you like. It has a free Spotify Canvas generator too to generate your own Spotify Canvas for your songs. And the Mixia feature instantly masters your tracks for higher quality audio. So if you're ready to bring your band to the next level, it's time to check out Distrokid Kid. The Distrokid app is now available on iOS and Android. Go to the app or Play Store to download it. Listeners of this show can get 30 off their first year by going to distrokid.com VIP the 500 that's distrokid.com VIP the500 for 30 off your first e dig it. This episode is brought to you by State Farm.
- [66:00]
Rob Lowe
Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want, like that dream house or ride, is a great feeling.
- [66:06]
Josh Adam Myers
That's why the State Farm personal price plan can help you save when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling.
- [66:11]
Rob Lowe
Just another way to save with a personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state.
- [66:17]
Josh Adam Myers
Coverage options are selected by the customer.
- [66:19]
Rob Lowe
Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. You know, when I, when I was a kid, you know, it was, it helped me initially because, you know, it, you know, the teen idol thing was a way in the door, right?
- [66:38]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [66:39]
Rob Lowe
And then you have to prove yourself. I mean, it's not unlike Bruce in that you always have to overcome something. And for me it was can I do something more than, than that. And so it took me maturing into the roles that weren't predicated on, on any physical appearance, you know, sort of whatsoever. I can remember early on, people going, well, I've never seen a policeman who looked like that, so he can't play a police.
- [67:13]
Josh Adam Myers
Well.
- [67:13]
Rob Lowe
I never saw a sentence that look like that. So you can't play this. And you know, so finally, you know, with a little bit of mileage on me, you know, like actual human beings.
- [67:26]
Josh Adam Myers
Finally. Right? That's so funny. Dude. I. Dude, it's, you've, you've killed every role you've been in. It doesn't make a difference what you're playing. I'm a huge fan. And, and like I said, good looking or not, dude, if you had four eyes, I wouldn't give a. Dude, you ruled it, so don't even trip. All right, all right, let's move on to your. To, to, to the Song, the one and the only, Racing in the Street. Thoughts on it. I know you have your, Your thoughts here, by the way. What I love about you, Rob, is that every question I've asked you, you've been like, well, this is. This, this is my opinion. But then with Bruce and you, you can spin it right back to Bruce so quickly, dude, I could.
- [68:05]
Rob Lowe
Look, the only thing that I like to talk about more than myself is probably Bruce. So this is the perfect interview. This is the perfect good favorite people, myself and Bruce.
- [68:16]
Josh Adam Myers
All right, take me, Take me to your thoughts through Racing in the street because, I mean, this is. This is, this is the song, dude. This is one of the. I think one of the iconic songs. This ends, like you said, the. The side one of the. Of the record. It's a. It's a. It's a stamp on the seal of what. What he's laying out to the public. So your thoughts?
- [68:38]
Rob Lowe
It's just a masterpiece. It showcases every element not only of. Of Bruce, but of the E Street Band. Roy Bitton's piano, Danny Federici's organ. It's so cinematic.
- [68:53]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, it is. It really is.
- [68:55]
Rob Lowe
It feels like you're watching a movie again when he says, you know, I want to blow them all out of their seats. That kind of burning ambition to be seen to fucking compete, to win, to achieve. As a young actor auditioning and trying to fight his way into a really tough business, you know, it really, really, really spoke to me, and it still does. Again, in a reoccurring theme about this album is the live version of it with the extended piano solos and piano intros are just spectacular. And I've heard Bruce dedicate this song. I think. I think that one of my. One of really emotional one is the day John Lennon was shot, I think they were playing in. In Arizona, if I'm not mistaken. And they played this song and there's this amazing video of Danny playing that amazing organ with the tears hitting the organ keys. It's always been in a. A highly emotional song and what an amazing way to end side one.
- [70:22]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, there's also the callback. But. But I want to. I want to mention on what you said, though, because that really. That really got me about being a young actor and talking. The idea of racing in the streets is because, you know, you moved to Malibu, if I'm not mistaken, right? And. And you know, you're running in these streets with like, Emilio and Charlie and Sean and Chris and whoever else, like, like, what were those teenage pre fame days like before you all made it. Like, was there something about Malibu that created stars? Because that group is just, I mean, monumental.
- [70:59]
Rob Lowe
I think it's a little bit like the. The Laurel Canyon sound. Yeah, it's like. It really is the same thing. You know, there was a moment in Laurel Canyon where it was, you know, the Mamas and the Papas and the Monkeys and Jackson Brown and the Eagles and Crosby, Stills and Nash and Joni Mitchell, and it was like, what the fuck? They all are in Laurel Canyon in 1968 making that music. And Malibu was, you know, similar in that all of these young actors, we all were there at that time and became a part of young. Young cinema movement. That really didn't exist before that.
- [71:42]
Josh Adam Myers
No, it didn't.
- [71:44]
Rob Lowe
And. And I don't know. I think, you know, if you go back and look at history, probably there's, you know, there's.
- [71:50]
Josh Adam Myers
There.
- [71:50]
Rob Lowe
There are. Well, sure, there are. There's the. There's. There's the British Invasion. They all came from Britain. And there's just times and places where the mana, whatever it is, the energy, all is in a place. And I was very fortunate to be in the place where it was happening.
- [72:10]
Josh Adam Myers
Because I see that, like, when I started Stand up, it was like kind of. I'm not saying, you know, I'm one of the greats at all, but I think you always see in your group or the people you're spending time with, whether it was at open mics or hanging out at the Comedy Store, you're like, oh, this guy's gonna make it. This guy's got something. I mean, did you. In that group, were you just looking around at someone like. I mean, of course, someone like Sean, who I think was already acting at a much young, younger age, but you could just. Was it just like, you know, they always say, if you're the funniest guy in your group, you're hanging out with the wrong group. You need to hang out with funnier people. And. And that's, you know, one of the reasons I moved out here to New York, because these are the best comics in the world. I mean, did you see that as an actor, where you were like, God, these are the guys, man. I just. I've got to be around these dudes, you know? Is it just the Malibu thing?
- [72:55]
Rob Lowe
Well, ironically, I was the.
- [72:59]
Josh Adam Myers
The.
- [72:59]
Rob Lowe
The most established. I had the most experience as an actor because I came from Ohio, where there was repertory theater and so much theater. So I wanted to be an actor way earlier than the others. Done more as the others. They had Done more professionally, they hadn't done more. And Charlie wanted to be a baseball player. He had no ambitions at all to be an actor. When I met Charlie, Emilio had not acted yet. Sean had been in stuff that his dad had directed, but very, very minor. And I arrived there going, hollywood, here I am.
- [73:43]
Josh Adam Myers
Let's go.
- [73:46]
Rob Lowe
And really, we all didn't really see each other work until we were auditioning for the Outsiders, at which point it became very apparent that my little neighborhood was going to be very well represented in that movie.
- [74:04]
Josh Adam Myers
Dude, I hate to say I don't know. This is a question I should ask. Was there anybody that was in the group that I say that audition that didn't get it? And you're like, all right, guys, we're going to. We're going to Oklahoma. You stay here in Malibu and surf. And he's like, I'm just gonna be catching these fresh waves.
