The Other Dylan Playlist

I remember clearly the first time I heard the song 6th Avenue Heartache. It was about a year after the album was actually released. I was driving south down Chicot Rd in Pascagoula, MS. I had just left my boyfriend's apartment at Compass Point. I remember the song coming on the local radio station and I immediately liked it.

I remember the DJ announcing the name of the song and that it was by a band called The Wallflowers. He also mentioned that the lead singer was Bob Dylan’s son, Jakob. I wasn’t overly impressed until I saw the band on MTV or some other music channel. I thought Jakob Dylan was the most beautiful human on Earth!

I remember hearing the 4 singles that came off of that album (Bringing Down the Horse) and really loving them all. But that was it. I never listened to another album by The Wallflowers, never went to any concerts, never knew anything else about the band. Until November 2019.

Watch video: 6th Avenue Heartache

Over 20 years later, I just happened to watch Echo In The Canyon on Netflix. And right there in the first scene with Tom Petty in a guitar shop is Jakob Dylan! And let me tell you, the man has aged extremely well! He’s still the most beautiful human on Earth! But besides rekindling a silly celebrity crush, that movie for me reminded me of a big part of my life I had let go of for some reason.

Music was always a huge influence in my life until my 30s I guess. Before then, I was always singing, writing, or playing music. Whether it was at church, in the school band and chorus, or in my shower at home music surrounded me and was something from which I received great joy. So being able to watch this documentary and see Jakob talking with these legendary older musicians who helped transform folk into rock and who penned the blueprints for the music of my generation was like opening up a treasure box of musical memories and inspiration.

Watch documentary trailer: Echo in the Canyon

As a result, I have started writing and playing again - I’ll leave the singing to someone else. And I’ve quickly caught up on all of Jakob’s music that I missed over the years! In January 2020, Matchbox Twenty announced that they would be touring with special guests - The Wallflowers. I bought meet-n-greet tickets to the show in Jacksonville, FL. I wouldn’t normally pay to meet someone, but I wanted to be able to thank Jakob Dylan in person to for making a movie that gave me an opportunity to reconnect with a part of myself I had forgotten existed.

Unfortunately, that concert was cancelled due to COVID-19 and I refunded my tickets. Over the course of that year, rumors circulated that Jakob had written and recorded a new album, one I feel fairly certain is about to be released in the very near future. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, I have created a playlist with 21 of my favorite Jakob Dylan/ The Wallflowers songs that always seem to create a feeling of zen for me.

Give it a listen here: Zen - The Other Dylan Playlist

You can also check out Joseph Arthur's podcast here: Come to Where I'm From