In memory of Clarence "The Big Man" Clemons

I can't believe Clarence Clemons has passed away, at age 69.

I didn't really get into music until college but it was a great time to become a fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which I did thanks to my friend Dan Kennedy.

This was a few years after Born to Run and just before Darkness on the Edge of Town, so there was a tremendous sense of anticipation. The double-LP The River is my favorite from that era. I remember listening to it on my combination turntable, eight-track player.

Of course, it was several years before I got a chance to see the band onstage. In those pre-MTV, pre-YouTube days, there were no videos or concert footage. All you had were the albums and maybe some bootlegs.

But friends of mine, including Dan, had seen Springsteen perform. I'd heard stories about how unforgettable his concerts were, including the banter between Bruce and "The Big Man," saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

I finally got my chance in 1984 in Hartford, Conn., when Springsteen and the E Street Band toured after Born in the U.S.A. came out. I remember Bruce told the story, with great theatricality, about the night he and Clarence met, at a bar in Asbury Park, N.J.

The concert was thrilling - everything I thought it would be. I had another chance to see Springsteen several years later, in Syracuse. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that I'll probably never fall in love with a rock 'n' roll band the same way again.

Clemons' saxophone solos were such a well, big, part of making Springsteen's sound unique. I also loved his duet with Jackson Browne, "You're a Friend of Mine." You can listen to it here. My condolences to Clemons' friends and family and to his E Street family. Here's the New York Times obituary and here's the statement from Bruce Springsteen's official website:

It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away. The cause was complications from his stroke of last Sunday, June 12th.

Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years.

He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band.

My 99 cents on The Book of Mormon Broadway cast recording

I haven't seen The Book of Mormon, Broadway's newest Tony winner for Best Musical, but Amazon had the cast recording on sale for $1.99 as an MP3 download. With the way tickets are selling, that might be as close as I'll get for awhile.

Because I had a credit, it ended up only costing me 99 cents! So here's my 99 cents on The Book of Mormon. After listening a few times to the songs and the snippets of dialogue two things struck me - one good and one not so good.

The songs performed by the young Mormons who are about to embark on their stints as missionaries are catchy and upbeat and funny. The lyrics are sweet and heartfelt about their desire to spread their religious faith and make the world a better place.

In fact, they seemed so positive, so earnest and sincere, that I'm surprised the Mormon Church isn't already using them as recruiting tools. Specifically, "Hello," "Two By Two" and "I Believe" are virtual love songs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But the other thing that struck me about The Book of Mormon was the portrayal of the village in Uganda where Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, who play the musical's two Odd Couple-like missionaries, are sent.

The Africans, in sharp contrast to the clean-cut, All-American and God-fearing Mormons, are presented as violent, profane, ignorant and easily led. I can't even bring myself to write what the villagers believe will "cure" them of AIDS.

The one appealing Ugandan character, played by Tony winner Nikki James, does get a nice song where she talks about her hopes and dreams, if she can only reach the paradise of "Sal Tlay Ka Siti." (Oh hah, hah, that's a joke on the Ugandans' inability to pronounce Salt Lake City.)

I know that The Book of Mormon was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the South Park guys, and Robert Lopez, the guy from Avenue Q. I realize that the clash of cultures is what this musical is all about. It's a satire - it's supposed to be irreverent and skewer everyone. But based on what I've heard, the skewering just seems a little one-sided.

I'd still like to see The Book of Mormon someday. I realize it's unfair to judge a musical solely on its cast recording. I may be hearing things out of context, not getting the full picture of the story and characters. But for now, that's the only thing I have.

Bob Dylan turns 70

Dylan is 70!

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Hibbing, Minn., on May 24, 1941, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. His songs are among the first I remember listening to - and loving. So happy birthday, Zimmy!

A few years ago I wrote a blog post about my favorite Dylan tunes, most of which date from the 1960s. As much as he fought against the whole "voice of his generation" label, his music really did help to define that tumultuous decade.

I've only seen him perform once, in 1988 at The New York State Fair. As usual, he didn't say much between songs but he did play a couple that I especially love: "The Times They Are A-Changin" and "Like A Rolling Stone."

But my favorite - and most likely the first Dylan song I ever heard - is "Blowin in the Wind," from 1962. Based on the spiritual "No More Auction Block," it became an anthem of the civil-rights and antiwar movements and remains an American classic.

