The Last Temptation of Dylan- Watching the new documentary.

slate ^ | Posted Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 | David Yaffe

[dennisw]

About an hour into Bob Dylan: No Direction Home, Joan Baez—in an interview that will be edited by your PBS station—recalls an invincible young Dylan imagining what they'll be saying about him in the future: "A bunch of years from now, all these (expletive deleted) are going to be writing about all this (expletive deleted) I write, and I don't know where the (expletive deleted) it comes from and I don't know what the (expletive deleted) it's about, and they're going to write about what it's about." Here we are. This documentary comes complete with a Starbucks tie-in, an Apple logo, and a celebrity director's credit. That director is Martin Scorsese, who has surely coveted access to this footage—donated by D.A. Pennebaker, Murray Lerner, and others—having already shot Dylan as the pièce de résistance to his documentary about The Band, The Last Waltz. But before you get too excited about this crossroads meeting, viewer, beware: This project was co-produced by Dylan's manager Jeff Rosen. Scorsese was brought in well after Rosen had already conducted the interviews and approved the material. What will all these assholes be saying about Dylan? In this "Martin Scorsese Picture," whatever the Dylan people want.

We'll take it gratefully, of course. No Direction Home is framed by footage from a 1966 European tour in which Dylan was hounded by the folkie furies for plugging in with the Hawks, who later became The Band. (This footage is from Pennebaker's never-released and seldom-seen Eat the Document.) As the documentary opens, we see Dylan performing the classic rock warhorse "Like a Rolling Stone." The record had already been a No. 2 single, but it was still a rock 'n' roll Rite of Spring, too raw

[WorkingClassFilth]

I'm not angry in the least about Dylan or any other boomer but I'm not shy about about goring a g-g-generational ox either.

[Black Tooth]

history's steam roller will flaten his legacy out to the proportion of it's real merit.

And how will have this music legacy from this era you speak of? The Monkeys? Bee Gees?

[Black Tooth]

Er, and "who" will have....

[Moby Grape]

Latch on to this:

Dyaln's "Like A Rolling Stone" was recently voted the most important song in rock history by ROCK MUSCIANS...(McCartney voted for Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel)...but at any rate..you are intitled to your wrong opinion, although I share SOME of your perspective as to the importance of ANY of the, as you say, self-congratulating boomers.

In the end, and in the larger context of all history....NO rock muscian is of any real import...and history's steam roller will flaten your opinions much sooner that Dylan's legacy.

[MrLee]

And, he's never performed "Trouble In Mind" live! I think it's one of his best from that period.

[xzins]

I agree.

It's too bad that Bach couldn't approach the lyrics of Dylan.

But he was hampered by the times. There was no rewarding lyrical creativity in that day.

[scott says]

I found this-Greenville 5-14,2003
http://my.execpc.com/~billp61/051403s.html
and Birmingham 5-16,2003
http://my.execpc.com/~billp61/051603s.html
I have a couple from that tour, but not those two.The Ashville one must be 2004....

[WorkingClassFilth]

Boomer rock had a lot of good tunes, to be sure, but boomers and others in the sphere of its popular day overplay its importance. Many Dylan advocates here would probably have said the same kind of things about jazz but I would wager that not one person in 100 people off the street could name one seminal jazz work or artist of the golden age of jazz.

Worse yet, the political elements of rock won't even be remembered by most of the generation that lived in those times. In fact, those that may not even have had personal connection to, or empathy for, the events at the center of the music won't care - they'll just melt it all into retro-rock station formats and, ultimately, whistle to it again on 'easy listening' muzak blends. In short, Dylan and the music he made is mostly iconic for the generation that lived it. Advance a century and nobody outside of musicologists will even remember the man.

[WorkingClassFilth]

That would be your opinion.

[Moby Grape]

"That would be your opinion."

Well, if I said it, and it was opinion, then yes, that would be MY opinion...very observant.

For someone who paints with broad brush generalities and tars a generation as a self-congradulating, self absorbed lot who contributed nothing of lasting import to history, you none the less, seem to place high value upon YOUR OWN measure of things, and in a manner that seems somewhat self-congradulating, and self absorbed...

But then, afer all, it is just your opinion...and if you think Dylan unworthy of you or a place in history...so be it....

[The_Media_never_lie]

When I got that alblum on 33 LP, I almost wore that song out. What a ballad and what a story. What a beautiful and clear voice! I've got to hear it agan!!!

The whole alblum, every song was good.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Boomer rock had a lot of good tunes, to be sure, but boomers and others in the sphere of its popular day overplay its importance.

I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to my parents' music.

But my sons listen to the Stones and Judas Priest and Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and AC/DC and Dylan day and night.

[siunevada]

you need to do a little more study before you throw out your one liners dismissing Dylan.

Your four points rebutting the complaints of the ignorant were certainly impassioned.

But....

I don't recall actually making any of those complaints.

[zbigreddogz]

LOL!!!

WOW!!!

You really, really do want to reinforce the left's stereotype of us being stiff, boring, unfeeling and soulless bastards don't you?

Dylan and Scorsese are easily two of the greatest artists of the past 50 years.

[AFreeBird]

Yep, others with more pleasant voices have sung his music better... but it is his music, his passion. Perhaps his delivery isn't to many people's liking (I can't listen to him that long, the voice grates a bit), but the words should be.

"The Needle and the Damage done"...

speaking out against drugs back in the day?

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Not be be argumentative, but I think Scorsese is vastly over-rated.

I just don't get "Raging Bull," a pedestrian b/w fight picture, or "Taxi Driver," also interesting, but by-the-numbers.

Both those films rightly owe their acclaim to De Niro, IMO.

[Moby Grape]

"Boomer rock had a lot of good tunes, to be sure, but boomers and others in the sphere of its popular day overplay its importance."

"I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to my parents' music."

I think is true that the importance are impact of many mucical artist are overplayed. I defend Dylan on this thread from those who would suggest that he will be forgotten in short order. On the other hand, each generation does perhaps overstate the importance of it's own entertainers.

As to my parent's music...I subscribe to something John Lennon once said, "Once a good song, always a good song." If it was ever REALLY good, it will always be good. I acutally liked some of what my parents liked...and my sons actually like some of what I liked...The Beatles and Dylan were good...so the music still lives.

[Liberty Valance]

Thanks for posting. Can't wait to see this doc. Whatever labels others may put on him, Dylan is one of the greatest American singer-songwriter/poets of the 20th century.

[brazzaville]

Good afternoon.
"They were not influenced by either WWII or the great depression except through the tales of their parents."

So, you don't think the influence of our parents and grandparents was important? I was born in 1948. The war had been over for three years and my relatives and neighbors were still dealing with the memories. The movies and TV shows of the time were often about the war and the crushing poverty of the depression that preceded it and many of the great works of fiction of the time came out of the depression and the war.

The conduct of the Vietnam War and it's outcome were influenced by the nation's horror and fatigue from WWII and the shadow of Vietnam is still over the country today. While it's true that the Gen X'ers had nothing to do with Vietnam, Vietnam has had everything to do with the development of the Gen X'ers.

I'm sorry you feel the way you do. I've learned from watching liberals that self-loathing can make you very unhappy.

Michael Frazier

[Psycho_Bunny]

Did you happen to notice the first word in my post? The one that qualified the rest of the statement?

Plus, in my personal opinion, Paul Simon's lyric are more poetic than Dylan's.