{"id":17359,"date":"2020-04-15T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=17359"},"modified":"2023-01-01T14:18:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T22:18:25","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-real-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s that moment we all wish for at a Bruce Springsteen show:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;We&#8217;re gonna try out some songs we ain&#8217;t played yet&#8230; we&#8217;re gonna fly by the seat of our pants a little bit, alright?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Heck yes! Bring it on, Bruce&#8211;what are we getting? A brand-new unreleased song? A cool tribute cover? A missing-in-action classic, perhaps?<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s what I imagine was going through the minds of Bruce&#8217;s Swedish audience that night of June 17, 1992. But what they got was the world premiere of a serious contender for Bruce Springsteen&#8217;s worst song ever:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/70nhL9xEvw8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>I cringe every time I watch that clip. Bruce tries <em>so<\/em> hard to sell the song, delivering an over-the-top performance for a song that started out that way.<\/p>\n<p>As for the studio track, <em>Ultimate Classic Rock<\/em> called it &#8220;an embarrassment.&#8221; <em>Rolling Stone<\/em> cited it as one of 22 Terrible Songs by Great Artists. When Backstreets.com wanted to punk readers on April Fools Day a couple of years back, they announced a promotional release of &#8220;the legendary &#8216;Real Man&#8217; single, initially planned as a U.S. follow-up to the &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/17\/roll-of-the-dice-57-channels-and-nothin-on\/\">57 Channels (And Nothin&#8217; On)<\/a>&#8216; single in 1992 but never released.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s how dismissively &#8220;Real Man&#8221; is considered by most critics and fans, to the degree it&#8217;s considered at all. (As for me, I&#8217;d rank it third from the bottom, just above &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ill-stand-by-you-always\/\">I&#8217;ll Stand By You<\/a>&#8221; and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/13\/roll-of-the-dice-cover-me\/\">Cover Me<\/a>.&#8221;)<\/p>\n<p>But we must ask ourselves: does &#8220;Real Man&#8221; really deserve all that scorn? Let&#8217;s do the right thing and take a close listen with an open mind:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LRH2Z8Ixy5Q?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Oh yeah, that track sucks.<\/p>\n<p>What a waste of some serious talent. (That&#8217;s David Sancious playing the organ and Randy Jackson on bass, although I suspect they might both prefer that information to stay under the radar.)<\/p>\n<p>As for the lyrics, well even Bruce felt the need to issue a disclaimer before performing it each night: &#8220;This next song is a very corny song, so corny I almost threw it off the damn record&#8230; but uh, but I guess I&#8217;m gonna do it here tonight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Took my baby to a picture show<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Found a seat in the back row<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Sound came up, lights went down<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And Rambo he was blowing &#8217;em down<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I don&#8217;t need no gun in my fist baby<\/em><br \/>\n<em>All I need is your sweet kiss<\/em><br \/>\n<em>To get me feeling like a real man<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You know, one would think that Bruce would have learned after &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/18\/roll-of-the-dice-im-a-rocker\/\">I&#8217;m a Rocker<\/a>&#8221; that pop culture references rarely age well.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Feeling like a real man<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Well you can beat on your chest<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Hell any monkey can<\/em><br \/>\n<em>But you got me feeling like a real man<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh feeling like a real man<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As choruses go, this one&#8217;s pretty, um, primitive&#8211;maybe a cut above &#8220;Ooh ooh I got a crush on you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/02\/roll-of-the-dice-crush-on-you\/\">Crush on You<\/a>,&#8221; if our first exposure to the next two verses was on paper without the music playing, we might wonder if they were deleted scenes from it&#8211;they have virtually the same cadence and construction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Me and my girl Saturday night<\/em><br \/>\n<em>It&#8217;s a late movie on Channel Five<\/em><br \/>\n<em>The girls were dropping, they&#8217;re dropping like flies<\/em><br \/>\n<em>To some smooth-talking cool-walking private eye<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I ain&#8217;t got no nerves of steel<\/em><br \/>\n<em>But all I got to know is if your love is real<\/em><br \/>\n<em>To get me feeling like a real man<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Well now I ain&#8217;t no fighter that&#8217;s easy to see<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And as a lover I ain&#8217;t going down in history<\/em><br \/>\n<em>But when the lights go down and you pull me close<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Well I look in your eyes and there&#8217;s one thing I know<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Baby I&#8217;ll be tough enough<\/em><br \/>\n<em>If I can find the guts to give you all my love<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Then I&#8217;ll be feeling like a real man<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In fact, the similarities don&#8217;t stop there. Both &#8220;Crush on You&#8221; and &#8220;Real Man&#8221; contain dated pop culture references, and they both have <em>super-<\/em>corny lyrics. So why does one work while the other one doesn&#8217;t?<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll argue that it&#8217;s the arrangement and the production. Yes, &#8220;Crush on You&#8221; is as corny as they come, but the arrangement crunches and rocks&#8211;it&#8217;s aggressive, almost dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Real Man&#8221; on the other hand&#8230; well, let&#8217;s just say there&#8217;s nothing dangerous about that track. The backing track suits the lyrics to a tee, and in this case that is <em>not<\/em> a good thing.