More than four decades later, "Blowin in the Wind" resonates deeply with a simple, direct question that continues to define the struggle for equal rights: "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?"

Here's a young Dylan singing what is arguably his most famous song. I listened to this a few times last night when I found it on YouTube and what struck me was how sweet he sounds.

The music that changed history

Last week at the White House, President Obama hosted "A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement." It aired on PBS but I caught the concert online here.

I love the music of the 1960s, especially the songs that became civil-rights anthems. They were designed to inspire and lift the spirits of people who had been battered and bruised in the fight for equality. This was music meant to be actively sung, not simply listened to passively.

As Jon Pareles put it in his New York Times review, "If any music can claim to have changed history, it was the songs of the civil rights movement."

And how stirring to see and hear these songs not in some grainy black-and-white news footage from some small Southern town but in the elegance of the East Room.

Yolanda Adams sang Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come," a song that always gets me choked up. I liked John Mellencamp's rockin' "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize."

How cool was it to hear Bob Dylan sing "The Times They Are A-Changin" for an audience that likely included actual senators and congressmen!

Of course, Joan Baez sang "We Shall Overcome," the song she performed at the March on Washington in 1963. What a perfect bookend to history.

It was incredible to listen to these songs and think about the people who sang them half a century ago, people who were beaten and jailed and even killed simply for trying to register African-Americans to vote.

Now, these same songs are performed at the White House in front of our country's first African-American president. Could anyone ever have imagined it?

Here are the performances by Adams:



And Dylan



And Baez

My U2 playlist

I'm watching the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest U2! (Speaking of musicals, I'll be on the lookout for any references to Spider-Man.)

In case you're interested, I saw the band once, in Syracuse on Oct. 9, 1987. I remember Bono's arm was in a sling because he'd dislocated his shoulder. It was also the same night as a friend's goodbye party, which I rushed to after the concert.

Here's the playlist, which actually contains most of my favorite U2 songs. (Thanks to James Sims of the Sofa Snark blog for pointing me to the site where I could look it up!)

Venue: Carrier Dome, Syracuse University

Opening Act(s): Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, Los Lobos

Main Set: Where the Streets..., I Will Follow, Trip Through Your Wires, I Still Haven't Found, MLK, The Unforgettable Fire, Exit, In God's Country, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Help, People Get Ready, Bad, October, New Year's Day, Pride

Encore(s): Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, With or Without You, 40

Update: U2 performed four songs on SNL: "Breathe," "Moment of Surrender," "Ultraviolet," and after the show ended, "With or Without You."

Rest in peace, Mary Travers

Mary Travers passed away Wednesday in Connecticut at age 72, after a lengthy struggle with leukemia.

For some reason, this one hit me harder than some of the other recent celebrity deaths. Maybe it's because I've been listening to Peter, Paul and Mary forever.

I saw them in concert once, in Boston in the 1980s, and they played many of the songs I loved. I mean, who doesn't love "Blowin in the Wind," "If I Had a Hammer," "Puff the Magic Dragon," "I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane." I'm so glad I had a chance to hear them perform live.

I didn't realize this, but Travers appeared on Broadway three times - two of them were concerts with Peter, Paul and Mary in the 1980s, to benefit the New York Coalition for the Homeless. But in 1958, she was part of a short-lived musical comedy revue called The Next President, with Mort Sahl, that played at the Bijou Theatre, where the Marriott Marquis now stands.

As part of the folk trio with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, Travers sang the songs that became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements. Peter, Paul and Mary performed "If I Had a Hammer" at the 1963 March on Washington, where the picture was taken.

The New York Times obituary notes that the group's politics were somewhat risky for attracting a mass audience.

“There was a real possibility that we would lose the entire Southern market over the issue,” Ms. Travers told Robbie Woliver, the author of Hoot!: A Twenty-Five Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene, an oral history. “But we felt that the issue was more important than the Southern market.”

Amen to that. Rest in peace, Mary Travers.

The cherubic, charismatic Michael

Everyone loved the Jackson Five, especially the cherubic, charismatic Michael. The reasons for their out-of-the-box success boiled down to one simple truth: “The singing and the songs make us happy,” wrote soul-music biographer David Ritz. “They are moments of incandescent beauty-young, wildly optimistic.”
From The Jackson Five page at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

What a sad week - Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson all passing away. I remember seeing Jackson on tv with his brothers as a little kid, buying Thriller when it first came out, watching the videos on MTV back when MTV still played videos. Then seeing what he became over the past 25 years or so was so disturbing that I pretty much stopped paying attention.

