I am a journalist, writer and broadcaster ... lately I've been concentrating on music, I spent many years as a music critic and a travel writer ... I gave up my last editorship a while ago and started concentrating on my blog. I was also asked to join AirTV International as a co host of a new show called Postcard ...
UKRAINE MUM’S DEFIANCE AS SHE PLAYED PIANO IN HER BOMBED-OUT HOME
A Ukrainian mother-of-two played a moving farewell to her family home after it was blown apart by a Russian bomb.
Professional pianist Irina Maniukina brushed away rubble andfrom her grand just hours after a bomb landed 30 feet away in Bila Tserkva, south of Kyiv.
Then she closed the lid on the keys and fled.
Irana was born in Kyiv almost 50 years ago. Now she is living 300 miles away.
Irana’s daughter Karina took the video. She said, ‘It wasn’t a sad moment. My mother just wanted to let go of unnecessary thoughts.”
She performed a section from Schubert’s Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2 before Chopin’s Aeolian Harp Etude Op. 25 No. 1.
Many have said the video reminded them of The Pianist, a biographical war drama film which won Oscar awards. The film is based on a memoir by Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman.
And Composer Howard Goodall said the video also reminds of the November Uprising, also known as the Polish-Russian War in 1830.
“Particularly poignant that Irina played Chopin, who left his homeland Poland as it (with Lithuanians and Ukrainians) rebelled against and was then crushed by the Russian empire,” Goodall said.
Despite being 80, locked-down by Covid, cashing in his songs chips and despite facing despicable accusations from a ‘space-woman’… despite being beasted by an estate that should have crashed in the levy, offering up a new book and art collection, the Ol’ Man is on the road again.
And facing the arrows of misfortune from new-style concert goers who think they are actually the stars of the show.
Yes! The influencers, the Facebookers, the twitters, the tick-tockers and middle-class chatty men and women think they are more interesting, more important and more vocally strident than Dylan himself.
For the very same reason as Bob’s been off the road, I’ve not been to one of his concerts for too long. But back in Birmingham in the UK I could see it beginning.
A Dylan concert was suddenly quite the place to be for the young and pretty things with the latest plastic glow-in-the-dark mobiles grafted to their glowling right hands.
Flash! Flash! More look-at-me! Look-at-me! Images in the waste bin of real life, the cyber-bucket.
They chatted and posed, preened and grinned, self-ied and shimmied and told their shallow famous for fifteen minutes alternative world, why they were in a concert hall.
Bob was forgotten, ignored, drowned out and insulted by this new age of plastic people so flash they wave their phone torches in the air and jingle their neon ear-rings and pearl necklaces as they throw robotic spidery shapes across the floor.
Shadows in the lights of their own making.
And then they complained that Bob didn’t really grin and chat with the audience … maybe he couldn’t get a word in edge ways!
So, have a read of more reviews (below) of Dylan |Rough and Rowdy Tour – tell us what you think, what you’ve experience – and let’s tell the glitter-chatty to shut their MOUTHS!
Moat of the reviews here have been curated from Bill Pagel’s Bob Links site … https://www.boblinks.com/
10th
Irving, Texas
Toyota Music Factory
March 10, 2022
Review by Mary Connell
What a night! Bob’s voice was strong and clear; set list was exactly same
as Lubbock, and he and the band were in top form. Surprisingly, Bob came
out from behind the piano to greet us six or seven times! Not a word to
the audience, or about the area, in contrast to his trend this tour.
It felt to me that he was a bit cool and standoffish, not as warm and
smiling as he has been lately. One possibility, if that was so, was that
he was not feeling the love from the audience. Being from the area, I feel
the need to apologize to Bob and the band for several distractors. One, a
woman who was front and center in the audience was shouting throughout, as
if to insist on a personal dialogue with Bob. She was so loud that
security approached her no fewer than four times during the concert (and
spoke with her numerous times before it began) and she really never
stopped. She was on her feet, arms up, dancing and calling out to Bob
almost constantly. Two, a group of four couples sat just to her left, in
the front row, center, and they talked to each other throughout the night.
The young women never looked at the stage but for the couple of times they
decided to stand and dance (I was directly behind them in the second row);
otherwise they were chattering inanely about their day to day activities.
The young men with them were in and out of the room, apparently buying
drinks or doing lines of coke or something—it did not seem that a single
one of them had a reason to be there. Third, the audience at large was not
particularly responsive—virtually no standing o’s after the first few.
The lights were on in the audience, btw, as at other venues, so if the
purpose is for Bob to see where and how his music is landing, I can
imagine he may have felt somewhat underappreciated.
Laurette, I looked for you but did not spot you outside before or after.
Your reviews have been delightful, last fall and this tour. I only
“discovered” Dylan in early COVID and this was my first time to see him,
and you prepared me well to know what to expect. Following your lead, I
arrived early, found the buses, stood with a few fans chatting and
watching the activity, hoping for what we knew would not happen, a
Bob-sighting. Went inside early, saw that my seat was not great (the venue
is almost flat, so mezzanine seats are not tiered enough to give a good
view.)
When Bob thanked the audience, after Jimmy Reed, people literally started
walking out—the eight people in front of me milled around as Bob
introduced the band and were gone as he began Grain of Sand. Bob, I am so
sorry we are that uncivilized here. You are so precious and it was
wonderful to be able to drink in your performance.
Mary Connell
From Lubbock to Irving.
I get up early in March 9th and walk to the Buddy Holly Center. It opens at
10am and I have to check out at 11am. So I rush and run (literally) back to
the Super8 hotel. Nice museum and sad story about Buddy disappearing
tragically at an early age.
I check out and walk to the greyhound station. The bus leaves on time at
2.50pm to reach Dallas at 10pm. Nice and quiet trip except for the driver
to call the police to bust a passenger smoking in the toilets!
I walk the half hour to my youth hostel, the Deep Ellum hostel, to realize
I am in the "busy" area of Dallas. Excessively noisy :( . I won't be able to
sleep before 4 am when they close the bars and clubs.
March 10th.
Wake up, take a shower, drink coffee and walk the streets sarrounding
me. The walls are covered with paintings, murals. I take hundred of photos.
By 4pm I contact my good friends Carol Wilkinson and Joni. We will meet
by the Toyota music factory. I catch the orange line train and here we are
in a restaurant, eating a pizza. We have fun being together again. Carol
and Joni are pure Angels, feeding me, buying me a ticket for the show
and offering me some Bob Dylan merchants item. I can't be too much
thankful to those good souls ! :)
Corki, a good friend and Fan, texted me that he will finally be able to
reach Irving on time for part of the show. He drove all the way from
Arkansas to attend some shows.
