The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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Bruce 70

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Bruce Springsteen is 70 today. I’ve spent half my life being a big fan and it seems the older I get the better he becomes. More and more depth and nuances are revealed to me.

Not sure how many times I’ve seen him live, but I’m guessing roughly ten. He is, of course, impossibly good live. He’s one of those you don’t grow out of, quite the opposite.

So bring us your favourite songs and why not go for something that deserves more attention?

My choice The Missing was written for Sean Penn’s The Crossing Guard as a thank you and good luck after Penn loosely based his directorial debut The Indian Runner on Springsteen’s Nebraska song Highway Patrolman.

Happy birthday, Bruce!

Salute Him When His Birthday Comes

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Today is Bob Dylan’s birthday. I don’t consider myself a serious Bob Cat, but even so dozens of songs of his are part of my psyche, and go to the very heart of why I loved music and song in the first place. Once every couple of years I fall into a Bob Dylan (the) rabbit hole, where something clicks and I listen to almost nothing else for a month or so. Then the mood passes, and I may not play a whole album for many months after.

An odd aspect of my fandom is that I didn’t catch on to Dylan until I was about 30. I had the idea that he was somehow ‘difficult’, and didn’t really explore. Then a couple of CDs of Dylan covers issued as cover-mounts on Uncut got stuck on repeat play at mine. Once the songs sank in I looked for the originals and I was away.

It’s hard to pick an absolute favourite, so for no other reason than that today Bob reaches the age of 77, here is 7 Days. Your picks, for whatever reason and whatever level of fandom, welcome.