I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York City earlier this month, and among the memorabilia on display is the jacket Michael Jackson wore during the taping of "We Are the World in 1985. You can watch the video here.

The Wall Street Journal posted a video of the Jackson Five's first appearance on American Bandstand here. I felt a little choked up watching it. And here's an appreciation from the New York Times' Jon Pareles.

I'd like some lyrics with my CD please

I picked up the new Broadway cast recording of Hair yesterday at Borders. It was on sale for $14.99 but I got it for free by using three of my Borders Rewards Visa coupons! (Okay, almost free. I had to pay $1.04.)

When I got home, I tore off the shrink wrap and started flipping through the booklet. Lots of pictures. Introductory essays from Diane Paulus, director of the Broadway revival; and Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public Theater. But sadly, no song lyrics.

Personally, I find the absence of lyrics a disturbing trend. I first noticed it when I bought the cast recording of Curtains, produced by Manhattan Records and EMI, and it was very disappointing.

Yeah I know, most people get their music from iTunes and just download the booklet and cover art. I did go to a Web site and print the Curtains lyrics but it wasn't the same. They were too big and bulky to fit in the CD case.

A lot of people listen to their music on the go - in the car or on the subway or exercising or whatever. And obviously, reading while driving is not a good idea. But occasionally, I do listen to a CD at home, on my CD player, and I like to follow along. I even like to prop the booklet up on the treadmill while I'm at the gym.

I know there's a cost factor and cast recordings are a niche market to begin with. If you've got a single CD, there's only so much you can pack into the booklet. And maybe some people would rather have the photos and essays. Don't get me wrong, I like them.

But after producing a terrific 2-CD cast recording of In the Heights, with lyrics, I just wish that Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight could have accommodated them on the Hair CD, too.

Adam Lambert sings a song for peace

Okay, I'll admit I'm not a fan of American Idol. I think I watched it once, a few years ago, just to see what all the fuss was about. So I haven't been following the competition very closely - except that if you're at all interested in pop culture, you can't help but hear something about the show.

Still, it entirely escaped me that Idol runner-up Adam Lambert is Jewish! Why wasn't I informed?! I definitely would have paid more attention. (I'm joking, I'm joking. Kind of.)

And now, I've found a video of Lambert singing "Shir L'Shalom" ("Song for Peace") in Hebrew (and some English).

"Shir L'Shalom" is one of my favorite Israeli songs and one that has a great deal of meaning for me. Written in 1969, it's always been an anthem of the Israeli peace movement. But it took on an even more iconic status in 1995, after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Rabin was singing the song, along with a massive crowd, at a peace rally in Tel Aviv's main square on Nov. 4, 1995, moments before he was killed. His death came about three months after I visited Israel for the first time - and fell in love with the country. Since then, "Shir L'Shalom" has become a staple at memorial services honoring him.

Lambert's version is interesting - a lot slower than some others I've heard, but still very stirring. Here's an English translation if you want to follow along.

"We are the World"

Am I the only one who had an irresistible urge to go to YouTube immediately after watching the 30 Rock season finale?

In 1985, a musical supergroup came together to lend support for famine relief in Africa. Often parodied and often imitated, "We Are the World" remains a classic. Look at how young everyone was!

Remembering Marian Anderson

Classical music critic Alex Ross has an interesting article in The New Yorker about African-American contralto Marian Anderson.

This month marks the 70th anniversary of Anderson's concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, after she was denied permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution to sing at Constitution Hall because it was only open to white artists.

Yesterday, in a tribute concert re-creating that historic event, African-American opera singer Denyce Graves performed the three songs Anderson sang 70 years ago: "America," "O, Mio Fernando" and "Ave Maria."

Ross has a link to Anderson's performance of "America." You can watch it here, too. And historian Raymond Arsenault has written a book about the events leading up to and after that concert in 1939, called The Sound of Freedom.

What a great reminder that some of the things we once thought of as immutable traditions, maybe even "justified" by the Bible, weren't so immutable or justifiable after all.