By 8pm Bob is on in a venue looking like a stadium, I mean not a
theater. Thanks to the good job of Jason, the sound is perfect.
Bob is loud and clear, particularly excited on " I'll be your Baby tonight"
with some "yeah" and laughs in between the lyrics. A bit sarcastic :)
He will say "thank you" twice and move 5 times center stage for a
pause, looking at the public for few seconds. He will start " When I
paint my masterpiece" with a long intro on harmonica. It looks like
Tony is surprised. Just before "melancholy mood" he steps forwards
the center mic but retrieves in security behind the piano. All the
songs are rapidly and powerfully interpreted.
" Save somebody " makes few fans stand up in the front but globally
the public is static. Corki arrived for the fifth song and told me later that
a lot of folks left the venue before the end. :(
The girl next to me is just constantly drinking and gets annoying.
From where I seat I have a good view of the guitars; Bob Britt and
Doug Lancio. Britt doing the rythme , acoustic on " When I paint my
masterpiece"? and Doug the riffs. (Chewing gum :) ).Charley is
powerful on his drums. Tony bent on his standing bass.
After "Jimmy Reed " I focus on Bob's lips to catch his talk. Who will
he refer to tonight? He simply says "thank you friends" and introduce
the Band. No speech on JFK??
A pause ... And off he's gone to the next show.
I wait for Corki, Carol and Joni.
I will travel with Corki to the next cities; Sugarland and San Antonio.
Can't wait to have a great time with my new Bob Dylan friend.
Thank you to my good Samaritans Carol Wilkinson and Joni Zornes.
Much love and prayers. See you in Austin.
Lubbock, Texas
Buddy Holly Hall Helen DeVitt Jones Theater
March 8, 2022
Review by Susan Phillips
Lubbock, Texas! If any concert on Bob’s “Rough and Rowdy Tour”
would be the most magical, Buddy Holly’s birthplace had be it! Dylan
told us in his speech for the Nobel Prize in Literature that It all
started seeing Buddy Holly perform at the Duluth Minnesota Armory. His
best friend Louie Kemp watched amazed as Buddy Holly locked eyes with the
skinny kid in horn-rimmed glasses, and in that moment Bob knew what he
wanted to do … and, as Bob puts it in “False Prophet”, never have an
“unlived, meaningless life”. Always improving, overnight Bob premiered
a new arrangement of “Key West” and absolutely aced it! Earlier he
switched out “Early Roman kings” for “Crossing the Rubicon”. I,
like a lot of Boomers, live that song. The band has reached a peaceful
co-existence and jam between Bob’s verses. They then quiet down and let
his voice and words be heard, and his voice has never been stronger! He
only played the harmonica once, but instead he walked out from behind the
piano after several of the songs to the absolute delight of the audience.
I was especially happy just in case Buddy Holly was watching his protege
from above. Speaking of which, The Buddy Holly Center (museum next to the
large statue of him) is worth a trip to Lubbock. And, to complete the
Buddy-Bob connection, thankfully, the Duluth Armory and the historic stage
and concert area where it all began are being restored, with The North
Country Music Exhibit, featuring Bob Dylan’s formative years, directly
under that historic stage! At the same time, Bill Pagel, who owns Bob’s
family’s first home in Duluth, MN, and the family's second home in
Hibbing, MN, is starting to restore both of them. I’m off to San Antonio
next, but on the way read that Bob, between gigs, just announced he wrote
a new book. Eighty is the new Twenty I guess!
Susan Phillips
Austin, Texas and Northern Minnesota
7th
Review by Laurette Maillet
From Albuquerque to Lubbock.
March 7th.
I enjoy a free day. In the evening Debbie and Mark invite me for
dinner. Mark is a Bob Dylan bootlegs collector. And other collections.
By 10.15pm they drive me to the greyhound station to catch my 11pm
bus to Lobbuck, a night bus. That bus is already 2 hours delayed and
50 patrons have to wait one more hour. When the bus pulls out from
the station we are 3 hours delayed. The problem is ... I have a
connection bus in Amarillo and by now I'm pretty sure I will miss it and
be stuck in Amarillo.( Not in Mobile) with the Memphis blues again!
I am pissed off because I got two tickets for the Lubbock show.
Thanks to Simon and John. They combined their effort to offer me
those tickets. But miracle happens. The second bus is waiting for 5
folks going to Dallas, and Lubbock is on the way. I am more than
relieved when I seat next to a gentleman with a little dog and doze
a bit.
March 8th.
I am the only one stepping out for Lubbock.
I walk empty streets to reach my hotel Super8. I'm allowed to
check in only at 3pm, so I decide to offer myself a breakfast. I
bump into a man and spontaneously we start chatting. His name is
Fred Goldstein and he reminds me of Stanley Goldstein, Bob's cousin
I knew from 81 and 84 Tours. Same physic and same gentlemanly.
We finally end up eating a breakfast together at IHOP.
The story of his life is the first I even heard: he was a bank robber
and served 10 years in jail. He is just released and just moved to
Lubbock. He never used violence. In fact I find him sweet and
intelligent, even sharp. He is also an Artist and his body is full of
his tattoos :) I offer him my second ticket.
By 6.30pm we meet at the entrance of the Buddy Holly Hall
which happens to be one block from my hotel. At 4.30pm I had
checked behind the Hall to see the buses already parked there,
including the Dylan bus. I don't know if Bob was inside(I will
never know :).
We get in the BH Hall. Splendid building brand new and huge.
I'm pretty sure it's not sold out. With Fred we decide not to
take our seats on the balcony but to find two empty seats
closer to the stage. In the back of the floor section many
rows are empty. So we seat there.
The show starts right on time.
"Watching the river flow" is totally massacred; long intro,
particularly Bob on piano,(not too sweet with the keys :( ).
The mic is not open or Bob too far :(
The rest of the songs are fine but Bob seems to be in a rush.
I stand dancing on "Serve somebody" "Melancholy mood"
"Jimmy Reed" and the final "Every grain of sand". Doing
karaoke. "No one in front of me, nothing behind." ....
I am far from the stage but somehow I feel as if Bobby was
playing in my living room. The public is hyper quiet. It feels
strange to take everything as a routine but for some people
tonight, it's the first and last show.
Roger(the new security man) comes next to me. So I ask
him about Barron. He says he retired (at 55 or so??). I feel
sad. I miss the "Samurai". I hope he's happy. Love you
Barron!
Back to Bob on stage. From my angle I see him seating at
the piano stool few times and drinking. He had a chat with
Tony another one with Donnie. I thought he would change
a song. Nope. He rapidly murmurs something, about Buddy
Holly(?) before introducing the Band.
