The Lyrics: Since 1962

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I’ve been intending to do a list of my favourite Bob Dylan books for a while now. If I’m not listening to Dylan, or watching Dylan, listening to podcasts, I enjoy reading reading about him. I should say this isn’t all the time - just when I’m going through what I call a Bob Phase, which usually happen a couple of times a year. Though they can last for weeks at a time. On that October morning, however, the preposterous became reality.* For the first time in the 115-year history of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the award was given to someone known primarily as a songwriter rather than as a novelist, poet, dramatist, or writer of short stories. (Last year's recipient, Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus, is known for her lengthy works of oral history, another first for the Swedish Academy) What's more, Dylan became the first American in more than two decades to receive the Nobel--a gap of time that many attribute to the Swedish Academy's thinly disguised disinterest in American literature. In 2008, Horace Engdahl, then the Academy's secretary, dismissed contemporary American literature and suggested that no living author from the United States was worthy of recognition. Speaking to the Associated Press, Engdahl stated, "There is powerful literature in all big cultures, but you can't get away from the fact that Europe still is the centre of the literary world...not the United States. The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature....That ignorance is restraining." Poor Lazarus (Recorded Live At Riverside Church for 'Hootenanny Special' - WRVR-FM Radio 29th July 1961) Firstpublished in 1972, this has been updated a number of times. It's a deep dive into Dylans influences and use of language. I’ve alreadymentioned the short section on nursery rhymes in the enclyopedia above - it’s also here, as well as Dylans use ofbiblical allusions, his use of blues and folk forms and poetry and literary references. THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG by Bob Dylan, read by Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Sissy Spacek, Alfre Woodard, Jeffrey Wright, Renée Zellweger". AudioFile Magazine . Retrieved November 24, 2022.

When the moment strikes, he grabs the pen and gets it down,” adds Fishel. “It’s an incredible thing.” Judy Garland is also here alongside Rosemary Clooney and Cher – good to see Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves receiving its due, with Dylan quipping that it “could easily be the answer to the question, ‘Name three types of people you’d like to have dinner with’”. It is not just the breadth of Dylan’s musical knowledge on display here, but the depth of his listening Slate, Jeff. "Bob Dylan on Music's Golden Era vs. Streaming: 'Everything's Too Easy' ". WSJ . Retrieved December 20, 2022. He deserved the Nobel Prize. He deserved the highest rank of Rolling Stone's greatest songwriters of all time. He deserved all the accolades he earned and perhaps even burned. He deserved his name to be carved in history. Local Event: Bob Dylan's Philosophy of Modern Song". Upper East Side, NY Patch. July 10, 2023 . Retrieved July 18, 2023.Just Like a Woman (Vocals Muffled) (studio: 1976-01-23: "The Night of the Hurricane 2" studio instrument rental, LA, CA, USA) Bob Dylan on the Songs That Captivate and Define Us". The New York Times. October 13, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved December 20, 2022. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) (Live at the Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, UK - May 1966) so this book is highly recommended unless there is a book now that includes the proper tabs/chords as well as the lyrics ... this book covers the first 30 or so years of Bob's incredible 50+ years in the music business ... Bob Dylan isn't many people’s idea of a vigilante but one day in 1970 the Voice of a Generation decided to dispense a bit of summary justice on the streets of New York.

It's really doggerel. But, as it happened, Bob found a brilliant new sound and some great musicians to help him put out his anti-message in 65 to 67, ending up with a lot of delightful whimsy in the famous Basement Tapes – new deluxe version out soon! This book was published in 1972, so it's amazing to think there are another fifty years of Bob to come (yet). But this is an exceptional account of his life and work up to then, written in the lingo of the times. And because it only covers his life up until just after 'New Morning', there's plenty of focus on his roots and influences, and the years in Greenwich Village are particularly evocative. He also talks to absolutely everyone, including Joan Baez. A slip of schoolboy doggerel shows his youth: “Instead of following the rule / of going to school / I used to sit on the stool / with drool / An on the seventh day / I sat down / an said / “Oh let me write a song” / an the song was wrote.”

