November 5, 2012

Thanks to Bob Dylan... for a fabulous concert here in Madison tonight.

Untitled

And not a word... not a word... about politics. No imploring us to vote for Obama. Or even to vote.

UPDATE: You know I could be wrong....

43 comments:

bagoh20 said...

Good for him. Maybe he didn't want to go down with the ship like so many lesser talents who bitterly cling. Or maybe he's a Romney guy who knows the delicate nature of his fans.

bagoh20 said...

Or maybe he just came to sing.

Sammy said...

You sound almost shocked to pay good money to see a artist perform..... And it isn't a excuse for the artist to spout to his captive paying audience left wing talking points or a policial ad.

chickelit said...

Bravo! I saw the same show two weeks ago at the Hollywood Bowl.

rcommal said...

:

Ipswichie said...

That's what I love about Dylan. He's such a contrarian. I saw him when I was 20, in a crowd full of kids smoking pot and screaming for him to play Rainy Day Woman (only they were yelling "Everybody Must Get Stoned!). He gave the classic smile, and launched into that old gospel hymn "Glory, Glory, Glory, Somebody Touched Me (It Must Have Been the Hand of the Lord)." So unbelievably awesome.

wyo sis said...

You gotta love a contrarian. At least an awesome one like Dylan.

Anonymous said...
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KCFleming said...

Maybe he couldn't think of a good rhyme for "Romney".

Ipswichie said...

Pogo, hominy would work, I'd think.

Chip Ahoy said...

Did it start with the train sound rising from a distance like the new album? I listened to part of that. I can see how that would be deeply moving to people really into Dylan, like a boss I had before and her whole group of friends. They freak out all over the place whenever there is a new album.

Ipswichie said...

But really, this Reason article sums it up. The efforts of the interviewer are hilarious, as are Bobby's deflections: http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/14/the-badgering-of-bob-dylan-or-tell-us-yo

wyo sis said...

I swear Ipswitchi I was not being snide!
It was a Jinx moment.

Ipswichie said...

OK, Wyo. We'll be unjinxed when Ann quotes her favorite line from the Shot of Love album.

David said...

I think Bob is quite a bit smarter than the average famous musician. He also seems to like the music more than the fame.

RJ said...

It goes back to "My Back Pages", people.

Bob doesn't serve politicians.

Ann Althouse said...

"It goes back to "My Back Pages", people."

I know. Bob's not political. The news is almost 50 years old.

rcommal said...

Exactly.

PatCA said...

I saw him years ago when he was on tour with The Band.

Great show!

Methadras said...

And not a word... not a word... about politics. No imploring us to vote for Obama. Or even to vote.

Well, at least he has some redeeming quality.

AF said...

Um, it looks like missed something: Bob Dylan predicts Obama 'in a landslide'

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Bob Dylan says he thinks President Barack Obama is going to win a landslide.

Dylan made the prediction Monday night midway through the song ‘‘Blowin’ in the Wind’’ during a concert in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Dylan spoke to the Madison audience as he was wrapping up his concert that came just hours after Obama appeared at a morning rally in the same city with rocker Bruce Springsteen.

Dylan made his comments during his encore when he said, ‘‘We tried to play good tonight since the president was here today.’’

He went on to say he thinks Obama will prevail Tuesday.

Dylan says, ‘‘Don’t believe the media. I think it’s going to be a landslide.’’

After his comments, Dylan completed the song to the roar of the crowd.

Anonymous said...

Bob Dylan says he thinks President Barack Obama is going to win a landslide.

Well, that's disappointing!

But then, as much as I love Dylan, I never bought another album of his after "Desire" in 1976.

He's his own guy with his own path. He doesn't owe me anything and I don't owe him anything. I don't set much store by his opinions, whether they align with mine or not.

yashu said...

Re AF's comment. If true, agree with creeley, that would be disappointing. Not because Dylan's opinions don't align with mine (I assume many of our opinions, political and otherwise, diverge), but because (whatever his political opinions are) I've always admired his long-time cryptic reticence/ ambiguity when it comes to current politics.

I do note that what's quoted there (perhaps there was more to it) is, strictly speaking, ambiguous: "Don’t believe the media. I think it’s going to be a landslide" doesn't indicate an Obama landslide, necessarily. Nor an endorsement.

But from the article, my reading may be a stretch. Can't judge, because I wasn't there. Anyway, still love his music.

Chip S. said...

But from the article, my reading may be a stretch.

It's a poorly written article. The "endorsement" isn't an actual quote, but an attribution. The only quote is, as yashu notes, ambiguous.

