HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: afishman@scott.skidmore.edu (adam fishman)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: JWH
Date: 29 Sep 92 18:26:53 GMT
Article-I.D.: scott.1992Sep29.182653.16608
Organization: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY

I recently bought a CD called "Here Comes the Groom" by John Wesley
Harding.  A while back I had heard an interview with him on the radio
that interested me.  He said that the album which inspired him to make
music was Dylan's JWH, and therefore decided upon that for his
professional name.  I was surprised that the CD sounded less like
dylan and almost exactly like Elvis Costello.  In fact Harding uses
a few members of Costello's band on this album.  One thing that I
should note is that Harding makes many references to Dylan throughout
the album.  The final track, "Bastard Son" begins,"Bob Dylan is my
father, Joan Baez is my mother, and I'm their Bastard Son....."  
	In summary, this is a very well written album.  Although it
may not have the quality that a Dylan fan is used to, it is
nevertheless very nice to listen to.  Harding's word- plays are
humorous and his lyrics enlightening (although sometimes opaque) and
the music is pretty neet too.  I understand he has a few albums out,
but I imagine they are not any better than this.  GET IT!!!!!!!  

 
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: djs@sadtler.com (Dan J. Sears)
Subject: Re: What are good Dylan CD's?
Organization: Sadtler Research Laboratories
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 17:21:51 GMT

In article <1992Oct5.133825.2225@vax1.mankato.msus.edu> bdb023@vax1.mankato.msus.edu writes:
>Hi all. I'm kinda new to this so please exscuse any wrongdoings. I'm
>in the process of building a decent Cd collection, and of course what
>collection is complete without a few dylan albums. I already have
>Blood on the tracks(excellent disc) and nashville skyline(i partial to
>counrty-rock). I'd like to get another disc and I've kinda narrowed
>it down to three choices. Blonde on blonde, John wesley harding and
>self-portrait. I'd like some opinions from some people who know 
>Dylan well. I'm open for other suggestions also, except for the
>Basement tapes which I have heard and really didn't care for.
>			Thanx in advance
>				brian 


Do not buy Self-Portrait, this album is one of his worst.  My suggestion is 
either Infidels or Oh Mercy, but I know others would disagree.
-- 
Dan Sears                                         Email:  djs@sadtler.com
   "I say what it occurs to me to say when I think I hear people say 
    things.  More I cannot say." - the man who rules the Universe (HGTTG)
Sadtler Research Labs, Philadelphia
From: gt0021c@prism.gatech.EDU (Chris Edward Perkins)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Re: Song title ?
Date: 1 Oct 92 22:53:05 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In article <1992Oct1.205958.26166@leland.Stanford.EDU> terrapin@jessica.stanford.edu (Robert Zeien) writes:
>In article <1992Oct1.154448.411@hnrc.tufts.edu> rob_sy@hnrc.tufts.edu writes:
%%
%%me and a friend are in an argument over the title of the song with the
%%following words...
%%
%%"hey farmer farmer put away that ddt
%% leave the spots on my apples 
%% and leave me the birds and bees please
%%
%% dont it always go to show
%% you never know what you got
%% till its gone
%%
%% they paved paradise 
%% to put down a parking lot"
%         ^^^^up
%
%This doesn't really have anything to do with Dylan, but here's your
%answer...
%
%	Big Yellow Taxi (by Joni Mitchell)
%
%It can be found on her _Ladies of the Canyon_ album.

Well, it does have something to do with Dylan since he covered the song on
"Dylan."  As far as the merits of that cover[and album].....

Chris

-- 
Chris Perkins, Georgia Institute of Technology, MSM 1993 (?)
uucp: who cares?         Internet: gt0021c@prism.gatech.edu
'I was blind all the time I was learning to see'
From: burnett@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Gary Burnett)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Re: Dylan and Interpretation
Date: 1 Oct 92 22:06:04 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

In article <1992Oct1.194829.25404@cs.brown.edu> jab@cs.brown.edu (James M. Borger) writes:

> Can you define 'interpretation' or at least give a few examples of what you mean
> and what you don't mean by 'interpretation'?  A very interesting topic, BTW.

