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04-01-11 Footnotes
Show 279: Dylan Part One, Lykke Li Review, Greg's DIJ
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1 The music industry’s head is in the clouds. Amazon just announced its cloud-based media server, beating out Google and Apple. This allows people to listen to their music from any device, anywhere…well sort-of…this is android-only for now. But, as Jim explains, it’s pretty cost-effective for consumers with average size music collections. The real issue is the legality of Cloud Drive. Music labels are already bristling that Amazon didn’t wait to secure licensing deals before launching—something that has been holding up its competitors. Jim and Greg smell a lawsuit.
2 If all that talk about clouds and androids hasn’t made you feel old, get this…Bob Dylan is turning 70 this May. And we here at Sound Opinions feel that this birthday boy deserves not one, but three episodes in his honor. This week is the first installment and focuses on Dylan’s early years as a folkie and protest singer in New York. Dylan moved to Greenwich Village in 1961 at age 19, and in just a few years he was signed to Columbia Records, teamed up with manager Albert Grossman, released 4 albums and became “the voice of a generation.” Never one to be pigeonholed, Dylan abandoned categories just as soon as he was assigned them. Jim and Greg talk to Dylan expert Clinton Heylin about the singer’s influences during those years, and his growth as a songwriter and performer. Clinton recently explored Dylan’s entire song catalog in two companion books, Revolution in the Air and Still on the Road.
2b Following their conversation Jim and Greg talk about their favorite Dylan tracks from 1961-1964. Jim chooses a protest song that has remained timeless, and one that Dylan continues to perform, “Masters of War.” He fell in love with this song, which was released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963, through the many covers of it.
Greg goes with a song that is less popular, but no less impactful. And it showcases Dylan’s strengths as a singer…yes that’s right, singer. “Moonshiner” is Dylan’s take on a traditional folk song, and as Greg explains, he returns to this sound in later years. A version was released on The Bootleg Series Vol 1-3.
3 Swedish singer Lykke Li has a new album out called Wounded Rhymes. She has again teamed up with fellow Swede, Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John. And the maturity is leaps and bounds from her previous effort. Greg was impressed with the “oomph” of her voice and her interesting source material. It’s Phil Spector, doo-wop, but wicked. Jim agrees, adding gospel and soul influences to that pot. Lykke Li gets a double Buy It rating.
4 One of Dylan’s motivations for moving to New York was to meet his hero Woody Guthrie. And decades later, Guthrie continues to inspire musicians. In fact, Greg says one of the best performances of Wilco’s entire career is their cover of Guthrie’s tune “One by One” from the 1998 album Mermaid Avenue. And that’s saying something since Greg literally wrote the book. So,“One by One” goes into the Desert Island Jukebox this week.
Songs Featured in Show #279
Rolling Stones, “Get Off Of My Cloud,” December’s Children (And Everybody’s), London, 1965, Bob Dylan, “Hard Times In New York Town,” The Bootleg Series, Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964, Columbia/Legacy, 2010
Bob Dylan, “Song To Woody,” The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home - The Soundtrack, Columbia/Legacy, 2005
Lead Belly, “House Of The Rising Sun,” The Definitive Lead Belly, Snapper, 2002
Bob Dylan, “House Of The Rising Sun,” Bob Dylan (Original Mono), Columbia, 1962
Bob Dylan, “Sally Gal,” No Direction Home, The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home - The Soundtrack, Columbia/Legacy, 2005
Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ In The Wind,” Gerde’s Folk City ’62, unreleased
Bob Dylan, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” No Direction Home, The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home - The Soundtrack, Columbia/Legacy, 2005
Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” The Times They Are A-Changin’, Columbia, 1964, (0Bob Dylan, “The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll,” The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964 - Concert at Philharmonic Hall, Columbia/Legacy, 2004
Bob Dylan, “Bob Dylan’s Dream,” The Bootleg Series, Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964, Columbia/Legacy, 2010
Bob Dylan, “Mr. Tambourine Man,” The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965, Sony Music, 2007
Odetta, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Allright,” Odetta Sings Bob Dylan, RCA, 1965
Nico, “I’ll Keep It With Mine,” Chelsea Girl, Verve, 1967
Bob Dylan, “Masters Of War,” The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (Original Mono), Columbia, 1963
Bob Dylan, “Moonshiner,” The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991, Sony Music, 1991
Bob Dylan, “Tomorrow Is A Long Time,” The Bootleg Series, Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964, Columbia/Legacy, 2010
Lykke Li, “Youth Knows No Pain,” Wounded Rhymes, Atlantic, 2011
Lykke Li, “Get Some,” Wounded Rhymes, Atlantic, 2011
Billy Bragg & Wilco, “One By One,” Mermaid Avenue Vol. 1, Elektra, 1998
Wilson Pickett, “634-5797 (Soulsville, U.S.A.),” The Exciting Wilson Pickett, Atlantic, 1966
The Decemberists, “Calamity Song,” The King Is Dead, Rough Trade, 2011
Big Audio Dynamite, “Medicine Show,” This Is Big Audio Dynamite, Columbia, 1985
Ministry, “Golden Dawn,” Land Of Rape And Honey, Sire, 1988
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