Tuesday, January 07, 2025
A Complete Unknown
Last weekend I went to see the new Bob Dylan movie, "A Complete Unknown." I liked it a lot, and more than anything it made me remember a lot of great music. It does reveal Dylan to be kind of a jerk sometimes, and I'm a bit surprised that he approved of the movie. But... I suppose he knows he can be kind of a jerk sometimes, and prizes honesty.
I've seen Dylan perform twice. Once, Larry Bates and I traveled from Waco to Sioux Falls SD to see him play at the Canary Cage (the home field of the minor league baseball stadium). You wouldn't expect it, but he was fantastic-- a great and lengthy show. He's known to be kind of hit-or-miss, and this was a hit. The other time was in Detroit, with Tom Petty. They spotted Bob Seger in the audience and pulled him up to do "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," and that was fantastic.
But I learned something new with this movie, and I'm still taking it in...
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The elemental truth about Dylan is that truth is hard to find. He's a mythmaker, if not a Carny, which is what the review in The Atlantic concluded. Like many a mythmaker (Baseball's Dizzy Dean and Satchel Paige) for instance, his origin story is cloudy and everchanging. He enjoys being mysterious and complicated. One of the few people to really figure him out was Joan Baez -- which was why they never could have a serious relationship.
I saw the movie too. Of course, Dylan approved! It adds to the myth. It raises more questions than it answers. It makes you think. Dylanologists have complained about the way it compresses timelines and dramatizes events -- but that is the point! The actors are all great.
If you have not read his autobiography (which may not be totally accurate either), Chronicles, I recommend it highly.
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If you have not read his autobiography (which may not be totally accurate either), Chronicles, I recommend it highly.
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