Not including live albums and greatest hits collections, Bob Dylan has released 39 albums over the past 47 years. I own 31 of them. And today we arrive chronologically at the first Dylan album that isn’t in my collection.
Self Portrait is perhaps the most infamous of all Dylan releases. It was released in 1970 at a pivotal point in his career, a time when fans and non-fans alike were holding their breath to see which direction he’d choose to go next.
I have never watched an episode of American Idol. I don’t say that as a point of pride or anything… I’m certainly not one of those people who looks down on reality TV, or TV in general. In another scenario I may well have gotten hooked on the show like so many people I know.
That said, I’m glad to have escaped the juggernaut, mostly because it seems to require a time commitment akin to holding a second job. I have a hard enough time keeping up with the eight or nine shows I do watch on a regular basis, and that doesn’t even include The Daily Show or The Colbert Report.
Well, I knew this day would come eventually. There are hundreds of thousands (millions? probably millions) of songs in the world but not enough for me to write about one per day for more than a couple of years. As it turns out, 620 proved to be the magic number. Admit it… how many of you bet I’d never break out of the teens?
It’s wonderful to witness the emergence of your children’s sense of humor. One of the great things about parenthood is having these little people around to make you laugh — from the delighted giggles inspired by a newborn’s first smiles to the proud guffaw after she makes up her first knock-knock joke that’s actually objectively funny.
Both of my daughters are funny in ways both silly and smart. My youngest, Fiona, can own a room with her oddball antics but also seems to grasp more nuanced humor, or at least that’s how it seems to me (and I’m not biased, not at all…). And my oldest, Sophia, well, she has developed into quite the comedienne. She’s sarcastic as hell, sometimes to a fault. And she can make me laugh better than anyone.
Being an album guy, most of my favorite songs tend to be by my favorite artists. If I were to compile a working list of my 100 favorite songs, I’m guessing the vast majority of them would be by artists who are very well-represented in my CD collection. But there would be a small but potent group of songs that rise to the top all on their own.
The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ is such a song. I do love Pet Sounds but it’s the only Beach Boys album I own and the only one I really care to own. As much as I appreciate their talent and the unique sound Brian Wilson created, I don’t feel any real need to immerse myself in their discography. It’s one of those cases where I’m content to miss the boat.
