Revisiting that Highway!

I haven’t been able to remove Modern Times, Bob Dylan’s new album, from the turntable. (I know, I know, I no longer have a turntable; I have a cd player, but I hate the sound of the statement: I haven’t been able to remove Modern Times, Bob Dylan’s new album, from the cd player. The statement lacks body, and interpersonal connection.) Modern Times is a remarkable work. I once said that I punctuated my life in Bob Dylan albums, and Modern Times is an exclamation point. It is to my mind a perceptive and personal reflection about the state of our bodies and souls in this difficult and horrible time. “Shame on your greed, shame on your wicked schemes,” he accuses. A long time, but not a great distance from “Even the president of the United States must sometime have to stand naked.” Yet he knows he is not now, nor ever will be, above responsibility: “I am a-tryin' to love my neighbor and do good unto others/But oh, mother, things ain't going well.” I think I understand.

Have tickets with my teen-aged daughter to share some moments with the man Sunday evening at the St. Paul Xcel Center. Full circles still turning.