Definitely Dylan – Details, episodes & analysis

This is a slightly updated version of the first ever Definitely Dylan episode, which aired on Resonance.FM in January of 2018.

You can find a version with the full length songs over on Patreon, where I will also be revisiting other radio episodes in the future, so follow along if you're interested in hearing more!

In this episode:

1. Forever Young
2. Subterranean Homesick Blues
3. It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
4. Simple Twist Of Fate
5. Shelter From The Storm
6. Born In Time (Oh Mercy Outtake)
7. What Can I Do For You? (Live, 19 April, 1980, Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada)
8. Rise Again (Rehearsal, with Clydie King)
9. Saved (live, 12 January, Portland, OR)
10. Forever Young (demo)

Additional music by Robert Chaney

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Today’s episode is a story.

Songs that appear in the episode:

“When I Paint My Masterpiece” (More Greatest Hits)

“When I Paint My Masterpiece” (demo, Another Self Portrait)“When I Paint My Masterpiece” - The Band (Cahoots)

“When I Paint My Masterpiece” (demo, Another Self Portrait) “When I Paint My Masterpiece” (Live at Harvard Square Theatre, Cambridge, MA, 20 November, 1975)

“When I Paint My Masterpiece” (Live at Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul, South Korea, 27 July, 2018)

“When I Paint My Masterpiece” (Live at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale. 1 March 2024)

“When I Paint My Masterpiece” (Shadow Kingdom, 2021)

”Dungaree Doll” - Eddie Fisher (1956)

”Get Up, Get Out” - The Weavers (1963)

The Jonathan Cott interview took place on 17 September, 1978 on bus and plane, on the way to the concert that night in New Haven, CT. The discussions continued in the dressing room before the show. The interview was published in Rolling Stone Magazine on November 16th 1978.

Additional music by Robert Chaney

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

No other Bob Dylan song has provoked such a diverse range of responses as "Make You Feel My Love". Initially dismissed by reviewers as a failure, it has since grown into a wildly successful pop hit. It's the song that's loved by the masses, but hated by Dylan purists. Perhaps what's at the heart of this fundamental disagreement is a different question altogether: is this a banal love song, or does it have a deeper, perhaps even darker meaning? 

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Thanks to Craig Danuloff from the Dylan.FM podcast for initially inviting me to speak about this topic, this episode partly draws on the talk I gave at his online event last year.

Graley Herren’s book Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" is available here.

Laura and James A. Smith from The Popular Show have a late night conversation about the Bootleg Series and Time Out of Mind

Watch the video of our conversation on Patreon, where you can also show your support for the podcast, or you can make a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Consider supporting The Popular Show at patreon.com/thepopularpod.

Laura and Robert talk about Bob Dylan's new Bootleg Series, what it tells us about Time Out of Mind, and whether or not accordions can be sexy.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Graley Herren’s book Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" is available here.

Listen to the interview with Mark Howard on the Dylan.fm podcast.

For more information, see definitelydylan.com

Stories, myths, and narratives – as the Bob Dylan Center opened this May, another Bob Dylan exhibition was coming to a close. What stories are these two Dylan museums telling & what do they reveal about how Bob Dylan wants to be seen?

In part two of this series on the crafting of Bob Dylan's legacy, we take a look at the stories told by two very different museums dedicated to Bob Dylan's work: the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK, and the Retrospectrum exhibition of Dylan's visual art. Laura interviews the curators of the BDC, Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, and talks about how Dylan the Painter has become part of the Dylan Myth.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.

Watch my Florida paper on Time in Dylan’s music, paintings, and Shadow Kingdom here.

Here’s the article “In His Own Words: Why Bob Dylan Paints”.

Find out more about the Bob Dylan Center here.

The Retrospectrum catalogue (£85) is available here.

Read Rebecca Slaman’s review of Retrospectrum here.

For more information, see http://definitelydylan.com/

This is the first of two conversations about the crafting of Bob Dylan’s legacy.

My guest is freelance writer Rebecca Slaman. Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @ithrewtheglass.

The version of “Desolation Row” is from 12 April, 2009 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. You can watch it in full along with others from that year here.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.

For more information, see http://definitelydylan.com/.

The pandemic forced Bob Dylan to take a two year break from performing live. Now he’s back and he’s embarked on the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour.

I was lucky to be able to fly from London to Washington, DC to catch the last show of the year on 2nd December, 2021.

In this episode, I’m giving you my thoughts on the performances, the setlist, and how this tour relates to the latest album and Shadow Kingdom.

You can listen to the whole concert here.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.

For more information, see http://definitelydylan.com/.

In this episode, Laura considers Shadow Kingdom in the context of Bob Dylan’s career and what it tells us about the artist at 80 years old. We’ll touch on Dylan’s relationship with the past, the language of dreams, and we’ll find out what all of this has to do with Shakespeare.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation.

For more information, see http://definitelydylan.com/.

Alma Har’el talking about dreams is from this i-D video.

Bob Dylan’s Nobel lecture

Music: Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, Midsummer night's dream overture

For this episode, we’re going to take a little break from the series on Rough And Rowdy Ways!

I want to take you on a journey towards the heart of one of my favourite Bob Dylan songs of all time: “Most Of The Time” from Dylan’s 1989 album Oh Mercy. Deceptively simple, this song about pain and denial is wonderfully subtle in its development of the singer’s feelings, while also playing with the listener’s expectations. In other words: it’s a masterclass in songwriting. So let’s find out why and how it works!

I hope you enjoy this closer look at one particular Dylan song. Let me know if you enjoy this episode and what other songs you’d like me to take a close look at!

Here’s the link to the Daniel Lanois interview compilation I mention in the episode.

If you are in a position to support my work, you can do that over on Patreon, where you also find the exclusive companion extra to this episode, in which we talk about the recording process of the song, the production, and its shortlived incarnation onstage! Thank you!

Original theme music and sound design for this episode by Robert Chaney