More Dylan

[poliphilo]

The second part of the Dylan film has great footage of him talking to the press. The reporters are asking stupid and/or pompous questions and he's swatting them away like flies, mainly saying "no" or turning the question back on the questioner, but it's all good humoured and he's giggling at the inanity and some of the press people are laughing right along. I guess what we're seeing here is the birth of celebrity culture.

The film ends with the incident on the English tour where some protesting folkie in the audience shouts "Judas" and he replies "You're a liar; I don't believe you-" then turns to The Band and tells them to "play it fucking loud." That happened here- in Manchester's Free Trade Hall (now a hotel.) Epic stuff.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, that was wonderful...

[cybersofa.livejournal.com]

His obsession was rather prescient, assuming Dylan got the fateful bike in some sort of product placement deal with Triumph over that very album cover.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Interesting sequence of events.

Does anyone know how serious that accident was?

Was he badly injured or did he just use it as excuse to take a sabbatical from touring?

[slatts.livejournal.com]

I'm curious to that answer too....

I remember hearing it was nearly fatal. Someone in one of his biographies said he was pretty lousy driver.

But then I read or heard where he (Dylan) needed to escape the lunatic fans that were just showing up at his house and treating him like a god.

He said that's why he did Nashville Skyline. Hopefully to piss-off and scare away these lunatics. They instead embraced the album....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

My guess it was a minor accident and he talked it up to give himself a breathing space.

I remember all the rumours going round at the time- that he'd been reduced to a vegetative state, that he'd he was so traumatised he'd retreated into complete silence.....

[slatts.livejournal.com]

...and he had that weird inflection to his voice (almost Jim Nabors-esque) on Nashville Skyline. It sort of supported the rumor that his throat was somehow "damaged" in the accident....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's been a long time since I listened to Nashville Skyline. You make me want to give it another spin.

[slatts.livejournal.com]

Do.

It's a fun album. Almost silly. But good musicians as always. Just a complete about-face from the Dylan of BLONDE...

[cybersofa.livejournal.com]

It says here that he broke his neck, after locking up the back wheel. Given the evident lack of personal protective equipment, I'd say he got off lightly at that. But as you say, it came at the right time for him.

I think the best evidence that it actually happened is the marked change in his vocal timbre between Blonde On Blonde and John Wesley Harding.

[slatts.livejournal.com]

thanks for the link and info

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Interesting.

That does sound like a plausibly true account of what happened.