Bruce Springsteen Bounces Back From Wal-Mart 'Mistake' By Rocking Super Bowl

During Bruce Springsteen's performance at the Super Bowl last night, I was still able to appreciate his songwriting (despite the unnecessary oddity of a ref running out on stage and apparently calling a penalty on the Boss.) For example, during that closing number, "Glory Days":

My old man worked 20 years on the line
and they let him go
Now everywhere he goes out looking for work
they just tell him that he's too old

Wait a second--is this Bruce Springsteen singing about the plight of the working man the same Bruce Springsteen who signed an exclusive deal with Wal-Mart to sell his greatest hits album? The same Wal-Mart often blamed as the cause of the plight of said working man?

Yes, indeed. Bruce followed the example of fellow classic-rock icons the Eagles and AC/DC to cut a deal with Wal-Mart to be the only place to get his Greatest Hits, released January 13. Many critics of Wal-Mart came down on the Boss for going against his longstanding support of labor unions and progressive causes.

But just a couple days before his Super Bowl performance, Springsteen basically said the critics were right. He told the New York Times the deal was a "mistake."

I'm not going to weigh in on the criticism that Wal-Mart is destroying labor unions. But I have reported on Wal-Mart's relationship with another issue that pertains to the ordinary, working men and women that Bruce often writes about in his songs. Check out my interview with Russell Sobel of West Virginia University, who addresses the concern that Wal-Mart has driven many small mom-n-pop stores out of business. That's true, but overall, Sobel's research finds, Wal-Mart has not reduced opportunities for small businesses.

Maybe Bruce doesn't need to feel so guilty about allying with Wal-Mart?