comment #1

buckzollo says ...

Easy on the eyes
Easy on the ears
too out there to tub-thump for

comment #2

EOTW says ...

OK, Haynes probably has met Dylan and I never have and probably never will. BUT, as a confirmed, lifelong fan (first heard "Like A Rolling Stone" when I was 10 and have been hooked ever since) who has read more than enough about the man, including his own words, one only has to see that Dylan has created his own myth by being such an enigma. All you have to do is see how rarely he talks and when he does, he contradicts himself and is only glad to do so. The man likes his privacy and who can blame him?

I bet he just sits back and laughs at the idea of anyone truly knowing him, at leasy anyone who isn't a trusted friend or family member.

That's what makes Bob, well, Bob.

comment #3

Craig Kennedy says ...

As skeptical about this as I was in the beginning, the more I hear, the more interested I am. I hppe it rules.

comment #4

Gaydos says ...

Though high up on the highest plateau of cultural heroes, Dylan has never, will never, be able to do what Lennon did on "The Plastic Ono Band," Lennon's first post-Beatle solo work.

Lennon took off the mask. And rocked while he did it.

In his interview in RS at the time, he even challenged Dylan to create work again that challenged, that mattered, instead of puttering about as Lennon saw "New Morning."

Remember, Lennon said the turning point was when the Beatles met Elvis and realized the goal was not to be Elvis, but to not be Elvis.

Dylan of course made great work later and he came as he close as he can come to dropping the pose with his book, "Chronicles," which is genius poetry and remembrance, while still at service to the pose(s).

Does "I'm Not There" illuminate or obfuscate, does it challenge or confirm, does it rebel against or serve a series of still ongoing pretenses that Dylan still strangely needs to survive?

The answer, my friend...

comment #5

berg says ...

Rolling Thunder Revue ... best concert ever

comment #6

Vitesse98 says ...

I couldn't get into "Velvet Goldmine" because so much of it was drawn straight from or inspired by real life - VU, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, Bowie - that Haynes' alternate myth was indeed totally distracting.

comment #7

chicagodad says ...

I'm a casual Dylan fan. I enjoy his work, admire him as an artist, but don't really know that much about him. That said, I think the film looks very interesting, and will probably see it on DVD.

But what strikes me as interesting about the post, and the comments, is that this is classic "geek" behavior. Letting your intimate and detailed knowledge of a subject interfere with your enjoyment of a work about that subject.

I put "geek" in quotes, because being really into music, or sports seems to be socially acceptable in America, where classic "geek" culture is looked down upon.

But saying you enjoyed an artistic work about a given subject less because you couldn't get past your own knowledge of that subject is still, at the end of the day, bitching about the fact that there are flames on Optimus Prime.

Not judging, because I know damned well I do it myself. Just an observation.

comment #8

Gaydos says ...

chicagodad: I'm certainly not suggesting one can't enjoy "I'm Not There," whether they know a lot about Dylan or nothing about Dylan. I'm merely noting the potential for complicity/obfuscation when your biographical film is sanctioned by the subject of the bio.

For my money, the single greatest music bio remains "The Rutles," which completely took the piss out of the Beatles, with love, and amazingly enough, not only sanctioned by one of the Beatles but also financed by one as well, if memory serves me.