comments on the dylan-mitchell spat

http://flavorwire.com/85781/folk-face-off-joni-mitchell-vs-bob-dylan/comment-page-1#comment-27800



no need to get nasty with mitchell. she's done more damage to herself than to bob. i don't believe in sacred cows so i respect her for speaking her mind against an icon. she had some good points, but ultimately, she's incorrect. dylan clearly is guilty of plagiarism and he has invited the charge. sure, you can call it bob being sly...but it still invites the charge, so that's his fault. however, to reduce him to the title of "plagiarist" as if he's nothing BUT that is a gross error in judgement, and one which i'm sure she regrets. huge dylan fan by the way. even if he has committed this "sin", he's in a line of work in which it would be redundant and well nigh impossible to credit every source that he's using or borrowing or stealing from, and so even if he HAD credited the Japanese author, and the Southern poet in L%T and MT and other such "sly" takes (which to me, are actually enjoyable and actually serve to enhance the work, from an academic standpoint, he would fail the "proper citation" test throughout the 60s, 70s, and on up to today. perhaps it can be argued that he chose the best artistic route, which is: remain silent and enigmatic. surprise your investigative listeners. after all, he's not an academician, but a musician who has persistently explored, mined, and expanded on roots music.

let's hope he and mitchell patch things up. i agree with the person who said that the only one truly open to criticism in this case is the interviewer. how could he not follow that up with questions for clarification?

by the way, dylan is guilty also of (almost) trashing an iconic artist's work to his own shame: he recently praised johnny cash's early works at the expense of his later works. i vehemently disagree with his assessment of his late works. for my money, there are very few songs in the dylan catalog that reach the achievement of "the man comes around".

again, you dylan fan's, don't get nasty with joni.

--from possibly the biggest dylan fan under age 40 as of 2010... (wink-wink)

Message to Tiger Woods

My heart goes out to you and your family. If you meant what you said in your statement, then I think there's a lot of hope for all of you. I say this b/c sometimes we say the thing that is expected of us, but not because we believe it. But if you do really believe in the values that you say you felt short of, then, with God's help, and your strong resolve and honest humility, you and your family can get through this intact. No one is perfect. It won't be easy, but you can come out of this a better person. I really believe that. Hope to see you and your wife together smiling again. Know that we are all frail and need God's help to stay on the right path. Most of all, I hope you allow yourself to be reached by the living God through all of this. I wish you the best. You give sports fans in this country a lot to cheer about. May you know His Peace in the middle of the storm. May true Repentance lead to true Forgiveness and Reconciliation. May Joy return to your family. I know you are also beloved son as well as a husband and father, and that you've let your parents down. But I imagine even your own dear mom didn't perceive you as perfect before all this came out. There has only been one perfect Son who got it all right. May you hear His Call. He can bear your shame and your guilt. He can give you what this world can never give, and what you and your family, and all families, so desperately need.

--Love and Support from Texas!

Tell tale signs

http://www.landorcom.com/index.php/article/it/2009-01-28/18033.html

Great article. You encapsulate his resurgence in the 80's and 90s very well. I always take exception to calling all of the 80's a fallow period since, to my mind, some of his finest songs were written in that decade, and they appear in the Gospel trilogy, and in Infidels. And how can we forget Brownsville Girl--from Knocked out Loaded? Yes, in Knocked out Loaded and Down in the Groove, he had lost his way, agreed. At Empire Burlesque, not all is lost either, though clearly he had lost his way in terms of how to reach his audience, I'm sure the rejection from the Gospel years was also a trauma. How else to explain what they did to When The Nigh Comes Falling From the Sky? A great song. So no doubt, commercially and even production-wise, he had lost his way, but again, there are quite of few great works in there, in terms of songs. In fact, as good as or better than 60's material. Now why would someone chime in just to say that your review is late? Yikes. Agree with a lot of your review. I find the live selections questionable, with the exception of High Water, which closes out Disc 1 in fabulous fashion. Disc 2 continues the excellence of Disc 1 with its first 5 tracks, then it feels spotty after that, although I do like the inclusion of Cross the Green Mountain and the Lonesome River Duet to close out the 2 disc set. I think the pricing of the 3 disc set is a joke on the whole bootleg concept in these days of illegal downloads, etc. It's like Dylan is forcing them to be bootlegs b/c very few would be willing to pay that price for the 3rd. So in essence, disc 3, if not the entire volume, becomes pirated and bootlegged, loved and stolen, as in love and theft.

