.Sleep is like a temporary death… . “You will perceive that in the breast The germs of many virtues rest, Which, ere they feel a lover’s breath, Lie in a temporary death” Henry Timrod, Two Portraits Workingman’s Blues No. 2 is already the most celebrated, though perhaps the most misunderstood, track on Modern Times....
Category: Music
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THE BEATLES: Extract from ‘Who Could Ask For More’ Two: Hey Jude
HEY JUDE This is the second extract from my forthcoming book Who Could Ask For More: Reclaiming The Beatles. This extract features what may well be their finest hour, and explores how it focuses on the relationship between Paul and John In 1968 The Beatles, along with the youth culture that they spoke for and...
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THE BEATLES: Who Could Ask For More Extract One: Dylan Meets The Beatles
An account of the meeting between The Beatles and Dylan from Chris Gregory's WHO COULD ASK FOR MORE: RECLAIMING THE BEATLES
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BOB DYLAN: When The Deal Goes Down
…We all wear the same thorny crown… Perhaps the most striking aspect of Modern Times is its lyrical and emotional clarity. The lyrics of 2001’s Love And Theft, like so many Dylan albums before it, featured often wildly allusive patterns of reference. But here the songs are carefully constructed to convey specific emotions and themes...
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BOB DYLAN: Rollin’ And Tumblin’
..I’ve been conjuring up all these long dead souls from their crumblin’ tombs… And so the thoughts revolve around the poet’s mind. He’s been up all night. Sleep has been impossible. He sits on the edge of the bed, watching the young woman sleeping, her luxuriant dark hair tossed across her face. He...
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BOB DYLAN: Spirit On The Water
After the apocalyptic thunder subsides, a soft, jazzy shuffle takes us back to the beginning of all things: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. God said,...
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BOB DYLAN: Thunder On The Mountain
…Everybody got to wonder What’s the matter with this cruel world today… MODERN TIMES begins, as it ends, in an apocalyptic landscape. The earth itself is in tumult. Volcanoes, hurricanes and whirlwinds scour the land. The power is cut. It’s like Hell’s Kitchen. Everything is broken. Hot stuff everywhere. For the singer, the writing is...