AssemblyBoard

   During the Christmas break I was working at a hospital in Orange.  I walk into a room to get a patient but he is not there, but this big guy in the next bed starts talking.  After awhile I get an earload.  He is a older buisnessman, Raymon Zimmerman.  (Look him up he is the former CEO of Service Merchandise)  So as I'm walking out the door I had to ask, "Are you related to Dylan?"  Wrong question!, we spent the next 45 minutes talking about his cousin from Minnesota. Anyway the guy pops off, "He was never a really big star, just an almost star!"  WWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Dude!  How can you say that!!!!!???????  We had quite a chat. Since then I picked up a copy of Dylan's new bio, "Chronicles"   It is a great book!  Up for an award.  It is little vinettes of Dylan's life.  One moment it is 1963 and he is toolin around Greenwich Village.  Next its 1992 and he is raising his son. The guy has a photographic memory for names and events.  Reading it you get the sence of what it really means to be an artist. (He is just living to find and perfect his craft!)  Oh btw I just gave my wife a signed photo of Paul Mc Cartney.  8)

OH BTW?? Ho Hum! How cool is that? (Hopefully she's a fan?)

Don't you just love those little Divine Appointments? Times when God brings us together with the most interesting people.

I may not have an autographed photo of Sir Paulie, but I do have a ticket to see him in concert in November. Woo Hoo! The Beatles were HUGE Dylan fans, y'know. In fact, I sort of thought that George's later solo stuff kind of sounded like Dylan vocally. And they were in the Traveling Wilbury's together too.

I just found out that Keith Green and Bob Dylan went to the same Church at one time. and that Dylan appeared on at least one or more of Keith Green's albums. Neat eh.

The link below has a whole bunch of Bob Dylan and other artists with Bob Dylan.

http://www.searchingforagem.com/1983.htm
 
Keith Green - "I Only Want To See You There" - vinyl LP, Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA), 1983:
Keith Green was killed in an air crash on 28 Jul 1982 and this album was released posthumously.


Sparrow Records SPR 1066 (USA) - picture from eBay, thanks to Dag Braathen
 R-0160 Pledge My Head To Heaven (Keith Green) - Bob plays harmonica on this remixed version of R-0153, the track from Keith's 1980 album So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt... (see 1980)
Thanks to Peter Gilmer for the information that Bob's harmonica is "all but drowned by an electric guitar" in this version, whereas in the original version it is very prominent. The version that later appeared in 1987 on the  Sparrow Records Keith Green compilation The Ministry Years Vol. 1: 1977-79 (see 1987) is the original mix (R-0153). This album is therefore only for completists.

Hugh  ;D

   Hugh, I got the photo at a place in Orange. There is an independent  music store there and it is run by a  serious Beatles fan. He has everything, books, posters, rare recordings, photographs, buttons, figurines, bouncy head statues, he has mags that are in current publication on the Beatles!  He use to have a lot of signed stuff but it is gone.  Paul wont sign anything unless its for charity. (My photo was at some charity event he did in 2002 in L.A.) A few years ago I decided to really listen to the Beatles myself. I still am amazed at their diversity. They could play anything and everything. I think their willingness to experiment outside the box, give themselves the opportunity to consider different ways of thinking, different ways of playing music was obviously to their genius. A few years ago I found a signed album by George Harrison. It is "All Things Must Pass" in mint condition. I got it for nothing. I had it verified and so far it has passed every test!!!!   Has anyone ever watched the last documentary (9 vidoes?) ?

Hi David.

Hang on to that record, and don't play it!  Keep it safe, and retire a wealthy man. 

Any rock, folk or pop musician, especially a teacher, will tell you that the Beatles are to modern music what calculus is to math.  You can't do anything important with math unless you have a clear undertanding of calculus, and likewise, if you don't know the Beatles, and the way they crafted songs, you will be stuck doing rap or hiphop, or some other disgusting thing.

The Beatles made huge leaps and changes from album to album, and it didn't take them 2 years between records!  Sometimes they would have 3 a year!  Amazing.  With the Beatles, you don't get one band and one sound...you get about 6 bands and perhaps 20 sounds.  Teeny bopper, soul, psychedelic, pop, rock, ballads, it's amazing.

Think of this:

I want to hold your hand........Michelle........A Day in the Life.....Something.....Let it Be......all by the same group, all within an eight year span.  And there was so much more!

The simplicity of many of the songs is stunning.  The genius and sweetness of the melodies are amazing, and the playful quirkiness shows that they didn't take themselves too seriously.  (Lennon did later, and his music suffered, IMO)

Now two of them are dead, and they'll never come back.  What a sad commentary on the human lot.

I'm going to see Sir Paul this year.  He's still at the top of his game.

Brent

You mean the Anthology? Yes - when they released it on DVD a couple of years ago, Ringo promoted it by saying it had a "Fifth Disc". Meaning they made a disk of behind-the-scenes and edited footage. I love it. It's a must-rent for any Beatles fan. It was originally on TV in a much-edited version about 5 years ago.

Is the store in Orange you mentioned called "Penny Lane"?

That's a good point about the Beatles. They made a huge transition when they put
out the "Revolver" album in 1966. To go from "I want to hold your hand" to the
eerie "Tomorrow Never Knows"(with the actual lead of the whole song being Ringo's
drums). This happened within a two year span. From "Meet the Beatles" in 1964
to Revolver in 1966 was a huge leap. Then they want on to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band" in 1967 with "A Day in the Life" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

They truly were an amazing band. When people call the Rolling Stones the greatest rock
and roll band ever, I always shake my head. The Stones were a great band, but the Beatles
in six years put out more hits, and more great music than anyone has ever done since. They
were and still are the greatest rock band that ever existed.

--Joe

Yep, dittos to everything you say here Joe.

However, the Stones could do one thing The Beatles couldn't. They have that greasy, sleazy, dirty rockn'roll groove that belongs only to them.

Songs, like Let it Bleed, Can't Always Get What You Want, Tumbling Dice, Honkey Tonk Woman, Can You Hear Me Knockin'.....those are amazing songs.

