"Danny [Lanois] asked me who I’d been listening to recently, and I told him Ice-T. He was surprised, but he shouldn’t have been. A few years earlier, Kurtis Blow, a rapper from Brooklyn who had a hit out called “The Breaks,” had asked me to be on one of his records and he familiarized me with that stuff, Ice-T, Public Enemy, N.W.A., Run-D.M.C. These guys definitely weren’t standing around bullshitting. They were beating drums, tearing it up, hurling horses over cliffs. They were all poets and they knew what was going on." — Bob Dylan, in his biography Chronicles, Volume 1
As Dangerous Minds wrote, "It’s not terrible by any stretch but it is surely slight; the tracks true virtues all flow from Blow."
You can hear Dylan (sort of) rapping at the beginning of the song, and at 6:12.
WikiLeaks has just released the the "Kissinger Cables," a collection of over 1.7 million pieces of diplomatic communications. One billion words generated from 1973-76, when Henry Kissinger served as our Cold War Secretary of State/ Détente during the slow spinning down of the Soviet Union. There is so much material here that you can find almost anything— like, say, the Russian thirst for soft rock. This new release is five times the size of Cablegate, the original WikiLeaks dump published incrementally from 2010-2011. I billion words is roughly the size of 125 novels (averaging 80,000 word per novel).
I've only read a few of the articles, but one of the more interesting threads in the release is the Russian thirst for American "soft rock:" Search for "Joni Mitchell," for example, "and you'll find communications between the U.S. embassy in Moscow and the State Department, asking for more Mitchell and Don McLean in Russian lives — and to a lesser extent Neil Young — because, well, that's the Russians wanted in January 1975." -(From TheAtlanticWire.com).
Images from cables in the release:
Somehow, The Eagles and Jackson Brown did not make the list, although this cable seems to hint that they would be perfect Rock Ambassadors.
This is a most bittersweet video. Somewhere between the time when they recorded this originally, and when they shot the video, Lefty Wilbury a/k/a Roy Orbison, passed on (his name is a tribute to country great Lefty Frizzell). This video shows Orbison's guitar rocking in a chair as the rest of the group play, followed by a brief shot focused on a framed picture of Roy.
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I put up the video for this song last month, as performed by Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Neil Young, Roger McGuinn and Eric Clapton. But I didn't post the lyrics. With Dylan, the lyrics are key. And these lyrics are magnificent. They are probably somewhere up there in Dylan's ten best. . .which puts them, surely, in the top 20 for all rock songs, ever.
So, once again, here is the BobFest video, along with the lyrics.
My Back Pages by Bob Dylan
Crimson flames tied through my ears Rollin' high and mighty traps Pounced with fire on flaming roads Using ideas as my maps "We'll meet on edges, soon," said I Proud 'neath heated brow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth "Rip down all hate," I screamed Lies that life is black and white Spoke from my skull. I dreamed Romantic facts of musketeers Foundationed deep, somehow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
Girls' faces formed the forward path From phony jealousy To memorizing politics Of ancient history Flung down by corpse evangelists Unthought of, though, somehow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
A self-ordained professor's tongue Too serious to fool Spouted out that liberty Is just equality in school "Equality," I spoke the word As if a wedding vow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand At the mongrel dogs who teach Fearing not that I'd become my enemy In the instant that I preach My pathway led by confusion boats Mutiny from stern to bow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats Too noble to neglect Deceived me into thinking I had something to protect Good and bad, I define these terms Quite clear, no doubt, somehow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
Love Minus Zero/No Limits one of Bob's great love songs, is performed at the excellent Concert for Bangladesh (and film)...not a bad backup band: George Harrison, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, and Ringo on drums.
Love Minus Zero/No Limit by Bob Dylan
My love she speaks like silence, Without ideals or violence, She doesn't have to say she's faithful, Yet she's true, like ice, like fire. People carry roses, Make promises by the hours, My love she laughs like the flowers, Valentines can't buy her.
In the dime stores and bus stations, People talk of situations, Read books, repeat quotations, Draw conclusions on the wall. Some speak of the future, My love she speaks softly, She knows there's no success like failure And that failure's no success at all.
The cloak and dagger dangles, Madams light the candles. In ceremonies of the horsemen, Even the pawn must hold a grudge. Statues made of match sticks, Crumble into one another, My love winks, she does not bother, She knows too much to argue or to judge.
