Why I Oughta...

Thirteen years ago, I wrote a blog post here on the blog where i posited that Bob Dylan was, perhaps, the best songwriter for female singer s.  What I meant was that female singers who covered Bob Dylan songs were eye-openers for me.  I included (maybe?) the most-famous cover of "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele .  But, what really has stuck with me is Sheryl Crow's version of Mississippi.   Note here:  I recognize that we're (now) in 2023 and the notion of female vs male singers (that I used initially back in 2010) might not be a valid or appropriate framework for everyone today.  That's fine.   I'm going to use that construct here - with positive intent - because I think it makes sense for this discussion.   Back then, posting musings on various topics on personal blogs were a thing 1 and that's where hot takes like this lived.  But, the conversation around my (apparently provocative) post was taking place on the Bob Dylan ne...

Holiday traditions are important in every family.  And they're both the same and different in every family.  Thanksgiving in our house means a few things:  turkey trots, turkey bowls, turkey legs, football and...The Last Waltz.  We used to watch the whole thing.  (This is the Royal "We", as it really means *me*).  Now, I try to find time to turn it on and let it play while I putter around doing whatever else I need to do in between the trot and bowl.   I've done this for a number of years and have covered it here on the blog for those same years, but last year, we did something new:  watched the Peter Jackson program on The Beatles:  Get Back.   This year, I'm going to start with what I've always watched:  The Last Waltz.   Here, below, is Bob singing with his backing band in what feels like (during the show) a very transition-y number: Here, below, are the Thanksgiving Day archives from "Why I Oughta..."  This i...

This is maybe my favorite version of Bob Dylan.  Maybe.  I don't mean the song, specifically.  But...it is really great.  It is 'One More Night' from Nashville Skyline which was released April 9, 1969 . It has only been played twice live.  Yeah...twice.  June of 1990 and September of 1995 . But, by saying *favorite* Bob Dylan, I'm talking about how the whole thing comes together.  The song, the voice (according to some...he stopped smoking (???) and you can hear it in his voice.  I mean...those people who say to you:  I hate Bob Dylan's voice.  That voice, etc.  Just have them play this video above and then see if they stand by their answer??!?), the sound and the flow of the entire record.  Just really great. I remember the first time I had ever heard of Nashville Skyline.  My friend Neil (son of Super Coach Jer, sometimes AKA Mitch) and I went to Threshold Records in Tinley Park.  And after nosing around so...

It's not dark yet.  But it's getting there .  Had the time of my life with my partner as we fell in love all over again. 

Marking it down.  Owned.  And let go. 

If you're travelin' in the north country fair Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline Remember me to one who lives there She once was a true love of mine If you go when the snowflakes storm When the rivers freeze and summer ends Please see if she's wearing a coat so warm To keep her from the howlin' winds Please see for me if her hair hangs long If it rolls and flows all down her breast Please see for me if her hair hangs long For that's the way I remember her best I'm a-wonderin' if she remembers me at all Many times I've often prayed In the darkness of my night In the brightness of my day So, if you're travelin' in the north country fair Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline Remember me to one who lives there She once was a true love of mine

More than 20 years ago. But still 30 years after Bob Dylan started with the song.  Want a good version?  Here's a good one.  Give it a listen.  Then go open up another tab and do something else.  Here's a particularly good part : Ophelia, she's 'neath the window for her I feel so afraid On her twenty-second birthday she already is an old maid To her, death is quite romantic she wears an iron vest Her profession's her religion, her sin is her lifelessness And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah's great rainbow She spends her time peeking into Desolation Row

Crimson flames tied through my ears, rollin' high and mighty traps Pounced with fire on flaming roads using ideas as my maps "We'll meet on edges, soon, " said I, proud 'neath heated brow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth, "rip down all hate, " I screamed Lies that life is black and white spoke from my skull, I dreamed Romantic facts of musketeers foundationed deep, somehow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now Girls' faces formed the forward path from phony jealousy To memorizing politics of ancient history Flung down by corpse evangelists, unthought of, though somehow Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now A self-ordained professor's tongue too serious to fool Spouted out that liberty is just equality in school "Equality, " I spoke the word as if a wedding vow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger tha...

This whole thing is pretty interesting of a listen (I think it must be from his audio book, right?), but if you tune in right here, at the 1:19 mark , the way Bob Dylan says "The Basement" is so interesting to me.

Six years ago, I wrote a post here on the blog about how (in my opinion) Bob Dylan might end up going down as one of the best songwriters for female performers .  In that post, I linked to an Adele cover of a song called " Make you feel my love ", which if you've been paying attention is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his record 'Time out of Mind'.    There are other women covering Bob's songs that are (arguably??) better than the originals by Bob.  Take a listen to Cat Power's "I believe in You" or Sophie Zelmani's "Most of the time" .  Or Norah Jone's take on "I'll be your baby tonight" .    There's Sheryl Crow who covers "Mississippi" - and I use 'cover' loosely because her version came out BEFORE Bob's did.  In fact, he wrote it for her!  Then there's maybe the best performance at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary concert (let's leave the 'My Back Pages' m...

Well...they're using what sounds like someone like Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks singing just  a bit of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" in this really cute promo spot for the upcoming 60th Anniversary of the park .  But it is *still* Dylan.  That's kinda awesome. We came in stationwagons. Campers. On planes. To see what Walt had built. And what we found was a place that was always growing. But never grew old. Gotta get there for the 60th, right?

