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

[pissant]

LOL. We are not that far apart in musical philosophy.

I'll forgive you for listening to the crap you listed, only because you are a fellow Washingtonian (BTW, from where?).

;o)

[scott says]

Check this one out---Wynton Marsalis Septet-
http://my.execpc.com/~billp61/060704s.html
I have pretty good audience recording of this, remind me to include it on our next trade.
Bob does jazz! The Don't Think Twice is in a "scat" style..very cool.

[VadeRetro]

Everytime I hear Dylan, I always start thinking they're talking about former Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon. What's wrong with me?

"When you say 'Dylan," he thinks yer talkin' 'bout Dylan Thomas, whoever HE wuz! The man ain't got no culcha!"

--- Paul Simon

[post-boom]

hey! i'm one of those twenty-something or anothers and i love dylan's music...hell, i was in the "clueless" late teen years when i somehow found it all on my own (not via parents, not via boomer driven media machine)! i know plenty of folks in those wacky ignorant 20s of 2005 who enjoy dylan's timeless music. in fact... i turned my mom onto Dylan!

"my age it means less..."

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Bob Zimmerman could have just not appeared at all and no one would have been the wiser. A bumbler.

[WorkingClassFilth]

I actually stole that book and somebody stole it from me later on. Abby Hoffman - another boomer hero - at least he had the class to kill himself.

[WorkingClassFilth]

I didn't miss anything - I just grew up earlier. BTW, I actually saw Benny Goodman in concert and Harry James, too. I can assure you that I was the only one under 50 in those audiences.

[af_vet_1981]

Someone else had posted about how Bobby having children might have changed him. I pointed out that he did his real damage when he had a Jewish wife and 5 children already. I see his choices along the lines of The Last Waltz, which is a metaphor of how most Rock stars are consumed by their own lusts. Robbie Robertson apparently escaped the business but Bob Dylan seems to have been pulled back into it.

[TChad]

Dylan is probably the most compelling performer I have ever seen. I simply can't turn away. With almost all performers I get a sense of what they are likely to do next, maybe because I have a sense of what motivates them. Not Dylan. I've been listening to him throughout his career, and I still don't have a clue about him. He continually operates outside my range of expectations, but somehow he continually makes sense.

[Black Tooth]

Saw tonights 1st part. It was real good. I'll be tuning in tomorrow night.

Thanks Doc.

[Northern Alliance]

Dylan is probably the most compelling performer I have ever seen. I simply can't turn away. With almost all performers I get a sense of what they are likely to do next, maybe because I have a sense of what motivates them. Not Dylan. I've been listening to him throughout his career, and I still don't have a clue about him. He continually operates outside my range of expectations, but somehow he continually makes sense.

Well (and poetically!) put. I agree. Even some later stuff that I don't particularly enjoy or have feel for - there is something special in it - always something worth tuning in to, worth a second look and listen.

[rhombus]

But seriously friend... your trashing of 60s and the Boomers I think is a bit unfair. If you define the Boomers as slackers and hold them responsible for Vietnam and unrest over being drafted, racism and drug abuse, then we should likewise trash the generations from the 30's for bringing us WWII and the generations from the 20's for bringing us a depression. The Boomers were indeed crippled by the Vietnam war. I would suggest that it wasn't so much the boomers who fumbled Vietnam as it was the generations of Johnson and Nixon who failed to give us a clear and impelling reason to win that war, instead just demanding "more troops". And then there's the media. I would also point out that Boomers were the first generation to be raised entirely on television. This media weapon grew of age during the 60s and Boomers were the first to be massively manipulated by pictures of bleeding babies in their living rooms and endless commercials for "extra strength pain relievers". All things considered, it's no wonder so many "tuned out" in one way or another.

[WorkingClassFilth]

All the matters I list were the specific and defining ACTIONS and CHOICES the boomers made and have inflicted on the rest of us. In short, they did this things directly by personal behavior. WWII and the Great Depression had nothing to do with the behavior or folks at home on the farm but their response to what was thrust upon them made them great. The philosophical roots of the boomers maladies do, in fact, go way back, but the issue is the choices and actions of my g-g-generation - that is their craven legacy. The consequences of the nitwits are shared by us all. Not a proud thing, to be sure, but them's is the facts. Some of us flinch (understandable) when confronted with the truth, but others call a spade a spade - historians certainly will. You can be proud of the fact that you're a conservative and in the fray. Like being anti-Nazi in WWII Europe, facing the truth of your circumstances has nothing to do with your personal guilt and everything to do with your honor.

[rhombus]

There were many ACTIONS and CHOICES thoughout history that can be represented as "craven legacy". Sorry I don't find the 60's that different form other generations - just over publicized. You see the results of the Boomer choices now because this is our time and we are in charge and we are being marketed heavily (since we now have cash) but these times they are a changin' We've had 2 Boomer presidents now. The contrast couldn't be more obvious especially with respect to the ACTIONS and CHOICES to what was thrust upon them. However it can also be argued that the "compassionate conservatism" is just more warmed over Boomer philosophy (or did that philosophy come from the Great Society or perhaps the New Deal? Anyway, in a time when Boomers rule and we have a Republican President, a Republican Congress, and perhaps soon a Republican Supreme Court I'd say Boomers are perhaps not as craven as advertised by our media who is in love with their liberal view of the 60s. Of course Republicans do not necessarily a Conservative make but they're a whole lot closer than anything the Rats have to offer.

[YankeeFan]

Is anyone watching tonight?

Always loved his music. Liking him as a person more & more.

Doesn't care what the idiotic music press thinks or the commie folk artists.

Pete Seeger wanting to cut his cord! Unbelievable.

[Black Tooth]

Yeah, I'll be tuning in. Last night was pretty good, and done well, lots of history etc.

[claudiustg]

---Nobody but aging boomers will recall this man in the not too distant future.---

Bob Dylan is one of the greatest poets of the the twentieth century. Like any great artist he is only partly rooted in his generation and context. He belongs to the ages.

[vikk]

I heard Emmylou Harris doing a version of Shelter From the Storm that blew me away. The lyrics to that song are as deep as anything that's been written in the past 50 years.

[monkapotamus]

Yep. In the film, Scorsese sat in DeNiro's cab and told DeNiro how his wife had been cheating on him and how he was going to blow her away with a .44 magnum.

"The author says Scorsese was in the wacko in the movie "Taxi." However, that was Robert Deniro."

Michael.SF. wrote: "Having not seen the original quote, and your comment above is a little confusing. But Scorsese does have a cameo in 'Taxi Driver', he plays a fare that Deniro's character picks up. As I recall he has only one or two minor lines and is mostly seen in Deniro's rear view mirror. (I may be wrong on the details, as I have not seen the movie in many years, but it is Scorsese in the back of the cab)."

[claudiustg]

Here's one for Robin, gone but not forgotten.

---I'll remember you
When I've forgotten all the rest,
You to me were true,
You to me were the best.
When there is no more,
You cut to the core
Quicker than anyone I knew.
When I'm all alone
In the great unknown,
I'll remember you.

I'll remember you
At the end of the trail,
I had so much left to do,
I had so little time to fail.
There's some people that
You don't forget,
Even though you've only seen'm
One time or two.
When the roses fade
And I'm in the shade,
I'll remember you.

Didn't I, didn't I try to love you?
Didn't I, didn't I try to care?
Didn't I sleep, didn't I weep beside you
With the rain blowing in your hair?

I'll remember you
When the wind blows through the piney wood.
It was you who came right through,
It was you who understood.
Though I'd never say
That I done it the way
That you'd have liked me to.
In the end,
My dear sweet friend,
I'll remember you.---