Throwback Thursday: Titanic Reflections

“I think that he bought a ticket on the Titanic.” ~Moneyball

Last night I began watching A Night To Remember, the 1958 drama about the sinking of the Titanic. It brought to mind a variety of memories. Our friend Robert, a "street person" who lived in the Seaway Hotel here, had something of a fixation with regard to this tragedy. He'd watched this film many times. The film's power half lay in the fact that this event really happened, the invincible ship striking an iceberg and sinking on its maiden voyage. As I watched I was impressed at how quickly the characters were sketched, the story told. 

Bob Dylan's song about the Titanic centers around characters in the 1997 James Cameron film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. One theme of this story is hubris. In Greek tragedy, hubris is excessive arrogance or "defiance of the gods leading to nemesis." Dylan's telling of this story appears on the ninth track of his album Tempest. (You can read the lyrics here.)

When the Reaper’s task had ended Sixteen hundred had gone to rest The good, the bad, the rich, the poor

The loveliest and the best.

Here's what I wrote about the Titanic in 2012

It’s interesting how much the sinking of the Titanic has been woven into the fabric of our culture. Here I am watching Moneyball and one of the former baseball scouts who used to be on the payroll for Oakland is sniping at General Manager Billy Bean (Brad Pitt) for his new approach to the game of baseball. (the quote above.) It’s a perfect segue into a revisiting of Bob Dylan’s latest release Tempest.

The title song is a 45 verse recounting of the demise of the Titanic on her maiden voyage to New York. But this is not Dylan’s first reference to the 1912 tragedy in the North Atlantic. Many decades earlier he made an obscure reference to this same incident in his song Desolation Row, Highway 61 Revisited's capstone.

Praise be to Nero’s Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody’s shouting 
“Which Side Are You On?

Desolation Row is another of those lengthy classics Mr. Dylan shot up into the stratosphere of the Sixties, but the Titanic reference is little more than that here, a reference. This time around, on Tempest, it's a fourteen minute exposition.

Just out of curiosity I decided to Google the phrase Nero's Neptune to see what popped up. And guess what? It's another cool Dylan site that I'd been previously unaware of. Or rather, it's a site by a musician consciously influenced by Dylan. Though not a comprehensive site, for the Dylan fan it's worth exploring.

Here's a quote from that site pertaining to Dylan's influence:

Bob showed that lyrics are important, about equally important, as the music. That songwriting and poetic imagery can make you.

That certainly has to be a central piece of insight in understanding the longevity and pervasiveness of Dylan's influence.

For the record, Nero was a Roman emperor who persecuted the early Christian church. Neptune was the Roman name for the god of the sea. (The Greek name was Poseidon.) Another of the songs on Tempest is called Early Roman Kings. Another thematic echo? And here's another, from Slow Train Coming:

Sheiks walking around like kings, 
wearing fancy jewels and nose rings. 
Deciding America's future from Amsterdam and to Paris 

Early Roman kings? The Titanic sails at dawn. Apocalypse now.

Billy Bean purportedly said, "It's hard not to be romantic about baseball." The same can probably be said about the Titanic. In a more macabre manner, however.

* * * 

Related Links
In 2021 I wrote the following blog post:
Titanic: A Metaphor for Our Times
Schedule for 2022 Duluth Dylan Fest 

Hanno Hochmuth's "Warhol Bob" and a Tempest Translation

"Warhol Bob"

One of the features of Hibbing Days in the years that preceded Duluth Dylan Fest was an art competition of sorts. Artists could also do some live painting and, as everyone who had ever been inside Zimmy's knows, visual arts were a big part of the atmosphere there. Thus it was only natural that a component of Duluth Dylan Fest would include art.

This past week I shared some work by a new artist that I had discovered from France, Claude-Angèle BONI. While doing a search online for more of her work I discovered the section of Expecting Rain devoted to visual arts. Here I discovered Hanno Hochmuth's "Warhol Bob".

If the piece looks familiar to you for some reason, it may be because you saw it used as cover art for Benjamin Hedin's Studio A, published by W.W. Norton. (Based on the praise by Salman Rushdie and Publishers Weekly, this is a "must own" volume.)

Hanno Hochmuth currently lives in Berlin, where he was born and raised. In 2001-2002 Hochmuth spent a year in the Twin Cities at the University of Minnesota, living near Prospect Park ("All Along the Watchtower"). In addition to being a Dylan fan, he teaches German, Urban and Public History at the Free University Berlin. He has been a Research Fellow at the Leibniz Center for Contemporary History in Potsdam (ZZF) since 2011. 

Hochmuth states that he has always been inspired by the music of Bob Dylan and that his favorite song is "Ballad of a Thin Man." (Is this my long lost brother from Germany?) 

"A couple years ago I translated his 14-minute song "Tempest" into German. The epic story of the sinking of the Titanic impressed me a lot," he writes. Follow this link to the as yet unpublished translation, which has been titled Der Sturm.