He talks less and less. Changed some lyrics on some songs,
said Caroline Schwartz.
The lights in the public are on during the entire show.
Public quiet except a woman front left, enjoying the
show. Maybe Caroline???
I rapidly steps out as I want to try to sell some of my
prints. Fred helps me and I make some bucks.
Lubbock is not "key west". No paradise on hearth. :)
Large streets and buildings and no people??? Where
are the Lubbockists ??? But a Buddy Holly Center and
a beautiful brand new Buddy Holly Hall.
I had a great day with my new friend and a fantastic
evening. Thanks to Simon and John for the tickets.
Sure John, I'll paint you a masterpiece.
I will see today if I visit the Buddy Holly Center before
heading to Dallas.
Thank you good people. Take care and see some of
you on the road.
If you see me, say hello!
Farewell Barron. I (still) love you :)
Dylan played an energized set in the Buddy Holly performance space in
Lubbock, Texas yesterday evening. Although the set list was his standard
set of songs, in the same order as we’ve seen on the current leg of the
tour, the performance featured a version of Key West that was changed
completely from two nights before in Albuquerque. The crowd responded
loudly to the line in the song referencing Buddy Holly, but the chording,
tempo, and beat of the song was completely different. All night, Bob’s
voice was clear, with louder emphasis at times than two nights before in
Albuquerque, and was the best instrument on the stage. That’s saying
something: Bob’s drummer, Charley Drayton, is superb. And Tony Garnier
is as good as ever. After Key West, both Dylan and Garnier immediately
looked to each other to get a sense of how the changes sounded and
nodded enthusiastically. Dylan is clearly having fun this tour, smiling often,
and proving yet again he’s first among equals, and truly the last of the
best.
6th
Review by Noel Trujillo
Went for what may be my last rodeo with Dylan at the Kiva
in Albuquerque. This one was bittersweet as Bob gave a
performance that stuck in my psyche just as much as the
Dylan I listened to in the 60’s when I was in high school.
“Gotta Serve Somebody” and “Rubicon” were my personal favorites
tonight, although there wasn’t a bad song sung. The band was
perfect, sweet and hard, meeting the demands of each song.
Dylan sang with a clarity and deepness that was sincere, authentic,
and desperate as if to communicate that if he never sang again,
this was the way he wanted it to be remembered. I feel deeply
satisfied if this is the last chance I get to see him. Maybe, like Bob,
we have all crossed the Rubicon. Those that have a chance to
see him will not regret it.
Noel Trujillo
Chimayo, New Mexico
Review by Rich Wiseman
The man in command! Intrepid captain of the SS Rough and Rowdy Ways!
That was Bob last night at the 2300-seat Kiva Auditorium, which with the
lights turned only two thirds down--perfect for occasional note taking and
checking my setlist cheat pad-- appeared to be a late sell-out.
Oh the night could have been deadly dull with "x" or "y" artist standing
for 97% of the one hour and thirty nine minute concert behind an upright,
with only his head and a portion of his upper torso visible. But Bob was in
such strong voice, so expressive, that he easily crossed the wooden barrier.
This morning, still stamped in my head are lines such as the deliciously
delivered "I can't play the record 'cause my needle got stuuuuuuuuuuuuck!
("Jimmy Reed"). And Captain Bob was LOUD in the mix. His piano, too!
(Damn the occasional clunkers on the keys! Full speed ahead!)
The set was beautifully constructed, with the RARR tunes taking turns
with gems from the multitudes in Bob's catalogue. The pairing of "Gotta
Serve Somebody"--a fiery powerhouse at the Kiva with Charley Drayton
waking the rest of downtown Albuquerque up with his thunderous
drumming--followed by the achingly tender "I've Made Up My Mind to
Give Myself to You" was just exquisite. Knowing he had stuck the
landing on "Serve," Bob walked out from his piano a few seconds
before the last rocking note to acknowledge the roar of the crowd.
Having read the Phoenix and Tucson reviews, I was primed for Bob to
make some locally angled small talk before the band intros. But I didn't
expect him to tell a goofy tall tale about bull snakes! "Went with Tony
to see the bull snakes. Want to see the bull snakes. Are the bull snakes
still around here?" Yes, Bob, bull snakes are a mainstay of the high
desert and are definitely still around here. But you'll not going to find
any in the freezing cold of an early March Albuquerque night! A night
you warmed the heart of this fan, the top of whose young teenage
head you blew off at his first rock 'n' roll concert in 1966!
https://www.boblinks.com/dates.html
https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/2022/03/11/bob-dylans-concert-doesnt-disappoint-his-biggest-fan-mike-rhyner/
#bobdylan #reviews #rrw #
JUST OVER A YEAR AGO … Sadness as Dylan’s lady in Red, Sally, finally ‘goes home’ aged 81
Sally Grossman, the wife of Dylan’s erstwhile manger, Albert, and the women who introduced him to his first wife, Sara, has died.
She was 81 and famous for being the women in red on the iconic cover of Bringing it All Back Home album, Dylan’s halfway house between acoustic and electric.
The photograph was taken at the Grossman’s’ Woodstock home in Bearsville, a two-hour drive from New York City.
The album cover was taken by Daniel Kramer and showed Dylan as a full-blown hipster. He had killed of his Dust Bowl image and posed with Sally, a Persian cat on his lap, and became the epitome of cool.
Sally was the perfect partner for him, 25-years-old, sophisticated, smoking, lounging, beautiful, sleek and decadent, the reality of the 1960s.
Sally is credited in many biographies of introducing Bob to Sara, however, the claim is disputed by his stepson, Peter Lownds.
Albert, whose managed Janis Joplin and The Band, died of a heart attack as he flew on Concorde in 1986. By then Dylan and Albert’s world had turned sour with money at the core.
Sally was apparently dismissive of Dylan too. When asked about the red dress she wore. She said: “I don’t think I ever wore it again…”
Sally died on March 12, 2021 at 81; the cause of death, at this time, is not known.
Eric Lastick is a strange man. He looks lived in, like an old rooming house knocked out and loaded from the inside.
He’s spent his life inside this badly-built walk-on-stilts high-rise of rooms called things like Hope, Aspiration, Dream…
… and still, today, he stares from his rain-melting ancient windows into glistening streets and memories.
Eric Lastick was born in Zurich but never became a gnome… instead he went looking for a place to stay in Pennsylvania, a city built on handmade pretzels, whoopie pies and cheesesteaks
Personally, I’ve never been to Pennsylvania. And doubt I ever will, I have more of a New York state of mind, an Elvis poster across the grey-ness of the days, Minnesota moan and an Iron Range resolve.
But Eric is living in Pennsylvania in his rooming-house mind.
And he is writing in there all the time.
