Last night while doing projects, I was letting the i-tunes shuffle function on my comp take me through the vast and wonderful collection of music that I have. I've recently acquired a lot of new stuff, so haven't heard a substantial portion of it. And then 'Mr Tambourine Man' started to play. At around the line yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, I felt a lump develop in my throat. The funny thing is, I was only half listening to the song, the other half of my attention being focused on the project. That is the effect Bob Dylan's music has on you , the sheer beauty and simplicity of it, the endless stream of brilliance that flows from his pen - together the combination is addictive. 'Mr Tambourine Man' holds the same eternal fascination and love that I have for all songs about escapism (the immortal 'Over the Rainbow' being the foremost among these). The lyrical imagery created by the song; the evening's empire, the smoke rings of my mind, the haunted trees, the essence of the song (for me) summarized in the line I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade. A song about running away, following the unknown stranger into undiscovered lands, being content to just follow for once and not take the decisions. No one could've have put it better than Mr Dylan.

I have been addicted to songs and artists in the past, but usually because of the adrenaline rush that their music gives me (U2, Oasis and so on). Only Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan have been addictions of a different nature, holding my attention because of their vast and breathtaking scope of their music; Pink Floyd in their complex other-worldliness and Dylan with his stripped down, back to basics mini philosophical discourses.

Mr Dylan fell seamlessly into the role of Mr Tambourine Man himself, he cast his spell on me. 'It Ain't me Babe', 'Masters of War', 'Desolation Row', 'Its All Over Now, Baby Blue' and several others followed, the first and the last songs in the list also producing lumps in the throat in due course. Such is the power of a man who impacted a whole generation, spearheaded (with ample help from other artists of course) the counter-cultural revolutions of the 60s, whose impact and voice reverberates to this day, still addressing concerns, remarkably trivial or remarkably far reaching..yet always remarkable. I had the good fortune to catch the VH1 showcase on his tour to England. While staying there, he was interviwed by a journalist from some British paper. To say that he thrashed the other man's ethics and profession would be an understatement: "You've got too much to lose by printing the truth."

Mr Dylan, I salute you!