(np) Dylan's _Chronicles vol 1_ AuH20

[Joseph Tracy]

Couple 3 observations. Dylan likes annoying purists and the narrow-minded and adding layers of mystery to his identity. Johnson tried for a new social contract but his most important decision was to ramp up the Vietnam war.  There is an appeal to all individual political mavericks while they are still identifiable as human beings instead of mouthpieces for a political machine: McCain,  Ron Paul, to some degree Carter, certainly Goldwater, Nader, Ross Perot. Also Dylan has played for or endorsed several Democrats and no Republicans. He wrote Masters of War early in his career and License to Kill  in the 80s  with  same theme over a long songwriting career. I think he's just tweaking peoples heads with the Goldwater BS which is fairly non-committal and safely in the past.

On Apr 4, 2011, at 4:39 PM, Michael Bailey wrote:

> There was a lot of really good stuff in the book.  I think he revealed
> about as much of himself as I wanted t know: he was great on
> childhood, for instance, and I especially loved the descriptions of
> people's apartments and his reading
> 
> I really liked the book, and if Keith (Richards') is even better, I
> look forward to reading that as well.
> 
> Matthew wrote:
>>  Oh, & about Bob on Goldwater, brings to mind a lyric: "Don't lend your hand
>> to raise no flag upon no ship of fools"
> 
> 
> 
> Blowin' in the Wind, God on our Side, Masters of War are
> straightforward extroverted anthems that fit in really nicely with I
> Have a Dream, Solidarity Forever, and if the people who line up for
> that boat ride are a ship of fools,
> if that's what he really thinks...
> 
> ...if the fife-and-drum militarism of Goldwater sounded sweet to him
> while he was immersed in the folk scene (and geez, deep in the most
> sonorous chambers of it!), he was certainly right to seek other
> frontiers -
> 
> - takes all kinds, I suppose.  With his skill, I'm just glad he never
> did anything quite so effectively agit-proppy for the bad guys.
> (Though "Union Sundown" kinda makes ya wonder - maybe he would if he
> could)
> 
> It really isn't just political inclinations (though the politicians I
> like are Kucinich and - to a certain, limited extent - Ron Paul...
> Goldwater is down there in the ninth circle of my non-sectarian region
> of disapproval along with his protege Reagan, Rush Limbaugh is cooking
> popcorn and Sean Hannity is pouring Lite beers for everybody while
> they all watch endless repeats of _A Christmas Carol_, _Norma Rae_,
> and _Scrooged_, and Glenn Beck is drawing diagrams of the ill effects
> of the Taft-Hartley Act under the tutelage of Michael Moore) - and
> I've said on the list many times that I usually like people's later
> work a lot better - and neither am I ruling out the possibility that
> Brock Vond brought him to an undisclosed location sometime after he
> became a family man...
> 
> but I really think, in Mr Bob Dylan's case, that the early idealistic
> stuff is the best.
> 
> Until ya get to the Xmas album, that is! That f-in' rocks!
> 
> So even though the interview Mr Kelestron quoted (and thank you for
> that) reveals that indeed BD was disappointed when Goldwater lost, I
> won't be selling my Dylan recordings just yet - but I might just rip
> the ones I like and make a mix or two (or 12)