49 reasons

[Mark Kohut]

I've got a different generational 'take' on Dylan's singing.

When my son was discovering Dylan, trying to get the lyrics, knowing they were
NOT like most songs, he was early teens.............Dylan on FM of course and

once, as his voice came on in the car, he turned to me and asked---remember
he liked him BUT also know general radio music singers: 

"Dad, how did they ever let him sing on the radio?"....

I said by force of his genius...................

Mark



----- Original Message ----
From: rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
To: Robin Landseadel <robinlandseadel at comcast.net>
Cc: pynchon-l at waste.org
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 3:48:05 PM
Subject: Re: 49 reasons

u said: I'm a big fan of the Byrds, have been from the moment I first
heard them. There's a good chance that I heard them the moment they
"broke." The Byrds sounded/felt like the Beatles in many way, having
one of the top pop countertenors in David Crosby and George Harrison
inspired guitar work from Jim [soon to be Roger] McGuinn
_______________
if Jules introduced Pynchon to Brian Wilson one could speculate that
he knew Crosby, McGuinn, as well
I loved the Byrds only for that 12 string guitar sound which George
Harrison used in A Hard Days Night (fireburst-like color scheme, blood
orange like?)-I Should've Known Better on the train
_____-
u said Like a Rolling Stone" raised a lot of consternation from
old-timers, like my Dad—"You call that singing!!! That's not singing,
that's awful, turn it off!!!"—
______
your dad sounded like my dad--"you call  that singing--here, let me
put on Rene Fleming, now that's singing" ;)

Rich

On 4/17/09, Robin Landseadel <robinlandseadel at comcast.net> wrote:
> In advance of later postings for The Crying of Lot 49, I'm re-
> presenting present this "6 degrees" theory concerning the Paranoids.
>
> I'm a big fan of the Byrds, have been from the moment I first heard
> them. There's a good chance that I heard them the moment they "broke."
> I was plugged into a 12 transistor "Viscount" portable radio via
> earphone for most of 1965 and spent long hours purposefully listening
> to top 40 from KHJ, KFWB & KRLA. The Byrds sounded/felt like the
> Beatles in many way, having one of the top pop countertenors in David
> Crosby and George Harrison inspired guitar work from Jim [soon to be
> Roger] McGuinn. 1965 is the year when Dylan "broke" as well. "Like a
> Rolling Stone" raised a lot of consternation from old-timers, like my
> Dad—"You call that singing!!! That's not singing, that's awful, turn
> it off!!!"—and excited giggles among freaks, like my Mom. Later, 8
> Miles High came out and then was withdrawn from the top ten due to
> widespread news reports that the song was a about—had to be about, I
> mean listen to those weird intervals, that atonal solo—LSD. 8 Miles
> High was about a jet flight, but it Sounded like LSD. And there you are.
>
> In any case, any of you who have looked over "Positively 4th Street"
> by David Hajdu:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Positively-4th-Street-Farina-Richard/dp/0374281998
>
> . . . understand that there's these connections between Dylan & Baez &
> Richard and Mimi Farina and Pynchon, enough that Pynchon actually
> contributed to the book. So I'm going to hazard a guess that OBA knew
> about this really young group called "The Jet Set" that sang Dylan
> songs and had a batch of super-sensitive ballads by the skinny,
> disturbed-looking one. He might have noticed their attempt at Beatle
> haircuts. Maybe he knew about those sessions out at World Pacific, by
> then called the "Beefeaters" and making demos back in 1964.
>
> CoL49 concerns itself with the moment just before revelation and LSD
> figures into it heavily. The opening  credits of the film of "49"
> should be "Have You Seen Her Face", a 1967 attempt at top 40 that
> didn't quite make it. Paranoid Pop at its finest:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A28Ldqa2pAs
>
> Anyway, back to the LSD theme, here's the Monterey Pop audio—sounds
> like David Crosby convinced the sound man to turn his mike way up in
> the mix— of "Have You Seen Her Face" with an interesting intro from
> the troublemaker of the group:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWcnYoB_Ykc
>
> The Paranoids [Gene Clark was afraid of flying on Jets, Roger McGuinn
> loves it] reappear at the Fillmore as Zoyd moves to Vineland. And of
> course Mucho and Zoyd talk about LSD.
>
>
>