To Marvin Hamlisch, it's still 1956

According to this interview, award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch is not big on the joys of modern technology:

“For me, it’s 1956. I don’t have an iPod; I don’t have a computer,” he said. “I’ve been listening to the same music for 30 years – West Side Story, Gypsy. Until something better comes along, I’m very happy listening to that.”

Well I can't argue with his taste in music but I wonder if he carries a turntable with him wherever he goes? Or a reel-to-reel recorder? Because the first cassette deck wasn't introduced until 1963 - much less the eight-track or CD player.

And the original Broadway production of West Side Story opened in 1957. Gypsy made its debut two years later. So he's at least stuck in 1959 - when he would have been 15.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating slightly. Maybe he's really living in the mid-1960s.

Paul and Ringo reunite and I'm not there

I sighed this morning when I turned on my computer and checked the headlines from The New York Times.

Paul McCartney has always been my favorite Beatle - because he's the cute one and I'm so shallow. (Just kidding! He is my favorite but I'm not that shallow. I'm a fan of his singing and songwriting ability.)

Anyway, last night, McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited on stage at Radio City Music Hall during the Change Begins Within concert for the David Lynch Foundation, which promotes teaching transcendental meditation in schools. They shared a microphone to sing "With a Little Help from My Friends" and embraced. (Awww, how nice!)

Of course, departed Beatles George Harrison and John Lennon weren't forgotten. Sheryl Crow sang Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and McCartney offered Lennon's "Here Today."

The New York Times' Jon Pareles has the scoop in the Times' ArtsBeat blog.

Paul McCartney is the one performer I've always wanted to see but never had an opportunity.

I came close once, when he scheduled a concert stop in Syracuse. I got up early to stand in line at the Carrier Dome box office to get tickets for myself and some friends. Just to show you how long ago it was, you couldn't buy them online.

Then McCartney canceled the concert, because it conflicted with some television commitment I think. It was never rescheduled.

For 50 years we've been on our own

"I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died."
Don McLean
"American Pie"

It's been half a century since the plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa, that killed J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. Rock 'n' roll veterans gathered in Clear Lake yesterday to remember "the day the music died."

I heard Don McLean sing "American Pie" once, at the New York State Fair. Here's an interesting interpretation of what the song means.

The three musicians have been immortalized in the musical Buddy, which opened originally in London's West End, played for a total of 225 performances at Broadway's Shubert Theatre, from Oct. 23, 1990 to May 19, 1991, and has since been presented around the world.

But Buddy focused mainly on the life and music of Buddy Holly. I'd like to make a pitch for a musical celebrating the life and music of Ritchie Valens. Although he was only 17 when he died, he left a big legacy.

Born Richard Steven Valenzuela in California in 1941, he was the first Chicano rock 'n' roll star and has served as an inspiration to Latino musicians. His story was told in the 1987 movie La Bamba, with Lou Diamond Phillips. I loved the movie and the soundtrack, with music by Los Lobos.

With the success of In the Heights, about a Latino neighborhood in New York City, and the upcoming West Side Story revival, with actors singing and speaking in Spanish, I think this is a great time to develop a West Coast Latino story on Broadway.

Say it ain't so Bruce

Seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was my only reason for tuning in the Super Bowl yesterday. (Okay, I was a little curious about the commercials, but the ones I saw weren't too memorable.)

I'm more in agreement with my friend Dan at Media Nation than I am with Stephen Metcalf at Slate about Bruce's halftime performance. He says Bruce should have played "The Wrestler." I don't know - I loved the 12-minute medley: "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," "Born to Run," "Glory Days" and "Working on a Dream." I love how at age 59, Bruce can move around the stage with so much energy. He still puts on a great show.

One thing I did notice was the wildly enthusiastic crowd. Little did I realize until I read Metcalf's column that they weren't lucky football fans plucked from the stands to get an up-close view of the Boss. They were plants!

According to this story from Tampa Bay Online, producers of the halftime show sent out a call for 2,000 excited fans. "Volunteers will get to be on the field at Raymond James Stadium as part of the concert, but won't get tickets to the game. Show organizers advise those selected to record the show at home and watch it later."

I should have realized that this was a 12-minute music video and the "audience" wasn't in the stadium but the millions watching at home. I guess Courtney Cox wasn't some random fan pulled onto the stage in the "Dancing in the Dark" video either. I am so gullible!

Where will I hang out now?

I know this was announced months ago, but now that the date is getting closer, let me just say how sad I am that the Virgin Megastore in Times Square is closing in April. It'll be replaced by the clothing store chain Forever 21.