And these books and bootlegs helped with that addiction. William's passion, his extensive research, and his skills as a writer all make these books a must have for the Dylan convert. He hadextensive knowledge of the unreleased recordings, introducing me to them for the first time. You can tell how much Dylan meant to him personally, and it makes you more engaged with him. Sara (Vocals Muffled) (studio: 1976-01-23: "The Night of the Hurricane 2" studio instrument rental, LA, CA, USA) Elsewhere, the insights are more acute, often surprisingly so. Who but Dylan could recognise the conceptual link between bluegrass and heavy metal? “Both are musical forms steeped in tradition,” he writes. “They are the two forms of music that visually and audibly have not changed in decades. People in their respective fields still dress like Bill Monroe and Ronnie James Dio.” Lay Lady Lay (studio: 1976-01-23: "The Night of the Hurricane 2" studio instrument rental, LA, CA, USA) The response from American critics, academics, publishers, and writers to Engdahl's assertion was instantaneous. They offered to send Engdahl a list of authors whose works, they said, disproved his belief in an ignorant and self-centered trend in literature from the States. They cited the number of American books published every year, the number of translations available to American readers, and writers who already possessed wide international audiences, all to no avail. In the years that followed, it seemed as though an entire generation of American writers would never see another one of their own honored.

Steger, Jason (December 30, 2022). "The books that made their mark in 2022". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved December 31, 2022. Dylan, Bob (November 2022). The Philosophy of Modern Song. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781451648706 . Retrieved November 3, 2022.Defenders of Bob Dylan say – as I do to my profoundly sceptical daughter – well, okay, he does have a funny way of singing (“it’s not singing, it’s talking in a singsong voice – maybe that was singing in the 1960s but people have improved since then” says Georgia) – yes, well, let’s not argue – but he wrote these great songs – listen to the words! In a strange twist of fate, Bob Dylan would end up playing 'Fourth Time Around' to Lennon in a private meeting, and the 'Imagine' icon wasn't overly keen on the song. A couple of years later in 1968, John gave the song more of a mixed review when asked about 'Fourth Time Around' in a Rolling Stone magazine interview. Hurricane (song cuts in or out, missing the beginning or end) (studio: 1976-01-23: "The Night of the Hurricane 2" studio instrument rental, LA, CA, USA) I listen to a lot of Dylan podcasts these days - informed, engaging and fun, these are my current favourites:

Everyone wants to meet Bob Dylan. One of the most revered artists on earth, he has been photographed with presidents, poets, movie stars and sporting legends. Dylan often looks nonplussed in such images, except whenever mingling with musicians, where his face really comes alive.

Bob Dylan Albums

Is it Rolling Bob ( apple link) and the excellent Definitely Dylan, hosted by Laura Tenschert. And I mentioned Dylan fm above. A theatrical event based on the book was held at the 92nd Street Y in New York City on the evening of July 17, 2023. Directed by filmmaker Michael Almereyda, the event featured readings from the book by actors André De Shields and Odessa Young and musical performances by Meshell Ndegeocello. [10] Reception [ edit ] I digress. John gifted me this book because he understood my hunger; I couldn’t get enough Dylan into me. He also recognised that I’d enjoy reading this chap called Michael Gray. We’ll meet Michael a couple of times on this list. For Dylan supporters the question was: is it possible to read Dylan's lyrics instead of listening to them? Do they lose part of their strength when they are not being accompanied by Dylan's powerful snarl? Where they any good in the first place or we just liked the way he sang them? Okay, I have now demonstrated Bob sometimes writes less than brilliant lyrics. A guy like that (there is no other guy like that) gets over-praised (e.g. by the French Academy or the American Academy of Arts and Letters