Frontman for the legendary Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, recently stated his belief that a singer should try to avoid wading into the waters of politics and focus on providing entertainment and an escape from the daily grind for their fans, unlike the route radical leftist Bruce Springsteen, who has transformed his live performances into a platform for constant anti-Trump, anti-ICE rants.
Jagger, who is still rocking stages across the world at 82, shared his opinion during an appearance on a New York Times podcast after correspondent David Marchese pointed out that the “Born in the USA” singer feels that he needs to browbeat his audience with his political views at every live show. Marchese went on to say that The Boss “clearly sees his job as engaging in a meaningful back and forth” with fans at his concerts.
A report from Breitbart News by writer Warner Todd Huston noted that there isn’t much back-and-forth discussion happening with members of the audience, as it is mostly Springsteen occupying a sort of pulpit from the stage, preaching at those who have paid good money to hear his music and instead receiving a TED Talk.
According to the report, Marchese asked Jagger how he felt about that. The “Start Me Up” singer waved off Springsteen’s apparent need to preach his political views from the stage. “The bottom line of my thing, really, is that my job in the live music world is [for] those people that come is to have the best time they possibly can,” Jagger told the correspondent.
“For two hours or whatever it is, to forget all their problems and the problems of the world and their mortgages and whatever, just to give them the best time they can have,” Jagger explained. “It’s similar to going to a sports event, really, because everything else is shouted out. You’re just watching who’s going to win. You’re not worrying about everything else.”
“You don’t want to lecture them,” Jagger added. Springsteen, according to Huston, is proud of his work from the stage and his ranting and raving on politics, even going so far as to declare himself a true “patriot” for hating President Donald Trump. During one of his concerts in May, the New Jersey rocker slammed Trump and those who support him as “racist” and “treasonous.”
Springsteen will also take time out of the show to read lengthy diatribes as he continues to push his own political agenda and ideology during every concert on his “Land of Hope and Dreams Tour.” Fans might be paying hundreds of dollars to hear classic Springsteen tracks, but instead, they get his political musings, which likely leaves many feeling burdened and depressed about the state of the world.
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Commenters on the Breitbart story praised Jagger for his take on leaving politics out of live entertainment. “Leave it to Mick to get it right. If only a few of his counterparts in the entertainment world had a teaspoonful of brains to keep their political mouths shut,” one person said. “So sad that Mick has more common sense than 98% of the celebrity world,” another wrote.
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