Bob

Seffay everyone. I hope you're well and staying safe and healthy -   OBVIOUSLY we had a great show this week - I was so happy to finally connect with Limmy. What a good dude! He sounded happy with his time with us so I'm sure we'll be seeing him again soon. 

 I was pretty hard on "stand up comedy" in the after hours show and that was BEFORE I saw some stuff online with Joe Rogan yucking it up with some creep Joey Diaz... It pissed me off, but more importantly I saw women comics I know and respect we were pissed off...  anyway, there seems to be this strain of comedy that's still all bunged up with testosterone and machismo which invariably leads to misogyny - often it's overt and obviously disgusting, but sometimes it's just the way someone like Rogan laughs about it and implicitly promotes it by featuring comics who rest on that kind of material, or how other comics ignore it or sweep it under the table...   I never connected with any of it, the tough guy "truth teller" comedian. I hate it, and I hate that it seems to be on the rise again.  I'm not trying to cancel anyone, never have... But when I see a sister out there enraged about the culture of comedy at the moment, I want to be by her side and boost her voice as much as I can, because it's the very least I can do.  PS, with peace and love I do not need to hear the argument that Rogan is actually good because he provides a platform for both sides yada yada. All the best to you and that point of view. 

What I really wanted to talk about today is my undying love and admiration for my favorite American artist of any medium: Bob Dylan. Bob released his latest record,  "Rough and Rowdy Ways" on Friday.  (his 39th? not counting compilations which includes SEVERAL official bootleg releases which are essential as well) 

As the singles for this latest release trickled in, I was dubious... Bob was back with new material after an 8 year absence. The single "Murder Most Foul" was ludicrous on first listen.  Laughable rhymes about the assassination of JFK, the most well worn topic of conversation - I got an early listen to the whole record and didn't give it enough attention.  Songs vacillated from slow crooners to 12 bar blues, on the surface nothing too surprising or overwhelming, but I dove in for a second listen, this time at night, with headphones and it all connected. It all worked.  Such beauty, such simplicity, humor, darkness... a song like "I've Made Up My Mind..." boggles my mind: How has this song been just out of reach for so long, only to arrive now? Here in 2020... Sure it's draws from so much, and Bob is known to crib from all over, but still... Here he is delivering an all time classic somehow with a flick of a finger, like a party trick. 

Do you want in on this? Are you a passing fan or have never dug in because, ya know, "the voice" or the baggage of The Rolling Stone Magazine Pantheon of Classic Rock Suffocation Syndrome ? I get it, but let me tell you we are living in the twilight of one of the great American artists and it's been a stunning and beautiful life to watch play out through his records - Wanna dig in? well of course his discography is sitting there comfortably up on your streaming service of choice:  His first few records are wonderful, intimate acoustic performances: a mix of traditional folk music and topical songs, many of which are fiercely political and remain stunningly relevant: see:  

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, Masters of War, Pawn In Their Game, With God On Our Side 

The next few, the "Electric Ones" explode with rock and roll, blues and jaded hyper cynical assholism, bitter humor and non-sequitur nonsense, great sonics, great fun - see:

It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry, Visions of Johanna 

You can get  "Fuck This Shit, I'm Outta Here" - Bob had gotten so famous and that had gotten very annoying so he dropped out moved out to the country and made a bunch of pretty and quiet country albums, see John Wesley Harding, New Morning, but every more revealing: The Bootleg Series: Another Self Portrait. 

Then Bob sorta re-invented the singer-songwriter deal again with his "Divorce Records"  Blood on the Tracks and Desire - 2 essentials - no need to list out tracks, as their are both singular works of art, wholistic and useless to single out individual moments. Dig in. 

There's the "Christian Period", the "Biding Time, The 80s are Shit So Why Should I Bother" records, and then the marvelous rebirth, "Time Out of Mind" up to the present, with my favorite record, somehow mythically released on September 11th 2001, "Love and Theft" a growly and raw blues/punk record written and sung by a time traveling man who finally sounds his age . 

Too much to absorb? I get it. Try the excellent Scorsese documentary "No Direction Home"- I think you'll see how rare a bird we're dealing with here.. Follow that up with "Rolling Thunder Review," also on Netflix. His performance of "Hurricane" destroyed me. 

Sorry, this went on too long. It's just that I love him, he's so strange. He's almost 80 - He's always on the road (does he sleep on the bus, like I do?)  and when he's not on the road I hear he makes giant iron gates. Look that up, I'm not kidding.  I hope we get 10-20 more years of his mind. 

If you comment "I'm Like Dylan" I will understand. you like having fun. 

Peace, T