Legends

After seeing Walk the Line this week and hearing Rosanne Cash's stellar new CD "Black Cadillac" -- which makes even more sense after watching the lives of her father, mother, and step-mother play out on screen -- I have been quite sad that I will never see Johnny or June Carter Cash on stage. Sometimes I think that "legends" have been built up in society's minds for so long that everything thinks they are good because everyone else thought they were good. I guess that is the definition of a legend. And I usually try not to buy into that...I find it almost akin to listening to Britney Spears because she's No. 1 on the charts (that means she's GOOD, right?). In reality, Britney is the most watered down, safe, useless artist on a heap of 100's who should be paid better attention to. I think the "legend" status might have some of that unfortunate popularity contest thought to it. The Cash/Carter family though...I don't see as being watered down at all. In fact, I see them as the All-American family...steeped in tradition (June's parents basically invented American folk music), full of issues (alcoholism and drug use and hating your father, anyone?), full of redemption (the God-kind and the people-kind), centered on music (or is that just me?), at one with the highway (that's very American), screwed up kids all over (at least one of June's kids has a heroin problem), with a great love story or 3 thrown in. Someone put Johnny on the quarter.

This legend-seeing-regret has also caused me to spend more money than I should on a ticket to see Bob Dylan.

Bob Freakin' Dylan. I am excited. Here's to many more legends to come.