Bob Dylan

I discovered Dylan in 2000. Time magazine had featured him on its list of most influential entertainers of the century. I saw a photo of Dylan and about a year later bought my first Dylan album - Live in 1966. Many songs on the B side were so noisy, I could harldy hear Dylan. But tracks on the A side were superb and I was hooked.
Then a friend played me songs from Biograph, especially Blowin' in the Wind. We even tried to use the song on a documentary about Naxalites in Kerala that a group of us made together. But that didn't quite work out.
Then I was gifted a copy of Biograph myself. It is not Dylan's best collection, but it's very comprehensive.

Dylan is not a very good singer, in my opinion. But he is brillant songwriter and can emote words really well. Just listen to him on the Jerry Maquire soundtrack. It's hard to understand Dylan as a rocksinger, because he is anything but one. No rock star that I know of writes songs quite like him. Visions of Johanna, Desolation Row and To Ramona are my favs. I recently began reading Chronicles: Vol One, which is Dylan's memoirs. One of best books on him, we can say, written by himself.

Btw, Dylan didn't sing in the Royal Albert Hall in 1966. The concert actually took place in another hall nearby. Why it's advertised as the Royal Albert Hall concert, well I never did quite find out.

Happy B'day Dylan

Yesterday was Bob Dylan's birthday. He was born on May 24, 1941. Belated wishes Dylan. I worry you wont' have many more of those coming your way now.
Here are the lyrics to the song Bob wrote for his son. May you stay forever young, a sort of tribute.
Oh, I almost forgot. There is a collection of interviews of Dylan that has recently been released. Copies are available in Landmark, Chennai.

To Ramona

Ramona, come closer,
Shut softly your watery eyes.
The pangs of your sadness
Shall pass as your senses will rise.
The flowers of the city
Though breathlike, get deathlike at times.
And there's no use in tryin'
T' deal with the dyin',
Though I cannot explain that in lines...

(This song is from Dylan's Another Side of Dylan. It's one of my favs. Read the complete song here.)

Hollywood directors I love

This is not a list of directors I admire. That list would be too long. These are the guys who provoke excitement and passion in me for the movies they make. These are the directors I love. So, in no particular order, here is the list:

Ridley Scott
He took horror to space, made a superb science fiction movie, and turned the swords and sandals epic on its head. When Alien was made, Hollywood was just beginning to conquer space and special effects. The film, which straddled the horror and sci-fi genres, was chilling and made Sigourney Weaver an action hero, a poster girl and a feminist icon. Blade Runner had the best sets for a sci-fi movie – created a whole new world for itself. My favourite, though, is Thelma and Louise, a wild chick flick starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. I really loved Geena Davis in this movie.

Steven Spielberg
If Spielberg had died having only made Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park, he would still be the most successful moviemaker ever in terms of BO returns. But then he had to go make Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List. I actually loved Amistad though it was a horrible flop. Must be the most famous English movie director in India. Even my grandmom can identify him.

Cameron Crowe
Bob Dylan said the liner notes Crowe wrote for Biograph, Dylan’s three-CD collection, were the best part of his album, not the songs like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘Like a Rolling Stone’.Then Crowe made Jerry Macquire, one of funniest and endearing movies I have seen. Endearing usually is a good word for sentimental tearjerkers but Crowe keeps this movie from descending into inanity. But my favourite is Almost Famous, probably the best tribute to Rock music that Hollywood ever made.

Martin Scorcese
Probably the greatest living Hollywood filmmaker. Has combined art house qualities with pure entertainment so effectively that it’s hard to distinguish his somber movies from the fun ones. Taxi Driver, a dark, moody piece, is as entertaining as the Aviator, which was criticized for not confronting Howard Hughes’s dark side. Departed got released this week to good reviews. My favourite: Aviator

Clint Eastwood
A director at the height of his powers, seemingly, all the time. Famous for shooting scenes in a single take, Clint is now working on his most ambitious project yet, Flags of Our Fathers and its companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima. Does anybody realise that Million Dollar Baby is rightfully a sports movie?
My favourite: Unforgiven

David Cronenberg
One movie that really disturbed me in my teens was The Fly. Scenes from this movie would keep playing in my head over and over again. But yet there was this cheesy, B-movie feel to this movie in which the lead character during a transportation experiment transmutes with a fly. My favourite: A History of Violence

Quentin Tarantino
New addition to the brat pack that once was the duo of Spielberg and Lucas. Has made violence of the blood letting kind fashionable, even stylish. Probably one of the most influential filmmakers in the world today. Lately seem to be running on his reserves with Kill Bill garnering mixed reviews. My favourite: Pulp Fiction

Woody Allen
One director who is prolific even if he has made some aweful movies. He may have found his latest muse in Scarlett Johansson. Explored the male-female relationship like no other director. Quintessentially American and funny. His movies are a great PR exercise for the city of New York.
My favourite: Annie Hall

(I did a cursory search for directors I may have missed but didn't find anyone. Who else do you think should have been on the list? The directors you include should have worked for 10 years in Hollywood so that we avoid the one-hit wonders and the newbies. And most importantly, they should be alive.)

Dylan out with new album

Bob Dylan's first album in 5 years Modern Times is out on Sony records.
There is this new page up on Google Video to mark the release of Modern Times. I have a slow connection. Do let me know how they are.

Something else you might be interested in. Mark Haddon, the author of Curious Incident of the Dog at the Night-time, has written a new book. Read Janet Maslin's review of A Spot of Bother here.

