I saw an interesting movie about Dylan, called "Im not there". Had Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, couple others... was kinda weird, like you had to already know alot about Dylan to get it, and I dont, so I didnt.
I saw an interesting movie about Dylan, called "Im not there". Had Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, couple others... was kinda weird, like you had to already know alot about Dylan to get it, and I dont, so I didnt.
I know a fair amount about Dylan but a lot of that movie went right by me. The whole Richard Gere section about Woodstock, at least I think that what it was, was a mystery. Cate Blanchett was cool as the mid 60s Dylan. Where is the director's voice over when you need one.
yeah, the whole part with Richard Gere was just out there. I thought it was just me not knowing every detail about Dylan's life, but I guess not. Youre right, though, the mid sixties dylan was the best part of that movie, Ledger didnt do himself or Dylan any favors being in that one.
I believe the 2nd concert I ever attended was Dylan at Symphony Hall for his 1st "electric" appearance in Boston. Don't remember much except a lot of strange looking people were there.....didn't know at the time that I would soon become one!
Watched part of I'm Not There when it first came on cable - and never made it to the end......gotta say it was a big disappointment after all the hype
One of my favorite lines is Dylan's during an interview, possibly in one of those Youtube clips I haven't had time to watch yet - I use it all the time:
"I'm not related to those people - and I can prove that in any court"...
Classic
If you get a chance to see the PBS Dylan in Newport documentary, it's definitely a must-see if you're a fan
"There is no royal road to this heavy surf-fishing. With all the appliances for comfort experience can suggest, there is a certain amount of hard work to be done and exposure to be bourne as a part of the price of success." From "Striped Bass," Scribner's Magazine, 1881.
When he was living with Joan Baez she said he would write in the mornings from the time he got up, chugging coffee, then switch to red wine around 1:00 pm, edit a bit, and knock off around two. This was 1963/4 or so.
He wrote prodigously, one song/poem after another. This was quite a departure because up until this time (with a few exceptions) folk singers were litterally that: they sang traditional folk songs. Songs by Wooody Gunthrie, Pete Seeger, and songs that went back to early Americana that were discovered by musicologist Alan Lomax in the 1930's as part of a WPA Arts Project.
Joan Baez got her start singing primarily old English and Irish ballads within the Cambridge MA scene which was emerging simultaneously with the Greenich Village scene.
She was an activist, but not an intellectual. A family joke in the Baez household was that anyone who gave her a book as a present didn't know her very well. Joan did not write much either, like most of the people performing then she was an, 'interpretative troubour.'
Joan got her first hit of an original song, "Love Is Just A Four Letter Word," by fishing it out of Dylan's trash can. Which she did each day when he was napping in the afternoons. He liked it, but could not remember writing it.
He's been doing that his whole career - I'm surprised this was so heavy handed though. T.S. Elliot, and themes from Emily #^&#^&#^&#^&inson poems, have been favorite appropriations over the years.
I think his brain is fried at this point. With the exception of Blood on the Tracks and Desire, since the motorcycle crash, most of his work has been uneven, to downright terrible. I don't think Modern Times compares to his best work, though the critics heaped on the praise.
You have to understand that he’s a ‘darling’ of the NYT. People whom they are loathe to criticize because it has come back to bite them ass so many times. These artists were ahead of their time and the critics were blind and it looked bad that the critics lacked the sophistication to pick up on it. Meryl Streep, Robert Deniro, Woody Allen, David Byrne, Jeff Koons, Debbie Harry, Patti Smith and a host of other prominent artists also hold darling status – it’s almost like they can do no wrong.
He lost about 10 years of what could have been great creativity, to alcoholism.
People who read tremendous amounts can sometimes inadvertently plagiarize - that's what happened to the historian Doris Kearns Goodwin about five years or so ago - and she was always meticulous about citing sources. It’s possible to get original ideas mixed up with ones you’ve read in the distant past. But in Dylan's case, he was often seen in NY Public Library reading original Civil War journals, so that was intentional to be sure.
...gotta say it was a big disappointment after all the hype
Linear Mode