Or...as The Atlantic says: 'Tangled Up In Ol' Blue Eyes" .  Yeah...that's right, Bob Dylan is making an entire record of Frank Sinatra covers.  But...not the usual ones you think of when you think of Frank Sinatra. Here's one of the tracks as uploaded on YouTube. (if you are reading in your email, the video below won't show up.   Click here to watch it .)  As David Graham on The Atlantic says:  this ain't Nashville Skyline.  But...it is something else. Sounds interesting, right?   You can read the whole story here on The Atlantic, but this passage sticks out for me.  Especially that last line: Before making Time Out of Mind, Dylan told producer Daniel Lanois , "There's some records that I really like from the '40s and '50s and I'd like for you to hear them to understand the energy of them, the beauty of them." His recent records since have included a wide range of styles: country blues, jaunty twang, folky ballads. Th...

I dare you to watch/listen to this a few times right now and not want to continue to play it over and over again like I have been doing.  My buddy Adam mentioned to me that he's been listening to this thing since Christmas and I should check it out. This is from the record 'Lost on the River - The New Basement Tapes'.   (If you're reading this in your email, click here to play the video on the site .) It is the lead off track of the record that was released right before Christmas last year and that's Jim James supplying the vocals.   From Google Play :  Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes is an album produced by T Bone Burnett featuring a collective of musicians recording under the moniker The New Basement Tapes—Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James and Marcus Mumford.   The album consists of a series of tracks based on recently uncovered lyrics handwritten byBob Dylan in 1967. Probably written in the period betw...

Yesterday, I posted about this Bob Dylan song that I really like and included a YouTube video embed.  If you looked closely, you'll see the worst of humanity on display at the bottom of the video. Seriously...The.Worst.

Where have I been?  Bob Dylan put out a record in 2009 called 'Together Through Life' that has evaded me for five years.  What have I been doing to ignore this?  Turns out...it charted at #1 in the US and the UK.  Really?  It is his 33rd studio album and includes his touring band and a guy named Mike Campbell from The Heartbreakers.  That's pretty cool. From Google Play : Together Through Life is the thirty-third studio album by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on April 28, 2009, by Columbia Records. The album debuted at number one in several countries, including the U.S. and the UK. It is Dylan's first number one in Britain since New Morning in 1970.   Dylan wrote all but one of the album's songs withGrateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, with whom he had previously co-written two songs on his 1988 album Down in the Groove. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Dylan commented on the collaboration: “Hunter is an old buddy, we cou...

Pretty great video demonstrating the power of Google Instant.  As told by (at least one co-worker) the connection to Bob Dylan "going electric" wasn't lost on our creative folks.  Nice! Pretty great to have a place like Google continuing to push what the world is doing in tech and culture.

What's that you say, Jake? We're where? The "Golden Age" of Bob Dylan. Come on, now. You can't be serious. You can't compare Bob Dylan of today with Bob Dylan of yesteryear. What about Blood on the Tracks or Blonde on Blonde or Nashville Skyline or Desire. Good questions, right? I agree. There are a ton, an absolute ton of fantastic Bob Dylan records. There are even a few spectacular "periods" where the output was amazing. Look at the first few years. While some of the tracks weren't his material, from 1962-1967, Dylan put out 9 records. That's almost 2 per year. And they were incredible. (Go here to get the full timeline breakdown of Dylan's records .) Maybe it's because the last 3 Dylan records are the 3 that I "came of age with", but I really think that these 3 can not only "stand up" to any period in his life, I think they are the best collection of 3 records in his career. The three that I am talking about...

USC's Daily Trojan knew Bob Dylan, and admits Conor Oberst is no Bob Dylan.: What would the scruffy old veteran say to the up-and-coming musician? Would words of advice be imparted? Would stories be shared? Would compliments be made?  I don't even think they'd get to words. Let's be serious. Before Oberst could mutter his hellos to the best songwriter in American history, Dylan would smack him in the back of the head like an owner shooing away an obnoxious pet that came to look for food at the dinner table. There would be no conversation.

It's Thanksgiving, and in my world that means 2 things. The Last Waltz and stuffing. I'm already halfway through the first record. I'll watch the film a bit later. Utilizing horns one more time, this was the gig of the Band's life and one of the greatest in rock history. We are privileged that it exists in a form where we can hear it as often as we want. -- Rob Bowman , All-Music Guide

Am I the only nerd who gets a big grin on his face when he hears "End of the Line" by the Traveling Wilbury's during the commercial for "The Terminal" with Tom Hanks. For those of you guys who don't know about the Wilbury's, I would check them out. Volume One is amazing and Volume Three ain't bad either. Some people call "Full Moon Fever" by Tom Petty Volume Two. They're such a power. Put on Side Two of Volume One and it is pure heaven. These guys were such giants solo, but put together, they're amazing. I was never a big Jeff Lynn guy.... you know.... Don't bring me dooooowwwwnnnn, Brrrrruce. Don't bring me dooooowwwwnnnn, Brrrrruce. The ELO stuff never did it for me, but I became a beliver when those 90's Beatles stuff came out. You know, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". Listen to those, and then put on a Wilbury's record, and you can tell that Jeff really held his own in the TW s...