It’s as if there comes a knock at the door, the rent man and Eric’s jailer are standing in the rain. an old railway sign in their hand.
Eric drops a poem into a cup…
Here Eric Lastick writes three short pieces on Dylan, analysing the ways of life that made little Bob Zimmerman what he is today.
Thank you for sharing Eric.
AN ODE TO DYLAN… this day.
Part 1 of 3 BOYHOOD HOME… the morning.
Planes, lanes & bridges of the golds to browns of the overlook sky.
Wind drift, the regulars, yet precious snow top roof of a Minnesota own private little castle… & forefront garden. Mailer home equals of home-grown charm, here in Duluth.
Memories a-flow, in the riches of small family stores. Safe and cozies. Logs split clean and the warmth of fireplace.. children’s marshmallow dreams icy leatherback football.. and saddle style backpack draws of winter. Ploughs & shovels of these sounds of ice and snow by every door; & every crossing lot.
Though may one stand out and soon to distance. Built of Blonde. ” She say you will!” Nightime notions…
Larger than what was then, or so it seemed. Little boy’s native teepee visions. Hardship be a calling in song. Hatty Carroll & such. . As the folk man meet the appraised over the appeased, in honor.
Glory ride the highway of the 61’s, the one! Latter day son always will have something kind—-forward & onwards these paths so brightly bold. A return of past..and all the last of the great North, in this ol’ Minnesota climb.
Part 2 of 3 PORTRAIT OF JOHANNA.. this afternoon..Dylan tracks in the January archive & bows, written through times and places. Guild me up a northern frost. A wind cold burn unlike all other. Then Louise, you’ll know of the progenitors..victims of loves. Arch I’ve in the bitterest of Ol’ fars, the Minnesota colds. Louise certainly must be the cure, the warmth and kindness—with Brandy in tow. Cavour and Casimir, hold her hand for just a little while; as will need to go to the observation bush, the highest tree..highest sky port; but do not judge the writer. An authored songwriter’s reprise. The goal of love is hard as the freeze on the highest hill..and the highest level to Canadian lag. Then you are there..but what of Louise? Yet just a song.. still in question?
Part 3 of 3 LATE DAY LITE RAYS.. through the timberline of Duluth. Nearing night.. Minnesota snow towel long twig, cozy up, the light of the sun’s melt. Gleams of winter’s challenges..course’s in attempted climbs. Duluth delivered the heights of wind blasts. Northern tree lines—wolves finds of salutary succulents of it’s catches.. it’s humbled in the stay. The snowplough urges in criss-cross patterns. More than fun and games. Dylan’s vision of Johanna. Wooded sets of voices through the patterned of towel like icey twig—-through the bright light of her arms. Nature’s often click..but soon dispense for another avenue, a new place to travel. The motor lodge is foreseeable in its futures. .it’s busman holidays..it’s new years eves on the road. THE DYLAN SHOW..must go on. Motor bikes and heavy travels of the likes of a Rolling Stone. Single bound turns, swerves, all on his own. We are all there for you man. Follow the 61 —– all the ways, way through—& to the dark fails of bridges of when 6 was 9. Jimi by your side.. and all those roadside sharps & flats of the banality of ‘Hillbilly’ rock lit fires; sets the tone, as 2 big stretched—-freedom riders; names of Captain America..and modern West’s ..Billy the kid, mix with its peered deadwood lawns. .and roadside—too the vacant of the deepened souths; as if more blood on the tracks. And it’s alright ma, I’m only bleeding. Deep down south’s attorney, played by Nicholson’s character role- top pass the bars..the bare examinations. Ashamed of all the weaknesses of all of men. Reshaped and re-lived at the Cann festivals..& the likes. Dylan on a higher ground of all of us. Sit and wait, because there’s more yet to say. SO SEE YOU THERE..out on the old highway, they call 61.
Only Fools and Horses actor Ron Pember has died aged 87.
Ron’s grandson, Paul Pember, confirmed that the much-loved actor had died on Tuesday. He described him as a ‘gentleman’
Paul saif: “‘The sadness now is the happiness then. That’s the deal. 11.04.1934 – 08.03.2022 #ronpember #grandad.”
He also played a big role of Alain Muny in the 1970s BBC drama series Secret Army.
Proving his seemingly endless talents, Ron also wrote a stage musical entitled Jack the Ripper in 1975 about the Victorian murder spree in London in the late 1880s
1. Don’t get the name of a giant tortoise wrong – you’ll be banned!
2. Hate speech – be nice to everybody!
3.Don’t be too active – busy means the cyber ‘bizzies’ will visit!
4. Don’t hide behing a false name – you’ll be shamed!
5. Don’t tell lies – unlike social media!
Should a cyber ‘toy’ – a mass communicator of bad driving, bad jokes and insults – really be allowed to support calls for the death of a world leader, no matter how despotic and hated?
A form of legalised ‘anarchy’ amongst the spiders of the world’s biggest social media site is allowing members to campaign for Vlad-the-Mad Putin to be murdered.
Posts calling for his death will now survive the ‘editor’ spiders after a temporary change to its hate speech policy.
Instagram and Facebook users in a number of countries will also be allowed to call for violence against Russians in the context of the Ukrainian invasion, according to internal emails which was sent to Reuters.
Meta, which runs the social media sites, told content moderators that posts calling for the death of the Russian President and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will be allowed.
The temporary policy change applied to Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
Posts that call for Mr Putin’s or Mr Lukashenko’s death will only be removed if they target other individuals or if there are indications the threat is credible.
Several social media companies previously announced new content restrictions after the Ukraine invasion including blocking Russia state media RT and Sputnik in Europe.
Should a cyber ‘toy’ – a mass communicator of bad driving, bad jokes and insults – really be allowed to support calls for the death of a world leader, no matter how despotic and hated?
#sputnik #putin #ukraine #facebook #murder
DYLAN BRINGS BACK PAGES ON HANK, NINA, ELVIS – THE PHILOSPHERS OF SONG
No, he didn’t close the book and not write any more…
Bob Dylan is releasing his new book The Philosophy of Modern Song, It’s his first book of new writing since 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One.
And that was instrumental in winning him the Nobel Prize for literature in 2016.
Dylan apparantly began working on The Philosophy of Modern Song in 2010.
The collection includes over 60 essays that Dylan wrote about artists like Stephen Foster, Elvis Costello, Hank Williams, and Nina Simone.
Dylan analyses what he calls ‘the trap of easy rhymes’, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal.
Bob Dylan is releasing his new book The Philosophy of Modern Song, It’s his first book of new writing since 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One.
And that was instrumental in winning him the Nobel Prize for literature in 2016.
