wil-bury:

I have this awful habit of saving things to reply to as word documents then taking forever to reply; firstly, go us on breaking stereotypes! And secondly, what is your tattoo of? I have one, it’s not Bruce-related but my next one (hopefully within the upcoming couple of months) certainly will be. Not to the extent of a Born To Run portrait, but that’s only because I don’t like ‘lifelike’ tattoos as they give me the wiggins…

N’aw I do my best to look out for my sister, not that she needs it, she’s far more independent and single-minded than I’ll ever be but… well a lot of people don’t get on with their siblings at all so it’s nice, really.  Did you and your brother get along particularly well as kids?

Such strange coincidences! Perhaps your great-grandfather was exporting tea or trying to market umbrellas or… find a good dentist? I don’t really know what English stereotypes there still are around the world; before too long we’ll all be thought of as obese, lager-swilling thugs… so I’d much rather be thought of as a straight-laced ‘chap’ with a bowler hat. Wait what was I talking about… oh I wish I had some kind of cool family history story! I’ve never actually looked into it but perhaps someday I will and I’ll discover I really am related to the queen. All I know is that my great-grandmother lived in India for a long time, back when it was ‘nice and British’..!

You truly sound like a person who can appreciate movies! I spent a couple of years at college picking apart the technical aspects of films, and now I’m supposed to analyse them in the context of their place in society… I think I’m destined to critique, sadly. I always find myself loving really awful films; Titanic is my favourite ever, which probably tells you a lot. I completely know what you mean about the trouble of writing comprehensively about a text. And… well by movie theatres do you mean the old style kind I’m imagining from the golden years of Hollywood, or a shiny new cinema type building? I can see the appeal of the former, but less so the latter… does that make sense? There’s no soul in the surroundings. I don’t believe you aren’t a good enough writer for a second, incidentally. I think perhaps I need to watch more films when I’m in a more reflective frame of mind; lately they’ve all been quite mindless and more like visual wallpaper… wait, wallpaper is visual. But you know what I mean! ..hopefully..!

You’re completely welcome by the way, occasionally I’ll come out with a good sentence or two. I should start making notes!

I really can’t imagine life without seeing a Bruce show these days… I’m still holding onto the sliver of hope in time travel; especially right now as I’m completely immersed in 1978 Brucelegs. The versions of Backstreets… I think I’ve spent a solid hour just listening to one…

There’s no shame in liking Robbie Williams! My stepdad is a big fan of his and, brilliantly, his name is also Robert Williams. The poor man, despite being as Welsh as they come, couldn’t find the right note if it bought him a pint… God bless him, he’s the funniest man I’ve ever met. But a Robbie show would be remarkable! Did you hear he’s back with the Take That boys? I’m slightly excited about the whole prospect. I guess it’s a slight shame Robbie’s material has gone downhill, and the Rudebox album was a travesty… hey is he super-popular over in the US too? As for me, I’d love to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Paul McCartney and The Who. I’d also dearly love to go and see Roger Waters’ current ‘The Wall: Live’ tour, alas I am a poor, unemployed student.

As for the song/love connection… I guess we’ll live and we’ll learn, won’t we? I’ve found myself taking Thunder Road out of playlists on more than one occasion. Just in case. I guess that’s a weird habit.

But hey, welcome back! How was Indiana? I hope everything’s great (:

Speaking of bad habits, I have a terrible habit of responding to things—emails, Facebook messages and posts, texts, etc. So I apologize profusely for taking so long to respond to you and I certainly hope you will just chalk it up to my poor qualities, along with almost being late to everything (I’m on Hispanic time as they say), as I do so enjoy talking with you! :)

My tattoo is actually a caricature of Groucho Marx. (I’ll post a photo of it on my tumblr so you can see it in it’s full glory.) I’m a huge Groucho fan and the drawing is what he would often autograph to fans. It is a constant reminder for me that wit and laughter always prevail…and it has definitely served its purpose in moments when my first instinct is to cry or get mad. Always, always laugh instead. Now do tell—what is your tattoo of?

My brother and I have always been close, especially as kids. Since he’s five years older than me he would introduce me to all the best music, got me into U2, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Public Enemy, Tribe Called Quest…he was and is a great brother. He would never kick me out of his room when his friends came over and we would spend hours at night talking or playing nerf basketball. :) All of my favorite memories growing up involve him in some way or another. He’s married now and a proper grownup but thankfully also lives in NY…but even with that I find that as we get older it gets harder and harder to find time to spend with each other, you know? We’re all off leading our own lives and it gets in the way of all of the silly sibling fun. How often do you see your sister? Does she live close by?

Movie theaters, just the regular old ones are still like church to me albeit not quite of  Vatican proportions which would be reserved for the old school Hollywood theaters that you describe. Those are amazing. I have to admit that the sap in me (the same sap who loves watching “Sleepless in Seattle”) dreams of getting married in one of those gorgeous classic theaters…but now that dream has changed a bit. Maybe when I turn 30 in a few years and tap into some boat load of cash hidden somewhere I’ll rent one out and throw a big movie-watching bash. Consider yourself invited if this shindig happens of course! :) Also, can we talk bad movie taste—Titanic is pretty bad. It’s the one film that I have always vowed to go back and re-edit, taking the old lady out of the film completely as she drags the story along. I think without her it would be sooo much better. I want to hear more about your terrible movie taste though. :) The two worst movies that I own and love (three I guess actually) have to Jackass 1 and 2 and Crank. I am such a sucker for ridiculous action movies.

As for Robbie Williams, sadly, he is not popular here at all. Very few people know of him and those that do only know “Millennium” or “Angels,” if at all. And I agree, Rudebox was complete crap…but I did like two songs off the album—The 80s and the 90s. I’m a sucker for his wordplay. :) I have to admit that my knowledge of his time with Take That is very limited so I can’t share your excitement but if they come to the States on their tour I would definitely go. I’ll see Robbie any way that I can! Oh, Tom Petty would be amazing to see live, I never have. I saw Roger Waters a couple of years ago and it was pretty cool but I felt like I should have been tripping on acid to have fully experienced the show.

Don’t kill me but I hate Paul McCartney. :( I like what he did with the Beatles but his solo work is garbage, with the exception of a few singles…and I will never forgive him for the terrible song he wrote after 9/11. Ugh, that was awful. I’m a far bigger fan of John Lennon’s solo stuff than any other Beatle to be honest, although George Harrison is a close second. :)

How are classes? How much more do you have left before you graduate?

Indiana, PA was kind of a let down actually. I think that I half-expected Jimmy Stewart to be there somehow which is admittedly delusional but hey, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a fan girl.

I hope that this belated reply finds you well and knee-deep in good music! Big hug.