No Direction Home

[poliphilo]

The BBC are celebrating Dylan's 70th birthday by showing Scorsese's film about him- No Direction Home. I reckon I've seen it before (a lot of that footage seemed awfully familiar) but there's endless fascination in the story of how that raggedy little jackdaw blew into Greenwich Village from snowy Minnesota and within months was a prince of the City.  Liam Clancy puts it well. He says- though these are my words not his- that it didn't matter that Dylan was a half-formed man- a thing of shreds and patches- because he was a vehicle- a man possessed- and saying what all the rest of them- poets and musicians- wanted to be saying, but couldn't. 

Comments

[calizen.livejournal.com]

I've always felt disappointed in Dylan as a human being. The flawedness was right out there. The mocking of other singers who wouldn't give up their idealism. His incessant flitting from one relationship to another. His dropping into Christian fundamentalism only to drop out when it suited him.

Ah, but Clancy does put it right. We poor humans have our clay feet but to be a vehicle of that spirit -- indeed, marvelous.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think the fundamentalism was sincere while it lasted.

Otherwise, yes, he's a bit of a jerk. Great artists usually are. All their energy goes into the work.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Loved the poetry, hated hearing him sing it. If you can call it singing.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've got to say I like his singing.