<\/p>\n<p>Now I know I&#8217;ve been hating on &#8220;Real Man&#8221; throughout this post, so let me end by saying two things in its defense:<\/p>\n<p>First, Bruce wrote it when he had finally found real love, happiness, and satisfaction. If you write what you know, that&#8217;s what&#8217;s going to come out in song. Over time, I think Bruce learned how to write happy songs without tipping over into diabetic territory, but in 1990 just being happy and satisfied was a new experience for Bruce.<\/p>\n<p>So when I hear &#8220;Real Man&#8221; I hear my hero&#8211;a man who has battled against depression his entire adult life&#8211;absolutely joyful and giddy. I may not like the song, but I love knowing that he felt the way he did when he wrote it.<\/p>\n<p>Second: I can&#8217;t believe I&#8217;m writing these words, but I&#8217;d actually kinda like to see Bruce try a harder arrangement of &#8220;Real Man&#8221; in concert some time. (He hasn&#8217;t touched it in 28 years.) It may never be a great song, but I suspect there&#8217;s campy potential a la &#8220;Crush on You&#8221; if he can figure out the right way to unlock it.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d recommend starting by ditching those synths.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Real Man<br \/>\nRecorded:<\/strong> January-February 1990<br \/>\n<strong>Released:\u00a0<\/strong><em>Human Touch\u00a0<\/em>(1992)<br \/>\n<strong>First performed:<\/strong> June 17, 1992 (Stockholm, Sweden)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:<\/strong> July 25, 1992 (East Rutherford, NJ)<\/p>\n<p>Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/roll-of-the-dice-album-by-album\/\">full index<\/a>. New entries every week!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In which we ask the question: is there any redeeming virtue in this widely scorned deep cut?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[126,1140],"class_list":["post-17359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roll-of-the-dice","tag-human-touch","tag-real-man"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.3 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ken\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 5.0.3\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"fb:app_id\" content=\"506162303136980\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"fb:admins\" content=\"358461094680441\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:secure_url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-15T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-01T22:18:25+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/estreetshuffleblog\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Krosen\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#article\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle\",\"headline\":\"Roll of the Dice: Real Man\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#person\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/RealMan.jpg?fit=550%2C550&ssl=1\",\"width\":550,\"height\":550},\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-15T05:00:00-07:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-01T14:18:25-08:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#webpage\"},\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#webpage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Roll of the Dice, Human Touch, Real Man\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Real Man\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Real Man\",\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#person\",\"name\":\"Ken\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#personImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Ken\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ken\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#authorImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Ken\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#breadcrumblist\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\"},\"creator\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/RealMan.jpg?fit=550%2C550&ssl=1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#mainImage\",\"width\":550,\"height\":550},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/15\\\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\\\/#mainImage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-15T05:00:00-07:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-01T14:18:25-08:00\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"E Street Shuffle\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#person\"}}]}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO -->\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle","description":"","canonical_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#article","name":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle","headline":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author"},"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#person"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg?fit=550%2C550&ssl=1","width":550,"height":550},"datePublished":"2020-04-15T05:00:00-07:00","dateModified":"2023-01-01T14:18:25-08:00","inLanguage":"en-US","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#webpage"},"articleSection":"Roll of the Dice, Human Touch, Real Man"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#listItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/#listItem","position":2,"name":"Roll of the Dice","item":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man","previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice"}}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#person","name":"Ken","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#personImage","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","width":96,"height":96,"caption":"Ken"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/","name":"Ken","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#authorImage","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","width":96,"height":96,"caption":"Ken"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/","name":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#breadcrumblist"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author"},"creator":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg?fit=550%2C550&ssl=1","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#mainImage","width":550,"height":550},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/#mainImage"},"datePublished":"2020-04-15T05:00:00-07:00","dateModified":"2023-01-01T14:18:25-08:00"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/","name":"E Street Shuffle","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#person"}}]},"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"E Street Shuffle","og:type":"article","og:title":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle","og:url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/","fb:app_id":"506162303136980","fb:admins":"358461094680441","og:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg","og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg","og:image:width":550,"og:image:height":550,"article:published_time":"2020-04-15T12:00:00+00:00","article:modified_time":"2023-01-01T22:18:25+00:00","article:publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/estreetshuffleblog\/","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:site":"@Krosen","twitter:title":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man | E Street Shuffle","twitter:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"17359","title":null,"description":null,"keywords":[],"keyphrases":{"focus":{"keyphrase":"","score":0,"analysis":{"keyphraseInTitle":{"score":0,"maxScore":9,"error":1}}},"additional":[]},"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"article","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":"","og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":[],"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"Article","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[],"defaultGraph":"","defaultPostTypeGraph":""},"schema_type":null,"schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":"-1","robots_max_videopreview":"-1","robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":"default","local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2020-12-21 06:24:41","updated":"2025-06-04 20:24:19","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null,"focus_keyword":null,"additional_keywords":null,"truseo_locale":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/\" title=\"Roll of the Dice\">Roll of the Dice<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tRoll of the Dice: Real Man\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/"},{"label":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},{"label":"Roll of the Dice: Real Man","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-real-man\/"}],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-4vZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38856,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/24\/roll-of-the-dice-seaside-bar-song\/","url_meta":{"origin":17359,"position":0},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Seaside Bar Song","author":"Ken","date":"October 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"An early Wild and Innocent outtake based on a still-standing bar bears the seeds of classic songs still to come.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/osprey.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/osprey.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/osprey.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/osprey.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/osprey.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36008,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/07\/roll-of-the-dice-im-gonna-rock-the-pee-pee-song\/","url_meta":{"origin":17359,"position":1},"title":"Roll of the Dice: I&#8217;m Gonna Rock (The Pee Pee Song)","author":"Ken","date":"July 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When nature calls, Bruce makes up a song.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/gonnarock.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/gonnarock.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/gonnarock.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/gonnarock.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/gonnarock.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12476,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-changing-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":17359,"position":2},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Changing Children","author":"Ken","date":"September 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At the dawn of the 1970s, even Bruce couldn't help but be a little cynical about the likelihood of real change. Take a listen to his sarcastic Steel Mill song, \"Change It.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/changeit.png?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/changeit.png?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/changeit.png?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/changeit.png?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21253,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/24\/roll-of-the-dice-here-she-comes-walkin\/","url_meta":{"origin":17359,"position":3},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Here She Comes Walkin&#8217;","author":"Ken","date":"September 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce often leads in to live performances of \"I Wanna Marry You\" with a gorgeous, unreleased song that pre-dates it by several years.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/girl-walk.gif?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/girl-walk.gif?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/girl-walk.gif?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/girl-walk.gif?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11793,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/07\/roll-of-the-dice-vibes-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":17359,"position":4},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Vibes Man","author":"Ken","date":"August 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The secret origin of \u201cNew York City Serenade\u201d starts here.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vibes.jpg?fit=817%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vibes.jpg?fit=817%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vibes.jpg?fit=817%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vibes.jpg?fit=817%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10928,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/20\/roll-of-the-dice-i-gotta-be-free\/","url_meta":{"origin":17359,"position":5},"title":"Roll of the Dice: I Gotta Be Free","author":"Ken","date":"July 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Short on lyrics, long on guitar jams, \"I Gotta Be Free\" is an early Springsteen original from his Steel Mill period with a mid-song cover of The Grateful Dead's \"Turn on Your Love Light.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/free.jpg?fit=225%2C225&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RealMan.jpg?fit=550%2C550&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17359"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40441,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17359\/revisions\/40441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}