Bob Dylan turns 80 today, May 24, 2021. Dylan has already gifted us riches far beyond what any of us could reasonably expect from a single human being and yet I’m certain (perhaps in my avarice) that he still has more to offer us. In fact, if I was a bettin’ woman, I’d say he’ll still be surprising us even after he’s gone.
I’d characterize myself as an amateur Dylan fan. I tend to favor the same albums that everyone else likes – Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks and, possibly slightly less expected, his latest, Rough and Rowdy Ways. But I do consider these “dessert island discs.” There are albums of his that I haven’t even listened to – all those bootleg compilations etc. Not that they aren’t necessarily worthy of a listen, but I just haven’t gotten to them yet.
Twice now for me, Bob has been a salve for some seriously troubled times. I was living in Manhattan when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred. Prior to the attacks, some friends and I had already purchased tickets to see Dylan at Madison Square Garden for a show scheduled just a few weeks after the attacks. The city was badly wounded and as much as we were all trying to go about our day and “not let the terrorists win,” everyone was navigating life in slow-mo and in a shocked daze. The city smelled like a giant industrial fire. Fighter jets were buzzing the island 24/7. Every block had a wall plastered with photos of the permanently missing which were impossible to walk by without bursting into tears knowing there would be no closure for those families. And there was the pervasive tension of what was coming next. Going to any kind of public space felt threatening. Pretty much the last place I wanted to go was Madison Square Garden which felt like a giant bullseye target to me. But the show must go on and the terrorists can’t win. So, my friends and I did our civic duty.
Enjoying a communal meal at one of the nearby Korean BBQ places before the concert was a comforting start to the evening. Walking towards the arena, we began to see all the Jews for Jesus signs, the scalpers advertising their wares, and the typical Madison Square Garden variety of miscreants. This put me at ease. This felt “normal” or at least familiar.
I’d never seen Dylan perform before and I’d heard he could be quixotic, sometimes only doing a 20-minute set, avoiding all the hits and being his ornery self. Who knows what Bob was thinking that night while performing in the city that helped make him and after such an incomprehensible event. I like to think that he knew exactly what we all needed and perhaps he needed it too. He played for what seemed like several heavenly hours and he didn’t shy away from the crowd favorites. His “song and dance man” ethos was going full throttle and it was definitely the booster shot we all craved that night.
Fast forward twenty years and Dylan has given me some solace yet again. The pandemic and the extreme political climate had left us all again reeling in disbelief, anxiety, exhaustion, sorrow and every other synonym for negative emotional states. Then after eight years of not releasing any new original material, Bob startles us with a 17-minute song that seems to somehow encompass all of human experience. While we’re all still trying to process and decipher this offering, another new song floats to the surface. It seems unreal. But wait! There’s more! Thick in the middle of the misery of lockdown, we are the enviable recipients of an entire album full of new Dylan compositions. Once again, Bob gave us just what we needed and hopefully he needed it too. This was in my daily playlist for months and a most-welcome distraction to the blending of days without end.
Thank you, Bob!
Highlights of my Dylan diet this week consisted of...
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
(Available on Netflix)
This was my second viewing of this film having first watched it shortly after it was released. Scorsese opens the film with a clip from silent filmmaker Georges Méliès’s The Vanishing Lady. Méliès is renowned for being one of the first people to realize how he could manipulate film with editing and special effects to open up an entirely new way of narrating a story. What’s telling here is that anyone today and possibly even then can easily see the trickery behind the act of illusion. So perhaps Dylan has been showing us his cards all along, but we are too busy looking elsewhere simply because we enjoy the illusion so much.
The first time I saw this film, I couldn’t stop noticing just how attractive everyone was. Bob has always been a fashionista and he clearly relishes the costume aspect of performing. His clumsily applied chalky white makeup and kohl-lined eyes made him look like a beautiful ghost which he juxtaposed with a large spray of vibrantly colored fresh flowers on the brim of his hat that hid his halo of curly locks. During performances, his bulging, darting eyes and odd grimaces harken back to a silent film star - Scorsese is making several observations with that opening clip of his. Dylan had a mask and a uniform of sorts, but the flowers always varied, and an occasional peacock feather appropriately made it into the mix.
The more recent interviews with various people on the tour give a Rashomon-like perspective to the events with everyone having a different take on how things went down. The vanishing lady may disappear and return again but don’t look too closely or you might see something that will spoil the illusion.
Joan Baez & Marianne Faithfull Sing "As Tears Go By" In Bob Dylan's Hotel Room (May 1965)
I watched the entire Don’t Look Back doc for the umpteenth time with the 1999 commentary from director D. A. Pennebaker and Bob Neuwirth. (Available on the Criterion Channel) But the reel of outtakes had this clip that I’d never seen before. It’s exactly the kind of perfect dream scenario of the coolest people casually sitting around doing cool, creative shit like it’s just another day in the neighborhood. I couldn’t understand how this didn’t make it into the final cut of the film but the person who posted this speculates that it was a copyright issue. Sounds quite plausible. So glad we have it now! If you have the Criterion Channel, there are 25 minutes of outtakes from the film along with quite a few other worthy extras, interviews etc.
You Lose Yourself You Reappear: The Many Voices of Bob Dylan by Paul Morley (2021, Simon & Schuster)
Paul will be the guest on the June 1st Book Musik podcast that I co-host with Tosh Berman. It’s what got me started on my current Dylan debauchery. Dylan-mania is in the air and there are several new books taking a stab at comprehending the enigma that is Bob Dylan. Paul’s is the one that I knew I had to read. I knew he’d bring his own voice to this and not do a dry chronological listing of biographical details. I’ve seen people make the critique that his writing is too personal but that’s precisely what I love about it. It’s his passion for the subject, his lively, intelligent writing style and his ability to make connections that I never would have made on my own that make this more than just another book about Dylan.
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)
(Available on Netflix and various rental options)
This is Martin Scorsese’s 3.5-hour documentary on one of his favorite crushes. I’ve seen much of the footage in this before and yet it never gets old. Scorsese is a fanboy and doesn’t even try for a minute to keep his cool about it which ends up making me love both Dylan and Scorsese all the more.
Chronicles: Volume One (2004, Simon & Schuster)
I’m reading Dylan’s memoir for the second time, and it may be more self-mythologizing than reality-based, but we still learn a lot about what makes Bob tick by what he chooses to tell us and what he chooses not to tell us. I’m along for the wild ride. I don’t care if it’s true or not. C’mon Bob, where’s Volume Two???
Excellent piece! i may do an all-night tv binge watching all the Dylan film footage above. I have Tequila in the house - I wonder if that will go well with all-night Dylan?