u/Sheev_Skywalker

I feel like the technical answer is Pops, but in the actual course of the show Rigby has the most development and most distinct arc, even more so than Mordecai by the end. So, Rigby is my pick.

What do y’all think?

I always understood on an intellectual level what the song is about and why it was/is so impactful for so many, but it finally really clicked for me.

Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is a very odd album. A young, up and coming singer-songwriter in NYC, posed in a cozy looking album cover with his then girlfriend. Probably an album mainly about relationships, growing up, friendship, and other similar life topics, with an intimate and maybe even comforting feel? Well, sorta.

But it’s also about the end of the world, at the hands of the wicked, and how those wicked, even when not causing the apocalypse make the world a worse place and cause the suffering of the innocent. It’s about how the world seems to be broken, and how it may have always been this way, and maybe always will.

Hard Rain is perhaps the starkest example of the latter subject matter. Images of things already wrong with the world, as well as terrible possibilities that have as yet not come to pass. The world has always been a messed up place, but as a resident of this planet and one who sees how messed up it can be, Hard Rain really clicked with me yesterday.

Honestly, I love Freewheelin’ a lot and the mixture of the seemingly disparate subject matters is a huge reason why. As a person who is only a bit older than Bob was when he recorded the album, I feel it may be one of the most timeless and directly applicable across the decades. Of course, there is plenty of value for folks of all ages in the album. But, there is something about his particular blend of personal/growing/romantic topics with dread about the world (it’s current and potential states) and anger at who/how it got that way that just really speaks to me particularly at this age. And the whole thing is presented in such an intimate, even cozy, and easy on the ears package.

For reference, here is verse 6:

“I lived with them on Montague Street

In a basement down the stairs

There was music in the cafes at night

And revolution in the air

Then he started into dealing with slaves

And something inside of him died

She had to sell everything she owned

And froze up inside

And when it finally, the bottom fell out

I became withdrawn

The only thing I knew how to do

Was to keep on keeping on

Like a bird that flew

Tangled up in blue”

Could this be a reference to the political activism/musical movement scene Dylan was a part of in his early career, and his turn towards electric?

The turn from first to third person mid verse before going back to first seems to suggest he is more concerned with the outward perception of the narrator’s misstep, since “he started dealing” as opposed to “I started dealing”. As we know, Dylan was dragged and called a traitor for breaking from the New York folk scene. This fueled a career spanning distrust and contention with the press and public opinion at large.

Beyond his career/public persona, though, this period in his life seems to have carried a lot of more personal baggage and events, generally. He and Joan broke up in 1965, he and Sara wed in late 65/early 66, he was in the throughs of substance abuse issues, and he had the nervous breakdown + motorcycle accident at the end of the summer in 1966, after a grueling tour schedule. He famously went into psuedo seclusion from the public eye after that, and seemed to spend some time becoming a family man and slowing down, as he also had his first biological child in 1966 (though he also adopted Sara’s first child as well).

While Bob has always dismissed it, critics, fans, and even Dylan’s son Jakob all see a lot of self reflection in Blood On The Tracks, particularly about his marriage and relationships. With that seemingly at play, as it possible Bob was engaging in some self reflection and looking back towards a time in his life when one relationship ended, another began, and he started his family on verse 6 of TUIB? In an album that contains so many references to regret, losing someone or something, and similar topics, I see it as very possible. Im no Dylan scholar, but I have to imagine the substance use/insane touring strained his new marriage with Sara, and probably involved outright infidelities on his part. Maybe that is what he sees as his actual “dealings” worth denigration. Lord knows he was not going to write a song lamenting his change to electric/leaving the folk scene, but maybe there are deeper, more personal regrets he has from that time and wanted to use that as a framing to discuss them.

What are y’all’s thoughts? I know many will say that his songs are not meant to be taken as autobiographical (at least solely) and I understand this sentiment. However, he is not as omniscient and removed from his artistry as he would sometimes like others to believe. I’m not saying every single line in Blood On The Tracks is directly about himself and Sara and nothing else, but I personally see some evidence in this particular verse of TUIB, and would love to hear what y’all think!

I think the three album run of John Wesley Harding - Nashville Skyline - New Morning is a very mellow point in his career, with Nashville Skyline being the mellowest of the three.

