Bob Dylan, Magic & Alchemy (Bob Dylan Hotline #6)

Bob Dylan, Magic & Alchemy (Bob Dylan Hotline #6)

Laura Tenschert & Rebecca Slaman

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In today's Bob Dylan Hotline, Laura and Rebecca get a little mystical. Bob Dylan himself has often described the creative process as magical, and through the years has also been drawn to mysticism like the Tarot. We talk about creativity as alchemy, which Tarot card Bob Dylan most identified with, and the spell that music can cast. 

The Tarot deck we’re referring to is the Rider-Waite-Smith deck from 1909, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith.

Watch the video of this conversation on YouTube.

If you have a question for us, send us a voice memo to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com.
For anything else get in touch at itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Book your Bob Dylan Walking Tour of NYC with Rebecca on ramblintours.com.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.

"Brownsville Girl": Bob Dylan's Most Cinematic Song (Bob Dylan Hotline #5)

"Brownsville Girl": Bob Dylan's Most Cinematic Song (Bob Dylan Hotline #5)

Laura Tenschert & Rebecca Slaman

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Buried on one of Bob Dylan's lesser 80s albums, "Brownsville Girl" is consistently cited as one of his greatest and most ambitious songs. Co-written by playwright/screenwriter/director/actor Sam Shepard, the song originally came to life as "New Danville Girl”. It was recorded, put aside, and then ultimately rewritten and overdubbed before finally seeing the light of day.

Laura and Rebecca talk about creative collaboration, the alchemy of the songwriting process, and what we love about "Brownsville Girl"

Find the video of this conversation over on YouTube

Read Bill Lattanzi’s essay that we’re referring to over at the Dylan Review.

Find out more about Mason Moreno’s research into the Dylan/Shepard Tapes over on the Infinity Goes Up on Trial podcast.

Read Sam Shepard’s play True Dylan over on Esquire.

Watch Gregory Peck’s entire speech introducing Bob Dylan here.

If you have a question for us, send us a voice memo to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com.
For anything else get in touch at itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Book your Bob Dylan Walking Tour of NYC with Rebecca on ramblintours.com.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.

Bob Dylan Hotline #4: Dylan for Beginners (We love the 80s)

Bob Dylan Hotline #4: Dylan for Beginners (We love the 80s)

Laura Tenschert & Rebecca Slaman

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This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline, Laura and Rebecca brainstorm the best songs and albums to introduce someone to Bob Dylan’s music.

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com  (itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries)

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan and The Beatles (with Jim Windolf)

Bob Dylan and The Beatles (with Jim Windolf)

Laura Tenschert

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Laura talks to Jim Windolf, music journalist and features editor at the New York Times, about his new book Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other – and the World, out now with Scribner (US) and White Rabbit (UK).

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan Hotline #3: What does Bob Dylan owe us?

Bob Dylan Hotline #3: What does Bob Dylan owe us?

Laura Tenschert & Rebecca Slaman

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Laura and Rebecca answer some more listener questions and talk parasocial relationships, the artist's humanity, and fan loyalty.

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com (itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries)

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan Hotline #2: Bob Dylan's Patreon & AI

Bob Dylan Hotline #2: Bob Dylan's Patreon & AI

Laura Tenschert & Rebecca Slaman

Laura and Rebecca discuss the new Bob Dylan Patreon, AI, and eventually answer a question.

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan Hotline #1: Movie Soundtracks and Dream Collabs

Bob Dylan Hotline #1: Movie Soundtracks and Dream Collabs

Laura Tenschert & Rebecca Slaman

A new podcast segment, in which Laura and Rebecca answer your questions about all things Bob.

This one's about movie soundtracks, collaborations, and Geese!

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan as Filmmaker (with Michael Glover Smith)

Bob Dylan as Filmmaker (with Michael Glover Smith)

Laura Tenschert

In this episode I talk to Chicago-based filmmaker, author, and college professor Michael Glover Smith about Bob Dylan the filmmaker, specifically his work on Eat the Document (1972), Renaldo & Clara (1978), and Masked & Anonymous (2003).