My problem with the Stones is that I can't enjoy them.  After the first song, I usually feel like my soul has been defiled in some way.  Not so with the Beatles.

Brent

Brent---

That's true about the Stones---they are very unique in their own way. I think what makes
The Beatles so varied also is the fact that all four of them sang songs. Mainly John or Paul
or both of them together, and George, and Ringo occasionally. The Stones, The Kinks,
Led Zeppelin, etc. stayed with one vocalist, so you always had the same voice. The Who did
split with Townshend singing sometimes, but for the most part many groups stayed with
one vocalist alone.

Some of their best songs were when the lead vocals were split, like "A Day in the Life",
or "Hard Day's Night" where the vocals trade back and forth between them. Some of my
favorite songs by them were actually sung by John, like "Dear Prudence"--I love that song,
but I love "Mother Nature's Son" equally well, with Paul singing the lead.

As for the Kinks, they wrote a great song with "I'm so tired, tired of waiting, tired of waiting
for you-u-u". But I guess that's for another thread.

--Joe

Here's my list of most underrated, awesome bands:

1.)Kinks
2.)Three Dog Night
3.)Little Feat---known by true afficionado's, but largely ignored my public
4.)Humble Pie
5.)Elvis Costello and the Attractions


All of them had hits, most people know who they are, but relatively few realize how totally awesome they are. 

I like Little Feat the best, although the Kinks made much more of a splash.  Three Dog Night have some really great songs, but people seem to have forgotten about them.

Peter Frampton would be in my top five list of guitarists on some days.....(Humble Pie)

Anyways,

Brent

It's not Penny Lane, it is just called "Records".  I saw the Kinks with Alice Cooper in 77? at Angel Stadium. I really didn't know who they were!  They found a new audience  the next year with 'Misfits"  Remember "Live life!" I also saw the Tubes, Nazereth, and Sha Na Na! at the same concert! I really can't say I enjoyed that concert. All I remember was sitting up in the highest level kinda bored. As I became a Christian the next year I didn't go to secular concerts (Can you imagine telling the bretheren you went to see Elton John without getting hammered?) until I went to the Elevation u2 in 2001.(Actually this concert, as all their concerts, is about 33% Christian attended.)(At the Verigo concert I overheard a number of people openly talking about "The Lord") I was on the floor doing the pogo the whole time. This I feel is the ultimate collective consciousness experience.  Something the pagans developed?  O.K. Christians do it all the time! No Condemnation! Brent, your list has me curious I have never listened to some of those guys. Are they in the Hall of fame? I personally feel that Van Morrison has not received the recognition he deserves (He has explored and perfected genre's I have never heard anyone else attempt- Hard Nose the Highway, Veedon fleece.) Yet he was one of the first guys inducted. Someone must know something.




"Baby you're a rich man to!" :D

As far as I know, they are all hall of famers.

I would also add to the list Roxy Music.

If you want two extremely cool albums get

Time Loves a Hero---by little feat.
Avalon---Roxy Music

You won't be dissappointed.

Brent

I agree---Roxy Music is way underrated. I have the album "Avalon", and the song of
the same title on that album is beautiful. Another group that never really got the
fame they may have deserved was King Crimson--Greg Lake from Emerson Lake and
Palmer sang for them for a while and  sang "In the court of the Crimson King"--it's
a pretty awesome song.

I also used to be a big fan of "Ten Years After" with guitarist Alvin Lee who was actually
a pretty amazing guitarist. I have almost all of Joe Walsh's solo albums too. He wrote some
very beautiful songs---all you hear from him is "Rocky Mountain Way" but he had dozens of
other tunes that are really far better than that. The Moody Blues weren't too bad either--
"A Question of Balance" is a great album.


--Joe

An interesting intersection of two people I admire for different reasons.
Bassist Stanley Clarke is showing his versatility.
He did the soundtrack for Steven Seagal's latest film "Into the Sun".
Verne

I'm not sure why, but I never could get into ELP, or King Crimson.  I did like Fripp's work with Peter Gabriel, but KC just never meant much to me for some reason. 

I always thought ELP were silly, especially the synthesizer on "Lucky Man."  No offense meant, they just weren't my cup of tea.

Stanley Clarke's best work, IMO, was with the New Barbarians.  Keith Richards, Ziggy Modeliste, Clarke and some other guy. 

Brent

I liked some of ELP's stuff, but they sold out when they came out with an album
called "Love Beach", dressed like the BeeGees and tried to do disco. It was ridicu-
lous. You're right--the synthesizer on Lucky Man at the end is terrible. One group
I could never get into for some reason was Electric Light Orchestra, or ELO(since were
talking about groups with initials  :D ). Although I think Jeff Lynn(is that correct?)
later became a member of the Travelling Wilbury's.

--Joe

Dylan is the Man...("He walked up to me so graciously and took my crown of thorns".) Best concert I ever attended 7th row out-door summer night, need I say more?  Summer.........(I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethel dose)

'Alvin Lee live in Hamberg Germany' album IMO showcases his abilities.
I agree  with you about Joe Walsh...he is much much more than 'Rocky Mountain way'. 'Funk 49' is a fun song.
As I am writing this my 11 yr old daughter is playing the Moody Blues  'Story in your Eyes' on her acoustic guitar.
Court of the Crimson King, could only be played LOUD, Had that on 8 track

Joe, I saw Alvin Lee at Woodstock!  (the movie) I remember the solo he did! Summer, I heard that song you quoted 20 years ago on "Hard Rain" I think it is "Shelter from the Storm!? I really like Dylan!  I have listed to his hits and some of his little known work.  Have you ever listened to the album/cd "Self Portrait"? It is a very earthy, folksy work he recorded in Nashville back in the early 60's. He sings it with that "Lay, Lady, Lay" voice! I think he researched some places/peoples way out in the sticks.  They are ballads about miners, prostitutes and gamblers!  Good Christian themes! ;D ;D

As far as I'm concerned, The Beatles opened the flood gates that allowed us to enjoy many other bands.
My favorite Beatle album is Abby Road.