EdNote: One of the great ways to develop language skills is to read translations and perform them. I have enjoyed my book of Rilke poems in German and English side-by-side. I have Gide's wonderful novel Isabelle in a French and English translation side-by-side. 

In addition to his work as a historian and admiration of Bob Dylan, Hochmuth enjoys pohtography, which he shares on Instagram at this location:  
https://www.instagram.com/hanno.hochmuth/

Thank you, Hanno, for sharing a little of yourself with us. 

Related Links

Hanno Hochmuth's Website

His First Published English Book

Readings from this book on YouTube (in English)

Benjamin Hedin's Studio A
Claude-Angèle BONI's Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, Versions 1 & 2

40 paintings and drawings of Dylan by Ed Newman

LESS THAN 16 DAYS AND 7 HOURS TILL

Duluth Dylan Fest 2021 
DULUTHDYLANFEST.COM

Dylan at the Beacon--Philip Hale Shares Why Fans Keep Coming Back for More

At the Beacon Theater, 2018. Courtesy Nelson French

Bob Dylan is just past the midpoint of his ten shows at the Beacon Theater in New York, winding up the latest leg of his Never Ending Tour with an exclamation point in Washington, DC next weekend on the 8th. The reviews throughout have been stellar, especially the fan reviews at BobLinks.com where you can also see his ongoing schedule. (His April tour in Japan is now on the calendar.)

As most longtime fans know there are a number of fan forums and sites to follow Dylan, and as you've no doubt surmised, some are on Facebook. Though I had something else on the docket to post today, I so enjoyed Philip Hale's summary of the recent show he saw at the Beacon that it pre-empted everything else.

Hale hails from Brooklyn, a famous hometown for many writers. (Noteworthy: Literary Brooklyn: The Writers of Brooklyn and the Story of American City Life by Nathan Hale) It's also a nesting place for many Dylan fans, some who are themselves noteworthy writers.

This was Philip Hale's review which I read at The Bob Dylan Fan Club on FB this morning, shared with permission.

* * * *

“Bring down my fiddle
Tune up my strings
I'm gonna break it wide open
Like the early Roman kings”

This time last year I was halfway through Dylan’s residency at the Beacon. I was a guest on an episode of Rob Kelly’s Poddylan. (You should check the podcast out and I thoroughly recommend Tara-Jane Hulligan Zuk ‘s appearance where she discussed Highlands if you want a good starting point--mine not so much unless you are studying the stupefying effects of obsession!).

Rob asked what I got out of seeing multiple shows and I totally punted the answer, rambling about walking on tightropes (Dylan not me) or some similar cliched nonsense. Anyway, I find myself again at the mid-point of eight Beacon shows.

Last night Dylan reached out into that beautiful theater and provided the definitive answer. I go again and again because as an artist Dylan sometimes accesses a place in himself that pours out an other-worldly energy through the conduit of a distinctly human form.

There are shows where he is a musician, a clearly exceptionally talented performer going about his job. Then there are nights like last night. There were many stunning moments but Early Roman Kings is illustrative of the point I am trying to convey. It’s a minor song in the context of Dylan’s canon but it’s a song that he has played the most from Tempest, clearly a song he is still chasing. Last night he vamped, he twisted his body, he snarled and pointed, singing from center stage delivering the defiance and the menace of the lyrics with body language that was lining up behind a vocal of such intensity that it rattled the brain. The band pushed the song to places Dylan’s commitment demanded. He knew it too.

The song has been a highlight of the other three nights but here it was stripped down to some essential nature and then rebuilt into a towering edifice. He seems to have revisited this song searching for exactly this moment, forcing the audience to meet him where, as a friend put it, he is in his ongoing conversation with himself through his music. Having delivered all of that he walked to the piano to emote quietly on Girl from the North Country.

Last night that juxtaposition was at once devastating in its power and ethereal in its impact. I could have gone to one night, but if it didn’t happen to be this one then I would have missed a moment where being entertained is replaced by being transported by a piece of art. The whole show was sublime but that two-song combo was mesmerizing. If you are open to it, Dylan tugs at your heart and rips at your soul. I am grateful to have the opportunity to give him multiple goes at it.

Philip Hale, 30 November 2019


Early Roman Kings is just such a great song, even if not his most important. And like so many songs this guy writes, I mean, who else writes songs like this? It's amazing the way Bob re-invents himself. It begins...

All the early Roman Kings in their sharkskin suits
Bowties and buttons, high top boots
Driving the spikes in, blazing the rails
Nailed in their coffins in top hats and tails
Fly away little bird, fly away, flap your wings
Fly by night like the early Roman Kings

For me it's the presentation, as much as anything, that carries you, conveying something menacing yet deceptively something else. In my mind, I see and hear Bob strutting.

You can tell Dylan likes the song because by the end of this round of his NET he'll have played it more than 500 times since released in 2012.

For a totally different take on the song, if you want a deep dive, visit Tony Attwood's Untold Dylan where he addresses the song from a couple other angles. I disagree with some of his speculation, but always like the links to other sources.

