Saturday, October 23, 2010

Indie,Folk,Rock and Alternative: Bob Dylan


The first time I heard a Bob Dylan song , I remember thinking to myself, "Man! thats a horrible voice to sing in!" , but just then the lyrics began to sink in and I realised that I had stumbled upon the beautiful world of Folk and Indie Music.
"How many roads must a man walk down,
before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove fly,
before she sleeps in the sand?
And how many times must a cannon ball fly,
before they're forever banned?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
the answer is blowing in the wind".

You have to be a complete numbskull-mass-produced-pop-worshiping-ass-hole if you have never heard "Blowing in the Wind", please don't mind my saying that, cause I used to be one, that is, until I heard Bob.
Another Bob Dylan classic has to be "Mr. Tambourine Man" , many in India might remember it from the Hutch advertisement from the early days. 
The jingling-jangling guitar, that mystical voice, coupled with that fantastic imagery immediately transports one to his world. Many regard it as the beginning of the Folk-Rock genre!
Now, Bob Dylan is regarded as the most prolific and brilliant songwriters of his time, a fact proved by the numerousness covers of his songs performed by artists ranging from The Byrds' cover of Mr. Tambourine Man

to Jimi Hendrix's cover of All Along The Watchtower (My personal favourite, I hate the rest of the covers)
These covers, at the time, were actually able to rank higher than Dylan's original!!!
They actually topped the Billboard rankings!

Even My Chemical Romance covered Desolation Row !!!

His influence doesn't end here, not by a long shot!!!

Like A Rolling Stone, is the song that killed many of Dylan's original fans (of the Folk genre) and won him new ones when he went electric at the New Port Folk Festival.
The song is like a story told through the words of a poet, you have to listen to the lyrics really carefully to fully appreciate it.

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?
People’d call, say, “Beware doll, you’re bound to fall”
You thought they were all kiddin’ you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin’ out
Now you don’t talk so loud
Now you don’t seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you’re gonna have to get used to it
You said you’d never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He’s not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain’t no good
You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain’t it hard when you discover that
He really wasn’t where it’s at
After he took from you everything he could steal

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They’re drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you’d better lift your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
And yes, the Rolling Stones did cover it, and no, they did not take their name from this song but from Rollin Stone by Muddy Waters.

Almost every Bob Dylan song has a story, and I could go on forever. So if I have been able to interest you even slightly in this great legend please do check out the Wikipedia page.

You might also want to check out.


and


Perhaps the best songs that present the heights to which Dylan reached. 

    

6 comments:

  1. finally an update! i so remember hearing tambourine man in that hutch ad... you should listen to this band - "the felice brothers"... surprisingly bob dylan-esqe.

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  2. finally! someone left a comment!!!
    I will, and im sending new dvds , they should reach you by Wednesday.

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  3. Dude nice to finally see a update had been wondering if its gonna come or not. btw check the Mr. Tambourine Man ka vid it is just something else in the middle.

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  4. Dont fuck with me, you really do read my blog???

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  5. Hey, I attempted to email you pertaining to this post but aren?t able to reach you. Please e-mail me when get a moment. Thanks.

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  6. @Anononymous: how am i supposed to contact you when i dont know you?

    ReplyDelete