Dylan gets with the Modern Times

July 12, 2006 11:27 AM

Mr R. A. Zimmerman has confirmed his intention to release Modern times, his forty-fourth official LP and first album of new material in five years, on August 29, 2006. (Unofficial track-listing from RollingStone.com; report on an advance listen from the NME; Dylan namechecks Alicia Keys?; Dylan covers 'When the levee breaks'?;)
posted by docgonzo (32 comments total)

Dylan namechecks Alicia Keys?; Dylan covers 'When the levee breaks'?

Dylan confounds expectations. Dylan is far ahead of those who think they have him figured out.
posted by jonmc at 11:29 AM on July 12, 2006

and "When The Levee Breaks" was done by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy several decades before Zep's version, so a scholar of music like Dylan probably would be familiar with it.
posted by jonmc at 11:31 AM on July 12, 2006

Awesome. Now I wait for the leak.....
posted by dig_duggler at 11:37 AM on July 12, 2006

Name checking Alicia Keyes is not exactly staying ahead of the pack, jon. I'm still incredibly excited, though.
posted by boo_radley at 11:50 AM on July 12, 2006

*Does his happy dance*
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:51 AM on July 12, 2006

Name checking Alicia Keyes is not exactly staying ahead of the pack, jon.

Not in terms of trendiness or (god help us) 'cred,' no, but Dylan's never been about either of those.
posted by jonmc at 11:52 AM on July 12, 2006

The 'Q's in the post were 'cause the info is not confirmed, not because I find the ideas surprising or unusual.
posted by docgonzo at 12:11 PM on July 12, 2006

Now, he said you could call him Bobby and he said you could call him Zimmy. But he didn't say you could call him R. A. Zimmerman. Nor does ya needs to.
posted by soyjoy at 12:23 PM on July 12, 2006

Dylan has already done High Water Blues, he's more than conversant, and precedes the outrage, with Miss. flood songs.
posted by OmieWise at 12:25 PM on July 12, 2006

Yes, OmieWise, but I find it interesting he has chosen to do 'When the levee breaks' after Katrina -- this is the closest he has come to directly referencing a current event since, well, when? Neighbourhood bully?
posted by docgonzo at 12:30 PM on July 12, 2006

(Uh, that's a sincere, not rhetorical, question. When was the last time he referenced a current/political event?)
posted by docgonzo at 12:31 PM on July 12, 2006

When was the last time he referenced a current/political event?

I get the feeling his time with the Seeger/Peter, Paul & Mary folkie crew kind of put him off sloganeering for life. He still adresses issues but in a far more elliptical way.
posted by jonmc at 12:35 PM on July 12, 2006

the Seeger/Peter, Paul & Mary folkie crew kind of put him off sloganeering for life.

Granted, but how do you explain then Hurricane ('75) or the Christian albums?
posted by docgonzo at 12:43 PM on July 12, 2006

... or him doing 'When the levee breaks'

Sure they're not 'Ballad of Hollis Brown' or 'Masters of war' but they are more direct, less elliptical, works, imho.
posted by docgonzo at 12:44 PM on July 12, 2006

keep in mind the track listing is for "the levee's gonna break" not "when the levee breaks"

no doubt his track is rooted in the same origins but it isn't a foregone conclusion that we shall have a cover of the Memphis Minnie version or the later Zep version.
posted by poppo at 12:45 PM on July 12, 2006

I wish that he would release more than two albums a decade since he's not getting much younger but I'll take what I can get. The last one was not as good as Time out of Mind but it had some great songs on it, especially Summer Days and Mississippi.
posted by octothorpe at 12:58 PM on July 12, 2006

I dunno, I kind of like the fact that he's self-filtering more in his later years. He's being really consistent with his output (and I wonder if he's still playing lots of keyboard rather than guitar himself).
posted by bardic at 1:06 PM on July 12, 2006

Granted, but how do you explain then Hurricane ('75) or the Christian albums?

Hurricane was written mostly by Jacques Levy, and the Christian albums were something of an aberration.
posted by jonmc at 1:09 PM on July 12, 2006

Glad to see him at work. Somebody help him with his graphics!
posted by gorgor_balabala at 1:15 PM on July 12, 2006

I dunno, Slow Train is still one of my faves and an excellent sounding record to boot.
posted by persona non grata at 1:16 PM on July 12, 2006

Yes, OmieWise, but I find it interesting he has chosen to do 'When the levee breaks' after Katrina -- this is the closest he has come to directly referencing a current event since, well, when? Neighbourhood bully?

I suppose Union Sundown was later on that same album, but point taken.
posted by allen.spaulding at 1:19 PM on July 12, 2006

"Aberration"? I'd say all the other albums from the '80s were aberrations.
posted by docgonzo at 1:29 PM on July 12, 2006

Dylan namechecks Alicia Keys?

Judas!
posted by infidelpants at 2:22 PM on July 12, 2006

What poppo said about The Levee's Gonna Break. It's a different title and no doubt a different song.

Well, we shall see. Love and Theft certainly had its moments:

All I know
is that I’m thrilled by your kiss,
I don’t know any more than this.
Po’ boy,
pickin’ up sticks,
Build you a house
out of mortar and bricks.

And bobdylan.com and wikipedia ? C'mon. Kind of a whole lot of nothin' there in the links department....
posted by y2karl at 5:43 PM on July 12, 2006

I listened to Time out of Mind so much during the weeks following its release date -- Sept 11, 2001 -- that I inadvertantly linked the music in my mind with those horrible days. I look forward to having some new Dylan I can imprint with better memories.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 5:54 PM on July 12, 2006

Love and Theft was downright spooky in places, coming out on September 11.

Sky full of fire, pain pourin' down

High water risin', the shacks are slidin' down
Folks lose their possessions - folks are leaving town

Well, George Lewis told the Englishman, the Italian and the Jew
"You can't open your mind, boys
To every conceivable point of view."
They got Charles Darwin trapped out there on Highway Five
Judge says to the High Sheriff,
"I want him dead or alive
Either one, I don't care."
High Water everywhere
posted by EarBucket at 7:09 PM on July 12, 2006

Sorry if I didn't follow your inimitable and much beloved posting style, y2karl.
posted by docgonzo at 7:17 PM on July 12, 2006

That album will be my 40th birthday present. What a considerate man this Zimmerman fellow is!
posted by craniac at 9:02 PM on July 12, 2006

Me too, craniac! Awesome.
posted by Space Kitty at 11:16 PM on July 12, 2006

A whole lot of nothin' is a whole lot of nothin. Wikipedia links are the weakest links of all.

Padding out a post about Bob Dylan's mention of Alicia Keys on a song on his forthcoming album with two Wikipedia links and one to his corporate site is not quite on a par as, say, padding it out with a link to a Google News page about Bob Dylan's new album. At least from the latter we now know that Ramblin' Jack Elliott has a new album out as well.

Now as to Lars Lindh's registration required Web Concordance of Bob Dylan lyrics--that's neither padding nor old news.
posted by y2karl at 1:23 AM on July 13, 2006

shorter y2karl: N00B!
posted by bardic at 1:57 AM on July 13, 2006

Wow, a Google News link!
I hope you're taking notes, docgonzo!
Sheesh.

Anyhoo, I'm partial to Eyolf Østrem's My Back Pages, myself. Although he removed the chords and tabs from the site, there are still some fun essays and interesting pieces to read there.

(The chords and tabs are now hosted here.)
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:38 AM on July 13, 2006