The Whole Wide World is watching

The best of the web
(with thanks to Expecting Rain)

by Martin Stein
 

1.   Heading For Another Jaunt - Dylan's March 2004 USA tour dates have been announced (www.bobdylan.com/live/) 

2.   Caribbean Wind-Up - 'Blowin' in the Wind: A Reggae Tribute to Bob Dylan' (CD 153.056, 2003) has been released. The tracks and artists are: 

THE ABYSSINIANS - Blowin' in the Wind
MANKIND - The Times They Are A-Changin¹
MIGHTY DIAMONDS -1 Shall Be Released
FOURTH STREET SISTERS - Mr Tambourine Man
LEHBANCHULEH - Just Like A Woman
SUGAR BLACK - You're A Big Girl Now
MELLO - Silvio
CHALICE - Lay Lady Lay
REGGAE ROCKERS with BRADLEY BROWN - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
BRADLEY BROWN - Forever Young
REGGAE ROCKERS with SUGAR BLACK and BIGGA STAAR - The Mighty Quinn
JUDY MO WATT - Knockin' on Heaven's Door 

3.   Cover-Down - An extensive database of song covers by and of Dylan can be found at www.coversproject.com/artist/Bob+Dylan 

4.   Advertising Signs That Con - A local edition ("Cornere del Veneto") of the major Italian newspaper ("II Corriere della Sera") says that Bob Dylan is in Venice to play a role in a spot. The article says that Dylan landed in Venice Saturday and spent all the day in the Gritti Hotel (on the Canal Grande). He got out just to play his role in the advertisement, shot in an ancient palace. He was the only male in a cast composed by top models. The article didn't say what kind of advertisement it was. 

5.   Belle Isle - A new book Bob Dylan In The British Isles (ISBN: 0-9546897-0-4) is to be published in January 2004. The book costs £15 + £5 p&p from Steve Butterworth, 95 Tenterfields, Great Dunmow, Essex CM6 1HJ. 

6.   Precious Memories - Bob Dylan has finally completed the first part of his long-awaited memoirs. Dylan initially delivered 30,000 words, but his publishers, Simon & Schuster, understandably thought this a trifle short. The singer has now doubled the word count. The first of three volumes will relate his time in the early 1960s, traipsing around New York clubs, listening and then composing. 

7.   Play A Song For Me - An excellent interactive online database of Bob Dylan performances covering an astonishing 2174 concerts, 37674 songs performed, can be found at http://db.dylantree.com/ 

8.   Maybe Someday - The UK release date of the Don't Look Back DVD is now 4^th September 2004. 

9.   Greasy Kid's Stuff - Buoyed by a plentiful supply of Coca-Cola, Wotsits and Jammie Dodgers, Gabrielle (six), Ben (six), Holly (seven), Beth (seven), Benjamin (seven) and Sophie (six) - all friends from Rokesly infant school in Crouch End, north London - were willing guinea pigs in our experiment to discover if children could enjoy crusty old rock music. As well as gauging their opinions we tested their endurance by allowing them to stop the song when they became bored and posed the all-important question: is this better than Busted?

Bob Dylan: Like A Rolling Stone (1965)
What the grown-ups say: "Dylan drives his inspiration and imagination to even greater heights... Anger, hatred, disgust, defiance, disbelief, apathy, ignorance, repugnance; it's all here." (Earthsound)
What the kids say: Beth - This is not good. Holly - He said bums. This sounds really, really old. Ben - Brilliant, this is just brilliant. It's great. I actually really like it. Sophie - He sounds like he's just smelled something really bad, like cat poo. Benjamin - Twenty trillion out a septillion. It's like mouldy old bread. Attention span: 15 seconds.
Better than Busted? "It's stupid, Busted aren't stupid."