For some reason an image from Slow Train Coming comes to mind for me where he describes "Sheiks walkin' around like kings, wearing fancy jewels and nose rings." It's maybe an echo and not a rhyme.

If you want do dig further, here's where you'll find the rest of the lyrics for Early Roman Kings.

Meantime, life goes on... and so does the Never Ending Tour.

Dylan's Tribute to John Lennon Keeps Rolling On

I was in Mexico City when it happened. The next morning I was walking across the Zócalo, now called the Plaza de la Constitución, a massive open square that spreads before the Palacio Nacional (National Palace) in the center of the city. As in many big cities, magazine stands abound, with the day's newspapers proclaiming their various headlines. On this day, as I walked across the square I couldn't help but notice the size of the headlines on every newspaper in every news stand.

LENNON

MUERTE

I was stunned. I had liked all the Beatles, acquired their various solo albums after the breakup, but it was Lennon with whom I most resonated, on many levels.

* * * *

When the album Tempest was released, I'd intended to write about this song, but wanted to share the lyrics and they weren't immediately available. Reading them today my eyes moisten with the incredible power of this tribute. It captures so much about a sensitive man who broke from the easy path of pop expectation and chose to find his own way.

Listening to Dylan's songs you find numerous places where he bares his soul so openly it's almost shocking. Most of us prefer safety, hiding more than we wish to risk revealing. In this regard, Dylan and Lennon were kindred spirits, willing to reveal rather than conceal. And so Lennon gave us songs like Cold Turkey, Jealous Guy and Beautiful Boy. And like Dylan he didn't mince words about how he saw things, as in Give Peace A Chance and Workingman's Hero.

* * * *
"When you do something beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun, every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps." --John Lennon

* * * *

Much has been written about the friendship Dylan shared with John. It was on this day in 1964 that Bob Dylan met John Lennon and the Beatles for the first time in the Delmonico Hotel. Whether a legendary or over-hyped moment in time, it was no doubt an inevitability. Here's a Guardian article from the 50th anniversary of this moment. The Andrew Harrison article is titled When Dylan met the Beatles – history in a handshake? Harrison downplays it's significance. Yes, Dylan allegedly turned the Fab Four on to pot for the first time, or least that's the myth that has gone circulating in the smoke rings of many a mind. So be it.

Harrison states: "On Friday 28 August 1964, in a room in the Delmonico hotel at Park Avenue and 59th in New York City – at a rendezvous brokered with a keen eye to a story by journalist, mutual friend and assiduous self-publicist Al Aronowitz – the Beatles encountered Bob Dylan for the first time."

It's my understanding that there was a mutual respect taking place as their careers swirled through the tempestuous times they found themselves in....

All this to say I believe this to be a good day to remember John Lennon, as Dylan renders him here in this touching tribute.

Roll On John

Doctor, doctor, tell me the time of day
Another bottle’s empty, another penny spent
He turned around and he slowly walked away
They shot him in the back and down he went

CHORUS
Shine your light
Move it on
You burned so bright
Roll on, John

From the Liverpool docks to the red light Hamburg streets
Down in the quarry with the Quarrymen
Playing to the big crowds, playing to the cheap seats
Another day in the life on your way to your journey’s end

(chorus)

Sailing through the trade winds bound for the South
Rags on your back just like any other slave
They tied your hands and they clamped your mouth
Wasn’t no way out of that deep, dark cave

(chorus)

I heard the news today, oh boy
They hauled your ship up on the shore
Now the city gone dark, there is no more joy
They tore the heart right out and cut it to the core

(chorus)

Put down your bags and get ‘em packed
Leave right now, you won’t be far from wrong
The sooner you go, the quicker you’ll be back
You been cooped up on an island far too long

(chorus)

Slow down, you’re moving way too fast
Come together right now over me
Your bones are weary, you’re about to breathe your last
Lord, you know how hard that it can be

(chorus)

Roll on John, roll through the rain and snow
Take the right hand road and go where the buffalo roam
They’ll trap you in an ambush ‘fore you know
Too late now to sail back home

(chorus)

Tyger, tyger, burning bright
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
In the forest of the night
Cover him over, and let him sleep

(chorus)

Copyright © 2012 Special Rider Music

"If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace." --John Lennon

Related Link
James L. Spiegel Examine's Dylan's Tempest

Harvard Classics Prof Pulls Back the Curtain to Reveal New Insights on Dylan's Art

Prof Richard F. Thomas

Yesterday afternoon, May 26, more than 100 people crammed into Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum to hear Dr. Richard F. Thomas deliver a lecture on Bob Dylan and the Classics. Whether you were a lifetime fan or a relatively new follower of Dylan's art, the Harvard professor's hour-long talk offered much to chew on. In return he likewise relished the opportunity to make this pilgrimage to the Northland to see points of interest in Hibbing and Duluth as well as experience the power of these places that were formative in making Dylan the poet he grew to become.