When I'm by myself in New York, the Virgin Megastore is one of my favorite places to hang out in Times Square before or after a show. And at the end of my trip, I'd stock up on some $10 CDs and DVDs. Although I have to admit, the ear-splittingly loud music they played did cut down on my browsing time considerably.

I'm not sure what I'll do the next time I get to Broadway. I love The Drama Bookshop and I always stop there, but it's not as centrally located. I can only spend so much time looking at tchotchkes in the souvenir stores. (Although I always pick up a few Broadway show magnets.)

This reminds me that during my last trip to the city, after seeing Road Show, I looked all over the place for a copy of Stephen Sondheim's Bounce and struck out everywhere. Well, the three places I tried: Virgin, the Barnes & Noble across from Lincoln Center and the Borders at Columbus Circle. And it wasn't a quixotic quest. I know I've seen it in a store somewhere over the past couple of years.

Why did I even bother? Why didn't I just wait until I got home and order it online? Well, I do buy online sometimes, or from iTunes. Call me old fashioned but I like browsing in actual brick-and-mortar stores. I like flipping through bins of CDs and DVDs, the thrill of finding some unexpected, long-sought treasure and the instant gratification of buying it on the spot.

Yeah, I know, sometimes I'm so 20th century.

Springsteen and son

My fellow Bruce Springsteen fans, I did a double-take when I saw this photograph.

Doesn't Evan, at right, (with his mom, Patti Scialfa, dad, brother Sam and sister Jessica) look exactly like his famous father? I couldn't find the old picture of Bruce in his younger days that this one reminds me of, but the resemblance is pretty incredible.

The picture, by Gary Walts, is from the Syracuse Post-Standard. Jessica Springsteen competed in this weekend's Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament and she'll be taking several prizes back home to New Jersey, including the Maclay ASPCA Horsemanship Award. So congratulations, Jessica! It's great to see the whole family there supporting you.

I'm not sure why Evan is wearing an AIG T-shirt, but I don't think he's making a statement on the financial crisis. In the comments section, someone mentioned that the company is a sponsor of England's Manchester United football team.

The Beatles Love on the big screen

I've been curious about The Beatles Love ever since Steve on Broadway took in the Cirque du Soleil production in Las Vegas last year and gave it a glowing review.

Well, I'm not likely to get to Las Vegas anytime soon, but later this month, there's going to be a one-night screening of All Together Now, a documentary about the making of Love. It'll be screened at select theatres nationwide on Oct. 20 and then released on dvd on Oct. 21.

Okay, two things. First, I couldn't find any theatres in my area that are showing the documentary. Hopefully, more sites will be added over the next week. I mean really, there's nothing at all listed for Rhode Island or Massachusetts. Second, apparently the dvd will be available only at Best Buy. These exclusivity deals seem to be a growing trend. For example, Barnes & Noble sells the current Broadway revival recordings of Gypsy and South Pacific with bonus tracks not available anywhere else.

According to the documentary's Web site, All Together Now is a detailed look at the project, from its birth through the friendship between the late Beatle George Harrison and Cirque cofounder Guy Laliberte, to the contributions of the surviving Beatles and producer George Martin, to the construction of a unique stage and sound system at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. The early stages were all filmed, as were the first rehearsals at the Mirage's theatre, where the show has been playing since 2006.

In addition to the 84-minute documentary, dvd bonus features include a 22-minute segment called "Changing the Music," a look at the decision to rework and remix the Beatles songs for the show; "Music in the Theatre," 9 minutes, creating the show's audio design; and "Making Love," 10 minutes, a look at the art direction, costumes, props, imagery and the use of the Beatles' voices.

Tom's Diner

At the risk of sounding totally ignorant musically, I was surprised when a friend told me that there was a song about Tom's Restaurant. I only knew the Upper West Side diner, on the edge of Columbia University, as the exterior of the place where Jerry, George, Elaine and sometimes Kramer hung out in Seinfeld.

I'd never heard of the Suzanne Vega song "Tom's Diner." And I've still never heard the song. But I'm a big Seinfeld fan, so I made a pilgrimage to the diner in May, during a rainy morning in New York City. From the inside, it doesn't look anything like the tv show, but it was a thrill to see it anyway. (Yeah, I like seeing the places that have been used as locations for movies and tv shows.)