Graceland - Paul Simon at his best

If you have listened to Simon and Garfunkel in The Graduate, you may not recognise Paul's voice and compositions for his more recent solo album Graceland. And I should defenitely add to that list you won't recognise, Simon's unique lyrics for this album. After having listened to Graceland for every night over the last week, I feel Simon's lyrics to this album are among the best for any rock album - and that should include Dylan as well.
Graceland is the name of Elvis Presley's estate in Memphis. (More here) But what Simon does with his album is borrow some really beautiful instrumentation, chanting and howling from the traditional music in Africa. Yes, howling. It's great to listen, btw.
If S&G were singing sweet ballad like songs with enchanting lyrics, then Graceland is in part African, in part Jazz, in part Rock n Roll and in part Rock music.
While Graceland found its way into Rolling Stone's best 500 albums ever list, it was also taken to task by some reviewers like this one.
But I have now listened to it more than a few times and I really do like it. I find it a liberating experience to listen to music which is from the 'other'.

Some of my other posts about rock music are here.

Links galore

Recently found this site. Been listening to Dylan ever since.

Found this post on resigning from a newspaper editorial on Smal Ideas

I have long been a fan of Jarshad's PJs. Have a look here. Meanwhile, Rahul, a buddy since ACJ, takes to blogging with a lament.

Linkfest-2

I got time to link, but not to write. Here you go then,
Stephen Hawking on forming colonies in space.
3-year-old Power Ranger saves a life.
and two links I stole from India Uncut,
Kingfisher swimsuit calendar-2007
and why you ought to be a fan of Rushdie.
And finally, here is Bob Dylan with Like a Rolling Stone in this 1966 concert.

Walking the line

Johnny Cash began singing sometime during the 1950s, may be early 40s. I don't know. He was pre-Dylan, though. After quitting the Air Force after a brief stint, Cash, in his twenties and newly married, began selling home appliances.
In the movie Walk the Line, which was recently released in Chennai, Joaquin Phoenix plays Cash.
Joaquin is a good actor. His performance in The Gladiator was meticulously conceived and executed. Even in trash like Ladder 41 (was that the name of the movie? Lauda 41, my friend called it then) he shines, and almost manages to rescue what is otherwise a rather pedestrian and predictable film.
But by playing the legendary Cash, Joaquin, I think landed the role - perhaps the first - of his lifetime. The movie is not too great, utterly failing in one thing that it really should have spared no effort to unravel. The creative genius behind such songs as 'I walk the Line' and 'Folsom Prison Blues' is hardly explored.
Another movie made a couple of years back, Ray too failed in this aspect.
Both Ray and Walk the Line follow a similar plot trajectory - the first big break and the racy, intoxicating life and career of the artists, the love of their lives, one childhood memory that haunts them, their addiction to drugs, a descent into near obscurity, and ultimately their redemption and second coming.
John loses his older brother in an accident at a carpentry shop. His sorrow and guilt at not being there to help his brother when he most needs him is doubled when his dad, weak with drink, blames John and then God. In a early pivotal scene, Cash Sr blames God for taking away "the wrong son".
John and his complicated relationship with his dad is a recurring theme throughout the movie, and in a proportion that can match any Russian novel. Years later, John is struggling with his drug addiction when Dad points out that John has nothing in his life. His wife and children have fled. His life is empty just like his big wooden house. Cruel blow it does seem, but it is also the starting point of John's redemption.
The title Walk the Line itself has a famous story behind it. Please be patient and read on.

Early in his musical career, Johnny, 23, then opening for The King (the Elvis Presley), 20, meets June Carter. In the movie, this is presented in a dramatic fashion. Reese Witherspoon plays the effervescent and bouyant June, bringing with her in the early scenes a radiant charm and, then later on, superbly subtle acting.
Joaquin is hardly Jude Law - meaning, he is hardly romantic. At least in my eyes. I suppose millions of his female fans would disagree, but to me it was Ms. Witherspoon who saved the romantic scenes of the movie.
One of the first songs the two sing together has something to do with arms and lips and about using them. :)
Johnny, by now, is into drugs as much he is into June. And on a morning when Johnny's band and June are to perform together, he gets stoned and drunk. After bombarding the entire band with whiskey bottles, she screams "You guys can't walk the line"
Thus, remarkably enough, is the born one of the most famous songs on fidelity. I reproduce the lyrics here and I think you should read them and if possible listen to the song too before continuing.



I Walk the Line
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line

You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I am too tired now. It's like the hour that God eases the Lucifer out of me and pushes me to bed. I promise to continue on Walk the Line sometime soon. Good night folks, and happy reading.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358273/externalreviews

If you have Real player or its equivalent, visit http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/watc/20001223.watc.08.rmm
Happy listening too.

Graveyard Shift

Reprobate, owner of a particularly messy blog, has towards the end of March written on a term that is quite familiar for journalists - The Graveyard Shift. I am on one this week, after quite a while. I moved jobs recently and have been put on this dreadful shift for the first time. Yesterday, a couple of fellas on the sports desk decided to stay back. So the loneliness didnt quite get to me. Today, they disappeared and I am sitting here, listening to Dylan's tribute to Woody Guthrie, and it is quite depressing - the working in the night business not the song.
My office consists of just three floors and most of it is taken up by this huge Rs 40-crore printing machine, which churns out three lakh issues in about three hours or so. The rest of it is office space and the editorial is this large hall, full of cubicles. Inhuman, I say. It's a bit like being in a factory; your only friend is your computer. The fella in the next cubicle often exchanges only ten words with you the entire day.
I used to enjoy working in the night. It's anti-social, against the grain, and is everything I value in life. I can sit alone, and work on anything I want, read the whole night, watch three movies, do anything I want. But after doing this for about three years in a row, I am sick and tired of it. I wanna a day job. Nine to Fiver- like in a bank. Doing something that is even more pointless than this.
I have rarely rambled on my blog. But here is how is sound when I ramble. Tune off, if you dont like it.