How Did Bob Dylan Get So Weird?

[revjimk]

Ignoring Dylan's last 40 years is ignoring a LOT of great songs. And calling Springsteen live a mediocrity is simply a mis-statement of fact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uf5gi3E_rQ

No, its simply a matter of opinion. For that kind of mid tempo "Americana" rock, I'll take Bob Seger or John Mellencamp over Broooos any day
I've thought he was all about media hype ever since he was touted as "the next Dylan" on the cover of Time Magazine in the early 70s
But if you like him, fine....

[duende]

Hearing some of the stories about Bob Dylan touring and recording sessions, I'm wondering what kind of "weird whisperer" you'd have to be to properly capture what the artist wants but can't articulate to those who haven't already had to deal with a 2-3 hour soundcheck, coming back from dinner to find you're playing an entirely different setlist - and in Dylan's case to be behind the front line and facing side-stage playing Fender lap steel (or is that just how I remember the one Fest performance I caught?). As a side-man, it would have to be exhausting and exhilarating at once. Like Stephen Bruton's Single Star did years ago, Bob's Not Dark Yet resonates deeply at this point in my life.

[HankAndLeeStamper]

Ignoring Dylan's last 40 years is ignoring a LOT of great songs. And calling Springsteen live a mediocrity is simply a mis-statement of fact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uf5gi3E_rQ

[kh1958]

I was wondering why this started back up, read the first page & this hit me: "in a pantheon of great rock stars, at or near the top of a select list that includes the Stones, Springsteen, maybe U2,"......
WHAT??? Stones/Dylan, great rock stars
Springsteen & U2? mediocrities
Dylan was always weird, but brilliant
Unfortunately, "the Muse" abandoned him sometime in the late 70s or early 80s
Now he's just weird

In the late 60s, I would say.

[revjimk]

Have you even heard anything he’s put out in the last 30 years? For instance, “High Water(For Charlie Patton)”

I checked it out... good song!

[revjimk]

I lost interest after Blood on the Tracks, especially his "Jews for Jesus" period. And seeing him twice at JF was the final nail in his coffin for me... awful
I wouldn't be surprised if he's still capable of a good song, I'll check that one out. I actually liked a few songs from his 80s or 90s albums, that I discovered when I used to DJ at KDNK, Carbondale, Colorado

I liked "Everything is Broken" & "Cats in the Well"

[revjimk]

Have you even heard anything he’s put out in the last 30 years? For instance, “High Water(For Charlie Patton)”

I lost interest after Blood on the Tracks, especially his "Jews for Jesus" period. And seeing him twice at JF was the final nail in his coffin for me... awful
I wouldn't be surprised if he's still capable of a good song, I'll check that one out. I actually liked a few songs from his 80s or 90s albums, that I discovered when I used to DJ at KDNK, Carbondale, Colorado

[Jim]

Unfortunately, "the Muse" abandoned him sometime in the late 70s or early 80s
Now he's just weird

Have you even heard anything he’s put out in the last 30 years? For instance, “High Water(For Charlie Patton)”

[revjimk]

I was wondering why this started back up, read the first page & this hit me: "in a pantheon of great rock stars, at or near the top of a select list that includes the Stones, Springsteen, maybe U2,"......
WHAT??? Stones/Dylan, great rock stars
Springsteen & U2? mediocrities
Dylan was always weird, but brilliant
Unfortunately, "the Muse" abandoned him sometime in the late 70s or early 80s
Now he's just weird

[McGregor]

The tour got started last night, same setlist as last year. You'd think the guy with the most amazing catalog ever would change a song or two up but he likes this setlist I guess. Looking forward to seeing him in a few weeks. Keep rockin Bob!

https://www.bobdylan.com/date/2022-03-03-phoenix/

[Kemp]

I don't think Dylan is any weirder than some Threadheads are, including those who wear round Royal Navy sailor hats. (and yes it is very sad about Norm McDonald).

[MormonMatthew]

Norm apparently didn't tell almost anyone about his 7 year long "Battle With Cancer" (he had a great bit about that specific term) but I just saw an interview with Vulture Magazine he gave back in 2018 that might have been a little bit of foreshadowing, in his own unique, signature way...
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Vulture Magazine: I can imagine laying on my deathbed and asking myself "Why did I waste so many meals on yogurt?"

Norm MacDonald: You know, I actually find myself thinking about my deathbed a lot.

Vulture Magazine: What do you think about it?

Norm MacDonald: I think I should have never purchased a deathbed in the first place.

[teetertotter]

The brown acid.

[MormonMatthew]

R.I.P. Norm MacDonald....

[MormonMatthew]

This is pretty cool. I'd love to know the stories.

http://firstwefeast.com/eat/norm-mac...ver-for-lunch/
Norm Macdonald Tweets The Story of When Bob Dylan Invited Him Over for Lunch

Norm Macdonald is a Dylan fan. The comedian took to Twitter last night and announced, “Next to Billy Joe Shaver, I consider Bob Dylan to be the greatest songwriter ever. I spent two days with him, once, and here’s the story how.”

I must have missed this when Bart initially posted it.
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I have long thought that Norm MacDonald is one of the most intelligent, insightful and genuinely hilarious performers in Showbiz, and while I am generally a fan of just about anything he does, in the dozens of different interviews I have watched him in over the years, he always gives me the impression that he in "ON" and doing a never-ending "Norm MacDonald" impression, and it is impossible for me to get a sense of what he would be like when he is talking to his mechanic about getting his car's rotors replaced or out at the mall shopping for a new laptop.

That is EXACTLY the same vibe I get from Bob Dylan, an incredibly talented creative genius, but also a man perpetually on stage, never letting his guard down or taking off a mask that perhaps outsiders have chosen for him to wear.

I would have given anything to be a fly on the wall when Norm and Bob hung out together.

(If anyone reading this is not familiar with Norm MacDonald, I highly recommend going on YouTube and checking out some of his stuff. He has a truly bizarre, but brilliant sense of humor)