Actually, my tendency is to want to leave the definition of the word
open for interpretation itself, since people seem to mean so many
differen things by it.

In general, though, I guess an "interpretation" would be some kind
of attempt (whether scholarly & detailed or just in a general sense)
to come up with an idea of what a song is "about."

An excellent example, IMHO, is a post on r.m.d. a month or so ago
which was a defense of "Under The Red Sky" on the grounds that the
song was a warning about the dangers of taking the "innocence" of
fairy tales etc. for granted.  Or something like that (I'm probably
misrepresenting the argument, but I'm writing from memory).

But I'd also like to see other definitions.

One of the curious things is that Paul Williams, in his book The 
Performing Artist, rants against interpretation & then turns
around & includes statements like this:

     [Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands] noticeably dodges the sexual,
     except insofar as the singer is jealously aware of the
     (potential?) attentions of others ...

I'd say that *that's* also an interpretation, but I'm sure Williams
would deny it.

--Gary B.
-- 
Gary Burnett                             burnett@gandalf.rutgers.edu 
130 Columbia Street                      gburnett@zodiac.rutgers.edu   
Highland Park, NJ  08904                          jera@well.sf.ca.us

"Things then did not delay in turning curious."  --Thomas Pynchon
From: ce448@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Chris Lehmann)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Re: Dylan and Interpretation
Date: 2 Oct 1992 05:17:08 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: ce448@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Chris Lehmann)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, farowich@hiwa61.seo.dec.com (Steve Farowich) says:

>
>I just listened to a Dylan interview (what an oxymoron!) with
>Mary Travers.  I paraphrase:  "My songs are about feeling, not
>thinking.  I find that when I think I get into trouble."
>
Is this the same interview where Mary says how much she likes Blood on the
Tracks, and Bob laces into her about, "how could anyone *like* the album." 
Claiming that is filled wqith so much pain. (esp. Songs like "Idiot Wind")
Jus' wonderin'.

					Chris
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Lehmann	 	 	 ce448@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu
University of Pennsylvania	 "When a ball dreams, it dreams 
Breed Ultimate	 	 	 it's a frisbee."
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: prokopy@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Dave)
Subject: Re: Motorpsycho Nightmare
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 23:49:26 GMT

In article <1992Oct6.231549.20899@cs.brown.edu> jab@cs.brown.edu (James M. Borger) writes:
>On Psycho:
>----------
>Alright let's see what I can remember...
>
>"...lookin' just like Tony Perkins..." (main actor in Psycho)
>"Oh, no, no, I've been through this movie before."
>"Rita moved away and got a job at a motel."
>
>There's probably a few more I can't remember off hand...

there's a couple lines about taking a shower (i.e., the famous shower
scene in the movie), one of which is rita saying, "would you like to
take that shower now?"

-- 
( David Prokopy - prokopy@en.ecn.purdue.edu or prokopy@sage.cc.purdue.edu )
( "Time and distance are out of place here ..."                           )
(  -R.E.M., "Feeling Gravitys Pull"                                       )
From: jjk@astro.umd.edu (Jim Klavetter)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Re: Dylan and Interpretation
Date: 2 Oct 92 17:06:26 GMT
Organization: U. of Maryland @ College Park, Astronomy

In article <Oct.1.09.05.37.1992.11312@gandalf.rutgers.edu> burnett@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Gary Burnett) writes:
>
>What I'd like is any comments from you all about all this.  What 
>do you think about interpretations of Dylan's songs?  Is it a 
>worthwhile activity?  What's involved in such interpretations?  Is
>interpretation just an attempt to understand a song, or something 
>more complicated?  Have you seen any interpretations that you 
>particularly like or dislike?  

I will respond with respect to rec.music.dylan (although some of the
below will be generally how I feel).

I found r.m.d about 3 years ago.  I thought it was a great thing since
Dylan has been so important to my life.  Soon thereafter, I read a
posting asking for biographies of r.m.d readers.  How incredibly
inanane, I thought (sorry if the person is still around).  I mean,
who could possibly care about who else reads the damn group.  I
promptly ignored it and laughed when I saw the first response.  But
then the responses kept coming in and soon there was almost a
statistically significant database.  Needless to say, I was surprised.

