Yeah, Dylan assumed the affect of Woody Guthrie and it was pretentious to do that, but Dylan brought the goods lyrically. Springsteen copies those two and produces forgettable stuff. It's third-generation, third world produced version of something original and authentic. His best-selling, best known album is music industry manufactured dung, including the title track.
Crap sells. People gobble up Stern and Springsteen, while there are guys many times better in relative obscurity, or only regionally known. The Lehigh maxim: "How could X/Y/Z possibly be important or good if I've never heard of them" actually captures this mindset perfectly. I hear a song by Nick Drake or Sixto Rodriguez and I wonder, "How in the world did these guys record and perform in obscurity while Springsteen's crap sold the world over?" I mean, they weren't manufactured fakes. They were the real deals, writing better lyrics, had better voices, writing better songs, and they remain relatively obscure, even with some attempts to publicize their work over the last couple decades. Meanwhile, "Dancin' in the Dark" is playing every second of the day on some classic rock station in the States. I just cling to the hope that upon first appearance at the pearly gates, St. Peter snatches the guitar from the hands of "The Boss" and tells him, "Don't you ever let me here you playing this thing again, and for God's, er, gosh sakes, no more of that 'singing' of yours!" As for Sterno, hopefully God plants him in the septic tank under Dana Plato's bungalow.