The New Basement Tapes "Nothing To It"

Maybe you want to listen with your eyes closed first?  Especially if you don't know anything about this project . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

Okay, so if you didn't know the story behind this project, and you just heard it on the radio while driving down the street, would you say that it was a great, radio friendly song?

I don't know that I would.  I mean, it's fine.  Somewhat hummable.  A little ragged.  But is it a standout?

Now imagine that you know all about the back-story. 

These are lyrics written by Bob Dylan in the late 60s.  Never recorded.  Dylan recently gave them to T Bone Burnett, who then assembled Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith (of Dawes), Rihannon Giddens (of Carolina Chocolate Drops) and Jim James (who sings here) to record an album's worth of these songs.

Do you hear the song differently, with that knowledge?

That's what makes a track like this so hard for radio.

If you have the context, then it is a fascinating song.  But on it's own, it's not a great sounding single.

And most people who hear it, are not going to know the story behind it.  There more likely to say, "What the hell?" and move on to the next station.

Or am I wrong?  Does the song captivate you, even without knowing the story behind it?

Tune-Yards "Water Fountain"

I can't imagine this song joining MVY regular rotation (can you hear this coming out of "Lay Lady Lady"?).

That said, it is the stickiest, most memorable, hummable, joyful song on the iTunes playlist right now.

Enjoy!


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bob Dylan "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat"

Maybe you could tell from the enthusiastic Halloween picture, my son does enjoy a costume.

And they have a few of them at the pre-school he attends.

My wife and I were crying/laughing the day his teacher, Sally, sent this picture home.  He apparently wears this ensemble on a regular basis.

My wife posted this picture on Facebook, and I couldn't resist putting up a song quote.  Had to laugh when I saw that Sally posted the picture, too, and thought of the same quote.

"I see you got your leopard skin pillbox hat/Well, you must tell me, baby/How your head feels under somethin’ like that?"

Play the song:

Mark Knopfler "Privateering"

Usually, in my musical world, a new Mark Knoplfer album is a big deal.  In fact, one of his last records was voted Number One for the year by MVY listeners.

I'd heard about "Privateering" well over a year ago.  We got an advanced download, to check it out.  Knopfler mounted a big tour, supporting Bob Dylan.

And then, nothing.

Turns out Knopfler was between labels in the US.  So while the record was out, around the rest of the world, we're just getting it now.

So enjoy this new, not-that-new Knopfler.


Hear the song on Youtube.

And a playlist of more videos featuring songs from the record, here.

Iron & Wine "Grace For Saints And Ramblers"

I love this tune, because it's one of those songs that, the more you listen, the more you hear.

From the well placed "Woo Ooh Oooh"s of the background singers, to the gentle use of jingle bells and hand claps, or the little horn punctuations that don't show up until the songs is more than half-way over, it's a cornucopia of tasteful delights.

And then you start to dig into the lyrics, which tumble out like a Dylan epic that feels both meaningful and obtuse.

There were washed out cars in our bark-old clothes
They were rubbing on each other, rubbing ghost on ghost
There were Jonesed-up punks and Jesus freaks
Weaving in and out of trouble, wrapping 'round and 'round a leash
There were sleepless dreamers, blues day preacher
The message and the messenger, the gun beneath the register
The sweet gum tree by the dug drop tank
We could never give enough to the bad-luck bank
There were hopeless sinners, sweepstake winners
They danced with the farmer’s daughter
Capered with the corporate lawyers

 What does it all mean?  I have no idea.

But I hope the Rock World catches up with the Rap World.

There's a site called Rap Genius, that allows users to "annotate" lyrics to songs, inserting meanings or explanations into phrases.  For instance, you can check out how Rap Genius explains what the heck LL Cool J is talking about in "Mama Said Knock You Out."

(Want to hear Bob Dylan sing that song?)

The good news is that Rap Genius has Rock songs on there.  But alas, no one has annotated "Grace For Saints And Ramblers."

If you have any answer, please, drop science like Galileo dropped the orange.


Hear the song on Youtube.

"Grace For Saints And Ramblers" is mvyradio's Album Of The Week tomorrow at 9pm ET.

Susan Tedeschi "Lord Protect My Child"

Do you know what an Apgar score is?

Thankfully, three years ago today, I did not.

If you are someone who doesn't yet have kids, but are planning on it, maybe you just want to skip clicking through.  I found the ignorance to be quite helpful on the day my boy was born.

I don't want to over-dramatize the story of his birth---I know many, many folks who have gone through much, much worse.  But suffice it to say that his first Apgar score was "1."

Today he is 3 years old.

He is a happy, healthy, feisty thing, that gives no hint of the very narrow line he walked in his first 30 minutes of life.

I'm not religious.  I don't pray.  But I hear this song in my head and I thank whatever fate or good fortune or God that smiled upon him, upon me, upon us to make today possible.

Happy Day, little thing.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Lyrics by Bob Dylan

For his age he's wise
He's got his mother's eyes
There's gladness in his heart
He's young and he's wild
My only prayer is if I can't be there
Lord protect my child

As his youth now unfolds
He is centuries old
Just to see him at play makes me smile
No matter what happens to me
No matter what my destiny
Lord protect my child

While the world is asleep
You can look at it and weep
Few things you find are worthwhile
And though I don't ask for much
No material things to touch
Lord protect my child

He's young and on fire
Full of hope and desire
In a world that's been raped raped and defiled
If I fall along the way
And can't see another day
Lord protect my child

There'll be a time I hear tell
When all will be well
When God and man will be reconciled
But until men lose their chains
And righteousness reigns
Lord protect my child

R.E.M. "World Leader Pretend"

When I realized what was happening this weekend (that is, the Life Is Good Festival), I immediately went to look at Bob Dylan's tour schedule.

Not because I expect Mr. Dylan to be at the Festival.

No, I was checking to make sure that he was not out with The Never Ending Tour right now.

And while checking, I started humming R.E.M.'s "World Leader Pretend."

Dylan IS on the road next month, but right now he's not touring.

And that means I'll get to see Ben-Ben!

Brendan was my next door neighbor for the first two years of college at UMass.  Our gang of friends spent many many night (and let's face it, days and weekends and dinners and dawns) listening to and talking about music.

And while I spent my time at UMass exploring the media end of the business, Brendan (or Ben-Ben, as his roommate called him) got involved with the University productions, which put on a slate of amazing shows all year long, that culminated in a big Spring concert.  At every concert, while we'd be wandering through the crowd (most likely drunk) he'd have the thrill of working behind the scenes, as part of Load-In/Load-Out or Stage managing and such.

Brendan and I lost touch not long after college, but the advent of Facebook put us back into each other's orbit.  And two years ago, I saw him post a status about being in Canton, Massachusetts on a mid-September weekend.

I wrote him.  "Are you working at Life Is Good?"

He was!

We made a plan to meet, to see each other for the first time in about 17 years.

After college, Brendan continued to pursue a career in the touring business.  And---as these things work---he had a combination of talent, good fortune and timing, to land a gig with none other than Bob Dylan.

You can say what you want about Mr. Dylan being inscrutable and mercurial and whatever, but if you've been paying attention, in the last 20 years, he's become remarkably consistent about who he works with.  His touring band has changed very little, and, unlike much of the 70s and 80s, his touring band is largely the group of musicians that play on his records. 

Apparently, this extends to the people Dylan employs on The Never Ending Tour.  Ben-Ben and much of the core crew have been with Dylan for many, many years.

So that's Ben-Ben's life.  If Dylan is on the road, then so is Ben-Ben.

It's quite a thrill to live vicariously through Facebook and see Brendan post pictures from far-flung places around the world.

And it's nice that Mr. Dylan has happened to be off the road for the weekend of the Life Is Good Festival in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

When Ben-Ben is not on the road with Dylan, he's with his family in Massachusetts, and will pick up a job here and there if it won't interfere with the start of the next tour.  So he's picked up a gig running Good Vibes side stage at Life Is Good.

And while he grew up to be a roadie, I grew up to be a disc jockey, who gets assigned to introduce a few of the acts at the Festival.  So for the last couple of years, I've been sent to introduce some of the acts on the Good Vibes stage. 

It's pretty funny, and wonderful, to know someone from when you were practically a kid, and get the opportunity to work with them as a professional.

Saturday at 2:15, I'll be standing in the wings waiting to introduce Katie Herzig.  Ben-Ben will have given me the standard speech he has to deliver to misbehaving DJs, about keeping my shtick short and sweet and getting the hell out of the way.  And when he's ready, he'll give me the cue to send me out to center stage.  We'll be interacting as the professionals we work hard every day to be---He's touring with perhaps the greatest musician that has ever lived; I am running a beloved, heritage, independent radio station. 

This is hardly the kind of thing we could have imagined 20 years ago, when we were sitting around a UMass lounge, eating Bruno's pizza and listening to R.E.M., thinking we were terribly clever to change the words of the song so that we were singing, "I am, World Leader Ben-Ben . . ."



Hear the song on Youtube.

J Geils Band "Land Of A Thousand Dances"

I always felt like "Land Of A Thousand Dances" was a bit of false advertising.

Really, they only mention about 10 dances. (At least, that's what happens in the J. Geils version, which is the first version of the song I ever owned)

That's a long way from 1000.

Around the time that I was reaching 500 posts on this blog, I decided that my goal would be to reach 1000 posts.  I wasn't sure I had that many songs with stories to match, but it seemed like a good goal.  It seemed like I could get closer to 1000 than the Geils Band did.

So here we are at blog post number 1000.  I made it.  I thought maybe you'd enjoy a few "Every Day I Write The Blog" statistics.

My very first post was on July 1st, 2009 and today's post arrives 1155 days later (so I only skipped 155 days, most of them were in that first year).

An average day has about 50 people clicking on the blog, which isn't much, but nearly 30,000 people have visited at least once over the last 3 years.

Bruce Springsteen wins, for the artist with the most songs written about, with 19.

The Beatles are mentioned in 46 posts, though only 9 posts are specifically about Beatles songs.

I tell stories about my wife in over 40 posts, and mention her in over 100.

There are 9 different girlfriends that I've written about, in 20-plus posts.

Sixteen posts contain the word "Chicken" (which is 13 more times than that word appears in Bob Dylan songs).

I had some great guest posters who wrote about their areas of expertise, including coffee, Cape Cod, record promotion, Father/Son relations, motivation, Bruce Springsteen and celebrity sightings at the hippest ice cream stand in Nashville.

In October 2010, I started doing "Weekend Posts" to include some quick posts about songs that didn't have big stories, but were worth remembering.  I've knocked out 108 of them since.

I wrote far too many eulogies for artists I care deeply about, including remembrances of Vic Chesnutt, Doc Watson, Levon Helm, Clarence Clemons and Alex Chilton.

And wrote some very personal remembrances on the passing of my college roommate, my youngest sister, and even the family fish.

I also wrote more than a couple of posts about my daughter, that she is going to be verrrry embarassed and upset about, when she learns to read.

A handful of songs were written about twice, including "Badlands," "Free Me" and "Angel From Montgomery."

And a few were likely never listened to more than once.

There were posts where no one got the joke or at least received no comment (I posted this on my 41st birthday).  And posts that attracted some truly bizarre comments.

The most viewed post was during Bob Dylan's birthday week, when I wrote about the awful video for "Tight Connection To My Heart."  Someone put a link to my blog on a very popular Bob Dylan web-forum, and to date the page has had something like 1,800 unique visitors, making it twice as popular as the 2nd most viewed post.