How do y’all feel?

As the title reads, I hear a certain stress on the way Bob sings “S” sounds in some of his 1965 songs. I looked it up a while ago and I think I saw somebody mentioned it could be due to something with the microphones.

Do you hear it too (such as in the songs I mentioned)?

I’d like to know your favorite opening and favorite closing track specifically as each functions within the role (e.g. for opener how it introduces a theme or mood, how it sets the tone, things like that, and for closer how it closes out sonic/lyrical themes or how it works as a finale, etc.)

Dylan has excelled at sequencing/opening/closing albums for my money pretty much since the Freewheelin’ days onward.

My picks-

Opener: This is a close call, but Im gonna pick Changing Of The Guard

Closer: It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

I recently did a full listen through of this album while at work and I found it enjoyable. I’m less familiar with all his work from the religious era onward, so I would have to re-listen to both albums a few more times to be able to actually back this point up, but to me it felt a bit like he was delving into a sound that would later be fully fleshed out on Time Out Of Mind. To me, both albums have a sort of moody and dark (not depressing or grim, but dark) atmosphere that is quite interesting.

Oh Mercy may not be a standout or anything for him, and outside my first listen, before/after that Ive only listened to a few songs off there. But to be honest, there are some absolute bangers on the album: Most of the Time, Man In The Long Black Coat, and What Was It You Wanted are amazing songs and I would say are a fair representation of his writing ability.

What do y’all think personally? What is the overall sentiment on this one?

So, my question is this: What is/are your favorite Floyd song(s) that is/are a “radio single length” (that being around 2-3.5 minutes)? Im not a stickler, so if you want to pick a song thats like 4 or 4.5 mins I say go for it, but once we hit the 5 minute mark that is generally ”too long” to be a single by historical standards (I know these conventions have ebbed and flowed over the years).

I figured this would be an interesting question, because many of their great songs surpass the 5 minute mark, and anecdotally Ive seen many of their “epics” most commonly listed as favorites among the fandom. So, itll be cool to see which of their shorter songs get the most love!

For me, I have a few answers.

See-Saw (4.5 min)

San Tropez (3.75 min)

Nobody Home (3.5 min)

Lucifer Sam (3 min)

Pigs on the Wing pt 1 and 2 (individually each part is about 1.5 min, together they are around 3 min)

One thing I realized when compiling my songs is that so many of their songs are longer than what I thought. The Gunner’s Dream? a bit over 5 minutes. A Pillow Of Winds? same, over 5 minutes. Even See-Saw which I picked, I expected to be closer to the 3-3.5 range, but it is close to the 5 mark!

Let me know your thoughts!

edit: I would also list their early single See Emily Play as a fav for myself!

Im a Stones fan and have worked through chunks of their catalogue, but am far from an expert.

ive been putting together a playlist of uplifting songs from artists i like that use choir/heavy backing vocals that put me in a good mood.

Shine A Light was actually the inspiration for the playlist, as it helped pull me outta the blues recently. Ive got that and Can’t Always Get What You Want on the playlist so far by way of Stones. What other Stones songs or live performances have a similar energy?

Thanks!

making a playlist of sad songs by artists i like. so far i have Wild Horses (acoustic) and Angie. what other songs by the Stones could fit? what is their saddest song in your opinion?

This is essentially a way of asking what you think his best song/your favorite is, but im interested to hear what people pick. It need not specifically be his most “impactful” song from a wider perspective, but the song you feel is a good illustration of his talent.

I would probably pick Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands.

other contenders are Shelter From The Storm, I Want You, It Aint Me Babe. all accessible songs, but show off different dimensions of his writing and different strengths. Sad-Eyed Lady is a bit less accessible, but is so impressive and atmospheric it may compensate in the aggregate, and i think may be his best melody (at least his best of the 60s)

as the title asks, how can you tell them apart? i feel like not every time i have any scabbing from dermatitis is it always an impetigo infection

Hey yall, Im a fan on the younger side (early 20s) and while ive liked Bob Dylan to one extent or another since i was a kid, over the last couple years ive become a huge fan, and got a ticket to an upcoming concert

this may be a dumb question, but i know bob’s never ending tour has a bit of its own ethos so i figured id ask, but should i expect a merch table at the show?