The End

Well it seems my time on this website will be done. I most likely will not return to blog on this site anymore due to my finalization of my school project. At times this was a chore, but others it was good to talk about someone who changed my life so much. If it was not for this man I do not what music I would be listing to, if I would just go with the crowd like everyone else my age. I know it is not unusual to find a Dylan fan at the age of 21, but I don’t hang out with many of them. Just a handful of people I know like him, many respect him as a musician, but the majority of the people I hang out with just really don’t care for him. I have always tried to get them to listen and would use his importance as a reason why they had to listen but it never really worked. I get through half a song before someone complains and makes me turn it off. They tell me they get the fact that he had done great things for music but it doesn’t make them like him anymore. So over the past three months I’m sure that my friends are happy that I have been doing this website because I no longer bother them with stories of Dylan, instead I just get to tell them hear. Well that time is over so I hope my friends are ready for my rant and raves of Dylan.

A quick look back

New readers may wonder why I am blogging about Dylan so much and why I find him my musical idol. Well if you are wondering these things look no further than one of my early post. It goes into detail about why and how I became a Dylan fan and what Dylan means to me. On another note seeing that I am so going to be wrapping up my blog I think that it would be appropriate to let leave you with some words of one of my favorite songs, seeing its all over now.

You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Crying like a fire in the sun
Look out the saints are comin’ through
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
All your reindeer armies, are all going home
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
Strike another match, go start anew
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

Beyond Here Lies Nothing

For those who enjoy Dylan’s most recent studio album Together Through Life and its single “Beyond Here Lies Nothing” should check out the music video. It is nothing if not exciting and maybe even a little disturbing. The video starts out with a man walking into his motel room pouring himself a class of whiskey. He goes to enter a room and is then attacked by a woman. The man is seedy looking as is the hotel so your not exactly sure what is going, but your hoping the chick wins the fight. She gets thrown into a TV and then gets dragged into another room, but she comes up with a knife and stabs the man as he is seemingly is about to prepare some sort of drug involving a needle, weather it is heroine, crack, or some type of sedative is unknown. She stabs him runs away to a car and takes off, only to reverse and hit him with the car. Right there you feel happy for her she is going to be ok but then she gets out walks up to him and kissed him. You are sitting there wondering what the hell just happened. Which in its one way works perfectly for Dylan. Seeing that is the way you feel after some of his music and some of the things that he has said in the past. The video does represent the song, it is about a love for each other that is the only thing that is important, “beyond here lies nothing, but the moon and stars”, there love is the only thing keeping them together, it is their only option.

Recommended Products

On my website I recently wrote an article about some recommended products that I think that Dylan fans should really check out. In no way am I saying that if you don’t like these recommendations that you are not a true Dylan fan, I just think that these are just a couple products that I think that Dylan fans would enjoy if they haven’t already owned them. One of course would be Highway 61 Revisited. I have wrote in the past how I feel about this album I really just think that it is great. The songs on the album are ones that I never seem to get tired from and are always willing to go back to listen to. Another product that I recommended would be the album Blood on the Tracks a great album that usually is a little further down the list of his great albums, but great nonetheless. The reason why I like this is because it seemed to be a resurgence for Dylan putting him backs in good faith with not only fans but also critics. Finally the last product that I would recommended would be No Direction Home. Again this is something that I have talked about in the past but I can’t help to try to get everyone out there to watch this movie. This is a little bit more of an obscure choice. Many people don’t want to watch because of it is so long, but if you got time I think every Dylan fan could enjoy. So if you want so more in-depth information on these three products head over to my website and check it out.

http://bobbydylanfan.webs.com/

Dylan Intro

The other day I was reading something on Dylan’s never ending tour, I came across the introduction that he uses for all of his shows, thought I would share it for those who have never heard it. It really is a great a introduction and does a good job of trying to touch all of Dylan’s different moments over the past 50 years. It goes as follows. “Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the poet laureate of rock 'n' roll. The voice of the promise of the 60s counterculture. The guy who forced folk into bed with rock. Who donned makeup in the 70s and disappeared into a haze of substance abuse. Who emerged to find Jesus. Who was written off as a has-been by the end of the '80s, and who suddenly shifted gears releasing some of the strongest music of his career beginning in the late '90s. Ladies and gentlemen — Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan” I like this intro very much, but it comes as a bit of surprise that this is the intro that he uses. Only for the pure fact that Dylan always seems to try to down play who he is a muscican, and I don’t know why, but this intro certiantly takes credit for everything he has down. Maybe the reason why he feels so comftoable with it is because of how it came to be. It wasn’t written by him, or someone on his payroll, it was written in the Buffalo local news and Dylan seemed to like and decided to go with it.

Traveling WIlburys

The Traveling Wilburys is a fantastic super group that people often forget about. Although not on the same level as Cream of Blind Faith it still is in the conversation when people talk about super groups. The reason why this supper group is so important is because of the amount of amazing song writers that are involved. This includes Jeff Lynne from ELO, Roy Orbison, George Harrison of Beatles fame, Tom Petty and of course Bob Dylan. Unfortunately the band was only able to put together two albums due to the death of band mate Roy Orbison. The story of how they came together is very interesting. It so happens that Lynne and Orbison were meeting Harrison at Dylan’s home studio to record a track for Harrison’s new album. The entrance of Petty into the group was completely by chance as Harrison had left his guitar at Petty’s house earlier. The five of them enjoyed working together so much that they decided to make an album together. The first album The Traveling Wilburys: Volume One was meet with great response, included two number two hits “End of the Line” and “Handle with Care” and would go one to win the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Group of Duo in 1989. “Handle with Care” was the song the originally intended for Harrison’s Album and “End of the Line” is a great song in which everyone gets a verse except Petty, who sings the chorus, and Dylan who sings in harmony. After the death of Orbison they did try to release a new Album, purposely called The Traveling Wilburys: Volume Three but was not as big as a hit and hence the end of the short lived super group.

Recommended Readings

I recently wrote an article on some great articles from RollingStone that I think any Dylan fan should read. These would be the “Immortals”, “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, and “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. These are just three features in the magazine that I would recommend to someone. The cool thing about these articles is that not only do they have information on Dylan but also other great artist that anyone would like to read about. This would include the greatest like The Beatles, The Dead, Hendrix, Elvis, and so much more. Dylan got some great honors in these features. His song “Like A Rolling Stone” was voted the number greatest song of all time; a amazing honor and I can’t say that I disagree. Although not my personal favorite song, it is one of the best. When it came to the albums he got two in the top ten and only the Beatles had more albums than he had. Albums included Blonde on Blonde and Highway 61 Revisited just to name a few. Me personally I like to read things about Dylan that compliments him, it assures me that my obsession is justified. The most intriguing article is the one naming Dylan the second greatest artist of all time, again the Beatles beat him, but that is ok with me. The thing that I love about the article is that the Boss Bruce Springsteen writes it. This is just a few articles that RollingStone has written about Dylan and for the past ten years they have stood the test of time in my book. So if you want to read the full articles there are links on my website and a more in-depth review of the articles.