Not being in versed in the behind the scenes politics of the Swedish Academy, this seems like a no-brainer to me. But if the comments to the linked article are any indication, this is quite a controversial choice. Which, while hard to understand, seems quite fitting for Mr. D. Or, another way to look at it, Dylan and his generation (in which I include the boomers) are now old.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Holy shit. That is totally, completely, absolutely awesome. Fantastic. Amazing. Almost literally being a fly on the wall, listening to Dylan compose Blood on the Tracks??!! Just one of a number of singular and singularly cosmic moments. Thanks for the link, Clams.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
"on Friday, Columbia/Legacy will release every known recording from the [1966] tour as a 36-CD boxed set, “Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings,” most of which have never been heard in any form. It is a monumental addition to the corpus just as Mr. Dylan has been named the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature."
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
I don't know if I knew until recently either but they have performed here (Triangle region of NC) quite frequently over the years. When digging through CD's recently, I broke out her album Til the Wheels Fall Off, which I hadn't listened to in years. I'd also completely forgotten about the duet with Todd Snider that's on there. I still need to pick up Diary of a Mod Housewife.
"on Friday, Columbia/Legacy will release every known recording from the [1966] tour as a 36-CD boxed set, “Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings,” most of which have never been heard in any form. It is a monumental addition to the corpus just as Mr. Dylan has been named the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature."
loving every minute of this set!!! And a total bargain, 36 discs for less than $100. Of course it is the same set every night but I have no issue with that when it is this set list. I've been listening to a show a day, now up to Sheffield May 16.
Meaning, you know what is next........
I can't get other how fucking exquisite are they acoustic sets, pure magic
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
My second Great Teacher used to have an evening every week where he and a bunch of the other local Heavy Hitters so far as reading and writing were concerned would read Shakespeare aloud and talk about it. He never invited me, and I'm okay with that. I knew I wasn't up to their game on a consistent level. But oh my goodness how I wanted to go. And now this:
absolutely love this classic from President Obama regarding Dylan's 2010 White House performance:
"Here's what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you'd expect he would be. He wouldn't come to the rehearsal; usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the evening. He didn't want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn't show up to that. He came in and played 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.' A beautiful rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff that he can just come up with some new arrangement, and the song sounds completely different. Finishes the song, steps off the stage — I'm sitting right in the front row — comes up, shakes my hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin, and then leaves. And that was it — then he left. That was our only interaction with him. And I thought: That's how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don't want him to be all cheesin' and grinnin' with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise. So that was a real treat."
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:absolutely love this classic from President Obama regarding Dylan's 2010 White House performance:
"Here's what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you'd expect he would be. He wouldn't come to the rehearsal; usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the evening. He didn't want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn't show up to that. He came in and played 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.' A beautiful rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff that he can just come up with some new arrangement, and the song sounds completely different. Finishes the song, steps off the stage — I'm sitting right in the front row — comes up, shakes my hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin, and then leaves. And that was it — then he left. That was our only interaction with him. And I thought: That's how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don't want him to be all cheesin' and grinnin' with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise. So that was a real treat."
A classic for sure. Captured it perfectly.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
I can't argue too much with this list, other than having Nashville Skyline in top 10 (vastly overrated album in my book), for having Self Portrait ranked above Infidels, and for ranking Oh Mercy! at 18 (I would have it ranked more positively than that). I pretty much agree with the top 4, though on any given day I could reorder slots 2-4 and be happy. Can't see a scenario in which I wouldn't always have Blonde on Blonde at #1
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
^^^ Excellent piece about Dylan and his music. And life in general.
Good stuff. Thanks.
Talk about a personal journey: "Mark Richardson is the rock and pop music critic at the Wall Street Journal and the former Editor-in-Chief of Pitchfork."
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard