Folk music had long been political but [Bob] Dylan's poetry took it to a new level. Jay Michaelson More Quotes by Jay Michaelson More Quotes From Jay Michaelson The Buddha’s dharma didn’t teach peace and relaxation; it taught awakening—often rude awakening. Jay Michaelson rude awakening relaxation All relaxation does is allow the truth to be felt. The mind is cleared, like a dirty window wiped clean, and the magnitude of what we might ordinarily take for granted inspires tears. Jay Michaelson relaxation inspire dirty Sometimes, sitting there on the cushion failing to watch your breath, it can feel like you’re the only weirdo weird enough to be wasting your time in this way. But you’re not! There are generations of weirdos, monasteries full of them, and we have the benefit of their accumulated wisdom. Jay Michaelson generations sitting watches [Bob] Dylan thus deserves the Nobel Prize, not just for "new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition," as the Nobel committee aptly described his work, but also for embodying the contradictions within it. Jay Michaelson bob expression song There’s no path to liberation that doesn’t pass through the shadow. Jay Michaelson liberation shadow path What a miracle, that all we have to do to be beautifully loving creatures is just relax and allow. Jay Michaelson relax creatures miracle At the last stages of the journey, there’s no journey at all. Jay Michaelson stage lasts journey Religion is commodified; the educational system is a sham; and yet,[Bob] Dylan wonders, everyone has to stand naked sometime. Jay Michaelson naked bob educational Unlike many Sixties rockers,[Bob] Dylan sang about getting old, about broken dreams. His return to roots music pointed the way for many of his contemporaries to forsake trying to sound 'current' and to instead make music that would stand the test of time. Jay Michaelson broken roots dream Weirdly, by the way,[Bob] Dylan also managed to write several beautiful love songs, like "To Make You Feel My Love" (covered by Adele, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, and who knows who else) and "Most of the Time." Go figure. Jay Michaelson writing song beautiful The most recent incarnation of [Bob] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along the Watchtower" sound like a Disney tune, hosts an old-school radio show, and turns up in some unusual places, like ads for Chrysler and Victoria's Secret. Jay Michaelson roots dark school There has been a ton of excellent music in this period (along with a few misses), evoking scenes like a bar-room brawl at a border-town dive, a washed-up singer in a smoky lounge, and the scenes of violence in Bob Dylan latter-day music videos.I think the ethos of this period is best summed up in the 2001 song "Summer Days". Jay Michaelson summer song thinking In late [Bob] Dylan, music is the key to immortality, even though the summer days are long gone. Jay Michaelson keys summer long [Bob] Dylan's many quotations from classic American roots music (that song is from an album aptly titled Love and Theft) join the aging poet to a tradition that preceded him and hopefully will outlive him as well. Jay Michaelson bob roots song More of the symbols are stock (does [Bob] Dylan really have hogs lying out in the mud somewhere? I doubt it), but that's the point. Jay Michaelson bob doubt lying The best songs of this [modern] period - the apocalyptic "High Water," for example - return [Bob] Dylan to where he was in his first phase, updating and transforming American traditional music. Jay Michaelson phases song water Except in these latter-day songs, [Bob] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. Jay Michaelson hell-and-back bob song [Bob] Dylan, like Johnny Cash and only a handful of others, simultaneously embodies the American dream and the harsh wake-up call that comes after it. Jay Michaelson cash bob dream While [Bob] Dylan's folk fans thought he was selling out [in 1965-67], actually Dylan was lodging a stronger, deeper critique of American hypocrisy. Jay Michaelson stronger fans hypocrisy [Bob] Dylan would cut out phrases from magazines and then paste them together. Jay Michaelson phrases cutting together
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