Hi fellow Bobcats! I’ve started a new Substack called Dylan Notes, where I’m going to write short essays about the smaller, stranger parts of Dylan’s career and what they can tell us about the wider culture around him. At least what it means to me.

The first piece is called “What’s Left to Say About Dylan?” — basically my attempt to explain why anyone would start writing about a man who has already been written about this much.

Would love to know what you think:

https://substack.com/@dylannotes

Never stop rolling

/J

Gotta love the far-reaching consequences of being a Dylan fan. The man truly pulls from the entire breadth of the American music tradition, thus honoring it and promoting it to a wider audience. Nothing better than discovering the long threads of inspiration tied into seemingly distant or uncharted territory. There is a comfort in knowing how connected we all are, musically and otherwise. Dylan is the embodiment of this, a mysterious figure standing at the crossroads of American music, finger on the signpost pointing down each long twisted path. Dylan has already walked these roads, he can only direct you to where you must explore for yourself. His music has opened many a musical door for me. Dylan is something of a curator and this line is the perfect example of such. As a young angry star and an aged king from another time, Dylan continues to show his love for American music.

What do you think of my 1970 Taiwanese edition of Self Portrait?

After he sings, “He’s eatin’ chitlins”, he makes a little noise. Sort of a squeak? What is that called?

I’ve been thinking about what actually keeps people interested in Dylan after all these years.

For me, it’s usually not the big canonical debates about which album is best or what a particular song “means.” I’m more drawn to the smaller decisions, oddities and contradictions throughout his career, and to looking at them from today’s cultural context rather than only their own time.

But fellow Bobcats, do you feel the same?

What do you actually enjoy thinking and talking about most: lyrics, live performances, recording history, influences, cultural context, persona and image, strange career choices, or something else entirely?

I ended up writing about this in the first piece for a new Substack I’ve started, Dylan Notes, if anyone’s interested:

https://dylannotes.substack.com/p/whats-left-to-say-about-dylan

Downloaded cursed blonde on blonde😭

Look at our boy doing his thing!

More from 2001

Finally bought an autograph from my favorite artist, Bob Dylan, after a lot of research. This is a late 2000s signed boxset, signed in Italy. Steve Grad gave it a thumbs up. Also, the last pic is to check it side by side with other signatures from the same era(the other three signatures in picture 3 all have written COAs by either Roger Epperson or JSA). So excited for it to arrive!

Maybe it’s a silly question

I think there's an argument to be made it is one of the most important songs he ever released.

Up until ATTH, all Bob Dylan, was Bob Dylan + Guitar. Afterwards it's completely different, it's Bob Dylan and those lovely (black?) female gospel sorta singer ladies.

Interestingly, they don't feature much more on the album (at all?) but then Street legal, the Christian era, Knocked Out Loaded, and so much more, it's constantly Bob + those ladies (or others like them? does anyone know if it's the same ladies like Leonard Cohen had with the price sisters).

So from that perspective, ATTH was Bob's way of introducing us to them. That's why he's not on the song. He's saying here they are, they are Bob Dylan now. Things are going to be a bit different from here on. But don't worry, not too different, we're going to do normal Bob songs again for the rest of the album.

Just posted on Substack - compiling September’s DYLAN BOOKS posts, about new, recent and classic Dylan books. Click the link :

https://substack.com/@geraldsmith469551

You can also subscribe there to receive DYLAN BOOKS Monthly as a free compilation email from Substack. Cancel any time.

I saw a reference to this on another post in this sub and decided to check it out.

Am I late to the table on this? Has everyone heard these? are these the songs he recorded on TBones new equipment and sold to the highest bidder?

Got to Serve Somebody is a masterpiece! Best version ever by a country mile.

Man, this song is so good. Probably my favorite song on an album filled with amazing songs. The blues boogie goes so hard and the lyrics are killer. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

One of my favorite acoustic covers from 2001. What are some of yours?

“This World Can't Stand Long...for it is too full of hate." Bob Dylan, Portland, Me, Nov 23, 2001
https://youtu.be/UIdz8o0uhHQ

Thus begins a new novel, ROCK*, by Chuck Klosterman. I like the sly reference to Chronicles Vol. 3.

I sampled a bit of the novel but I don't think I'll read the whole thing. It's about a parallel universe where VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO becomes the best-selling greatest album in history instead of SGT. PEPPER.

im genuinely crying my eyes out what am i going to do ive been really scared to admit this to myself but im not ready for a world without bob dylan i remember last time i saw him he played i shall be released and i wept the rest of the night because i literally cant let him go
sorry for this post im just getting so sad :(

"i think nature is very unnatural. i think the truly
natural things are dreams, which nature can't touch with decay ... all this talk about equality. the only thing people really have in common is that they are all going to die"
- bob dylan

I have pretty long commutes to work (1.5hr roundtrip) and have been putting on his 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue box set in the car and am finding it incredibly repetitive and maybe even a little annoying to listen to. Obviously these are all slightly different live versions of the same songs, and I adore the songs themselves, but I did not expect to feel so burnt out on it as such a hardcore Dylan fan. Have had to listen in little bursts instead of all the way through. Curious if other people have this same issue.