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Bob Dylan is one of my favourite artists, if not my favourite, as I have just about all of his albums in my collection and most of those have since been ripped to my laptop and mp3. So, it is probably of little surprise that I have a copy of Martin Scorsese's Dylan-mentary.

The wife and I were not up for a New Year's eve out with Will. It was not so much that we were worried about him being out, he is already a frequent traveller, but managing the crowds. So, we stayed in. In any event, we have been pretty tired as it is quite a challenge changing routines and getting into new routines to raise a kid. Nevertheless, getting back on topic, I had purchased a legitimate copy of Scorsese's film (although if I had looked for it I could probably of found a pirated copy and saved myself IDR 250,000), so I watched it overnight and into the morning.

The beauty of the film are the relatively rare footage, some of it never seen before, that has been collected and forms an integral part of the film. It was also interesting to watch and listen to Dylan not only in his own words but those of his contemporaries and peers.

The jacket to the double DVD talks about a young singer who would change popular music forever, and this is not just hyperbole but an accurate reflection of the man's contribution. It is amazing to think how far and wide one man's influence has permeated popular culture and across so many genres of music from folk to pop. He is indeed a living legend.

For any Dylan fan this is a must see film!

AC/DC -- New Album Online

I am an AC/DC fan and proud to be so. I have all their albums and have been eagerly awaiting the release of Black Ice. However, if I do not want to wait I can go to the pirate music site thepiratebay.org and download it. I would be joining an estimated 400,000 others who have already downloaded the album. As much as I am tempted to download the album, I am going to wait for it to be officially released and buy it.

I am not sure that the fellas are poor and need the royalties, but that is not the point. Piracy is theft, although I must confess to owning a few suspect DVDs. That said, all my music and software is legitimate.

Funnily enough, AC/DC does not allow its music to be sold through online retailers such as Apple's iTunes, but all of the band's albums can be obtained through illegal download websites. I wonder will software, film, and music piracy ever be defeated?

The reviews of Black Ice have seen it compared to Back in Black. I hope this pans out to be true as Back in Black is an awesome album.

Jimmy Barnes + Cold Chisel

One of my all time favourite Australian bands is Cold Chisel and I am glad to say that I introduced the band to a few people around the globe and continue to do so! There is nothing like singing your heart along to the sweet sounds of Khe Sanh, Cheap Wine, Forever Now, or Saturday Night after a barbecue and a few beers with friends.

I have always followed the career of Jimmy Barnes with interest and recently read something about his biography in something called the Icons of Australian Music: Jimmy Barnes! The revelations were like how the hell does one live to tell this tale?

The revelations included this pearler on the period of his life from 1998 - 2002:

"I was doing about 10 grams of cocaine a day, maybe taking six or eight ecstasy [pills] and drinking three bottles of vodka - all in a day, every day".

Barnes is now clean and sober. His marriage is supposedly stronger than ever and he is now recognized as a global UNICEF parent. By all accounts he and his wife have raised four well-adjusted kids. This is testament to the character of the individual and to his family that in spite of all these demons he has managed to do what so many struggle to do!

I would not survive a week, let alone four or five years of this kind of drug and alcohol use (or abuse)! Yet, despite this I have no less respect for the man or Cold Chisel, they remain favourites.