Phil Fitzpatrick, a local writer/teacher and Harvard grad, introduced Dr. Thomas after briefly reading a tribute to John Bushey, founder/host of KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited and for whom the John Bushey Memorial Lecture Series has been named. Phil welcomed everyone on behalf of Duluth Dylan Fest, Karpeles and the City of Duluth. He then noted that Dr. Thomas received his Bachelors and Masters in Auckland, New Zealand, his Ph.D. in classics at the University of Michigan. He's published more than 100 article and reviews and ten books, including this most recent Why Bob Dylan Matters. And incidentally, in addition to teaching classic literature he also teaches a class on Bob Dylan.

This was not his first visit to Minnesota. He gave a lecture in the Twin Cities in 2006.

* * * *

Dr. Thomas began by noting that Dylan may not be here in 50 years but “I believe his art will be. I hope that in 200 years people will be studying Dylan like they do Virgil."

In the initial portion of the lecture he laid out some of Dylan's early influences. The Hematite, Hibbing High's Yearbook (which archivist Bill Pagel has on display in his "Einstein Disguised As Robin Hood" exhibit), shows that Dylan was not only a fan of Little Richard, but was also a member of the Latin Club and the Social Studies Club, indicators that his later interests had early roots.

His uncle owned the movie house in Hibbing and the young Bob Zimmerman no doubt saw films like The Robe and Demetrius & the Gladiators which were released in the early 1950s. Due to this being the McCarthy era, Hollywood produced quite a few films in which the Roman Empire became a metaphor for unjust power, the contemporary reality of the American '50s.*

Dr. Thomas showed ways in which this early influence re-emerges later. First example: Chronicles, Volume 1. After noting that chapters 2 & 4 are mostly made up, he underscored the beautiful writing of chapters 1, 3 and 5 and showed that "the idea of Rome mattered to him."

Some examples from Dylan's songs were then identified, including the obscure “Goin’ Back to Rome” that he played once at Gerde’s Folk City.

In August 1962 he sang Long Ago, Far Away
"Gladiators killed themselves
It was during the Roman times,
People cheered with bloodshot grins
As eyes and minds went blind"

During the Rolling Thunder Revue Dylan opened his shows with "When I Paint My Masterpiece," which includes this reference:
“Oh the streets of Rome are filled with rubble
Ancient footprints are everywhere”

Other examples were cited, and then we began the deeper dive into Dylan's use of intertextuality, a major theme in Why Bob Dylan Matters.

Love & Theft, released Sept 11, 2001 is "an album of songs addressing antiquity" in which Dylan begins to draw from Virgil.

He then cited T S Eliot:: “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.”

* * * *

Signing a book for local musician Tom O'Keefe.

We were then treated to a deeper analysis of "Lonesome Day Blues" in which Dylan literally replicates passages from Confessions of a Yakuza, Huckleberry Finn and Virgil's Aeneid.

With this pattern of looking back to the classics set in motion, Dylan began drawing from Ovid for the album Modern Times.

Dr. Thomas' enthusiasm for his topic was palpable. (You never knew the classics could be this exciting, did you?) “This recent stuff is just miraculous,” he said regarding Dylan’s albums from Time Out of Mind to Tempest.

He then began identifying as many as 30 Dylan lines that are directly parallel to or identical with lines from Ovid’s exile poems.

"Getting a linear meaning out of a Dylan song is never easy or sometimes even possible," he said, and yet the manner in which Dylan reconstructs this passages is nothing short of amazing. "Dylan is unlike any other," he said. "Especially in performance.

In 2010 Dylan began drawing from yet another classic source, passages from Homer. He "began a process of becoming Odysseus, the Trickster."

And yes, afterwards we had more birthday cake.

While here this week he had the opportunity to be inside the Armory where Dylan saw Buddy Holly. As many of us know, Dylan began his Nobel Speech with this story from that encounter at the Armory. Dr. Thomas then cited a line from another Dylan speech, from 2015: “Character always mattered to me.”

The Odyssey has themes that appear vividly in Dylan's last album of original music, Tempest. What Dylan is doing is "bringing life to history." After detailing the story of Odysseus killing the Cyclops, he underscored the greatness of Bob Dylan. Dylan's themes are all there in the Classics, and it makes sense that a Classics professor would be among the first to comprehend the genius behind Bob Dylan's borrowings.

Much more can be said, but for now the best advice I can give is: Read the Book.

* * * *

Photos courtesy Michael Anderson

Related Link
Interview with Richard F. Thomas earlier this spring.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Engage it.

*Some Bible scholars have suggested that the Book of Revelations, which circulated during the first century, was written using assorted symbols that could only be interpreted by "People of the Book" for the same reason. Only those who understood the symbols would "get it."

