Album: Jack Johnson

Sleep Through the Static, Brushfire Records

While I accept that I might have given this matter way too much thought for a man of my age, I have at least started to understand why it is that Jack Johnson doesn't provoke the same bitter response in me that I see in my peers whenever his name comes up. The way I see it, Johnson serves a pivotal role as an entry level singer-songwriter: young people can start out on Jack on their way to, say, Bobs Dylan and Marley and the whole beach-bar, barefoot, backpack lifestyle. There are worse ways for them to turn out. There are worse singer-songwriters they could be listening to.

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