Dylan: Now TWO New Songs

[ORMojo]

The first original Bob Dylan song in 8 years. Murder Most Foul

At 17 minutes, also his longest ever. And different from anything he has ever done, but still unmistakably Dylan.

I grew up with Dylan. I grew up with JFK (the "Murder"), and subsequently RFK, as two of the most indelible memories from my childhood. I'm scheduled to see Dylan on his current tour when he's in town June 9th, but obviously that is now in question.

It is interesting to read the articles written about this new song within the first 24 hours of its release.

This dizzying, utterly extraordinary song — as allusive as it is elusive — starts off seeming like it might be a straightforward recounting of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but expands into an impressionistic, elegiac, increasingly apocalyptic journey through what feels like the entire Sixties (complete with references to the Who’s Tommy, Woodstock, and Altamont) and then perhaps all of 20th-century America, especially its music.

The song’s structural freedom and mesmerizing arrangement — a dusting of piano, a lilting violin, distant percussion — feel like fresh territory for Dylan, occasionally evoking Van Morrison at his most mystical. Its themes of doom — and possible redemption — feel alarmingly in tune with our current moment, which may have prompted Dylan to choose it for release.

. . . or . . .

People have mooted that it’s a standalone release, appearing now because Dylan understandably thinks it’s timely, March 2020 being a pretty apropos moment to release an epic song filled with death and horror and apocalyptic dread (“The age of the antichrist has just begun … it’s 36 hours past judgment day”), or perhaps to give his diehard fans further incentive to stay indoors. You rather get the feeling some of them will still be self-isolating months after the coronavirus all-clear has sounded, delicately unpicking its manifold knotty allusions – the line about playing it for Carl Wilson down Gower Avenue requires the listener to know that the late Beach Boy sang backing vocals on Desperados Under the Eaves, the concluding track from Warren Zevon’s eponymous 1976 album, which ended with the line “look away down Gower Avenue” – and arguing on message boards as to whether the Susie mentioned midway through is just a reference to the Everly Brothers, or to Suze Rotolo, the girlfriend with whom Dylan watched the aftermath of Kennedy assassination unfolding, holed up in their New York apartment.

. . . or . . .

It also suggests an artist nearing 80, but continually moving forward – musically, it’s unlike anything Dylan has done before – and as wilfully contrary as ever.

. . . or . . .


It's worth many repeated listens and will occupy any Dylanologist holed up at home.

And finally, as noted above, the song spends its last ~7 minutes referencing/intertwining a play list. Here it is, as compiled by NPR, which they also helpfully turned into a playlist.

Children's Music - "Hush Little Baby"
The Beatles - "I Want To Hold Your Hand"
Gerry & The Pacemakers - "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
Joni Mitchell - "Woodstock"
The 5th Dimension - "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)"
Shirley & Lee - "Let The Good Times Roll"
Wanda Jackson - "There's A Party Goin' On"
Robert Johnson - "Crossroads"
The Grateful Dead - "Deep Ellum Blues"
Jr. Walker & The All Stars - "Shotgun"
Kay Kyser - "The Wise Old Owl"
The Who - "Tommy Can You Hear Me?"
The Who - "The Acid Queen"
Elvis Presley - "Long Black Limousine"
Roomful of Blues - "Backseat Blues"
John Michael King - "On the Street Where You Live"
Joan Baez - "Oh, Freedom"
Little Richard - "Send Me Some Lovin'"
Burt Bacharach - "Walk On By"
The Everly Brothers - "Wake up Little Susie"
Larry Williams - "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"
Billie Holiday - "You Go To My Head"
Patsy Cline - "Crazy"
The Kingston Trio - "The New Frontier"
Tom Jones - "What's New Pussycat?"
Ray Charles - "What'd I Say"
Wolfman Jack - "Dust My Broom"
Billy Joel - "Only the Good Die Young"
The Kingston Trio - "Tom Dooley"
Louis Armstrong - "St. James Infirmary (Gambler's Blues)"
Etta James - "Tell Mama"
John Lee Hooker - "Boom Boom"
Slim Harpo - "Baby Scratch My Back"
Guitar Slim - "The Things That I Used To Do"
Marilyn Monroe - "I Wanna Be Loved By You"
Nina Simone - "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Warren Zevon - "Desperados Under the Eaves"
Eagles - "Take It to the Limit"
Elvis Presley - "Mystery Train"
The Platters - "Twilight Time"
Bob Wills - "Take Me Back To Tulsa"
Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust"
Jo Stafford - "The Old Rugged Cross"
Gaither Carlton - "Look Down That Lonesome Road"
Oscar Peterson - "Stormy Weather"
Stan Getz - "The Girl From Ipanema"
Dickie Betts - "Blue Sky"
Thelonious Monk -" 'Round Midnight"
Charlie Parker - "All The Things You Are"
Chicago Cast - "All That Jazz"
Charlie Chaplin - "Chaplin and Keaton Piano and Violin Duet"
The Allman Brothers Band - "Blue Sky"
Woody Guthrie - "Pretty Boy Floyd"
Ella Fitzgerald - "Cry Me A River"
The Beatles - "Revolution 9"
Nat King Cole - "Nature Boy"
Nancy Sinatra - "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
Stevie Nicks - "Rooms on Fire"
Billy Joe Royal - "Down in the Boondocks"
Elvis Presley - "One Night Of Sin"
Miles Davis - "Stella By Starlight"
The Animals - "House of the Rising Sun"
Erroll Garner - "Misty"
Miles Davis Quartet - "That Old Devil Moon"
Eileen Rodgers - "Anything Goes"
Benny Goodman - "King Porter Stomp"
Little Richard - "Lucille"
Chet Baker - "Deep In A Dream"
Randy Newman - "Lonely at the Top"
Ludwig van Beethoven - "Moonlight Sonata (1st Movement)"
Little Walter - "Key to the Highway"
Tennessee Ernie Ford - "Marching Through Georgia"
The Corries - "Dumbarton's Drums"
Hoagy Carmichael - "Memphis In June"

