Back in 2017 I produced a post, Covering Bob, on cover versions of Bob Dylan’s songs. It was accompanied by a Spotify list that brought together other people’s versions of Dylan’s songs in chronological order of composition, no song appearing more than once though artists could recur. I rather liked the conceit behind it andRead More
Category: Music
2020 – the year of Bob Dylan
At the start of 2020 Bob Dylan might have been looking forward to a quiet year. He had a few new recordings lined up or completed. There would be around 100 concerts – par for the course. He might weld a few gates, sip a little more whiskey, and rest a while. He was goingRead More
2020 – the year in music
According to Spotify, I listened to 462 music genres over 2020. I did not know that there could be that many genres, and I’m certain I couldn’t name them all. At the end of a year’s listening for those signed up to the service, they send a cheery, personalised summary of your year’s listening, packedRead More
Looking back
Among the ugliest of words to have been created to fit the digital age is ‘webinar’ (the ugliest of all is, of course, ‘blog’). It’s a word that highlights the parodic nature of so much of online life. In the real world we had seminars; in the world that imitates it, there are webinars. ThatRead More
In the Pines
The greatest songs are those that demand to be sung again. The reasons for wanting to do so can differ. It may be for the song’s great popularity among a particular set of people, who find self-identification in hearing it once again. It may be in the quality of the songwriting, whose subtleties compel theRead More
What would Julius Caesar do?
Among the many allusions, startling images and examples of mischievous wordplay that litter Bob Dylan’s new album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, this gem from ‘My Own Version of You’ is a favourite: I pick a number between one and two And I ask myself, “What would Julius Caesar do?” What is Dylan asking the listenerRead More
Play Murder Most Foul
Bob Dylan is the man for a global crisis. His album Love and Theft was unwittingly released on 11 September 2001, a cornerstone of culture at a time when the world seemed to be tumbling. Now, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic that has see a quarter of the world’s population retreat behind itsRead More
100 guitarists – part 5
Finally we come to the top 20 of this listing of 100 instrumentals by 100 favourite guitarists of mine, from number 100 to number one. All of the pieces are instrumentals – I decided that there should be nothing to detract from the guitar itself. It is a personal top 100, selected more by sentimentRead More
100 guitarists – part 4
Here is the fourth of five posts listing a top 100 favourite guitarists of mine, from number 100 to number one. All of the pieces are instrumentals – I decided that there should be nothing to detract from the guitar itself. It is a personal top 100, selected more by sentiment than science. There areRead More
100 guitarists – part 3
Here is part three of a series of five posts listing 100 favourite guitarists of mine, from number 100 to number one. All of the pieces selected are instrumentals – I decided that there should be nothing to detract from the guitar itself. It is a personal top 100, selected more by sentiment than science.Read More