The bridge at midnight trembles, The country doctor rambles, Bankers' nieces seek perfection, Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring. The wind howls like a hammer, The night blows cold and rainy, My love she's like some raven At my window with a broken wing.
Well, if you're going to make a commercial, this is a lot more interesting than selling Chevrolets or Bud Light! This commercial is an interesting mix of the sensuous and sinister. . .
I don't know where this rather odd film clip comes from, but it does include Bob Dylan playing one of his masterwork songs. It may even be from the Pennebaker film.
I forgot one Bob Dylan song....when I posted my list of favorite Dylan songs. . .the early, heartbreaking I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Met). Whew. Here is the tune, and lyrics:
I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) I can't understand, She let go of my hand An' left me here facing the wall. I'd sure like t' know Why she did go, But I can't get close t' her at all. Though we kissed through the wild blazing nighttime, She said she would never forget. But now mornin's clear, It's like I ain't here, She just acts like we never have met.
It's all new t' me, Like some mystery, It could even be like a myth. Yet it's hard t' think on, That she's the same one That last night I was with. From darkness, dreams're deserted, Am I still dreamin' yet? I wish she'd unlock Her voice once an' talk, 'Stead of acting like we never have met.
If she ain't feelin' well, Then why don't she tell 'Stead of turnin' her back t' my face? Without any doubt, She seems too far out For me t' return t' her chase. Though the night ran swirling an' whirling, I remember her whispering yet. But evidently she don't An' evidently she won't, She just acts like we never have met.
If I didn't have t' guess, I'd gladly confess T' anything I might've tried. If I was with 'er too long Or have done something wrong, I wish she'd tell me what it is, I'll run an' hide. Though her skirt it swayed as a guitar played, Her mouth was watery and wet. But now something has changed For she ain't the same, She just acts like we never have met.
I'm leavin' today, I'll be on my way Of this I can't say very much. But if you want me to, I can be just like you An' pretend that we never have touched. An' if anybody asks me, "Is it easy to forget?" I'll say, "It's easily done, You just pick anyone, An' pretend that you never have met!"
I too was moved when I read that "Maggie's Farm" was BarackObama's favorite Bob Dylan song. Wow. Of all the songs he could have picked. . .here is a post from the Deadhead section on Barack's website:
I Ain't Gonna Work on Maggie's Farm No More By Jonathan Juillerat - Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:07 am EDT Also listed in: Deadheads For Obama
One of the watershed moments for me over the last few months was when I was reading the Rolling Stone interview with Obama, and they asked him if he had any favorite Bob Dylan songs. My jaw hit the floor when he said “Maggie’s Farm” and claimed “it speaks to me”. I mean, there are about fifty safe answers to that question, and that isn’t one of them. At that moment I realized that this guy actually has the guts to face down whatever is in front of us as a country. Since then, for inspiration, I’ve listened to that song every time I get complacent or think that I can’t make a difference. And damn it…I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.
If you have the song, I recommend a listen to get you fired up for the next several weeks. If you don't have it, just give the lyrics a good read for some and inspiration.
Maggie's Farm
by Bob Dylan
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. Well, I wake in the morning, Fold my hands and pray for rain. I got a head full of ideas That are drivin' me insane. It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor. I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more. No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more. Well, he hands you a nickel, He hands you a dime, He asks you with a grin If you're havin' a good time, Then he fines you every time you slam the door. I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more. No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more. Well, he puts his cigar Out in your face just for kicks. His bedroom window It is made out of bricks. The National Guard stands around his door. Ah, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more. No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more. Well, she talks to all the servants About man and God and law. Everybody says She's the brains behind pa. She's sixty-eight, but she says she's twenty-four. I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. Well, I try my best To be just like I am, But everybody wants you To be just like them. They say sing while you slave and I just get bored. I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. ---o0o---
This video is a gnarly 1966 performance of Like A Rolling Stone in City Hall, Newcastle. Dylan is at his screaming best with a catalog of facial contortions. Some members of The Band are in his band that night. All I can see for sure are RickDanko (for one second) and Robbie Robertson. I know Levon Helm quit that tour, because he hated all the booing.
This is one of those YouTube pseudo-videos...a song, with a photomontage. In this case, the song is great, and the photos they used are mostly choice. (Lyrics follow). I want You is one of my top ten favorite Dylan songs...
The guilty undertaker sighs, The lonesome organ grinder cries, The silver saxophones say I should refuse you. The cracked bells and washed-out horns Blow into my face with scorn, But it's not that way, I wasn't born to lose you. I want you, I want you, I want you so bad, Honey, I want you.
The drunken politician leaps Upon the street where mothers weep And the saviors who are fast asleep, They wait for you. And I wait for them to interrupt Me drinkin' from my broken cup And ask me to Open up the gate for you. I want you, I want you, I want you so bad, Honey, I want you.
Now all my fathers, they've gone down True love they've been without it. But all their daughters put me down 'Cause I don't think about it.
Well, I return to the Queen of Spades And talk with my chambermaid. She knows that I'm not afraid To look at her. She is good to me And there's nothing she doesn't see. She knows where I'd like to be But it doesn't matter. I want you, I want you, I want you so bad, Honey, I want you.
Now your dancing child with his Chinese suit, He spoke to me, I took his flute. No, I wasn't very cute to him, Was I? But I did it, though, because he lied Because he took you for a ride And because time was on his side And because I . . . I want you, I want you, I want you so bad, Honey, I want you. ---o0o---
An odd pairing, with Bob and the Stones around the turn of the century, playing one of Bob's greatest tunes.
Like A Rolling Stone, by Bob Dylan
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? ---o0o---
It's not easy to pick 20 tunes from the hundreds Bob Dylan has written and sung, but you can't go wrong with any of these songs.
Maggie's Farm Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again I Want You I Don't Believe You (She acts like we never have met) My Back Pages Like A Rolling Stone Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You It's All Over Now Baby Blue All Along The Watchtower If Not For You When I Paint My Masterpiece Subterranean Homesick Blues Gates Of Eden It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) Love Minus Zero/No Limits Hurricane It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry Ballad Of A Thin Man Highway 61 Revisited John Wesley Harding Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest Lily, Rosemary, And The Jack Of Hearts Idiot Wind Tangled Up In Blue Knockin' On Heaven's Door Not Dark Yet George Jackson Only A Hobo Sign On The Window New Morning Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands Temporary Like Achilles You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go Shelter From The Storm Positively 4th Street ---o0o---
This song, from late in Roy Orbison's short life, was one of the finest The Wilburys recorded. And Roy is absolutely at the top of his game. It's one of my favorite Orbison tunes ever. It's a sweet, poppy, rock and C/W tinged gem. Thank you Roy!
Not Alone Any More
You always said that I’d be back again, that I’d come running to you in the end. I thought that you were on your own, (sha la la la, sha la la la) and now I find you're not alone. (sha la la la) (Not alone) I’ll see you through the rain, (not alone) through the heartache and pain, (not alone) it hurts like never before, you're not alone anymore.
You always said that I would know some day just how it feels when your love's gone away. I let you down, I let you go, (sha la la la, sha la la la) I lost you, how was I to know? (sha la la la) (Not alone) I see you through the rain, (not alone) through the heartache and pain, (not alone) it hurts like never before, you're not alone anymore.
I never knew I could feel this way, I never could see past yesterday. You feel that everything is gone, (sha la la la, sha la la la) I feel it too, you're not alone. (sha la la la) (Not alone) I’ll see you through the rain, (not alone) through the heartache and pain, (not alone) it hurts like never before, you're not alone, you're not alone, you're not alone anymore, any more, any more.
Click on the YouTube player to hear Bob Dylan's Lily, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts. I've always liked this shambling, long winded fable of Bob's from his great Blood On The Tracks album.
Lily, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts by Bob Dylan
The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall, The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall. The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down, Anyone with any sense had already left town. He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.
He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said, Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads. Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin, "Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?" Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts.
Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs, Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair. Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide, A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside. Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts.
Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine, He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine. With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place, He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste. But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.
Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town, She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown. She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear, "Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear. He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts.
"I know I've seen that face before," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself, "Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf." But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him, Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts.
Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child, She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled. She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere. But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts.
The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined, The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind. It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king. No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts.
Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife, She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife. She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide, Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died. She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts.
Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away. "Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must have known it would someday. Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint, I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint." Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.
The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair. "There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air." He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk, As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk. There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts.
Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch, She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much. "I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere, But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear. Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts.
No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick, The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked. And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised, Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes. She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.
Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said that they got off with quite a haul. In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground For one more member who had business back in town. But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.
The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black, Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back. And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink, The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink. The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts.
The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair," Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair. She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw, Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law. But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts. ---o0o---