Duquesne Whistle: Dylan's Upbeat Opener from Tempest Is Sheer Fun

What Dylan track has been running through your head recently? For some reason the tune "Duquesne Whistle" has been the recurring, ongoing accompaniment for me these past two weeks as my runaway train barrels down the track through the scenes of my life. It's upbeat and chipper, giving a bouyant boost that lifts my spirits when the string of railcars my little engine is towing begins to feel burdensome. In short, the song is fun and lightens my load.

You can tell Dylan enjoys it, too, as he's performed it 163 times in concert, beginning in June 2013, and it's still being played as of last night at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy. (Mario, were you there at the concert?)

"Duquense Whistle" is the opening cut on Tempest, Dylan's 35th studio album which was released on September 10, 2012. The song achieves it's intended aim, letting you know Dylan's still on top of his game while drawing you in to another stellar album. The album reached #3 on the Billboard Top 200, a pretty good feat for a guy in his seventies.

The lyrics themselves aren't really that memorable per se. This is not Hard Rain or Blowin' in the Wind. Whistle strikes me as pure whimsy, much like the opening scenes in the video produced to feature this tune. In contrast, the video veers unpredictably into a startling place with a scene that echoes Reservoir Dogs' most frightening moments. Actually, Tempest itself veers into vividly dark images of horror, blood and death in a number of songs, the title song being an immense description of the sinking of the Titanic and all that entailed there.

"Duquesne Whistle" was co-written with Robert Hunter, who collaborated with Dylan on a couple cuts from Down in the Groove, and extensively on Together Through Life.

Here's the video, followed by lyrics and then a link to the initial Rolling Stone review from when Tempest came out. Enjoy.

Duquesne Whistle

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like it's gonna sweep my world away

I'm gonna stop at Carmangale and keep on going

That Duquesne train gon' rock me night and day

You say I'm a gambler, you say I'm a pimp

But I ain't neither one

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Sound like it's on a final run

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like she never blowed before

Little light blinking, red light glowing

Blowing like she's at my chamber door

You smiling through the fence at me

Just like you've always smiled before

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like she ain't gon' blow no more

Can't you hear that Duquesne whistle blowing?

Blowing like the sky's gonna blow apart

You're the only thing alive that keeps me going

You're like a time bomb in my heart

I can hear a sweet voice steadily calling

Must be the mother of our Lord

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like my woman's on board

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like it's gon' blow my blues away

You're a rascal, I know exactly where you're going

I'll lead you there myself at the break of day

I wake up every morning with that woman in my bed

Everybody telling me she's gone to my head

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like it's gon' kill me dead

Can't you hear that Duquesne whistle blowing?

Blowing through another no good town

The lights on my native land are glowing

I wonder if they'll know me next time 'round

I wonder if that old oak tree's still standing

That old oak tree, the one we used to climb

Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like she's blowing right on time

Here's the Rolling Stone review of Tempest.

James L Spiegel Examines Dylan's Tempest for Christianity Today

When Bob Dylan's Tempest was released this past September it received accolades from all sectors including Ennyman's Territory. Sure, there were some who panned it, and at least one comical reviewer who declared the cover art to be the worst of all 35 of Dylan's albums. (We're all entitled to an opinion, I suppose.)

When Tempest was released on 9/11 Christianity Today printed a brief review of the album and published a piece by John J Thompson titled "The Dark Side of Dylan."  Reviewer Josh Hurst gave the album four stars, but at the time listed "Pay in Blood," "Duquesne Whistle" and "Scarlet Town"as Tempest's "top tracks." I'd be curious to know if he still feels that way and by what measure? "Duquesne Whistle" is definitely a fun opener, but there are many other selections that I would put ahead of the other two, including "Roll On John," "Early Roman Kings," and "Long and Wasted Years."

It is now March and Christianity Today has once again given some attention to the album with a review by James L. Spiegel in a piece titled "The Light's Still Burning." It's a fairly concise overview of the cultural context into which Tempest has been delivered and a breakdown of the content of the songs. It's a good read for all you Dylan fans out there.

I do find it interesting how reviewers work so hard to invent new ways of making the same observation. Specifically, that Dylan's vocal quality has deteriorated. "Dylan's voice is now a raspy growl, tattered from a half century of singing, including the last two decades of his Never Ending Tour. But for all the wear and tear, he is no less effective in conveying emotion and delivering memorable melodies." You can tell that Spiegel is a fan because he "hears through" to the heart and I whole-heartedly concur that the Bard has become "no less effective in conveying emotion." He is a master.

If you don't have time for the whole review, this excerpt will give you the flavor. "As for the songs on Tempest, they display what are now recurrent themes in the later Dylan—regret, injustice, world-weariness, and exasperation with other people, especially women. These themes emerge in the poignant "Long and Wasted Years," which features a sublime, rolling melody over which Dylan speaks more than he sings: "It's been such a long, long time since we loved each other and our hearts were true. One time, for one brief day, I was the man for you." But rather than lapsing into sentimentality, the song morphs into scattered reflections on past mistakes and lingering sorrows, closing with the somber recollection, "We cried on that cold and frosty morn. We cried because our souls were torn. So much for tears, so much for these long and wasted years."

