New Bob Dylan song: Huck's Theme

this is great

Bobby

"livin' in a nightmare on ELM STREET!" LOLOLOLOL!!1!11!!11!!!!!!

absolutely fuckin great

"I'm just a Patsy, like Patsy Cline"

This has more lumpy couplets than good ones, can't stop thinking about We Didn't Start the Fire.

nah, the difference is that he doesn't "mean" anything. He's been moving into the space for 20+ years now—on the one hand he's deadly serious, on the other daring you to take him seriously

He's not pulling "ideas" down, he's not "inspired," he's not a conduit for anything, he's refining "late period" by going practically vaporous, letting it all pass right through him. Authenticity, sincerity, intentions, even lyricism—it's all moot. He's not there! The best way to go out imo

I fucking love this song

anyway this is a dated outtake, new material (I don't think we're gonna get any) would probably be a straight read of a Friends script or something

I find it fascinating that in 1962 he wrote a song about the new, young (alive) president calling him up on the telephone, and here 50+ years later we get his meditation on the man's killing.

Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack / Play it for me in my long Cadillac

I would believe it if you told me this was written by a Dylan AI

Glad to hear his take on JFK tho, been a pretty slow year so far, nothing really worthy of his great pen

all that junk and all that jazz
play one for the birdman of alcatraz

He's not pulling "ideas" down, he's not "inspired," he's not a conduit for anything, he's refining "late period" by going practically vaporous, letting it all pass right through him. Authenticity, sincerity, intentions, even lyricism—it's all moot. He's not there! The best way to go out imo

I would argue that this has been the case since 1964-65, if not earlier. He is the least authentic artist ever.

sure I think he's always been an "antenna" or whatever, I guess what I'm saying is that in the last couple decades it seems like he's done away with all of the mediating measures, all of the signal processing. These litanies are enough, they have all of the meaning he requires, he's really gotten entirely out of his own way

like instead of writing a song about Lenny Bruce or Reuben Carter or whatever he can recite their names, there's nothing more to be derived from his perspective on things, he's self-aware enough to know that ppl are just by reflex going to project their own Dylan onto whatever he writes anyway, so he just doesn't bother. It's like this weird thing where he's actually earned that prerogative and for me at least it's not better or worse than anything else. Anyway he's got whiskey or wrought iron gates or whatever to make.

A friend recently expressed disappointment that he had writers for Theme Time Radio Hour—wanting to believe Dylan is just a pure unceasing stream of wit and wisdom, but pesonally idgaf, it's Dylan!

Not sure if it is a great Dylan song exactly, it is certainly though the best Don Delillo novel in a minute

Something very Street Hassle-y about the music & instrumentation

the arrangement of this is fucking remarkable

yes

Apparently it’s his longest song ever, surpassing the runtime of “Highlands.”

> doesn't "mean" anything

I get the opposite, it feels incredibly literal for Dylan, and literally sentimental. I totally agree with the idea of a vaporous late Dylan, but this hits me as a cake of incense, not the smoulder.

Apparently it’s his longest song ever, surpassing the runtime of “Highlands.”

"Murder Most Foul" b/w "Murder Most Foul (extended dub mix)"

i'm just thinking of phil ochs' song, i'm thinking of jozo karamatic's "smrt u dallasu" (dylan knows about that one, i'm sure he does)... about armand schaubroeck's "god made the blues to kill me"... i mean, a lot of people wrote songs about the assassination, at the time, and this sounds like he's taking the piss out of all of them. dylan is a phantom and has been all kinds of people... in this song he's the elderly llewyn davis!

it is sad, though. he did write propaganda songs. his songs did used to mean something. and if he was too much of an "artist" for that, fair enough, but what sort of nihilism is this? be a ghost, sure, but why make fun of the earnest young man for ever having believed? what he did back in '63 helped, not as much as he may have imagined but it did. by making fun of himself he's making fun of everyone who is still trying to do the work he abandoned, which isn't, i don't think, fair.

last songs? lee hazlewood was better at that sort of thing.

I get the opposite, it feels incredibly literal for Dylan, and literally sentimental. I totally agree with the idea of a vaporous late Dylan, but this hits me as a cake of incense, not the smoulder.

― Julius Caesar Memento Hoodie (bendy)

if it's sincere his mind has gone. i mean, is he back to being the voice of his generation? deranged, meaningless rambles, namechecking like it's a fucking episode of Family Guy?

why make fun of the earnest young man for ever having believed? what he did back in '63 helped, not as much as he may have imagined but it did. by making fun of himself he's making fun of everyone who is still trying to do the work he abandoned, which isn't, i don't think, fair.

How is he “making fun of himself”?

Also, he wrote "protest songs," not "propaganda songs" (they're sort of opposites, aren't they?)

if it's sincere his mind has gone. i mean, is he back to being the voice of his generation? deranged, meaningless rambles, namechecking like it's a fucking episode of Family Guy?

Explain to me the difference between what he is doing on this song and what he is doing on Desolation Row?

