Finally Friday - A Complete Unknown

 Yea, you know him now - Bob Dylan.  But in 1961, Robert (Bobby) Zimmerman arrived in New York  City ready to make his mark  on the  folk scene. 

 In the film, A Complete Unknown, Timothee Chamalet brings Bob Dylan onto the big screen and  tells his story. Here's this kid who seeks out the "biggies" - Pete Seeger (an excellent Edward Norton), Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) - and proceeds to wow them with his songwriting skills. 

He knows his history, is musically talented, and leaps from unknown to  girls screaming in  a few short years. He's playing small gigs and then moves up to the bigger venues, including the Newport  Folk Festival. That's huge.  But there's tradition in  folk  and  Dylan is squirming under the invoked  "rules" pressure. 

I'm not  "blowing  in  the wind here"...when he takes  the  Newport stage in 1965, and plugs in  his guitar along with his band...well the  "times are truly changing". 

This movie is fun, entertaining, informative, and musically wonderful.  I personally admire Dylan songs,  but was never keen on the man and his voice. Timothee Chalamet did  a super job and I appreciated the Dylan story and history that much more.  Thumbs up to  start movie review 2025. 

The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan

 The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan is a very unique,  cool collection of essays on various songs. He waxes poetically and creatively on sixty six songs from the 1920s to now. It's like a master class on songwriting - Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, Hank Williams to Nina Simone. The photos that  accompany his words add to the project. It is absolutely fascinating.  

What was extra fun - I had my phone handy and brought up the songs on i-Tunes. I played the song and then read the essay. It added a lot of depth to songs I might take for granted. 

Here's a quick example - Tutti Frutti by Little  Richard  1955

Little Richard was speaking in tongues across the airwaves long before anybody knew what was happening. He is the master of the double  entendre. Little Richard was anything but little. He's saying  that something is happening. The world's gonna fall apart. He's a preacher. "Tutti Frutti" is sounding the alarm. 

Each little essay is a treat (even on artists/songs  I didn't know) - I chuckled, I nodded, and this book had me dig out some old CDs I hadn't listened to in awhile. 

Thanks Bob!