- [74:20]
Rob Lowe
Yeah, have fun. Yeah, it. I know because, you know, Cruise was. Tommy Cruise was living with Emilio. And that. That was three houses from me. And the three of us were always, you know, lifting weights and running and working on scenes together. And. And all three of us got the movie, which. That in and of itself is that three of your friends.
- [74:43]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, man, that's amazing.
- [74:45]
Rob Lowe
Parts in any movie is. Is really a miracle.
- [74:47]
Josh Adam Myers
I mean, it is, man.
- [74:49]
Rob Lowe
Miracle.
- [74:50]
Josh Adam Myers
Dude, do you ever still keep in touch with Tom and go, dude, why are you hanging on an airplane in this movie, bro?
- [74:56]
Rob Lowe
Like, well, he started all that. He started all that. And the Outsiders, we. Francis wanted us to learn gymnastics or whatever. I never have understood what that had to do with anything. But if Francis wanted to do it, it was good enough for me. But we wanted. He wanted us to learn backflips. I don't know if you've ever tried to learn a standing backflip. It's hard, I bet, and you feel like you're gonna break your neck. So out of all the Outsiders, who do you think learned the standing backflip and did it on screen?
- [75:29]
Josh Adam Myers
Tommy Cruise.
- [75:30]
Rob Lowe
Tom Cruise.
- [75:31]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [75:31]
Rob Lowe
So he just has never stopped.
- [75:33]
Josh Adam Myers
He. It's like, I always like to make the joke. It's just like, he's like, so. You know. So in this scene, I was thinking about setting myself on fire. They're like, dude, it's a Christmas movie, Tom. Like, you don't. You don't need to set yourself on fire.
- [75:44]
Rob Lowe
It's like the Outsiders. You see it today. It's hilarious. It's like, the movie's going on, then the movie stops and Tom jumps up on a car and does a backflip and then the movie continues. There's no reason for it at all.
- [75:54]
Josh Adam Myers
No, but it's. It's something about Malibu being the promised land, which is the segue into the next song.
- [76:02]
Rob Lowe
Yes, the promised land.
- [76:03]
Josh Adam Myers
I mean, this, like, is. Is so iconic. It's. It's just. It's so different and so beautiful and so powerful. It's, you know, just. Even from the title, it's just. It really sets you up for. For a little bit of Bruce in the past and Bruce in the future and where Bruce is in this moment. Thoughts on it before I do my spiel?
- [76:23]
Rob Lowe
It. Well, it opens side two. So again, you have to imagine you've just listened to this album. You turn it over and this song comes on. It's. It is like Bruce has born in the usa. He has born to run. I could go up and the Rising is another anthem of a different color. But Bruce. No one does anthems like Bruce. I'm sorry, nobody. There's no other band in the world that does anthems. Shake your fist in a stadium of 60,000 like Bruce. And of all his ones, the promised land is the granddaddy of all of them. It is there. He has not played a show without doing this song.
- [77:02]
Josh Adam Myers
Really?
- [77:03]
Rob Lowe
Knowledge.
- [77:05]
Josh Adam Myers
And.
- [77:07]
Rob Lowe
Again, as a young man, it has the great line, mister, I ain't a boy, I'm a man. You're going to see me for who I am and who I can be and who I will be. And it hasn't lost any power. In fact, one of the things I love about Bruce is revisiting those lyrics as a 61 year old. And singing I ain't a boy, I'm a man now has a very different meaning for me.
- [77:42]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. Oh, totally.
- [77:43]
Rob Lowe
And equally as powerful and just technically the breakdown in the middle of the song that builds into that amazing guitar solo. That builds into Clarence Clemens. Saxophone solo.
- [78:00]
Josh Adam Myers
Shout out to Clarence.
- [78:01]
Rob Lowe
And then into Bruce with the harmonica. Harmonica, Bruce. Can we just talk about Bruce throwing the guitar over his back and whipping out the harmonica from his jean pocket and wailing the. It's. It just doesn't get any better.
- [78:19]
Josh Adam Myers
I don't know why this isn't covered by more artists. You know, this is a powerful song. I think this is up there with like a. This land is your land. I mean, it's, it's. It could be a protest song. It's. It's just, it's so. It's so powerful. And maybe people don't cover it because it's just like, it's so Bruce and. And it just is so iconic to who he is. And I think there's probably people that could do it justice and really give it the bravado and the. And the love that it deserves. But there is something very special and that makes me so happy to know, you know, that. You know, because I was actually going to look at the set list from the show that I saw back in like 92 or 93. But it's like, you know, to know that he's still playing this.
- [78:57]
Rob Lowe
Oh, yeah, it's the same. It's. If you ask Bruce, he'll tell you there are. There are certain songs that, you know, prove it all night. Promised Land, Badlands. Honestly, he just. He's just never not going to play those. I've seen him not play Born To Run.
- [79:13]
Josh Adam Myers
Wow.
- [79:14]
Rob Lowe
I've seen him play Born To Run acoustic. I've seen him not play jungle. I mean, he'll retire a song for a decade, but he will never retire these three. And the other thing I'll say about Bruce and the Promised Land, and maybe this is why people don't cover it, is Bruce doesn't do irony. You know, he doesn't. He is the most earnest performer. And we went through a period where earnestness was laughed at. I mean, the David Letterman period of the world and, you know, the sort of REM period of the word. I love them all, but they're not earnest bands. Bruce is super earnest. And a lot of people think, as the English have a great word called twee, which I love. There's a certain group that just rolls their eyes at earnest honesty. I don't. I love it. I can't get enough of it. And I think that there are people who are super uncomfortable accessing their honest authenticity. And the Promised Land has got that in spades.
- [80:35]
Josh Adam Myers
No. And speaking of becoming a man and honesty and about longevity and the promises that we make to ourselves, I want to say you have been something of an inspiration to. To so many people about your honesty about opening up your decision and your promise to give up all substances. And that's coming from me, someone who has had on and off battles. I had years of strong sobriety and then recently had a. Had a relapse, but, you know, was able to catch it immediately. You know, put the kibosh, asked for help, and I've handled it. And of course my life is back to being manageable. And my writer, Morty, he gave me permission to say that he is class of 92. Yeah, yeah. So we talk about addiction and recovery, and a lot of our personal conversation, it's especially important to me, you know, like I said, what I've gone through, but you've also worked with so many people that it wasn't fortunate for, like, someone like Chris Farley. Like, you know, like what, you know, what is it that. That you. That you've been able to do to stay so strong? I mean, you've had 35 years, if I'm not mistaken, or longer or.
- [81:46]
Rob Lowe
35. 35 years, so.
- [81:48]
Josh Adam Myers
That's incredible, man.
- [81:49]
Rob Lowe
Thank you. I, you know, I. I, sobriety recovery changed my life. I. By the way, I loved partying and using. I loved it. I'd agree it's the best. If I could still do it and, and live a life that wasn't full of tragedy and disappointment, I would, I would. I would do it, but I had to get rid of the tragedy, and I had to get rid of the disappointment, so I had to get rid of the drinking and the drugs, and I did 35 years ago. And you meet the best people in recovery. You become the best part of yourself. My big thing was I was always worried about that me getting sober would be the day the fun died. And it turns out that a certain kind of fun. Yes. Died.
