Dylan Context In Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is, Friedrich Nietzsche declares: “One must pay dearly for immortality: one has to die several times while still alive” (660). Bob Dylan died and was reborn several times between his 1965 shows in Cincinnati and his 1978 return to the city. After an exhausting, combative, strung-out European tour in the spring of 1966, Dylan retreated to upstate New York for what was meant to be a brief hiatus before resuming his grueling concert schedule. Then he was injured in a motorcycle crash in July and abruptly canceled the rest of his tour. The relentless pace and debilitating habits of the road were unsustainable. During his convalescence, Dylan took stock and decided to refocus his priorities on raising a family. He had married Sara Lownds on November 22, 1965, just a couple weeks after his Cincinnati Music Hall show. They settled down in rural Woodstock and started filling their house with children.
I don’t require my friends and familiars to like Bob Dylan, but they must acknowledge the greatness of his art. It’s a rule I apply to all my friendships now. I have friends who get it and those who don’t. I try not to judge the latter, but it’s difficult to refrain.
This is an outstanding essay series! And not just because I’m a Dylan nut and grew up in Cincinnati, remaining a proud Ohioan. The scholarship here is first rate. I hope you’re turning this into a book so I can put it on my Dylan shelf. Excellent!
Thanks JB! Glad you like it and many thanks for your encouragement. Yes, I do hope to eventually compile this all into a book at the end of the road. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you at the next mile marker: 1981 at Music Hall.
Outstanding, I have started preliminary planning for a book on Dylan and Miles Davis as artists and how they evolved, made choices, shed their former egos, etc. I would like to interview you at some point early next year if that’s cool. I’m in Cincy a few times a year, catching up with old friends and colleagues. I love talking Dylan with people who know! Great work here! I’m reading.
Cool! I'd be happy to talk with you about Dylan, JB. We can figure out details over email (herren@xavier.edu). The Miles Davis book sounds very interesting. You probably already know that the Don Cheadle movie about Miles was filmed here in Cincinnati.
And what a great film it was! Wouldn’t it be attend or even host a Dylan Film Festival here in Ohio. I’ve thought about it and I’ve watched what some of my familiars have done with David Lynch film festivals like the two-week one that just wrapped up in Dallas. I want to gather in a room full of Dylanists and soak in that vibe of passion for a while.
Beautiful. Around our house we speak Dylan fluently.
I don’t require my friends and familiars to like Bob Dylan, but they must acknowledge the greatness of his art. It’s a rule I apply to all my friendships now. I have friends who get it and those who don’t. I try not to judge the latter, but it’s difficult to refrain.
I just simplify it by gravitating to those who already speak the language, lol.
This is an outstanding essay series! And not just because I’m a Dylan nut and grew up in Cincinnati, remaining a proud Ohioan. The scholarship here is first rate. I hope you’re turning this into a book so I can put it on my Dylan shelf. Excellent!
Thanks JB! Glad you like it and many thanks for your encouragement. Yes, I do hope to eventually compile this all into a book at the end of the road. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you at the next mile marker: 1981 at Music Hall.
Outstanding, I have started preliminary planning for a book on Dylan and Miles Davis as artists and how they evolved, made choices, shed their former egos, etc. I would like to interview you at some point early next year if that’s cool. I’m in Cincy a few times a year, catching up with old friends and colleagues. I love talking Dylan with people who know! Great work here! I’m reading.
Cool! I'd be happy to talk with you about Dylan, JB. We can figure out details over email (herren@xavier.edu). The Miles Davis book sounds very interesting. You probably already know that the Don Cheadle movie about Miles was filmed here in Cincinnati.
And what a great film it was! Wouldn’t it be attend or even host a Dylan Film Festival here in Ohio. I’ve thought about it and I’ve watched what some of my familiars have done with David Lynch film festivals like the two-week one that just wrapped up in Dallas. I want to gather in a room full of Dylanists and soak in that vibe of passion for a while.