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While not necessarily a huge fan of his music, I have been reading with great interest the different interpretations that publications like Rolling Stone and the New York Times have been giving the "Modern Times", the new CD by iconic blues-rocker Bob Dylan, which dropped in stores this week. It seems no one can miss the dark apocalyptic tone of "Times" and the way it marks a return by Dylan to overtly spiritual musings about the meaning of life. But while God does make an appearance in a few of the songs, anyone looking for an answer to the years of speculation over Dylan's much publicized conversion to Christianity in the late 1970s--and the subsequent debate as to whether he has held to that faith, returned to his Jewish roots, or abandoned all of the above--will not find the answer here.

On listening to "Modern Times" the first time through, I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed. I didn't feel the urgency and vibrancy of some of Dylan's early music, and several of the songs seem to center around his love-hate relationship with women. But on a second listen, the real depth of Dylan's lyrics started to sink in, and I realized anew that Dylan is not someone you can appreciate on the surface level; he requires you to dig deeper.

In the song "When The Deal Goes Down," lines like "We all wear the same thorny crown / Soul to soul, our shadows roll / And I'll be with you when the deal goes down" could be referring to a a human relationship or a relationship with God. Similarly, in the song "Beyond the Horizon," Dylan seems like he is talking about a human relationship until the end of the song, when he states, "I'm wounded, I'm weary / My repentance is plain / Beyond the horizon o'r the treacherous sea / I still can't believe that you have set aside your love for me." At that moment , these poetic images turn the meaning of the song around and indicate this is really a love song to God.

When Dylan is not preocupied with love in some shape or form, he certainly is fixated on how our world is coming to an end, and if this CD is any indication, Dylan believes the world's demise is soon. The prophetic "The Levee's Gonna Break" is the CD's shining moment, song not only about what happened in New Orleans a year ago, but which also serves as Dylan's warning that worse times are ahead. He laments: "If it keeps on rainin', the levee's gonna break / Some people still sleepin', some people are wide awake."

Overall, the thoughts and images that Dylan creates through his songs on "Modern Times" are subtle and mesmerizing. While Dylan doesn't answer the question of exactly where his spiritual sensibilities are these days, he does make a statement to all of those who are wondering. In his last song, "Ain't Talkin', Just Walkin,'" Dylan quietly croons, "I am a-tryin' to love my neighbor and do good unto others / But oh, mother, things ain't going well / Ain't talkin', just walkin' / through the world mysterious and vague."

So am I, Mr. Dylan. So am I.

Has all of the couch jumping and Suri speculation finally caught up with Tom Cruise? In a surprise announcement yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, Viacom exec Sumner Redstone claimed that Paramount--Viacom's movie arm--is terminating its 14-year business relationship with Cruise's film development company.

Seems Redstone believes mega pics like "Mission Impossible III" would have done much better at the box office if Cruise hadn't scolded Matt Lauer for being glib about Scientology or chastised Brooke Shields for taking pills for her post-partum depression. "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Redstone has been widely quoted as saying. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

Hollywood--not to mention the media--is all-too eager to lap up this party line. But as in all juicy Hollywood break-ups, there are two sides to the story. Cruise's partner, Paula Wagner claims that negotiations to renew a development deal between Cruise and Paramount had stalled in recent weeks anyway, so Cruise has decided to solicit funding to head up his own independent film production company. Wagner claims Cruise has made more money for Paramount than any other movie star, and that Redstone's comments are unprofessional and unnecessary.

We've all had fun watching Cruise spin out-of-control for a long time now, but I am not convinced that Paramount's unceremonious dumping of Cruise is motivated by religion as much as it is by greed. With Cruise commanding an exorbitant salary of $20 million and other incentives per film, plus a reported $10 million a year overhead, Cruise's Scientology craziness gave Paramount the easy "out" they needed to cut costs. The move comes on the heels of a New York Times report that major movie studios are increasingly concerned about slumping box office and "have waged war on actor salaries."

On the other hand, Cruise might want to give Mel Gibson a call. I am sure there would be a lot for them to talk about as they are standing in the unemployment line.

I'm not sure the mainstream music industry has ever given Canadian folk-rocker Bruce Cockburn his due along side the likes of Paul Simon, James Taylor, or even Bob Dylan. And I know that the Christian music industry has never known what to think of his politically charged lyrics mixed with a faith in God that isn't easy to pigeonhole. And while I haven't listened to Cockburn since my college days, consider me a prodigal fan returning to rave--no, gush--about his recent release "Life Short Call Now." It is not only the best CD I have listened to this year, but also is a work of art to be reflected upon for a long time to come.

