Well, tomorrow I'm headed back to New York City, I had a great time in Peoria and it was great to see everybody, but I do believe I've had enough. Time to get back to my home on the East Coast. I'll be blogging as I make my way in a drunken stupor back to New York, so check back tomorrow in the morning to see multiple posts of the trip. Sneeze ya then!
Just like Monty Python, I was going to do something completely different tonight. But just like the other week, when I got outside it was rainy and cold as well. I didn’t wear a jacket to work and I was freezing. Plus I’m feeling really burned out tonight. A guy I work with is on vacation so I’ve been going in early and working about twelve hours a day. I’m actually getting out early tonight and now that it’s so rotten out, I just feel like going home, which I did and it’s where I’m at right now. I haven’t screened a movie on here in a long time, so I thought that’s what we’d do tonight.
One of my favorite movies of all time is the documentary by D.A. Pennebaker called “Don’t Look Back.” In the film, D.A. Pennebaker follows Bob Dylan on a 1965 tour of England. Also featured in the film are Joan Baez, Bob Neuwirth, Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, Donovan and Alan Price, a keyboardist who had just quit the English band, The Animals.
It’s actually kind of like the first reality show as Dylan is filmed onstage and off constantly. Throughout the film it shows Dylan writing, hanging out in his hotel room, playing shows, traveling and playing mind games and putting people on, like in this interview with a writer from Time magazine.
This is a scene with Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman telling off the hotel manager, he’s quite the crabby appleton!
Here’s a hotel scene of Dylan meeting some rich family and then hanging out before the show with Alan Price.
Within the movie, they shot one of the first music videos for the song, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” This video has D.A. Pennebaker and Bob Neuwirth discussing it.
And here’s some shots I took while watching the film for the 19,796th time. Don’t Look Back, just look at the photos. Don’t think twice, it’s alright.
Further reading: Weekly Wire, New York Times and Pop Matters.
I’ve always loved the album cover of the Bob Dylan album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan."
It was released in 1963, but I didn’t buy it till I was in high school and was getting into Bob Dylan’s earlier albums. On the cover he’s walking in the middle of a street with his girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo. The two of them were living together at the time on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village and it was taken right outside of their apartment. I thought it might be fun tonight to go and try to recreate that photo (and yeah, I know it’s been done before). So that‘s exactly what I’m going to do.
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Down into the subway we go for a trip to Greenwich Village.
Aaaaahhh!
And through the magic of the internet, here we are, watching some guy sprinting down the stairs and hog the entire stairwell for himself. Asshole.
Okay, let's make our way to 4th Street and see if we can recreate this album cover.
But first, how about a Mister Softee stop?
I got a combination vanilla/chocolate with chocolate sprinkles.
It was served up by this friendly fellow and it was delicious!
Okay, here's the street, W. 4th Street. Positively.
161 W. 4th Street, where Bob Dylan lived in 1963.
Here's the street. It looks different at night from the album cover. Okay, now to find a couple to pose here.
So far I've asked five different couples and I've gotten responses ranging from: "No thanks," "Not tonight," "We're in a hurry," and two who basically pretended like I didn't exist. It's a lot easier talking to people in bars than on the street I'm finding out.
I just had a couple tell me they don't believe in blogs. I don't really know what that means, but they walked away before we could debate the subject.
Okay, this is starting to get old and I've had two more couples totally ignore me after asking them to pose in the street for the photo. Only one thing can save me at this moment. Ladies and gentlemen, I present...
The Freewheelin' Gumby! And please appreciate the fact that I almost got run over by a cab while snapping this photo in the middle of the street. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
Further reading: Rolling Stone, All Music, About.com and BBC (radio, Not Gene, Smoopy and Terry).
You Might Also Like: Hall of Fame, Hall of Shame and Hall of Blame.
Five Other New York Album Covers
Some Time In New York City—John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant’s Memory Plus Invisible Strings. (Whew.)
Physical Graffiti—Led Zeppelin
New York New York—Frank Sinatra
Safe In New York—AC/DC
NYC—Brazilian Girls
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