Top 70 Dylan Songs According to Rolling Stone

So, how does it feel? To turn 70 and be on the cover of the Rolling Stone, again.

A friend brought the mag to my office yesterday and I immediately spilled coffee on it, then the dog ate it and he will never see it again. (Just kidding, Walt!)

The magazine took its name from one of Dylan's first hits and over nearly a half century has given the man enough ink to fill one of the great lakes, albeit one of the smaller ones, though that is still a lot of ink. The 70th birthday issue must have been fun for the editors and writers of Rolling Stone, who seem to make a habit of creating lists of best singers, best songwriters, best rock bands, best almbum covers and everything in between. In May they made a list of the 70 Greatest Dylan Songs, as a tribute to the mags "dear old dad."

The fun part of this issue isn't just seeing what songs they selected, but also reading what was said about each, because many of the writers are also star peers. The No. 1 pick is... drumroll.... Like a Rolling Stone, dissected by Bono. The full page story of the song is accompanied by a full page photo. David Crosby was selected to write about #8 Mr. Tambourine Man. #12 Desolation Row receives some insightful commentary from Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards tackles #30 Girl from the North Country.

Page 67 has a list of the greatest versions of his songs as sung by others, leading with Hendrix, whose All Along the Watchtower is unsurpassed. And page 74 has a short list of Dylan's Most Inscrutable Lyrics, that is, the five songs with lyrics so cryptic people are still trying to figure them out.

If you're interested in more Rolling Stone coverage on Dylan, you can find it here.

And here's a link to my online Dylan gallery at Flickr, 32 original paintings and drawings from the recent past. It's set up as a slide show. If you've got a minute or two, check it out.

"Meantime life goes on all around you." Enjoy the day.

Mixed Up Confusion

"Makes you ashamed to live in a land where justice is a game...." ~Dylan

In a world as interconnected as ours, there are simply too many things happening to make comments on them all, or even to follow them all. In point of fact, when the Casey Anthony verdict came down yesterday I was not even aware the trial was still going on. I have not been following this soap opera. It only took ten minutes to understand why this story has mesmerized so many. I mean, Casey Anthony's daughter was missing and she was off partying, getting tattoos and not reporting it to the police for a month.

The Twitterverse was universally outraged on the verdict, and the blogosphere was equally abuzz. One of the more creative blogs on the story was at a site called Maxi's Comments by a writer named Maxi Malone. Since Casey Anthony was such an inventive story teller, Ms. Malone uses fiction to tell a story as well... this one being Caylee's story. Its riveting opening makes this inventive blog entry quite a compelling read.

Hi, my name is Caylee Marie Anthony. Do you like stories? I love stories … and I … do you wanna hear my story? It’s not about dolls and stuff, it’s about Magic.

If you have been following the story, yesterday's verdict no doubt churned your stomach. If you've not been following it... well.... I'm gonna have to turn the page.

Munich, a movie review

Democracy don’t rule the world
You’d better get that in your head
This world is ruled by violence
But I guess that’s better left unsaid
~Union Sundown / Bob Dylan

I decided to see Munich again recently, the 2005 in part to see Daniel Craig, who now has star power due to his Bond role but was then one of many talented faces to share the spotlight, or rather not steal the spotlight as director Spielberg's aim was to spotlight the story.

SPOILER ALERT

Munich aims to re-tell the story of Black September and its aftermath. Black September is the name given to the slaughter of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics, an event so public and visible it rocked the world. The movie details the follow up, the non-visible retribution, the actions of a secret team of hit-men whose assignment was to hunt down and kill all the perpetrators.

Eric Bana plays Avner, who has been appointed head of the five man team with Golda Meir herself giving the stamp of approval. This is, however, an off-the-books operation and no one is ever to know it even existed.

The film is violent, with the realistic violence Hollywood seems to excel at. And the taut story line is typical Spielberg in that it's so skillfully assembled. Everything about the film is executed with excellence.

But what makes the film important are the questions it asks. How does violence stop violence? What does violence do to the good guys themselves as they carry out their violent missions? And for Avner, who is the central character in this story, what does it mean to be a Jew?

This is Spielberg's trademark. Selecting one individual to tell the story of far vaster importance. In Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg used the quest to find one soldier a long way from home as a vehicle for giving us an up close and personal perspective about Normandy, D-Day, and war. In Schindler's List we come to understand meanings about the Holocaust through the story of a man who at great risk chose to do something redemptive rather than close his eyes and walk with the herd.

The film Munich opens with Avner and his pregnant wife, intimate and looking forward to starting a family. Things don't always go as planned. Black September results in the formation of a hit squad, and Avner is selected to lead the team because his father was a war hero. As Avner leads the team on its circuit of European capitals and Lebanon, they become externally successful in their efforts, but internally crumpled, torn by the weight of paranoia, uncertainty and even doubts about the mission.

