Monday, October 25, 2010

Bulletins from Bob and Olivia


An interesting day...

At the post office box, I found my eagerly awaited copy of Bob Dylan's latest official Bootleg Series release, Vol. 9, The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964, offering 47 songs he wrote and put down on tape early on, attempting to persuade other singers to record his songs. Many of these appeared over the decades on illegal bootleg LPs and CDs, but this 2CD set supposedly improves and completes all others--offering the original Bob-and-guitar versions of tunes as familiar or obscure as "Rambling, Gambling Willie," "Oxford Town," "Seven Curses," "Gypsy Lou," "Paths of Victory," "I'll Keep It with Mine,' and "Farewell." (But what of "Percy's Song," "Dusty Old Fairground," "Lay Down Your Weary Tune," and a few others that we fans had always assumed were songs Dylan only recorded as demos?)

Hey, I don't care--what's here is great early Dylan and a major slice of folk-rock music history. God bless Bob; long may he live and write and croak out the songs on whatever form of electronic recording device comes next. Yes, buy this set.

Meanwhile, moving from demos to Demos, in brilliant and timely contrast to this look at 50 years past, and the early, more political Dylan, via email I also received an hour ago the brand-new MoveOn.org video extravaganza, this one a science fictional message, from the supposed 50-years-distant future, after the Repugnants have won the 2010 elections because too many Progressives--including me and maybe you too, each person somehow singled out for censure--refused or forgot to vote. A panicking Olivia Wilde (slender actress in a cluttered room) beseeches us, contacted back here in 2010, to get up off our butts and save the U.S. and world from Palin, Boehner, and other genetic mistakes-turned-political misbegottens.

The video is amazing, and is sure to ignite another silly media firestorm (as the fools like to call such folderol), but really it's a hoot, a cosmic goof, and a serio-comic call to action. Frag 'em if they can't take a joke!

I'll try to embed the MoveOn vid (never done that before), but if I fail, no worries: you'll be seeing it everywhere as the talking heads and bleating asses attack. (Go here.)

3 comments:

WEB SHERIFF said...

WEB SHERIFF
Who You Gonna Call
Tel +44(0)208-323 8013
Fax +44(0)208-323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
www.websheriff.com

Hi I Witness,

On behalf of Columbia Records and Special Rider many thanks for plugging "The Bootleg Series Volume 9 — The Witmark Demos" on your site, the artists recently released album ... .. thanks, also, on behalf of the artist and label for not posting any pirate links this material and, if you / your readers would like good quality, non-pirated previews from Dylan’s upcoming releases, then full-length versions of "The Times They Are A–Changin” and "Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right" shall shortly be available for fans and bloggers to host / post / share etc from www.bobdylan.com . Up-to-the-minute news on Dylan’s 2010 / 2011 shows and releases is, of course, also available on the official web-site and on www.myspace.com/bobdylan and an increasing archive of exclusive film footage of Bob Dylan performances is also available for fans and YouTubers via the official channel at www.youtube.com/user/BobDylanTV ... .. and keep an eye on these official sources for details of further Dylan news, preview material and on-line promotions.

Thanks again for your plug.

Regards,

WEB SHERIFF

IWitnessEd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
IWitnessEd said...

I don't know if "Web" here is a real p.r. person or a changeable computer program, but since I was praising and plugging the release already, I'm posting "his" sort-of comment, commercial message included. Hmmm... my very first "ad" but still no money.