That's funny you mention "Lay lady, lay". Whenever I hear that song, or "Knock, Knock,
Knocking on Heaven's Door" I always think "Now, why can't Dylan sing like that all of the
time?" Dylan's an icon, but I have to admit that a lot of his songs irritate me because of
the nasally whining sound he uses. He is very capable of "really" singing, as he demonstrates
on "Lay lady lay".  This is just my opinion of course.

--Joe

My friend is a Dylan nut, and he says that Bob has some sort of nervous disorder, such that he can't even play the guitar anymore.  He was actually a great guitar player at one time.

The reason he sings the way he does now, is because he can't help it.

In spite of all that, he remains a viable artist....and a backslidden christian.  Dylan makes me sad.

Brent

Brent, He played right here in O.C. about 3 years ago. I thought his nasal twang was just old age or 3o yeas of Pall Malls.  Ray told me he lives up in San Francisco and is a dedicated family man who practices Judaism. My impression of "Trying to get into Heaven" a song on (Time out of Mind-album/cd) is that Bob still believes in a personal God. In his bio Dylan comes across surprisingly traditional values, he makes references to his Christian wife. I am surprised that his health had lasted all these years. Ray mentioned Bob's first wife died of heroin?

He played in SLO about 3 years ago too, at Cal Poly.

I don't enjoy Dylan too much, but I respect his early body of work.

Brent

As far as I'm concerned, Dylan is on the top. His earlier works were the best, IMO, including his work after he became a believer, but I wouldn't consider him to be a has-been in the least.

I was at his most recent concerts in Chicago, and the only thing I could complain about was the acoustics. I couldn't understand the words of his music, which IMO have always been the best written.

It seems to me that believing Jews have a more of a fullness about them than we Gentile Christians have. His songs written after his conversion are especially touching and very clear in their expression.

Unless Dylan has a double, it was him playing the guitar, harmonica, warbling out sometimes, and gliding across the stage.

From what I hear, he has only recently become unable to play guitar.  Could you actually hear what he was playing, or was it merely a prop?

Brent

Most of the time he was playing keyboard. That was real. I couldn't see close enough to see whether his guitar-playing movements matched the music that was being played. If he wasn't playing, they did a pretty good job of covering up for him.

That's exactly what my friend Kirk said.  He can play keyboard still, but is unable to do more than strum some simple chords on the guitar.  Except for the old days, his guitar hasn't really been a feature.  Back in the day he could really play.

Brent

David,  I started listening to Dylan as a teen, starting with 'Before the Flood' double album with the BAND. I really loved 'Blood on the Tracks' and his work between'74 and '84. So I hav'ent heard everything. He really loved Arlo Guthrie. Some of the real down home grass-roots stuff I'm not that into, and his new work I hav'ent been able to get into (very heavy) So when I saw him late in his 40 year career it was to see the living Legend perform and he did not disappoint, he is a true poet and gifted lyrisist. Emmy-Lou Harris (his back-up vocalist on Blood on the Tracks) used to shop in the store I worked in (as a teen) and alot of times I'd have their music on. As far as the Christian value comment...funny were all human arn't we. At least he did'nt spend years in a cult, thinking he was a Christian.  Summer.  p.s. Kenny Loggins popped in one day too, as well as many other "Stars".

Forgot to mention I was rebuked for bringing a Carly Simon Album into the sisters house. Did'nt I know she was an immoral woman? The funny thing was all the while this "Leader" was listening to of Mozart...Hello

Did Arlo Guthrie Die?  I love a song Dylan did from that period, Hurricane?  Bob can really tell a story  It was about Ruben Carter, a boxer who was charged with murder on "flimsy" evidence. Funny story, I was really introduced to the Beatles/Paul McCartney by  Steve Taylor. Steve was much older and considered much more responsible in the first bros house I lived in. Well one day Perry Minamide comes home and I am listening to Paul McCartny "Pipes of Peace" Perry came down on me real hard. We had to have a number of mtgs about "rock-n-roll" music. I never listened to secular music (in front of him) again. ;D

  Unless I have missed the news, Arlo Guthrie is very much alive.   I know that he lives in fear of contracting Huntington's Disease, which killed his father.   I have seen Arlo three times live and have met him and talked for about 10 minutes.   I always got the impression that he and Dylan didn't get along real well???   I know that Woody Guthrie was one of Dylan's mentors in his early career.   Dylan used to sit by Guthrie's bed and run songs by him.    I heard Paul Harvey say once that Dylan's mumbling slurred singing style came from the time he spent with Woody.   Never verified that so I don't know if it's true....(But it did come from Paul Harvey) <grin>

  Arlo is very entertaining in concert.   He is quite a story teller...and he does a lot of Dylan tunes.   He and Dylan were playing in the St. Louis area and the review in the newspaper said "If you wanted to see a lot of Bob Dylan's classic music, you would have had to have been at the Arlo Guthrie concert"

--Tony

Tony, Your right it was Woody who inspired Bob, the Family let him visit him in the hospital. Arlo can tell a story one that comes to mind is "Ridin on the City of New Orleans" . Bob as well, like "Sara" about his wife 'stayin up for days in the Chelsea Hotel writin Sara Lady of the Lowlands for You' then he wrote "Idiot Wind" about her during their divorce. Also" Positively 4th street" about his Manager could pertain to many right here on the boards, ha,ha....Summer.   p.s. my friend owned 20% of the Chelsea, so I really liked that line.

Bob mentions his facination with Woody in "Chronicles"  I read Woody's autobio "Bound for Glory"  few years ago.  Now that I think of it/it is a lot like "Chronicles" Woody is wandering around just hanging out with people then moving on.  Summer, I get into an argument with people all the time about who wrote "The City of New Orleans"  About 20 years ago I attended a Linda Ronstant concert, (It was O.K. because she wasn't singing rock-n-roll but doing the Nelson Riddle stuff) Anyway a guy shows up at the last minute to open the show. His name was Steve Goodman?  He was great!  (Real shocker, He died a few days later from luekemia!) Anyway he played "City of New Orleans" during the show. He mentions that he wrote the song with John Denver in a motel room one night back in the 60's. If it is true I think it is probably the best song Denver co-wrote!???