In today's New York Times, Vega has nice essay about how she came to write the song. Here's part of what she says:

"I got the idea for “Tom’s Diner” in 1981, but I wrote it in the spring of 1982, making the song 26 years old now. When I was at Barnard College in Manhattan, I used to go to Tom’s Restaurant for coffee, and after I graduated I also ate there before going to work. It was then a cheap, greasy place on 112th and Broadway, and it still is, in spite of its celebrity. ... I had been taking classes at Barnard with titles like 'The Dramatic Monologue.' I was in Tom’s and I thought it would be fun to write a song that was like a little film, where the main character sees all these things but can’t respond to any of it unless it relates to him directly."

I have to admit, the only other Suzanne Vega song I even remember is "Luka," and the subject matter, an abused child, always made it a very difficult song for me to to listen to. But now, I'm really curious to hear "Tom's Diner."

Zimmy & Me

On Sunday, Bob Dylan will perform at the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore. In honor of the occasion, fans of Zimmy are weighing in at The Washington Post with their Top 5 Dylan songs.

Dylan has always been one of my favorite songwriters, even when I preferred other people singing his songs. I was shocked that so few people mentioned my all-time favorite, so I came up with a list of my own. (For a different take on the matter, my friend Dan weighs in with his picks at Media Nation.)

1. Blowin' in the Wind (1962) - Based on a spiritual, "No More Auction Block," this song became an anthem of the civil-rights movement, especially after it was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. I think it's an American classic, and Dylan's finest song. (I'm certain it's also the first Bob Dylan song I ever heard). While some critics contend that the lyrics are ambiguous, I disagree. "Blowin' in the Wind" resonates deeply more than four decades later with a simple, direct question that continues to define the struggle for equal rights: "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?"

2. The Times They Are A-Changin' (1963) - While Dylan always rebelled against being labeled a protest singer or the voice of his generation, in songs like "The Times They Are A-Changin," I think he perfectly captured that generational divide. "Come mothers and fathers throughout the land, don't criticize what you can't understand. Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command. Your old road is rapidly agin'."

3. Like a Rolling Stone (1965) - I think "Like a Rolling Stone" is a great example of Dylan's skill as a storyteller. I also think that the sense of alienation in the lyrics, the sense of being a little adrift and uncertain of your place in the world, must have struck a chord with people in the mid 1960s: "How does it feel to be on your own with no direction home, a complete unknown. Like a rolling stone?" Haven't we all felt like that at one time or another?

4. Mr. Tambourine Man (1964) - Sometimes the lyrics in Dylan's songs can be a bit cryptic, but I think this is one of his most beautiful, with some of his most evocative and unusual imagery: "Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind. Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves. The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach. Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow."

5. Chimes of Freedom (1964) - My favorite version isn't Dylan's, but Bruce Springsteen's cover of it. Springsteen performed it in 1988, and it was released to benefit a tour in support of Amnesty International. I love the mixture of poetry and protest in the lyrics: Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake. Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked. Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake. An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing."

Ok, you're probably sensing a theme here. All of my favorites were written in the early to mid-1960s. What can I say? I've always been interested in the history, politics and culture of the sixties. As much as Dylan fought against it, his music really did help to define that decade. In many ways, I guess they're the obvious picks. They're probably Dylan's most well-known songs. I know he wrote plenty of great music after 1965, but these are the ones that I love listening to the most. It's my folkie side coming out, I guess.

I've only seen Dylan perform once, on Aug. 31, 1988, at The New York State Fair, in Syracuse. (Wow, 20 years ago this month. I didn't realize it had been that long!) As usual, he didn't say much between songs. But it was a great concert and he played a couple of my all-time favorite tunes. Here's the track list:

Subterranean Homesick Blues, I'll Remember You, Tangled Up In Blue, All Along The Watchtower, Every Grain Of Sand, Highway 61 Revisited, To Ramona, Girl From The North Country, Don't Think Twice, One Too Many Mornings, I Shall Be Released, Silvio, Like A Rolling Stone, Times They Are A-Changin', Barbara Allen, and Maggie's Farm.

In a great bit of coincidence, a week after that anniversary I'll be making my first visit to Minneapolis, where a teenage Robert Zimmerman came from the North Country city of Hibbing to attend the University of Minnesota, where he got involved in the folk music scene, and where he became Bob Dylan.