TW: murder, suicide, racial violence
When Bob Dylan began his career, murder ballads were having a bit of a moment. In this episode, we’ll look into the influence these songs had on the young artist, and how they inspired a particular subset of his own early songs.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
A Definitely Dylan Deep Dive into Bob Dylan's Most Covered Song
No other Bob Dylan song has provoked such a diverse range of responses as "Make You Feel My Love". Initially dismissed by reviewers as a failure, it has since grown into a wildly successful pop hit. It's the song that's loved by the masses, but hated by Dylan purists. Perhaps what's at the heart of this fundamental disagreement is a different question altogether: is this a banal love song, or does it have a deeper, perhaps even darker meaning?
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
Thanks to Craig Danuloff from the Dylan.FM podcast for initially inviting me to speak about this topic, this episode partly draws on the talk I gave at his online event last year.
Graley Herren’s book Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" is available here.
Laura and James A. Smith from The Popular Show have a late night conversation about the Bootleg Series and Time Out of Mind
Watch the video of our conversation on Patreon, where you can also show your support for the podcast, or you can make a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
Consider supporting The Popular Show at patreon.com/thepopularpod.
Photo by Danny Clinch
Laura and Robert talk about Bob Dylan's new Bootleg Series, what it tells us about Time Out of Mind, and whether or not accordions can be sexy
You can purchase the new Bootleg Series in various formats here.
Listen to the interview with Mark Howard on the Dylan.fm podcast here.
Graley Herren’s book Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" is available here.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.
For more information, see definitelydylan.com
Stories, myths, and narratives – as the Bob Dylan Center opened this May, another Bob Dylan exhibition was coming to a close. What stories are these two Dylan museums telling & what do they reveal about how Bob Dylan wants to be seen?
In part two of this series on the crafting of Bob Dylan's legacy, we take a look at the stories told by two very different museums dedicated to Bob Dylan's work: the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK, and the Retrospectrum exhibition of Dylan's visual art. Laura interviews the curators of the BDC, Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, and talks about how Dylan the Painter has become part of the Dylan Myth.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.
Watch my Florida paper on Time in Dylan’s music, paintings, and Shadow Kingdom here.
Here’s the article “In His Own Words: Why Bob Dylan Paints”.
Find out more about the Bob Dylan Center here.
The Retrospectrum catalogue (£85) is available here.
Read Rebecca Slaman’s review of Retrospectrum here.
This is the first of two conversations about the crafting of Bob Dylan’s legacy.
My guest is freelance writer and Hearts of Fire stan Rebecca Slaman, with whom I talk about Dylan films, the future of Dylan fandom, and his underrated sense of humour!.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @ithrewtheglass.
The version of “Desolation Row” is from 12 April, 2009 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. You can watch it in full along with others from that year here.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.
For more information, see http://definitelydylan.com/.
The pandemic forced Bob Dylan to take a two year break from performing live. Now he’s back and he’s embarked on the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour.
I was lucky to be able to fly from London to Washington, DC to catch the last show of the year on 2nd December, 2021.
In this episode, I’m giving you my thoughts on the performances, the setlist, and how this tour relates to the latest album and Shadow Kingdom.
You can listen to the whole concert here.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.
For more information, see http://definitelydylan.com/.
In this episode, Laura considers Shadow Kingdom, the exclusive broadcast event, directed by Alma Har’el: where is stands in the context of Bob Dylan’s career and what it tells us about the artist at 80 years old. We’ll touch on Dylan’s relationship with the past, the language of dreams, and we’ll find out what all of this has to do with Shakespeare.
You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.
For more information, see http://definitelydylan.com/.
Alma Har’el talking about dreams is from this i-D video.
Music: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Midsummer night's dream overture
For this episode, we’re going to take a little break from the series on Rough And Rowdy Ways!
I want to take you on a journey towards the heart of one of my favourite Bob Dylan songs of all time: “Most Of The Time” from Dylan’s 1989 album Oh Mercy. Deceptively simple, this song about pain and denial is wonderfully subtle in its development of the singer’s feelings, while also playing with the listener’s expectations. In other words: it’s a masterclass in songwriting. So let’s find out why and how it works!
I hope you enjoy this closer look at one particular Dylan song. Let me know if you enjoy this episode and what other songs you’d like me to take a close look at!
Here’s the link to the Daniel Lanois interview compilation I mention in the episode.
If you are in a position to support my work, you can do that over on Patreon, where you also find the exclusive companion extra to this episode, in which we talk about the recording process of the song, the production, and its shortlived incarnation onstage! Thank you!
Original theme music and sound design for this episode by Robert Chaney
In Chapter 2 of Definitely Dylan’s series on Bob Dylan’s Rough And Rowdy Ways, Laura discusses the myth and mystery of creation in “My Own Version Of You” and “Mother Of Muses”.What insight can these very different songs give us into the creative process of the songwriter? How do they portray the creator’s role in society? And what does any of this have to do with the Nobel medal?
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In the first chapter of this Definitely Dylan mini-series, Laura begins her exploration of the new album by going back to Dylan’s 2016 Nobel win. What’s the difference between songs and literature? Who’s the secret hero of Rough And Rowdy Ways? And what does Homer have to do with all this? Listen to find out!
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This month, the Australian singer-songwriter Emma Swift releases her album of Bob Dylan cover songs, Blonde On The Tracks.
In our conversation, Emma tells me about the story behind the album, how she came up with the song selection, the advantages of singing Dylan as a woman, and the autobiographical dimension of cover songs.
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On Friday 19 June, Bob Dylan releases Rough and Rowdy Ways, his first album of original songs in eight years.
Giddy with excitement, Laura drops in to bring you all the info you need to know to bring you up to speed on the whats, the whys, and the whos ahead of the big day!
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On the 17 April, Bob Dylan released his second surprise song in one month, "I Contain Multitudes". Borrowing more than just the title from Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself", Bob Dylan paints a vivid modern portrait of a country divided.
Laura takes a close look at the new song and asks the hard hitting questions: is “I Contain Multitudes” Bob Dylan’s own take on Song of Myself? Is this Dylan’s way of finally embracing the responsibility of being a thought leader and voice of his generation? Listen and find out more!
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In the midst of a global pandemic, Bob Dylan has released his first original song in eight years. “Murder Most Foul” is a 17 minute long epic about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. But as with much of Dylan’s work, a closer look reveals much more.
In this episode, Laura not only gives her early impressions of the song, but also reflects on what it means to be a Bob Dylan fan in this day and age.
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