- [82:43]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [82:44]
Rob Lowe
But a different kind of fun took its place, and a better kind and a more sustainable kind. And I just know if. If for guys who are. Or gals out there who are listening, who are worried about what, what life, what. What social life would be like, what parties, what New Year's Eve would be like, what the Fourth of July would be like, you know, you know, what the girls trip or the boys would be without it. That's a real concern. And in. And it took about a year, which is not a long time, and then I never thought about it again. You know, I've been very, very blessed. It's been the gift of my life, for sure.
- [83:30]
Josh Adam Myers
What was the moment like? I know, like, you know, I know you've probably spoken about it in your book, but it's like I'm not familiar with it. What was the moment where you're like, I'm done.
- [83:39]
Rob Lowe
Yeah. You know, it's, you know, everybody. It's called hitting your bottom. Right. That's the. Call it in the, in the, In. In recovery terms. And, and, you know, I. Everybody has a different bottom. You know, some people can be, I got arrested or I crashed my car.
- [83:54]
Josh Adam Myers
I.
- [83:54]
Rob Lowe
My wife left me, or I lost my job. And.
- [83:56]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [83:57]
Rob Lowe
Yeah, we all have different ones. Some are super gnarly. Some not so much. And we're all gonna have different ones. I will tell you this, though. You keep going, your bottom will get darker and darker and dark. But mine was. I loved my grandpa a lot. And he had a heart attack. And my mother called me. This is in the days of answering machines. Remember those?
- [84:23]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, yeah.
- [84:23]
Rob Lowe
The youngins out there. There used to be a machine attached to your phone, and you would come home and it was. And you'd hit a button and go, you have seven D3 messages. And you'd play them. And it was my mom. And she was going, pick up, pick up. Your grandpa's in a critical condition. Pick up, pick. And I was listening to her leave the message.
- [84:45]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, wow.
- [84:46]
Rob Lowe
And I couldn't pick up because I'd had a long night.
- [84:49]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [84:50]
Rob Lowe
And I remember thinking, I gotta deal with this. The only way I can deal with this is to get some sleep. And the only way to do that is to chug the bottle of Cuervo gold that I kept on the bedside table. And by the way, it was Cuervo gold because that's what Steely Dan sang about. Golden fine Colombian make tonight a wonderful thing. I, I took direction for a living. I was like, it's going to be good enough for me. I, I, I, I, I unfortunately missed all the fancy tequila.
- [85:22]
Josh Adam Myers
You're not missing out, dude. You're not missing out. It's not that good.
- [85:25]
Rob Lowe
So I, I did that. And. And as I was pounding the tequila to go to bed to deal with my grandpa, I literally looked at myself in the mirror like I was in a bad after school special and was.
- [85:41]
Josh Adam Myers
Like, bro.
- [85:43]
Rob Lowe
This is it. You're done. And I had been carrying the business card of a drug and alcohol interventionist in my wallet for over a year.
- [85:54]
Josh Adam Myers
Wow.
- [85:54]
Rob Lowe
I couldn't even keep my sunglasses for a year. I lost my car keys on a regular basis, but I kept this card in my wallet for a year. Had no plans on getting sober, but.
- [86:06]
Josh Adam Myers
For some reason, you kept it.
- [86:08]
Rob Lowe
And I called her. And the next day I was off to rehab and so thrilled, so happy, so such a relief. I felt like a mass murderer who'd finally been arrested. And I was like, oh, good, I don't have to kill anybody anymore.
- [86:28]
Josh Adam Myers
It was great.
- [86:29]
Rob Lowe
I loved rehab. I learned everything that I needed to, to learn. I got tools to that. Told me why I am the way I am. And. And then I got into recovery and I met people exactly like me who were nothing like me, but yet, exactly. And totally again, the gift of a lifetime.
- [86:46]
Josh Adam Myers
It really is. And. And. And this past relapse was nothing on the stuff that I had done years before. It was actually something legal, but I caught myself on it. But I love that you said that that card was in your wallet and you found it at the right time and not the exact similar thing, but I got in this bad car accident, which is one of the reasons I do this podcast back in 2012, where I lost one of my best friends because a drunk driver ran a red light in front of the Capitol Records building. Killed my friend, almost killed me. And when I was in the hospital and everybody's coming to visit me, Andy Dick's son, Lucas Dick, gives me this book because if people were bringing me books like the. The Autobiography of George Carlin and Richard Pryor's autobiography, but he brought me a book called the Dao of Pooh, which is basically Lao Tzu's philosophies in an easily digestible Winnie the Pooh story. And he was like, this book helped me when I needed it, and I want to give it to you. And I took it and I threw it in the pile with everything else. And then I got clean shortly after, about a year after the accident. But then when I started having all my success is when I relapsed again because I still hadn't dealt with all that other.
- [87:51]
Rob Lowe
Yeah.
- [87:52]
Josh Adam Myers
Which is what. Which is what you need to do in recovery is you need to figure out why you use. And you gotta dig in. You gotta dig deep. And it was like I'd gotten clean again for the. For the last time of the hard stuff that I was on, and I was, like, still depressed. And then I looked in this pile of books, and I saw that book seven years later, and I read it, and it changed my life. It just. It was literally exactly what I needed in that time. So it's. It was the universe put that space in your wallet, whether it was for you to cut up coke or whatever, it was there for a reason. And that reason is. Is why you're here today. And that's such a beautiful thing. And I love that you're so honest about it. Rob. You're. You're an inspiration to so many people, man. You really are.
- [88:35]
Rob Lowe
Thank you. I. I don't have any answers. I only have my own experience. And. And. But I'm. I'm. I'm happy to share it because that's what people did for me, and. And they showed me the way forward.
- [88:47]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, I. I know this is. This is totally off topic, but On a lighter note, you know, is. Is you. You working with someone like Chris Farley. Like, do you have a moment that was just like, you could see the comedic genius of this guy? Like, just because I every. I never got, you know, it was. I was so young when he passed away, but it's just like there's. I don't. There's ever been a force as funny as. As that human being. I mean, what was that like being on set with someone like him?
- [89:14]
Rob Lowe
Well, I've been blessed to work with so many, some of the greatest comedy geniuses at their peak, whether it's Mike Myers or Dana Carvey or Ricky Gervais or Tina Fey or Amy Poehler or Aziz Anzari, you know, you name it. And I've been really. Phil Hartman, all the people on SNL that I worked with, and I think they will all tell you that Chris was probably the funniest person who ever lived in terms of. He would do and say anything to get you to laugh, and he could do that. But Chris had a fatal flaw. And this is what I told my boys growing up, and that is make sure you have the right heroes. And Chris did not. His hero was John Belushi, and he ended up exactly like John Belushi. He got his wish in the. In the end, Chris got his wish. He was like his hero.