The film ends with Avner and his wife, and daughter, in New York. But it is no longer the innocent young man we saw at the film's beginning. He's been changed, which is the essence of any good story.

ennyman rating: Five stars out of five

Fourth of July Reflections

A few days ago I started listening to the audio version of Don't Know Much About American History, a concise overview of our heritage, written for 4th to 7th graders. I believe our kids read this when we were home schooling, but it is a good read for any age. That is, there's plenty of thought food as we revisit our nation's story.

The format is question and answer, but really the author simply uses the questions as clever ways to talk about various people and events. For example, "Did Daniel Boone wear a coonskin cap?" The question is less relevant than the subject matter, which is actually, "What was Daniel Boone's role in early American history?"

With today being Independence Day, it is fitting that yesterday I listened to the section on our American Revolution and thought maybe a few words about Thomas Jefferson would be suitable. When it comes right down to it, history is essentially about characters. The events of history are best understood by understanding the people who were catalysts for these events.

We celebrate July 4 as the birthday of our country, but it's interesting that both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson also died on this date, and in fact the same day many Independence Days ago. These two men, our second and third presidents, played major roles in their day. I think it no accident that these two men owned the largest personal libraries in colonies. Both were studious readers.

Jefferson was also a writer. When the Continental Congress decided to declare its independence from England, they called on young Tom Jefferson to draw up the first draft, and a stellar piece of writing it was. In point of fact, when Jefferson died his tombstone makes no mention of his being the third president of the U.S. Rather, he had it inscribed there that he was author of the Declaration of Independence, founder of the University of Virginia and responsible for Virginia's Statute of Religious Freedom.

Jefferson's pen did more than just scribe a critical document in our history. He was also an avid letter writer. Using a machine called a polygraph he made copies of his letters, which numbered more than 16,000 in all, or 19,000 depending on who's count is most accurate. If you've ever been to Monticello, his home in Virginia, you'll also know that the guy was into gadgets. But foremost, he was a writer.

Let's read the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

This was followed by what have come to be the Declaration's most significant pronouncements.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

After this Preamble, there followed a list of grievances, an outline of justifications for such an action as this.

Whereas the ideals are profound, there were still flaws in our founding documents. Slavery remained as an institution, and women had few rights. Landowners still held the power, that is, men with property. But events had been set in motion that would re-shape the future, founded on ideals and dreams.

As you enjoy the day... reflect a little on our roots, and dream.

Seven Curses

Seven Curses is another powerful song from The Witmark Demos which I have been enjoying this ten days. The story is a variant on the classic tale of someone paying a price to release a loved one from the gallows. In this case it is a man's daughter striving to save her father.

The theme is an old one with variants as numerous as its interpreters. The legendary Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter, whose music influenced Dylan), recorded a version of the song in 1939. And Robert Plant sang his own version of the ballad in his own definitive way on Led Zepellin 3 in 1970.

For years one of my favorite Peter, Paul and Mary songs was Hangman, which begins,

Slack your rope hangman, slack it for a while, I believe I see my father comin', riding many a-mile; Father have you brought me hope, or have you paid my fee? Or have you come to see me hanging, from the gallows tree?

Each verse is goes like this, with various family members arriving one at a time. But in each instance the refrain follows.

I have not brought you hope, I have not paid your fee, yes I have come to see you hanging from the gallows tree.

This sequence plays out throughout the song till the last verse in which his true love comes and indeed delivers him from the gallows.

Dylan's version is sung with much more gravity using the mournful haunting sound that he carved for himself in those early New York days. The intonations differ significantly in character from the Peter, Paul and Mary version with their fluid harmonies. Dylan crafted the tone of bitter injustice which later became the vehicle for transmitting stories of bitter injustice as in the death of Medgar Evers (Only A Pawn In Their Game) and The Death Of Emmett Till.

Sadly, in a world broken like ours, not all ballads can have happy endings.

