'Street Legal' is like a cult classic. It's pretty cheesy at

"‘Street Legal’ is like a cult classic. It’s pretty cheesy at times, but you learn to embrace it." Thus spoke Kurt Vile, musician and wanderer of sound, as he reflected upon Bob Dylan’s oft-overlooked album. His words seem light and playful, yet within them lies a profound truth about art, life, and the human spirit. For in calling it a cult classic, he reveals the paradox of beauty—that sometimes greatness does not come dressed in perfection, but in imperfection, awkwardness, and the raw honesty of creation. To call it cheesy is to acknowledge its flaws, but to embrace it is to love it all the more because of them.

The origin of this wisdom lies in the nature of art itself. Street Legal, released in 1978, was an album that many critics dismissed at first, calling it uneven, overblown, even flawed in its production. Yet over time, listeners returned to it, drawn to its peculiar atmosphere, its mixture of grandeur and vulnerability, its restless searching. Like so many works once rejected, it became a cult classic, loved not by all, but fiercely cherished by those who discovered its hidden treasures. Vile’s words capture this transformation: how time, patience, and openness reveal depth where first impressions see only surface.

This is a pattern as old as creation. Consider the tale of Van Gogh, whose paintings were dismissed as strange, crude, or excessive in his own day. Only after his death did the world awaken to their brilliance, embracing the very qualities once mocked. What was once “cheesy” became transcendent, what was once overlooked became immortal. So too with Dylan’s album—and so too with many things in life. That which is imperfect may yet endure; that which is flawed may yet become beloved.

Vile’s reflection is not only about music, but about the human journey. How often do we see in ourselves and others what seems awkward, clumsy, or embarrassing? We call it weakness, we hide it away, fearing judgment. Yet if we step back, if we let time pass, we may discover that these so-called flaws are part of what makes us unique, authentic, even unforgettable. To embrace what is imperfect is to embrace life itself, for perfection is sterile, but imperfection is alive.

There is also in this saying a call to humility. To love a cult classic is to resist the pressure of mass opinion, to stand apart from the crowd and see value where others see none. It is to discover treasures in the overlooked, to find light in places the world calls dim. This requires courage, patience, and an openness of heart. Vile’s embrace of Street Legal becomes a metaphor for embracing not only obscure music, but the overlooked people and moments that give depth to our lives.

The lesson is clear: do not dismiss what appears awkward, outdated, or flawed. Look deeper, listen longer, and you may find richness hidden beneath the surface. Embrace the “cheesy” moments in your own life, for they too are part of your story. Cherish the cult classics of your days—the friendships that are not perfect but true, the efforts that fall short but teach you, the art that speaks to you even if the world mocks it.

What practical steps must we take? First, cultivate patience with art, with people, and with yourself. Give time for deeper beauty to emerge. Second, do not fear to love what is unfashionable or imperfect; let your heart guide you, not the opinions of the many. Third, learn to embrace your own flaws and missteps, for they are part of the tapestry of your life, and in them lies authenticity.

So let Kurt Vile’s words echo as a gentle but powerful teaching: life, like ‘Street Legal,’ may be messy, uneven, even cheesy at times—but it is worth embracing. For in embracing imperfection, we discover truth; in loving what is overlooked, we discover beauty; and in learning to cherish the awkward and the flawed, we learn to cherish ourselves and one another.