Fight! It's not too" late via words from John McCain, Democrat

Come on you know he's more of a Democrat, and a patriotic one at that. (Becoming rarer and rarer. JFK was a patriot too.) The other guy -- a closet Marxist who has little appreciation for our Constitution, you know-- that thing he's supposed to defend--and who's also allied himself with America haters of all stripes....Does someone like that deserve to hold the highest office? Search for your heart America.


From his speech at the RNC:

I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God.

If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.

I'm going to fight for my cause every day as your President. I'm going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I'm an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.

Fight for what's right for our country.

Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.

Fight for our children's future.

Fight for justice and opportunity for all.

Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.

Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.

Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God Bless you.

More thoughts on the fake messiah aka BHO via Bob Dylan lyrics

God bless America.

From Dignity from Tell Tale Signs: "The soul of a nation is under the knife".

Man Of Peace By Bob Dylan

Look out your window, baby, there's a scene you'd like to catch,
The band is playing "Dixie," a man got his hand outstretched.
Could be the Fuhrer
Could be the local priest.
You know sometimes
Satan comes as a man of peace.

He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue,
He knows every song of love that ever has been sung.
Good intentions can be evil,
Both hands can be full of grease.
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.

Well, first he's in the background, then he's in the front,
Both eyes are looking like they're on a rabbit hunt.
Nobody can see through him,
No, not even the Chief of Police.
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.

thoughts on "the messiah" -- the fake one- via Bob Dylan lyrics

Unbelievable by Bob Dylan

It's unbelievable, it's strange but true,
It's inconceivable it could happen to you.
You go north and you go south
Just like bait in the fish's mouth.
Ya must be livin' in the shadow of some kind of evil star.
It's unbelievable it would get this far.

It's undeniable what they'd have you to think,
It's indescribable it can drive you to drink.
They said it was the land of milk and honey,
now they say it's the land of money.
Who ever thought they could ever make that stick.
It's unbelievable you can get this rich this quick.

Bridge #1:
Every head is so dignified, every moon is so sanctified,
Every urge is so satisfied as long as you're with me.
All the silver, all the gold, all the sweethearts you can hold
That don't come back with stories untold, are hanging on a tree.

It's unbelievable like a lead balloon,
It's so impossible to even learn the tune.
Kill that beast and feed that swine,
Scale that wall and smoke that vine,
Feed that horse and saddle up the drum.
It's unbelievable, the day would finally come.

still the same

one of the best songs from any era in rock.i love the gospel touch to it.it's what lifts it.i can understand why it touches us--there's something in here that's just moving.the refrain:"still the same" has a universal appeal.what's interesting,now that i'm seeing all the lyrics, is that it's kind of a bitter song about a relationship,yet it's so much more 2 us-it's moving and makes us think of people we love,one of those songs that is greater than it ever intended to be b/c of its soulfulness and that melody

Changing of the guards

I've just listened to "Changing of the Guards" with only one ear piece in. Not even stereo. Nearly brought me to tears. I was very moved. It's magnificent when you discover deep treasures in overlooked music. This is not supposed to be one of his good albums.

Reminds me of when I first heard Gorecki's Symphony number three on a cheap one-speaker transistor radio from Radio Shack--at low volume no less, because I was at work, and was mesmerized by it. Went out and got the CD. Ah, the days of CD's. I will miss the feeling of possessing a CD and feeling like you owned something, like you earned something. I remember the worry and fear I would feel when I thought that I was buying something that would turn out to be crap. What a waste! The CD was more valuable than gold to me.

Now I still value the music itself of course, but it's somehow divorced from the monetary sacrifice that it was once intricately tied to. I have myself to blame for that one...

Having said all that--would I give up my iPod? Probably not. Incidentally, I listened to Symphony No. 3 just last night while doing the dishes on my iPod.

Foolishness

I have turned away from my foolishness. The severity and bitterness of my initial disappointment I can't change. But it feels distant now. We are just praying for a healthy baby--that's what really matters. I fell in love with my 2 daughters and I will fall in love with daughter number 3. I will be thankful and joy will be in us.