Great album. And yes, Dylan's light is still burning.   

That Titanic Tempest

“I think that he bought a ticket on the Titanic.” ~Moneyball

It’s interesting how much the sinking of the Titanic has been woven into the fabric of our culture. Here I am watching Moneyball and one of the former baseball scouts who used to be on the payroll for Oakland is sniping at General Manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) for his new approach to the game of baseball. (the quote above.) It’s a perfect segue into a revisiting of Bob Dylan’s latest release Tempest.

The title song is a 45 verse recounting of the sinking of demise of the Titanic on her maiden voyage to New York. But this is not Dylan’s first reference to the 1912 tragedy in the North Atlantic. Many decades earlier there’s an obscure reference to this same incident in his song Desolation Row, Highway 61 Revisited's capstone.

Praise be to Nero’s Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody’s shouting 
“Which Side Are You On?

Desolation Row is another of those lengthy classics Mr. Dylan shot up into the stratosphere of the Sixties, but the Titanic reference is little more than that here, a reference. This time around, on Tempest, it's a fourteen minute exposition.

Just out of curiosity I decided to Google the phrase Nero's Neptune to see what popped up. And guess what? It's another cool Dylan site that I'd been previously unaware of.Or rather, it's a site by a musician consciously influenced by Dylan. Though not a comprehensive site, for the Dylan fan it's worth exploring.

Here's a quote from that site pertaining to Dylan's influence:

Bob showed that lyrics are important, about equally important, as the music. That songwriting and poetic imagery can make you.

That certainly has to be a central piece of insight in understanding the longevity and pervasiveness of Dylan's influence.

For the record, Nero was a Roman emperor who persecuted the early Christian church. Neptune was the Roman name for the god of the sea. (The Greek name was Poseidon.) Another of the songs on Tempest is called Early Roman Kings. Another thematic echo? And here's another, from Slow Train Coming:

Sheiks walking around like kings, 
wearing fancy jewels and nose rings. 
Deciding America's future from Amsterdam and to Paris 

Early Roman kings? The Titanic sails at dawn. Apocalypse now.

For what it's worth, Nero's Neptune is an entertaining diversion. Check it out.

Billy Beane purportedly said, "It's hard not to be romantic about baseball." The same can probably be said about the Titanic. In a more macabre manner, however.

Tempest Takes You There

Today is Friday, September 21. Lead stories, aside from the usual election buzz, include these. Since 1983 the number of breweries in the U.S. has risen more than 2400%. iPhone 5 sales are so fast that Apple computers can't keep up with the profit calculations. And legendary outlaw Butch Casssidy's "Amnesty" Colt .45 is up for auction.

But the top story on this last day of summer is... Dylan's Tempest has been on the market ten days and a lot of fans have listened to it nearly that many times since its 9/11 release. Oh yeah.

Yesterday I wrote about the album's rave reviews and shared my own thoughts on the first seven cuts. This morning I want to make a few comments on Tempest, the title track, and his tribute to John Lennon, Roll On John.


Tempest

The title song in this collection is 45 verses long, rolling like the north seas where the Titanic disappeared in what must have been a most horrible experience for those who survived. And that’s what this song seems dedicated to conveying: the horror. The tune itself is far from horrorific. It's more like the rolling sea itself.

The Titanic story is told from some unusual perspectives. Instead of simply describing the actual event, the song seems to be about the movie version of the story, so we have dreams and metaphors and Leo DiCaprio the artist as a character in the song. Like many of the other songs on the album there are reflections here as well from earlier Dylan songs and themes. For example, the Joker and the Thief discuss fate in “All Along the Watchtower.” And in this song a similar discussion regarding the meaning of events takes place between the Watchman and the Reaper.

“The veil was torn asunder between the hours of twelve and one, 
No change, no sudden wonder, could undo what had been done.”

Here’s another oblique reference in some way to the crucifiction of Christ? Upon his death, the New Testament writers affirm, the curtain that veiled the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom. Further along Dylan sings, “He read the Book of Revelations and he filled his cup with tears.” It’s an apocalyptic book, and “they tried to understand but there is no understanding with the judgment of God’s hand.” 

In so many words Dylan transforms the sinking of the Titanic into an Apocalyptic event. This year marks the 100th anniversary of that bigger than life tragedy. The end of an age?

When the Reaper's task had ended 
Sixteen hundred had gone to rest 
The good, the bad, the rich, the poor 
The loveliest and the best 

Roll On John

Roll On John is the final cut on this album. (Dylan released it in vinyl as well as digitally, by the way.)  Five of the ten songs are over seven minutes, this being another. I didn't count how many have thematically touched on death or violence, but quite a few deal with it. Straight up, this tribute lament is very beautiful. And it drips with grieving.

I remember exactly where I was the day John's music died. Mexico City. Dylan, too, remembers that day, and in processing that grief has produced this pearl.

