Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Your Own Personal Bob
When my husband and I watched the Dylan documentary last night, we made fun of the people who considered Bob a mystical, moistical shaman figure, someone who could heal with but a touch of his calloused fingertips.
However, we applauded the Dylan who socked it to the sanctimonious old school folkies at Newport in 1965 by going electric, and who refused to be pigeonholed by politicos or press.
I realized that we, too, had our own Personal Bob, just like the "Saint Dylan" fans. And in both cases, your own Personal Bob symbolizes what your idea of "integrity" is.
Elsewhere, Ann Althouse asked that since the documentary was a compilation of old footage, what exactly did Scorsese do as director? And then the commenters replied with an argument about whether Bob was left wing or right wing or up wing or down wing.
One posted a link to a site called "Right Wing Bob," which asserts that Dylan's lyrics and actions point to an inner conservatism. This is the Personal Bob of a young former lefty who's pissed at lefties.
Another posted a link to an article by Sean Wilentz that expresses a unique look at patriotism through "Love and Theft."
My own personal favorite Bob-O-Links: Tangled Up In Jews and the song "Positively Wall Street" from the musical "Lemmings," the first comedy to mock the counterculture written by people who actually knew the music and did the drugs. ("You say I owe you something/you ask me for my plan/just who were you expectin'/Jesus Zimmerman?")
However, we applauded the Dylan who socked it to the sanctimonious old school folkies at Newport in 1965 by going electric, and who refused to be pigeonholed by politicos or press.
I realized that we, too, had our own Personal Bob, just like the "Saint Dylan" fans. And in both cases, your own Personal Bob symbolizes what your idea of "integrity" is.
Elsewhere, Ann Althouse asked that since the documentary was a compilation of old footage, what exactly did Scorsese do as director? And then the commenters replied with an argument about whether Bob was left wing or right wing or up wing or down wing.
One posted a link to a site called "Right Wing Bob," which asserts that Dylan's lyrics and actions point to an inner conservatism. This is the Personal Bob of a young former lefty who's pissed at lefties.
Another posted a link to an article by Sean Wilentz that expresses a unique look at patriotism through "Love and Theft."
My own personal favorite Bob-O-Links: Tangled Up In Jews and the song "Positively Wall Street" from the musical "Lemmings," the first comedy to mock the counterculture written by people who actually knew the music and did the drugs. ("You say I owe you something/you ask me for my plan/just who were you expectin'/Jesus Zimmerman?")
