The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Showtime has been replaying Martin Scorsese's docu/concert film The Last Waltz. I think that it's the best concert movie of all time. I'm not a huge fan of The Band ... in part because I don't understand how a Canadian band became so big in Southern rock. However, the film perfectly captures a time when rock was an artform.

Last night, my wife made me watch the Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSounds concert. The Last Waltz is a perfect contrast. The Band was about making music ... Justin is nothing more than a laser light show.

The Band drummer Levon Helm has one the greatest voices in rock history. Levon did that terrific voiceover narration for the movie The Right Stuff. In The Last Waltz, Levon belts out the lyrics to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" with an emotional Arkansas drawl. It's not a ballad of historical accuracy or significance ... but the haunting power of Levon's voice makes it one of the truly great American songs.