Doctor, doctor tell me the time of day
Another bottle's empty, another penny spent
He turned around and he slowly walked away
They shot him in the back and down he went.

[chorus]
Shine your light
Movin’ on
You burned so bright
Roll on, John

From the Liverpool docks to the red-light Hamburg streets
Down in the quarry with the quarrymen
Playing to the big crowds, playing to the cheap seats
Another day in the life on your way to your journey's end

[chorus}

Sailin' through the trade winds bound for the South
Rags on your back just like any other slave
They tied your hands and they clamped your mouth
Wasn't no way out of that deep dark cave

[chorus]

I heard the news today, oh boy
They hauled your ship up on the shore
Now the city gone dark, there is no more joy
They tore the heart right out and cut him to the core

[chorus]

Put on your bags and get 'em packed
Leave right now, you won't be far from wrong
The sooner you go the quicker you'll be back
You've been cooped up on an island far too long

[chorus]

Slow down you're moving way too fast
Come together right now over me
Your bones are weary, you're about to breathe your last
Lord, you know how hard that it can be

[chorus]

Roll on, John, roll through the rain and snow
Take the right-hand road and go where the buffalo roam
They'll trap you in an ambush before you know
Too late now to sail back home

[chorus]

Tyger, tyger burning bright
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
In the forests of the night
Cover 'em over and let him sleep

If you buy the CD just to own this one song, it'll be worth it. Then again, with iTunes you can easily buy singles these days. Get the whole darn thing. Thanks for the memories, Bob.

On a related topic, there are volunteer work crews down at the Armory tomorrow and the following Saturday from 10:00 till 3:00. It's a big building and a lot of work to get it ready for the next phase in its renovation. Meet some of the Friends who served on the Bob Dylan Way committee and others involved in this historic preservation project.

Weighing In On Dylan's Tempest.

I dreamed I asked Bob what makes a good song. He said, “Whatever you can get away with.”

On 9/11 Bob Dylan released his 35th album to enormous fanfare. By means of social media, a host of pre-release buzz, and a much talked about video the album gained an immediate audience, high rankings on the charts and high praise from the critics. But was the high praise simply due to the fact that Dylan’s still making music, or because the songs on this new collection were themselves worthy of the praise? Here’s my take.

First off, as I go back through the piles of Dylan albums and CDs in my collection, one thing is certain. This guy knows how to open. The common denominator of nearly every album is that the first cut gets you in. That is to say, unless there’s a song that makes you wish to make a second listen, you’ll not be back.

“Beyond Here Lies Nothing” opens Together Through Life. Awesome, bleak, wonderful. “Thunder On The Mountain” thrusts you into Modern Times with serious exuberance. Love and Theft is introduced with Tweedledee and Tweedledum. And the Grammy award winning Time Out of Mind opens with the painful, exquisitely anguished “Love Sick.”

Then again, go way back and you see it’s always been that way. Changing of the Guard, Tangled Up in Blue, Hurricane, Blowin’ in the Wind, The Times Are A-Changing, Like a Rolling Stone, Subterranean Homesick Blues, Gotta Serve Somebody, Shot of Love… all serve as vibrant opening numbers on Dylan albums, each of them tell-tale signs introducing the material reflected there, invitations to go further in, farther along.

“Duquesne Whistle” performs the honors on Tempest. The pre-release video set the stage for sure, but what about the rest of the tunes? Will they live up to the opening number?

For me, an album can be evaluated by many measures, and some will be perceived as having greater importance than others. On a most plebian level I think it also has something to do with whether it yanks you back for a seconds and thirds and keeps being satisfying. In point of fact, the real flavor is not going to come through till you get to that fourth listen, and after a week I’m onto my sixth with Tempest. Conclusion: it’s worthy of the accolades it’s received.

My only complaint with regard to the release of Dylan's Tempest is not with the album, but with the critics who say it is Dylan's best album since his last 9/11 release, Love and Theft. I mean, both Modern Times and it's sequel Together Through Life both strike me as worthy predecessors to this accordion-accompanied collection. And I'm not talking falsely here because of the late hour.

A few brief remarks on some of the songs.

Duquesne Whistle 
The intro is light-hearted, upbeat. Then the band chimes in and our feet go shufflin’. The video seems to take you along the same light-hearted track at first, but it’s deceptive because in the vid the storyline takes a very dark twist. There’s even a little torture with creepy echoes of the warehouse scene in Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.

So what’s going on here? Well, The opener is like a preface that hints at the rest of the story, and though the music you hear is fanciful, the themes on this album will include a bit of larceny and horror, so you’d best get a hint of it up front. In literature it’s called foreshadowing.

Soon After Midnight 
I have a friend who says that every Dylan album has a couple throwaway songs. I dunno if I agree with that, but if I were to throw a song away, this would be the one for me, at this point in time. But then, in six more listens it might become a favorite. For now, I just feel like pressing the fast forward on this slow, methodical reminiscence.

