The rich seduce the poor and the old are seduced by the young

"When You Gonna Wake Up"
Bob Dylan

You can buy these albums, in this case "Slow Train Coming", but as time flies by it becomes clear they’re going to be forgotten. Not like "Tubthumping", which someone e-mailed me about last night. I’m not talking about one hit wonders, I’m not talking about never-beens, but albums that permeated society once upon a time that spurned no obviously repeatable hits, great listening experiences that have seemed to fade away and not radiate.

What’s most notable about "Slow Train Coming" is the sound. Unlike so many Dylan albums, the recordings were not done in an instant, throwaway fashion, where the urgency is more important than getting it right.

Even better, the players were an amalgamation of Muscle Shoals and Dire Straits, after the English band had broken through but before they went into hyperspace on MTV. Yes, "Slow Train Coming" was Dylan’s Christian album, but it came on like a freight train moving through molasses, a weird combination of black and white, north and south, masterminded by the legendary producers Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett. Yes, as memorable as Mark Knopfler’s guitar work is, it’s Beckett’s keyboard playing that holds the whole thing together, it’s the religion that keeps all the players connected. Listen to "Gotta Serve Somebody" for a demonstration.

But that’s far from the only great track on "Slow Train Coming". I’m partial to "Man Gave Names To All The Animals", "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking" and…

"When You Gonna Wake Up".

Sounds obvious.

But it’s not.

First of all, the song starts subtly, like everyone’s in the studio, looking at each other, counting in, trying to find the groove.

And despite the Christian underpinning, there’s infinite wisdom, it’s thirty-odd years later, the names and faces have changed, but the story remains the same, and once again, Dylan was ahead of the game.

And a great record continually rewards, you think you know it by heart, but successive listenings reveal truths you couldn’t see previously. Like the lyric above.

Isn’t that what’s going on in our country right now, the rich are seducing the poor? Making them believe they too can become wealthy, even though the odds are stacked against them, worse than it’s been in decades? What do the Republicans say…"the party of the rich and the soon to be rich"?

What a load of crap.

Not that the Democrats are innocent. It’s not a party thing, it’s class warfare. They keep warning us against calling it that, but that’s what it is.

But the seduction of the old by the young is almost as big a problem. Mothers diet down and wear the clothes of their children, as if your exterior denotes your interior, as if once you’ve had your face lifted, you’re truly thirty five.

But you’re not, there’s no fountain of youth that will prevent you from aging on the inside.

The young are inexperienced, they’re stupid. They’ve just got smooth skin and less physical pain, a bit more optimism.

Would you like to be operated on by a teenage MD?

Do you really think the prepubescent music is best?

But afraid of dying, being told by marketers and media that they’re over the hill, the old are chasing the young.

And that’s ridiculous.

Sure, I’m closer to death, I’ve got lines on my face, aches in my body, but I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Age gives you perspective, wisdom. But those concepts are irrelevant in a world dominated by nitwits like Kim Kardashian.

Stop being embarrassed by your age. Stop lying about it. You can even stop dyeing your hair. All you are is vain. Take a look at Dylan…did he get plastic surgery, is he going out to clubs, trying to recapture a youth that won’t make him or you happy?

No, he wears his age as a badge of honor.

But he was always wise beyond his years.

Then again, he was so much older then, he’s younger than that now.

Yup, kids think they know everything.

Oldsters know how much they don’t. They’ve got more questions than answers. They’re honest.

Assuming they’re not too busy chasing the youngsters off a cliff.

Spotify link

Previous Rhinofy playlists