- [90:17]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, it's so unfortunate, man. And, you know, that's such a good thing to, you know, because nobody. I never in my dad, like, they never used. Nobody did. So nobody had any advice about that. It was always just like, oh, he's up again. And then that would be it. It. But it's like, you know, one of my favorite heroes is Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots. And it's just like, dude, at a young age, I was like, that just. He's up the band, like, he keeps this up. It's like, we want more music. And it literally, you know, I'm not saying it didn't stop me, but it's like I've always been able to catch myself, even at my worst, where I was like, this isn't the life that I want, you know, and. And luckily since 2017 was 16, it's. It's been solid on that, on for the bad stuff stuff, you know, but like I said, it's, you know, it's progress, not perfection.
- [91:05]
Rob Lowe
That's right.
- [91:05]
Josh Adam Myers
Progression.
- [91:06]
Rob Lowe
That's exactly right.
- [91:08]
Josh Adam Myers
All right, let's move on to something a little bit, I guess. Light Hearted Factory, once again, single most.
- [91:14]
Rob Lowe
Depressing song Bruce has Ever written.
- [91:18]
Josh Adam Myers
I gotta go down the list, dude.
- [91:20]
Rob Lowe
It's literally. I think the word is a dirge. I think that's a. That's a. A musical genre. It's a dirge. I will say this was the one that I would always fast forward over when in the days it's. But now I like to sing the harmony to it. So when it comes on, I sing the low harmonies and I have a good time with it. I do love the. His vocal is great in it. And another Bruce line is talking about the Factory when he says, you bet. You best believe, boys. Somebody's gonna get hurt tonight.
- [91:59]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, dude. This is. This is another one that relates to his relationship with his father, Douglas, and the latter's life of blue collar work when he was employed, like many of his generation, as well as the potential for Bruce's life to follow that same path, which is like the scariest thing ever. You know, my dad made a lot of bad business decisions and. And it, you know, almost like really like, like hurt, like what did hurt our family. But it was that thing that kind of like, I was able to go, well, I'm not gonna do that. And that's the last thing I want to do is. Is follow in my dad's footsteps. Not saying my dad wasn't a good man, but just, you know, he did a job that he didn't want. And I was like, I'm never gonna do that. Because if you do a job that you love, you never work a day in your life. You know that.
- [92:42]
Rob Lowe
I mean, I always told my kids that exact quote. And Factory literally is one of the lyrics is the fact Factory takes his hearing.
- [92:53]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [92:54]
Rob Lowe
Imagine.
- [92:55]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. Yeah.
- [92:57]
Rob Lowe
So it's like, you know, Bruce watched a man go to work every day at a job that literally was killing him.
- [93:08]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [93:09]
Rob Lowe
And was like, man, I'm never going to be that guy.
- [93:14]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. Well, speaking of. Of like, of the Factory, it's like we've heard about the Halloween Hollywood factory system of the golden age. And in many ways it still goes on. When did you feel like you had become a part of the Factory? And have you ever felt trapped by it?
- [93:30]
Rob Lowe
Well, I. It's funny. It is. Hollywood is a factory. You know, we, you know, Detroit is a factory. Was a factory. Kind of still is. But it's a factory town and we make entertainment and like Detroit, sometimes we stop making the Pinto.
- [93:47]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [93:49]
Rob Lowe
We're going to focus only on SUVs for a while, which are gross looking.
- [93:53]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [93:53]
Rob Lowe
You know, it's the same with movies. It's like, sometimes I stop making the movies. I like to make movies that are popular, that are gross, and it's exactly what it is. And when they're making the line or lines that you like, it's great. When they're making minivans, it's hard, and you just hope you can navigate through it. But I think that I've always understood. I think it's my Midwest practicality, that it's show business, you know, and with the emphasis on business. And if. If you are. Don't reconcile yourself with the business part of the art, you're gonna have a very long slog.
- [94:47]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [94:48]
Rob Lowe
And. And, you know, I think that's one of the reasons I. I am as engaged as I still am this many decades in and still have the amazing opportunities that I. I get to have is because I'm. I've spent a lot of time trying to reconcile the business with the stuff that made me want to get here in the first place, which is the art.
- [95:14]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. I want to. I'm going to move the question I had for Prove It All Night up to this because I feel like what you're saying is so perfect. And I think probably one of the reasons is because you seamlessly threaded yourself through, like, like, teen movies to teen, to. To dramas, to comedies, to doing, like, you know, like. Like almost quasi slapstick like Wayne's World or Tommy Boy into, like, serious dramatic roles like the West Wing. Like, how, like, how do you prepare yourself for that? Or is like, were you training for that your whole life? Were you always a funny guy or were you always leaning more towards? Because it always seemed like you were. You were good at comedy, but it's like, you know, it's like, to be able to do serious stuff and comedy, a lot of people can't do that. Like, how do you prepare for that? Or is that even the direction that you wanted to get into when you were a kid?
- [96:01]
Rob Lowe
Well, it's a huge compliment for you to say that. And I. And I'm very, very, very proud of. Of, you know, being able to show somebody something as insane as my Tommy Boy character or even in, like, even like in behind the Candelabra versus Steven Soderbergh.
- [96:22]
Josh Adam Myers
I forgot about that dude. You killed it in that dude. I watched that movie, like, six times. I never thought I'd be so riveted about a. About a weird gay love story and you playing the plastic surgeon.
- [96:35]
Rob Lowe
It's a great. It's a really. I love that movie. Like, I just like to just, like, do A double feature of. Pick your favorite West Wing episode. And then behind the candelabra, and then you go, oh, you know, that's, you know, all of my. Again, back to Bruce. It's like you got Acoustic Nebraska, and then you have Dancing in the Dark. You know, the people who are my heroes can work in different genres, and I love that I can do both, and I don't have a favorite. And again, in like. Like Bruce, my favorite to work in is the one that I've most recently not worked in. So if I'm coming off of a bunch of dramas, then I want to be silly and goofy, make fun of myself, and have. Be funny and light. And then when I've done Perks and Recreation, for example, which I love so much, then I want to do something serious, and I just try to go back and forth.
- [97:36]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. What was it like, I mean, working with Sorkin? And I love that, you know, I know that you and Sorkin were kind of like a team together, like, you know, working with someone. I mean, I think the first movie I saw of it was. Was Malice.
- [97:48]
Rob Lowe
Yeah.
- [97:48]
Josh Adam Myers
You know, such an underrated film.
- [97:51]
Rob Lowe
Get about Malice, people. I'm so glad you pulled that card. That was the first time I was aware of Aaron, and I read the script and I auditioned for the part that Alec Baldwin ended up getting.
- [98:01]
Josh Adam Myers
Wow. You would have been good in that.
- [98:03]
Rob Lowe
But I remember when I got the West Wing script and seeing Aaron's name on. On it, I was like, this is the guy from Malice.
- [98:09]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. It's underrated film. I mean, but his dialogue is so specific. He's very much like the Coen brothers, where it's like what they write is what they want you to say. Like, was that hard for you or was you. That's something you're like, finally, like, it's easy when you.
- [98:26]
Rob Lowe
It's like. It's like, you know, you're a musician and he's delivering you music.
