Magic

While I've been writing, I've been listening to music, and this album's been on quite a bit. It's Magic, by Bruce Springsteen, and I don't think I'd ever really listened to it before.

Magic was released a couple of years ago. For those not familiar with him, Springsteen is one of the premier poets in rock. This album is one of his best efforts, I think. It certainly stands up well with Born To Run and Born In The USA. Magic is different from those albums in tone, though it resembles their style. In contrast with the youthful theme of Born To Run in particular, it's clearly written by someone who has lived long enough to think of soldiers who go to war in Iraq as kids, as he does in "Last To Die". "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" captures perfectly what it's like to find yourself a man alone in middle age. Like "She's The One" for young men, it captures that feeling as well as anything. "Gypsy Biker" is a great tune - I'm surprised it didn't get much air play.

The album's definitely worth a listen. It's available for download, of course, and you can also buy it in that outmoded format if you prefer. You can listen to short clips of the songs at the album's website.