David, I don't know much about the Guthries. You mentioned "Hurricane" I love Scarlett Riveria on the Violen, apparently Bob saw her in N.Y. carrying her vase and he said,'hey can you play that thing'. And they brought her in on Desire, boy can she play. I also love "Most likely you go your way and I go mine" with the Band Live. Oh well don't get me started. Peace!  Summer.

O.K. I think I finally got it straight, Steve wrote the song himself but before it became popular he played it for John and John changed the lyrics, see story here!  Summer that violin makes the song!  Also on "All Along the Watchtower" (Hendricks's best known work was really Bob's) Did she play on that also?

http://www.cobo.org/goodman/uk.html

David, I don't think he knew her when "Watchtower" was recorded. He seems to use that as an Encore alot, along with "Rolling Stone". Did you know "Diamond and Rust" was written about Bob by Joan Beaz, she was his girlfriend prior to him marrying Sara. At any rate Hendrix's version is alot more powerful would'nt you say? Summer.

No I didn't. I never really listened to the words when Hendricks played it but after listening to Bob's version I fell in love with the lyrics.  Joan likes men?   

Underrated Bands,


James Cotton Band
Turtles
Early David Bowie
Guess Who
James Gang


Worst Bands in the world,

Bay City Rollars
KC and the Sunshine Band

Songs that make you turn your radio off immediately,
Feelings
Anything by Joan Bipolar, oops I mean Biaz

Good music my parents liked,
Glen Miller,
In the mood
Chatanooga Choo Choo

Yep.  I agree. 

"Walk Away" by the James Gang is one of the best tunes ever.

David, Funny thing is my neighbor works for her record label. I really have no interest in knowing anything else about her, I could ask, but I dont care to know. (Arlo is probibly on that label, again I dont care either way). I meant musically with Hendrix, not lyrically. "But you and I we've been through that and this is not a phase, so let us not talk falslely now, the hour is gettig late" Summer.

Awsome lyrics!   A few years ago I read a book written by a number of different people who knew Thomas Merton.  Joan wrote a chapter and related her encounter with Merton back in the early 60's. In it she just happened to mention her partner and the fact that they were obvious and driving alone together in Kentucky.   Joans O.K. with me. "Shes' just like the rest, with her fog. her amphentamine and her pearls" Just kidding (These lyrics are a little too sexist!)

Good job David...Do you think he had her in mind when he wrote," Once upon a time you dressed so fine, threw the bums a dime in your prime then you...people call, say beware doll your bound to fall, you thought they were all kiddin you" (falling for Bobby I'm sure) Summer.

Saw my Hero tonight in O.C. Wow!  He has an ability to recite 35 stanzas of "It's Alright Ma" that is comparable to the early versions of the Wesley hymns (these had 50+) He also has reinvented himself again! Boogy Woogy Blues!  He opened with "Everybody Must Get Stoned" and closed with "Blowin in the wind"

P.S. saw one of the saints up in the front section! Won't say who!

Believe it or not, Bob Dylan came through little po-dunk Boone, NC a few years ago where I live and performed at the fairly new convocation center connected with the University http://theholmescenter.com (http://theholmescenter.com) .  Loretta and Josiah, my son, went to see him. 

Willie Nelson performed at the football stadium five years ago.

Not quite Southern California but we do get some culture from time to time.

Folks,

Bob Dylan is probably as rich as Croesus. But imagine how much money he could have made if he could actually sing!!!

The same goes for Rod Stewart. 

 :rofl:


Tom Maddux
Famous Music Critic

I heard a comedian once say:

"I once a John Denver cassette on sale on the discount rack for $2.99.  I then went over saw blank recording tapes for $7.99.  Imagine how much money he could have made if he just kept his mouth shut!"

Also Barry Manilow.

:rofl:

I think he can sing, unless someone else sang "Lay, Lady, Lay". Wasn't he usually trying to mimick his favorite guy?(I can't think of his name at the moment)

Moonflower----

Yes--he sang "Lay Lady Lay" and also "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" where his voice was actually
quite clear and nice. I always wondered why he didn't sing more songs like that.  I think Tom Petty in many ways sounds like Bob Dylan, and may be mimicking his voice at times.

Really though, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart--and how about Joe Cocker--who told him he had a good singing
voice? He and Janis Joplin were two of the worst singers ever!!  ;D

--Joe

Woody Guthrie. Isn't that the voice, etc., that influenced Dylan's style?


Janis Joplin had a voice??  ;D

There are actually quite a few people through the years that were "singers" with terrible
voices. This is going a ways back,  but there was a woman singer named "Kate Smith" who
sang "God Bless America" quite a bit. She was horrendous, but considered very famous.
Louis Armstrong actually had a terrible voice too. Jimmy Durante would sing, but he was also
an extremely bad singer. Martha Raye too. I realize this is all my opinion--and everyone has
there own taste---but it makes one wonder how they got to be so famous for singing.  But Bob
Dylan takes the cake for the man who is most famous with the worst singing voice.  ;D

P.S. Moonflower----I think you're right--Woody Guthrie. His son, Arlo Guthrie, actually got famous for
a while too, singing such things as "Alice's Restaurant". I never liked him either. ;D

