'No direction home' Bob Dylan....

[Gomez]

...just blew my mind.

[Blackbird]

... And part 2 is today!

Music related = Miscellaneous.

[Scottie Johnson]

I loved the footage when he first started playing electric. Just the upward camera shots of Bob singing were great. Then seeing Rick Danko alive and healthy almost brought a tear to my eye. His bass sounded huge and the guitars were aggressive. Just awesome.

[BurningSkies]

Yeah, I really enjoyed it, and I've never been a huge fan. I loved all the old folk footage and the interview time with Clancy, etc. Good fun!

[Tingly]

Not a big fan either, but that was SENSATIONAL!

[Gomez]

Him in the limo with subglasses on yelling out the window 'Stop booing me!' is really amazing.

[BurningSkies]

I have to give him credit for standing up for what he wanted to do even when the crowd was thrashing him repeadedly every night.

[dougjwray]

Awesome artist, awesome film.

[Mon Rominee]

Just bought it on DVD, 18 bucks!

[dougjwray]

I'm going to have to get a copy, too.
When I listen to/watch/ponder an artist like Dylan, it takes me outside of the technique/theory/gear stuff, and slaps me in the face and pulls my coat and reminds me about ART. Very important to me.
(Sorry to be so flowery, but it's true.)
I consider myself very lucky and proud to have played professionally at Folk City, the Bitter End, the Other End, and other Greenwich Village folk landmarks (even though I first did it around 1980, a bit later). (I'm still doing it, but obviously the scene has changed, and those places are more like neighborhood bars now.)

[Mon Rominee]

Originally Posted by dougjwray

When I listen to/watch/ponder an artist like Dylan, it takes me outside of the technique/theory/gear stuff, and slaps me in the face and pulls my coat and reminds me about ART. Very important to me.

My exact take on music. See the "fancy stuff" thread.

[Blackbird]

Originally Posted by dougjwray

I'm going to have to get a copy, too.
When I listen to/watch/ponder an artist like Dylan, it takes me outside of the technique/theory/gear stuff, and slaps me in the face and pulls my coat and reminds me about ART. Very important to me.
(Sorry to be so flowery, but it's true.)

It is.

Sad part is, it's very unlikely Dylan would be able to have a career in music were he starting out nowadays.

[dougjwray]

As the movie brought up, Dylan's being signed by Columbia was quite bizarre even then... they were the label of Johnny Mathis, et al., and Dylan was just fortunate enough to have John Hammond on his side. (I loved it when Dave Van Ronk talked about how Dylan's record contract suddenly made all the Village musicians aware of how hungry for mainstream success they were, even though they'd never admit it!)
But yeah, today Dylan wouldn't have a chance. I often think about how amusing it would be if they had a "Dylan night" on "American Idol" (on which all the divas would be compelled to perform stuff like "Desolation Row") and then I always find myself not sure whether to laugh or cry...

[dougjwray]

Okay, where is it? It should have been here by now. I don't understand. Where is it?
I'm referring, of course, to the inevitable "I don't get it-- Dylan can't sing!" post!

[Blackbird]

Originally Posted by dougjwray

Okay, where is it? It should have been here by now. I don't understand. Where is it?
I'm referring, of course, to the inevitable "I don't get it-- Dylan can't sing!" post!

The younger members have their own contemporaries who are easier (and more deserving) targets than Dylan, while the older ones have had the time to listen and evaluate his work as a whole.

It's called 'Maturity' and it's a good thing.

[jetsetvet]

I too was completely mesmerized by the past two nights of this excellent footage. So amusing to see Bob bewildered and ultimately irritated by the endless inanity of the questions at those press conferences. It is so odd how those who have little or no "artist" inside of their souls ask artists to explain their art!

Art explains itself in its intimate relationship with each person who observes and absorbs it. That's the essence of it.

I must say that Joan Baez was also captivating in her performances, words, and physical beauty. I'd like to marry a woman that ages like she does. There is something so elegant about her that has only gotten better with time.

Also it was cool to hear Martin Scorsese on Charlie Rose right after "No Direction Home" aired. Such obsession and genius.

[BurningSkies]

Its funny to me to see the earlier footage...where he seems very unsure of himself. I

know a bunch of people who have worked Dylan shows and he's definitely come off as a pretty big jerk in the past 15 years or so. All the stories I hear are the usual head-trip stuff. So to see him in an earlier age before he has the self awareness and before he starts to believe the legend of himself is pretty refreshing. One nice moment in the film, a place that kind of surprised me is when interviewed,they asked him how long he'd been writing and he replied that he'd been at it about 2 years. Think about his output of material in just those 2 years!

[tightbidness]

Blew my mind as well. No Direction Home has given me a new perspective on Bob Dylan and the 1960s as well. When I first started listening to Dylan the cultural impact of his music wasn't evident. They touch on Civil Rights and Vietnam in school, but it's hard for someone who wasn't there to understand what a tumultuous time it was.

No Direction home also made me remember how much I love Allen Ginsberg.

[Fo' Shizzle]

Brief hijack..............

Has anyone read his biography? I'm about half way through it. It is stunning........... I don't know why I'm surprised but the writing is gorgeous. It's almost, well, lyrical.