- [98:30]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [98:30]
Rob Lowe
Beautiful music. Like, the only time I want to improv or quote unquote, make it my own is when it needs improving.
- [98:38]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [98:39]
Rob Lowe
And if it doesn't need improving, I have no compunction to try to improve it. And then the joy is in running the route. You know, like, in football parlance, I run a very clean route, and I take a lot of pride in it. And. And that's. That's what you're doing with Aaron. He has the play. The play is beautiful. He drew it up. Now you got to go out and have the athleticism and the discipline and the technique to run the route.
- [99:06]
Josh Adam Myers
But then. But then with someone like parks and recs, which is so like, let's. It's. I'm assuming it's loosely scripted. Right. And they let you just have fun with it. And so what do you prefer more? Do you prefer working in the Sorkin world or working in the parks and rec world?
- [99:19]
Rob Lowe
They're. They're. They're really different. The 20 parks had a feel of being loose, but most of it was scripted.
- [99:26]
Josh Adam Myers
We would.
- [99:27]
Rob Lowe
But we would get to do every. Every scene we did, which would never happen in Sorkin world. We would get to do what we called our fun run. So we get the scene, we'd write it, we'd shoot it, Everybody would happy. Would be happy. In Sorkin world, you're going on to the next scene.
- [99:43]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [99:44]
Rob Lowe
In parks and Rec world, now you get to do the fun run. And the fun run is literally anything you want to do. And it can be as wild, as insane. Any instinct. There are no rules. You can go on forever. You can do it whatever you want. And I would say. I would say maybe 10 to 15% of every fun run we did would make it into the show. So it was not a lot.
- [100:17]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [100:17]
Rob Lowe
But when. When we did, it was magic.
- [100:21]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, I bet. I bet. With those. With that cast. And Aziz is a buddy of mine. We used to work at the same gym. And, you know, there was a. There was a lot of. Of hoot. Nanny, we'll call it, of when he did his special and wore the Metallica shirt, people were like, oh, he's not a Metallica fan. He's like, man, he's a poser. And a few months prior, we did a show together at Warsaw here in Brooklyn. I do the show, the goddamn comedy jam, where comics do stand up and then they sing a cover. And Burr was supposed to do it. He dropped out. And then his. His agent, Mike Berkowitz, hit us up and said, would you want Aziz to do it? And I'm like, of course. And he goes, well, he wants to play guitar and do a Metallica medley. And I'm like, wait, he can play Metallica like Kurt Hammond solos? And he goes, oh, yeah. And, dude, I have video of it. And anytime comedians or any, like, rock people or music people were like, that kid's a poser. He's wearing Metallica. I would pull up that video and be like, dude, look at this. I mean, shredding. Shredding. Very talented.
- [101:19]
Rob Lowe
He's a talented, smart, wonderful dude. That doesn't surprise me. At all.
- [101:24]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. That's so rad. All right, let's move on. Let's wrap this up. We got a couple more songs. We'll speed through these Streets of Fire thoughts on it. Before we get into anything, I want you feel like you're. You kind of say it all. So just you take Streets of Fire.
- [101:38]
Rob Lowe
I mean, Streets of Fire. Famously. They made a movie called Streets of Fire that everybody wanted to be in, including me. I didn't get the part. It ended up being, I want to say, Michael Perret, who is just a good. He was a really good looking dude and never. That was sort of that Diane Lane at the height of her beautiful, wonderful career. And they tried to get the rights for the song and Bruce wouldn't give it to him, but they kept the title anyway. So there's a movie out there called Streets of Fire. I love Bruce's vocal on this. Love his vocal. Like everything on this album. I think this, that this song is meant to be played and heard live.
- [102:21]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [102:23]
Rob Lowe
I, I just like. I love that when he sings about when you realize how they tricked you. This time is a great moment in it again. Angry, seething, aspirational, ambitious.
- [102:38]
Josh Adam Myers
Bruce.
- [102:39]
Rob Lowe
It is at his finest.
- [102:40]
Josh Adam Myers
I know it's. And it's placed. I think what I love about this record too is how everything is sequenced. Like, it feels like he put real thought in to put Factory. And then right after that, Streets of Fire, then, then going in to prove it all night. Michael Perry ended up being in Eddie and the Cruisers with a character that's basically a lot like Bruce Springsteen. I just saw that.
- [103:04]
Rob Lowe
Yeah. John. And, and you know, with. And the music was by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, which is. Is basically a Springsteen cover band.
- [103:12]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so speaking of Fire and as though we've. We've. We've already asked you about the streets of Malibu, but now I want to take it into adulthood. And with the moniker the Brat Pack upon many a core collection of some of the coolest young actor contemporaries that you work with, it all seem to have found success around the same time. I would say that there's one movie that is the Brat Pack movie, which of course is 85St. Almost fire, which I saw in an interview. You studied or you. You compared the sax solo or you played the sax solo like Clarence.
- [103:47]
Rob Lowe
Yeah, I. So when I got St. Almost Fire, the character, this, this tells you how dated the movie is. They were thinking of what is the coolest thing that a musician can be. And it's a saxophone player, by the way. There came a time when they. There must have been a mandate that went out that you no longer have a sax solo in every single song. But even Bruce, by the way, had to hide the big man for 10 years. I know. And then they. He did. What album was it after the Rising where he's like. Where they made Clarence's sax sound like a guitar?
- [104:22]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, God.
- [104:24]
Rob Lowe
Yeah, they are. Because the sax had been become such a cliche RELIC of the 80s. But in the 80s, it was a big deal to be a sax player. And I knew nothing about the sax, but I was obviously a Springsteen fan. So I got to know Clarence and I studied him, and I learned a couple of things. One was, you should only play a Selmer sax. So I made sure that the sax I was playing was a Selmer. I made sure it was beaten up and not shiny and new like Clarence's. And then the number one thing was, was most people wear their saxes with a clip in the front and you hold it in your chest. Clarence had his rig like a guitar, so it was clipped in the front and then in the bottom of the bell so he could sweep it over his shoulder and Look super again. 80% of its posing.
- [105:18]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, dude.
- [105:20]
Rob Lowe
So I had them. I had them Jerry rigged my sax to be able to pose super sick with it.
- [105:26]
Josh Adam Myers
It did you kill it. Especially when you say, let's rock. That's the dude. But there, There's. Listen, there. There's. I would say this. And, and, and. And I'm not just tooting your horn because you're here out of the 80s sax movie scenes. Yours number one, Tim Capella from Lost Boys. Number two, the. The Sexy sax guy. Like, oh, my God. Remember that? I still believe. I mean, yours way more realistic. And in. In a real world, his is like Lord of the Rings almost s m. Like 8 millimeter Nicholas Cage character.
- [106:04]
Rob Lowe
I think that. I think, you know, it's the same director.
- [106:07]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, yeah, Schumacher. Yeah, of course.
- [106:09]
Rob Lowe
I think Joel was like, I couldn't get Rob totally to where I wanted him to be with the sax, but I'm gonna fix it in Lost Boys.
