Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #22

[For more info, read the Ground Rules of The Song of The Decade List]

Bob Dylan - Things Have Changed (2000)



So if Dylan defined his generation in the 60s, what’s to say he can’t define his generation 40 years later? The generation that came of age in the Mad Men era have gone through nothing but turbulence, trauma, selling out, mindless loss of life, money, drugs, faded hopes, and hatred. Dylan lived it all, saw it all, and overcame it all, and produced a song that expressed a bitterness that culture warriors on both sides can get behind. “I use to care/ but things have changed” is a cheap, simplistic generational statement, and not exactly Dylan’s most poetic. But it’s concise, gets the point across, and is backed by decades worth of work, music, poetry and compassion. Only Dylan could get away with this song, and only Dylan could make it understandable to teenagers who can spot their parents’ hypocrisy younger and younger. He’s an old man now, but he’s the kind of old man everyone should try to be, overcoming just about every turbulent moment with wisdom, creativity, conscience, and in many cases, genius.

Labels: 2000s, bob dylan, lists, pop music, songs of the decade, things have changed