Michael’s new book Bob Dylan as Filmmaker: No Time to Think is published by McNidder & Grace on 2nd of March. If you’re in the Chicago area and interested in attending the book launch and screening of Masked & Anonymous on 35mm, you can get your tickets here. 

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Can Bob Dylan be trusted? (with Elizabeth Cantalamessa)

Can Bob Dylan be trusted? (with Elizabeth Cantalamessa)

Laura Tenschert

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Being a Bob Dylan fan is a spectrum –whether you identify as a casual enjoyer if his music or a die-hard Bobcat, the umbrella is large and leaves room for multitudes. 

Over the past year, many Definitely Dylan episodes have circled around the relationship between artist and audience, how Bob Dylan presents himself and how he is perceived. In the final conversation of 2025 (which you’re hearing in early 2026), we’re approaching this topic from a new angle.

My guest is Elizabeth Cantalamessa, an honest to god philosopher and one of the most fun people you can run into at a Bob Dylan show. We talk about Bob Dylan as the villain and trickster, selling out, and art as spiritual labour.

You can download the C. Thi Nguyen essay “Trust and Sincerity in Art” here.

Tiny correction:
The “Is there anything more American than America” wasn’t a Cadillac but a Chrysler commercial (watch it here). And btw, I’m burying this in the show notes because I’m not sure, but since we’re mentioning Lucy Sante at some point in this episode, I wanted to add that in her preface to Six Sermons for Bob Dylan (the book of sermons she wrote for the Trouble No More film), she mentions that she wrote a “Buick commercial” for him. As far as I’m aware, Dylan has never done a Buick commercial, unless you count the song “From a Buick 6”, so I’m wondering if she was maybe referring to this Chrysler commercial.

Bob Dylan and Santana - Toy Guns clip

Bob Dylan and Neil Young - “More of the same”

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You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Theme music by Robert Chaney

Bob Dylan vs. The Fans (with Rebecca Slaman)

Bob Dylan vs. The Fans (with Rebecca Slaman)

Laura Tenschert

Recently the founder of The Daily Dylan was asked to leave a Bob Dylan concert, apparently for having shared illegally recorded concert videos.

Today we’re talking about the relationship between Bob Dylan and his fans, particularly their ideas of how his music should be engaged with are at odds with the artist’s own.

Find more Rebecca Slaman on her Substack and Twitter. Book a Walking Tour of Bob Dylan’s NYC with Ramblin’ Tours and follow them on Instagram.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

"Like a Complete Unknown": Bob Dylan the Stranger

"Like a Complete Unknown": Bob Dylan the Stranger

Laura Tenschert

Bob Dylan – the man, the myth, the legend – the enigma? He has the reputation as an elusive and mysterious artist that often puzzles his fans and critics, and in this episode Laura talks about the songs in which Bob refers to himself as a stranger.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan at Farm Aid 2025 (with Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor)

Bob Dylan at Farm Aid 2025 (with Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor)

Laura Tenschert

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Just over a week after I published a whole episode about how Bob Dylan doesn’t want to be filmed or photographed, he appeared as part of the 40th Farm Aid benefit concert, which was broadcast and live streamed, giving us rare good quality footage of a present day Bob Dylan set!

I invited friends of the pod Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor to discuss the occasion with me. The discussion of the actual Farm Aid set begins at 31:07.

Follow Rebecca on Twitter and Substack, and Britt on Instagram, Twitter or Substack.

Watch Bob Dylan’s set at Farm Aid here.

Donate to Farm Aid here.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

"I'm Not There": Why is Bob Dylan Hiding? (also, a new Bootleg Series!)

"I'm Not There": Why is Bob Dylan Hiding? (also, a new Bootleg Series!)

Laura Tenschert

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At the most recent Outlaw shows, Bob Dylan has been shielding himself from view and it’s become a pretty popular talking point last week. I’ve been thinking about that as well as the upcoming Bootleg Series, filtered it through a 90 year old essay on art and technology and this is the result. 🧡

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You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan the Gemini

Bob Dylan the Gemini

Laura Tenschert

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An episode about twins, doubles & duality from the radio archives.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan's iPod (with Tim Swaddling)

Bob Dylan's iPod (with Tim Swaddling)

Laura Tenschert

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Legend has it that Bob Dylan once left his iPod behind and someone copied the contents.

With Canadian musician and songwriter (and future Bob Dylan podcaster) Tim Swaddling).

Find the Spotify playlist “Bob Dylan’s iPod” here.

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You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Fred Bals’ blog on Medium

Songs in this episode:

“Let Me Play With Your Poodle” - Hank Penny (Theme Time Radio Hour ep. Thanksgiving Leftovers. CORRECTION: Bob actually played the version by Tampa Red & Big Maceo, but he played several other songs by Hank Penny on the show)

“Smoking in the Boys Room” - Brownsville Station (Theme Time Radio Hour ep. Smoking)

“Mansion on the Hill” - Vernon Oxford

“You Hit Me Like an Atomic Bomb” - Fay Simmons

“Jumping at the Record Shop” - Slim Gaillard

“Whatcha Gonna Do” - George Jones

“It’s a Great, Great Pleasure” - Louis Jordan

“Dragnet For Jesus” - Sister Wynona Carr

“When I Stop Dreaming” - Louvin Brothers

“Killer Joe” - Toots Thielman

"April is the cruelest month": Shipwrecks, Heartbreak & TS Eliot

"April is the cruelest month": Shipwrecks, Heartbreak & TS Eliot

Laura Tenschert

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Laura revisits a radio episode from the archives about April anniversaries, some good, many disastrous. And there’s a little side quest about Bob Dylan and Modernist poetry.

One note – I forgot to mention that the performance of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” is by Betty Carter.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN II with Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN II with Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor

Laura Tenschert

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Laura is joined by Britt and Rebecca to talk about A Complete Unknown, the new Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold, starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, and Monica Barbaro. 

We talk about letting go of the pressure to be chill about the film, biopics as acts of translation, and the sexual tension between Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.

Rebecca would like to add that she realised that it was Al Kooper and not Bobby Neuwirth who put on Bob’s “clown shirt” at Newport.

You can watch our conversation here.

Follow Rebecca on Twitter and Britt on Instagram or Twitter.

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.

You can buy Rebecca’s “Twink” shirt here.

Theme music by Robert Chaney

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN with Michael Glover Smith

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN with Michael Glover Smith

Laura Tenschert

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It’s taken over five years, but the new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (directed by James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet) is finally hitting cinemas. So… is it good?

I called up Chicago-based filmmaker Michael Glover Smith to talk about the film, what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and how it compares to other films like I’m Not There.

You can watch Michael’s short film Handle With Care here. He’s also on Twitter.

If you are considering gifting a Patreon subscription to a friend, you can do that over here.

Theme music by Robert Chaney

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Bob Dylan’s Tweets (with Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor)

Bob Dylan’s Tweets (with Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor)

Laura Tenschert

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Bob Dylan has been tweeting and it’s high time we talk about it. In this conversation with Rebecca and Britt we cover what’s been going on the World of Bob, including his social media presence and the TWO biopics he’s involved in this year!

Follow Rebecca on Twitter and Britt on Instagram or Twitter.

Theme music by Robert Chaney

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

"Slow coming home": Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour Finale (with Ray Padgett)

"Slow coming home": Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour Finale (with Ray Padgett)

Laura Tenschert

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Ray and I sit down in the garden of the Troubadour to talk about the final shows of Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour (2021-24) at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Subscribe to Ray’s Substack, Flagging Down the Double E (but get the paid membership if you can), and buy his book Pledging My Time: Conversations with Bob Dylan Band Members.

Music that appears in this episode:

All Along the Watchtower (London 12/11/24)
Desolation Row (London, 12/11/24)
Watching the River Flow (London, 14/11/24)
Every Grain of Sand (London, 12/11/24)
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (London, 12/11/24)
I Contain Multitudes (Paris, 24/10/24)
My Own Version of You (London, 12/11/24)
My Own Version of You (London, 14/11/24)
Key West (Philosopher Pirate) (London, 14/11/24)
All Along the Watchtower (London, 14/11/24)
I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You (London, 14/11/24)

Theme music by Robert Chaney

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.