Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Bringin' It All Back Home

Been away for awhile as I was on vacation last week. I plan on getting some stuff written this weekend, however, as I've seen a number of interesting movies over the last couple of weeks.

I'm waiting for my copy of Bob Dylan's new album Modern Times (released today). I paid extra to get it from the Sony Music Store because they include not only the DVD with a few live performances, but a sample disc of his radio show that is supposedly baseball-themed. No, of course, it's stuck in shipping limbo and I've no idea when, if ever, it will actually show up.

In the meantime, here, in what has got to be the longest allmusic.com review I've ever read, is a glowing review for Modern Times. The highlight:

"Modern Times offers a new weird America, one stranger than any that's come before, because it's merely part of a new weird world. In these ten songs, bawdy joy, restless heartache, comical scenes, and bottomless sadness all coexist and inform one another as a warning and celebration of this precious human life and wondering about whatever comes after. This world view is expressed through forms threatened with extinction: old rackety blues that pack an electrically charged wallop, parlor tunes and crooned pop-style ballads that could have come from the 1930s or even the 1890s. Modern Times is the work of a professional mythmaker, a back-alley magician and prophetic creator of mischief. It offers a view of the pilgrim as pickpocket, the thief as holy man, the lover as the fighter. And all bets are on to see who finishes dead last. What could be more confusing or so ultimately timeless as contradiction as entertainment, provided with a knowing, barely detectable grin."

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