As far as I can tell, the least read post is this Weekend Post about Sebadoh, which, according to Google Analytics, has only had one person look at it, for a total of :23 seconds, since the day after it was originally posted.

So there you have it.  Thanks for reading.  Whether you've just checked in once or twice, or you follow along regularly.

I still have a handful of stories I'd like to tell, so I'll keep going for awhile.  But don't expect a Pretenders-related post titled "2000 Miles" . . . 


Hear the song on Youtube.

Father John Misty "I'm Writing A Novel"

I'd been hearing great things about this record from a few trusted sources (thanks Jen Daunt, and cousin John Pike), but finally got some time to sit with it in the mvy studio, open the CD and ingest a little more.

"Ingest" might actually be a great word here.

Father John Misty was a member of Fleet Foxes, who's now out on his own with the crazy, entertaining solo project.

In this digital age, where people barely bother with CD artwork or anything of the like, this is a double fold out case, that includes a poster-sized fold out.  One side had all the lyrics, and the other side had some crazy, entertaining "explanations" of the songs.

I like first single, because it's like a hallucinogenic, semi-sequitor-filled Dylan-type tune.

Plus, I learned the meaning of the word "Ayahuasca"! 


Hear the song on Youtube.

Victoria Williams "You R Loved"

Here's another Weekend Post:

After last weekend's weekend posts about bands that seemed to have the talent to break through in the 90s, but didn't quite get there, I went searching for a few more of my favorites.

Victoria Williams was beloved enough by other musicians in the 90s, that when she got sick, a Who's Who of great 90s bands made a fundraiser record of her songs.

Maybe the masses couldn't quite hook into her voice, but damn her songs are good.  I mean, you can probably name 10 artists right off the top of your head who's singing voice you'll forgive, because their writing is so strong (I'll get you started . . . Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Richard Thompson, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen . . . ).

Even if you don't love her female-Neil-Young-ish voice, how can you not be charmed by lines like:

Jesus walked on water/He turned the water into wine,
Go down to the drunkards/Tell them everything is fine.

Hear the song on Youtube.


Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are wonderful to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.
 

Electric Guest "This Head I Hold"

I love to introduce My Favorite Song We're Not Playing.

Sometimes, we end up adding them to mvyradio's rotation.

Sometimes, as good as they are, they don't quite fit.

I love the retro-Soul thing that seems to be happening.  There's a great mini-wave of young artists who are getting that vintage sound, right.

I've written about the station's relationship with soul before, so no need to delve again.  But in short, we like to have a dash of the sound in the mix, but often it doesn't fit at neatly as it should into the eclectic mix.

So what do you think, would this fit in the playlist, between say, "Tangled Up In Blue" and the new Norah Jones?


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bruce Hornsby "Gonna Be Some Changes Made"

My Mom was a career nurse.  Operating room.

She could come home at the end of the day, and calmly, unsqueamishly talk about surgery on folks who'd been in motorcycle accidents, or about removing internal organs and clamping vessels.  All kinds of blood and gore, that was just another day at the office for her.

But one time, I dropped a heavy object on my toe.  It was broken and bleeding.  And she could barely look at it.

Why?

She couldn't really answer that question for herself.

In my job, I can happily consume songs that are of the most personal nature.  John Lennon's pain of losing his mother.  The dissolution of Bob Dylan's marriage.  Stevie Nicks singing the poisioned words Lindsay Buckingham wrote about her.

Not that I'm unfeeling about these emotional songs.  But I don't know that I ever wince.

So why is it that whenever I get to the part of "Gonna Be Some Changes Made" where Bruce Hornsby admits to accidentally spitting on the crowd during a concert, that I become a horrified teenage girl?

T-M-I, Hornsby!  Gross!

Up in front for all to see I′m graceful like a bumbling fool

Then I thought I felt slip from my mouth a little drool

Maybe no one noticed it, on my mind heavily it weighed

I saw two people snickering I said there needs to be some changes made

Hear the song on Youtube.


Hear John Lennon on Youtube.


Hear Bob Dylan on Youtube.


Hear Fleetwood Mac on Youtube.

Paul Kelly "How To Make Gravy"

There's a certain segment of the listening audience, that wants to hear new music, but wants to hear it from old artists.

Yes, that's a complete paradox. But these people exist.

They aren't quite up for the challenge presented by new artist. They tune into mvyradio because they are into Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen or Elvis Costello and they aren't willing to go down the road with Death Cab For Cutie or The Decemberists or some other young band that one day (in my opinion) will engender the same quality of feeling to this music listening generation, as those previously mentioned venerable artists do.

But in the meantime, I'm a little bit stuck, since there are no "new" old Bob Dylan songs. There are no new, never-before-discovered tracks on "This Year's Model."

For better or worse, the musically lazy aren't likely to look beyond the U.S. borders for that sound they're missing.

So that's what I recommend.

Paul Kelly is a legend in his native Austrailia. Depending on what review you read, he's Down Under's answer to Bob Dylan or Elvis Costello or Bruce Springsteen or Ray Davies.

And he's got a new Best Of double disc out now, in the States, featuring this song (which, though it's about Christmas, has a title that seems to better suit Thanksgiving).

So if you're looking for something new that feels like something old (or know someone old who wants to hear something new that is actually something old), this is a good place to start.


Hear the song on Youtube.


PS. Doesn't this sound just a little like last week's Belle Brigade tune?

Wilco "Bob Dylan's 49th Beard"

An interesting artifact from the Newport Folk Festival history books . . .

Do you remember that they tried to jump on the 1990s "Let's put together a Lollapalooza-like tour package!" bandwagon?

In 1998, The Newport Folk Festival Tour made its way across the amphitheaters and sheds of America, featuring Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Alison Krauss, John Hiatt and a cast of rotating acts, all loosely associated with Folk music.

My friends and I made it to a show, somewhere in North Carolina if memory serves me.

It was a great, long day, where I saw great headliners, but also caught some side stage and early-in-the-day lesser-known acts like Mark Eitzel and BeauSoleil.

And Wilco.

Yes, in their pre-"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" days, Wilco was a respected, but ultimately lesser-known band. They were consigned to an early slot on the main stage, during daylight hours before half the crowd had even arrived.

Funny enough, the thing I most remember about seeing Wilco that day was not any particular song. It was Jeff Tweedy, heckling an audience member.

I mean, it's not uncommon for an audience member to shout out crap at the band. But I don't know if I'd ever seen a lead singer, just zone in on an audience member and shred him.

Not that I can blame him.

We were way the hell back on the lawn in the cheap seats.

Between us and the stage was a sea of empty, blue stadium seats, reserved for ticket holders, most of whom hadn't arrived.

And right in front of the stage was a small clutch of fans who'd shelled out the money for good seats, and had arrived early enough to catch Wilco.

Then there was the guys who had gotten their early. Wanted to get in his seat. But apparently wasn't at all interested in Wilco.

Jeff Tweedy was laying into the dude, because while Wilco was playing, the guy who was sitting by himself somewhere in the first 20 rows, was reading the newspaper.

"I wouldn't come to your office and stand there and read the fucking paper while you were trying to tell me something you asshole."

And then, before starting the next song, he added this memorable non-sequitor:

"I don't care you if you do have a beard."

A few years later, Jeff Tweedy wrote a song with the great title "Bob Dylan's 49th Beard," and when I hear it, I wonder if it was inspired by the inattentive asshole who needed to read Dilbert while Wilco was on stage.

Needless to say, I won't be bringing a newspaper tonight, when I go to see Wilco in Boston . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

Nikki Jean "Feathers And Steel"

How much does pedigree count?

I’m asking, because I’m having trouble listening without prejudice to today’s song.

