BRIAN LIBBY

Bob Dylan

I've never appreciated Bob Dylan like I probably should. Never owned any of his records and generally wasn't interested. But lately I've been giving him another try. As a child my mom listened to the Beatles and my dad listened to Dylan, and at a young age Dylan's whiny voice really grated on my nerves, while the Beatles are obviously accessible to pretty much anyone at any age. So I chose my side. This time around, the results are more mixed. I burned a copy of Blonde On Blonde from a friend and there are aspects of it that I really like -- the mix of blues with folk and a wide palette of orchestration. The lyrics can of course be great, too. And while Dylan's voice is still challenging to me, I can see that he has a remarkable knack with phrasing. "Just Like A Woman" and "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat" are admittedly the work of a genius. But Dylan's frequent use of harmonica really wears on me. Obviously there's a long tradition of it in this kind of music, but something about it in Dylan's music just feels abrasive to me. Overall I'd say I've gained more appreciation for him, especially since I have a much more crystallized sense of how he's influenced some of my other favorite musicians (Elvis Costello especially). But the jury's still out on whether I'll take this experiment much further.

Dennis Miller Is Dead

Not really, but the Dennis Miller I came to love over the last several years is suddenly very much gone. Since becoming host of his own CNBC talk show, Miller has declared himself as a born-again conservative. He said September 11 changed him. Fair enough. I think it changed how a lot of us view the world. But now Miller is a loyal soldier for the Bush administration, which is just really bizarre and unnerving to me. In the past he never had declared himself a liberal per se, but it was clear that Miller at least leaned to the left. I remember when he was a commentator on Monday Night Football, Miller would crack little jokes at Republicans' expense, and Al Michaels would fire back with a conservative missive of his own. (Don't get me started on that.) Now I find the new Miller so very, very disappointing. I swore I wouldn't get political on my weblog, because I don't want to be divisive with the friends and family reading stuff here. But what is it about the Bush administration's handling of post-9/11 foreign policy that has Miller so enamored? Is it the veritable abandonment of the war on terror to go after Iraq under the now clearly false justification that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction? Is it how we've taken an unprecedented outpouring of goodwill after the tragedies in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and turned it into America being the pariah of the international community? I can understand Miller or others supporting a conservative's stance after the trauma of 9/11. Attacking Afghanistan makes sense, theoretically, and even the Patriot Act has a clear rationale behind it, even if people like me think it's going too far. But Miller has gone beyond all this. He actually thinks George W. Bush is the kind of guy he'd like to throw his support behind. Is this just a Saturday Night Live skit gone wrong? Et tu, Dennis?

Cool Whip

For years I sneered at this artificial "dessert topping" (notice they don't dare refer to it as real whip cream). Instead I insisted on the home made stuff--just a little whipping cream and sugar wisked furiously--or at the very least a spray can of Ready-Whip. But recently I wound up trying Cool Whip, and suddenly I've wound up spooning on more than a few desserts: brownies, pudding, etc. I must admit that it's pretty delicious -- in an artificial sort of way, at least. Although I would unquestionably hate eating lowbrow immitation foods like this very often, Cool Whip is definitely something I must confess to loving. Not that my choice of dessert topping amounts to much of a headline, but with it being sacriledge to some foodies, I feel it's only right to stick up for decidedly un-foo foo cuisine now and then.