Definitely Dylan

While on tour in Italy, Bob Dylan stopped by the Vatican on 4th of November to meet Pope Leo XIV in a private meeting. Read the Vatican's official press release here . After we recorded this, Ray Padgett published an interview with Antonio Spadaro , who facilitated the meeting. You can read Laura's review of the Zurich show here . You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donat...

In this week's Bob Dylan Hotline, we're talking about "Love is Just a Four Letter Word", a song written but never recorded by Bob Dylan, before it was then popularised by Joan Baez. What was it about this song that Dylan might have made Dylan shy to release it? Could it have been a little too personal? If you're interested in the Patreon episode about Dylan the Ghostwriter, you can find that here...

In his memoir, Chronicles Volume One (2004), Bob Dylan reveals that he suffered a severe hand injury in the late 1980s. Little is known about the circumstances of his incident that Bob Dylan seems to ascribe a symbolic meaning. One of our listeners was intrigued and so were we, so let's talk about it. The Fred Bals article we refer to a few times can be found here . You can support Definitely Dyla...

Laura talks to Graley Herren about his new book, Dylan in Cincinnati , the challenges of writing about performance, and our shared love for Paul Williams. Order his new book Dylan in Cincinnati here . His book Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan’s "Time Out of Mind" can be found here . Some essays of his that I love and mention in the episode: "Young Goodman Dylan: Chronicles at the Crossroads” "Gender...

In today’s Bob Dylan Hotline we talk about Bob Dylan and gospel music – the ties he had to the genre before his conversion to Christianity, and the enduring impact it had in the decades that followed. Check out the trailer for the documentary Say Amen, Somebody here . You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan . Book your Bob Dylan Wa...

Happy Equinox! What better day to look back on summer and that's exactly what we're doing in this conversation. What do you think? What are your favourite Bob Dylan summer songs? Or do you associate his music with another season entirely? And of course we had to talk about the new upcoming Rolling Thunder Live 1976 box set!  One correction: Fort Collins is in COLORADO, I have no idea why I sa...

In this episode of the Bob Dylan Hotline, we give our opinion on Bob Dylan ~as women~. Is that different from other episodes, you might ask? Not really, but this time we're talking about talking about Bob Dylan as women. The conversation took us in many different directions because we had a lot to say. You can find our earlier conversation on Women and Dylan here . A few notes: 00:18 - A note on t...

In this episode Laura talks to Jake Xerxes Fussell about Bob Dylan the folksinger, and the albums Good As I Been to You (1992) and World Gone Wrong (1993). We discuss the song selection, their textured beauty, and what they can retroactively tell us about that moment in Dylan’s career. Jake Xerxes Fussell is a guitarist and singer from Columbus, Georgia, who arranges and performs traditional folks...

Today we're talking about Bob Dylan's fashion through the years! What's your favourite outfit Bob Dylan has worn, or which style do you most associate with him? You can read Graley Herren's excellent essay on gender performance in Bob Dylan's The Philosophy of Modern Song here . And the other essay we mention about Gorgeous George can be found on Graley's Substack . Check out Ray's interview with...

In this week's Bob Dylan Hotline, we're talking about Bob Dylan's vocals! What do YOU think his sexiest, spookiest, and most moving vocals are? This question comes from Graley Herren, one of the most referenced people on this podcast because we think he's great, and he has a new book coming out in September, which traces Dylan's career through the lens of his performances in just one city! Pre-ord...

In this week’s Bob Dylan Hotline we talk about the state of Dylanology, Dylan Studies, whatever you may call it, as well as the groundwork laid by fans. Plus, Rebecca reports back from when Bob Dylan Long Hot Summer stopped at Forest Hills, Queens! Check out the Dylan Review here . You can download the pdf of Bob Dylan Interviews by Artur Jarosinski here . The Olof Bjorner site I mentioned is now...

When Bob Dylan began his career, murder ballads were having a bit of a moment. In this episode, we’ll look into the influence these songs had on the young artist, and how they inspired a particular subset of his own early songs. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan . Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here .

This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline Laura and Rebecca are talking about Bob Dylan's pronouns! In 1978, Bob Dylan told Craig McGregor, "Tangled Up In Blue [was] the first [song] I ever wrote that I felt free enough to change all the... what is it, the tenses around, is that what it is? [...] The he and the she and the I and the you, and the we and the us–I figured it was all the same anyway – I coul...

This week Laura talks to writer, editor, and musician Sam Sodomsky about the trilogy of Great American Songbook albums, Shadows in the Night (2015), Fallen Angels (2016), and Triplicate (2017) – a move that for some legacy artists might be predictable, but that for Bob Dylan was a real curveball. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelyd...

In this week’s Bob Dylan Hotline Laura and Rebecca about the way we listen to music – how do shifts in technology affect the way artists present their work and does that change the way we relate to it? Is the album still relevant or on its way out? And how does all this affect what we consider to be part of the Bob Dylan canon? I barely ended up quoting from it, but do yourself a favour and read G...

This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline we're talking about Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney – two extraordinary artists whose paths have crossed several times over the decade, and whose influence on the other has been significant. They're similar in some ways, very different in others – let's talk about it! Watch the video of this conversation on YouTube . Check out Dean's radio show the TEN AM here : If...

In this episode, Laura talks to history professor Court Carney about Bob Dylan and Nostalgia – Dylan’s relationship to the past and the future, The Odyssey, and Don Draper. Here are a few things we reference that you might want to check out: Eric Lott’s book, Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class , from which Dylan took the title of his 2001 album. Mad Men - Carousel...

In today's Bob Dylan Hotline, Laura and Rebecca get a little mystical. Bob Dylan himself has often described the creative process as magical, and through the years has also been drawn to mysticism like the Tarot. We talk about creativity as alchemy, which Tarot card Bob Dylan most identified with, and the spell that music can cast.  The Tarot deck we’re referring to is the Rider-Waite-Smith d...

Buried on one of Bob Dylan's lesser 80s albums, "Brownsville Girl" is consistently cited as one of his greatest and most ambitious songs. Co-written by playwright/screenwriter/director/actor Sam Shepard, the song originally came to life as "New Danville Girl”. It was recorded, put aside, and then ultimately rewritten and overdubbed before finally seeing the light of day. Laura and Rebecca talk abo...

This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline, Laura and Rebecca brainstorm the best songs and albums to introduce someone to Bob Dylan’s music. Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com   ( itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries) Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here . You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan...

Laura talks to Jim Windolf, music journalist and features editor at the New York Times, about his new book Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other – and the World , out now with Scribner (US) and White Rabbit (UK). You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan .

Laura and Rebecca answer some more listener questions and talk parasocial relationships, the artist's humanity, and fan loyalty. Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com ( itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries) You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan .

Laura and Rebecca discuss the new Bob Dylan Patreon, AI, and eventually answer a question. Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan .

A new podcast segment, in which Laura and Rebecca answer your questions about all things Bob. This one's about movie soundtracks, collaborations, and Geese! Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan .

In this episode I talk to Chicago-based filmmaker, author, and college professor Michael Glover Smith about Bob Dylan the filmmaker, specifically his work on Eat the Document (1972), Renaldo & Clara (1978), and Masked & Anonymous (2003). Michael’s new book Bob Dylan as Filmmaker: No Time to Think is published by McNidder & Grace on 2nd of March. If you’re in the Chicago area and intere...