Dylan apparantly began working on The Philosophy of Modern Song in 2010.
The collection includes over 60 essays that Dylan wrote about artists like Stephen Foster, Elvis Costello, Hank Williams, and Nina Simone.
Dylan analyses what he calls ‘the trap of easy rhymes’, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal.
The book is described as investigating the human condition. It is also contains photos as well as a ]series-of-dream-like riffs that join to create an epic poem and add to the work’s transcendence.”
Simon & Schuster’s president Jonathan Karp said: “The publication of Bob Dylan’s kaleidoscopically brilliant work will be an international celebration of songs by one of the greatest artists of our time. The Philosophy of Modern Song could only have been written by Bob Dylan. His voice is unique, and his work conveys his deep appreciation and understanding of songs, the people who bring those songs to life, and what songs mean to all of us.”
Bob dylan released his most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, in 2020. The Philosophy of Modern Song will come out on November 8 via Simon & Schuster
The book is described as investigating the human condition. It is also contains photos as well as a ]series-of-dream-like riffs that join to create an epic poem and add to the work’s transcendence.”
Simon & Schuster’s president Jonathan Karp said: “The publication of Bob Dylan’s kaleidoscopically brilliant work will be an international celebration of songs by one of the greatest artists of our time. The Philosophy of Modern Song could only have been written by Bob Dylan. His voice is unique, and his work conveys his deep appreciation and understanding of songs, the people who bring those songs to life, and what songs mean to all of us.”
Bob dylan released his most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, in 2020. The Philosophy of Modern Song will come out on November 8 via Simon & Schuster
Dylan protests about hell in Ukraine as the media again forgets what it was it wanted from him
AS BOB TOURS AGAIN, WE LOOK AT HIS PERFORMANCES AND THE MAN-AND-WOMAN ON THE STREET REVIEWS …
The second leg of Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour has been pressing on with lost love, growing old and what is being seen as a direct protest about Putin’s insane war on the land of his fathers.
Andagain,he is doing it, generally, without the support of the world’s mainstream Press.
On the firstnight at the Arizona Federal Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona he dropped Early Roman Kings and replaced it with Crossing the Rubicon.
The song is normally accepted as being about Julius Caesar taking his troops across the Rubicon River in 49 BC. The journey began a bloody war.
The new message of protest was clear as it wound round the auditorium in its slow blues guise. Dylan kept it all as oblique as is his way.
Bob, like so many of us, was a victim of Cold War propaganda. In Chronicles, he wrote about how children in small-town America were taught to see Russians as a threat.
He wrote: “One of the things we were trained to do was to hide and take cover under our desks when the air-raid sirens blew, because the Russians could attack us with bombs,” he wrote. “We were told that the Russians could be parachuting from planes over our town at any time. These were the same Russians that my uncles had fought alongside only a few years earlier. Now they had become monsters who were coming to slit our throats and incinerate us.”
And in so many ways this is the scenario coming out of the Ukraine now as so many old men – and women too – take to the streets armed often only with anger, pride, fear and ancient guns.
Dylan stood up with them to be counted.
Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. Following a series of vicious violence against Jewish people, in 1907 his paternal grandparents emigrated there from Odessa, then part of the Russian empire, now in Ukraine.
Bob Dylan! One more pride of Odessa,” read a large billboard standing in front of City Hall in the Black Sea port
Good on him…
Meanwhile, We’ve been sharing rave reviews here at The Society since the beginning of November when Dylan finally got the chance to take his strolling bones back on the road again after Covid, the tragic hint of a sex scandal and the release of the stunning beautiful Rough and Rowdy Ways.
And the reviews, mainly, have been written by the man-and-woman on the street who’ve got other things to do with their lives but took the trouble to jot down notes and thoughts and their enthusiasms for Bob Bob’s comments and other observations?
By Dennis Wolter
Well thank you
Nice to be back in Phoenix again
Alice Cooper he still live here?
Stevie Nicks she’s here too right?
Barry Goldwater he still around? No
My man Barry
Alright
I’ll tell you something that Arizona BiltmoreHotel over there
It was Marilyn Monroe’s favorite swimming pool
Anywhere
(A couple of Unclear words)
Park here in the spot where she used to swim
We all swam there today
After band intros Bob repeated the line
My man Barry
Alright
***********************************
Enjoyed the show, except the kept lights shining on the audience for the
entire show. I guess to help security stop picture taking.
Some empty seats around us plus very late arrivals.
Needed vac cards and bags needed to be small and clear.
Review by Ron Alcorn
Phoenix was the first show of a new tour and I know a lot of fans are
curious about it, so here are my observations. First of all, I'm
prejudiced. Bob Dylan can do no wrong, so be aware. I'm from Denver, and
my partner Mary Catherine and I scheduled a trip to Phoenix just to see
Bob again. And I'm here to tell you it was a beautiful, perfect show in a
packed house at the Arizona Federal Theatre. I've been to 40 or 50 Dylan
concerts, and was a fan in back 1963, as I bragged to Mary Catherine.
Back then I was in Liberty, Missouri and thought I was one of a handful of
the enlightened- but of course I was naive. The setlist was the same as
the last tour, with the exception of Crossing the Rubicon, which a short
Rolling Stone review attributed (perhaps) to the new War. I wore a brand
new Blonde on Blonde T-shirt, and I got a lot of unexpected attention-
thumbs up, smiles, nods. At the end of the concert a fellow traveler (we
were nearly all fellow travelers) came up to me and said, "well, we got
one!" That would be Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine). Mary
Catherine and I have been to a lot of recent Dylan concerts, and a couple
of years ago, after a pretty uninspiring low-key show, I said, you know,
it's all kinda the same and I think we might skip a couple. She agreed.
But this time around, we thought, you know, Bob's 80. He's not going to
live forever, so let's go. The crowd was amazing. There were so many
young people, so many children, so many grandparents with their
grandchildren. In the last twenty years I've never seen such a young
crowd at a Dylan concert. We got double shots of Heaven's Door Bourbon at
exorbitant prices and took our seats in row 19. Bob was MAGNIFICENT. His
voice was strong and clear and he crooned. His piano was turned up in the
mix and he pounded those keyboards. Jerry Lee and Fats would have been
proud. Well, Jerry Lee might still be proud because he refuses to die, I
think. The older songs just rocked beautifully, redone in a rock n' roll
boogie woogie rolling blues style with great phrasing- "bring that bottle
over here." I said to Mary Catherine, "He's 80, but I think he's in
love." That would apply to many of his songs. He did all of the Rough n'
Rowdy Ways songs intensely and beautifully. At times I laughed tears of
joy to see how so fucking great and so fucking unpredictable he was. It
was transcendent. When I Paint My Masterpiece, Every Grain Of Sand- no
one sings Dylan like Dylan. We didn't actually see much of him. He was
behind that big upright piano with the ugly façade facing us, and most of
the time he would stand and we could see him from the shoulders up. His
face looked almost black with the floor lighting. Then he would sit and
pound the piano and we could only see his head. At one point mid-way he
got up and walked to the mic, and the crowd went wild, but he said a
couple of words to the band and retreated back to safety. By the way,
they were all in black, and with the white floor lighting and Bob's kind
of black face it was surreal. Early on he said a couple of "thank yous"
and near the end of the show he said something like this- "Been a while
since we were in Phoenix. Alice Cooper still live here? Stevie Nicks?
