Bob Dylan greeted the year singing: after the pandemic he resumed his legendary endless round (albeit under another name) – and, oh surprise, writing (just posted The philosophy of modern song), a collection of essays on 66 songs that marked his palate. None are by him, even though he signed more than 600).

So far nothing new. Singing, writing, are regular verbs for Bob Dylan. What is strange is that he speaks. For some time – it is known – he hasn’t spoken to the public in his shows about him. And much less with the press. In fact, between dylanitas The time he went to play on his salary in Minnesota is well known, and the headline in the next day’s papers was this: “Dylan Spoke.”

An exception for the kids on the block, no doubt. In fact, the last thing being said is that to the phobia of talking in his shows he added the total phobia of photos with cell phones. At one point during the European tour, fed up with the “digital buzz” between the seats, he stopped the music, addressed the audience and asked in Bob Dylan’s voice:

– Shall we pose or touch?

And yes, the show continued.

You have to sell the book

Bob speaks little. And much less with the press, unless there is something to say and, above all, to sell: the aforementioned book. I mean, the first piece of news here is: Dylan has spoken. He gave an interview. And because Bob is very discreet and doesn’t say anything, when he does it’s interesting to watch What’s in the head of the most important and influential musician – together with the Beatles – of what we mean by pop culture.

Bob also likes to be weird, so willing to open his mouth, one would think rolling stonesmaybe the Mojos or Uncut (two British magazines dedicated to his career), but no. He talked extensively with Jeff Slate about The Wall Street Journalwho would have thought, the most powerful financial newspaper in the world.

A long, detailed interview, through which we get to find out what (and how) Mr. Bob Dylan consumes at 81 years old. For fans themselves (and popular music lovers in general), the lyrics can be used in their entirety on his website (www.bobdylan.com). Here’s a rundown of the best parts:

Series of yesterday and today

Is there any technology that helps you relax? For example, you get drunk on movies via Netflix, why do you mention streaming movies in the chapter about my generation, from The Who? Or do you use a meditation app or fitness app, especially when you’re on the go?

-(…) I got drunk watching Via dell’Incoronazione, Father Brown and some of the first chapters of The twilight zone (The unknown size). I know these are dated shows, but they make me feel at home. I’m not a fan of packaged shows or newscastsSo I don’t see them. I never see anything that smells bad or is bad. Nothing gross; no dog butt.

I am a religious person. I read scriptures a lot, meditate and pray, light candles in church. I believe in damnation and salvation, as well as predestination. The Five Books of Mosesthe Pauline Epistlesthe Invocation of the SaintsAll.

As for physical activity, I like to box and make gloves with a little bit of sparring. It’s part of my life. It is functional and detached from trends. It’s an unlimited playground and you don’t need an app.

How to listen today

-How do you listen to music these days? On vinyl, CD, streaming? And is there a way you prefer to listen to music?

-Listening to CDs, satellite radio and streaming. However, I love the sound of old vinyl, especially on an older tube turntable. I bought three at an antique store in Oregon about 30 years ago.

They are small, but the sound quality is so powerful and miraculous, it has such depth that it always takes me back to the days when life was different and unpredictable. You had no idea what was going to happen along the way, and it didn’t matter. The laws of the time didn’t apply to you.

-How do you discover new music these days?

– Mostly by accident, by chance. If I go looking for something, I usually can’t find it.. In fact, I never find it. I go into things intuitively when I’m most likely not looking for anything.

Tiny Hill, Teddy Edwards, people like that. Dark artists, dark songs. There is a Jimmy Webb song that Frank Sinatra recorded called What happened to ChristmasI think he recorded it in the 60’s but I just found out.

A-Tiskit, A-Tasket by Ella Fitzgerald. Janis Martin, the female Elvis. Did you hear it? Joe Turner always surprises me with little nuances and things. I listen to Brenda Lee a lot. No matter how many times I listen to it, it’s like I just discovered it. She is such an old soul.

I recently discovered an amazing guitarist, Teddy Bunn. I heard it on a Meade Lux Lewis – Sid Catlett record.

Artists and composers recommend things to me. Others I wake up and I’m there. Some I have seen live. The Gallagher brothers of Oasis (I like both), Julian Casablancas, the Klaxons, Grace Potter. I’ve seen Metallica twice. I made special efforts to see Jack White and Alex Turner.

And continues: “Zac Deputy, I realized lately … It’s a one man show like Ed Sheeranbut he sits down when he plays”.

-I’m also a fan of Royal Blood, Celeste, Rag and Bone Man, Wu-Tang, Eminem, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohenanyone with a sense for words and language, anyone with a parallel view to mine.

Waterloo Sunset from The knotsit’s on my playlist and was recorded in the 60’s. thief, the song by The Free, has been around for a while, along with Leadbelly and the Carter family. There is a Duff McKagan song called get chippedwhich has a deep meaning for me.

Spotify and then…

-Music is made very differently now and your grandchildren are hearing songs for the first time in whole new ways, like via Spotify. Does it matter how you first hear a song? Do you think this has changed the listener’s relationship with the song?

–The relationship you have with a song can change over time. You can get over it, or it may come back to haunt you, come back stronger in a different way. A song could be like a nephew or a sister, or a mother-in-law. In fact, there’s a song called “Mother-in-Law.”

When you first hear a song, it can relate to the time of day you hear it. Maybe at dawn, dawn with the sun in your face, it will probably stay with you longer than if you listened to it at dusk. Or maybe, if you first hear it at sunset, it probably means something.

Do you think there is something about the technology used to record music today that would have changed the impact or value you place on the songs you included in the book, and especially the performances, or is a great song a great song?

I think a great song has people’s feelings in mind. When you hear it, you get a visceral and emotional reaction at the same time.

A great song follows the logic of the heart and stays in your head long after you hear it, like financial advisor (The Beatles), can be played to a full orchestral score or a traveling troubadour. It is bell, book and candle. From another world. It carries you and feels like you are levitating. It’s close to an out-of-body experience.

A great song changes, makes leaps in quality, reappears like the prodigal son. Cross genres. It can be punk rock, ragtime, folk-rock or zydeco, and it can be played in many different styles, in multiple styles. Bobby Bland could do it, Gene and Eunice, even Rod Stewart, even Gene Autrey. Coltrane could do it without words.

A great song is the sum of all things. It could be the turning point in your life. Louis Armstrong does it like a scat singer, Jimmy Rogers can sing it. It is timeless and ageless. It’s a country cry, it’s blood and thunder, it’s in the easy road and in the land of milk and honey. It’s everywhere.

It may be sung by a lead singer or a backing vocalist; it is not discriminatory. A great song touches you in secret places, hits the very core of your being and sinks. Hoagy Carmichael wrote great songs, as did Irving Berlin and Johnny Mercer.

About musical genres

-What is your favorite music genre these days?

-It’s a mix of genres; an abundance of them. Slow ballads, fast ballads, anything that moves. Western Swing, Hillbilly, Jump Blues, Country Blues, everything. Doo-wop, Ink Spots, Mills Brothers, Lowland ballads, Bill Monroe, Bluegrass, Boogie-Woogie. Music historians would say that when you mix it all up it’s called Rock and Roll. I guess that would be my favorite genre.

Why, among the book’s acknowledgments, do you thank the “Dunkin’ Donuts team”?

-Because they were compassionate, understanding and did their best.

WD extension