Posted on 03/09/2009 3:57:08 PM PDT by pissant
I'm listening to Billy Joe Shaver/And I'm reading James Joyce/Some people tell me I got the blood of the land in my voice," Bob Dylan sings in a leathery growl, capturing the essence of his forthcoming studio album raw-country love songs, sly wordplay and the wounded state of the nation in I Feel a Change Coming On," one of the record's 10 new originals.
Set for late April, the as-yet-untitled album arrives a few months after Dylan's outtakes collection Tell Tale Signs, and it came as a surprise," says a source close to Dylan's camp. Last year, filmmaker Olivier Dahan, who directed the 2007 Edith Piaf biopic, La Vie en Rose, approached Dylan about writing a song for his next feature. Dylan responded with Life Is Hard," a bleak ballad with mandolin, pedal steel and him singing in a dark, clear voice, The evening winds are still/I've lost the way and will." (The song appears in the film My Own Love Song, starring Rene Zellweger.)
Inspired, Dylan kept writing and recording songs with his road band and guests, with Los Lobos' David Hidalgo rumored on accordion. Dylan produced the album under his usual pseudonym, Jack Frost.
The disc has the live-in-the-studio feel of Dylan's last two studio records, 2001's Love and Theft and 2006's Modern Times, but with a seductive border-cafe feel (courtesy of the accordion on every track) and an emphasis on struggling-love songs. The effect in the opening shuffle, Beyond Here Lies Nothin'," the Texas-dancehall jump of If You Ever Go to Houston" and the waltz This Dream of You" is a gnarly turn on early-1970s records like New Morning and Planet Waves.
Dylan makes references to the national chaos, as on the viciously funny slow blues My Wife's Home Town" ("State gone broke, the county's dry/Don't be lookin' at me with that evil eye"), culminating in the deceptive rolling rock of It's All Good." Against East L.A. accordion and a snake's nest of guitars, Dylan tells you how bad things are Brick by brick, they tear you down/A teacup of water is enough to drown" then ices each verse with the title line, a pithy shot of sneering irony and calming promise. You would never expect the record after Modern Times to sound like this," the source says. Bob takes all of those disparate elements you hear and puts them into a track. But you can't put your finger on it 'It sounds exactly like that.' That's why he's so original."
Wow, they put three Dylan songs in the Watchmen movie? How bout that.
While nothing beats them, some of today's works are just as good.
...grow a mustache like Kinky Friedman?
The Vincent Price Is Right
FLAMIN GROOVIES! CYRIL N ROY TOGETHER AGAIN AT THE STOMP... be sure to make the scene at the 2009 Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans where the A-Bones will back former Flamin' Groovies Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan in their first full show together since 1971 with the A-Bones (Bruce Bennett , Miriam Linna, Billy Miller, Lars Espensen, Ira Kaplan and Marcus The Carcass Natale) poundin the sound for these top rank American rock n roll kings! Get tickets early -- www.ponderosastomp.com. DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! See you there! Dig the whole lineup in the show listing earlier in this newsletter...STUDIO NEWS WITH THE A-BONES... it can now be spoken... the upcoming A-Bones album will be entitled THE A-BONES, NOT NOW! (Norton 345) with a mad blast of tracks including Geraldine / Restless / He Sure Could Hypnotize / Bad Times / Shallow Grave / Jupiter Bulldog / The Rooster / Bing Bong (Theres A Party Goin On) / Cat Nip (w/Dave Baby Cortez) / Outcast / Granny Tops Em At The Hop / Stolen Moments / The Lovers Curse / Dont Talk About Him / Six Long Weeks... recorded at the posh underground Manhattan NY Hed Studios with reknown engineer Matt Verta-Ray, the A-Bones managed to lure elusive R&B legend Dave Baby Cortez back onto the Hammond organ to grind out a fresh take of his instro stomper Cat Nip... raunchy originals are filled out with covers of Mouse & The Traps and the Clovers, plus Shallow Grave, Andy Shernoff's Bobby Fuller style ode to Charles Smitty Schmid, the notorious Pied Piper of Tucson and Bad Seed fanzine icon. In addition, the A-Bones will release an EP of four songs recorded last year at Los Angeles' Wild Studios (home to Luis and the Wildfires) featuring guests Roy Loney and Tom SpongeBob Kenny. Stay tuned for much more Dave "Baby" Cortez news, too... Well keep you posted on the A-Bones upcoming summer Japan tour and fall European tour dates just as soon as all shows are confirmed... www.myspace.com/theabones...
He may have buyer's remorse but...
Bob Dylan says Barack Obama is 'changin' America (Times Online ^ | June 5, 2008 | Alan Jackson and David Byers)
Now Bob Dylan - who could justifiably claim to be the architect of Barack Obama's 'change' catchphrase - has backed the Illinois senator to do for modern America what the generation before did in the 1960s.In an exclusive interview with The Times, published in T2 today, Dylan gives a ringing endorsement to Mr Obama, the first ever black presidential candidate, claiming he is "redefining the nature of politics from the ground up".
Dylan, 67, made the comments when being interviewed in Denmark, where he stopped over in a hotel during a tour of Scandinavia.
Asked about his views on American politics, he said: "Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralising. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor.
"But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up...Barack Obama.
"He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to."
He added: You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future."
Bob Dylan: "Things are going to change now" (Wednesday, Nov. 5 2008)
No one was expecting Bob Dylan to say a thing during his two-plus hour concert last night at Northrop Auditorium. For years, Dylan has been known to keep to himself during shows, often only speaking between songs once in order to introduce his band members. But last night, after a lengthy break between his regular set and his encore which I can only imagine was spent discovering that Barack Obama had won the election, Dylan returned to the stage to play "Like a Rolling Stone" and then turned to the audience and spoke."I was born in 1941," he said, a wavering sentimentality in his scratchy voice. "That was the year they bombed Pearl Harbor. I've been living in darkness ever since. It looks like things are going to change now."
He wanted this new savior, he doomed all of us with his bad choice.
All Along The Watchtower was specifically quoted in the original text of the comic.
Go read Right Wing Bob. BOth quotes are without the rest of the context/backstory. You’d be surprised how Dylan operates.
In both instances, he let the record stand as a ringing endorsement. If I saw the antiChrist, I certainly wouldn’t let people persist in saying that I praise him and “you” should too.
Dylan is apolitical when it comes to party politics. OR anti-political. Ever heard him bitch about Reagan or GWB?
He never wanted to be the figureheard of the 1960s protest movement either.
And the Communist folkies HATED him going electric rock. Pete Seeger is still proud that he tried to cut the wires while Dylan was onstage at some festival.
Now the Communies have subverted rock and roll (and punk rock, which initially was against the political correctness of the Left) and they are cool with it.
He was pro-israel before it was cool to be pro-israel.
The Left hated when he became a born again Christian too.
Even if he was a lefty, which I highly doubt, I’d have to give him a pass for dumping on Springsteen once upon a time.
That looks like Jesse Ventura over to his left...
Got to be, the hat has a close resemblance to a SEAL trident on the front there...Looking kinda old there Jesse...
I can’t recall ever seeing a photo of Jesse The... with his sunglasses off. Maybe if he was wearing a feather boa, I could be more sure.
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