How about Barry Goldwater, my man Barry." And a bit later, "You know
Marilyn Monroe's favorite swimming pool was at the Biltmore. We all swam
there today." At the end he introduced his band, and finally came out
from behind his piano into the spotlight and stood there as the crowd rose
together and flooded him with applause. Then just like that he was gone.
As we filed out a young woman, probably in her late 20's, was loudly
talking to her companions, and I paraphrase: "Drop the mic! Every single
song, drop the mic!" I couldn't have said it better myself, and I don't
even know what that means. In a different time, watching Bob Dylan now
would be akin to watching Picasso paint in his 80's. At least that's what
I think.
Ron Alcorn
Review by Laurette Maillet
Since the last tour Fall 2021 I was home wondering where I could go to
volunteer. Not easy with the COVID still disturbing any public move. So
I was relieved and not so much surprised to hear about the new Bob
Dylan tour. And as I was guessing, that will be in the USA south west
coast to east coast. No California, no Florida.
So I get ready; print the map and make a research on the greyhound
transportation. Almost all the shows are accessible by bus. Cool!
I book two flights; Paris-New York JFK then JFK - Phoenix. And then
starts the anxiety. I need a negative COVID test to enter the USA.
So I confine myself for the next few weeks, no meetings in crowds.
I just borrow books from the public library and...read.
Finally Day D March 1st and the test is... NEGATIVE. The only time
you can say Negative is good:)
17 hours travel and 7 hours of switching of time later, I am in
Phoenix. My CS(Couchsurfing)host is fantastic . I spend March 2sd
just relaxing and getting in shape.
Day D for Dylan. I take the 'metro' to the venue early afternoon,
curious to see if Charlie is back in the Band. Except me two
other young fans are hanging around. The bus musicians pulls
in by 4.30pm. No Charlie but the rest of the Band coming out
one by one ;Charley Drayton, Tony Garnier, Bob Britt, Donnie
Heron and Doug Landon. They will do the sound check without
Bob. His personal bus will pull in around 5.30pm. Though we
wait for half an hour no one will step out except...the bus driver:)
I am already assured of a ticket, thanks to two good Samaritans;
"anonymous" and Stacy Deane. They have been working hard
to provide me for an entrance for that first show. Much Love
and hugs to both of them.
I am getting inside the Arizona federal theater at 7pm to make
sure my COVID vaccination is valid (a European one). In by
7.15pm ,I take my seat, all the way up on the balcony. Nice
view of the stage. The set-up didn't change. Maybe Charley's
drums aren't LIGHT GREEN and flashy anymore!? White lights
are coming from under their feet, enveloping their faces in
the dark. Same piano,same position. Two mikes center stage.
By 8pm and few minutes the intro classic music is full blast.
The lights inside the venue are not totally off.I can see to
write the "new" setlist!? 1/6 of the seats are still empty,
even in front. Some patrons will even arrive during the fifth
song. Shame on you! The musicians take their position.
I don't know why Doug had been punished being right
behind Bob and his piano!?:(. All are wearing black
including Bob.
They start a long intro of....
1)"watching the river flow".
2) "Most likely you go your way and I'll go mine"
3)"I contain multitudes"
4)"False prophet"
And to my surprise Bob doesn't move center stage. He
takes few steps towards Tony but then stand right at
the piano.
5)"When I paint my masterpiece" for me ah!ah!
6)"Black rider"
7)"I'll be your baby tonight"
8)"My own version of you"
I start writing down "Early Romans kings" but... surprise.
9) it's "Crossing the Rubicon".
Certainly a great surprise as I was sick of those Roman
Kings nobody never figured out who they are! A Gang
members?:)
10)"To be alone with you" ...just for one hour???:)
11)"Key west" without Donnie's accordion. A bit flat.
12)" Gotta serve somebody"
And the audience finally wakes up. The front left
rows are up and dancing. The ovation is deafening.
13)"I've made up my mind to give myself to you"
14)"Melancholy mood".
Bob steps aside and I truly believe he will take the
center mike but...he stays at the piano.
15)"Mother of muses"
The worst of all as he tries to go in the upper notes
and failed. His voice is cracking.:(
16)"Goodbye Jimmy Reed". Some reaction from
fans in first rows.
Bob still behind the piano says:
"Thank you(for the third time).Been a while since
we were in Phoenix. Alice Cooper still lives here?
Stevie Nicks? How about Barry Goldwater? My man, Barry.
You know Marylin Monroe's favorite swimming pool
was at the Biltmore hotel. We ,uh-,we all swam there
today!"
And present the Band."on the drums Charley Drayton.
On a guitar Bob Britt, on the other guitar Doug Landon,
on steal guitar Donnie Heron, on bass Tony Garnier".
Before pianoing
17)"Every grain of sand"
Then finally moving center stage for the final Goodbye.
Few seconds of static pose and he is gone!
Same setlist as the last Tour except"Crossing the Rubicon".
Same Band. Same arrangements except "Key west".
Same pants(way too large!). Same fluffy hair. Same voice:).
But all the songs behind the piano:(
Not the best I've ever been too.
But he is Bobby Dylan, alright. Flesh and bones :)
So thank you Bobby. See you in Tucson.
Review by Nick Miller
My journey to see Bob in 2022 starts in rainy Sydney, Australia at the
start of March. Seeing Bob in Tucson has been a bucket list item for many
years having lived in Tucson from 1999-2000 and going to my first Bob
concert in the mud at the Sydney Showgrounds in 1978.
It’s strange to be flying again and after a night in LA I arrive in
sunny Tucson. I’ve got a few days to acclimatise - staying with friends
- and then the day arrives! I get to the Bob Dylan Fan Club get together
at LaCo around 5 pm and soon meet with Caroline, Erika and others for a
convivial hour or so.
I get to the Tucson Music Hall just before 7 pm - entry is all good and I
soon meet up with friends just made! I’m in Row M with a good view and
fun people around me. The show starts right on time at 8 pm and after some
muffled early moments the sound throughout is great. The lighting is
simple yet striking. Well done to all those behind the scenes and at the
venue that make the show so enjoyable.
