Thank you, Sam. My history with Dylan didn’t really begin until after being an undergraduate, married, working a relatively mindless job and having no clue. So, somewhere around 23 years of age, in the mid to late 1970’s. Bought a compilation cassette at the Wherehouse. But it was the album Highway 61 Revisited that guided me through my socio-political trials of that period. Thanks for the reminder.
Just took in your interview with Jeff Green (must get the book and still need to see the movie) and again must thank you for your public intellectual stance. I have written in other comments that it has been over forty years since my grad school experience that went unfulfilled. And my earlier comment regarding Dylan that I "discovered" him with the purchase of Greatest Hits Volume 2 cassette, circa 1976-7. From there I found Highway 61 Revisited. But initial soundings were simply AM radio, which is all I had for high school. So, what Boss radio played, supposedly top 40, is what I heard. So, it was probably "Lay Lady Lay," with the suggestive line "lay across my big brass bed" for a lonely adolescent was a near wet dream. Somewhere in there were "Mr Tambourine Man," "All Along the Watchtower," but probably Hendrix's cover, and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" because of the movie, not that I saw it (I mean Kristofferson as Billy the Kid?). It was after college and working in a retail store's stereo, television, appliances, etc, that music became more open to me, especially songs that spoke to my growing alienation. So, Dylan, Neil Young, The Doors, and my growing affinity for the blues captured my attention. Before I get lost in Babble-onia, I will reiterate my thanks for what you do. It keeps me intellectually stimulated, even as it is in my library solitude (well, currently, my dog is asleep on the floor behind me). I think I will take in the Dylan biopic this week with my wife and see if the book can be found in a Eureka or Arcata bookstore.
Final note: in my rather late (23 or 24) discovery of Highway 61 Revisited, aside from "Desolation Row," my go to line was found in "From a Buick 6, "Well, you know, I need a steam shovel, mama, to keep away the dead / I need a dump truck, baby, to unload my head."
Thank you, Sam. My history with Dylan didn’t really begin until after being an undergraduate, married, working a relatively mindless job and having no clue. So, somewhere around 23 years of age, in the mid to late 1970’s. Bought a compilation cassette at the Wherehouse. But it was the album Highway 61 Revisited that guided me through my socio-political trials of that period. Thanks for the reminder.
Just took in your interview with Jeff Green (must get the book and still need to see the movie) and again must thank you for your public intellectual stance. I have written in other comments that it has been over forty years since my grad school experience that went unfulfilled. And my earlier comment regarding Dylan that I "discovered" him with the purchase of Greatest Hits Volume 2 cassette, circa 1976-7. From there I found Highway 61 Revisited. But initial soundings were simply AM radio, which is all I had for high school. So, what Boss radio played, supposedly top 40, is what I heard. So, it was probably "Lay Lady Lay," with the suggestive line "lay across my big brass bed" for a lonely adolescent was a near wet dream. Somewhere in there were "Mr Tambourine Man," "All Along the Watchtower," but probably Hendrix's cover, and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" because of the movie, not that I saw it (I mean Kristofferson as Billy the Kid?). It was after college and working in a retail store's stereo, television, appliances, etc, that music became more open to me, especially songs that spoke to my growing alienation. So, Dylan, Neil Young, The Doors, and my growing affinity for the blues captured my attention. Before I get lost in Babble-onia, I will reiterate my thanks for what you do. It keeps me intellectually stimulated, even as it is in my library solitude (well, currently, my dog is asleep on the floor behind me). I think I will take in the Dylan biopic this week with my wife and see if the book can be found in a Eureka or Arcata bookstore.
Final note: in my rather late (23 or 24) discovery of Highway 61 Revisited, aside from "Desolation Row," my go to line was found in "From a Buick 6, "Well, you know, I need a steam shovel, mama, to keep away the dead / I need a dump truck, baby, to unload my head."