Cockburn's political musings--the songwriter has always been an ardent pacifist--are still at the forefront of some of his songs, such as "This is Baghdad" and "Tell The Universe." In these, he skillfully puts a human face on the devastation of war and on the destruction of our planet, and calls all of us to accountability. His prowess as a guitarist is displayed on instrumental tracks like "Jerusalem Poker" and "Peace March," while the prophetic nature of his songwriting is especially evident in the searing lament found in "Beautiful Creatures" and in the warnings of the urgent "Slow Down Fast." Woven together, all of these songs reveal a restless, questioning spirit searching for truth and beauty but discovering them harder and harder to find in a chaotic world unconcerned with the divine.

But it is the paradoxical yet whimsical portraits he paints of his faith in God that truly take my breath away. In "See You Tomorrow," Cockburn sees God in a beautiful woman's walk as well as in his own sin stalking him. In the song "Mystery," he joyfully comments that "infinity always gives me vertigo and fills me up with grace." And in "To Fit In My Heart," Cockburn sums up his assurance in the vastness and agelessness of God's nature as he quietly proclaims, "Spacetime strings bend, world without end / God's too big to fit in a book / But nothing's too big to fit in my heart."

There is so much more I could say about the layers and nuances of Cockburn's songs, but they need to be experienced individually to be appreciated. So don't waste any more time. Your life is short, and you'll definitely want to give Cockburn's "Life" a listen. Now.

I love it when Hollywood celebs go out on a limb, take the moral high road, or decide to influence the complex nature of world politics by taking out a newspaper ad. Dozens of celebrities and Hollywood execs, including Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, Michael Douglas, and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch ran a full page ad in the LA Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety yesterday denouncing the loss of innocent life in Israel and Lebanon caused by Hezbollah and Hamas.

I am not convinced that the leaders of Hamas spend a lot of time sitting around reading the Hollywood trades, so I am not sure if they will appreciate someone like, oh, let’s say, Pat Sajak, signing a petition saying terrorism is bad, very bad. But what’s worse is that I am sure that those who have lost loved ones in other countries struggling against terrorism to achieve democracy--countries like Iraq or any number of countries in Africa that are also suffering at the hands of militant extremists--are feeling just a little left out that their plight doesn’t warrant a full page ad from Kelly Preston, Danny DeVito, or Bernie Mac.

News like this just makes me a bigger fan of Bono.

As if this past week's orange and red security threat alerts aren't making us nervous enough, there are a slew of documentaries coming out soon on DVD or working their way across the country in limited release at art-house movie theaters that further illuminate the atrocities of war, terrorism, and governments out-of-control. As I mentioned last week here at Idol Chatter, I saw several independent documentaries recently at Michael Moore's film festival in northern Michigan and it's time now for me to highlight the best of the bunch.

The reason to make an effort to see these films is quite simple. Societal change cannot happen without further awareness of the pressing issues of our culture. Documentaries give coverage to these issues that soundbytes on TV simply can't. The danger with watching any of these documentaries is that the documentary film is no longer an art form of presenting fair and balanced information, but an art form that, with few exceptions, celebrates rhetoric as its means of communication. So these films require a great deal of effort from the audience, as they must sift through what is simply emotional appeal and what is the truth.

And if watching these films discourages you too much about the present condition of our world, just head to the cineplex and watch "Talledega Nights" one more time.

The Road to Guantanamo: A mix of documentary and drama, this film tells the little-known story of three young British men of Pakistani descent who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and were thrown into prison at Guantanamo Bay for two years because of it. I had never heard of this incident and found the details absolutely horrfying. The film is clearly going to be a P.R. nightmare for the Bush administration if the movie gets any kind of national release.

The War Tapes: A reporter was asked by the National Guard to do a documentary as an embedded journalist. Instead, she arranged for cameras to be given to the soldiers to allow them to shoot the film. The result is a raw look at life behind enemy lines and wouldn't exactly make a good recruiting video for our military.

The Canary Effect: Native American cinema is rare, and this documentary traces the history of what the United States government's policies have done to Native American culture, and puts forth the premise that the genocide of Native Americans is still happening in our society today. Even if you don't buy into everything the movie has to say, it is truly a haunting look at the struggle of Native Americans to survive.

Who Killed the Electric Car?: Michael Moore gave this film his coveted "Roger Smith Award" (the award is named after General Motors executive Roger Smith, who was the subject of Moore's documentary "Roger & Me"). The film should play as a double feature with Al Gore's environmental documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," because "Car" tells the story of an alleged conspiracy by General Motor to kill their development of the eco-friendly electric car to make the oil companies happy.

For more information on other documentary winners from the festival, go here.

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