Soon thereafter, I tried to start a new thread that dealt more with
Dylan's songs, something along why do you like your favorite song
(note that I wasn't asking WHAT the song was [or the favorite top-N
list] which has cropped up at least 6 times since I've been reading
r.m.d, but WHY you liked that song the best).  I went on to explain
why I thought Lay Down Your Weary Tune was his best song (or the one I
liked the most).  It was chock full of "interpretation" and I thought
if these Dylan heads had nothing better to do than to tell when they
saw their first Dylan concert to the world that there would be a hoard
of interpretations.  I was wrong.  Ocassionally, there has been
interpretations of a few songs, but mostly, r.m.d is not that.

So what is the value of this newsgroup?  Well, there is no denying
that a large part of it is to get concert information out, both ticket
and review information.  Also, reviews and notices of new work.  And
whenever there is a new work out, there is a flourish of
"interpretations" or reviews, but often not very thought out (which is
ok, too, considering the newness).  But there is a fair amount of
garbage, too--no matter whose definition you use, I can't conceive of
anyone being interested in EVERY posting.  And the occassional gem of
a posting which is about Dylan's songs.  

So I very much encourage any "interpretations" you might want to get
out.  It is by far my most enjoyable reading on r.m.d.  

jjk@astro.umd.edu also for Athabasca and Reudi
Jim Klavetter
Astronomy
UMD
College Park, MD  20742

ps.  If anyone is interested in WHY I think Lay Down Your Weary Tune
is Dylan's best song, I think I have a copy of the file.
From: burns@ohms.zk3.dec.com (Bill Burns UEG)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Re: Outlaw Blues CD
Date: 5 Oct 92 16:07:18 GMT
Article-I.D.: decvax.1992Oct5.160718.6737
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp.


        I don't want to follow down the rathole of what is better
        than what. But I must ask, what Clapton album you consider
        better than Layla?
From: burnett@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Gary Burnett)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Dylan and Interpretation
Date: 1 Oct 92 13:05:37 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


I want to ask for comments from all of you in r.m.d. land.

I'm writing a paper on Dylan which I'll be presenting at an 
academic conference on Popular Culture in early November.  
What I want to look at are issues surrounding "interpretations" 
(and whatever it is that term means) of Dylan songs.

The basic idea is this:  Some critics (like Christopher Ricks & 
Aidan Day) spend most of their time on interpretation (an extreme 
version of this would be A.J. Weberman's bizarre analysis of 
Dylan's "current bag" in the late 60s & early 70s).  Others (most 
notably Paul Williams) insist that interpretation is a waste of 
time & contrary to the spirit of Dylan songs.

I've seen some of the same tendencies in both directions on r.m.d.

What I'd like is any comments from you all about all this.  What 
do you think about interpretations of Dylan's songs?  Is it a 
worthwhile activity?  What's involved in such interpretations?  Is
interpretation just an attempt to understand a song, or something 
more complicated?  Have you seen any interpretations that you 
particularly like or dislike?  

Any related comments or discussion would be most appreciated.

--Gary B.
-- 
Gary Burnett                             burnett@gandalf.rutgers.edu 
130 Columbia Street                      gburnett@zodiac.rutgers.edu   
Highland Park, NJ  08904                          jera@well.sf.ca.us

"Things then did not delay in turning curious."  --Thomas Pynchon  
 
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: howells@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (John Howells)
Subject: Re: Song title ?
Organization: NASA Ames Res. Ctr. Mtn Vw CA 94035
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 13:48:28 GMT

terrapin@jessica.stanford.edu (Robert Zeien) writes:

<This doesn't really have anything to do with Dylan, but here's your
<answer...

<	Big Yellow Taxi (by Joni Mitchell)

But it *does* have something to do with Dylan! He covered this song on
the deplorable _Dylan_ album. :-)

--
                                        John Howells
                                        howells@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov 
                                        howells@earth.arc.nasa.gov
From: stevep@snowhite.cis.uoguelph.ca (Steve X. Portigal)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Bob Roberts -- new film with Tim Robbins
Date: 5 Oct 1992 15:15:01 -0500
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

 Note: some spoilers will follow:















  I'm crossposting this to cinema-l and rec.music.dylan, so please bear 
with me.

