The inside joke is the corpulent Christie is a huge fan of the Boss.

And who really is the Boss? The people with all the money or those with all the fans, the artists?

That’s the power of performers… The ability to move the masses. Back when they used to stand for something, way before they were just vessels for endorsements, two-dimensional icons for behind the scenes players to attach advertising messages.

If you think anybody cares about Springsteen’s new album, you’re a fan of the man who never misses a show and have probably flown to a gig to boot. Because albums are too labored, not spontaneous.

Yes, once music was not for tomorrow, just today. Ask the English rockers, they thought they were going back to the factory, they didn’t believe they’d be plying the boards decades later.

So what we’ve got here is a late night comedian with a sense of humor about himself who is willing to break the format established by Carson and honed by Letterman that everyone believes they must adhere to.

Now I’m not saying Jimmy Fallon will triumph at 11:30, because the truth is his audience does not believe in appointment television, we no longer believe in appointment anything, you tell me I’ve got to tune in to see plastic-surgeried “stars” hype their latest worthless projects as the hosts fawn over them? Ecch…

But we’ve always got time for creativity. Assuming we can consume it on our own timetable.

All entertainment is now a web play, not only music. Can you put it online where everybody can see it?

And not only does Mr. Fallon know this, but suddenly Mr. Springsteen.

So what we’ve got here is a concept. Fleshed out. On the spot. Kind of like the best songs of yore, like “Satisfaction,” which were written in a burst of inspiration and laid to wax moments later, in a matter of hours. Today we labor over our art to the point where it’s so overworked no one can relate to it, all the inspiration is smoothed over and the magic is eviscerated.

But not here.

Come on… You like piling on Christie, right? Mess with our taxes, cut off our unemployment, but don’t mess with our CARS! That’s an American right, the ability to get in your low mileage machine and scorch the earth of this great nation of ours.

And if you can’t…

Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen has a new album to sell.

Radio isn’t gonna play it. Come on, he’s too old for Top Forty and his music doesn’t sound right and he hasn’t written a hit in eons.

But all the ancient rag writers have weighed in, as if reviews mean anything in this cacophonous world.

But a little skit on late night TV evidencing more than a smidge of creativity and a sense of humor… We’re ready for that!

Fallon does a pretty good Boss. He’s actually more comprehensible than the man himself. But it’s the moments of interaction that make you smile. But not as much as the nuances… The need to pee, the “Jerseyland” reference. This is the best of high school in action. Or “Your Show Of Shows.” That’s what we’re looking for, a bolt of creativity, not slick, worthless, me-too product.

So what we’ve got here is a burst of publicity for Springsteen that actually eclipses the new album. If he were smart, he’d appear on Fallon’s show in skits like this on a regular basis, we’re much more interested in stuff like this than his new music.

That’s the new paradigm… Being in the game on a regular basis. Sure, you want to go on the road, but if you’re not feeding those who might be interested, you’re gonna be forgotten.

But the Boss deserves props. Because he’s never sold out, never done endorsements, he can nakedly make fun of Christie not worrying about payback…what is Chris gonna do, prevent him from playing in Newark, at the Meadowlands?

That’s the power of art!