The vandals stole the handles.

Driving around this morning, I happened upon Mr. Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues thumping out of the radio and was struck by how contemporary it seemed. Of course, in terms of sound and arrangement, it was in sync with my generational perspective -- which I will delude myself into thinking of as "contemporary" until the day I die at age 118 or whatever.

But it was more than the traintrack rhythm or warm, non-digital, tube-mixing-desk quality of the audio at work. The vagaries of the lyrics made it easy to reconcile them to the state of affairs in which we find ourselves today.

"Man wants 11 dollar bills and I only got 1o?" Hey, we only got 700 billion, but it's the same predicament! "You don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows?" Thanks, Bob --that's where Bill Ayers' college frathouse got its name. And, indeed, "the pump don't work" is a fitting epitaph for the past 7+ years of failed leadership.

It struck me as funny, because if you asked me, I would characterize SHB as a definitive period piece. Here's where we were in March 1965. (Actually, here's where Dylan was in March, 1965 -- most of us took a while to catch up.) But it got me to thinking about art and literature and how what makes something really endure and speak across the ages is the degree to which it exposes/explores basic human nature.

Not a profound thought, and one I'm sure teachers and learned friends have attempted to pound into my thick skull over the years. But it gave me a little smile inside as I merged onto the interstate and pondered the brightening day ahead.

Okay, let's light this candle...

Things have been kinda slow here at the label, what with the death of the record industry and all. mp3, my ass! So, I've been thinking that I'll take all that I've learned over these many years rubbing elbows with the famous and glamorous and share the reflections in my mirrored aviator shades with the digitized masses.

So, when you want to take a break from illegally downloading Candy Slice's entire catalog (NO DEAL, iTUNES! No way, never!), feel free to drop in and share some time with the old A&R man.