[Dino Suegiù]

I watched/listened several times to "Murder Most Foul" last night after the notification.

It is superb, mesmerizing, another work of genius continuing in some ways the vein of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands", "Highlands", and "Tempest" among others, but even more mature in ways, which I (still naive after all these years) thought would be almost impossible for Dylan given his already amazing maturity. He really never does not surprise, and always so beautifully.

He will certainly write a great song(s) about these current times, too.

[jimcav]

I was unaware of this. I am enjoying it now.

[wc1934]

Thanks for sharing.
As I have said many times - two best lyrical poets are Dylan and Cohen.
And yes, he did deserve the Nobel Prize!!

[colker]

Dylan ... knows.
He grasps what we all say, what everyone said all these centuris and plays it again.. this time meaning a bit more.

[ORMojo]

A second brand new Dylan song just dropped.

https://youtu.be/pgEP8teNXwY

[jimcav]

I think for most it will be more easily digested as far as length, allusions, lyricism than murder most foul.

I still plan to do listen to the play list from murder most foul one of these evenings

[dustyrider]

I fell in love with Dylan when I listened to With God on Our Side and the entire The Times They are a Changin' album, so Murder Most Foul is right up my alley. I can't put my finger on what I Contain Multitudes reminds me of, but it's a good reason to revisit his cannon for the next few weeks until I do!

[zmudshark]

Here we go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QPBpFAKTGo

[estilley]

If anyone is interested in some seriously deep Dylan live cuts, this internet radio station out of LA has a weekly show for Bobcats on Tuesdays from 12-1pm PST.

And it's just a great radio station all the time, I've added it to my Sonos.

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2020/03...rium-drunkard/

[PQJ]

OP --

Thanks for pointing this out. It's an incredible song. I'm now listening to it - on loudspeakers - for the third time, as my 6 year old sits playing on the rug, listening with me. She's taking in every word. "Dad, what's 'charity'"? "It's when you help and give money to people who don't have it." "It's not nice that charity died. People are selfish." "Yes, Bella, they are."

[zmudshark]

[buddybikes]

Why aren't their more (recognized) true songwriters that influence society?

[jb_11]

Originally Posted by dustyrider

I fell in love with Dylan when I listened to With God on Our Side and the entire The Times They are a Changin' album, so Murder Most Foul is right up my alley. I can't put my finger on what I Contain Multitudes reminds me of, but it's a good reason to revisit his cannon for the next few weeks until I do!

Gotta be "Ordinary Average Guy" by Joe Walsh.

[ojingoh]

He sounds like John Cale, maybe because of the strings. Good stuff.