- [106:16]
Josh Adam Myers
Did you go out for Lost Boys? I could see you've gone out for the Jason Patrick role as well. Or were you already a little bit too old to play that character?
- [106:23]
Rob Lowe
Have you looked at what Jason Patrick looked like in the movie? Maybe somebody somewhere might have been a little bit inspired by somebody else. And, you know, my poster's in that movie.
- [106:39]
Josh Adam Myers
Is it really?
- [106:40]
Rob Lowe
Corey Haim is At school in the movie. And he opens his lock. No, it's his bedroom. Hello. And on his bedroom door is a poster of yours truly in Lost Boys. So. But no, they never asked me to be in it.
- [106:55]
Josh Adam Myers
They just bit off your likeness.
- [106:57]
Rob Lowe
They just bit me as hard. Not since Stamos and, and then whatever that sitcom he was in did anybody bit my look so hard.
- [107:09]
Josh Adam Myers
Big shout out to former ghost, former guest John Stamos. He brought Mike Love from the Beach Boys with us. You should have brought. You should have brought Nils or somebody with you, buddy. Like, you could have athlete. That's awesome, man. I, I, I, I can't. Let's wrap this up. I know you got to get out of here, but I'm. Dude, this is so much fun. All right. Prove it All Night. I already asked you the question. So your thoughts on Prove It All Night?
- [107:28]
Rob Lowe
Here's one thing, is my brother Chad Lowe is huge Springsteen fan, and he has kids a lot younger than mine, and he's introducing them. They're. They're girls. I have boys, so I don't have any experience raising girls. He's got nothing but girls. And he's driving him to drop off and like the third grade, and he's introducing to Springsteen and he's playing Prove It All Night. And they are rocking and they go, daddy, what does he mean by Prove it All night? And it never occurred to me that it's about fucking all night. It never occurred to me. It's so blatantly obvious. But I hadn't thought of it. I didn't realize it. That because, you know, Bruce has a lot of things, but he's not exactly the most sexual. Maybe I probably the least sexual rock star who ever lived. And by the way, if you don't believe me, look at the audience.
- [108:21]
Josh Adam Myers
And.
- [108:23]
Rob Lowe
So I didn't realize that Prove It All Night is basically a Viagra national anthem.
- [108:29]
Josh Adam Myers
What's that? There's a part in the Jackson Brown song, I think the Pretender, when it's like, and then we'll do it again. We'll get it up again. Get it up again.
- [108:38]
Rob Lowe
I mean, how about I'm running down the road trying to loosen my load mood.
- [108:43]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, hello.
- [108:46]
Rob Lowe
I think Jackson was writing a lot.
- [108:47]
Josh Adam Myers
About, like, that Jackson was getting some dude. Jackson, don't forget, man. Jackson Brown. I mean, he might have the greatest rock star name in the history of rock star names. I don't think anything's cooler than Jackson Brown.
- [108:57]
Rob Lowe
Bruce always says that nobody got more action than Jackson Brown.
- [109:01]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, my God. Yeah. Dude, he was. I mean, I'm hanging out with him. I've hung out with him a few times and, and every time he's just, he's such a gently cool dude and he doesn't have to do anything, but you're already attracted to just him. And then when he sits down and plays, you know, like any of his songs, it's just, he's like, he did Doctor My Eyes and I wanted to him. So, you know, that's, that's how simple it is. But, you know, I mean, you, you know, you start singing, dude, I'm. And you got charismatic charisma. I'm. I'm in, bro.
- [109:32]
Rob Lowe
Well, Prove It All Night is again, with, with my reoccurring theme on this album, and it is one of my favorite Bruce albums is these songs were, these songs were made to be performed live. And Prove It All Night again, another one. I'd say 50% of the time. Prove It All Night opens the concert or is within the first two or three songs because he's saying, we're here and I'm gonna go all night.
- [109:57]
Josh Adam Myers
I love that. I love that.
- [109:59]
Rob Lowe
You know, the, and the live version with the guitar solo at the end is, is just spectacular. But again, these are the anthems he wrote for this album that would carry his live career in into the age of 75. He probably, probably wrote these songs when he was in his late 20s.
- [110:21]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [110:21]
Rob Lowe
And he's still playing them at 75.
- [110:24]
Josh Adam Myers
And this song I love you talked about hearing these live. The one that. I don't know if he plays a lot live, but probably. I feel, I know it's the title track. I, I, it's just, just. There's something about the Darkness on the Edge of Town or Darkness on the Edge of Town without the. It's. It really is. I don't know. It's not my favorite song, but, man, is it just get me.
- [110:45]
Rob Lowe
And, and it is my favorite. It is my favorite Bruce Spring Scene song.
- [110:51]
Josh Adam Myers
Is it it really perfect and like.
- [110:54]
Rob Lowe
And, and the in. It's because he doesn't play it very much live.
- [111:00]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. That's all.
- [111:01]
Rob Lowe
Because it's a great song and I think it's his. I think it's his most cinematic. Fully realized. Again, this is the seething Bruce that I love so much. The angry young man when he sings at the end about I'll. I'll be, I'll be on that hill because I can't stop. I'll be on that hill with everything I've got. Lives on the Line where dreams are found and lost I'll be there in time and I'll pay the cost for wanting things that can only be found in the darkness on the edge of town those lyrics.
- [111:53]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [111:56]
Rob Lowe
Powered me as a. As a young man like no other, because I relate. I'm from Dayton, Ohio. What I, What I'm finding, I'm never going to find in Dayton. It's going to be out in the darkness on the edge of town. And I will be there on time and I will pay the cost.
- [112:16]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. And it's, it's. I love that it's the town and it's not a city and it's just a small thing, but it's like, it's. It really does, you know, it just brings up so much emotion in so many ways and the power of it. And even just the album cover compared to the Born to Run album cover, where he's like, having fun. Like, it's just him looking at the camera, leaning up against the wall. You know, it's. You don't know what he's thinking, but it doesn't look good, you know, like.
- [112:49]
Rob Lowe
The bad wallpaper behind him.
- [112:50]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. What. What brings you? Born to Run Hope. When you're in a darkness on the edge of town state of mind.
- [113:00]
Rob Lowe
Well, again, it's. That last lyric is. It is. It's seething and rageful, but it's, it's. It's implicit that you've got it in you. Like, he'll pay the cost. He'll do what needs to be done. He can hand he. We can handle this. We will. We will prevail. We will get in your face and we will fucking steamroll you if we have to. And we're going to get to where we need to go. And to me, that's right up there with. I know it's late. We can make it if we run.
- [113:41]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah. Yeah, it really is.
- [113:44]
Rob Lowe
They're both, they both make me. They both give me the feels.
