PunBB

Two weeks from now, I was found dead. It is believed that I starved to death after I lost my job as a result of repeatedly watching Scorcese's new Dylan documentary, No Direction Home, 22 hours a day.

The future is scary but there's nothing much I can do to avoid it.

Seriously, I received my copy yesterday (about the time the doorknob broke), and all I can say is watch the thing when it comes on PBS on the 26th. It covers familiar territory -- in fact, it tells a story retold so often that it's irritating. But it tells that story better than I think it has been told before.

Sweet. As a quasi-new fan of Dylan (started getting into his stuff 3-4 years ago) I'm stoked to check this out.

Check this thread for some more info: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.hipbase.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7308">http://www.hipbase.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7308</a><!-- m -->

And a link to the trailer...

I'm not into him enough to buy it, but I won't miss it on PBS.

Scorsese is a great director, anyone ever see the band documentary, last waltz?

Great movie, except for this:
From <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://theband.hiof.no/articles/must_be_some_way_to_repay_you.html">http://theband.hiof.no/articles/must_be ... y_you.html</a><!-- m -->, an article about Manuel's grave marker in Stratford.


Levon Helm recollects The Last Waltz:

"As far as I was concerned, the movie was a disaster. ...

"I took Ronnie Hawkins with me to a screening of The Last Waltz just before its official release. All The Band was there, plus family, friends, people who'd worked on the project. For two hours we watched as the camera focused almost entirely on Robbie Robertson, long and loving close-ups of his heavily made-up face and expensive haircut. The film was edited so it looked like Robbie was conducting the band with expansive waves of his guitar neck. The muscles on his neck stood out like cords when he sang so powerfully into his switched-off microphone. Hawk kept nudging me and laughing at this. Halfway through he whispered, "Was Richard still in the group when we did this?"

"Because there were almost no shots of Richard in the movie. ... Where was Richard? In the interviews he was depicted prone on a sofa at Shangri-La, his hair wild and eyes shining like wet moons, looking like Che Guevara after the Bolivians got through with him. ...

"I was in shock over how bad the movie was. Nine cameras on the floor, and there wasn't even a shot of Richard Manuel singing the finale, "I Shall Be Released," his trademark song. ... It was mostly Robertson, showing off and acting like he was the king.

"The lights came up. I lit a cigarette and looked at Hawk, who pounded me on the back and loudly exclaimed, so everyone could hear: "Hey, son, don't look so glum. The goddamn movie'd be awright if it only had a few more shots of Robbie. Haw haw haw haw haw!!!"

"Today people tell me all the time how much they loved The Last Waltz. I try to thank them politely and usually refrain from mentioning that for me it was a real scandal."

Still, the "Last Waltz" version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is singlehandedly my favorite Levon Helm moment.

Wow, I didn't know there was so much animosity between Helm and Robertson. I have the DVD and I thought they showed every band member. I didn't think they only focused on Robbie but what do I know eh? I like the outtake archival footage of the group of musicians just jamming after the show was over. Neil fucking took over. While other guys like Clapton were leaving, Neil looked like he was going to play forever.

As for the Dylan movie, I hope to watch it on PBS. From reading "Shakey", it's clear how much Neil admires Bob. I think Neil said in the book, "Bob Dylan is the teacher and I'm just a B student".

If Neil is Bob's student, I'd say he gets straight As.

Neil Young is another one like Dylan who has hung around on the edges of what was in vogue, charted his own course and managed to be a true original.

Incidentally, the new Maclean's proposes that No Direction Home be added to high school curricula across the country. They also talk about Neil Young in the same article.

Bought the DVD yesterday and I'm gonna try and watch it later tonight. The reviews I've read have been pretty positive, so I'm looking forward to it.

skippy the wonder dog Wrote:If Neil is Bob's student, I'd say he gets straight As.

Neil Young is another one like Dylan who has hung around on the edges of what was in vogue, charted his own course and managed to be a true original.

Incidentally, the new Maclean's proposes that No Direction Home be added to high school curricula across the country. They also talk about Neil Young in the same article.

Very true. Young and Dylan are pioneers. There aren't too many like them around. They are two of the greats of all time in music. I wasn't aware of the impact that Dylan had on Neil early on. Young idolized Dylan to the max. Also in the book, Neil had a way of categorizing music. He put music in two categories: The Beatles and The Stones. Buffalo Springfield- Beatles, Crazy Horse-The Stones, etc......Incidentally, he said the Stones were his favourite of the two so I guess once can assume he liked working with Crazy Horse more than BufSpr. I get a kick out of the book, reading how Neil would get fabulous musicians in the studio and get them to play the songs HIS WAY. In essence, he would have tremendous musicians playing simple stuff that an average player could play. Neil wanted things to sound his way. Like he said though, sometimes the simple songs are the hardest to play and make sound great.

Anyway, I can't wait to see the Dylan doc. I'm not up on him as much as I should be but I loved his appearance in THE LAST WALTZ and he is one of the true greats for sure. Like Gord said, Dylan's voice is an instrument, timeless and true.

It's tonight and tomorrow night, on PBS, for anyone who wants or needs a reminder....