Narrow Way 
“It’s a long road, it’s a long and narrow way…” This one has a pulse, a driving rhythm that carries throughout with messages obscure and explicit simultaneously. It's a fast-paced seven minute song that is easy to ride along with.

Long and Wasted Years 
Here’s a song that just tears away at you. The tune is a descending series of notes that repeats over and over like a river of tears washing over your soul, an eternal waterfall….

Early on he sings, “It’s been a while since we walked down that long, long aisle…” but it’s soon a lament with lines like these:

"I wear dark glasses to cover my eyes 
There's secrets in em' I can't disguise 
Come back baby 
If I hurt your feelings I apologize"

In the end, “We cried on a cold and frosty morn, we cried because our souls were torn; so much for tears, so much for these long and wasted years.”

Pay In Blood 
“A man can’t live by bread alone, I pay with blood but not my own.”

It’s interesting how much of Dylan’s lexicon draws from Biblically choreographed iconography. Is he acknowledging Scripture as inspirational source material, or simply tipping his hat to one of the roots of Western civilization with the same weight as European literature and Greek philosophy?

Scarlet Town
It’s a red light district scene. Or is it a portrayal of modern times? You have seven minutes to figure it out.

Early Roman Kings 
The title alone is amusing and the lyrics, while serous, are equally fun to tangle with. Where’s this song going to take us? The accordion here is a knock-off of a riff on "It's All Good" on Together Through Life. Love it. And the standard blues rhythm has you bobbin’ along like a red, red robin. “All the women goin’ crazy for the early Roman kings.” The song has a great groove.

Tin Angel 
Here’s a nine minute song, yet still not the longest on the album. Three other songs already stretch beyond seven minutes, and the longest lopes along for over thirteen. It’s a long tragic story, like so many before and so many to come.

Summing Up
The music is catchy and after a short while you'll be humming some of these tunes in your head while driving to work or waiting for a friend. And the lyrics are such that you'll have ample opportunity to wrestle with meanings, explore relationships to previous songs and capture new insights into the labyrinthian mind of this elder statesman of our generation.

Oh yes, and there are still two more songs to talk about, but they deserve a longer treatment so I will save that commentary for later.  Listen to the music and have a great day.

EdNote: Yes, I am aware that the quote that I dreamed Bob said (intro above) deserves attribution. Andy purportedly said it when asked "What is art?"

Release Date Set For Dylan’s Tempest

We interrupt our Wordless Wednesday to bring you this special announcement.

Dylan receiving Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this year.

The news release that I saw at bobdylan.com late Monday began like this:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW BOB DYLAN ALBUM – TEMPEST - SET FOR SEPTEMBER RELEASE

COLLECTION OF TEN NEW BOB DYLAN SONGS

MARKS MUSICIAN’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY AS A RECORDING ARTIST

Columbia Records announced today that Bob Dylan’s new studio album, Tempest, will be released on September 11, 2012. Featuring ten new and original Bob Dylan songs, the release of Tempest coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the artist’s eponymous debut album, which was released by Columbia in 1962.

By the following morning the news stories were criss-crossing the wires. Here are a few features about the album that may be of interest to Dylan fans.

1. This is not the first Dylan album with a 9/11 release date. Love and Theft was also released on 9/11, the actual September 11 of 2001 when the Towers came down. This happens to be my birthday and I was looking forward to going to Barnes & Noble to purchase the CD that week with my birthday money.

So has this date been selected as an attempt to "redeem" the day? Or to underscore it? It hardly seems arbitrary.

2. The release states that this album coincides with the 50th Anniversary of his debut album Bob Dylan, but don't be misled by this. His first album was released in March, more than a half century ago. That is a lot of original music by any measure.

3. Dylan's recent albums, all of them superb, have been produced by Jack Frost, a pseudonym he has been using. Interesting how similar this pseudonym is to the character he played in Masked and Anonymous, Jack Fate.

4. Much has already been made of the fact that The Tempest is the title of Shakespeare's last play. As I have noted elsewhere, it's not a stretch to be comparing Dylan to Shakespeare. Each has been an influential bard, and like "ol' Bill" Dylan's legacy will no doubt continue long past the horizons he's travelled while passing through this earthly realm. 

5. Though the album is set for a September release, individual songs can be purchased today on iTunes. The playlist for Dylan's Tempest is as follows:

1. Duquesne Whistle
2. Soon After Midnight
3. Narrow Way
4. Long And Wasted Years
5. Pay In Blood
6. Scarlet Town
7. Early Roman Kings
8. Tin Angel
9. Tempest
10. Roll On John

According to a Wall Street Journal article on the new album, one of these songs is about the Titanic and the last cut is about John Lennon. Like many artists, Dylan does not try to explain his songs but let's the work speak for itself.

For more links to stories about Tempest and all things Dylan, your best bet is to visit, and then bookmark, ExpectingRain.com

Paintings on this page are by Ed Newman. For more Dylan portraits by the same artist visit my Flickr Dylan Collection.

Wordless Wednesday will return next week at it's regularly scheduled time.