"Bruce Springsteen’s keynote address at SXSW 2012.

Springsteen spoke passionately about the music that had had a profound impact on his own writing. The Boss rhapsodized about Elvis, James Brown, the Animals, and the Beatles, and the anecdotes he told about his encounters with each were revealing, mesmerizing, and sometimes hilarious. But it was the story of his awakening to Woody Guthrie’s work that tells the most about how Springsteen’s writing has changed over the last twenty years, and where he’s likely to going next.

Whether you’re a fan or not, this speech by Springsteen is full of heart and truth. And having just come home from his phenomenal performance at SXSW, I am fully prepared to take on all comers. This cat still rocks and rocks hard!"
http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/bruce_springsteens_keynote_address_at_sxsw

Right before Bruce Springsteen took the stage at 12:30 p.m. CDT Thursday for his keynote speech at South By Southwest, a half-hour later than expected, conference co-founder Roland Swanson joked, "That's why they call him the boss."

As Springsteen himself later said, when referencing a Danny & The Juniors hit, "Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay," "They had no idea how terrifyingly fucking right they were."

Working the crowd like a master performer who's spent well more than half his life on stage, Springsteen delivered what a few audience members on the way out called the greatest keynote they'd ever seen.

Dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, holding his speech like your coolest professor, Springsteen began with a comment about the hour of the speech. "Good morning, why are we up so fucking early? How important can this speech be if we’re getting up at noon," he joked to loud laughter. "Every decent musician in town is asleep, or they will be before I’m done with this."



Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-delivers-south-by-southwest-keynote-20120315#ixzz1pIcuoGB6