List of Bob Dylan-related Sites
Most of the sites on the web that list Dylan-related sites are way, way out-of-date. The ones below are, as of this minute anyway, functional. They are in no particular order. I made no attempt to list every single site, just those that seemed more or less up-to-date and useful. Please add a comment […]
Ellen Willis Article – Editor of New Yorker
Article posted to Facebook Edlis Cafe group. “Dylan” – from Cheetah, 1967 I Nearly two years ago, Bob Dylan had a motorcycle accident. Reports of his condition were vague, and he dropped out of sight. Publication of his book, Tarantula, was postponed indefinitely. New records appeared, but they were from his last […]
The 1961 Beatnik Riot
Although I know the history of the 60’s folk movement pretty well, I had never heard of the “Beatnik Riot” of 1961. Weird. Anyway, to mark its 50th anniversary NPR did a piece on it. The article also links to a documentary, “Bloody Sunday”. Cool stuff.
Interesting Article on Dylan and the Isle of Wright
Story of how Dylan came to participate in the Isle of Wright Festival. http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/how-i-stole-bob-dylan-from-woodstock-1-6772302
Documentary on Izzy Young on YouTube
Izzy Young ran the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village back in the early sixties. Dylan and all the folk singers knew him well. I haven’t watched all of it yet.
Published New Page: Drifter’s Escape
Published a new page today, an analysis of Drifter’s Escape, from John Wesley Harding. Drifter’s Escape
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
I was reviewing Andrew Muir’s Homer the Slut Volume 4 today, which contains a long series of excerpts from various Dylan books about the song, Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. The authors express some surprisingly varied ideas of what the song is about. Is is a love song, or is it something more […]
Pete Seeger’s Advice Column in Seventeen Magazine
I am reading Bob Coltman’s book, Paul Clayton and the Folksong Revival. The author says the world was a different place back in the early sixties. Weird things were happening. For example, people like Pete Seeger wrote an advice column that was published in Seventeen magazine. That seemed pretty interesting, and a web search […]
Desolation Row – Excerpt from Homer the Slut Fanzine
Welcome to the inaugural post for the new Dylan Commentaries blog. The blog – just like the web site – will focus on topics related to the first eight albums of Dylan’s career, except for when it doesn’t. Today’s lunch hour was reserved for reading Homer the Slut Volume II, the fanzine published by Andrew […]
Recent Comments in this Document
October 9, 2018 at 2:24 am
hogwash. it’s one of the strongest songs on the album
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September 19, 2018 at 9:25 pm
Thanks!!
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September 19, 2018 at 1:41 pm
I’m sorry but you have got a typo in this paragraph: “Edie was a
wild child with a penchant…”
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August 12, 2018 at 7:01 pm
John the Baptist was just a few months older than Jesus, (they were cousins) therefore there is no way for him to have baptised”baby Jesus”. Instead,he baptised Jesus in the Jordan River and they were both adult men.
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August 10, 2018 at 2:31 pm
They load ok for me. ?
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August 10, 2018 at 11:29 am
Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading?
I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated.
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August 10, 2018 at 1:44 am
Great food for thought, the whole point of creating this site.
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August 9, 2018 at 1:52 pm
I don’t think Gates of Eden has a conventional moral message at all. Dylan never lived by conventional morals. Just because Dylan used Biblical motifs throughout his songwriting doesn’t mean it was to convey a conventional moral message,. I think there is plenty of evidence to conclude that Dylan’s spirituality was not the “believe and obey” authority, clearly defined good and bad, reward and punishment, fear and guilt kind of fundamentalist type of religiosity, but instead it was an individualistic, humanitarian, mystical direct experience of God kind of spirituality. He would certainly use themes from the Judeo-Christian tradition, but always interpreted mystically ,just as Joseph Campbell did.
To me, Gates of Eden is the state of being for souls who no longer believe or perceive in an artificial separation between humans, nature, and God. Everything that is outside of the Gates of Eden is for those whose spirituality has not yet developed enough to know that every being, every bit of matter organic and non-organic, the entire universe, altogether collectively is what God is.
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December 15, 2017 at 8:17 pm
This is vs 1 before his reflective refrain.
“Crimson flames tied through my ears”
I’m thinking this has to do with how certain Dylan was that the ideas he had were true, big T true. His certainty motivated him to set up the following line as a battle strategy against those who thought differently.
“Rollin’ high and mighty traps”
Here’s the confidence of youth from that certainty setting up traps for those who didn’t know what he did.
“Pounced with fire on flaming roads”
Raw and fiery determination set his course. The strength of his youth dedicated to the journey.
“Using ideas as my maps”
He simply let his imagination and belief guide him.
“‘We’ll meet on edges, soon,’ said I”
Whether he’s speaking to the enemies of his truth or his fellow travelers doesn’t seem to matter here.
“Proud ’neath heated brow”
The heat in his head produced by the crimson flames, fire, and flaming roads.
The refrain to the verses is the reflection after some time on that road, recognizing that he really didn’t get it after all, or if he did get it, he is less certain that his truth was big T truth, or that he should have brandished his weapons against those who disagreed with him.
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