Springsteen on U2

The Beautiful One and I were flipping back and forth between "The Amazing Race" and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction show on Thursday night when I saw Bruce Springsteen on the tube. I've never paid much attention to the induction ceremony, but I'm a huge Springsteen fan, so I stopped to listen. I had no idea that he was giving the speech to induct U2, another favorite group of mine. As he spoke, both The Beautiful One and I became more and more impressed. His speech (and it was his; he had it written out in front of him on what appeared to be notebook paper) was eloquent, funny, moving, and fundamentally honest. I happen to think that of both of those artists, so it was also incredibly appropriate. I have a good friend who doesn't much care for the Boss--"all his songs are about girls and cars, and they all sound the same!"--but I hope that even he would admit that this speech was something special. If you don't get a chance to see the induction ceremony (I would imagine that VH1 will replay it at some point), the whole speech is transcribed here.