  There's a new movie out called Bob Roberts (been out a couple of weeks).
It is written and directed by Tim Robbins (most recently of The Player,
also Bull Durham, Tapeheads, Eric The Viking and others) and stars Tim
Robbins as a "rebel conservative" folk-singer politician in a mockumentary (?)

  Parts of the movie are a direct takeoff on Don't Look Back, D.A. Pennebaker's
documentary on Dylans 196? British tour. Some of the documentary style is right
out of Don't Look Back. There is one scene where Bob Roberts meets the wife
of a mayor who stands there in a fur coat and tells how much they enjoy his
albums. My girlfriend says this comes right out of DLB.

 As well, there is a hilarious take on the video (from DLB) of Subterranean
Homesick Blues, which is made in a VERY similar fashion, down to hand placement and facial expressions.

 Other Dylan bits in Bob Roberts: album called Bob on Bob, album called
something like Another Side of Bob Roberts (what is it exactly?), the
motorcycle accident, oh, there's probably few more key things that I forget.

 As a film, it is amazingly deft. The actors are pretty incredible, the
script hilarious. The film starts off being very funny, but migrates to
something very heavy, very serious, and a little disturbing. It is VERY
current with what has been happening in America (and Canada) lately with
the conservative trend we've been experiencing...

 Watch for all the incredible details...many cameos, the names of all
the extra characters (a news reporter named Rock Bork! played by Fisher
Stevens), and David Srathairn (a cinema-l topic lately) appears, the
mutterings of the security men "Cobra 9 we're going in" and so on... 

Steve Portigal
-- 
/*************************************************************\
|  Steve Portigal  University of Guelph  Guelph, Ontario      |
|  stevep@snowhite.cis.uoguelph.ca (519) 824-4120 x 3580      |
\*************************************************************/

Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: terrapin@jessica.stanford.edu (Robert Zeien)
Subject: Re: Song title ?
Organization: Academic Information Resources
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 20:59:58 GMT

In article <1992Oct1.154448.411@hnrc.tufts.edu> rob_sy@hnrc.tufts.edu writes:
>
>me and a friend are in an argument over the title of the song with the
>following words...
>
>"hey farmer farmer put away that ddt
> leave the spots on my apples 
> and leave me the birds and bees please
>
> dont it always go to show
> you never know what you got
> till its gone
>
> they paved paradise 
> to put down a parking lot"
         ^^^^up

This doesn't really have anything to do with Dylan, but here's your
answer...

	Big Yellow Taxi (by Joni Mitchell)

It can be found on her _Ladies of the Canyon_ album.

And now back to your regularly scheduled Dylan program...

Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: afishman@scott.skidmore.edu (adam fishman)
Subject: HELP
Organization: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 19:16:14 GMT


I'm sort of new at this and am having a hard time responding to other
peoples' articles.  Could somebody write back and explain how I can
respond to an article and have it displayed rather thanm sent directly
to the writer?  I would apprecite it.

						Thanks,
                                                    ajf
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: dafer@owlnet.rice.edu (Daryl Anderson Foster)
Subject: New Album
Organization: Rice University
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 15:05:56 GMT

I haven't been reading this group for a while, so could someone give me some
information about the new album?

thanx

-- 
******************************************************************************
* Daryl Foster                    | Even without the support of critics and  *
* Rice University                 | the general public, Spinal Tap continues *
* Rice Computer Engineering       | to fill a much needed void in the music  *
* Home of World's Largest Toaster | industry.                                *
* dafer@owlnet.rice.edu           |   -liner notes to Spinal Tap soundtrack  *
******************************************************************************
From: bdb023@vax1.mankato.msus.edu
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Why does everyone hate self-portrait
Date: 6 Oct 92 04:06:26 GMT
Article-I.D.: vax1.1992Oct6.100626.2227
Organization: Mankato State University

