Definitely Dylan

TW: murder, suicide, racial violence 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 .

No other Bob Dylan song has provoked such a diverse range of responses as "Make You Feel My Love". Initially dismissed by reviewers as a failure, it has since grown into a wildly successful pop hit. It's the song that's loved by the masses, but hated by Dylan purists. Perhaps what's at the heart of this fundamental disagreement is a different question altogether: is this a banal love song, or does...

Laura and James A. Smith from The Popular Show have a late night conversation about the Bootleg Series and Time Out of Mind Watch the video of our conversation on Patreon , where you can also show your support for the podcast, or you can make a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan . Consider supporting The Popular Show at patreon.com/thepopularpod .

Laura and Robert talk about Bob Dylan's new Bootleg Series, what it tells us about Time Out of Mind, and whether or not accordions can be sexy. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan . Graley Herren’s book Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" is available here . Listen to the interview with Mark Howard on the Dylan.f...

Stories, myths, and narratives – as the Bob Dylan Center opened this May, another Bob Dylan exhibition was coming to a close. What stories are these two Dylan museums telling & what do they reveal about how Bob Dylan wants to be seen? In part two of this series on the crafting of Bob Dylan's legacy, we take a look at the stories told by two very different museums dedicated to Bob Dylan's work:...

This is the first of two conversations about the crafting of Bob Dylan’s legacy. My guest is freelance writer Rebecca Slaman. Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @ithrewtheglass . The version of “Desolation Row” is from 12 April, 2009 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. You can watch it in full along with others from that year here . You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation . For more...

The pandemic forced Bob Dylan to take a two year break from performing live. Now he’s back and he’s embarked on the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour. I was lucky to be able to fly from London to Washington, DC to catch the last show of the year on 2nd December, 2021. In this episode, I’m giving you my thoughts on the performances, the setlist, and how this tour relates to the latest album and...

In this episode, Laura considers Shadow Kingdom in the context of Bob Dylan’s career and what it tells us about the artist at 80 years old. We’ll touch on Dylan’s relationship with the past, the language of dreams, and we’ll find out what all of this has to do with Shakespeare. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation . For more information, see http://definitelydylan...

For this episode, we’re going to take a little break from the series on Rough And Rowdy Ways ! I want to take you on a journey towards the heart of one of my favourite Bob Dylan songs of all time: “Most Of The Time” from Dylan’s 1989 album Oh Mercy . Deceptively simple, this song about pain and denial is wonderfully subtle in its development of the singer’s feelings, while also playing with the li...

In Chapter 2 of Definitely Dylan’s mini series on Bob Dylan’s Rough And Rowdy Ways, Laura discusses the myth and mystery of creation in “My Own Version Of You” and “Mother Of Muses”.What insight can these very different songs give us into the creative process of the songwriter? How do they portray the creator’s role in society? And what does any of this have to do with the Nobel medal? Here's the...

On the 19th of June, 2020, Bob Dylan released his 39th studio album, Rough And Rowdy Ways, his first collection of original songs in eight years. In the first chapter of this Definitely Dylan mini-series, Laura begins her exploration of the new album by going back to Dylan’s 2016 Nobel win. What’s the difference between songs and literature? Who’s the secret hero of Rough And Rowdy Ways? And what...

This month, the Australian, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Emma Swift releases her album of Bob Dylan cover songs, Blonde On The Tracks. In our conversation, Emma tells me about the story behind the album, how she came up with the song selection, the advantages of singing Dylan as a woman, and the autobiographical dimension of cover songs. You can listen to and order your copy of Blonde On The...

On Friday 19 June, Bob Dylan releases Rough and Rowdy Ways, his first album of original songs in eight years. Here's all the info you need to know to bring you up to speed on the whats, the whys, and the whos. Here is the link to the Dylan interview with Douglas Brinkley in the New York Times. Definitely Dylan is now on Patreon , where you can support my work and get access to bonus episodes and m...

On the 17 April, Bob Dylan released his second surprise song in one month, "I Contain Multitudes". Borrowing more than just the title from Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself", Bob Dylan paints a vivid modern portrait of a country divided. For more info, please visit the Definitely Dylan website. Don’t forget to follow the show on Twitter and Instagram . Definitely Dylan is on Patreon , where you...

In the midst of a terrifying pandemic, Bob Dylan has released his first original song in eight years. “Murder Most Foul” is a 17 minute long epic about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. But as with much of Dylan’s work, a closer look reveals much more. So what is Bob Dylan’s brand new song “Murder Most Foul” about? This episode is a reflection not only on this song, but also on what it means t...