I recently acquired some music that was long overdue. As a
self proclaimed Bob Dylan fan, I am reluctant to admit my collection of his
music is sadly sparse, containing merely his greatest hits and a few bootleg
records. What Bob Dylan fan only has his greatest hits?
The iPod generation takes a different approach to music than
the generations before. When Dylan released records, you couldn't pick and
choose from the most played and popular songs, download them, and consider
yourself a Dylan fan because you have a few tunes on your iPod. You purchased
big black vinyl records or cassette tapes, and you listened to the entire
album. By so doing, you would come to know an artist and his music on a
different level than the causal listener of today.
I developed a fascination with Bob Dylan when I was in high
school. My dad introduced me to his music; I vividly remember listening to Mr. Tambourine Man as we were driving
through the desert on the way home from a family backpacking trip. The line
"I ain't sleepy and there is no place I'm going to" seemed to be
about me, as I wasn't sleepy and it felt like we were aimlessly wandering
through the barren Utah desert.
At sixteen, I learned how to play the guitar, and the first
song my dad taught me was Blowin' in the
Wind. That song will always remind me of my dad.
At seventeen, a few of my buddies and I learned that Dylan
would be playing at Deer Valley. When tickets went on sale, Eric and Brady
bought tickets. I was broke, and the concert soon sold out. I went with them to
Deer Valley with a few dollars in my pocket in the hopes that I could scalp a
ticket, to no avail. As a last resort, I got inline with my friends and
formulated a plan to sneak in. When I got to the turn-style, I handed the man a
ticket receipt. "This is a receipt," he said. "It is?" I
then explained that I must have grabbed the receipt, thinking it was my ticket
(the two looked similar). "Sorry," he said, "you need a
ticket." An opportunity to see a legend play, and you're not going to let
me in? He called his manager. With the ticket receipt in hand, the manager
asked, "What is your name?" Brady Dunn, I confidently responded. At
this point in the conversation, I realized I was in trouble. The receipt
contained Brady's address, phone number, all kinds of information that I didn't
have memorized. "What's your address?" he prodded. I stuttered and
stammered my way through a story full of holes, but before I could finish, he
said, "I'm just going to pretend that you're not full of BS and let you
in." I owe that guy.
The next few blog posts will be reviews of the following
albums: Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin' Bob
Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin', Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bringing It
All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, and John Wesley Harding.
4 comments:
awesome story...i had no idea. but then again i am learning that i was in the dark much of the time. xox
Great post. I also have a strong association of Bob Dylan to the deserts in southern Utah. It makes me homesick just thinking about it.
We had some friends over to play games during the holiday season this year. As I had Dylan playing in the background, my friend asked "is this Lyle Lovett"? You should have seen the look on my face. I was personally offended!
"The deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount.
"But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts.
"And the one eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
"Come in she says I'll give ya shelter from the storm."
A treasure I just discovered the other day.
so true about the way music is collected and enjoyed these days - like Chuck A Rama. ;)
You are going to have fun with this music endeavor, I think. I am looking forward to reading more about it.
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