Just wanted to say thanx for the replies i got on what dylan albums would
be good to get. Now i'm kinda wondering, what's so bad about self-portrait?
I know the critics blasted it, which in many cases means it's a good 
album. I've never heard the album, but i remember reading an interview
with dylan in a best of rolling stone interviews, and he said he wanted
to make self portrait so bad so that no one would like him any more and
quit thinking of him as the leader/spokesperson for the flower power
generation. Any thoughts/comments on this?
			Thanx
			  brian
From: leekil@bbn.com (Lee Kilpatrick)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Re: What are good Dylan CD's? (John Wesley Harding)
Date: 5 Oct 1992 22:54:43 GMT
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com

In article <1992Oct5.133825.2225@vax1.mankato.msus.edu> bdb023@vax1.mankato.msus.edu writes:

>counrty-rock). I'd like to get another disc and I've kinda narrowed
>it down to three choices. Blonde on blonde, John wesley harding and



A lot of people seem to think that "John Wesley Harding" (the album)
is really good.  Well, I don't think it is that good.  Some of the
songs are excellent, but taken as a whole it seems that the songs are
extremely repetitive, and boring.  They just repeat the same music
over & over, with little or no variation.  So what makes anyone out
there think that this is such a great album?

Rolling Stone, in it's "200 best albums of all time" or some such
list, talked about how the "alienated drifters & outlaws" on the album
were easily identified with by the counterculture at the time.  Now
this may be true, but was this intended by Dylan?  If so I am at a
loss to see exactly how.

Any comments are welcome, and encouraged.

	
	Lee
From: mae@jacobs.CS.ORST.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Re: Dylan and Interpretation
Date: 4 Oct 92 14:57:35 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Outreach Services - Oregon State University

There was a small tribe of people who were born in the chaos
of World War II. They are neither of the generation who fought
in the war, nor are they of the generation of Golden Promise
born on the heels of victory (the karmic boom). They are the
Point men and women on the cutting edge who hack out the trail
between the Old World and the New Age.

Dylan belongs to this tribe of pioneers. When I "interpret"
Dylan, I am reading the signposts he leaves along this trail.
Each album marks a new spot, as if to say >>> I went this
way and here's what I saw >>>

Sometimes, I have found myself on the same path. Sometimes,
I decide on a different direction. To me, Blood on the Tracks
was just that - blood on the tracks. Here (he marks the spot)
was where I was hit by the train. I hated that album at first.
But then, I didn't see the train coming either.

I don't have the technical background to understand the
difference between a "good" album or a "bad" album, a
"good" song or a "bad" song... most poetry is written out
of pain and longing. Dylan has often mirrored my own pain
and longing - to interpret him is to interpret myself.
Now there's a scary thought.

almost more fascinating than "interpreting" Dylan is the
exercise of interpreting those who follow him... and those
who don't. He began his trek with a huge crowd at his heels.
At each new signpost, it seems, the numbers change - I'd like
a nickel for every time I've heard a Dylan drop-out say
"he's changed." It's not his voice that bothers people -
but rather, his Voice.

Even at his angriest, most bitter and unhappy moments...
even at his most obscure and most manipulative moments...
even at his tritest, most mundane moments... and especially
at his most profound, heartfelt moments - he has continued
to share it with us, marking the way. It's a rare and
singular kind of courage, and for this he has my gratitude
and respect.

Suddenly, I feel like I've just sent an anniversary card :)

Mae

		   ----------------------------
"Well, aren't you a caution." -Joe Montegna, House of Games
		   ----------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: michel@netcom.com (Steve Michel)
Subject: Re: Really good albums
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 03:42:11 GMT


>any other recent, really heavy-duty shit out there?

T Bone Burnett's "The Criminal Under My Hat."


Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
From: raghu@nairobi.eecs.umich.edu (Raghu Mani)
Subject: Re: Outlaw Blues CD
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept., Ann Arbor, MI
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 22:00:31 GMT

This discussion of an album of Dylan covers brings us to the 
question of - what are the best covers of Dylan songs ever. I'd
nominate

1. All Along the Watchtower     - Jimi Hendrix
2. Mr. Tambourine Man           - The Byrds
3. Its All Over Now Baby Blue   - Van Morrison
4. Tomorrow is Such a Long Time - Rod Stewart
5. I Shall be Released          - The Band

And the worst - the worst I've heard yet is Guns 'n' Roses 
cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". Anybody out there got
any opinions?

Raghu