It seems at least as likely that the stringer who put out that story on AP couldn't conceive of Dylan's predicting a Romney landslide, as much as that Dylan actually predicted an Obama landslide.

And now I've spent two paragraphs more on that story than it's worth. It's even more pointless than usual to worry about anybody's predictions now.

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AF said...

Whatever Dylan was talking about, Althouse is mistaken that he said "not a word... not a word... about politics."

tim in vermont said...

Asserting negatives is always a tricky business. Disappointing still the same.

Jon Burack said...
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Jon Burack said...

Whom do you trust, Boston.com, or your own Ann A's lying eyes? I take Ann any day, since it would contradict everything Bob Dylan has ever said for him to have said something that dumb.

Dylan is as political as it is possible to be, however. Which is why he does not bother a wit with Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, radical lefties, or fringes of any sort whatsoever. Ask yourselves, friends, do you actually KNOW what that answer is that is blowin' in the wind? Even after all these years?

David said...

AP this morning via Yahoo:

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Bob Dylan says he thinks President Barack Obama is going to win a landslide.
Dylan made the prediction Monday night midway through the song "Blowin' in the Wind" during a concert in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
Dylan spoke to the Madison audience as he was wrapping up his concert that came just hours after Obama appeared at a morning rally in the same city with rocker Bruce Springsteen.
Dylan made his comments during his encore when he said, "We tried to play good tonight since the president was here today."
He went on to say he thinks Obama will prevail Tuesday.
Dylan says, "Don't believe the media. I think it's going to be a landslide."
After his comments, Dylan completed the song to the roar of the crowd.


Were there two Dylan concerts?

Automatic_Wing said...

Whatever Dylan was talking about, Althouse is mistaken that he said "not a word... not a word... about politics."

Well, he is notoriously hard to understand...

Once written, twice... said...

Ann hears what she wants to hear .

Craig Landon said...

It's disconcerting, but what Chip S said.

I'm floundering in my originality pond.

edutcher said...

Good for Ann!

As I've said in a previous post, she's worked hard the last 2 years telling the truth and a night of fun is the very least she deserves.

PS There's a story Zero is going to claim victory early to "demoralize" Republicans.

Get the word out.

roesch/voltaire said...

Althouse vs the AP on the Dylan concert is a good example of how we hold on to our beliefs in spite of evidence to the contrary, which is why so many folks are willing to go along with Romney's malarkey.

Kenneth Burns said...

The best line from "Shot of Love" is in "Lenny Bruce": "Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon."

Curious George said...

"roesch/voltaire said...
Althouse vs the AP on the Dylan concert is a good example of how we hold on to our beliefs in spite of evidence to the contrary, which is why so many folks are willing to go along with Romney's malarkey."

You need to look up "irony" in the dictionary. And then look up "parrot". The look up "douchebag" in the urban dixctionary.

Bill said...

Man, what a boring setlist! I've seen him 20 times or so, but I have to say--I'm glad I missed this one.

Nothing from the new album--and he's only played anything from Tempest ONCE (Scarlet Town) this tour. How disappointing, considering the album is probably his best since Oh Mercy.

For those who are interested (I'll try to paste this):


1. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
2. Man In The Long Black Coat (with Mark Knopfler on guitar)
3. Things Have Changed (with Mark Knopfler on guitar)
4. Tangled Up In Blue (with Mark Knopfler on guitar)
5. Rollin' And Tumblin' (with Mark Knopfler on guitar)
6. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
7. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
8. Chimes Of Freedom
9. Highway 61 Revisited
10. When The Deal Goes Down
11. Thunder On The Mountain
12. Ballad Of A Thin Man
13. Like A Rolling Stone
14. All Along The Watchtower

(encore)
15. Blowin' In The Wind

jr565 said...

Don't believe the media, it's going to be a landslide?
The media has been suggesting that Barack is going to lose and is the under dog?

sakredkow said...

The media has been suggesting that Barack is going to lose and is the under dog?

Don't believe the media, it's not going to be close.


sakredkow said...

The best line from "Shot of Love" is in "Lenny Bruce": "Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon."

That is pretty good, but I also like the line from the same song:

"He fought a war on a battlefield
Where every victory hurts."

sakredkow said...

Maybe he couldn't think of a good rhyme for "Romney".

"Comedy" is a good slant rhyme.

Kenneth Burns said...

"He fought a war on a battlefield
Where every victory hurts."

You're right. That is a better line. The Synanon one makes me laugh, though.