I think Desolation Row is packed with meaning and I will happily give you my take on it if you want.

amazing how close a lot of this song is to being full-on Grocery Bag:

I'm just a patsy -- CLINE!

Living in a nightmare -- ELM STREET!

xp Be my guest, but I don't see how that makes it different than this song.

In case not everyone is aware, Kennedy’s motorcade was on Elm Street when he was shot — so there’s a double meaning there.

I think the “name checking” parts of this song are very meaningful; it’s like an elegy for the 20th Century, as evoked through cultural references that also stretch back farther (all the way to, you know, “Hamlet”).

Also, he wrote "protest songs," not "propaganda songs" (they're sort of opposites, aren't they?)

― morrisp

in best bob dylan style, i stole that line from someone who's been dead since around 1986 and am not super qualified to debate the point

I think the “name checking” parts of this song are very meaningful; it’s like an elegy for the 20th Century, as evoked through cultural references that also stretch back farther (all the way to, you know, “Hamlet”).

― morrisp

but how does it stack up to

JFK
Blown away
What else do I have to say?

this is Dylan's "Junior Dad"

I only make it all the way through once last night before bed. I went from loving it to kind of hating it and back to loving it again. I really like the dirge-like arrangement and the instrumentation, but the lyrics kept throwing me.

And while some of the couplets are indeed clunky, I think there may be a deliberate strategy to discuss Kennedy’s murder in very matter-of-fact, even clichéd terms (similar to how Lennon’s death was addressed in “Roll on John”) — to leave “breathing room” for evoking its heavy cultural weight in the other parts of the song, and tying in the Kennedy mythos with all those other aspects of Americana, both fictional and real. (I dunno, I’ve also only listened to it once all the way thru so far!)

xp You know, I think you're right. Maybe one of these days I'll wander over to the Dylan: classic or dud thread and post my take on Desolation Row, but it doesn't really have anything to do with what I think of this song. I like it a lot but can't articulate what I think of it yet, I'll have to let it percolate.

music reminds me of Dirty Three

In case not everyone is aware, Kennedy’s motorcade was on Elm Street when he was shot — so there’s a double meaning there.

they are both streets that something bad happened on, i would put the meaning multiplier at 1.25, maybe lower

Jimmy Wapo reference

Dylan's entire studio protest output is basically about 13 songs off his first four albums, and that is only if you include stuff like "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall".

Dumb comma.

You can also probably remove "Song to Woody" and "I Shall be Free" from the list.

@ums otm re Dirty Three

the music is really gorgeous, very eerie too. and the far-off rumble of drums when he repeats the “murder most foul” semi chorus is cool

they are both streets that something bad happened on, i would put the meaning multiplier at 1.25, maybe lower

Ok, it’s a “double reference” — however you prefer to phrase it.

Friend just pointed out the arrangement sounds like Ghosteen, kinda.

xp for more insights check out my new podcast where i go through dylan line by line and rate the precise amount of meaning in each lyric

It seems to me that part of the whole premise of the song's construction is that lines are there because they rhyme. And needing rhymes, you allow things in. But I'm not convinced of their vacuousness.

Hey, and Billy Joel's in there, too. In fact, it's the first song he asks Wolfman to play. I admire the inclusivity.

Friend just pointed out the arrangement sounds like Ghosteen, kinda.

― Julius Caesar Memento Hoodie (bendy), Friday, March 27, 2020 11:53 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah there's a strong cave feeling. i was reminded of higgs boson blues, mostly cause of all the references.

Play Oscar Peterson, play Stan Getz
Play "Blue Sky," play Dickie Betts

I found this pretty lovely. The lyrics idk I heard less than half of them but found them pretty disarming, laughed a few times. Definitely felt like it could be a matter of faith whether I took them as poignant or just daft but I’m not sure what I would have to gain from being a sceptic

I’m not a Dylan person really but desolation row is one of my all time faves so that might explain it

Don’t really care about Kennedy at all don’t @ me

"play Don Henley
play Glenn Frey"

well, yeah

No love for the openers on Infidels & Empire B? Those are two of his best songs!

"Changing of the Guard"?

That's a great one, too...

I listed them a couple years ago

Good list!

I was never a fan of "Changing of the Guard" until I heard Patti Smith's cover. She basically stripped away most of the instruments, but the most effective change was transposing the saxophone part to the piano - makes an enormous difference.

The beginning of "Political World" is pretty cool, but the song never delivers and goes nowhere. Lanois really pushed Dylan to open Oh Mercy with "Series of Dreams" but to no avail - it's not even on the album. Would've been one of my favorite Dylan openers had it happened.

I mostly agree with Alfred's ranking, but I would swap "Gotta Serve Somebody" with "Jokerman" and "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum".

into the fiery furnace with you!

My smokin' Dylan hot-take is that omission of "Series of Dreams" from Oh Mercy is actually a bigger deal than the fabled omission of "Blind Willie McTell" from Infidels.

