Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan, still misunderstood by American liberals

May 31, 2012 By Frank Beckwith Leave a Comment

So says Matthew Schmitz at First Things: Two days ago, Bob Dylan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And once again we saw the tendency of American liberals to misunderstand a man who has refused to be enlisted in their causes. President Obama remarked that “No one ever picks up a guitar, or fights a disease, or starts a movement, thinking: ‘You know what? If I keep this up, in 2012 I could get a medal in the White House from a guy named Barack Obama. That wasn’t in the plan. … [Read more...]

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My top 20 Bob Dylan songs. Today: 4 through 1 – (Dylan turns 70)

May 24, 2011 By Frank Beckwith 1 Comment

On May 24, 2011, Bob Dylan turns 70. Between May 20 and today, May 24, I am posting my top 20 songs composed by Dylan. Here are the previous installments: 20 through 17 (May 20), 16 through 13 (May 21), 12 through 9 (May 22) and 8 through 5 (May 23) By limiting myself to only 20 Dylan songs, I have, of course, left off many classics including "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," "Just Like a Woman," "The Lonesome Death of Poor Hattie Carroll," "Gotta Serve Somebody," "Masters of War," "Love … [Read more...]

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My top 20 Bob Dylan songs. Today: 8 through 5 – (Dylan turns 70)

May 23, 2011 By Frank Beckwith 2 Comments

On May 24, 2011, Bob Dylan turns 70. Between May 20 and May 24, I am posting my top 20 songs composed by Dylan. Here are the previous installments:20-17 (May 20), 16-13 (May 21), and 12-9 (May 22). For today, May 23, I present 8 through 5 8. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) (1965) 7. Precious Angel (1979) 6. Idiot Wind (1975) 5. Visions of Johanna (1966) What follows is a video of each as well as lyrics.... … [Read more...]

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Bob Dylan at 70- My top 20 Dylan songs. Today: 12 through 9

May 22, 2011 By Frank Beckwith Leave a Comment

On May 24, 2011, Bob Dylan turns 70. Between May 20 and May 24, I am posting my top 20 songs composed by Dylan. Here are the previous installments: 20-17 (May 20) and 16-13 (May 21). For today, May 22, I present 12 through 9: 12. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (1963) 11. Tangled Up in Blue (1974) 10. Desolation Row (1965) 9. Blowin’ in the Wind (1963) What follows is a video of each as well as lyrics.... … [Read more...]

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Bob Dylan at 70- My top 20 Dylan songs. Today: 16-13

May 21, 2011 By Frank Beckwith Leave a Comment

On May 24, 2011, Bob Dylan turns 70. Between May 20 and May 24, I will post my top 20 songs composed by Dylan. Yesterday, I posted 20-17. Today, it's 16-13: 16. Jokerman (1983) 15. Pressing On (1980) 14. Chimes of Freedom (1964) 13. Times They Are A-Changin’ (1964) What follows is a video of each as well as lyrics.... … [Read more...]

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Bob Dylan at 70- My top 20 Dylan songs. Today: 20-17

May 20, 2011 By Frank Beckwith Leave a Comment

On May 24, 2011, Bob Dylan turns 70. Over the next 5 days, I will post my top 20 songs composed by Dylan, starting today with 20, 19, 18, and 17: 20. Every Grain of Sand (1981) 19. It Aint Me, Babe (1964) 18. Gates of Eden (1965) 17. Mississippi (2001) What follows is a video of each as well as lyrics.... … [Read more...]

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And that the ladder of the law has no top and no bottom: Bob Dylan’s lyrics find their way into many judicial opinions

May 9, 2011 By Frank Beckwith 8 Comments

(HT: Bill Glennen) From the LA Times: On summer nights in the mid-1960s, while black-and-white television crackled elsewhere in his Staten Island home with news of Southern violence and Vietnam, Bobby Lasnik would stretch out in his bedroom to let the righteous soundtrack of the civil rights movement waft into his impressionable teenage soul. Tuned in to WBAI-FM, coming across the water from Manhattan, he heard baleful laments about injustice that he would carry with him for a … [Read more...]

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Fr. Robert Barron on Bob Dylan in China

May 1, 2011 By Frank Beckwith Leave a Comment

(HT: Dennis Dixon) For more on Dowd and Dylan, see my blog entry here. On Dylan's biblical vision, see my chapter in Bob Dylan & Philosophy: It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Thinking) (Open Court, 2006), "Busy Being Born Again: Bob Dylan's Christian Philosophy" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: China, Christianity, Fr. Robert Barron, New York Times Tagged With: Bob Dylan, China, Christianity, Fr. Robert Barron, Maureen Dowd Leave a Comment

“You’re an idiot, babe. It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe…”

April 10, 2011 By Frank Beckwith 4 Comments

For those who don't know, that's a line from Bob Dylan's song, "Idiot Wind," and it is perfectly applicable to the ever-clueless, though strangely attractive, Maureen Dowd of the New York Times. This morning, Dowd expresses her disappointment that prior to his performances in China, Dylan allowed the government censors to approve his set list. This meant, according to Dowd, no protest songs from the Voice of Her Generation against the oppressive Chinese government. Too bad Dowd does not know … [Read more...]

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