tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post7835938525994937910..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: When Icons DisappointUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-30411819610472973532009-08-09T20:54:55.149-05:002009-08-09T20:54:55.149-05:00I felt much the same way about UP IN HOMEY'S R...I felt much the same way about UP IN HOMEY'S ROOM, though I loved THE HOT KID. Leonard has enough of a track record with m that I'll forgive an occasional effort that doesn't seem as good (to me) as the others. Like John said, he's only 83.<br /><br />As for Dylan, I never got him. My Beloved Spousal Equivalent loves everything about him, and always answers back to my comments about his singing by reminding me what wonderful songs he's written. My standard answer is, they have a job title for people who write great songs but can't sing: songwriter.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-65551791455827298072009-08-09T15:37:40.480-05:002009-08-09T15:37:40.480-05:00I'm glad I got to see Bob Dylan live. But, lik...I'm glad I got to see Bob Dylan live. But, like Mr Stringer says above, I knew I only needed to see him once. (And yet, I saw him again a couple of months back because a friend had a spare ticket.)last year's girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16613385789244095888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-26714868424708582082009-08-08T10:39:40.840-05:002009-08-08T10:39:40.840-05:00Elmore Leonard is currently working on a book abou...Elmore Leonard is currently working on a book about a Somali pirate in New Orleans. I'm much more interested in that one. It's too early to give up on the guy, he's only 83.<br /><br />The first concert I ever went to in my life was Bob Dylan and The Band in 1975 at the Montreal Forum. I should have just stopped going to concerts then. How was poor Peter Frampton going to top that?John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-29862711001319259102009-08-08T08:13:35.496-05:002009-08-08T08:13:35.496-05:00I think we often do expect too much, although I st...I think we often do expect too much, although I strive not to. It may be inevitable, though,the fanboy/fangirl inside us all.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-38248372753630714762009-08-08T06:48:52.834-05:002009-08-08T06:48:52.834-05:00I'm a huge Dylan fan. (Seriously, I should lay...I'm a huge Dylan fan. (Seriously, I should lay off the donuts.)<br />I have a couple of hundred bootlegs of his and have discovered what my high school science one told me and I've heard many times since: If you see Dylan more than once, you'll see the best show ever and the worst.<br /><br />I don't have the shows at hand, but there's a great one he did in a haunted castle somewhere in UK. Great stuff. Acoustics, setlist and feeling were great. There were some great Rolling Thunder shows, too. And then there were some horrific shows, mostly in the 80s and early 90s.<br /><br />Dylan has been touring and recording since something like May of 1638. (I could be wrong on the date.) Or maybe that's the number of albums he has. <br /><br />He's done shows with an electric set and an acoustic set. He varies the setlist, as you mentioned. He does all sort of things to shake things up. And, yeah, sometimes he misses.<br /><br />I haven't read the book by Mr. Leonard that you mention, but I imagine the same sorts of rules apply.<br /><br />Both Leonard and Dylan have a mountain of output, just right out there waiting for you to discover your favorite. My favorite Dylan tune is "Brownsville Girl," which he and Sam Shepard wrote. Phenomenal song that takes shape from an old Gregory Peck western. The song itself is a western. Just amazing. (Whether he ever performed that one live is a huge argument among Dylan bootleggers, btw.)<br /><br />So Dylan does thousands of shows. Leonard writes more than 50 books. Is some of the work going to be not as good as their best. By definition/necessity, uh, yeah.<br /><br />A few years ago, my wife and I were waiting for a certain book to come out. She'd gotten me hooked on the narrator. The author had written three books with this narrator and this ended up as the fourth. It didn't start out that way. He'd mentioned on his Web site that he was writing a new book, explained the concept and all. Fans flooded the site with posts and emails saying they wanted a new book by the narrator I'd mentioned. So he changed the book. That's how the story goes, anyway. I didn't enjoy the new book as much as I'd liked the other ones. It didn't have the same whatsit that made the other ones good. Until I found out about the narrator switch, I didn't know why. Now I do.<br /><br />He'd written tons of books his fans liked, then tried to please them again. Dylan doesn't do that. I'd guess Leonard doesn't worry too much about being loved and popular at this point. This life as an artist gig is kinda tough. Wouldn't trade it, of course, but when you write tons of books and perform thousands of concerts, some of them are going to be dogs. <br /><br />I just hope the next book the author puts out isn't 1 in 5 that doesn't quite work. And if I'm going to take time to go see Dylan on the road somewhere, I hope the concert I see isn't the Road Dog.Steve Weddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03876211586767139613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-28709485678677847632009-08-08T06:35:53.534-05:002009-08-08T06:35:53.534-05:00Dylan is recording the best music of his career (T...Dylan is recording the best music of his career (Together Through Life is tops) but I'm with Jay that I wouldn't see him perform live again unless there was a acoustic tour.David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-50687005357161812009-08-08T03:57:45.521-05:002009-08-08T03:57:45.521-05:00Saw Dylan about 5 years ago, at a huge venue, and ...Saw Dylan about 5 years ago, at a huge venue, and I'm glad I did. It was a good night, good music and his bobness. At the same time, I left knowing I didn't need to see him again. Not on those terms, anyway. He ever does a solo acoustic tour? I'm there.<br /><br />By comparison I'd always been scared of seeing Springsteen because he has such a legend surrounding his live shows, and yet finally seeing him this year was possibly as close to a religious experience as I'll get. <br /><br />It's natural that we build up some kind of relationship with our heroes and their body of work. We come to have expectations, almost demands.<br /><br />Ultimatley though, they owe us nothing. If they've put out an album, film or book that has moved us, that's their duty fullfilled right there. If they've managed it more than once, they're defying the law of averages. <br /><br />That some artists do manage to continue to deliver Is amazing.Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-18748159057845791112009-08-07T22:47:49.377-05:002009-08-07T22:47:49.377-05:00I was terribly disappointed in Dylan when I saw hi...I was terribly disappointed in Dylan when I saw him about ten years ago. He had no, and I mean no, rapport with the audience. Didn't even try. And his songs were unrecognizable. Too bad.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com