- [113:48]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, it really does. It's, you know, Born to Run is such a great record. I mean, we're doing it. I think it's on this list. It's in the bottom 20, if I'm not mistaken, and rightfully so. It deserves to be there, but there, you know, for everybody. And I'm just part of my language. Everybody that sucks the dick of. Of. Of that record. And Born in the usa, in my opinion, this is Bruce. This is my favorite Bruce. This in Nebraska are the Bruce's that I'm drawn to the most. I love that they're making the movie about Nebraska and not Born To Run and not Born in the usa. And if they, if they talk about that stuff, of course, but it's, it's even that moment where, where your buddy Jeremy is talking in the trailer where he says he's doing this now. This is where Bruce said now and then he'll change the world. And I love, and I love that he had to go through these other records to get to Born in the USA and, and to really be. You know, because he's already the boss. But that's what made it like solidified. But, but I love. It's just even the fact that HBO did a documentary about this record and not Born to Run. It's. There's something very special about this because this is the record that I feel, you know, it really. Whereas Born to Run gives everybody hope. This is what's really going on in the middle America and the people that are working in middle class and, and they're dealing with the real life problems. It's like. It's the same reason my buddy Jelly Roll is. Is so popular. You know, I went on tour with that guy and I saw his fans, you know, for 45 different shows. And they are. He's singing not to them as fans. He's singing to, like, their soul. And they don't just. It's the same way. It's the same way you love him. It's like you, you don't. You don't love. You don't love Bruce. You need Bruce because Bruce is what's powered you to get through some of the hardships, the, the rough times, especially being a actor, which is the hardest. There's no road map of how this works. You know, if you'll be an astronaut, there's easier road map for that than being an actor or a comedian. But there. But when you have people, whether it's Bruce or for me it's been like Radiohead or, or the Beatles or whoever. It's just when they feels like they're speaking to you. And there's something about Darkness on the Edge of Town, not just the song, but the album as a whole. It literally feels like it could be written certain moments like for you, I. Your kids, your friends that, you know, it's, it's, It's a powerful record. I think it deserves to be higher. I think they should have. Listen, I know people are gonna argue with me when I say this. I feel like this should have been switched with Born to Run. I feel like this, this is his best record. And what a perfect way to end it than with the title track. I think it's. It's perfect. I think it's perfectly sequenced. I think it's his best work. And you have to fight me on it if anybody thinks I'm wrong.
- [116:34]
Rob Lowe
Not. I'm not. I'm not going to fight you on it. And I look at it this way. Bruce has so many great albums of disparate flavors.
- [116:43]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah.
- [116:43]
Rob Lowe
But the one. The one that you absolutely must not ignore, if there's one album in all of Bruce's work that you cannot ignore, it's this one.
- [116:54]
Josh Adam Myers
It's.
- [116:55]
Rob Lowe
So what does that tell. So what does that tell you?
- [116:58]
Josh Adam Myers
Yeah, it's like there's. Everybody has like, you know, their, Their. Their. Their record that. I think that that is like the stamp of. Of who they are and. And especially where they're at in their life, you know? And I think Born to Run is a culmination of all the. Before and the bar bands and the excitement. Like you said earlier, it's like some people have been writing their whole life for that one record. And Bruce was really lucky where he had two prior to the record that then took him to the next level. But I. I think this is the record that, you know, I think an artist would be lucky to even touch, even just a morsel, get one song. If you could write one song as good as one of these, I mean, you're. You're on another level. And. And this is the. This is the record. This is the record that's made me a real Bruce fan. And then since sitting down with you, Rob, I mean, this rubs off on me and your excitement and everything. This has been great. So my pleasure. Please come back. We have final questions. We ask everybody. I'm gonna throw. I'm gonna throw a curveball in because you might have already. You kind of answered one of them, but. Favorite song on the record.
- [118:07]
Rob Lowe
Favorite song on the record is Darkness on the Edge of Town. It's one of my. It's probably my. Whenever I go to a concert and then I hear Bruce play. That's the one I'm hoping he's gonna play.
- [118:19]
Josh Adam Myers
Sure. He doesn't play it Rarely. Right. It's.
- [118:23]
Rob Lowe
I'd say it's. It's not a deep, rare cut. He plays it, but it's definitely not one, you know, you're gonna hear.
- [118:31]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, dude, I would. I would myself if you played it. All right. I think you already said it. What do you skip over? It was the one song Was it. Was it Factory as you sk on this album?
- [118:40]
Rob Lowe
It's factory, yeah.
- [118:41]
Josh Adam Myers
Can you. To this record?
- [118:44]
Rob Lowe
Well, listen, like I said, Bruce is the least sexual rock star in the world. And. And I'm gonna have to say, as much as I love Bruce and I. I ride or die for Bruce. I think you can tell by listening to this interview. I don't think I've ever.
- [118:59]
Josh Adam Myers
Bruce.
- [119:00]
Rob Lowe
Although here's what's interesting. There is a whole new rediscovery of I'm on Fire right now. And women and young people are all of a sudden discovering I'm on fire in a way that's super romanticized and sexualized. I think Bruce has backed into finally having his fuck song 35 years after it came out.
- [119:30]
Josh Adam Myers
You know what, though? There is a cover, you might have heard it, of John Legend doing Dancing in the Dark. And it's so beautiful. Like, he really slows it down with the. Can't Start a Fire. And it's just so beautiful when you take it out of the rock and the. And you bring it down. I think a lot of his songs, you know, like, I'm not saying you're gonna. The Darkness on the Edge of Town.
- [119:56]
Rob Lowe
You could definitely get all cuddly to Secret Garden, and there's definitely stuff out there, but it's. It's. Again, it's. It's. It's so compelling and emotional and full of story and. And propulsion and cinema that it's hard. It's hard to use it as. As background romance music.
- [120:14]
Josh Adam Myers
Totally. And also, you know, much like the lead singer of Incubus said when we were talking about Jeff Buckley Grace, it's like the lyrics are so important, you can't not hear the lyrics. So it will take you. And sex is all about being present. That's right. So. So you maybe, maybe, maybe if he does an instrumental record. Yeah.
- [120:35]
Rob Lowe
Apparently on. On the new seven albums that came out, there's. There's instrumentals from a movie that never got made. I just found this out, and I'm going to be listening to it in the car on the way from this interview.
- [120:45]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, yes. All right. This is the question I want to ask. Is the curveball. What are your top five, in order, Bruce Springsteen records.
- [120:55]
Rob Lowe
Records. Now Records. Does that mean album or album?
- [120:58]
Josh Adam Myers
Albums. Albums, yeah. What are you put From. From. I'm gonna go to one or you're the way you want to go.
- [121:04]
Rob Lowe
I'm gonna go Darkness at number one.
- [121:07]
Josh Adam Myers
Booyah.
- [121:09]
Rob Lowe
I'm going to go with.
- [121:18]
Josh Adam Myers
I pick two.
- [121:19]
Rob Lowe
It's really Hard. I'm going to go with Born to Run at two.
- [121:24]
Josh Adam Myers
Nice.
- [121:25]
Rob Lowe
I'm going to go with the Rising at three.
- [121:32]
Josh Adam Myers
Love it.
- [121:34]
Rob Lowe
The river at four.
- [121:36]
Josh Adam Myers
Booyah.
- [121:38]
Rob Lowe
And then just because I can do it, just because it's a super deep cut and, and really, really, really, really underappreciated, appreciated. I'm going with Western Stars.
- [121:50]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, wait, that's newer. Isn't that newer?
