namesake, bob dylan

With spring in the air here at the home base in Vegas, all seems well and good. Today when I was finishing out my emusic.com downloads (I got 101 downloads/songs for 11.99 and they have a lot more well known artists now) I decided to go deep into the album treasure trove of Bob Dylan’s.
For the past 6-7 years I’ve had a steady growing relationship with Bob Dylan’s music and though at times it can be strained; I always come back. It comes from a strange place for me, seeing as how I was named after him, so through my formative years it seemed like a good thing to shy away from and rebel against. Kind of like, hey old man, I’m my own person! I only listen to Smashing Pumpkins. But like I said, a few years ago I sort of just feel in love with his songs.
You can say what you want about Bob Dylan. There are various camps and schools of opinion and thought, and they are all different and divided. Love him, hate him, make fun of his voice; fine. But the guy has the song in his bones. He’s got the thought and the thrill of the word written inside his soul. He has so many beautifully written songs, in a way, they seem almost too good. He’s kind of like the Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s. It’s almost not fair. I agree that he doesn’t have the greatest voice and is the punchline of a lot of jokes, especially as he gets older and his voice gets worse, but his songs keep getting better and better.
As I said, my relationship with his music is strained sometimes due to the hit or miss quality of certain eras of his albums. In fact, recently my relationship with music has been strained. There aren’t many songs or bands that make me jump for joy and if you turn on the radio (I hardly ever do) now, you’ll find nothing but what sounds like sandwich commercials and video game music. That’s fine, if that’s your thing. I guess.
As I get older I find myself yearning for more organic sounding music. Music that has a history. That comes from somewhere. That has a story. That has a heart and a soul. (You can’t tell me Lady Gaga has these things.) I go for subtlety and emotion and movement. I listen to old blues, jazz, folk, country music. I seem to work in reverse or in no real logical gear at all. I’m all over the map of time. (For instance, I love the Gaslight Anthem a relatively new band.)
As Dylan gets older, each successive new album comes with the feeling of a cool night next to an open window or out on a porch. A glass of scotch in one hand and a cigar burning in the other. Perhaps that’s just me, but I feel that way. Tonight I stumbled across his critically acclaimed album Oh, Mercy. I’ve always heard about this album because it’s one of the few that Daniel Lanois produced and I believe won some grammies. (He also did Time Out of Mind, another grammy winner.) If you don’t know Daniel Lanois, you should. He is basically the 5th member of U2, and mostly the talent behind that band. He is always created as co-writer and co-producer of nearly all their records and when they win grammys he gets one too as well as a share of the money. He is a wonderful producer. So sonic and lush. If you’ve heard one of his records, you could probably pick out what he does with other people’s records. He’s produced U2, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and who knows how many more. I’m not saying he’s single-handedly responsible for the Edge’s guitars and effects, but he might be 75% responsible. If you don’t believe me about his contributions in U2 and want to be thoroughly disappointed like I was about U2’s real talent (or lack thereof) watch the classic albums Dvd they show on Vh1 about the making of the Joshua Tree and you’ll see how much he and Brian Eno contribute.
I saw Daniel Lanois play about 4 years ago at the Spaceland in Silverlake for 5 bucks and his guitar sound and live band are amazing. So, I got the Dylan record he produced that I hadn’t heard before and the record is great. You know it’s a Lanois production because it will be lush, atmospheric, percussive and very drum and bass oriented. The song I keep listening to is called Most of the time which you can download here for one week: .
It’s what I would call a drive at night kind of song. We all have those. That feeling of rolling down the windows and looking at the stars, lost in thought but also in the music. I love the arrangement of this song because it’s almost non-descript. It definitely relies on feeling and ambiance more than it does the traditional way a song is played. The guitars float instead of sound strummed. The bassline propels the song along with the drums. And the lyrics. Well they’re pretty swell. They’re not as heavy as his newer stuff is (see: Modern Times, Time out of mind, love and theft) but still effective. We’ve all been there.

Most of the time
I’m clear focused all around,
Most of the time
I can keep both feet on the ground,
I can follow the path, I can read the signs,
Stay right with it when the road unwinds,
I can handle whatever I stumble upon,
I don’t even notice she’s gone,
Most of the time.
Most of the time
It’s well understood,
Most of the time
I wouldn’t change it if I could,
I can make it all match up, I can hold my own,
I can deal with the situation right down to the bone,
I can survive, I can endure
And I don’t even think about her
Most of the time.
Most of the time
My head is on straight,
Most of the time
I’m strong enough not to hate.
I don’t build up illusion ’til it makes me sick,
I ain’t afraid of confusion no matter how thick
I can smile in the face of mankind.
Don’t even remember what her lips felt like on mine
Most of the time.
Most of the time
She ain’t even in my mind,
I wouldn’t know her if I saw her
She’s that far behind.
Most of the time
I can’t even be sure
If she was ever with me
Or if I was with her.
Most of the time
I’m halfway content,
Most of the time
I know exactly where it went,
I don’t cheat on myself, I don’t run and hide,
Hide from the feelings that are buried inside,
I don’t compromise and I don’t pretend,
I don’t even care if I ever see her again
Most of the time.

I guess the message I get myself from this song is that though we falter, most of the time we’re gonna be all right. It’s about living and the absence of fear. Most of the time, of course. Meaning we do have those days or moments where we despair and wonder what if, or what is that one up to these days, or we play guiltless and throw up our hands and plead ignorance.

The second song of his I got tonight and am sharing here I had previously heard many times. It’s from one of his official bootleg collections and it came on my ipod one day while I was driving just before my daughter was born. I remember thinking, damn, Angelina is a good name, and I asked why we hadn’t thought of it. (Of course the answer is everyone would assume we are huge Angelina Jolie fans, which I personally don’t care for.)
But the song Farewell, Angelina is so simple and beautiful and lyrical that I will just let the lyrics tell the story for me. (It’s more of a traditional folk song.) You can download it here:
Farewell Angelina

The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the trumpets play slow
Farewell Angelina
The sky is on fire
And I must go.
There’s no need for anger
There’s no need for blame
There’s nothing to prove
Ev’rything’s still the same
Just a table standing empty
By the edge of the sea
Farewell Angelina
The sky is trembling
And I must leave.
The jacks and the queens
Have forsaked the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies
Now file past the guards
In the space where the deuce
And the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina
The sky is folding
I’ll see you in a while.
See the cross-eyed pirates sitting
Perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans
With a sawed-off shotgun
And the neighbors they clap
And they cheer with each blast
Farewell Angelina
The sky’s changing color
And I must leave fast.
King Kong, little elves
On the rooftops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
While the makeup man’s hands
Shut the eyes of the dead
Not to embarrass anyone
Farewell Angelina
The sky is embarrassed
And I must be gone.
The machine guns are roaring
The puppets heave rocks
The fiends nail time bombs
To the hands of the clocks
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it
Farewell Angelina
The sky is erupting
I must go where it’s quiet.