Since your in the mood to slam him,

Friday, July 27, 2007
Dylan for the masses
By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register
Let's skip the amateur Dylanology, and not bother with yet another round of yeah-he's-so-important praise – we know this. Anyone who doesn't has already stopped reading.
Let's head instead straight into some things you may have noticed about Bob Dylan's sold-out performance Thursday night at Pacific Amphitheatre.
Assuming you were there, that is. And if you like rock 'n' roll – robust rock 'n' roll, I mean, fluidly executed, packed with ageless wit and sixtysomething bark, a tremendous sort of traditionalism that feels as old-school authentic as it does utterly contemporary – well, you really should have been there.
You couldn't see the guy.For very likely the only time during Pacific's run this year the giant video screens that flank the stage were not in use. Why, you wonder? I couldn't really say – that's just Dylan.
Consider that he rarely – no, make that "never" – lets press photographers, even the most professional (read: stealthiest) ones, shoot at his shows. And did anyone else catch how fast the overbearing security was to crack down on digital camera use?
A guy who operates like that isn't about to get his craggy (and quite cool, really) mug get plastered on giant video screens. A guy like that walks on stage (or kinda hops, in this case), hides underneath a wide-brimmed hat to complement his black Western wear, then lets his music – and his mighty band – do the talking for 16 songs in a little less than two hours.
"Yes, but you can't understand a thing he sings."Dylan doesn't sing for you or me, it seems. At 66, he sings for himself – and, in doing so, the way he phrases certain songs, classics or newborns, can be fascinating. Yet this can be incredibly alienating to those unacquainted with the profoundly nasal, raspy, at times guttural manner in which he has sung for the better part of two decades now.
Still indelible on record, the melodies of yore are no longer adhered to in the slightest on stage. The sharp or flat execution of a rearrangement or, much more importantly, Bob's mood on a particular night will determine how a favorite will come out, even if it's being played for the thousandth time. Ardent fans surely won't deny that beloved choruses from a half-dozen different songs can tend to blur together. And I bet a good many people here didn't realize his final, loping rethink was "Blowin' in the Wind" until his lead guitarist began soloing with its original melody.
Those of who still dig seeing Dylan live have come to accept such things. We love him for what he was, and we love him for what he is now – and we get inexplicably excited when we realize we're seeing him play guitar locally for the first time in, what, four years? (He's been at his keyboard for much too long.)
And when Dylan plays, oh, the Forum, we are the dominate audience. At Pacific, however, some of us (you we're-not-worthy types) stick out like geeks among a wider Fair crowd – comprised of every kind of people, not Dylanites. The ol' bard was wise to give his set list a populist feel (more on that in a sec), lest he truly baffle first-timers and returning admirers alike – and those attendees were respectful regardless of what they could or could not make out in his lyrics.
But here's my chief response to the he's-unintelligible complaint: You might be able to understand him if you JUST SHUT UP.
To my left this night, a pool of rejects from "Real Housewives of Orange County" and their spouses laughed and blathered loudly throughout the first seven songs or so. Then they left. The rows around me, meanwhile, were dotted with party people who got very keyed up when Dylan opened with "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" (you know: "Everybody must get stoned") but seemed to grow restless when he ducked into "Lay, Lady, Lay" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." So they got noisy, too.
Makes you wonder if all certain people come for is to say they heard the guy do "Like a Rolling Stone."

rest,

"Yeah, but he didn't play 'Like a Rolling Stone.'" Or "All Along the Watchtower" or "Masters of War," for that matter, or "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" or "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" – although he did play "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," and sang it with a great deal more clarity and precise emphasis than he's offered in many moons.
Oh, no "Simple Twist of Fate," either, or "Shelter From the Storm." But he did play "Tangled Up in Blue." This is why we keep coming back, you see: We likethe way he sings, believe it or not, we savor the flavor his most recent lineups bring to his material, and we never know what he'll throw at us. Two nights earlier in Tucson he put on "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" – opened with it! In Cleveland 10 days ago he dusted off "My Back Pages."
I'd have traded "Lay, Lady, Lay" and "Tangled Up in Blue" and a tentative but eventually storming "Highway 61 Revisited" this night for either of those. But I wouldn't give back "Watching the River Flow" (that great leftover tacked onto "Greatest Hits Vol. 2") or " 'Til I Fell in Love With You," a "Time Out of Mind" ballad with fresh sting.
Also, I wouldn't swap "Ballad of a Thin Man" as a main-set closer for three-fourths of "Blonde on Blonde." Still says so much.
Especially when so many of Mr. Jones' relatives are seated nearby.
It's wild to think that opening act Deana Carter was once (and sometimes still is) considered a country act. As her 40-minute turn reminded, there's still plenty of country in her soul, but her sound hews much closer to Sheryl Crow rock. Sadly, it has few hooks that measure up to even Crow's most average hits, something her band, featuring brother Jeff on guitar, compensates for by layering on country-rock clichés. She's right, though: "Strawberry Wine" has aged well.

....And then there are the critics. You read their comments and wonder how they could ever get
published. Ben Wener immediately comes to mind. I... ;D   Just kidding.

Dylan is an icon--whether you love him or hate him--he definitely made his mark!!

--Joe

Folks,

The reason Dylan became popular is because all his fans were stoned when they first heard him!  Permanent brain damage.

 :rofl:

Tom Maddux
Famous Music Critic

Dylan is an icon--whether you love him or hate him--he definitely made his mark!!


  I think you are right Joe, Tom's comments are typical of someone who has heard Dylan while searching through the channels on his radio. If you sit down a listen to some of his lyrics you will recognize something genius. This guy can tell a story! Better yet watch the documentary by Scorcese,  "No Direction Home" and read the companion book, "Chronicles".

Dylan performed this Thursday night, funny I had never heard it before. it's a true story!


William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger
At a Baltimore hotel society gath'rin'.
And the cops were called in and his weapon took from him
As they rode him in custody down to the station
And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

William Zanzinger, who at twenty-four years
Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres
With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him
And high office relations in the politics of Maryland,
Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders
And swear words and sneering, and his tongue it was snarling,
In a matter of minutes on bail was out walking.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

Hattie Carroll was a maid of the kitchen.
She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn't even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level,
Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
That sailed through the air and came down through the room,
Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle.
And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom,
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'.
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished,
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance,
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence.
Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now's the time for your tears

Dave,

I suspect that Dylan's popularity is some circles is due to two things:

1. For many the music of their teen to twenties is very important to them.  They are able to associate the music with memories of dates, dances, zany behavior with friends, high school, parties and such.  As the years go by we tend to forget the teen-age angst, insecurities, and social disasters along with whatever real hardships we endured.  The years take the "edge" off the hurts and painful memories.

So, when we hear the old songs we think mostly of the good times back in those relatively carefree years.  We enjoy thinking about those things, and the music brings back some of the flavor of those days.

