Three Cords and the Truth: Bob Dylan, "Modern Times"

In the first seconds of the intro track "Thunder on the Mountain," Dylan links the ever developing story of American music from its ancient past to its still bright future and at the same time plugs Alicia Keys. How? Well, Dylan besides obviously being an Alicia Keys fan is also the golden strand of American music that spans from Woody Guthrie to well almost every American musical genre. Starting out on rebellious folk music (which was inspired by his hero Guthrie) Dylan made rock n' roll a serious artistic medium, in that he was the first to play rock with serious and poetic lyrics containing a biting social commentary (see "Highway 61 Revisited," this album convinced a band from Liverpool that pop and rock could be about more than holding hands).

Throughout his career he has dabbled in and mastered almost every traditional American music form including country and gospel. Anyone who is anyone in popular music has a debt to pay to the man. And so it is here with "Modern Times" that Dylan turns into that deepest and most primordial of American art forms, the blues. Here is an album full of the human condition, to mention another Dylan album a "World Gone Wrong." Women leave, death is nearby, the world is cruel, there is failure and pain, lives are gambled away, all to a kind of antebellum, turn of the century sensibility. At times, Dylan's lyrics seem in tune with David's lament songs, too many women, too much excess, too many enemies. Still, Dylan turns quickly to the redemptive. A good life with a good woman is near at hand. Loyalty and love are the remedies, repentance is there for the taking, and God is nearby waiting to enact his kingdom and enact holy justice. Dylan's lyrics are ripe with meaning and every song functions on several levels, but often they point to romantic love or they point to God.

Gigabytes of memory could be used up plumbing the depths of his lyrics, so I won't try to exegete them in full. Sin and pain are real and deserved but it is only the love of a woman or God, and probably both that can save. "Spirit on the Water" reminisces God's creation and the fall "I can't go to paradise no more/ I killed a man back there" and the timeless tension between man and woman, mirrored in Adam and Eve. "Beyond the Horizon" points to the eternal with themes of love, forgiveness, and the hope of fulfilled life for at the end of the "rainbow life has only begun." Here there is a nice image of forgiveness and starting over in the new kingdom where: "My wretched heart is pounding/ I felt an angel's kiss/ My memories are drowning/ In mortal bliss." "Thunder on the Mountain" points us to Moses and Mount Sinai, with God's presence throughout. It seems to be addressed directly to God, with promises of almost prophet like service, with the steely swagger of an old West gun for hire. The world is broke and bankrupt and it needs someone like Moses to step in and fill the gap, with an eshcatalogical fulfillment of: "Thunder on the mountain rolling to the ground/ Gonna get up in the morning walk the hard road down/ Some sweet day I'll stand beside my king/ I wouldn't betray your love or any other thing."

Through these themes of love, redemption, sin, mercy, justice, and loss strung across time from the Old Testament to turn of th century America, Dylan shows us that these themes still ring true and important in even our supposed modern times. In this he shows us that the blues are as old as Moses and just as relevant today, as they have ever been, to both Americans and humans. Never mind that his album debuted at number one, Dylan is just as effective and palpable as he was 40 years ago.

To Get You Through The Night

So here are some recommendations for you all out there who are looking for something new to listen too or read. This is what I have been conversing with lately.

Music:

What's Going On?- Marvin Gaye
Gaye's most spiritual album. Full of praises and laments to God. Innovative and experimental, but still connected to Gaye's gospel roots.

More Than This- Jon Abel
Full disclosure. I don't typically like to spend alot of time listening to praise and worship music, outside of church. Often it seems very homogenous and way too slick. But, Jon is a personal friend whom I believe in. So after final review: this is a great album. Catchy with great lyrics, and Jon has a great voice. There is alot of craftsmanship in these well thought out and often profound songs. They are worship songs from a fresh and honest perspective.

Infiniment- Jacques Brel
I learned about this crooner from a recent trip to Brussels. I don't understand what he is singing in French, but it sounds down right cool. You could call him the French Frank Sinatra, with a tobacco etched smooth voice.

Books:

Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace-Miroslav Volf
One of the deepest and most profound expositions of the Chrisitan life in light of God's grace. How much God loves us and forgives us, and how we are to respond to it. This book will challenge you and encourage you. It is an essential read for any Christian, or anyone interested in Christianity.

Fever Pitch- Nick Hornby
Hilarious and poignant memoir for those of us who have a strong connection, fanaticism, or debilitating psychosis, for a sporting team. He loves Arsenal (a London soccer team) but for anyone else, just substitute the Cowboys, Spurs, Longhorns, or Red Sox. Women read this to understand us silly men better