No other generation has had more distractions, more little electronic nothings to keep us entertained.

Between Youtube and Twitter, people my age might look at hundreds of little jokes and videos that we watch for 30 seconds and then forget 10 seconds later.

But what happens to those pieces of art, those pieces of music, that have a history, that have an understanding of culture and emotion that goes deep?

Can these works rise above the digital noise?

The resounding answer is yes.

The songs on the “Music from Big Pink” is music that goes to the heart of America’s character.

The songs on the record were written by members of The Band and Bob Dylan at a rented house in Woodstock, New York in 1967. It was a house far away from the chaos that followed Dylan and The Band in ’66 as they toured Europe among booing, hostile crowds.  In that house, in the quiet of Woodstock, these men explored their musical roots and produced songs that expressed the folk and country roots of America with a clarity and purity that had not been achieved before.

When The Band recorded and released the songs, nothing was lost in translation and it made a huge impact on those who chose to listen.

When Eric Clapton heard the album, it changed his world and made him rethink his life and what kind of music he wanted to make. I often listen to music while I read Twitter and look at funny Internet pictures.

On a whim I played  “Music from Big Pink” while doing exactly that. From the first notes of “Tears of Rage,” I had to stop everything.  All I could hear was Richard Manuel’s achingly beautiful vocals, and the music that held a deep reverence for America’s musical history.

Whatever I was looking at didn’t matter as I opened the gifts of “Big Pink.” In these songs I found a peace that settled my mind like no other music.

In the mournful music of “Lonesome Susie” and “I Shall be Released” I could hear, see and feel what they had discovered at the house in Woodstock.

Over the next few days, I listened to the album over and over again. Each word that was sung and each note that was played seemed to reveal a new aspect of life.

Every listen revealed a new texture, a new shade of color to the album; I would go to sleep with the images of the songs still in my mind.

In the quiet moments during the day, the notes and lyrics of “In a Station” keep me company like an old friend.

The overflowing richness of the music demands all your attention. Every note and word is filled with an artistic purpose that can only be fully felt with a mind filled with no distractions. Art as great as “Music from Big Pink” will always rise above Tumblr blogs, television, disco, hair-metal, or whatever the current trends of the day are.

With only the details slightly changed, my story will play out millions of times.

No matter how advanced the distractions become, the power of great art will continue to make people stop and see new opened doors in their lives.

Art’s undeniable force will continue to change lives, and it will continue to rise above everything to make lives richer.