The Baby Boomer generation, which was huge, is quite affluent now and they keep the old music going by attending concerts, buying cd's, supporting PBS oldies concerts.  Then, of course, there are the folks who have never left the 60's to 70's mindset and still think Jerry Garcia is the messiah and Peter, Paul, and Mary are the Trinity 

They are wrong of course.....Buddy Holley was the messiah.   ;)

2. Then there are the crowd followers who do things because they want to be "sophisticated".  I recall visiting the Newport Beach Art Museum with a busload of teachers during some class or other I took for salary points.  They were all following the docent around to hear her spiel about the various art objects.  They were nodding knowingly and making comments about how wonderful it all was.

The museum display was exclusively devoted to modern abstract art.  A few of the objects were quite good, even beautiful.  Most, however, were more down the Jackson Pollack line...splatters of paint thrown from 10 feet away to demonstrate the meanlessness of our random chance produced universe.  Some were more down the "industrial society crucifying the working man" line.  Twisted semi-human forms nailed to construction girders on a background of factory smokestacks belching out black clouds of pollution, that sort of thing.

Years ago I read an article in the Inter Varsity magazine which quoted Pablo Picasso describing the contempt he held for people who admired his "art".  When the docent asked me why I was laughing at some paint splatters on canvas I just said I thought it was silly.  I had been, however, remembering Picasso's statement and wondering what he would have thought about our crowd of "sophisticates".

Anyhow, if Dylan rings your chimes, let 'em ring.

Tom Maddux
Famous Music and Art Critic

     Then there are the crowd followers who do things because they want to be "sophisticated". (quote Tom)
 
Tom, I read ya man! I read ya! People are just doing it because they want to be "cool" they want to be "groovy" But man you aren't taking me for one of those cats! Like man, I'm flying too high to see their point of view! Like I've already forgotten more than they'll ever know!

  Now take my man Bob. He's so hip he tells it like it issss!


      By the end of 1963, Dylan felt both manipulated and constrained by the folk-protest movement. Accepting the "Tom Paine Award" from the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee at a ceremony shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a drunken, rambling Dylan questioned the role of the committee, insulted its members as old and balding, and claimed to see something of himself (and of every man) in assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. 8) Quote Wikapedia Bob Dylan

Dave,

Actually, I don't know quite what to "take you for".  However, now that I think about it I am aware that the Baby Boomers are far more into "getting into the music" and "feeling groovy" than my generation was.

This is what produced such a change in church music during the 1960's and 70's.  People moved away from the traditional "teaching" hymns and to "worship choruses" that spoke to their emotions rather than their minds.

I noticed long ago that people at rock concerts and people at Pentecostal meetings frequently act alike.  They raise their hands in the air, sway back and forth in time to the music, jump up and down, sing along with their eyes closed, and occassionally just "wig out".

Tom Maddux
Famous Music and Art Critic

DaveM,

Hang in there. Dylan is excellent, but that is just MHO.

Tom,

It seems as if you don't LIKE  something it is "silly." Therefore you must create theories to make anyone who appreciates some truth in a Dylan song--infused with a great melody--as being a mere crowd-follower. Every once in awhile the crowd is right. If you don't enjoy abstract art go surround yourself with Kincaids, why make fun of those who do?

There is some truth to what you say about Boomers going all nostalgic on their music. My mom does this with her 40s and 50s music. But there were some great songs from that era. And there were some teriffic songs from the 60s and 70s. That is why my kids listen to some Credence, Doobies, Beatles, Zepplin.

Just because people dance to music does not make it pagan in some way. It is an expression of collective joy that the assembly did its best to quash that. That's why we dance at weddings.

Dylan himself makes fun of the way he sings "like a wounded coyote," but he is a good poet and tune master. What is it about his craft that you find so objectionable?

One of the funniest acts I saw was when a local group called "Riders in the Sky" were singing Roudolf the Red Nosed Raindeer.  One of the guys said, "Hey!  Let's sing it like Bob Dylan".  The rest was hysterical.

Do you think his off-voice was part of his statement?  Much of modern art (paint splattered, etc.) was indeed a statement about the meaningless of man and the randomness of life.  Those of us who don't see life as random would see such a statement as silly but to the artist such as the "musician" John Cage, it was a very real and honest statement.

Since Mr. Dylan was against the establishment, government, Vietnam, etc. in the 1960's was his off-voice a way of saying "I'm going to break the social conventions of my parent's generation because I don't respect their conventions?"  Like many of the modern artists who could really actually paint if they wanted to, I suspect Mr. Dylan could sing right if he wanted to as well.

Dave,

My original comments on Dylan's singng were attempts at humor.  That's what the little  :rofl:  guy was supposed to indicate.  My comment about Buddy Holley was also intended to be humorous.  The point was that I do the same thing about my own youth era's music.

Dave, I tend to think wholistically.  I relate what I see, read, and hear to the whole social context. What concerns me about so much of the music/rock concert/modern art scene is that it is all associated with our culture's general turn from rationality towards subjectivity and irrationality.

Great emotional experiences are part of what makes life worth living.  Loving someone, group experiences that bring out the best in people, appeals to compassion and concern, these are all good things.

But there is a downside to emotion as well.  Emotions are rarely a good basis for decisions.  If you doubt this, ask all the women who have experienced what it is like to be a pregnant unmarried teenager.  Worse, political demagogues have long known that people have this capacity and have exploited it.  Because emotion is mostly a reaction to sensory inputs, by manipulating the inputs, you can control what people 
think and then do.  The huge Nazi rallies at Nuremburg released the same type of emotions and group consciousness that you have described.

I am definitely NOT likening a Dylan concert to a Nazi rally.  Nor am I calling you a Nazi or anything like that.  I just cannot help being concerned with the future possibilities of a culture that has opened itself to this kind of manipulation by glorying in mindlessness.

Dave, I do have a tendency to critically analyze things and ideas that are presented to me.  I can see how you could read my posts about Dylan or modern art as making fun of you. I did not intend to personalize it though.

