What does the fiercest, funniest, most tender-hearted folk-rocker on the scene do when he grows up? If it's Dan Bern, he makes Fleeting Days and caroms his scathing free-associative takes on pop, politics, sex and culture to a staggering new level.

Over the course of his five official recordings and the many EPs, performance-only specials, and soundtrack contributions the man and his lethal guitar have recorded since 1997, Bern has been finding the big picture in the small — whether plumbing the infinite sadness of being Van Gogh's overlooked son or describing a horrific breakup through the gentle light of an Italian holiday. With Fleeting Days, Bern processes the monumental, sifting through the rubble of youth and devastating world events, and comes up with gems of insight and emotion.

Bern is reflexively literate, in the style of his favorite authors, including L.A.'s legendary bohemians Charles Bukowski and John Fante, urbane fantasist James Thurber, and yarn-spinning humorist Ring Lardner. Bern is in lo