The set list is as Phoenix the night before - so nine songs from Rough and
Rowdy Ways and eight others across Bob’s extensive catalogue. Standing
ovations take place after each song.
The band are in an egalitarian line with drums then upright piano and
keyboards. Bob stands at the piano most of the night with the two
guitarists close by. Bob’s voice is in great shape as is his harmonica
and piano playing.
My favourites - though the whole concert was amazing - were for Rough and
Rowdy Ways Key West and for the other songs Gotta Serve Somebody. During
the band introductions Bob refers to the Wildcats.
At 9.40 pm the concert ends with Bob and the band - all dressed in black -
standing in a line.
The overriding feeling for me and the respectful audience is one of sheer
joy.
Goodbyes outside to new friends and then back to reality.
The trip for one show from the land down under was so worth it - Don’t
You Dare Miss It!
Nick Miller
Bob’s comments and other observations by Dennis Wolter
Prior to band intros
Alright Thank You
Nice to be here
Home of the Wildcats (U of A mascot and Hockey Team name)
How we doing the Wildcats?
Alright
How about the Roadrunners? (American Hockey League affiliate of the
Arizona Coyotes)
They going to play each other?
Band intros
*************************************************
Both teams play at the Tucson Convention Center which is next door to the
Tucson Music Hall
Same as last night there are lights above stage shining on the audience.
Not as bright as last night and I wore a baseball cap.
Staff/security carried the same signs as last night to turn off phones
etc.
Bob sounded great and played harmonica on the start of several songs (When
I Paint My Master Piece, with a reference to Willie Nelson? after the
song, I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, To Be Alone With You). He stiffly
shuffled out from behind the piano between several songs. Sure has aged
from seeing him in Phoenix October 2018
It’s obvious that many concert goers are not familiar with Rough and
Rowdy Ways. They are also not prepared for one song after band intro and
then concert over.
Definitely an enjoyable concert and highly recommend. Unfortunately my
last concert of the tour.
Review by Laurette Maillet
From Phoenix to Tucson March 4th.
I get up early on March 4th. I say goodbye to Luna the dog and reach the
greyhound station by "metro". The trip to Tucson is short, two hours. I
have the address of my CS host and I know it's kind of far. Anyway I start
walking and walking and...two hours. I'm almost there when I see a
gentleman waiting for a bus. I ask how much is the fare. He says FREE. CRAP!
Well! I had a nice walk. I saw a Buddha in a garden and asked him to bless me.
My CS host home is beautiful. Everything is Art; garden of flowers and plants,
sculptures, ceramic, and ... chickens.
I take a shower, wash my clothes and relax.
I will catch a FREE bus around 5.30pm. No reason to hang around the
Band/Dylan buses. Bob is locked in there! :(
The Arizona music Hall is on a large property.
I take my sign out:"I need a ticket". Immediately a security man approaches
me "why don't you buy a ticket at the box office?".
"I want a good seat and maybe someone has an extra ticket".
"ok. But I will ask my boss if it's alright".
30 minutes of peace and here , he comes again.
"My boss says you can't deal money on that private property. You have to
move." Fine. I move away from the main entrance. Here he is, back again.
" You are still on the private property".
Off I go, far away, by the parking lot. Here he comes again. I finally believe
I have to give up. No chance tonight.
As I walk towards the bus station I realize there is another parking lot across
the street. I stand here for 5 minutes when a gentleman with a cap comes
to me. "I have an extra ticket. It's 500$ first row center"
"I can't afford it. I'm an Artist"
He moves away and sadly I murmur "the seat will be empty". I'm even
sorry for Bob! I have the feeling he won't even try to sell it.
10 minutes later, I see him walking back.
We have a little chat. He wants to make sure I'm a fan :) I believe I am :):)
Finally he says "come with me"
Woah!
We move first row center! Crap!
No rail. No security to block the view. The perfect seating. I am right in
front of the center mike. Hopping for Bob to play standing tonight.
I turn my cellphone off. Don't want to be kicked out.
Show starts.
Fantastic. Bob's face is clear at this position.
White as a ghost but looking skinny. His eyes a bit puffy.
I know the setlist by heart so I'll do karaoke. :)
Bob HAS to look in my direction but I don't know how much he is able
to see.:) Doesn't matter,me,I can see him.
"Watching the river flow" is confused. He misplaced his sheets of lyrics
and can't find the right one. The Band has to fill up the gap. Tony is
placid and Bob Britt amused.
If my memory serves me well he had the same problem on "To be
alone with you" . He forgot the lyrics?
"I'll be your Baby tonight" moves me a lot as I have the feeling he's l
ooking straight at me. A bit of narcissism on my part :):):)
He will introduce those 2 songs and "Masterpiece"with harmonica.
Yes! Harp!
And 3 times he moves from the piano to center stage, right in front
of me. I stand up 3 times and applause with respect. I can see his
clear blue eyes, I painted so many times!
3 times he will grab the center mike apparently willing to sing up but
he can't manage to take the mike off the pole so he gives up. Too bad!
Though he had problem with the lyrics of the old songs I see him doing
"Key west" and "Mother of muses" without a blink. He knows those
songs by heart!
And I appreciate "Mother of muses" for the first time:)
He will murmur something before introducing the Band but I couldn't
catch it.
I karaoke on "every grain of sand" and here also he misplaced some
words???
He moves center , right in front of me. But he doesn't focus. No
smile, no bow.
Bye bye Bobby. See you in Albuquerque. Close or....far.
Thank you Kevin for you generosity and your kindness. Sure!
I'll paint a Masterpiece for you!
And then there is this one from GLIDE MAGAZINE
Bob Dylan last night (March 3) performed at the Arizona Federal Theater in Phoenix, AZ for the first stop of 2022 on his Rough and Rowdy Ways World Tour, kicking off the trek with another mighty setlist for his dedicated fans.
Dylan and his five-piece band performed the same set that they did at New York City’s Beacon Theater on November 20, 2021, with one notable exception taking the place of “Early Roman Kings” as the ninth song of the night.
“I crossed the Rubicon on the 14th day of the most dangerous month of the year,” Dylan sang in the live debut of the classic-rock’n’roll-constructed “Crossing the Rubicon.”
Just for the record, George Best, Richard and Judy, Tony Wilson – and Leigh came along too with with a gal who was definitely up to scratch
A personal story as LA filmmaker Bob Mori releases yet another brilliant Bob Dylan video … inside
The first time I heard Jokerman, I was a bit of a joke myself.
