My Favorite Album of the Decade is...American IV The Man Comes Around

By Ryan Brownlee

I was sifting through some of the Albums of the Decade lists and a couple of albums jumped out at me such as 'Heartbreaker' by Ryan Adams, 'Loveboxx' by Outkast, and 'Only by Night' by Kings of Leon but personally two albums stuck out the most for me. The first was 'Sea Change' by Beck. I was getting my Master's at the time this album was released and I remember playing it on repeat many days and evenings. It was a little bit of a departure for Beck but I have always been struck by just how different Beck is than most any artist out there. He always takes chances and it is truly amazing at how talented he really is.

But, as I scrolled further down the list one album popped out to me. I know I will get killed on this because there is really only one new song on this album and it is a cover song but the album reintroduced this artist to many people who may not have followed him. For me 'The Man Comes Around' by Johnny Cash could be an album for most of the decades from 60-00's. If you have ever spent an evening at Tootsie's Purple Orchard in Nashville, you will understand the influence that Johnny Cash has and will have on the music industry and it's artists. Johnny Cash was the ultimate American story. He is the fallen hero that America loves to support. Anybody who has paid any attention to the painful steroid saga in MLB understands the trials that A-Rod went through this past year and Mark McGwire will go through this year as the Cardinals' hitting coach. It remains to be seen how the Tiger Woods' story will unfold over the next couple of years. But, for Tiger most of it will go away when he wins his first tournament. But those stories are for another time. If you haven't let Johnny Cash into your life, now is the time to do it. His history was a long storied one with his relationship with his wife June Carter Cash and his battles with alcohol and drugs. Johnny Cash truly is the Great American Hero.

On a side note, next time you are in the grocery store, do yourself a favor and pick up a pummelo. I am an avid fruit and vegetable eater and thought that I had tasted just about everything. The pummelo is a Chinese forefather to the grapefruit. Anyone who has bit into a grapefruit understand the sour zing it can give you. A pummelo is in between an orange and a grapefruit. The other interesting thing is that it can't be pealed like an orange or grapefruit. The rind is spongy so it has to be sliced and eaten in slices.