Seeing Things

About a week ago I bought the new solo cd by Jakob Dylan -- "Seeing Things" at a local Starbucks. My coffee was free, since they had to brew a fresh pot, so I used the money to buy the cd which was on sale.

It was a good purchase.

The songs are strong both lyrically and musically. While the music is stripped down, compared to Jakob's work with the Wallflowers, it is, in its own way, somewhat more impressive.

The other day in the car while the cd was playing my daughter looked at me and asked, "You actually like this?"

"Yes," I said.

"It sounds like country music," she countered.

Now understand that I have steered my children away from the evils of country music to the healthier realm of rock. But my daughter's genre mistake irked me.

"It's called folk, which influenced early rock musicians. That is why Jakob's father, Bob, is so important in the history of rock-n-roll. Don't you remember that VH-1 special we watched?"

She looked at me briefly before shaking her head and resigning herself to the fact that she was stuck listening to her Dad's latest music fix.

Seriously, though, check out the cd. The songs sound strangely familiar, even though they are new -- there is something universal about them.

Here is a sample of some of the lyrics:

My heart is heavy and pressed to the bone
Some people too heavy too hold
Salutations take me as I am
You can have me or leave me alone
Sun-kissed lemons in a grave below
Here in death you see new adventures grow
I see you at last but mostly ghosts
On this end of the telescope