I lived over the brush with a mad drinking woman in downtown Didsbury on the better side of Manchester. But infidelity and drinking were just some of the way we media people acted in the early 80s. We were egotistical, flamboyant and, yep, infidels of the heart.
George Best was on the lash down our street. Richard and Judy were flaunting their illicit love all over the place and club-owning speed freak and Granada Reports bad boy Tony Wilson stumbled around looking piss-stained, shabby and chic.
Us media people back in 1983 eh? Drunk, stoned, divorced and stressed.
But me personally?
I was waiting for Infidels to arrive at our local record shop.
I had a commission to review it.
It was a big thing for Dylan ‘freaks’ like me, it was another record heralded as a return to form, this one with dashing lyrics, bold production and a new powerful vocal character for Dylan to startle us with.
The record shop was just down a Victorian gunnel behind the butcher and the baker and the wreaking pubs on the High Street.
So, early one morning in 1983, I ignored my hangover and slipped discreetly out of the sweating duvet me and the mad woman shared, stuck some pants and a shirt on with my trendy sandals and skedaddled to see if it had arrived.
It had!
The NEW Bob Dylan album … Infidels! And I sensed right away, as I held it in my nicotene-stained fingers, that Bob was still a full-blown preacher man, finger pointing and rambling on and on just like in his latest shows.
People said this was his first secular album since he had been born again!
Really? Had they listened to it?
I slid back into our rented house and stuck Infidels on the stereo in the corner of the dining room. I dropped the needle.
License to Kill flapped in the gashed bass speaker and trilled like a budgie in what were either my battered tweeters or woofers.
Despite the awful sound from our bashed stereo, right away i realised old Bob was tantalsingly close to his old howling yowling ways.
And he was showing a social conscience again in poetic ways. Yeh, right on man!
Then Jokerman came on …
And, I’m sorry, it all seemed a bit sensorious and, yes, peavish!
“Friend to the martyr, a friend to the woman of shame, You look into the fiery furnace, see the rich man without any name“
Anyway, the mad woman came downstairs looking like a luciscious unkempt witch. I could smell last night’s gin on her breath as she reminded me we had arranged to meet Rodney (Wodney as she said) and David (Davey as she said) and their mistresses … Rodders was a trendy flowerseller and Dave a drunken journalist like myself.
So we did.
Conversation was good and me and the mad woman ended up getting drunk. Then we had a row.
We ended up sleeping in seperate houses for some reason.
But what ever the reason, I did the walk of fear the next morning… no, it wasn’t the walk of shame, i wasn’t ashamed. Neither me nor the barmaid had any recollection of anything hsappening between us at all
I wasn’t ashamed, just scared i’d get spotted and the mad woman would reek revenge in her own peculiar and imaginative ways.
I made my way home stopping off at the George where Tony Wilson was sitting reading his paper and blanking a yellowing George Best who was holding a wall up with the side of his face.
George Best
I exchanged pleasantries with them both and got varying degrees of low-key response, had a couple of liveners and wandered back to our trendy little two-up-two-down back street terrace, assuming the mad woman would be at work by now.
Well, she was but she’d left the place in uproar as Infidels played repetitively in the background.
She had taken her revenge too. The brand-new shiney black chelac of Infidels had been expertly scratched and scrubbed so ol’ Bob kept repeating over and over, over and over
‘Freedom just around the corner for you But with truth so far off, what good will it do?
I got the message and went back to barmaid’s to hide for a few days. Until the heat died down, so to speak.
To cut a long story short, it didn’t die down, it went up in flames! And that was the end of us.
The mad woman flounced off to look after guirallas in the mist. (More like guirallias on the piss!)
Me? I went back to the pub finally slid down the wall and rested his chin on the bar, Tony kept fiddling in his 80s equivalwnt of a man bag. |he wore it like a girl across his chest. He alsod kept emitting noises like audible twitches.
Tony Wilson
So, i tended to have a pretty jaundiced view of Infidels and didn’t give it the attention it deserved over the next forty years.
Until today, that is. when Bob Mori sent me this video.
Bob Mori is the award-winning Hollywood-based film creator who has been sharing his work with us recently.
And his film for Jokerman showed me what i’d been missing.
Yes, the song is a peavish, devilish tale of swirling smoking devastation dangling a warning sign from the Thunder Roadbridge.
God hovers on his cloud of vapour throwing thunderbolts to smite the businessmen and the politicians and everybody else who’s about.
And Bob had chosen a thin hectoring gargoyle of a voice to tell us all about it.
Until this video i thought the song was sneering and vicious.
But this video revealed to me so much more … have a watch and tell us what you think.
Didsbury – the pub!
The song is about a man who has incurred the judgment of God. If this man embraces the truth of his crime against God and repents, he will be set free.
[Verse 1] Standing on the waters casting your bread While the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing Distant ships sailing into the mist You were born with a snake in both of your fists while a hurricane was blowing Freedom just around the corner for you But with the truth so far off, what good will it do?
[Chorus] Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune Bird fly high by the light of the moon Oh, oh-oh Jokerman
[Verse 2] So swiftly the sun sets in the sky You rise up and say goodbye to no one No store bought shirt for you on your back One of the women must sit in the shack and sew one Shedding off one more layer of skin Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within
[Chorus] Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune Bird fly high by the light of the moon Oh, oh-oh Jokerman
[Verse 3]
You’re a man of the mountains, you can walk on the clouds Manipulator of crowds, you’re a dream twister You’re going to Sodom and Gomorrah, but what do you care? Ain’t nobody there would want to marry your sister Scratching the world with a fine-toothed comb You’re a king among nations, you’re a stranger at home
[Chorus] Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune Bird fly high by the light of the moon Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman
[Verse 4] Now, the Book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy The law of the jungle and the sea are your only teachers No crystal ball do you need on your shelf Michelangelo himself, could’ve carved out your features So drunk, standing in the middle of the street Directing traffic with a small dog licking your feet
[Chorus] Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune Bird fly high by the light of the moon Oh, oh-oh Jokerman
[Verse 5] Well, the preacher man talking about the deaf and the dumb And a world to come, thats already been pre-determined Nightsticks and water cannons, tear gas, and padlocks Molotov cocktails and rocks can’t drown out his sermon You let the wicked walk right into a trap You give away all the good things that fall in your lap
[Chorus] Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune Bird fly high by the light of the moon Oh, oh-oh Jokerman
[Verse 6] It’s a shadowy world, skies are slippery gray A woman just give birth to a prince today and she’s dressed in scarlet He’ll turn priests into pimps and make old men bark Take a woman who could have been Joan-of-Arc and turn her into a harlot Oh, Jokerman, you know what he wants Oh, Jokerman, you don’t show any response
[Chorus] Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune Bird fly high by the light of the moon Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman
