"Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters" by Jeff Burger
I was surprised at how much new material was in this book.
…Because even literature is written for an audience. Everybody’s not Kafka—sit down and write something that you don’t want anybody to see…
Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters by Jeff Burger (Editor); Hardcover, 592 pages; Published May 1st 2018 by Chicago Review Press; ISBN: 0912777427 (ISBN13: 9780912777429)
Believing I had read everything I could about Bob Dylan, besides listening and watching every film regarding this great singer/songwriter, I was surprised at how much new material was in this book. Included were silly and even stupid interviews that were exhausting and disagreeable at best. But for the most part these added early encounters with Bob Dylan add much to his still-growing oeuvre.
…experience teaches that silence terrifies people the most.
The most seriously fascinating conversation in this book occurred between Dylan and John Cohen in 1968 shortly after Dylan’s motorcycle accident and recovery from his injuries. The album John Wesley Harding had just come out and was Dylan’s first in eighteen months. Rarely is Bob Dylan reflective and serious in conversation, and absent is the typical sarcasm and distance generated due to what I have always felt was Dylan’s lack of respect for his interviewer. These two conversant troubadours seemed to immediately connect and speak the same language.
…Uncompromising, that’s what makes a good artist…
It becomes quite obvious that Bob Dylan changed quite drastically after the motorcycle accident and The Basement Tapes. For the better as well. Much more open and reflective in his rare interviews. The childish and churlish behavior missing, and thankfully so. Having a family and raising kids does seem to change some men, Dylan included. This book is quickly becoming one of my favorites and continues to be a complete surprise.
…you need to breathe the right air to make that creative process work…
The interviews keep getting better and better. The mid-seventies, after his divorce, opened Dylan up to revealing more of himself to the few pundits he chose to trust. Living and working near Malibu seemed to have a relaxing affect on the man. One interview by a college student from Minnesota was especially good and Dylan seemed to be forthcoming and sincere in his answers and remarks. Not the Bob Dylan accustomed to be portrayed in the documentary films and early recorded interviews.
Maybe on the records it’s in the lyrics, but in a live show it’s in the phrasing and the dynamics and the rhythm…
There is a good deal spoken about songwriting and the craft. Nuts and bolts I am surprised Dylan engaged himself to, sharing with his interviewer what exactly went on in his head and the impetus for composing particular songs. Hard to imagine Bob Dylan being so talkative and forthcoming. But he is. Of course, one can sense the bullshit behind every other line in their conversations, but he does it with a maturity and grace absent in the early interviews.
…Because even literature is written for an audience. Everybody’s not Kafka—sit down and write something that you don’t want anybody to see…
Through the years Dylan has proven time and again that he is not to be mediated. He is due our greatest respect. Dylan, if nothing else, stays true to himself.
…The only person you have to think about lying twice to is either yourself or to God…
Dylan certainly has no conscience in regards to lying. He obviously believes what he says.
…Art is artillery. And those guys, especially Caravaggio and Rembrandt, used it in its most effective manner…
Bob Dylan has been blowing things up for several decades now. As much as he appears on stage as an old grandpa requiring his keyboards to remain himself upright, Dylan continues to amass an oeuvre of originality in the studio. But the Never-Ending Tour could definitely end.
…OK, a lot of people say there is no happiness in this life, and certainly there’s no permanent happiness. But self-sufficiency creates happiness…