"... in a swirl of chain-lit Camels cigarette smoke, his bony, long-nailed fingers tapping the words out on my stolen canary-colored Saturday Evening Post copy paper... Marvin Gaye sang 'Can I Get A Witness'’ from the six-foot speakers of my hi-fi in the room next to where he was, with Bob getting up from the typewriter each time the record finished in order to put the needle back at the start.”
Said Al Aronowitz, quoted in
"Bob Dylan’s Draft of Lyrics, Once Tossed in Trash, Sells for $500,000/Two pages of lyrics, written in the kitchen of a pioneering rock ‘n’ roll journalist, offer glimpses into the Nobel Prize-winning musician’s writing process" (NYT).
Imagine writing one song while listening to another song — quite intentionally and through 6-foot speakers.
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To paraphrase Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom (1984), [That] "belongs in a museum!" That scrap would be a nice addition to the R&R Hall of Fame too but for the money...
Berkeley Heights NJ was my stomping grounds from 1972-1977, ages 4-9. Did not write any enduring songs there, but did see my first Playboy magazine.
And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time
Good times, good times.
"Imagine writing one song while listening to another song — quite intentionally and through 6-foot speakers."
Ok. Now what?
" 'He never threw anything away,' said Aronowitz’s son, who has spent years sifting through some 250 boxes containing his father’s personal collection, a time capsule of 1960s music and writing."
So for hoarders who are unwilling to get rid of those massive piles of old papers, in case they might be valuable someday -- turns out you could be right!
Imagine writing one song while listening to another song — quite intentionally
Yep. Done that.
Imagine paying half a million for a scrap of paper with lyrics typewrittne on it.
Hope its signed or something. Otherwise, who knows if the guy simply typed the lyrics himself and tried to sell it...
It's covered with Dylan's handwritten lyric changes. Also, it's on the colored copy paper that was used by the Saturday Evening Post, where the journalist worked, in the 1960s. And the journalist recounted everything that happened that day in a newspaper column published in 1973. I don't think anyone could replicate all that believably -- but if they did, more power to them.
I will never hear "play a song for me" the same way again.
Big speakers were emblematic of penis size in the 1960's.
In the early '70s, one of my techie friends had Magnaplaners, taller than a man.
We all know you idolize Dylan but, come on already. He was good but not John Prine good. Take another listen to "Sam Stone" and listen to some amazing lyrics.
For some reason, Joni Mitchell has a real bug up her backside re: Bob Dylan. Don’t know the details…
Althouse writes, "Imagine writing one song while listening to another song — quite intentionally and through 6-foot speakers."
Later. Maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm trying, with difficulty, to imagine "Mr. Tambourine Man" constituting a song.
Althouse writes, "Imagine writing one song while listening to another song — quite intentionally and through 6-foot speakers."
That either speaks to Bob Dylan's powers of concentration, or to the less than compelling power of Marvin Gaye's music. Mere noise can be filter by the mind quite effortlessly.
Unless I’m misunderstanding, Dylan didn’t write a SONG while listening to another song, only the LYRICS
"play a song for me in the jingle jangle mornin'"
I always heard it as Mr Tangerine man. Sort of a Chiquita Banana song.
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