Althouse: "This is speed metal without the embarrassment of Spandex and junior high school devil worship."

November 10, 2022

"This is speed metal without the embarrassment of Spandex and junior high school devil worship."

Writes Bob Dylan, in "The Philosophy of Modern Song."

What recorded performance is he talking about? This:

18 comments:

pacwest said...: Not sure I understand the embarrassment tag.; 11/10/22, 8:35 AM
Amexpat said...: I'm half way through listening to the book and about half of the songs I never had heard of before. This was one of them. Thanks Mr. D for the introduction.; 11/10/22, 8:52 AM
gilbar said...: when i heard Kitty Wells' cover of the Social Distortion song Making Believe
i was surprized at how good it was.; 11/10/22, 8:53 AM
Levi Starks said...: That.
Is American music.; 11/10/22, 9:04 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Pacwest Dylan brought it up.; 11/10/22, 9:05 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Ran it through my daughter the metal fanatic and an expert on the subgenres and she concurs that it is indeed speed metal. So, there you have it.

(She's so metal that at a Testament/Exodus/Death Angel show earlier this year she took an oops turn while crowdsurfing and landed headfirst on the concrete. Metal people are good people though, and it probably helps that she's adorable, 120 pounds and 5'2", as the band saw the whole thing and instantly stopped the show, had security and the other fans get her backstage, and stood watch over her until the ambulance came. She was at the show with a new friend she'd just met but he found my number in her phone, called me, went to the hospital with her, and sat for hours until I assured him I was on the next flight out and it was ok to leave. She broke her shoulder and fractured her skull and had a pretty serious concussion, but received excellent care and recovered fully and is back to attending shows albeit no more crowdsurfing. The kindness of many strangers and near strangers that night kept her from experiencing longer term damage and what could have been a catastrophic injury - they found and fixed a small brain bleed - and I'm so grateful. Thank you for coming to my TED talk on the metal community.); 11/10/22, 9:16 AM
Narr said...: Bravo!

Magnificent start to my musical day. Thanks.; 11/10/22, 9:18 AM
Earnest Prole said...: Not sure I understand the embarrassment tag.

She posted it in anticipation of your comment.; 11/10/22, 9:35 AM
robother said...: At least where I grew up, in the 50s the lines between Country & Western, Pop and Rock n' Roll were not yet hard and fast on AM radio. (May have been similar in Duluth MN). Bob Wills' relentless style of fiddle playing (often backed by electric guitar) didn't seem that different from Jerry Lee Lewis' piano or (even later) Jimi Hendrix guitar.; 11/10/22, 9:59 AM
n.n said...: Emoting and hopping while rapping around the fire.; 11/10/22, 10:04 AM
Nice said...: My Barnes and Noble wants $40.00 for this in Hardcover. I don't listen to audio books, nor do I read on devices. Nor do I want to "read" about songs. I listen to songs, and I guess that's where my curiosity ends. Promotion for this was very misleading.......I thought this was a sort-of continuation of Chronicles Vol. 1----which I loved. Long overdue for a Chronicles Vol 2, 3 and so forth. But that's not what this is. When I listen to songs,I make my own interpretation of what I imagine was the case, and If I'm wrong, ----then I'll read about it in Chronicles Vol 2, 3, 4 etc. I want to read about Musicians and their lives, all the extraneous goings-on, not the nuts-and-bolts mechanics, and maybe one or two anecdotes thrown in to try to justify a $40.00 expenditure.

I actually went down to the Store, which was a fun excursion (there are some Bookstores that still exist) and skimmed it, was not impressed.

Let me know when Chronicles 2 comes out.; 11/10/22, 10:33 AM
donald said...: Jimmy Work wrote Making Believe.

That said, Social D does the absolute best version.

I’ve been dating a California girl who was in rehab with Mike Ness. He sold Heroin to other patients.; 11/10/22, 11:11 AM
Ted said...: I'm a fan of a lot of "modern bluegrass" musicians (Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek). But they never seem to be included in the country music establishment -- even though their music is much closer to country and folk roots than the overproduced stuff you hear on the CMA Awards. At the Grammys, this music is relegated to the "Americana" category -- which makes no sense when you realize that the term is also used in reference to Taylor Swift.; 11/10/22, 11:59 AM
PM said...: Always went early to get a good seat for Doc Watson. And Merle.; 11/10/22, 12:11 PM
Bill Peschel said...: Got the book from the library, and at odd times, I'll read an essay and listen to the song.

I love that Dylan's highlighting songs that dip into mystical areas, or highlight our roots (Marty Robbins' songs). I didn't see that there are songs that tap into the wellsprings that feed our religious fervor, fears of death, suspicions that the supernatural exists, or that we're bound in ways beyond our five senses.

And the pictures are beautiful, too. Very few (like Chuck Berry duckwalking) that I've seen before. I'll buy it used.; 11/10/22, 12:15 PM
Ted said...: "My Barnes and Noble wants $40.00 for this in Hardcover."

--It's currently $27.07 on Amazon. Love 'em or hate 'em, they offer good discounts (at least until all their competitors are out of business).; 11/10/22, 1:34 PM
Saint Croix said...: "This is speed metal without the embarrassment of Spandex and junior high school devil worship."

When I was in seventh grade my best friend bailed from the Van Halen concert because his mom said it was "devil music." And I said, with absolute certainty and moral derision, "Van Halen is not devil music! That's their last name. And David Lee Roth is Jewish. Come on!"

And we had a theological fight over "Running With the Devil."

"It's a fookin' metaphor!"

Looking back on it, I'd have to agree they were wearing Spandex, and we were in junior high.

What saved me, of course, was this movie.; 11/10/22, 2:32 PM
traditionalguy said...: Bob’s magic lyrics won him the Nobel but his music roots were In Buddy Holly, Ralph Stanley and Joan Baez.; 11/11/22, 10:20 AM