22 April 2007

Bob Dylan on Change and Facts

Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone recently interviewed Bob Dylan for the magazine's 40th anniversary. Here are excerpts:

Jann Wenner: ... you've changed from outrage to acceptance.

Bob Dylan: I think as we get older, we all come to that feeling, one way or another. We've seen enough happening to know that things are a certain way, and even if they're changed, they're still going to be that certain way.

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Asked about his tendency to perform songs so differently from how he recorded them, or even from how he's performed them previously.

Jann Wenner: Do you think your performance of it in this way gives it [It's All Over Now Baby Blue] a different meaning? Originally it was lost and sad; now it's assertive.

Bob Dylan: Yeah. Astrologically, you're dealing with a different day every day of the week. Every day is a different color, a different planet rules it. You could say the same thing, you could feel the same way, you could write the same thing, but if it's on a Tuesday, it's going to be different than if it comes out on Friday. That's just a fact. You can ask any astrologer.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Changed from outrage to acceptance" is just a wordier way to say "gave up."

Ron Davison said...

Thomas,
I suppose. It's probably harder to see the world as mad when it made you an icon. But I do think there's a fascinating notion buried there - about how some dynamics, some part of how the world is - a notion that things are what they are.

Chrlane said...

"We've seen enough happening to know that things are a certain way, and even if they're changed, they're still going to be that certain way."

Oh, man. It's like he plucked thoughts out of my head and baked them into a cake for me. That's what life _is_! And that outrage is all about figuring out how life works. For me, the greatest secret of the universe is how to learn that without the outrage. :) *twinkle*

Ron Davison said...

Chrlane,
wow. the air in Canada must be set to profound tonight. I think that we all have to find some way to navigate our way through life without completely giving up on our ideals and without really resenting the world for failing to change in response to those ideals. "You can't always get what you want ... but if you try sometime, you just might get what you need."

Chrlane said...

Hey- get used to it Ron. I had my charts done by a total stranger, and they said I am an amazing person, full of charity and goodwill, and in love with the cosmos. And I am– I always have been. :)

But I still cringe when people use overplayed rock lyrics as sentences. LOL! ;)

Ron Davison said...

Chrlane,
I was able to quote Mick and Keith to make my point for a simple reason: the posting was about a rock and roll legend. (Whew! That was close.)
Having said that, I suspect that two people could carry on a coherent (if cliched) conversation for some time, using only Dylan lyrics.