 While I am very critical of the overall phenomena, I also recognize the tremendous talent of many of the people involved in it.  I enjoy listening to some of the music of the 60's and 70's myself.

Think, for example, of the Beatles.  Their talent was undeniable.  Their music was wildly popular.  But along with all the enjoyment of their music there is still the ugly fact that they were highly influential in popularizing drug use among kids.

Tom Maddux

"My original comments on Dylan's singng were attempts at humor."

You know what's really funny is that as I was reading up the thread I thought, Oh my, DaveM likes Dylan, therefore Tom will make a joke about Dylan, probably dissing Dylan's whiny voice.

"Dave, I tend to think wholistically."

Isn't that a fancy way to say sweeping generalities.

"But there is a downside to emotion as well."

Really? Thanks for clearing that up. You know Tom, there is a downside to almost everything. Do your spend your day worrying about the flipside to everything?

"I am definitely NOT likening a Dylan concert to a Nazi rally."

Again, thanks for clearing that up because it certainly was how it was read up to that point. I simply asked you what you find objectionable to Dylan's craft as a poet and a song writer and suddenly we're all Nazi's in Nuremburg.

Sheesh, it's no wonder so few people post on here.

Now, now, Jem let's not get nasty.  You have to admit that as good as Dylan might be, his odd way of singing (when he clearly could have sung harmoniously) does open himself up to jokes or at least puzzlement.

Looking at the big picture does not necessarily have to be "sweeping generalizations".  There are some folks who are good at working through specific details.  Others like to stand back and look at the general flow of things.  Francis Schaeffer was one who tended to look at the big picture and how it was affecting culture and the church.  He made quite similar conclusions as Tom concerning music and modern art and "non-rational experiences" in such discussions as his "line of despair" and "upper storey/lower storey" model etc.

I don't think most folks follow Dylan or any other musician because they sit down and think about the craft.  "I like Dylan because he uses complex chord structures combined with simple melody" or whatever is not something the average person think about.  While skill is usually important, many excellent musicians end up becoming insurance salesmen because they didn't get their break to make it into the "in" circle.  So the idea that folks follow Dylan to be "sophisiticated" is not a put down to Dylan but a truth about our culture.  We tend to like what is popular.

-Dave

Now, now, Jem let's not get nasty.  You have to admit that as good as Dylan might be, his odd way of singing (when he clearly could have sung harmoniously) does open himself up to jokes or at least puzzlement.

I have to agree. Dylan, as mentioned before, was able to sing clearly---he shows this definitely
on the song "Lay, Lady, Lay"---this is actually quite a beautiful song, and his voice is very clear and
in tune. Also on "Knock, Knock. Knockin' on Heaven's Door" he dispays the same smooth, clear and melodic voice. I have heard many people express surprise
when they realize Dylan sang those songs.  I believe he purposefully made his voice off-tune and whiny as a type of protest, as Dave. S. has mentioned.  Dylan's greatest talent was definitely his poetry, not his singing.

On one of Frank Zappa's albums there is a hilarious few moments where a "fake" Dylan starts whining and playing some off key notes on his harmonica. It was definitely meant to poke fun at Dylan, and his whiny offbeat voice.  But again, Dylan is someone people either love or hate, so there will always be arguments when the subject is brought up whether he was a "good singer or not".  :D

--Joe

I've spent a lot of time meditating on this song. I think it is great advise to a young naive man/woman who is just starting out in life (in America!) I wish I would have heeded it when I was 20 years old!

   
Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's something' you did
God knows when
But you're doin' it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
The man in the coon-skin cap
In the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D. A.
Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't try "No Doz"
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

Get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But users, cheaters
Six-time losers
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders
Watch the parkin' meters

Ah get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles

"...Look out kid
Its somethin you did
God know when
but your doin it again..."


People will use God to lay a trip on you!

"...Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But users, cheaters..."


   Need I comment?  Its just a reality of life!

"...Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid..."

While you are working hard for $10 an hour others are working easy getting rich off of you! If you want to understand the stock market the first thing you need to know is others controle it! You need to find out that inside information!

                     Dylan understood this!

While you are working hard for $10 an hour others are working easy getting rich off of you!
                     Dylan understood this!

Dylan: "Believe me, I do understand this!! When you make $10 an hour and you have to pay $17.95 for one of my CD's, you are never going to get rich! But someone has to get rich, so it may as well be me. So please keep on buyin' my music! I'll be thinkin' of you when I'm at the bank!" (off-key harmonica music fills the air)
 ;D

To My Fans,

I want to invite you all to attend my Austin City Limits concert on Saturday, September 11, 2007. 

The General Admission tickets are a real bargain at $262!   :o

For all of you $10 dollar an hour folks you will only have to work three days and two hours in order to experience 90 minutes of my glorious voice and deeply poetic lyrics.  I intend to sing several songs that expose how "the Man" is out to get us common folks and cheat us out of the luxurious life we all are entitled to. 

Here is a link where you can order the tickets.

http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/buy/bobdylan_tickets.htm?pid=584122

PS, Remember that you will need to work a bit longer to earn enough to buy a ticket.  The advertised price does not include taxes, and of course your $10 per hour isn't what you get to take home after Social Security, State Disability, and so forth.

Four full days should do it.

Your brother in the great struggle against bourgoise society,

Bob Dylan

  What makes Bob Dylan stand apart from the rest? It is his ability to recreate himself! He invented (faked?) his Woody Gutherie accent, style, moved from Minnesota to New York, walked from one coffee house to the next putting his hat out for tips! He became one of the leading folk singers of the early sixties. Yet just a few years later shocked the folk community with his creation of "Folk-Rock". (many people disowned him for this) During the early 80's his "Born-Again" period gospel music was acclaimed as his best work! But wait there's more! In the late 1990's he again burst on the scene with a whole new style of rhythm/blues/soul music with the top Grammy award winning album "Time Out of Mind" Today he is enjoying acclaim for his "Modern Times" album that was give a nod last year!