- [121:53]
Rob Lowe
Western Stars came out about five years ago, and it's his homage to the California Glenn Campbell rhinestone cowboy, 60s Western pop. It's fantastic.
- [122:10]
Josh Adam Myers
I'm gonna listen to it now. I'm gonna go darkest on the edge of town, Nebraska Tunnel of Love. Then I'm gonna do Goes to Tom Joad. Then I'm gonna do Born to Run. They're all good, but. And they're all good, but also I'm. But also not to name drop. I'm friends with Tom Murillo, and watching him do the solo on Ghost of Tom Joad is one of the coolest things ever to turn it into such a cool rock song.
- [122:33]
Rob Lowe
I, I heard it on the radio, pulled my car over on the street and, and I, I didn't know what the fuck I was listening to. By the way, tomorrow lives in my old house.
- [122:48]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, no, dude, really? It's so crazy. It's so crazy. The, the, the small world of Los Angeles and just like everybody, everybody knows each other and everybody lives like, you know, it's just we hopefully. You were fine from the fires, right? Were you okay when all those.
- [123:04]
Rob Lowe
Yeah, yeah, I was good. Yeah.
- [123:06]
Josh Adam Myers
Okay. Thank God, man.
- [123:07]
Rob Lowe
Listen, Morello, Morello, whenever he's with east street, it's such a treat. I mean, his, his. If you guys listening have listened to Tom Joad with Tom Morello, it's, it's beyond belief. It might be the greatest guitar solo in history.
- [123:26]
Josh Adam Myers
I'm gonna give you Prince doing While My guitar Gently Weeps at the Rock hall of Fame.
- [123:31]
Rob Lowe
I'm with you. I'm with you.
- [123:34]
Josh Adam Myers
I, I, I'll sit there and say I've seen so many. And Prince is the goat. Tom. Tom's just doing what Tom does. No one knew Prince was gonna do that. You know what I mean? When Tom gets up there for goats to Tom Jod, you're like, oh, he's about to murder this Prince. You were like, oh, yeah, that's right. He's the goat. Yeah. Great moment. But this dude, this has been one of my favorite podcasts that we've done to end this. How do you sum up this record? What's your elevator pitch to get someone to listen to it.
- [124:03]
Rob Lowe
This is it. If you don't understand Bruce Springsteen, you don't get it. You want to begin to figure out what he's about. This is 101 necessity. Bruce Springsteen. This album has more anthems on it than any other anthem, than any other album in history. I defy you to come to me with an album by any other artist that has this many stadium anthems that have stood the test of time. There simply isn't another album that comes close.
- [124:41]
Josh Adam Myers
I. I could agree with you more. I, I think. I don't know if it's the first record you should listen to. If you've never listened to Bruce, what would you say is the. Is the record they should listen to if they're the first record? If you've never. Would you say Born to Run?
- [124:53]
Rob Lowe
I can tell you exactly what I tell people. Don't listen to any of the records. Go see him live.
- [124:58]
Josh Adam Myers
Wow. It's very much Grateful Daddy. It's like, yeah, it's like he's better. He's. But he really is.
- [125:03]
Rob Lowe
I mean, it's not even a close call call. It's not even a clay. He's just one of those people who. You just can't capture what. What he's like live and what that band is like and what they're like together. You can't. You. They've done. There's there more and more recently they've been able to. To. To figure it out. But I'd say you go to a Bruce Springsteen show and you don't get it, then I give up. Because it isn't like I can say, go listen to, you know, God Only Knows from the Beach Boys. And you get it. There's just his body of work. His albums are too disparate. There are too many of them. Yeah, go. Go to a show, dude.
- [125:50]
Josh Adam Myers
I know we went over. I can't thank you enough, Rob. This has been. This is why I do the podcast, man. You are a fucking gift of a guest to not only know the music, but to also be so open and so cool. Dude, I, I, I. Please come back for Born to Run or any other record we got. You can do whatever you want. You got.
- [126:08]
Rob Lowe
I could talk music all day. Let's do, like, let's do my pop side. Let's do Fleetwood Mac. Let's do Rumors.
- [126:14]
Josh Adam Myers
Oh, my God, dude. It's coming up. It's coming up. And also, don't Forget, everybody. Season 4 premiere of the FOX hit game show The Floor, hosted by Rob, airing Wednesday, September 24th. Anything else you want to add? This has been great.
- [126:27]
Rob Lowe
I'll make a list of albums, but put me down for Fleetwood Mac.
- [126:30]
Josh Adam Myers
Done. Done. Dude. Thank you so much.
- [126:31]
Rob Lowe
And. And maybe Asia.
- [126:33]
Josh Adam Myers
Asia. Done. Thank you, brother. What did I tell you? What did I tell you? The one and only Rob Lowe. Make sure you check out season four of his hit Fox game show, the Floor. It kicks off Wednesday, September 24th. It's incredible. We talk about it on the pod. You know what's going on. Make sure you're tuning in in and listen to his podcast literally with Rob Lowe. He will be back. I almost had him for the Steely Dan, but you know, it's too close. Unless we got a big guess for that one too. So his YouTube is YouTube.combackslash@ literally with Rob Lowe. Tick tock at Rob Lowe and on Instagram, Rob Lowe. Now we just listened to Bruce Springsteen scenes, Dr. Sun, the Edge of Town for new music pick this week, brought to you in part by Distro Kid. It's their live version of Candy's Room by actor Hank Azaria and the E Street Band. We almost had Hank on for this, but because of timing, I mean, look, Hank's gonna come back. We still got more Bruce. We're gonna get Hank. He's a code red on the Kagan meter. But Roblo. Come on, guys, we're killing it. You can find links to the music on our website, the500podcast.com and if you are in a band and we're directly influenced by one of these albums or artists and you want your music featured on the 500 website, send your song to 500podcast gmail.com. make sure you put the album and artists that influenced you in the subject line next week. Number 149 was Santana's self titled album from 1969. You better listen to the Record Mountain channel, baby, and subscribe to the Patreon. Do your homework, baby, stay pleasey you googly doos. We'll see you then. Thanks for tuning in, guys. She says I Baby, if you want to be wild, you got enough to learn. Close your eyes Let them melt, let them fire, let them burn. Cause in the darkness they'll be hidden Worlds that shine When a whole can be close she waits oh sing well on my land hello. She has fancy clothes and diamond rings she has been hurt by her anything she want but they don't see that was what she wanted I never love she knows that I care all that I got to tell all that I want all that I sat keeping it fleecy for the fleece nation on the 500. The 500 when segregation was a law. One mysterious black club owner, Charlie Fitzgerald.
- [131:06]
Rob Lowe
Had his own rules. Segregation in the day, integration at night.
- [131:11]
Josh Adam Myers
It was like stepping in another world.
- [131:13]
Rob Lowe
Was he a businessman? A criminal, a hero? Charlie was an example of power.
- [131:21]
Josh Adam Myers
They had to crush him. Charlie's place from Atlas Obscura and visit Myrtle Beach.
- [131:27]
Rob Lowe
Listen to Charlie's place wherever you get your podcasts.
- [131:31]
Josh Adam Myers
Next chapter Podcasts.