Maybe the best thing for you to do is to listen to the song before we go any further.


See the video on Youtube.

Does this sound like a song the station should play? Would you feel differently if you knew who wrote it?

I knew the back-story of this tune, before I ever heard it. With the important information withheld, here’s the story:

Young singer and songwriter Nikki Jean, very promising, gets some help from a Producer with connections. Producer suggests that Nikki write to Producer’s Famous Songwriter friend to ask for help. Famous songwriter not only offers to help, but sends Nikki a partially finished-song for her to finish and record.

To keep the name out of this post, I’ll tell you that the mystery Famous Songwriter is also the mystery co-writer of this song.

Now, do you like Young Singer Nikki Jean’s song any better? Do you give it more benefit of the doubt?

Does it motivate you to listen to more of her music, when you learn about some of her other Famous Songwriter co-writers?

Bob Dylan "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry"

I remember this line from Mike Mills of R.E.M.

He was asked in an interview to respond to a somewhat lurid rumor, surrounding a former associate of the band. He declined to comment, citing his desire to remain in good taste:

"Y’know, I may not be a gentleman of whatever, but I know how a gentleman would act, and I’m not going to say anything about it."

I thought of that line while I was thinking about how I would (or if I should) present today’s entry. Because clearly it crosses a line of good taste. But I'm not a gentleman, and I really can't resist . . .

So if you are easily offended, you should bail on this post, now.

For the rest of you, I’m not sure where your line in the sand is, where you mark that something has gone too far, so I’m going to just guess and hope for the best.

The final scenes of an old Bob Dylan video I wrote about last week, posed the idea of a Bob Dylan sex scene, which led me to consider Mr. Dylan in an adult movie.

What would it be called?

Well I asked this question to a few friends---friends who don’t mind occasionally driving their 4-wheel vehicles over the line in the sand---and Yikes! We came up with literally dozens of Bob Dylan song titles and album titles that could be converted to great Porn titles.

There were the obvious and not-too-too-offensive ones like:

“Lay Lady Lay”

“Blonde On Blonde”

“Hard Rain”

The slightly ruder, but obvious:

“Highway 69 Revisited”

“Poker-man”

And the hilariously conceptual:

“In Fidel”

“When I Paint My Master’s Piece”

But there were A LOT that were just too graphic to repost here. You’ll have to use your own dark mind to figure out how to twist “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry.”

I’ll share my two favorites, neither written by me (but names withheld, to protect the guilty).

One of the guys came up with a brilliant title, aimed at women who love women:

“Brainy Gay Women #12 & 35"

And my other favorite, is just beautiful in its simplicity:

“John Wesley Hard-on”

I think that one wins, for sounding most like an actual title of a porno.

Bob Dylan turned 70, and we wanted a classy, fun way to commemorate the occasion.

This wasn’t it.

Instead, we asked listeners to vote for their favorite Dylan tunes, and we made a list of the Top 70, to mark his birth.

Check out the list at mvyradio’s website, and listen to the songs on our Dylan Channel.


See the video on Youtube.

Bob Dylan "Love Sick"

In writing all these Dylan related posts this week, I've come across all kinds of weird Dylan ephemera (see the last two posts). But certainly, among the weirdest juxtapositions of Dylan's career, is this Victoria Secret commercial he appears in, with "Love Sick" playing in the background.

I think I explored "Dylan as sex symbol" on Friday, so this just continues my confoundation.

Okay, after a week-plus, I think that's enough Dylan for now from me . . . but for more Dylan weirdness, see The AV Club.


See the video on Youtube.

William Shatner "Mr Tambourine Man"

Just a couple more Dylan posts, to mark his 70th birthday, and to promote the station's Dylan coverage . . .

I was asked What's the weirdest Dylan cover you came across while putting together the Bob Dylan Channels?

Well the most surprising coverage, was a 1 minute bootleg of Elvis Presley singing "I Shall Be Released."

