Bob Dylan finds God – a classic article from the vaults

[cbayer]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/sep/11/bob-dylan-classic-article?newsfeed=true

To celebrate the release of Bob Dylan's new album Tempest, we head to Rock's Backpages – the world's leading archive of vintage music writing – for this 1979 NME piece about the musician's relationship with religion

Steve Turner
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 11 September 2012 10.44 EDT


'I can see God in a daisy' … Bob Dylan in 1980. Photograph: Bob King/Redferns

Nothing guarantees more scorn in rock 'n' roll circles than a man who gets religion. I mean, we pay these guys to visit hell and bring us back colour slides and here they go slipping off to heaven. It's a severe breach of contract.

Bob Dylan's newfound faith shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, though. In 1965 he claimed "I just don't have any religion or philosophy," and then went on to plug the I Ching. In his 1966 Playboy interview he's asked by Nat Hentoff: "You told an interviewer last year, 'I've done everything I ever wanted to do.' If that's true, what do you have to look forward to?" "Salvation," replied Dylan, "just plain salvation."

Perhaps the most interesting interview in the light of recent events is one he gave to the American TV Guide in 1976. The interviewer asked him about his 1971 visit to Israel and subsequent interest in Judaism. "I'm interested in what and who a Jew is," said Dylan. "I'm interested in the fact that Jews are Semites, like Babylonians, Hittites, Arabs, Syrians, Ethiopians. But a Jew is different because a lot of people hate Jews. There's something going on there that's hard to explain."

He was then asked how he imagined God.

"I can see God in a daisy. I can see God at night in the wind and rain. I see Creation just about everywhere. The highest form of song is prayer. King David's, Solomon's, the wailing of a coyote, the rumble of the earth. It must be wonderful to be God. There's so much going on out there that you can't get to it all. It would take longer than for ever."

more at link

[rug]

1. Much as I like him, some of his worst stuff came out between his born-again and Zionist phases.

[cbayer]

2. That is true. Have you heard anything off his new album (releasing today).

He's got some great new music, imo. Check it out if you get a chance.

[rug]

3. Not yet. Just a lot of good words about it.

[onager]

4. Joni Mitchell: Everything about Bob Dylan is fake

Joni Mitchell, the Canadian singer-songwriter, has lambasted Bob Dylan as a "plagiarist" and a "fake" in a rare interview...

In her interview, Mitchell also attacked her contemporaries Grace Slick and Janis Joplin, claiming both in their heyday were &quot sleeping with) their whole bands and falling down drunk".

I'd be disappointed to learn otherwise.

She criticised Madonna's cultural influence, saying: "Americans have decided to be stupid and shallow since 1980. Madonna is like Nero; she marks the turning point."

Jebus. Wonder what she thinks of Ke$ha.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/bob-dylan/7625304/Joni-Mitchell-Everything-about-Bob-Dylan-is-fake.html

Edited to fix bracket error, add line

[rug]

5. She's just pissed off about Positively 4th Street.