Seven Curses

Old Reilly stole a stallion
But they caught him and they brought him back
And they laid him down on the jailhouse ground
With an iron chain around his neck

Old Reilly’s daughter got a message
That her father was goin’ to hang
She rode by night and came by morning
With gold and silver in her hand

When the judge he saw Reilly’s daughter
His old eyes deepened in his head
Sayin’, “Gold will never free your father
The price, my dear, is you instead”

“Oh I’m as good as dead,” cried Reilly
“It’s only you that he does crave
And my skin will surely crawl if he touches you at all
Get on your horse and ride away”

“Oh father you will surely die
If I don’t take the chance to try
And pay the price and not take your advice
For that reason I will have to stay”

The gallows shadows shook the evening
In the night a hound dog bayed
In the night the grounds were groanin’
In the night the price was paid

The next mornin’ she had awoken
To know that the judge had never spoken
She saw that hangin’ branch a-bendin’
She saw her father’s body broken

These be seven curses on a judge so cruel:
That one doctor will not save him
That two healers will not heal him
That three eyes will not see him

That four ears will not hear him
That five walls will not hide him
That six diggers will not bury him
And that seven deaths shall never kill him

Copyright © 1963, 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991, 1992 by Special Rider Music

The Carlton Disc Golf Sanctuary

Today's my brother Ron's birthday. We just spoke a few moments ago, I to send a greeting and he to share what he's up to today. At least one segment of his day will involve golfing.

I myself enjoy a good round of golf. But something I have never done, and look forward to, is playing a round of disco golf.

I've heard of disc golf, aka frisbee golf, but until last year never really knew where I could play. Last weekend I finally checked out the Carlton Disc Golf Sanctuary, and guess what? This is one very sophisticated disc golf course.

The underutilized facility was quite impressive. John Oberg and his son Jade, pictured here, were doing the course and both were surprised at the high standards. Well laid out, very well marked, and simply satisfying.

At the top of the page is a map of the course. Much of it runs through a forest, with narrow chutes through which one aims their discs. A portion of the course is on a broad expanse of open field, and the overall effect is gratifying.

For what it's worth, there are two upcoming events that local disc golfer should mark on their calendars. The first is during Carlton Daze. On Sunday morning July 31 at 10:00 a.m. there will be a competition event, with entrants divided by age group. The younger, from 0-15 (we doubt there will be many zero-year-olds) and the older group 16 and up. There's a $6.oo entry fee with many fine prizes, plus an optional one dollar Ace Pot.

On August 20th there is another competition for serious disc golfers. The grand prize is a tournament bag with 8 discs and other prizes. The $25 entry fee will get you two discs and a key chain. There's a limited registration, so you may wish to inquire early at Carlton Bike Rental, across the parking lot from the VFW.

For casual disc golfers, Carlton Bike Rental has all the discs you need, either to rent or purchase. They also have ice cream and other cold treats to help you chill when you have finished a hot run in the sun.

You owe it to yourself to check it out. I'm certainly looking forward to giving it a shot. It's summertime.

After Near Two Years It Is Time to Free the Hikers

As I was reflecting on our summer events schedule I recalled to mind that at some point in late July last year having participated in a small demonstration on behalf of the three hikers who had been arrested and imprisoned in Iran one year before. It is believed that they were not even on the Iran side of the border, but most certainly if they had inadvertently trespassed it was without ill will. Duluth Mayor Don Ness was present, as were members of the Shane Bauer family and Senator Al Franken.

Iranian forces detained Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal on July 31, 2009 while they were enjoying a recreational hike in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. There are conflicting news reports about whether they strayed across the poorly marked border by mistake or Iranian forces entered Iraq to arrest them. One thing certain, our geography maps in school have very defined lines where one country ends and another begins, and usually the countries are different colors. It is most unfortunate that such definition was absent for Shane, Sarah and Josh.

If you have been following the story, Sarah Shourd was ultimately released on $500,000 bail last fall, due primarily to health concerns. Once free she began campaigning for the release of her fiance Shane and friend Josh.

This week I was notified by a friend of Shane's mom that a trial date had been set. Interestingly enough, the date coincides with the second anniversary of the hikers' arrest and detention. Here's the story from UPI.

TEHRAN, June 20 (UPI) -- The trial of two American hikers who strayed into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan will begin on the second anniversary of their arrest, their lawyer said.

"I've just received an official notification that says the ... trial will be on July 31 in the morning, which is exactly the anniversary of their arrest in the Iran-Iraq border two years ago," attorney Massoud Shafii said in a Los Angeles Times report Monday.

Read more.

Think of all the things that have happened in your life this past twelve months. Now go back yet another year to July 2009. Two years of life experience have been stolen from these kids. My prayer is that something inside them will have added a depth and power to their lives that makes the years which follow significant. Undoubtedly this kind of experience makes a life changing impact.

We take our freedom for granted. For a brief space of time today let's remember these young men as they approach the end of a second year in Iranian captivity.

EdNote: The image at top was created for last year's memorial... do not think it is still but one year. Sadly we approach two. It really is time to free the hikers.
Lower right: In May I ran into Senator Franken at the Minneapolis airport while I was on my way to Denver. Though all smiles for this photo, we talked in more serious tones about Shane and Josh.