It's that sound: it's a warm shallow ocean

I could get on board with that take. xp

xp perfect description

For whatever reason, it always makes me think of water. Like I've blasted it on many grey, rainy days, and sometimes it brings to mind an old luxury car commercial where said car is driving through crashing waves on the edge of a beach in slow motion.

You could argue that song invented The War on Drugs.

"Thunder on the Mountain" was his best opening track off an album since "Blood on the Tracks".

cosign

lovesick and tweedle dee terrible openers to great albums

For whatever reason, it always makes me think of water. Like I've blasted it on many grey, rainy days, and sometimes it brings to mind an old luxury car commercial where said car is driving through crashing waves on the edge of a beach in slow motion.

It was used during a surfing sequence in the maligned John From Cincinnati

lovesick and tweedle dee terrible openers to great albums

Like both of these better than Thunder on the Mountain, especially the dueling guitars on tweedle dee.

Always assumed that everyone loves Lovesick (which I do)

no

What's the problem with "Lovesick"? "Tangled Up in Blue" is the opener most often in my head.

I feel like it's a minor song, but what grates are the production choices, I don't like the heavy compression/eq'ing on the lead vocal, and I feel like musically not a lot's going on

with Tweedle Dee I feel like every track that follows is an improvement, it's an opener quite different from the rest of the songs... anyway, I tend to skip it

fwiw I also feel that 'Lovesick' is a surprisingly slow-key, undynamic first track for one of the greatest LPs of the decade. The start, with that ... almost reggae? high rhythm guitar part, feels particularly thin. And the end feels quite botched!

'tweedle dee' is musically thrilling, I'd say, not so different from 'political world' but more orchestrated and 'song & dance man' fare.

I meant low-key. Slow-key almost works.

If I had a controversial opinion on the topic it would be that 'like a rolling stone' is one of Dylan's worse LP openers. It's too long for the role, and less exciting, to me, than everyone always seems to have found it.

whereas many others are superb: 'S H Blues', 'changing of the guard', 'if not for you' (but that's basically 'pop single as opener'?), 'tangled up in blue' for sure, 'hurricane' maybe but again too long, 'political world', 'tweedle dee', 'thunder on the mountain' yes - and indeed 'I contain multitudes' !! and even 'young at heart' on a covers LP - marvellous.

Also underrated in the role: 'tight connection to my heart'?

But I'm reminded that the worst Dylan LP opener has to be 'rainy day women' - the most overrated song of his life.

"Tight Connection' is a superb opener.

You folks are crazy, “Lovesick” opens the door to the thick night air perfectly. And the snare crack of “LaRS” is the shot that starts the revolution.

'tweedle dee' is musically thrilling, I'd say, not so different from 'political world'
totally agree, very similar, don't like political world

Tight Connection is the album highlight iirc

here for the tweedle-dee love. such cool, demented lyrics and great drums

"Love Sick" is a fine opener. At the time it felt like, "Hey, Bob's back! And he...doesn't suck! Huh!" (Those who heard "Wiggle Wiggle" on release day will understand.) But all live versions -- especially those with Bob soloing -- surpass it.

"Thunder," though, is easily my fave out of those three openers.

Wiggle Wiggle >>>>> Love Sick

I wouldn't use quite so many ">"s, but I also prefer "Wiggle Wiggle." (I'm not too into Time Out of Mind, tho)

Kenny Aronoff's drum roll in "Wiggle Wiggle" is the real thunder on the mountain

Love Kenny Aronoff! So hope he'll show up on the Never-Ending tour.
he snare crack of “LaRS” is the shot that starts the revolution. Yeah, but after that I'm pretty much with pinefox--got tired of the monotonous, lecture-y delivery long ago (even though he later said, "Every time I say 'you' I mean 'I'"), It's the one track from that LP that doesn't play itself in my head on any given day---nothing necessarily against the song, though; I really like the Hendrix at Monterey Pop rendition.

As a character read, it's more effective for the shrewd, seemingly soft and off-handed phrasing.

That "Wiggle Wiggle" performance was the beginning of the decline of Aronoff's greatness. He was brilliant with Mellencamp -- his re-entrance in "Check It Out" is arguably the greatest moment in Mellencamp's oeuvre. But with Dylan and -- especially -- Fogerty, every snare hit sounds like a sales pitch as aggressive as it is ineffective.

I don't see Aronoff jumping back into Bob's band anytime soon, as Charley Drayton is beyond perfect for what Bob's doing now, and Bob seems to love him ("Boy, Charley's really something on the drums, isn't he?" -- Bob during the band introductions when I saw him a year ago).

I didn't realize it until much later, but when I saw Jerry Lee Lewis at Riot Fest, it was Aronoff on drums. Agree with Tarfumes, he's a loud, aggressive player. I don't think he'd be right for Dylan at this point. He was perfect for Mellencamp though.

got tired of the monotonous, lecture-y delivery long ago

Now there's a controversial take! Not one I can agree with though.