Definitely Dylan

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...

Being a Bob Dylan fan is a spectrum –whether you identify as a casual enjoyer if his music or a die-hard Bobcat, the umbrella is large and leaves room for multitudes.  Over the past year, many Definitely Dylan episodes have circled around the relationship between artist and audience, how Bob Dylan presents himself and how he is perceived. In the final conversation of 2025 (which you’re hearin...

Recently the founder of The Daily Dylan was asked to leave a Bob Dylan concert, apparently for having shared illegally recorded concert videos. Today we’re talking about the relationship between Bob Dylan and his fans, particularly their ideas of how his music should be engaged with are at odds with the artist’s own. Find more Rebecca Slaman on her Substack and Twitter . Book a Walking Tour of Bob...

Bob Dylan – the myth, the legend, the enigma? In this episode I revisit an old radio episode on Bob Dylan the Stranger. Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here . You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan .

Just over a week after I published a whole episode about how Bob Dylan doesn’t want to be filmed or photographed, he appeared as part of the 40th Farm Aid benefit concert, which was broadcast and live streamed, giving us rare good quality footage of a present day Bob Dylan set! I invited friends of the pod Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor to discuss the occasion with me. The discussion of the actua...

At the most recent Outlaw shows, Bob Dylan has been shielding himself from view and it’s become a pretty popular talking point last week. I’ve been thinking about that as well as the upcoming Bootleg Series, filtered it through a 90 year old essay on art and technology and this is the result. 🧡 Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-...

An episode about twins, doubles & duality from the radio archives. Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Legend has it that Bob Dylan once left his iPod behind and someone copied the contents. With Canadian musician and songwriter (and future Bob Dylan podcaster) Tim Swaddling). Find the Spotify playlist “Bob Dylan’s iPod” here . Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan. Fred Bals’ blog on M...

Laura revisits a radio episode from the archives about April anniversaries, some good, many disastrous. And there’s a little side quest about Bob Dylan and Modernist poetry. One note – I forgot to mention that the performance of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” is by Betty Carter. Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here . You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off do...

Laura is joined by Britt and Rebecca to talk about A Complete Unknown , the new Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold, starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, and Monica Barbaro.  We talk about letting go of the pressure to be chill about the film, biopics as acts of translation, and the sexual tension between Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Rebecca would like to add that she...

It’s taken over five years, but the new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown (directed by James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet) is finally hitting cinemas. So… is it good? I called up Chicago-based filmmaker Michael Glover Smith to talk about the film, what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and how it compares to other films like I’m Not There . You can watch Michael’s short film Handle Wi...

Bob Dylan has been tweeting and it’s high time we talk about it. In this conversation with Rebecca and Britt we cover what’s been going on the World of Bob, including his social media presence and the TWO biopics he’s involved in this year! Follow Rebecca on Twitter and Britt on Instagram or Twitter . Theme music by Robert Chaney You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donati...

Ray and I sit down in the garden of the Troubadour to talk about the final shows of Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour (2021-24) at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Subscribe to Ray’s Substack, Flagging Down the Double E (but get the paid membership if you can), and buy his book Pledging My Time: Conversations with Bob Dylan Band Members . Music that appears in this episode: All Along the...

A conversation with Ren Harvieu after seeing night two of Bob Dylan’s three night stay at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Ren Harvieu is on Patreon , Instagram , and her music is available on all streaming platforms. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan .