September 3, 2013

Rolling Stone has the strength to take another shot at answering the most famous question it ever asked about Bob Dylan.

"What is this shit?"
Now, 43 years later, Rolling Stone is revisiting the time period around Self [Portrait] — and some of Dylan's most misunderstood music ever — with a cover story by Mikal Gilmore probing why Dylan burned down his career at the peak of his fame to save himself.
With the help of Dylan's new box set Another Self Portrait — which presents raw, unvarnished tapes from the Self Portrait sessions....

11 comments:

sierra said...

In that picture, Dylan looks a lot like Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Heartless Aztec said...

That time frame for Bob's music gave us the incomparable "If Not for You." Whatever else he did during this period of tearing down his persona and sound it is wonderfully redeemed with this one song. And kudos to the producer Bob Johnston who layered in the xylophone... I never thought I could love a song as much as "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again". I was wrong.

Heartless Aztec said...

Also read somewhere was that Bob was sick of Columbia Records and was just giving them a record of "shit" to full fill his contractual obligations to them. Look how quickly he shifted gears and direction once Columbia Records was out of the way.

MadisonMan said...

Dylan Schmylan. What music has he written lately?

Why doesn't Rolling Stone put someone worthy on the cover, like Zayn?

Crunchy Frog said...

I've been asking "What is this shit?" about Dylan's music for 30 years, and have yet to get a decent response.

I think it's a case of being born in the wrong decade to appreciate it. You really did have to be there, and I wasn't. So it goes.

sonicfrog said...

"What is this shit?"

You Baby Boomers... You So Crazy!

Smilin' Jack said...

Rolling Stone has the strength to take another shot at answering the most famous question it ever asked about Bob Dylan.

"What is this shit?"

Now, 43 years later, Rolling Stone is revisiting the time period around Self [Portrait]— and some of Dylan's most misunderstood music ever....



Actually, I think that was intended as a rhetorical question. And whoever asked it had a pretty clear understanding of Dylan's "music."

Unknown said...

Sorry Crunchy Frog, that is not correct. I'm 24 and I listen to Dylan more than just about any other artist. He's my favorite and has been since I was 18 or 19.

Jeff Vaca said...

Grail Marcus, who wrote the famous line and no doubt meant it (the entire review is not hard to find), also wrote the liner notes for the new compilation that led to the most recent RS cover story. It's a fascinating read, and raises what I've always thought was a fascinating question - are critics allowed to change their minds about their original reviews, and if they do, what does that say about the critic?

Unknown said...

Ann, you Dylanophile.

2 MUST reads to understand Dylan

● Clive Davis Autobiography from 2012

● Robert Hilburn's (best music critic ever) 2004 piece on Dylan finally explaining how he writes: Rock's Enigmatic Poet Opens a Long-Private Door

Unknown said...

Ann, you Dylanophile.

2 MUST reads to understand Dylan

● Clive Davis Autobiography from 2012

● Robert Hilburn's (best music critic ever) 2004 piece on Dylan finally explaining how he writes: Rock's Enigmatic Poet Opens a Long-Private Door