But the weirdest is this William Shatner version of "Mr Tambourine Man."

You know I love the Shat. But he really tops himself here, with a completely unhinged delivery . . . Enjoy!


See the video on Youtube.

Bob Dylan "Tight Connection To My Heart"

The advent and explosion of the music video in the 80s really made certain artists. Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Peter Gabriel and Michael Jackson are just a few of the artists who saw their fame grow exponentially, due in large part to their excellent videos (and good songs).

But music videos were far less kind to artists who had already (long prior to the video age) cemented their iconic status.

There were really only 2 paths you could take.

You could be like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Seger, and refuse to star in videos (except for actual concert footage), and live with the fact that you weren't a star of the video screen.

Or you could decide to roll with it, and find yourself helplessly trapped in a horrible flaming bag of dog doody.

I’m not really sure what could have possessed Bob Dylan to choose the latter.

But Good Lord & Taylor! This video is HORRIBLE.

And yet, you can’t take your eyes off it, for all the wonders it offers:

The site of Dylan, exerting just enough mouth effort to suggest he’s lip-mumbling the lyrics.

Shoulder pads!

That great moment at the 2:55 mark, where Dylan musters all his acting skills to “naturally” “turn” and “look at a building.”

Knife fights!

Repeated images of a purple wig being blown by the wind, tumbling down some stadium bleacher seats. I think we all know what this symbolizes . . . the death of the modern wig industry.

Dylan in a chest baring V-neck!

What I think we can all agree, is the sexiest image ever committed to film---a storyline denouement that promises a Dylan-orchestrated ménage e trois.

International Intrigue!

Finally, the sentence that no human being has ever dared type before . . . Bob Dylan shows of his "Jazz Hands"! (at the 5:10 mark)

The first time I watched this, I kept saying, “Poor Bob Dylan.”

You just feel so much empathy for him, being stuck in this joyless cheesefest.

I’m mean, the man has been largely insouciant toward fame throughout his career. I can’t imagine how he was convinced that this was a good idea.

Thankfully, for the most part he avoided making videos in later years, and the ones he did do, suggested that he was enjoying the cheesefest, not trapped in it.


See the video on Youtube.

Old 97s "Champaign Illinois"

When Bruce Springsteen’s song “The Rising” came out, someone at the station (I can’t remember who, otherwise I’d give proper credit), suggested that this would be a perfect song for Verizon to license and appropriate for a commercial.

Sing it with me, “Come on up for Verizon! Come on up for Verizon tonight!”

(Of course, Springsteen would never agree to such a thing)

There is some small level of talent required to take an existing song, and make a sturdy parody or sideways version.

It’s a fun game to play, to try to change the lyrics of an existing song, to something fun and funny.

But you’d have to have real talent to take it a step further, and actually make it a good song.

And that’s the difference between us, and Rhett Miller.

The story goes that Miller, lead singer of the Old 97s, was the one driving the tour van for hours at a time. And to keep himself occupied, he’d take an actual song, try to retain the melody and the cadence, but write completely new original lyrics.

When we got the album “Grand Theatre Volume One” I instantly gravitated toward the song “Champaign Illinois.” But it was only after months of playing it, that I learned of the song’s origins.

In putting together the station’s Bob Dylan Covers Channel, this song appeared on a list as a song written by Bob Dylan.

Huh?

After some research, I learned that Miller had been driving, fooling around with Dylan’s “Desolation Row.” He kept the melody and the cadence, and the spirit of the song, but wrote completely new lyrics and a completely new story.

Thinking that there was no way he could release the song without getting the pants sued off him, he had shelved it for several years. But he was finally convinced to ask Dylan’s people for permission, and to Miller’s surprise and delight, Dylan’s folks said Yes.

So the songwriting credit is to “Dylan/Miller.”

Check out both songs, and be struck by the similarity that you may not have ever noticed.


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.