Bobshead Revisited

Attempting to encapsulate Bob Dylan’s musical career is an unenviable task. Over the course of five decades, Dylan has not only revolutionized popular music (far more broadly than detractors might wish to admit) but also weathered more artistic rises and falls than any other major pop artist. In that time, his work has been sliced and diced into so many compilations that, if it wasn't for the upcoming release of a new album (called Tempest) in September, you'd swear that the collections outnumber the original albums. Some of these compilations ostensibly cover nearly the entirety of Dylan's long career, but none of them make quite as strong a case for his artistry as the 1985 box-set Biograph.

When Biograph came out over twenty-five years ago, Dylan had recently released a pair of reasonably good albums (Infidels and Empire Burlesque), but the consensus seemed to be that his career was on the downside. As a result, despite only covering work through 1981, Biograph seemed more like a career summation than a recap of the story so far. Since then, starting in earnest with 1997’s Time Out of Mind, Dylan has been on the kind of artistic roll that few pop artists manage so deep into their career. For all that great work, though, Biograph remains the release that best balances all the varied sides of Dylan as an artist.

Favoring neither the obvious nor the esoteric, this three-disc collection places cornerstones of Dylan’s songbook next to work that still divides his fans, particularly some from his late-70s “born again” period. Instead of being jarring, though, in some respects these combinations allow for a deeper appreciation Dylan’s abilities as both a writer and performer. A song like “I Believe in You” might be more overtly religious in its lyrical content than many listeners will care for, but there’s no denying the power of Dylan’s vocals or the beauty of its melody. Hearing a song like this in the same sitting as an acknowledged classic such as “Tangled Up in Blue” highlights how true he has been to himself as an artist over the years.

Another highlight of Biograph is the presence of both enjoyable alternate versions of familiar songs and some that had never before been (officially) released in any form.  These songs spotlight one of the most curious aspects of Dylan as an artist. Over the years, he’s often been one of the most erratic judges of his own work, letting excellent material sit on the shelf while lesser material is released on his albums. Even since Dylan’s return to artistic form, this trait can be seen in the Bootleg Series release Tell Tale Signs, a collection of out-takes and alternate versions from 1989 to 2006 that’s virtually the equal of any of the acclaimed albums from that period.

A case in point on Biograph is “Caribbean Wind”, a fantastic song recorded for the 1981 album Shot of Love. Very similar in tone and approach to 1983's "Jokerman" (and every bit as powerful), it was left off of Shot of Love in favor of a number of forgettable songs and only released four years later. Regardless of the path it took, though, "Caribbean Wind" sounds great on Biograph, all the songs do. Even if this set only covers an increasingly small portion of Dylan’s career, what it shows us about why his work matters makes it invaluable collection. 

Plunging the Political Toilet Bowl

Political advertising is boring. No matter who the candidate is or what the issue, today's ads have nothing more to offer than shouting with a whisper that the other side sucks. Perhaps that was good enough for the political campaigns of the olden days, but the complex post-modern world in which we live cries out for something more.

My own modest proposal is to move the discourse from "the other side sucks" to "the other side sucks though not as bad as some people think." I propose that all political broadcast advertising be required to include at least one positive fact of the opposition's choice. For example, the President's team could require that ads criticizing the disposition of federal money from the 2009 Recovery Act include the fact that a third of that spending was in the form of tax-cuts for both individuals and corporations (which some would say are people too). On the flip side, those in charge of the Romney campaign could dictate that ads slamming the former governor's Swiss bank accounts and offshore holdings in the Cayman Islands note that Mr. Romney is a devoted family man.

Obviously, such a rule would be virtually impossible to administer. The federal government (i.e. The FCC) couldn't possibly do so because of the First Amendment issues, and there's really no other entity with sufficient scope. This kind of shift towards balance and respect for one's opponent would have to happen from the ground up with the candidates and their teams (not to mention their PACs). In a political climate whose escalation of rhetoric makes the US-Soviet arms race look tame, that seems about as likely as Superman eating a Kryptonite sandwich.

The Dark Knight Sags

Watching one of the enjoyably shallow entertainment gossip shows that fill the 7 O'clock hour, I was profoundly unsurprised to see the obligatory piece about how hard Anne Hathaway had to work to fit into her costume for the upcoming Batman movie. I was equally unsurprised to hear the presenter appear to mangle the English language by describing Hathaway's costume as Catwoman-esque. After all if Hathaway is playing Catwoman, presumably her costume is not "Catwoman-esque" but rather just a Catwoman costume. In a rare moment of good-nature, though, I began to wonder if I'd been too quick to dismiss the announcer.

Perhaps said announcer was sharper than I'd give them credit for and, rather than this being yet another example of TV further degrading our marvelous language, there may have been a subtle critique at work. Maybe the term "Catwoman-esque" was a deliberate albeit subtle acknowledgment that Hathaway's costume appears to signify as crappy a portrayal of Catwoman as The Dark Knight Rises in general appears to be a crappy depiction of a Batman story.

Of course, the above is almost certainly not true. Let me rephrase that, the part about the critique is probably not true. The part about Hathaway's costume and the movie in general displaying signs of great crapulence is on the money. Every arch pronouncement and underwritten line uttered through clenched teeth suggests that the makers of The Dark Knight Rises have committed the cardinal sin of filmmakers who earn critical praise for bringing artistic flair to pop-art blockbusters - they started to believe their own hype.

In truth, it was almost inevitable in the wake of the previous film in the series. Never mind that Heath Ledger's performance as a character called The Joker was actually quite boring, his sad pre-release death guaranteed that he and the movie would be deeply overrated. The Oscar nominations (and Ledger's eventual win) simply cemented the view in director Christopher Nolan's mind that he wasn't just slumming but rather turning Batman into Art (with a capital A). This opened the door to the one enemy even the dynamic duo of Batman and a talented filmmaker couldn't beat - pretension.

And even if The Dark Knight Rises ends up being much better than the footage seen so far suggests, I still think it's a very good thing that this is Nolan's last trip to Gotham City. It's time for another vision of Batman, one which recognizes that the troubled "Dark Knight" isn't the only approach to Batman. As the past two decade of animated portrayals have demonstrated, the driven and conflicted crime-fighter who'd give anything to live in a world where he wasn't necessary and the colorful cast of crazy villains can co-exist quite nicely. Looking ahead to Batman's 75th birthday in 2014, that kind of Batman movie would be a terrific birthday present for fans.