I also wondered why people didn’t like his voice. To me, it was other-worldly and transportative. I’d never heard anyone sell a song like Dylan in a more unique way. It spoke to me a lot more than C&C Music Factory, who were having their moment in the sun at the time. I know because I used to cringe at every party I was at in high school when it came on.
In 1989, I read Anthony Scaduto’s Bob Dylan: An Intimate Biography, which was originally published in 1971. I became obsessed, but not so much with the man, but the music.
Favor for Dylan started warming up as 1989′s Oh Mercy album was released to critical acclaim and the Biograph box set soon followed. Though certainly not the treasure trove for Dylan diehards, Biograph was an amazing step for me away from Dylan ‘beginner’ to Dylan ‘intermediate.’ I have Dan Brookbank and blank cassettes to thank for that. Biograph opened my eyes up to the lesser-know (or lesser-respected) eras of Dylan’s career and turned me onto little gems like ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ and ‘Abandoned Love.’ And I loved Biograph‘s odd contrasts of songs like ‘Every Grain of Sand’ and ‘Quinn the Eskimo’ sitting right next to each other on the cassettes. Or ‘Positively 4th Street’ followed by a live ‘Isis.’ Beautiful.
I started college and Dylan released the Oh Mercy follow-up album, Under the Red Sky to very lukewarm reviews and Dylan seemed to be forgotten about all over again. Again, Dylan wasn’t living up to what people wanted him to be. But I listened to the shit out of that album in ’91 and ’92, unconcerned with what social merit and poetic import it was ‘supposed’ to have. Again, I was the only one of my peers listening to Bob Dylan…well, except for Al Berger at Ohio State.
Ask somebody about Bob Dylan in the 90′s and a good percentage would wonder ‘oh, is he still alive?’ During those 90′s I discovered it all. And I saw Dylan in small theaters and state fairs. I saw shows where he was chatty and having a blast on stage and I saw shows where he came out, played the songs, and left the stage. But I was always in awe.
The first Bootleg Series release came out in ’91, which was utterly amazing and just furthered my obsession with the many sides of Dylan’s music. The two solo acoustic albums (Good As I Been to You, World Gone Wrong) also came out in the 90′s and I was the only one I knew that had them or even heard of them. I do remember them both being well-reviewed in Rolling Stone, but then again, that doesn’t really mean anything.
Then ’97 came along.
Dylan emerged from the studio under the co-production of Daniel Lanois, who had produced Oh Mercy back in the late 80′s. The album was Time Out of Mind and it was Dylan’s first album of original material since the critically and commercially-panned Under the Red Sky in 1990. It captured Dylan’s new ‘vibe’ and was the start of his big comeback. It was then that everyone caught up to me…people my age and people younger than me finally ‘got’ Dylan…and his voice.
I’m all the more happy to know that I was on the journey before it was a tourist attraction, ya know? Yes, I’m being douchey and taking credit for liking Dylan before it was cool. And though there are hardly any more record shops, people seem to understand now that Bob Dylan doesn’t belong in the ‘folk’ section.
Happy 70th, Bob!
I’m really psyched to welcome the Donkeys to Beyond Beyond is Beyond on Thursday, May 26th. The Californian’s are on an East Coast tour to bring some sunshine jammery to our rainy metropolis…and other Eastern metropoli. Here are the NYC dates:
THURSDAY 05/26/2011: (with Citay!)
Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow
New York, New York 10002
FRIDAY 05/27/2011:
The Rock Shop
Brooklyn, NY
The Donkeys new Dead Oceans release, Born With Stripes is a phenomenally-textured listen, which starts with this tune below…and proceeds to take you on a fantastic hazy, psych-tinged, country-rock safari over the next 45 minutes. An album that truly plays as an album.
The Donkeys-Don’t Know Who You Are
So check them out for an in-studio live performance and chat on Thursday’s Beyond Beyond is Beyond show on East Village Radio, Thursday from noon to 2pm (EST)…
I’m excited to announce that our friends in far-outedness, White Hills, will be joining me on Beyond Beyond is Beyond on East Village Radio for a chat and live ambient performance! It all goes down Thursday, May 19th between noon and 2pm (EST) on EVR.com.
On June 21st, White Hills new album, H-p1, will be released on Thrill Jockey.
Musically, H-p1, White Hills second full-length for Thrill Jockey, expands on the explorations of previous albums in ambience, noise, and space rock all led by guitarist Dave W.’s blistering guitar solos. This is the most fully realized White Hills album to date and the one that takes them furthest from their pure space rock roots. It is also their most angry record. It is a reaction to what White Hills sees as government co-opted and controlled by corporations. It is a wake up call.
…this fuckin’ Thursday!
And they’re gonna play live for us all in the East Village Radio studio this Thursday at noon eastern on Beyond Beyond is Beyond on East Village Radio.
Press Release: New York City’s Lez Zeppelin has been causing a sensation on stages all over the world including India, Europe and Japan since its 2004 inception. Now “…the most powerful all-female band in rock history…” (according to Chuck Klosterman) and “the ultimate turn-on” (according to Lenny Kaye) is planning another assault on stages nationwide.
This is one band that has to be seen to be believed! Guitarist Steph Paynes gives such good Page that one is hard-pressed to tell the difference with eyes closed. Her unerring note-for-note accuracy is stunning. The same attention-to-detail is evident in the tight rhythm section of bassist Megan Thomas and drummer Leesa Harrington-Squyres, the latter a true Bonzo beast. Vocalist Shannon Conley, rather than copying Robert Plant, is her own woman. Her phrasing, timbre and timing are totally her own. Her vocals, coupled with the bands musicianship, swagger and gender-bending audacity, makes Lez Zeppelin one of the more remarkable bands of this or any era.
Their sophomore effort, Lez Zeppelin I, is an incredible replication of Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut: it is obvious that this band has cemented its considerable chops into one powerhouse behemoth of monolithic proportions. It was recorded at the analog Pie Studios on Long Island, New York, with producers Perry Margouleff and William Wittman, on the very same vintage equipment that Led used on its 1969 debut. The intent was to remain true to the sound and texture of the original vinyl recording and, as such, stands as a stirring document that proves the timelessness of this material. This is material that is simply too damn good not to be performed live in 2011 because of its ageless and vibrant aesthetic. The inherent splendor lies in the fact that Lez Zeppelin, in bringing their shock-rock to an already beloved and revolutionary sound, has created a whole ‘nother animal. And this stampeding charging rhino of an animal absolutely demands to be heard.
To that end, the band’s tour will include a stop at the Rock On The Range Festival in Columbus, Ohio May 20 where they will open the festivities for the two-day fest May 21 and 22 with Steel Panther at a “pre-festival anniversary party” at the Columbus Crew Stadium. Lez Zeppelin is excited about being tapped to open such a prestigious fest.
