Bob Dylan

I watched the terrific documentary, No Direction Home, when it first came out on American Masters on PBS. Martin Scorsese directed while taking a break from The Departed. It's just terrific as only Marty can do. He was a producer on the Woodstock film too, so this must have brought him back to the good old days .. well, he also directed The Last Waltz ... ok .. so, Bob Dylan. I can't say that I'm a big fan of his. I love Rainy Day Woman Pt. 1 and Subterranean Homesick Blues and one of my favorite songs, he wrote ... All Along the Watchtower. Jimi Hendrix did that song more justice than Bob ever would singing it. VH1 Classic ran the film in it's 4.5 hour entirety and I've been going through it as insomnia strikes.

I like Bob Dylan's .. for lack of a better term, presence. He's this little skinny kid from the iron region of Minnesota and he managed to turn music on it's ear on his terms. He wasn't taken over by the business. He is an aloof, smartass musician. He's mean as a feral cat, he has no patience for anything or anyone. I love how everyone around him dismisses his awful behavior as his being an artist ... man, I need to get me some of that. Since I was never involved in the Dylan love, I can admire his horrible behavior from afar. He lied about everything ... where he grew up, how he got to NYC ... he's a master manipulator. But what an incredible song writer/poet and maybe he lies and acts like such a dipwad to people wouldn't pay attention to him as a person, but pay attention to the music, and it worked.

Joan Baez, who was one of his girlfriends described him perfectly, he's a ragamuffin who women wanted to mother. Yep, look at old pictures of him .. he looks like this little babyfaced guy with tousled hair and that voice ... oh man, he's just cute as a button. But it's the %$#@ you attitude that appeals to me.

I can't wait to see the film, I'm Not There. It takes 5???? periods of Dylan's life and they are played out by different actors. Richard Gere, Heath Ledger (spooky) and the best has to be Cate Blanchett as the cute touseled haired Dylan. Perfect casting. Dylan is rather feminine looking during that time. David Cross plays Allan Ginsberg, perfect ... love David Cross. He's another freaking jerk who is successful in spite of it.

So anyway, No Direction Home is a great film.


Part II ... boy I am Bob Dylan ignorant. The song is Rainy Day Woman Pts 12 & 35 ... and as I finish up watching, it's kind of like one of those films that grows on you with each viewing. Felt that way about Swingers, Napoleon Dynamite and O Brother Where Art Thou. I have 10 minutes left to watch and I have to say that I love that guy! He must have been hanging around Andy Warhol a lot because he's very obtuse and difficult to interview. He doesn't lap up the questions, he spits them right back ... zero tolerance. Love it. I've also put into good use, my Itunes gift card ... added some Dylan and Hendrix to my repertoire. Itunes gift cards are the best.

I've added a picture that I hope isn't too offensive. It's a picture of Woody Guthrie's guitar. He was a guy ahead of his time. That picture was from the 1940's or 50's ... radical before radical was cool. I have a Woody Guthrie song over there on my playlist, California Stars covered by Wilco. Bob idolized Woody.