Tag Archives: Bob Dylan

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Song of the Day #2,918: ‘Sitting On Top of the World’ – Bob Dylan

goodasibeentoyouThe Random iTunes Fairy has served up Bob Dylan songs two weeks in a row, this one from Dylan’s 1992 album of folk covers, Good As I Been To You. The timing is good, as I’ll soon be blogging about Dylan’s latest covers album, this year’s Fallen Angels.

Though it didn’t seem like it at the time, Good As I Been To You was the beginning of a late-career comeback for Dylan. He followed it in ’93 with World Gone Wrong, a similar collection of traditional covers, and both records received acclaim. His next studio album, released four years later, was the classic Time Out of Mind.

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Song of the Day #2,910: ‘Foot of Pride’ – Bob Dylan

dylan_bootlegAmong the great finds on Bob Dylan’s first Bootleg series were two tracks recorded for 1983’s Infidels but inexplicably left off.

Mark Knopfler produced Infidels but had to go on tour before the final mixing and sequencing, leaving that to Dylan himself. Dylan decided to omit the tracks ‘Foot of Pride’ and ‘Blind Willie McTell.’

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Song of the Day #2,733: ‘Hotline Bling’ – Jimmy Fallon (as Bob Dylan)

fallon_dylan_blingI didn’t think it was right to have a Random Sunday without a Random Saturday, so here’s a little treasure that popped into my Facebook feed this morning.

Jimmy Fallon is an exceptional impressionist, especially (and maybe exclusively?) when it comes to musicians. His Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Jim Morrison and David Bowie are all priceless.

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Song of the Day #2,720: ‘What’ll I Do’ – Bob Dylan

dylan_shadows_in_the_nightToday begins my countdown of the 20 best songs of 2015, or rather the 20 songs that encapsulate the last year in music for me.

This list is always controversial for one reason or another — usually because I leave off a radio hit or two that my regular readers expect. That will likely happen again this year, though I will say I have more hit singles represented on this list than I have in any year since I started ranking.

My pick for #20, however, did not receive much radio play. Shocker!

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Song of the Day #2,669: ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’ – Bob Dylan

timestheyareachanging‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’ is a traditional protest song typical of Bob Dylan’s first few albums. This one appears on The Times They Are A-Changin’, Dylan’s most socially and politically charged record, which he released when he was just 22.

The song chronicles the true story of racist tobacco farm heir William Zantzinger (Dylan changed the spelling) who assaulted a 51-year-old black maid with a cane, after which she died. Zantzinger was charged with first-degree murder but ended up serving only six months. This was in early 1963.

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