   What makes someone/something a classic? The fact that they endure! Today people still buy Beethoven, Bach, Mozart! Their work has the ability to speak to succeeding generations! While I was attending his concert I couldn't help but feel and tremendous respect from the audience! No matter how old he gets or how bad he sounds people were in awe of him! Maybe thats why I started this thread? Yet I feel like I have opened the door for people to disrespect him!  Why?  Don't you guys have any decency?

Whoa there! The word "recreate" in my mind, evokes negative connotations, since it is said that Madonna "recreates" herself, which she does. She is a performer, while Bob Dylan was a talented writer, poet, and musician who performed He admired Guthrie and carried on his style   The coffee houses were where the music action was at the time for those who had a mutual interest in that kind of music. His music reflects where he was at that time of his life. He is a born-again Jewish Christian and his music reflected that time of his life. We still admire someone who can express how we are feeling and like Tom mentioned, when we hear the old songs, we travel back in time to when they were first popular. And.....everyone has different opinions of what music should be like. Some people hate opera, but opera is really well-written music for talented singers.

Personally, I think you showed disrespect to Dylan when you claim he "recreates" himself.  Just my 2 cents.

No matter how old he gets or how bad he sounds people were in awe of him! Maybe thats why I started this thread? Yet I feel like I have opened the door for people to disrespect him!  Why?  Don't you guys have any decency?

David---

No disrespect to Dylan the poet---just having some fun. ;D  When you made the statement about Dylan "understanding" the $10.00/hour working man, it caused me to laugh. Back in the 60's it was
cool to make fun of the "establishment" and "the man". The Beatles even had a song called
"Little Piggies" sneering at Capitalists. Yet, The Beatles quickly took the proceeds from that song and
many others and socked it in the bank just like all the other capitalist "white shirts" they were mocking. Dylan and many others were/are the
same way--- they sing about the plight of the poor and the horrendousness of "imperialism and capitalism"--yet write these very songs while they sit beside an olympic sized  pool behind their multi-million dollar mansions. Sting sings about the "plight of the rain forest" yet has a piano (made of wood) in every room of his 20 room mansion!!

So, no disrespect to Dylan's music---but he is just that---a musician and a poet. But he still lives the same lifestyle all famous stars live--and has no greater insight concerning the poor or suffering than any other man has.

P.S.  As an example. I was, and still am a great fan of that rock band "The Who". But that doesn't make them "Gods". Keith Moon, the drummer, was incredible!  But he lived one of the most debauched lifestyles imagineable and died of a drug overdose. He was a great drummer, but not anyone to be worshiped. I feel the
same about Dylan---great poet--but just a man.

  Was their message, "Don't take advantage of the opportunity to get rich?"  or was their message, "Question the establishment because they are liars!" It seems to me that people on this BB would be more apt to questioning authority, critically think for yourself, other than "Trust in George Bush because he knows what he is doing" mentality!  Now I will say that I did learn some good things in the assembly but I didn't learn "healthy critisicm"  The criticism that just seeks to learn the truth!

  I will also admit that the 60's were unique in that there was an incredible idealism. The Beatles DID make attempts at forsaking materialism and GIVE to others freely!  Remember their stint with the Maharishi? Did you know that they opened up their production company to anyone regardless who they were and money they had?  They produced a tremendous amount of music for free! Most of it went nowhere! However, Badfinger! and James Taylor were discovered, got their break because of this!  Also The Rolling Stones gave a free concert (They paid the Hells Angels with beer for security-this was a disaster) But it was an attempt to walk the talk. To be a selfless individual in a world that practices capitalism is pretty much impossible. People will look at your selflessness and take advantage of it. (See Assembly) I imagine there are some people out there who do walk the talk. Know any?

    I remember Keith Moon from the movie Tommy and The Boys are Alright!  However, I think Dylan is a few leagues above Moon. Maybe more comparable to Van Morrison, Paul McCartney. When I think of Keith Moon I think of Foster Brooks!  hic!

I do agree with you that many of the protesters and love children of the 1960's were indeed attempting to walk the talk; I don't think their failure was merely the unyielding forces of capitalism.  I think it was in part that (as you admit) many of their ideal premises were flawed.

While I don't feel the need to ridicule Dylan (he is making an honest living which is more that can be said for alot of people) I think there is an irony of those protesters against the "system" are now making a good living from the system.  I once went to a user’s conference for a high end JD Edwards financial software package that is used in many large corporations such as Shell oil. It featured a private concert by the Doobie Brothers in the hockey arena in Denver.  Not exactly a bold stand against the machine.

Again, nothing wrong with what they do.  Just ironic. 

The 1960 love children protested against a generation that was not providing answers.  But, they didn't come up with answers either. 

Today, many are rich or at least middle-class, think about retiring, take Viagra, and occasionally go to a rock concert to reminisce about the good old days.  They protest the war like old times but are unwilling to give up the security and strong economy that a good defense brings.   They deride corporate business as evil but sure don't mind if their stocks and 401Ks goes up.

My point is this:  As for "walk the talk", I think there was indeed some sincerity in the 1960's protest, but I honestly think that history shows it is indeed a mixed bag.

Dave,

You said:

I guess you had better explain the rules of "decency" again.  You see, I don't think poking fun at public figures is indecent.  More like fun.

In addition, I didn't know that you had such a high level of tolerance for hypocrisy.  I don't know much about Dylan.  I know who he is, I have heard his early music discussed on programs about the 60's, and have heard some of his attempts at singing.

I did not know that he was an admirer and copier of Woody Guthrie.  Woodie Guthry was a highly talented but not very responsible man.  He was a union organizer and union rally musician back in the dust bowl and depression era.  He really knew what poverty was, and did genuinely attempt to help the poor.
He just had a bad habit of not taking care of his wife and kids.

It just seems to me that charging folks $262 to hear you sing about the plight of the poor seems just a tad hypocritical.

Tom Maddux
Famous Music Critic

"Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten imparting grace."

Plato

When I think of Keith Moon I think of Foster Brooks!  hic!

How dare you diss Keith Moon!! Don't you have any decency??   ;D ;D

I think Keith would have taken it as a compliment! ;D